Grüezi!
Welcome to Wander We Go. I’m Alex.
I write about life in Zürich, travels throughout Europe, and musings on both.
Welcome to Wander We Go. I’m Alex.
I write about life in Zürich, travels throughout Europe, and musings on both.
All tagged daily life
I was recently debating with a conservative Trump supporter about the current state of the country. The conversation itself was mostly cordial, if not a wild ride, but near the end - I was mocked for bringing up empathy. Told I should leave empathy out of it. Empathy. The ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy. Something that helps us connect and reminds us to be kind and respectful. Empathy. Something that allows us to say “I haven’t had that experience, but I’m listening to yours,” that can open our eyes to the privileges afforded to us that might not be afforded to others. Empathy. Something that helps us understand the beliefs and the perspectives of others, or challenges us to reframe our own perspective. Empathy is so important. And this rejection of empathy - well, it just hit me straight in the heart.
Running, at its essence, is simply the physical motion of putting one foot in front of the other. That’s all it is. Nothing more, nothing less. No matter your reason, find something that resonates with you, and let it carry you forward, one step at a time.
I’ll be the first to admit: reading Station Eleven, a novel about a flu pandemic - during a pandemic - is perhaps a questionable choice. But upon finishing it, I can’t help but also think - maybe this is exactly the right time to read this book. Yes, the context of this book is a pandemic that wipes out 99% of humanity. But the purpose of the book isn’t the story of the collapse of civilization - but instead, a story about people and their resilience. It’s a book of warm imagery and nostalgia and the dark grace of survival in a fallen world.
As we are approaching our one-year anniversary in July (“expatversary,” if you will), I started thinking about all of the things that really surprised me when we first moved to Switzerland. It’s actually a bit funny writing these out now, because as we have adapted to the Swiss lifestyle, we’ve simply gotten used to most of these things as a way of life. I’ve written about my unexpected favorites, things Switzerland does well, and things they could work on, so this list is a new mix of all three. Some affect my daily life, some don’t, some things I love and some still leave me a bit bewildered, but they all contradicted a previously held notion in some way.
