Reflections on the first few days

I don't have a lot of new things to report in on thus far.  I am happy to report that BK and I are now officially registered with the Swiss government, so we can now do other things like open a bank account and purchase a monthly tram pass for use in April.  It snowed the past couple of days, all day, and it's still really cold outside.  We're in Paris now- it's also really cold here, but more on that later.

I have had a few observations about us living here in the short time we've been here:

• I came a little bit prepared for a lot of random stuff.  For example:
• I probably own 15 sets of iSomething headphones.  How many did I make it to Basel with?  Zero.  How that happened, I'm not quite sure; I'm hoping that some of them might be in the air shipment.  
• I brought some scarves, but there more the decorative type to wear with sweaters, tees, etc- they don't so much do a good job of keeping you warm.
• As I previously mentioned, the "winter" running clothes aren't nearly warm enough for this climate.  On the other hand, I also forgot to pack workout t-shirts, so I've had to use BK's shirts to workout instead when I've gone down to the gym.
• BK has coat, gloves, hats and no scarves.  I have coat, gloves, summer scarves and no hat. Not sure why I couldn't put together a complete ensemble for either of us.
• Water is definitely the next commodity.  People in Europe must stay extremely dehydrated, as I never see anyone walking around with water bottles like they do in Texas.  It costs to get water anywhere you go, and I find that if we're at a restaurant I am suddenly always dying of thirst.  I think mentally, I just want a glass of water (ice would be pushing it) in case I get thirsty, and am just used to having it.  Wine can only do so much to quench my thirst.
• BK and I really function better if we have more than just a room to live in.  I'm sure this is true for most married couples, but I've told myself that this experience will just make us much more thankful for the one bedroom apartment we're about to temporarily move into.
• No adults wear galoshes over here.  I have some yellow ones that I wore when it was snowing hard the other day, and I pretty much stuck out like a sore thumb.  I've decided that's okay though, I like them and they keep my feet really warm and dry.  Let people think what they will.
• Doors into shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. all open in.  Every single time I try to enter an establishment I pull on the door to open it.  Every. Single. Time.  You would think after a few times I would learn, but I haven't quite gotten this one down yet.
• I really should have done some training for the amount of walking that I'm now doing on a daily basis.  I love it, don't get me wrong, but I am having a reality check on what type of shape I'm actually in. 
• On a more serious note, BK and I are going to have to work hard not to work at night all the time.  It's somewhat tempting and convenient to log on in the evening when everyone you work with is in the office, but then you essentially end up working around the clock.  After this weekend we'll be seven hours ahead of Texas, so that's just not going to work.

That's about it for now; just a few observations on how the first couple of days have gone.  I should have lots to post about Paris...exciting times!

Our First Day Living Abroad

We survived our first day as residents of Basel!  Not that I thought we wouldn't, but you know, it was our first full day of living in another country.  BK has come here almost monthly for nearly a year now, but he's mostly familiar with where his hotel is (also the one we're living in now), his work campus and his favorite restaurants.  So, needless to say, he hasn't really delved into living here.

It was a somewhat uneventful day, which is what I would think we all hope for on a daily basis.  BK went to work, and knowing that we're here for a while, I didn't feel the need to rush out and find new things, catch all the sights or make sure that I hit certain spots before my time runs out here.  I like the fact that I can take my time really getting to know where we're living.  I also realize that I won't be living in this hotel forever either, so there's a definite desire to spend more time learning about my neighborhood, which will be completely unfamiliar to for us when we get there.  

Another note about the day- it is snowing and very cold here.  The temps are hovering around 35*, but as long as you dress for them, you're ok, especially considering that we're walking pretty much everywhere we go.  I wanted to get up and run, but quickly realized the "winter" running clothes I brought weren't nearly enough for what I need here.  The trams aren't heated either, so it's not like in Texas when it's cold outside and we walk from our back door to our car and then have to peel off the coat and scarf because the heat is up so high.  BK acted like it wasn't that cold, but there's no way I will be caught without my coat, scarf, gloves and hat while temps are like this.

A cold walk home after dinner

We're not "official" residents yet, as we don't get our permits until Wednesday, so we couldn't do much regarding signing any contracts for things like cell phones or bank accounts.  We did buy our train tickets to Paris and annual half-price passes for the train.  The most frustrating thing for me right now is not being able to speak the language.  I HATE that I cannot communicate with people here, and mostly because I feel that it automatically comes across that I expect them to speak my language.  Hopefully after we register on Wednesday I can get enrolled in language classes quickly.

I can't wait to make the transition into our second temporary living setup- an actual furnished apartment.  I think then I'll start to feel like this is our new home.  The dogs arrive on the same day, so it will be a lot to take in, and we'll be out of this tiny room lined with suitcases.  More to come- we're off to Paris in a couple days, so I'll have plenty to report in on!

Time flies when you're having fun...and really busy

As I'm sure most people who blog on at least a semi-regular basis do, I had this grand plan of blogging every couple of days leading up to the move.  Well, as our move date inched closer all of my time was consumed by, what else, but the move.  If you ever plan to move abroad, or even from state to state, be prepared for just how all consuming your move will be, especially in the last week.  We're not quite to Basel yet.  We missed our connecting flight from London, so here we sit in the British Airways lounge for a couple of hours.

A lot has happened since I last posted.  A brief recap would be:

• BK travelled to Bangkok, Basel and Miami
• Visas came earlier than expected
• Wrapped up some projects at jobs
• Continued with the purging and packing of house
• Separated our life into suitcase on plane/air shipment/sea shipment
• LOTS of family in town
• Going away party
• Sold both cars (shed a tear over mine)
• Handled lots of legal and financial matters to transfer our life to Europe
• Had what I like to call a "Farewell Tour" of last lunches and dinners

The last four days were probably the most stressful.  It's great to have someone come in and pack your house, but it does take quite a bit of preparation on your part.  As I mentioned above, our lives have been separated into the categories of take on the plane with us, air shipment and sea shipment.  This was all well and good until I realized that I packed a TON of stuff to bring with us on the plane.  My thought was, we're going to be living there, and I don't want to feel like I'm just on vacation.  BK's thought was to pack like we were going on a three week trip (approximate time our air shipment arrives).  Oops, I missed the mark on that one a little bit.  At some point, I also realized that I would need to bring the dog crate, pillow, bowls, leashes, etc. with us on the plane because the dogs will arrive before the air shipment does, adding to the "take on plane" pile.

We did some last minute cleaning and minor repairs to the house and left it in good hands with KR, then moved in with my parents for a couple of nights.  Friday and Saturday consisted of us running around doing all of the last minute stuff that we couldn't do a long time before leaving.  We did manage to squeeze in a massage, a last dinner at Eddie V's and a last lunch at Joe T's.  

We tried hard to soak up as much family and friend during the last couple of weeks, knowing that it would be much longer than we're used to before seeing them again. Leaving my dad at check in and calling my mom from the plane was a little emotional, but I did hold it together.  I think BK and I were so exhausted by the time we got on the plane, we both crashed quickly and slept until it was time for breakfast.  

And that brings us to now- waiting in the lounge, just a few more hours before we reach our final destination and new home for two years.

Shopping in the name of Switzerland!

This has obviously been a time of lots of change: cleaning out, giving away, sorting through, packing up, and getting ready.  The one thing I did not anticipate?  Shopping, and lots of it.

For those of you out there who "LOVE" to shop, this might be a good thing.  Sure, I like to shop, but I'm more of a, I need this specific thing, so I'll go in and get just that type of shopper.  Preparing for Switzerland has been a whole new experience.  BK and I are shopping like they don't have stores in Switzerland.  The fact is of course, they do have stores, it's just that everything in those stores is about twice the price as it is here.

Why is that?  I actually have no idea.  I'm guessing if I asked BK he would say something about the Swiss Franc being strong, higher taxes, or something to that effect.  There's also something nice about knowing that we can concentrate on discovering other fun new things, and not have to worry about if they have the razors that BK likes.  Besides, when we get there travel is my priority for where the funds go.

What are we buying you ask?  Clothes primarily- I've been working on versatile pieces that are good for travel and ideal for layering, and BK has been working on replacing things that he's had for a while, are looking a little worn out, or he needs for this new climate.  But then there's also ski clothes, snow boots, galoshes, flats (Sperry's, Toms, sandals), new couch pillows and some bedding.  I got a hard time for the bedding, but I figure I won't buy any for the next couple of years, and we're changing beds, so I might as well.

The last thing on the list is stocking up on cosmetics/toiletries/other products that we like and can ship in our sea shipment.  I heard from our moving guy that the people he's moving to Russia are stocking up on toilet paper, because apparently their toilet paper is not quite what we're used to.  We're not doing that, but in these last few weeks I'm sure we'll think of something else to buy.

Just a few short weeks to go before we're headed out!