Basel at last

Wilkomen to my new life as a European dweller!

After a few months of visa and housing woes, I moved to Basel, Switzerland in the beginning of June to work for Novartis Biologics.  Along the way, I repeatedly received help, often unsolicited, from moving boxes (Nimisha if portfolio management doesn’t pan out, I see a bright future for you as a mover) to multiple airport drop-offs (thanks Avi!) further deepening my appreciation for how wonderful my friends and family are.

Basel is beautiful and an extremely international city.  Of the six co-workers in my immediate department, they number French, German, Swiss, Guatemalan, and South Africa.   The picture below shows the Rhine winding through the city.

I`m settling into both Basel and my new job and am already fully appreciating Swiss lifestyle.  The sun not setting until 10PM coupled with a max allowable work week of 40 hours leaves you ample time in the evenings for a relaxed dinner, long walk, and a beer or three.  The Swiss version of happy hour is beers or wine by the Rhine while watching the sun set over the mountains – it’s a rough life!  My second favorite Swiss custom to date is having a ‘proper’ lunch.  Around noon, every employee goes to the canteen for a sit-down meal more similar to an American dinner with a meat, vegetables, & starch.  Afterwards, most people retire to the cafe floor of the canteen for coffee or tea and a desert.  When I asked if people ever brought lunch or grabbed a sandwich to eat at their desk while working, my co-workers nicely laughed about those crazy Americans. 

People seem to be pretty friendly and accommodating of my abysmal command of the German language.  I live in company provided housing which is awesome.  The first day here I went shopping for a few necessities and ended up chatting with some guy who helped me pick out a hair dryer and carry groceries.  The hilarious part occurred when we went for coffee afterwards as he spoke Italian, French, & a smidge of German and I speak English, Spanish, & a smidge of German.  We made it through with a Spanish/Italian combo and lots of charades and gestures.  It should have been a scene from a romantic comedy ;)

Until next time

Emily