This is part of a multi-post series about how it has been to move to Switzerland. See the intro post here for all of the others in the series.

Integration is very important for me. I think the main reason to go through the uncomfortableness of immigrating and all the logistics that it entails, is to be able to learn about the new culture, to understand how other people in the world live, and of course to pick some good habits here. Despite it being one of my big goals, I haven’t really been able to do as much integrating as I would have liked to in the last 6 months. A little bit on my journey below.

Trying to understand a different culture

Have y’all ever heard of the big complaint about Americans always talking too loudly? Well, that is one of the glaringly obvious cultural differences between America and Europe as a whole. When I try to understand all of the hidden other differences between America and Switzerland, none really come to mind right now.

I feel like this is a bad sign for how far I’ve integrated into the Swiss culture in 6 months. I can tell that Swiss people have a different way of living than me, and therefore, a different culture to what I’m used to.

At the same time, if you ask me right now, I think of the differences between our countries as: they have Aperos; we have cocktails, they have rosti; we have hashbrowns, they have expensive restaurants; we have expensive healthcare, and of course, they have quieter conversations; we have louder. It should be a little bit more complex.

Living in a non-english country

Moving to a country where the main native language is not your native language is pretty odd at first. I realized after I moved that I missed being able to easily make small talk with the shopkeeper. Right now, I can’t really make small talk in German. That means that if someone did try, it would more than likely be confusing for me, and therefore, awkward for them. I understand that people know English here, but I don’t want to get in the habit of talking to strangers in English, and would rather practice my (very imperfect) German.

I have started German lessons and I think I’m getting better each week. 6 months in, I do not feel confident in German. Hopefully in 2 years or so I can report that I have gotten over this. More on this in the Learning the Language post, which I’ll post soon.

Finding friends

Finding friends in Switzerland is mostly very similar to finding friends in other parts of the US I’ve lived. The only difference is that I started with near 0 friends in Zurich, whereas, the places I moved within the US, I knew a couple of people that I could meet up with at first. Also, for finding Swiss friends, it is a little harder because I don’t speak German well yet. I’m assuming that it is kind of jarring to have people in your friend group that can’t speak the language that everyone else is comfortable using. Though I can’t know for sure, because I don’t really have Swiss friends/haven’t gotten close to it yet.

Slowly but surely, I’ve found a couple groups of friends. Shout out to y’all!

Finding clubs

I have been told, a very Swiss thing to do is to be involved in a sports club. I’m still not sure if they were pulling my leg, but I do know that it is a good place to do something active weekly and with friendly people. I decided to join a local ice skating club. They have adult lessons in the morning with a really nice teacher. Some of the adults have been skating for less than a year, and some well over a decade! It is really inspiring to see what can be learned in a decade. The best part, no one works at the same place I do. They are refreshing to talk with and learn from. Additionally, I’ve gotten more familiar with Swiss culture by participating in this club and seeing how it operates. I went to a meeting where we voted on the future of the club. There, I could see a glimpse of how the Swiss (ice skaters) function in a club meeting. I really thought I had understood a little bit more about what Swiss culture is. They send out informational messages in German, which allows me to practice my German reading.

Proof of ice skating ;)

Right now, I have only decided that the Swiss culture is different enough from the American that I haven’t integrated into it within the my first 6 months. I haven’t even figured out 70% of what it means to integrate and be Swiss. This is an interesting perspective when you think about how people coming to America from cultures with starker differences than those between Switzerland and America.

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