Climbing Kilimanjaro
/The last few weeks have been exceptional. By any measure, we’ve accomplished a lot since coming to Switzerland, however, in the way of the everyday there is is little active recognition of this. Unlike climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, there is little to signify you’ve crested a summit in the adminstration of moving country. No one thinks to take a photo of you as you sit there puffing gently, having successfully navigated a document full of words like ‘Anerkennungsgesuch Weiterbildungstitel’ and ‘Originalbeglaubigungen.’ There is little showmanship in this version of the hero’s journey.
Unless you remember to take stock of the situation you could fall into the trap of just moving from one problem to the next, feeling more worn at each step. So in celebration of all that has been accomplished in the two months since we moved, here is a summary of some of the things we have had to face and overcome:
Registering with Swiss Cantonal authorities
As mentioned previously, this unlocked more opportunities and privileges, which required, you guessed it, more administration.
Setting up health insurance
I cannot overstate how glad I am to be married to a Swiss native. The health system and various insurance options are very different to my bread-and butter-NHS and the terminology makes my eyes water. My husband set this all up and I am so grateful.
Antenatal care in a German-speaking hospital
The third trimester is when things start to accelerate and dealing with successive appointments has been no small feat. In addition, organising a community midwife, joining a pregnancy yoga class and the logistics for the baby’s arrival has all been done in good time.
Ongoing administration from the UK
Despite moving we couldn’t just tie up all loose ends as we still have commitments in the UK. This is unlikely to change for the forseeable future. Playing troubleshooting whack-a-mole across two countries is challenging.
Organising childcare
Although Basel has better wait-lists for nurseries compared to the UK, it can take time to find an establishment you’re happy with. Whilst we organised this, I was looking after our rambunctious three-year-old full-time, which was increasingly difficult as the third trimester wore on. But rather than accepting the first nursery we saw, we held out and pushed for the Goldilocks option. We now have a nursery we’re hugely happy with, which is also just 5 minutes from our house.
This is a potted list of some of the more major issues we’ve dealt with. Luckily, my husband and I have an online Kanban board, so have a record of what is still left ‘to do,’ ‘in progress’ and ‘done.’ The ‘done’ list is our visual reminder of how much we’ve achieved and serves as our snow-tipped Kilimanjaro photo. In between the Cantonal-stamped envelopes and the intimidating health insurance bills in our postbox, it’s great to remind ourselves of how much we’ve accomplished.
I now find myself in the ‘Zwischenzeit’ (in-between time). With my son in nursery, I have two weeks before the next chapter begins with the new baby. This is an undoubtedly precious time. These few days are my own, to fill the way I see best. So why am I staring into space, paralysed? Perhaps it’s the sword of Damocles prospect of going into labour at any moment, or the comedown after a busy few months, but I cannot seem to motivate myself to do much. The beauty of Basel is right outside my window, but instead I stay at home, not even sleeping. The hours slip by and then it’s nursery pick-up time.
But maybe that’s what needs to happen right now?
I look at the Kanban list and feel astonished at what we’ve accomplished in these short weeks. In another fortnight, life will transform again with the wholesale devotion of looking after a newborn. A period of stillness in the Zwischenzeit is probably exactly what is needed. So, I will try not to feel guilty for the lack of milk in the fridge even though I could easily nip out to get some. Sometimes getting stuff done is not the priority. Let Kilimanjaro wait for another day.
The view from schlossberg, freiburg im breisgau, the closest to kilimanjaro i’m likely to get in this pregnancy