“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”
― William James
Sometimes the weirdest friends appear the most normal. (Bild: Auntie SAM)
Dear Auntie SAM: How is the social scene in Basel?
Well, I’m here, darling. So, of course, it’s fabulous!
Although, if answers were as simple as that, I wouldn’t be writing & Basel wouldn’t be Wonderland. So let’s fall through that looking glass & see:
Most expats will tell you: nights here are dull. After work, you’ll meet your coworkers for cocktails at one of three bars.
Around 8, someone will suggest dinner. Your choices also three things: Italian (flat, sauceless pizza), Swiss (mixed salad, meat, & carbs), or burgers.
By 11, the first of your party will go home. Soon, each of you will pay too much for your evening, yawn, & return to your beds – bemoaning the boring nightlife in Basel.
At approximately the same time you slide under the covers, the locals wake up.
Their pub crawl starts with respectable cocktails or beer. But then a few rounds of shots come out & all of a sudden they’ll slip underground to dance with drag queens, dykes, & djs till dawn.
Then kabob time.
But social life doesn’t only mean nightlife. And here’s where Basel’s looking glass flips yet again.
Do you remember those friends you had in kindergarten? The one who gave you chicken pox? The one who broke your toy?
How about the friends with whom you had your first sleepovers? Those hooligans with whom you broke curfew, a few hearts, & maybe your first minor laws?
Do you recall their names? Do you know where they are today? Because the locals do. They are the people with whom they’re still friends.
On the flip side, the most common stay for an expat in Basel – namely in Pharma – is one to three years. PhD students, consultants, contract employees – all come to develop their skills & CV.
They don’t intend to grow roots in Basel; they grow roots in Pharma.
Because, even if they are only here for a short while, they expect a long career filled with random reacquaintences at conventions & conferences & other events people in suits get all hot about.
So, even after a long night’s drinking, many people in Pharma will never deviate from small talk & other topics that won’t harm their CV.
And here’s where all the books we read about the impenetribility of „The Swiss“ fall short.
Because, of course, locals will be difficult to meet. They have their friends. They have their life’s demands.
Plus, recall: most avoid working in Pharma (see: On the Importance of Words).
So, the feelings most expats describe as it being difficult to connect here stems from the people you’ll actually meet: other expats.
Other people just like you who aren’t often looking so much for friends as their next synergizing connection … or just someone with whom to have pleasant times until they leave.
No musses. No fusses. No commitments. Nothing too real.
It tends to leave expats feeling a little empty here.
But at least everyone looks great on Instagram.
xo
AS
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Much like so many things in life, fairytales are so much better when you don’t know exactly what’s going on … WEDNESDAY, 8PM: actress JOANNA KAPSCH from BASEL THEATER reads her favorite exerpts from ROALD DAHL’s „THE WITCHES“ at SääLI. Have a beer & enjoy the magic. COLLECTION.
SUNDAY, 6PM: treat yourself to DINNER & CONCERT: SYLVIA HECKERDORN sings TRIBUTES TO PIAF, SINATRA, & BERNSTEIN at the RESTAURANT INCONTRO, Coop Tagungszentrum (convention center), Seminarstrasse 12-22 MUTTENZ. Advance sale ONLY until TOMORROW at Papeterie Rössli Gass Tel 061 461 91 11. 75 – 65 SFr.