"Your grass is as green as you perceive it to be" Emilee Kern

"The grass is always greener" is a phrase you will hear time and time again. It refers to wanting what you don't have and thinking it would be better to have something opposite. I am guilty of wishing, wondering, what ifs and maybes.

Currently I live in Switzerland, I am recently married and working towards my dream profession. I am truly living the dream I created on my vision board over a year ago. I am happy and know I am where I am meant to be but when I have a hard day or a weak moment I tend to find myself wondering what would have happened if I had never left Janesville, Wisconsin.

When I decided to move from Wisconsin, my life was finally getting to where I wanted it to be. I had gone through a self transformation, recovering from years of abusive relationships I started to find my power and discover who I really was. I was in the best physical shape of my life, I was going a be a personal trainer and teach fitness classes, host educational dinner parties, I had the best of friends and I was really the happiest I had ever been. I have no idea where all of that would have taken me, but quite possibly I would have never left Janesville. I would be surrounded by the comfort of familiarity and certainty, but instead I took the road not traveled.

Right when I had it all at the tips of my fingers and I can still taste the sweetness of getting everything I wanted, I moved across the globe. I felt out of my body most of the moving process, I felt like something was pulling me there and I was just going with it. I had no idea what was going to happen but I wanted the same things I was about to have in Wisconsin to happen in Hawaii. I wanted to teach fitness classes and meet like minded people. Maybe it's that the Universe had an entirely different plan for me. I did meet like minded people and I did continue working with the food but what I got was far more than I could of expected. I got my soul torn wide open and exposed for who I truly am.  I never knew this part of myself, or connected to who I really was until I adventured by myself for two years.

Maybe those things I thought I wanted were just the tip of all that I am going to have in the end. My goal still remains the same of having a little healing hut wellness center. I know I could have achieved this if I had stayed in Wisconsin and I know that I will still achieve it, but it is because I chose to travel that I will have more wisdom, love, and spirituality to go inside of it.

I do not regret any of my choices and I know the what ifs, if I had stayed would out number the what ifs that I have now. I need travel and adventure, change and uncertainty. At the same time I miss my family and friends, my dog, and the life that I used to have. This is all changed now there is no going back to the life that I once had. I know that once I get a little further towards my dreams and establish myself a bit more it will continue to get easier. Right now while I am trying fit in another country and learn the language, it's easy to long for the comfort of home and the easiness of what could have been.
 
The time I spend thinking of my past makes me forget just for a moment how far that I have come, all that I have learned and the experiences and wisdom I have gained. I have done many things people only wish that they would do in their life time and for that I am grateful. It is constant work to live in the present and accept everything for what it is. Being happy in the now and knowing I am on the right path is something that takes practice but I understand the importance. Your grass is as green as you perceive it be. 


"The path less traveled will become smooth after your journey,  for your adventure will lead others." Emilee Kern

My American Experience in Switzerland

When I met my Swiss husband I was living in Hawaii. He was very polite and besides his accent, I really couldn't pick up much difference in our cultures. One of the few things that caught my interest was his ability to eat an entire large pizza almost elegantly, with a fork and knife. I am used to sharing a pizza with other people, grabbing a couple slices and eating with my hands. It wouldn't be until I arrived in Switzerland that I would understand his technique. I wanted to share some of the differences I have experienced while living abroad.

Pizza: Forget the deep dish or stuffed crust pizza you would get from Pizza Hut. Being close to Italy, the Swiss have delicious traditional pizza. Everyone orders their own individual pizza you eat it like you would a plate of food and with a fork and knife. If you wish to share a pizza the cook will slice it down the center and it will be served to you as a half. Quite different from putting a pie in the center of the table for everyone to have a slice. There is no crushed red peppers or Parmesan cheese waiting to top the pizza but hot pepper oil can be used by request.

Restaurants: Seat yourself and water is not given out freely, you must order a bottle of water if you desire or a different beverage. Servers make a good salary and it is not necessary to tip but you are welcome to give a few franks for excellent service. This means that the server doesn't need to rush you out of your seat to turn tables and make more money, there is calm and patience at the restaurant and the bill is not delivered until you ask. Almost every restaurant I have been to has the same dessert menu: gelato, frappes, and a seasonal fruit pie. Oh and the pie is usually eaten with your hands while the pizza is eaten with cutlery. I've noted to keep both hands above the dinner table during a meal. I was told that is how you can tell I am American because I eat with one hand on my lap. I also try to eat each meal utilizing both the knife and the fork, but my 29 years of using the fork as a knife make this quite a challenge. Also aligning the silver wear in such a way to let my server know I am finished and neatly folding my napkin underneath them. I have become more conscious about the polite eating etiquette and it's quite fun to participate in. I reflect back on the many years of myself being a waitress and how it wasn't always easy to tell if a guest was finished or not. 

Coffee: You won't get a cup of drip coffee with unlimited refills here. You will get one cup of delicious creamy coffee with a little cookie on the side. Even for the caffeine addict, two cups is the maximum you need. Every household has a single cup coffee machine and it's very common to enjoy a cup after every meal.

Chocolate: Oh the Swiss chocolate, you find a man that has been eating Swiss chocolate his whole life, and you have found one spoiled man. You won't find or need Hershey's chocolate here just creamy, delicious, Swiss chocolate.

Dogs: I was quite surprised to see dogs almost everywhere here. At restaurants, clothing stores, pretty much anywhere that is other wised marked, you may bring your furry companion. Bring your dog to sit outside with you for dinner and the waiter brings him a bowl of water, yes your dog gets free water but you don't. Doggy trash bags can be found at almost every park or common area you would have your pet. This is to encourage cleanliness. Special green doggy bag trash cans can be found as well to collect what your pet leaves behind.

Garbage: You cannot buy a bulk of plastic garbage bags here and expect to throw away your trash in them. You must buy city specific garbage bags, about 15 CHF for a roll of 10 and discard them in specific collection bins. Recycling is highly promoted here also and you can find bins in every neighborhood.

Grocery Stores: Once you have squeezed your way in to a tiny parking stall in the parking garage, you grab yourself a shopping wagon which you must put a deposit in to free it from it's chain lock. Switzerland takes pride in sustainability and you will find an abundance of local food and products. You must weigh and label your own produce and either bring your own shopping bags or buy them. You won't find shelf after shelf of processed junk food, chips, or soda. Yes they do have these items but not in great quantities. Produce, Meat, Dairy, and fresh Bakery items maintain a majority of the stores.

Swiss made: Switzerland has high standards for food consumption and encourages local productivity. If they are selling a global brand, they try produce it with Swiss products. Even their McDonald's hamburgers consist of 100% Swiss beef, of course that means no dollar menu. Switzerland is a country of quality, everything is built to last. There aren't any super stores or dollar stores to buy the cheapest plastic items you can find. People live in there homes for decades and remodel when it is necessary.

Doors and windows: Every door has a key lock. Yes you have to use a key to enter as well as exit your front door. Most of the doors have handles instead of knobs. The windows don't slide up, you turn the handle half way and the window opens towards you, turn the handle all of the way, and the window cracks a bit. There aren't any screens on the windows and most have metal blinds on the outside.

Toilets: Although the bowls are similar, to flush you won't have to find a handle but push a button on the wall.

Round abouts: Most four way stop lights have been removed and replaced with a four entrance round about. This keeps the traffic continually moving. The person to the left has the "right of way."

Responsibility: The age for drinking beer and wine is 16 and 18 for spirits. The age for driving a car is 18 but one may drive a special moped from the age of 14.

People: I would describe the Swiss is hardworking, polite, and obedient. I was impressed during my recent visit to a water park. I worked as a lifeguard at a similar park in the States. Every slide was monitored and we wore whistles to keep children aware of the rules. I was surprised to see no life guards on the slides here. Everyone obeyed when the lights turned, they helped each other with the rafts, no one was pushy or trying to break the rules. Even the children unaccompanied by adults knew the proper way to play at this water park. It was calmness from the chaos that I usually whiteness at a water park. It was very refreshing.

Every day is a new experience here. Every day I have an inward journey as well as an outward one. I love to share my experiences and I will continue to add to this list. Thank you for reading my view of Switzerland. 

How I lived out of one suitcase for two years.

Take a look around your room, your house, the place that you call home. I am probably right in saying that you are surrounded by the things you love, have collected, and owned for many years. Your closet is full of the clothes you love for all occasions and seasons, shoes for all weather, jackets, hats, accessories. Your walls and stands decorated with photographs of loved ones and knick knacks you've accumulated over the years. This is your stuff, the stuff that makes you feel at home, the stuff containing your memories and hold you close to dear loved ones.

Now if you were anything like me, you may have more stuff than you need. Rewind my life to three years ago and you will see a girl with large plastic tote containers filled with clothes. Clothes that I would never wear again but saving for a what if moment, my closet filled with shoes I received monthly from I am ashamed to say, Kim Kardashian website. I also shelled out a lot of money on name brand purses. I had drawers of makeup, accessories, hair products and irons. I had everything I could ever need and then some. All of this made up my possessions until the day I decided to move from my life of 26 years in Wisconsin to Hawaii.

I didn't know it when I bought the large purple suitcase several years ago, that this would be the space in which I could fit all of my belongings for over two years. I packed my suitcase and said goodbye to the comfort of having a lot, to only the necessities. Of course living on Oahu close to the beach meant I only needed minimal, my swimsuits and a few clothing items. I still had a hard time letting go and choosing which was most important. After about six months living on one island, I hopped over to another. Here I stayed on a community farm in the wet jungle. The only thing needed here was clothes to wear while hacking down cane grass and banana trees. It was a sustainability farm where we didn't create much waste, only compost. I really learned to live off of the land and the idea of materialism really began to feel suffocating. I lost interest in fashion for the three months I was there, I didn't need much, and didn't want much either. If I wanted new clothes I did something I had never done before, I bought them used. There was a farmers market that people could sell their clothing at, most things cost about one dollar. I was learning to let go of what I was attached to for so long.

After my time on the farm I packed all of my belongings in to one suitcase again and moved to Maui. If I accumulated more than I could fit in my bag, I would give the extra away. I knew that I would always find more, I would always have enough. I spent much of my time as a nanny and cook for families on this island. One of the mothers I worked for let me borrow a lot of her clothes, and I also had friends I would do clothing swaps with. I didn't want to buy a lot or accumulate much stuff because I was always moving. About every three months I would pack my suitcase and live someplace new, having too much stuff just frustrated me. Although it was easier to live this way, I would often find myself thinking of all of my old clothes and things I had in my old life. I would find myself emotional wishing I still had certain things, but I would remind myself of the path I chose and that traveling made me happier than coach purses.

The last few months I spent on Hawaii I really thought I was going to settle. For the first time in two years I had my own bedroom, my own sheets. I created my own artwork, and had little knick knacks, and even a closet. I started to create my life and myself, started to feel that comfort of a home. I even had my mother send me some of my favorite shoes and purses. I was combining all of what I had learned about materialism with a good balance of having a little. A few weeks later I decided to move 8,000 miles away to be with my now husband Beni in Switzerland.

Once again I packed my suitcase this time possessing much more than the times before. I had to give away a lot this time, once again saying goodbye to things I had grown fond of. It's been a repeated lesson for me, not becoming attached and letting go, understanding that I do not own anything. When I arrived to the airport my one suitcase was twenty pounds over weight. I had to throw away many items just to fit the weight limit. I arrived to Switzerland without much of my own, and once again I was provided for. Beni's mother has been very generous going through her closet and giving me things to wear. She says, "A woman has to have options" and really cannot believe I have lived out of one suitcase for over two years.

I have been very blessed on my journey and have experienced a world wide community of people coming together as my friends, guides, and mentors. I feel grateful to have gone through every lesson that I have. I still enjoy having beautiful clothes and possessing things that make me feel happy but I now a have healthy relationship with materialism. There was a time when I spent every last cent on clothes, and now I know how irrelevant that is to my happiness.