And more than traveling, I thought my experiences living in abroad (UK/Australia) had prepared me well enough to invade Switzerland with ease. What could go wrong? We like rules and regulations in Finland, too. I would fit right in! Right? RIGHT????!!! So pack your bags hon, we're going to Switzerland!
Ah, yes. But still, no.
I never thought I'd be stepping into a time machine that teleports me to the 1950's. Things are stiff, formal and done still on paper (And I do mean.... "paper", the thin white stuff you use your pens and pencils on when you want to doodle). No more "I just update this with a click of a button and it'll update the information everywhere, end of story".
All of a sudden I became "a woman". Nothing wrong with that as I really am one (!!), but I mean.... I was now labelled as a "woman" instead of a "person". The supporter of the Significant Other (=man). The whole system seems have been built in a way that men take care of their families by working while woman stays at home, taking care of the "boring woman stuff". Y'know, cooking, kids, cleaning and all that jazz.
For someone who has always been working in male dominant surroundings, getting hands dirty, taking responsibility and studying, it came as a bit of a shock. Whereas I used to be in a managerial role before, here my qualifications seem only take me as far as a petticoat wearing coffee making assistant. And that's only if I were lucky enough master one of the local languages fluently. Which I don't. Yet.
I've felt as if I lost my identity somewhere along the line. I see other housewives with their perfectly manicured nails and shiny hair, carrying proudly their Louis Vuitton bag (which seems to be a "must" accessory around here), wearing their fur coats in the winter while balancing their act in stiletto high heels. I am such a damn tree hugger compared to these ladies. I don't have it in me to be a member of the Trophy Wives Club. Then again, that's why my man chose me in the first place. I was never his princess, I was supposed be his equal. Duh.
But it seems that I am not at all alone when it comes to these feelings. Shortly after moving here, I discovered a forum for English speakers in Switzerland and I'm a very active reader there (but a super shy poster) as each problem/observation/struggle I've ever had here has been discussed there before. I don't feel quite as alien when I read identical stories of other expats/trailing spouses. If you ever think about moving here, make sure you spend a couple of days going through the posts. You'll be happy that you did.
Not to be such a Negative Nancy, I must add that even though things are...uhm...."different" here, when I see a landscape like this when I step out of our front door, all the worries simply melt away and I feel incredibly lucky to be right here, right now.
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