As seen on My Swiss Story. September 4, 2020

I met a girl crazy for me

Met a boy cute as can be

With summer officially drawing to a close, I have a confession to make….

I had an affair this summer. 

Summer lovin had me a blast

Summer lovin happened so fast

No!!! Not that kind of affair.

My mistress was my “adopted” country; Switzerland. Let’s just say I fell – hard.

Being an expat for the last 9 years I’ve always felt like I’m being pulled in two different directions by my two loves. Never quite sure where my loyalty lies. Often feeling like I am cheating on one or the other if I happen to like a characteristic of one more than the other.  Keeping my love a secret from those who could be offended or feelings hurt.

Tell me more, tell me more

Was it love at first sight?

I can honestly say it wasn’t love at first sight when we first moved to Switzerland.  Coming from sunny Florida, I wasn’t accustomed to not seeing the sunshine for what felt like weeks at a time.  I missed easy access to all manner of restaurants, almost as much as I missed my career back home.  And raising two little kids without family around, well let’s just say that led to me being sick and depressed (more on that later). 

But over the years I grew to love my adopted country as much, if not a tad more than my home country. 

How come?

The Breakup 

Let’s just say, my home country and I have been in a bit of a toxic relationship over the last four years. 

Although it wasn’t that hard to see the writing on the border wall: political and social injustice, non-existent leadership mixed with an unhealthy dose of narcissism and poor pandemic response – well it was easy to see why my eyes wandered. 

The Other Woman

Switzerland definitely gets my juices flowing:

✅super sexy public transportation

✅true political democracy

✅gorgeous mountain peaks

✅ safe schools, and

✅those blue eyes (I mean lakes) 😉 

The choice was about as clear as the water that runs freely out of every fountain in every town.

What’s not to love about my adopted country? 

The Doubt

Well for one—it’s not “home”. My roots are still in my birth country, along with tons of friends, family and decades of memories. 

It’s where I grew up, cheered at high school football games, graduated college and even met and married my husband. It’s where I gave birth to my first born. It’s never easy to part ways when you have that much baggage together. 

But this summer, I saw the writing on the wall. 

Summer Fling

With everything going on in the world this year, we were unable to travel too far.  Instead, we played tourist in our picturesque home away from away. Checking off our bucket list visiting the Matterhorn (yes, the one most people associate with the ride at Disneyland) and hiking a glacier, a real honest to god glacier, were just a few of the highlights of our staycation.

To say I was smitten would be an understatement. 

The sheer beauty of this country makes me giddy. Even the drive there was mesmerizing—switchback mountain roads, snow-capped peaks, waterfalls everywhere you turned. 

I fell in love—big time. 

I started to see my adopted country with different eyes.

Could this be my new forever home?

Sometimes it takes an “affair” to see things differently—to put things into perspective. 

It turned colder that’s where it ends
So I told her we’d still be friends
Then we made our true love vow
Wonder what she’s doing now

Summer dreams ripped at the seams but oh those summer nights

Tell me more, tell me more more………….

Did you fall in love this summer or see things with a different perspective?

Are you a US Citizen living overseas? If so are you registered to vote? Here is an easy link.

Tell us in the comments section.