Landing in Zurich
It has been good. It has been hard. Where should I start?
After 11 months of constant change (team changes, culture changes, environment changes, food changes, ministry changes,…) it seemed almost like life in Switzerland had been standing still the time I was gone. Which of course isn’t true. I guess this sense has first to do with the fact that Switzerland and everything this country contains is normal for me since I was born. And second that I could keep in contact easily with my family and friends back home so I was updated on everything that was going on and no surprise waiting for me when I stepped my feet on Swiss ground again.
Even though, I got thrown a surprise welcome home party the same day I arrived!!! How full of energy I was seeing so many friends again despite being so so tired from the many hours of traveling home. It was so sweet being surrounded by the people I love. And of course it made me feel absolutely loved that so many friends took time to welcome me back and at all that this surprise was organized for me (thousand thanks mum and sis!).
My Welcome-Team at Zurich Airport
The three most challenging things of being home
So as I mentioned having abruptly no change anymore was one hard thing to face. I got used to that lifestyle and loved meeting so many different people all over the world. I loved living a life where no day was the same as the day before.
I also got used to live almost 24/7 together with my team. Being constantly surrounded by an amazing community was of course not only easy – sometimes my independent spirit needed more freedom than given or having enough personal space to rest and just be was another challenge – but all things considered community living is healthy and beneficial in many ways. Even though I have an awesome (!) community back home, it’s never going to be the same because the aspect of living together is missing. Therefore I needed time to grieve that this season was over.
Last but not least encountering people was sometimes difficult. The first full day I was home I remember thinking while I was driving to a store: “Hopefully I don’t meet anyone I know, I’m not in a mood to socialize with anyone right know.” Maybe hard but just my honest thoughts of me needing time to adjust. Well, every time I met someone I had to find out what they wanted to hear with asking me the questions “How are you?”, “How was your year?”. I had to sense if they want to hear a 15 second answer of “I’m fine and it was great” or if they were truly interested to know how I really felt and to hear stories of what I experienced. At the same time I never wanted someone to give the impression that it’s only about me sharing. It was always on my heart that the people feel that I’m interested in them as well and that I wanted to be part of what they experienced the time I was gone. In reverse I think it was a challenge for people to ask me specific questions – I mean what do you ask someone who was gone for 11 months? Rolled all of this into one it was a rollercoaster ride: Ups of deep connecting and mutual appreciating encounters, downs of not having my expectations met of people showing a little interest or checking in genuinely how I was doing.
The three best things of being home
First, it was absolutely amazing to meet and do fun stuff or just chat away with so many beloved friends and family members again. It was and still is such a blessing to have so many profound relationships where the deep connection was there the very first second of seeing each other again.
Swiss German! I could talk again with no thinking effort. Especially my sassy side present itself better in my mother tongue than in English. But due to the fact that I was surrounded by English speakers for full 11 months, sometimes the English word still comes to my mind before the German one.
Having a job I love! In western culture we often take it for granted to have a job we like but it is not. We have such a brilliant education system where there are tenfold ways to study and retrain with the goal to have a job oneself satisfies. I assume we don’t value this richness enough. However, I’m super thankful for my job, the school, my class and the opportunity to teach – to do what I love. In general, being home opened my eyes to the luxury we have in Switzerland in a different manner. It’s not that I wasn’t aware of this before, but it was more of an evident eye-opener that was influenced by my personal experiences in less or underdeveloped countries.
Hiking in beautiful Switzerland
It’s almost 7 weeks since I’m home and I wanted to give you some insights of how this whole thing of “coming home” has been. Finally, this is my last blog post! It’s time for me to say thank you for supporting me through these adventurous, fun, life-changing 11 months! I’m overwhelmed by all the support and love I got from all of you! A million thanks for reading my blog posts, for checking in how I was doing, for doing life together even when we were far apart and for keeping me in your prayers. God has been so so good to me!
“Life is a journey, not a destination.”
I was on a 11 months journey around the world. You were on another 11 months journey. These 11 months are over but the journey continues. We are all on a journey called life. Let’s make the best out of it! Let’s be the change we wish to see! Let’s move to action! Let our dreams set sail! Let’s live in the Kingdom Culture known by who we are and where our true home and destination is!
Love,
Fabi
