Monday, August 24, 2009

That Foreign Feeling


There's no doubt about it. Sometimes you just want to feel special. As an English-speaking expat in Switzerland, there are times when you don't feel very unique since every Swiss person you meet seems to speak English and also couldn't care less that you're from the U.S., the UK, or South Africa--big deal, they say, they've been there five times.

I almost gave up on feeling exotic in Switzerland, until one day, I met a couple of Swiss guys that had never talked to an American before. In my Swiss News column this month, you can read all about that elusive foreign feeling that I finally achieved three years after arriving in Switzerland. But I have to say, the wait was worth it.

10 comments:

Amanda said...

So, did you post the video on YouTube?? What fun!

Chantal said...

Good point. I need to do that.

Greg said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jenni said...

Great story! The last hair touching moment I had was when we went to Egypt in college. Although my sister had the experience in South Korea last year of being the first American some people had ever met.

Chantal said...

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Hmm. Hair touching in Egypt. I still need to get there!

Celeste Brash said...

Ha ha I loved this! Amazingly I get told here in Tahiti - oh I'd say about four times a year - that my American accent when I speak French is sexy. Did you ever in a million years guess that an American accent could ever be sexy?? I now bask in my poor French.

Chantal said...

That's hilarious. I wish someone would say my American accent is sexy...

Renee (and Eric) said...

Great story. Ahhh...Appenzell. It will forever remain one of the highlights of my trip with my very American and not well-traveled parents through the Alps in search of my dad's ancestral cows and people. We managed to be there in time for some kind of national holiday in the middle of July in Switzerland. We had to forgo sleeping in the goat hut described in Rick Steve's, but we did in fact eat grilled meat at the local town hall and were duly entertained and felt nicely foreign at a community event in which everyone else knew everyone else. Someone had seen us wandering around town and invited us along to this city party. Apparently, we missed those guys back then or we would have spoiled your story. If you haven't gone there yet, you must.

Unknown said...

stan smith adidas
ralph lauren sale
fitflop shoes
true religion jeans outlet
nike outlet
fitflops clearance
michael kors bags
oakley sunglasses outlet
michael kors handbags outlet
polo ralph lauren
20170331yueqin

Unknown said...

white sox jerseys
air jordan shoes
ray ban sunglasses discount
michael kors bags
ysl bags
longchamp pliage
cheap oakley sunglasses
coach outlet store online
jordan femmes pas cher
polo ralph lauren outlet online
170620yueqin

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin