Separating the wheat from the chaff. And a plea for assistance …
47°49’08.6’N 122°23’08.0’W (Bild: Auntie SAM)
Dear Auntie SAM: In your post about Fasnacht, someone told you that you’re weird & wouldn’t be welcomed in Basel. What happened to her? Is she still living in Basel?
One day, I met a woman also from Seattle. Like me, she came to Switzerland for love. Over drinks we discovered we had friends „back home“ in common. We went to a show. Met for coffee. Chatted online. She was game for a lot of things I enjoy. She even participated in a couple of my events.
I wanted to take her to some of my favorite places.
We had plans.
Not just for work; not just because we happened to be in the same country & spoke the same language; but for our pleasure.
The adjustment to expat life, though, was not easy for her. She didn’t feel comfortable not understanding her world anymore. She struggled finding her place. She didn’t sleep well. She often postponed or cancelled dates. When she was able to meet, she was sometimes hours late.
These things were frustrating. I wanted to spend time with her. I wanted to help.
But, also, these things were understandable. She was suffering. Things like this happen when people suffer.
Especially to people accustomed to almost never needing help.
One day, after not hearing back from her for awhile, her husband told me he had discovered her lifeless body in bed. Her body was cremated, then transported back to Seattle where he lovingly set fire to her ashes in a raft on the Puget Sound.
The woman in that post who tried to belittle me? Not her. That woman left a year or two after she had arrived. I could go on at length about how people who live here as if they are on a 1-3 year holiday can be cruel.
Bangkok Tourists, I call them.
And, they bring their own specialnesss to Basel in many interesting & not-so-delightful ways. But, at the end of the day, they’re not who matters.
It’s the rest of us who do.
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I’m not going to tell you where to go this week, Basel.
TagesWoche gave me this forum to start a dialogue about the issues facing expats in your city. I truly believe that most of you want us to succeed here. But, I also believe you don’t know what that means.
It isn’t about us taking jobs or increasing housing prices. It is about a group of very well educated & socially conscious people who are used to being well connected, contributing, & thriving now struggling to find their way.
Don’t ever think for a moment that I’m not one of them.
For a variety of reasons, it’s tough being an expat here; an immigrant without a voice in a confederate of dialects.
I’m here to start talking about why, but I need your help. I need people who know groups & resources available to us. I need people willing to help me look for what we need, how we can contribute, how we can thrive.
If you’re interested, write me: auntiesampresents@gmail.com
XO
AS