So I figured it is time for another Swiss update here on the blog. I have been living in Basel, Switzerland for almost one month now and I thought it would be a good idea to share my thoughts on my time here so far! If you don’t already know, I moved to Switzerland to work as an Au Pair and I have been here since July 1st! If you haven’t read my posts about moving here, I suggest you go check them out 😉 and if you would like to hear more about my adventure so far… then keep on reading!

First off, it still feels like a dream. I really thought I would be used to everything by now but I guess it is going to take more time. Every time I become conscious of where I am and what I’m doing, I am seriously still in shock (in a good way). Everything is still so new and fresh and I am always staring at things when I walk down the street like a true tourist.

Everything is so clean. I am really impressed by this for some reason. Everything is so old but so well preserved and taken care of and it amazes me. There are garbage bins everywhere that are emptied frequently, a special recycling system that is followed religiously, and even special bins for doggie doodoo.

Naturally, I am trying to integrate more into the culture so I have been learning German. I am taking an intensive course and it has been helping me quite a lot to practice and learn new things. With that said, Swiss people don’t speak the “normal” German dialect that is taught because they speak Swiss German which is a totally different language that is not written, only spoken. So. yeah. I’ve been trying to learn as much Swiss German as possible too (With the help of my bf, thank you Tom.) but it isn’t exactly easy to learn a language when the words have no definite spelling😅. It will all come with time and getting around with English/French and my very broken German hasn’t been too bad.

With that said, the people here are very helpful but they are quite direct and they won’t hesitate to laugh at you when you are trying to order something in German and can’t pronounce the word. There are always exceptions of course and every culture is different, but I have been able to get a long with the people here quite nicely (so far).

The last initial thought I’ll share is how awesome the transportation is! I bought a pass that allows me to travel on any mode of transportation at any time and I have been getting around by using mostly trams and trains. It is super easy and super efficient! And every thing is always. on. time. If the train is meant to leave at 12.17 it leaves at 12.17 on the dot. If the tram is meant to arrive in 3 minutes, it will arrive in 3 minutes. It has been so easy and effortless so far! I am very impressed.

That sums up my thoughts on my first month of living and working in Switzerland! I am really enjoying my time here so far and even the job has been great! I am soo sooo thankful I got this opportunity and I am so happy to be literally living my dream.

As always, thank you for reading and following me on this adventure!

Xo,

z.