Resident of Planet Earth

“Oh you live in Switzerland! What a beautiful country!” That’s the usual comment I get when I say I’m Swiss from pretty much anybody in the world. What these people don’t know is that in Switzerland lives a fairly large amount of crabby people, especially in the Swiss administration. Nice people, but crabby. It takes some serious perseverence to get through that crust of crabbiness and get, say, hum, a smile.

When I set foot in Switzerland, I had clearly intended on making this experience a positive one. I have so many memories of coming back from the U.S. and feeling completely shrunk and trapped. It usually took to see the customs officer square face and to hear his Swiss accent to bring me down.

This time felt different. My parents were waiting and there wasn’t that weight of the expectation that I had finally come home for good. Over time, everyone around me has learnt not too say “for good.” That’s just very unrealistic.

We grabbed lunch at a smoking restaurant (always a shock) and visited grandma on the way home. She was happy to hear that I was coming home “for good” and quickly corrected herself with a smile.

At home, to my surprise, my parents had anticipated that it would be difficult to be back and had entirely remodeled my old room. They made the walls bright yellow and orange and installed a sink and mirror so that I would have somewhat of independence. I felt immediately at home.

The following morning I proceeded to take a quick shower and… completely usde up the hot water supply for the day. There might need some readjusting to do from both sides.

I called the town hall to see what documents I needed to bring in order to register with the authorities, then walked there. The clerk is notoriously grumpy, so I wore my biggest smile and best intentions. But nothing gets through the grumpiness of that man. Not even, “how is your daughter” whom I know since I was little. (All I know of his daughter now is that she is “just fine.”) I was sent home and asked to come back when I had all my documents ready. So much for calling ahead.

So right now, I’m a resident of nowhere or an alien as the Americans would say. I like that! Wouldn’t it be nice to live without a passport? Without boundaries? Simply be a resident of planet Earth.