We're Moving: Kansas, USA —> Switzerland
Blog Entry: August 8th 2018
So, you’ve probably heard…. we’re moving to Switzerland!
Wait, what? Yes, you heard right, FREAKIN’ SWITZERLAND! Hubs and our two beautiful dogs are packing up and hitting the ro….uhm, air, uhm, okay that doesn’t work. But, in all seriousness, we are headed in that direction in… just a few weeks! JK - TODAY, like right now! We’re on a plane and my writing juices are flowin! : )
Things were moving along quite slowly; then all of a sudden it picked up once the official employment contract was signed. Hubs landed himself a new job! Opportunities he’s looking forward to and challenges he’s eager to tackle. I am so proud of his dedication over the last several months! This was a LONG and rigorous process and he got it! You’ll have to ask him how the day leading up to his face to face interview went. Official nightmare. Insert sad emoji here. I felt so bad for him and hated I was across the world and couldn’t help. However, if there is one thing we’ve learned throughout life, it is to ADAPT! He had to quickly figure things out in order to make the interview day a success and welp, he did it because shortly after, he got the call. Then the official contract. Look at his excitement!
What part of Switzerland, we’ve been asked often? BASEL! It sits on the Rhine river, which is the second longest in central and Western Europe. I’ve seen this river at different parts of Europe during our trip this past Christmas and am super stoked to now live by it in Basel with the love of my life! Basel is located right at the border to Germany and France. Say Whaat? So freakin cool! The location is nice because it’s sunny like 300 days out of the year and it will allow for quick trips to travel! Basel has its own airport and fantastic train connections, in a short hour we can be in Zurich, which has a larger airport with more direct flights to major destinations.
It’s cool that we are used to travel and driving distances in Kansas. I mean, hours and hours and you still feel like you’re getting nowhere. At least now, it’ll be an adventure because everything is so close together in Europe. Within an hour or two you’re in another big (or small) and exciting country!
So really though Kellie, how are you feeling about moving overseas?!!?
Am I 100% all in excited? No, if I’m being honest. I’m nervous! It’s a BIG change! Some family and friends actually think it’s CRAZY! ..and not a good crazy, but that’s just missed opportunities in my opinion. I think exploring brings new perspectives, appreciations, and all around makes you a better person; at least from my perspective. I think I’m aloud to say that going from poverty, incest, & foster care to well where I’ve been and where I’m headed. I get butterflies just thinking about my life, the good kind that fill you with excitement! But I am sad to leave sisters (though one lives 12 hours from me anyway) and little brother along with nieces and nephews. We all just started to get closer in the past few years – #healingtrauma.
…then I feel excited, then worried, then over the moon. #allthefeels
Hubs is passed out & I go from writing to admiring the view. So STUNNING!
I mean I figured we would spend some time in Europe because well hello he’s from Germany and of course he misses home too. I just didn’t think it would be so soon! We we’re actually looking to move to Denver or somewhere on the the east coast (shout out to our friends in Denver & DC!) but life had a different plan for us. This whole journey has truly fallen into our laps (aside from my hubs working his ass off to land the job of course!) Just because something comes your way doesn’t mean you don’t have work to put in! It’s crazy how life works! At least we are still young and don’t have children yet so this truly is a great time for a new adventure. It was an opportunity we just couldn’t let go.
As a born and raised Kansan, I’m really excited to explore a new culture and how other people live; but that alone also makes me nervous because it is all new. I do not know the culture or the language but that’s also what makes it exciting! I’m thankful that my hubs is German and can get around because he’s super talented with languages and knows what is expected throughout Europe. #hellopersonaltourguide That really is super calming. Just our last visit this past Christmas gave me comfort knowing that if we moved in the future we would be just fine. It was so sexy to see my hubs in his element! I even got to see parts of where he grew up! HEART-THROB
He has a brother in Mannheim, Germany, and another in Berlin and his parents currently live in Switzerland. It’s exciting to finally live in a different part of the world. I’ve done a little traveling but mostly within the US and a few days in Canada. Now the time has come to explore more of what’s on the other side of the Atlantic! I mean, pinch me, is this real life?! Ha, how many times can I say nervous and exciting? Anyways, you get my drift. Anything that is new, can be scary yet thrilling. There, I changed it up for ya.
We all know that change can be hard, even if you feel completely ready for it. All you can do is to do your best to prepare yourself for such change and be open. Moving (heck even vacationing) across the ocean should take some serious considerations, planning, and preparing. Which hubs and I have began to do months ago. We’ve begun to do a ton of reading, nailed down our temporary furnished apartment, flights are booked (currently in the air actually), our home in Kansas has SOLD, dog travel is figured out, and the tetris game of packing (flights & what will be packed cruising on a ship) is finished! Thankfully, his new employer has been incredibly helpful in the process, which has a been a life-saver so far. It is super calming to see them taking good care of us.
I’ll be taking up a German class quickly upon arrival and sure hope I can pick it up. My Spanish classes years ago (high school and college) did not treat me very well, if you know what I mean. Then again, I wasn’t speaking it every day or using it in an environment to be pushed to pick it up, so i’m sure this is a whole new level. Lass uns das verdammte ding machen (Let’s do the damn thing in German). Nope, not picked much up yet, that was #googletranslate hahaha, Oh my, just hearing the translation out loud makes me nervous and excited to think I could be speaking this way and hopefully well within a year. My husband already let me know that it actually doesn’t quite work that way with google translate. However, I’ve been told that Europeans primarily want to see that foreign visitors are trying; that most actually like Americans and are curious to try to get to know our way of living just like they would if they traveled to the US.
Grateful for the journey we’re on
Isn’t it interesting that there is this whole world out there? Other people roaming around living life so differently from ours? I’m so grateful for the life I get to live. I say this to myself a few times a week, even on those bad days. Grateful to be alive, to breathe, to feel the sunshine, to speak, to walk, and to have a healthy body to live in. I mean, I was literally breaking down recently talking with my husband because I’m a bit out of sorts and been all up in my feelings lately and I had to reign it in, putting all those things into perspective. There are so many around us who face real struggles and do so with a brave face. The challenges and emotions we are facing now pale in comparison. From a personal perspective, I’ve had far greater barriers to overcome in the past, which gives me confidence in this adventure. It’s time to do some exploring and we’re headed to Switzerland to do just that. #adventureawaits
Xo,
Kellie Mae
