I had no idea what to expect living abroad and I naively thought we would be back to America in no time. Neither of us could comprehend what the green card process would entail. It would take exactly one year from obtaining a lawyer and hundreds of papers before picking up his visa at the post.
During this time, which I can now say I am extremely grateful for, I had to learn a few things. I was part of new family. I had lived the last few years before on my own in Hawaii going from place to place. I haven't seen my own family since I left and am long over due for. Now I am surrounded by my husband's close and loving Swiss family. At a glance I look like I fit right in, in fact, I could pass for my Mother in-law's actual daughter, but when I speak I am easily recognized as a foreigner.
Switzerland is a German, French, and an Italian speaking country and each region has its own dialect of the German language. I didn't anticipate the language difference before I arrived and I have to say it has been the most challenging lesson thus far. Everyone in my Swiss family can speak English, but in the beginning it was not uncommon that they would get caught up in a conversation and speak their natural language. Many times I sat at the dinner table or with a group of people feeling really out of place as I could not make sense of the impossible sounds coming out of their mouths. I was in a foreign country and everything was different, the money, the food, the language, the style, and sometimes all I wanted was to go back home. I knew going home was not an option, all I had to do was look at my husband and be reminded why I am here and why this is all worth it.
After about ten months in the country, I decided to take a German course. I learned a good amount of the basic language during that 18 week course, but most importantly I made an English speaking friend. Even though I was learning German, Swiss German still sounded extremely foreign. It is as if they are two different languages and I still wasn't feeling comfortable. Having my new friend really helped me feel at home here. I missed going out to the city and shopping or making small talk with people and she made this possible. Being around another person going through the same language experience as me, is what really helped me ground in and be comfortable.
Just as I am feeling comfortable in Switzerland and can really call it home, our green card process has come to a finish. We are now able to return to the States and couldn't be more thankful and happy for our time together here. I will leave Switzerland feeling whole and complete and most importantly very loved.
Everywhere I travel I tune in to the surrounding land. I feel the vibration of the mountains because they can tell me a lot about what I can expect during my stay. Hawaii is a very quick and active energy where your manifestations are almost immediate. I knew when I arrived in the Swiss Alps that these mountains would teach me patience. I could feel it in the stone that surrounded me that whatever it is that I wanted I would have to work hard and wait for it, it wouldn't come as easy as it does when I am on the islands. The people of the area reflect that of which the mountains speak. In Hawaii, you will see a rainbow everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. Every time I have begun a new journey I have seen a rainbow and I have taken this as my sign that I am on the right path. Switzerland is not as generous with rainbows and I have experienced only three. Two were last year on the one weekend my father was visiting for our wedding reception and the third just happened this morning after we received news of our next journey. I knew that the rainbow would come, I wasn't sure exactly when, but I knew it would be when I didn't expect it. Last week we had our interview for the green card and I thought that would be the day. I didn't suspect that once we picked up the visa from the post that it would happen, but it did, just moments later.
I live my life very connected to the unseen possibilities and aim to further my growth and wisdom. Every encounter and experience is a chance for me to become a better person and I feel that is what life here on earth is all about. I have experienced magic too many times to deny its existence.
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