The Expat Files: what it’s like to live in Switzerland.

Time to sit back, preferably with some good Swiss chocolate and read all about the life of Sally O’Brien our expat Mamamia reader living in Lausanne, Switzerland.

 

Where do you live?
Lausanne, Switzerland, which is about 60km northeast of Geneva and situated on Lac Leman (or Lake Geneva, if you’re not from Switzerland). The country itself is surrounded by France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.

How long have you been there?
About three and a half years, with stints working in France and China during that time, as I waited for my residency permit. Switzerland is a hard place to get into, paperwork-wise.

What took you there?
Love – I met my husband in Italy at the Torino 2006 Olympic Games and we did the long-distance thing for a year before realising that one of us needed to up stumps. He’s born and bred here, and his career is much more established in these parts, so I made the move.

How did you prepare to make the move?

Not as much as I should have! I wish I’d had time to learn more of the language (we live in the French-speaking part of Switzerland) and pack a bit more slowly. I had an online ‘garage sale’, which was great for de-cluttering my space and reducing my possessions to 10 cubic metres, but it would have been great to de-clutter my brain after a frantic year of work, study and travelling back and forth between Melbourne and overseas… I also wish I had understood how slow and tough Swiss bureaucracy can be – we married in late 2007 and I still didn’t have the right to live here until September 2008.

What are the cultural differences that you notice most?

The Swiss can seem quite reserved and extremely polite – they are big on punctuality (no such thing as a five-minute window in which to still be considered ‘on time’) and formality (my husband was shocked to learn that my Australian GP and I would use first names with each other – here you always use the polite ‘vous’ with any professional who is not a close friend). In terms of a particular incident, I’ll never forget the day when my husband turned to me and said ‘We need to talk about your “five minutes”.’ He was taking it literally, which is a very Swiss thing to do!
What do you like most about Lausanne?

The fact that everything works. The public transport, the public hospitals, the public schools etc. I don’t know anyone who sends their kids to private schools, because it’s not deemed necessary.

Have you adopted any of the customs of Lausanne into your life?

I eat a hell of a lot more cheese and chocolate and I’m much more aware of being precisely on time (I was Australian-style punctual before). I snowboard now, having never really understood Winter sports before – I needed to learn or the long Winters here would have done my head in.

What’s the most different aspect of your life in Lausanne ?

Mostly the fact that I was so tied up with making a living from my ability with my mother tongue (I work as a writer and editor) and here I had to learn a new language almost from scratch – and sound like a beginner for a long, long time. I was strangely silent at dinner parties for a good couple of years. I still miss being able to ‘play’ with my everyday language freely, via puns and jokes. And you know how you always think of a good comeback long after you need it? Well, I feel that way most days – and I’m not even looking for a comeback, just a certain phrase.
How important do you feel it is to retain your “Aussie” status?

Australians enjoy a reputation for being relaxed and fun, so I like keeping that in play (even if I’m not always relaxed and fun). I’m often asked if I’m Scandinavian or English here when I start speaking French and when I tell people I’m Australian it elicits a positive response – it seems that almost everyone really wants to go to Australia if they haven’t already been. It was important to me to have my son be recognised as an Australian by descent. He just received his first Aussie passport the other week too.
Describe the experience of having a baby in Switzerland

It’s been pretty good. My baby was born in late January, and I’ve been really impressed with the health-care system here and the quality of the pre-natal care I received. That said, I wouldn’t advise anyone to go through a long labour in anything other than their mother tongue! It gets pretty exhausting trying to do the second-language thing at the business end of childbirth. My neighbours have all been extremely kind, with little gifts left in our mailbox and offers to help out with the baby. I miss my family and old friends though, which makes it hard on some days. And dealing with my mother-in-law in a foreign tongue can have its ups and downs.

Has it been easy to make friends?

Mostly I made friends with my husband’s friends and one or two apart from that. The Swiss are pretty reserved and don’t make friends in a fast and loose manner – they’re not all over you like a cheap suit at the beginning and then just disappear, like some of the  more extroverted Europeans, but once they offer to help, you can count on them. They are loyal and considerate beyond belief. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but then again, I moved to Melbourne from Sydney and it took time to make friends there too, so I wasn’t too stressed by not having many buddies in the beginning.
Are your friendships very different ?

Definitely – there isn’t that shorthand you share with someone who grew up in the same place as you, with the same cultural references (Countdown, Puberty Blues, Dogs in Space etc). Relationships here are a little more slow-going and guarded, but that’s partly due to the language barrier on my side and partly due to the natural reserve of the Swiss.
The fact that I work from home is a huge barrier to making more friends for me. And the fact that the social culture here revolves less around drinking in public (like pubs etc) and more around being invited to someone’s house for dinner. People are nice here, but it seems that there’s less of an extended network of casual mates, compared with Australia.

Taking a quick glance in your handbag – Australia vs Swizterland ?

I’ve been on a real Australian Lit binge lately – so there’s usually a novel from home in my bag. My Swiss resident permit card makes me feel as though Lausanne is home for now – I’m supposed to carry it at all times. And I usually carry some Australian sunscreen too.

Dinner time.  What are you cooking?

We cook a lot of Asian-inspired dishes – my husband is crazy about the type of ‘fusion’ food we have available in Australia and has really gone to town with that. But we also eat some very typical dishes from this region, such as fondue, raclette and a sausage dish called Papet Vaudois.

What would you ask for from Australia?

New Vegemite (I became an addict when I was pregnant), plain Bonds cotton underwear and Aesop Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser. I seem to get a decent amount of Australian chocolate (Cherry Ripe, Violet Crumble, Caramello Koala)  in the mail, which is nice!

Preparing to live in Lausanne.  What is your advice?

Be prepared to wait for things to happen – life is a little slower here and weeknights are generally very quiet (the Swiss take work very seriously so tend not to play on a school night). Learn to make your own favourite dishes from home, as eating out can be painfully expensive. Leave that Aussie ‘she’ll be right’ attitude at home – the Swiss don’t take chances on things turning out OK, they make sure of it by being very cautious and thorough.

What do you miss most about Australia ?

Hanging in cafes with friends and eating bacon and eggs, seeing bands, shopping for second-hand clothes, the beach, Bikram yoga, looooong hot summers, dipping into the Saturday papers all weekend, coming home after a night out and watching Rage, plus the vernacular and colloquialisms.

What don’t you miss about Australia ?

I hate to say it but I’ve noticed that we can be a bit cocky sometimes. The increasingly sloppy public transport in Sydney and Melbourne. The fact that we’re still having the ‘paid maternity leave’ debate in Oz, when I received paid maternity leave as a freelance writer here in Lausanne.

Have you been lucky enough to travel to Switzerland?  What did you think?  What did you see?