Browsed by
Month: October 2020

Choose your lens for each situation wisely

Choose your lens for each situation wisely

A few years ago, I watched a short video that spoke to me. In the video clip, “Finding the Right Answers”, Dewitt Jones, a photographer for National Geographic, shares his wisdom about what photography has taught him in life and business.

In challenging situations, we must choose the lenses through which we look. Sometimes you must look wider, other times deeper, and often you must choose to look from someone else’s perspective. The Swiss situation has forced me several times to choose another lens.

Refugee camp in Zurich

As part of the ICS Community Impact club, we visit a refugee camp in Zurich on Fridays. The refugees are mainly mothers and children who have fled from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan for various reasons. All European countries are required to accommodate refugees.

Most refugees enter Europe through Greece, where the Greek police have treated them harshly. From there, officials transfer them to different countries. They remain in the refugee camp for three months while their formal application for official refugee status is pending.

The refugee camp in Zurich is neat, has clean facilities for bathing and sleeping, and cooked food. However, trauma and insecurity are visible on their faces. The refugees speak different languages, and their English is very limited. They do learn to speak German when entering Switzerland.

Zurich refugee camp

Interacting with the refugees

We play games with the little ones and communicate using limited German, body language, sounds, facial expressions, and touch. I will never forget the little girl who climbed on my lap to draw a picture. While I was lightly rubbing her back, she looked up and kissed me.

As foreigners, the ICS moms understand the adjustment a new country requires. The big difference is that the refugees live in total insecurity, have only a few belongings, and cannot return to their own country. The experience significantly impacted my perspectives on change and adaptation in a new country.

Scooters and skate parks

With Zander’s approaching birthday, he requested a stunt scooter as a birthday present since all the boys his age own one. One afternoon after school, we went to the nearest scooter shop to learn more about scooter options. His new friend, Nate, was invited along, and I was grateful for his complete technical lesson on scooters. After another two days of research on the internet, I was well informed and ready for purchase.

In Switzerland, there are many skate parks where children can practice their stunts with their bikes, scooters, and skateboards. The scooter birthday present forced me to select a wide lens when looking at skate parks. Using my current lens, I see graffiti, teenagers with sagging pants and smoking funny stuff.

On his birthday, Zander wanted to hang out at the nearest skate park with his new scooter! I had to look through a different lens and see that it may be a good way for him to engage with other boys and get healthy physical exercise instead of sitting in front of his computer.

I baked cupcakes for his birthday and sent them to school with napkins with Afrikaans words on them. The Dutch children in Zander’s class were pleased that they were able to understand some of the Afrikaans words.

Skatepark

Lens of trust

I am still working on my levels of trust, but a recent incident contributed positively. In Switzerland, all children must wear a helmet when they ride a bike or a scooter. My OCD was so pleased when the turquoise helmet was the same colour as the new scooter of Zander.

One afternoon after school, I realised something was wrong when I noticed tears. The helmet stayed behind on the train. When Zander tried to get back on the train, the doors closed in front of him.

Out of desperation, I tested the systems and registered the helmet as a lost item on the train’s website. A week later, SBB informed me that they had found the helmet and that I could pick it up at Stadelhofen train station. I could not believe our luck. At school, the only locked scooter is the one belonging to Zander Goosen. The instruction came from his mother. Even though the bicycle parking is on the street side of the school, you will find no other locked bicycles or scooters.

When the glasses of my family members look half empty, I often tease them that they should clean their lenses and look at a situation again. Switzerland sometimes forces me to choose a new lens.

Kind regards
Emsia

Back to school to an international school

Back to school to an international school

We awaited the school opening with great anticipation. The new academic year started after the European summer holidays. It was a winter and summer holiday combo for us. Lots of freedom to spend your time just like you want sounds like utopia until you have it and quietly begin to long for order and structure and getting back into a routine.

ICS Orientation day

Orientation Day

The evening before the Inter-Community School (ICS) Orientation Day, Zander was very excited. I suspect his focus was more on socialising because we miss social contact. As we walked through the large glass doors of the school, Zander said, “Mom, I am freaking out now.” Behind my calm face, I felt the same.

New learners from Grade 1 to Grade 10 and their parents filled the hall. The diploma students (Grades 11 and 12) gathered in a different building. My eyes wandered over the packed room. Between the family in the front with their goth teenage son and a young mother trying to breastfeed her baby in the back of the hall, I was very grateful for my 10-year-old. He is just old and just young enough for this new situation!

New Inter-Community School (ICS)

Zander’s grade-5 class

Zander is in one of three grade-5 classes. Mrs Hill, of British descent, is his teacher. They are sixteen children in the class, five of whom are newcomers. The school is prepared and equipped to handle these streams of new children arriving and existing learners moving away. I could see that the school has many processes to help the learners and their parents to handle and engage in the change. Many people are of British or American descent, but many have just moved from another country, such as Singapore or Dubai, where they have only lived for three or four years.

Teachers welcome the learners in the morning

Parent Association

The school has a very active ICS Parent Association, and one of its main goals is to help integrate the new families. The focus is on the mom because dad goes to work and has so much adjustment to do that he is rarely home. The children go to school and focus on socialising with their new friends in the afternoons. After the moms have unpacked thousands of boxes and have found everyone’s lost items, they reach a point where they ask themselves, “What now?”

At this point, any mom who would like to be a chairman of a club establishes one at ICS and invites parents to be part of the club. Those who want to be a member to see how everything works (like me), write their name on the Google Form list to join in and get to know people. There are numerous clubs. For those who want to be active, there are tennis, hiking, skiing, running, and yoga, and for those who want to be social, there are singing, bubbles, book club etc.

Zander’s first new friend

At the end of the first day of school, I waited for Zander with great anticipation just outside the school to hear all the news. His first words were, “Hello, Mom. Is it okay for me and my new friend to go to Badi Juch (the town’s pool) with our bikes this afternoon?” What is the appropriate response because you must decide what you want?

I looked at the friend from the USA, who is just as tall as Zander, and decided to keep an open mind. He scored a few points with me when he came home with Zander after the swim at the agreed time and explained that he, unfortunately, had to go home as his mother was cooking and was expecting him for dinner. In the meantime, I also met Nate’s mother, Ellen, and made use of the opportunity to invite her for coffee next week.

Zander and Nate

My boxes are all unpacked and I am excited to see what the clubs entail. I signed up for the Tennis and Community Impact clubs.  I have not played Tennis in twelve years and hope I do not embarrass myself.

Kind regards

Emsia

Our ship with our belongings has come in!

Our ship with our belongings has come in!

Our cup of joy and relief overflowed when our container arrived in Zurich after three weeks in an empty apartment. The giant container was transported by truck from Welgemoed to Cape Town Harbour and by cargo ship to Port Elizabeth before it finally arrived in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. After that, it travelled on a barge upstream in the Rhine River for 1 200 kilometres to Basel in Switzerland. In Basel, it passed through customs and travelled by truck to our residence. I have a new respect for logistical planning!

View from our main bedroom

Camping in an empty apartment for three weeks

We were delighted about the familiarity of our belongings. The three weeks of camping in an empty apartment proved we could get by with very little. Children speak what they think, and Zander’s reaction was touching. His joy was without limits at the sight of our belongings. That evening, when he lay with us in bed, he said, “The blankets smell nice. It smells like you and Dad”. His words summed it up.

We are wearing our steel armour to survive

Many things are different and strange to us. In the morning, you put on your steel armour, your smile and look the dragons in the eyes. In the evening, you feel satisfied because you have learned some new things and explored new terrain. However, when you come home, you look for some haven and then your belongings and people are precious, despite the familiar scratch marks. In your safe space, you can lick your wounds. Here you can laugh together about the day’s failures and frustrations.

Our apartment

We live in a rural setting between farming activities

We enjoy our apartment. The new building is light and in a rural setting between farming activities. Our home is a distance from Charl’s work, and it takes him about an hour to get to work by bus, train, and tram. Zander travels about fifteen minutes to school by train.

The appliances in the kitchen are brand new. With the help of my Clicks glasses and the Google translator, I had to determine how the induction stove that works with magnetism, the high-tech oven that also has a steam function and the washing machine and dryer, with German instructions, should be operated.

Regulating the temperature

At first, it was strange to take off our shoes like everyone else, at the door when we entered. The whole apartment has blinds, but they are on the outside. The blinds are the only way to keep the place cool. According to Google, there seems to be a ban on air conditioning in terms of EU F gas regulation to protect the ozone layer. According to Charl, one can find anything except yourself on Google.

The forest close to our apartment and Zander at Zurich lake

Recycling

Recycling is on another level. Switzerland is full of recycling points with containers for materials including aluminium, plastic, different coloured glass bottles, PET plastic, cardboard, compost material and even a fridge for deceased pets.

Our recycling point is close to Zander’s school, and we have visited it numerous times with our piles of cardboard in which our new cupboards, which we had to build ourselves, were packed. The only items allowed in the rubbish bin at home are dirty packaging materials. It must go in a dedicated bag, for which you buy a sticker from the municipality to encourage you to recycle as much as possible.

We can cycle again

The Swiss are very health conscious. Fast food outlets are scarce. I am amazed when the moms take out sliced carrots and cucumbers, and the toddlers receive the snack food with joy. Everywhere you see people jogging or cycling. I have not seen a fat Swiss person. If someone has some excess weight, you know it is a tourist. We are also still working on our excess weight caused by comfort eating.

Sunday

Sunday is spent as a day of rest, as the Bible recommends. All shops are closed, and the people spend the day with their families outdoors. They enjoy hiking in one of the many forests or hiking trails along the lake. Even the toddlers ride with mom or dad on a bike or strollers.
I enjoy the beautiful sounds of the church bells you hear throughout the day. Significant days on the Christian calendar are public holidays, even Ascension and Pentecost.

Next week the schools start, and on Monday, the school welcomes newcomers and their parents. We will put on our armour and smiles and provide you with feedback in my following letter.

Kind regards
Emsia

Zurich greeted us through the plane’s window

Zurich greeted us through the plane’s window

On 18 July 2019, Zander and I set foot on Swiss soil for the first time. My first glimpse of our new home through the plane’s window was the full moon greeting the new day in the purple-orange glow of dawn over the white peaks of the Alps. As we approached the landing, I noticed the order and effectiveness. My OCD was delighted, but I wondered, “am I ready for this challenge?”

My first view of Zurich through the window of the plane

In the arrival hall, Charl stood there like my rock. It was such a relief to see him. He almost seemed more tired than Zander and I due to all the worrying about us. We accompanied him to his temporary residence. My tired brain could not take in all his explanations of how everything works, and I had to figure the basics out after some sleep.

Our first outing to the local supermarket

Zander and my first outing were to the local supermarket, Coop. Due to limited space and the fact that you have to carry your purchases, people tend to go to the store daily and only buy food for that day. I soon realised my warehouse concept was not going to work here. Certain types of fruits and vegetables are unknown to me, but all the red fruits, like berries and cherries, excite me.

Our first Coop experience

The smell of freshly baked bread hung in the air, and the variety of cheeses amazed me. Meat options are limited, and the prices are unaffordable. Minced meat is three times more expensive, and other cuts are up to six times more expensive than in South Africa. Coop, fortunately, has Prix branded products that are affordable, even for South Africans. Zander was delighted with his discovery of Prix ice cream. Zander stated, “I can see how the two of us will now become Bargain Hunters”.

Trains, trams, and buses

Our second challenge was to find our way between all the trains, trams, and buses. We still rely on our faithful friend Google Maps. It shows what form of transport departs from a specific location at a given time. Our legs also must now make a more significant contribution between all the walking, climbing stairs and sometimes running when we are a little bit late.

Getting out of bed is much more painful than before, but I hope it bears fruit on appearance. Since we require local data for Google Maps, we had to obtain local cell phone contracts. Zander is now responsible for most of our route research. He is my Trip Advisor.

Our S18 suburban train

I have sent Zander several times to the grocery store with a list. He travelled by train as the store was only a few stations away, and he returned with all the items. The safe environment contributes to confidence and makes me comfortable giving Zander greater responsibility.

Language is a challenge

Language is a big challenge for us, and all three of us realise that we will have to learn to speak German as soon as possible to survive. We use Google Translate regularly. Many people can speak a little English and are friendly and helpful. Between grüezi (hello), danke schön (thank you very much) and tschuss (goodbye), we try to create the impression that we are at least trying. If I struggle in the shops, I throw in Afrikaans with sch- and gh- sounds. With a little bit of luck, it sometimes works.

Our new home (Ankenbüel) between the farms

Accommodation, like everything else here, is expensive. We were grateful to hear that we could get the key to our new apartment a week before the end of July. The news that our shipment would only arrive on 9 August was less good. As South Africans, we are comfortable with camping. With everything on the ship, we bought a kettle, mattresses, and basic cutlery to get by for three weeks. In Switzerland, the accommodation also comes without lights and built-in cupboards.

Our IKEA projects

IKEA

We had to expand our limited understanding of IKEA’s processes. As first-time visitors, we felt overwhelmed by Ikea’s maze of departments and aisles. We realised we had to write down the location and order numbers of selected items to find them in the self-serve warehouse.

Ikea`s furniture is affordable because you have to assemble the furniture yourself. Charl`s lego building skills came in handy when we had to build our Ikea furniture from the description-free assembly instructions. We experienced a significant sense of achievement once we had finished the items and delivered the carton to the recycling plant.

We are doing well and are pleased with our progress in exploring our new home over the past two weeks. We miss family, friends and being able to understand the language. Zander also longs for burgers with his favourite Woolworths patties.

Kind regards

Emsia

Challenges and miracles during our exodus

Challenges and miracles during our exodus

When the Israelites were in their exodus from Egypt through the desert for forty years, the Lord led them with a very clever plan to the Promised Land. He kept them close to Him and helped them stand together and move forward. His plan included many challenges and many miracles.

Since we left Welgemoed, we have also experienced many challenges, miracles, and angels on our path. After we left Welgemoed, we took a short break before Charl flew back to Zurich and Zander and I drove long distances to say farewell to the people and places we love.

BMW with flat tyre between Prieska and Griekwastad

BMW does not like dirt roads

On the way to Kathu, I consulted Google Maps about the roads in the Northern Cape and took a shortcut, little knowing that it was a dirt road. The BMW does not like dirt roads. On a late Sunday morning, on a rocky road without a cell phone signal between Prieska and Griekwastad, the BMW’s tyre bursts! We were stranded because the BMW had run-flat tires and no spare wheel.

Just as my panic attack was gaining momentum, a large tractor with three workers appeared like angels from heaven. I climbed with my computer, handbag, and passports on the tractor, and Zander followed. When we reached the farmhouse, the farmer used the landline to help me order a new tyre from Prieska. I could also use the phone to inform my family about our predicament.

Brother-in-law Andre informed me the condition of the dirt road was too bad to drive further with the BMW. He arranged with a farmer in the Griekwastad area to fetch us with his flatbed trailer before nightfall. That evening we were able to lay our weary heads on soft pillows in a guest house in Griekwastad. All I could mumble before I slowly closed my eyes was, Thank you, Father, for all the Northern Cape angels who came to our rescue with so much love and care on their precious Sunday!

With family on the farm

The Kalahari was like an oasis

Being with my mom in Kathu and Ansa and Andre on the farm was like a leafy green oasis with lovely palm trees in the desert after weeks of packing boxes and the dirt road experience. Our cups overflowed with love, care and pampering, and nothing could bother us. I am so grateful that Christo and Michaela were also able to join us. With the large camel thorn trees and golden-orange sunsets as a backdrop, we had a good time, ate, laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company. To drive away from there was very painful.

My mom and my sister, Ansa

In Pretoria to pick up visas

After consulting on the safest way to Pretoria to pick up our visas, a school friend added me to a few ride-safe WhatsApp groups. They came to our rescue when we could avoid riots on our planned routes. The visa application process was a large stone that could potentially overturn the Swiss apple cart, but fortunately, everything went smoothly with Swiss precision.

Time with Jacques and Candice in Parys

After the visas, we picked up Jacques and our cousin Candice in Potchefstroom and had a wonderful time together in Parys along the rippling waters of the Vaal River. Jacques spoiled us with tasty meals he prepared. As an old Kovsie, the entire Free State landscape brought back fond memories from my student days.

Jacques, Zander and Candice in Parys, Free State

After saying goodbye to Jacques, we headed to our nephew Justin in Sandton. He showed us the lights of Sandton and helped us get safely on the Gautrain for our last ride to OR Tambo airport.

Our day of departure has arrived. I carry all the challenges and precious moments like gems in my heart and just prayed that we would finally get to Zurich after the long journey. Like Moses, I feared that I would not be able to see the promised land. I have so many dreams of how I want to spend precious time with friends and family, experience moments and build memories in Switzerland.

I am grateful to my travel buddy, who had all the experiences with me. He knows his mom well and has offered incredible support with much love and humour.

Kind regards

Emsia