Preface

The lure of returning to Europe, born from the memory of five great months in Rome, was strong enough to bring me to Zurich, Switzerland, in this case much less prepared and organized than I was a year and a half ago when I first left to live abroad. At that time, when I left for Italy to spend a semester in Rome, I was protected by the structure of an academic program, the reassurance of my home university, and a working knowledge of the language. This time around is quite different. I now play the part of the wandering graduate who in this case arrived in a place that wasn’t expecting him. There was no friendly Francesco at the airport holding a big sign with the guiding words “IES ROME” waiting to lead me to a special room where I would be introduced to classmates, roommates, and provided with keys to my already organized apartment. This time, as I got off of my connecting flight into Zurich, I was greeted with…I have no idea, as I do not speak German.

The story cataloguing the journey of how I got to where I am, here now in Zurich, is too dramatic, exaggerated, and ultimately embarrassing to explain in detail. Suffice to say that first, I applied and was accepted as a ThinkSwiss research scholar to go to somewhere Switzerland and do some kind of research in a field of my choice, that being architecture at the ETH in Zurich. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to even have the chance to apply to the scholarship and even more fortunate to successfully organize and produce an application that was accepted. Secondly, I battled and battled with the Swiss consulate and embassy to mastermind the ascertaining of a still inadequate visa that should have been much easier to get than it was. Thirdly, I battled and battled with the limits of the internet, my lack of German, the six hour time difference between the US and Switzerland, and the massive housing shortage in Zurich to finally end up in a flat with people of my own age in a price range that I could afford in a place that wasn’t three hours from my place of work and the nearest grocery store and bar. Basically, suffice to say, that somehow I am in one piece, and in Zurich today. (Thanks mom.)

The goal of this blog is to talk about the excitement, setbacks, and realities of starting a completely new existence in a foreign place without getting caught by the temptation of writing endlessly about all of the new “feelings” that I am “feeling”. By that, I aim to leave out the emotional sludge and instead focus on the difficulties and benefits of starting challenging work in a foreign city with no safety net. In my case, this adventure comes at the end of college, at the end of an era with great friends at a great school, right after saying the hardest of goodbyes—maybe even one to childhood itself. While I’m most certainly proud of being a five year old at heart, starting Monday, for the first time ever really, I actually cannot act like one, at least from 9-5. This volatile scenario will unfold in Zurich, (partly) on the Swiss government’s dime, at a pioneering architecture firm at ETH.