I know excately how you feel regarding the homesickness. I have been here for 4 months now and things aren't yet as easy as I would like them to be.
But I agree with earlier statement that it isn't so much the country that you miss but more the people. So indeed you need to put some energy into making new friend. And in order to again have some close friends that you can trust is an enormous effort and time but once you have them you will feel less homesick.
Also you are from England, that is super close! I wouldnt recommend you to escape Switzerland whenever you feel homesick because then you will probably never get over it but you can go back quite easily. I lived in Buenos Aires for some years and I could go home once a year......also due to the few holidays I had.
And another thing, dont force yourself to like it, just be patient and indeed it will get better, over time. Really!
Just a bunch of EF'ers getting together after a day's work to talk and drink it out.
Plus there is grumpy 's cheese stand, so you can have all the british cheese you might be missing.
Grumpy will even throw in a free British Cheese History lesson absolutely free !
But seriously, it might be nice to come down and just talking to a bunch of people who are/have been in the same situation as you. Might feel a bit like back home.
Follow this thread to find out who will be there tomorrow.
Thanks for the invite, however tonight unable to come as more foreign speaking family are coming round. Its my partners, fathers birthday and family and driving from LS to be here (ZH).
However, I did meet the grumpy cheese man last week at his stand. He mentioned the viadukt and it sounds like my kind of thing. If it on next week I'll come down.
Hi. your issue sounds like a typical case of "being abroad and do not know what to do".I had it when I lived in Asia. I felt guilty about not appreciating the wonderful opportunity. I can only say that it takes time and it will get better with the more people you get to know. Do not push yourself too hard. You will be fine. It just takes time.
I'm now here 5 months, in lovely sunny everything open 24/7 Geneva...... WTF!! Yes I miss London, I miss being able to buy stuff all the time, understanding the language - woah I'd love that, I'm trying to learn French, but it's slow, I can 'feel' the learning, but I'm more nervous now having some knowledge.
It's scary, but exciting - you must have known it'll be hard.....
I know how you feel. I have been here nearly 4 months with a swiss partner. Yeah so all is good for him, but a little harder for me and the thing is he doesnt quite see or realise it coz, well this is his home.
Also learning German independantly and it might be useful to find a cheap book that you can go through and try asking your spouse to teach you some stuff. I started with nouns and worked my way in from there and its been quite worthwhile.
But like I keep hearing, give it time. The Swiss are hard nuts to crack, but once you do its awesome. Getting there just takes a bit of time.
I arrived just over three years ago with an 8 month old baby, a husband and two older children to worry about.
I took the 8 month old out...every day...to 'window shop' - we would just walk into every shop to see what there was..and to see if people were friendly in there ;-)
People always ask 'do you miss home' and we say, well, this is our home now, but we miss our friends/family - we miss the people, but not the place...
If you want to come to Zurich, I do a shopping tour - we can walk and talk and share tips and if you bring a 'wishlist' I can give tips on where to find things...
Thursday mornings are good for me - anyone who is interested...if I get a pre-booking I'll put the event on to the EF social calendar so others can join in too...
I'm in the same situation, lol. My husband is French/Swiss and I speak English and understand a few words, but that's about it. We've also been here for 1 month, no kids though, but a cute little dog who seems to like it here. We'll be OK, give it time
The best way to make friends is through dogs and children and you have the latter. There are lots of people in the same situation as yourself and the meet up groups are an excellent intro and forum. You could also use Google to find a list of playgroups or Meeting places for Mums in Zurich or your area.
I can really sympathise with your situation... when I moved here I became so homesick that within 4 months I ended up in psychiatric hospital with severe depression (I had struggled with that in the past but never quite that bad...)
The funny thing is that now, two years after moving here, I'd say that that hospitalisation was the best thing that could have happened to me. Yes, I lost my job, yes, it was scary... but on the other hand, being stuck in a hospital where the nurses, patients and therapists only spoke French and my psychiatrist (who does speak English) had to speak French in our sessions so the nurses understood, really improved my French. Plus when I started going to the occupational therapy sessions I discovered a love for creating things which I never knew I had, which really helped me to get better... and all that in French.
Now, I'm still not back at work (although I'm starting a professional reintegration process this month), and I've had 3 more hospitalisations... but I feel at home here. I have friends I've met through the hospital who are Swiss. My French is much better. I do volunteer work. And I also have English speaking friends through my church.
Now, I'm not recommending a hospital stay as a cure for homesickness, but I think that what I would say is for me the key was being around French speaking people and also the occupational therapy, as in those sessions I was learning new skills and making things I was proud of, in a French-speaking environment.
Just wondering if you could find some kind of activity (I see in your profile you like cooking for example), where you could develop skills in something you are interested in, in a German speaking setting? It would increase your confidence, and (teacher hat on here) studies have shown that for some people learning through doing is more beneficial than learning through listening or reading. So you might find that if you try and learn a new practical skill in German, your German will improve as well as the new skill. And your confidence and self-esteem would be developed by your acquisition of the new skills (and hopefully making things you are proud of). Plus, it would put you in a social environment with people who share the same interests as you.
I completely agree with everyone who's recommended meeting expats - there are a really friendly bunch in Toto on Seefeld every saturday, lots of Glocals events and various other get-togethers where loads of people don't know anyone. You'll meet a ton of people you can speak English with and feel loads better!
I totally understand what you are going through also, though i have moved here with my husband (who speaks some German), and one of our teenage daughters (plus 2 dogs!) - leaving 2 other young adult children in the Netherlands, which is another whole story....
I think the summer also is not an easy time to move somewhere new - i feel as though i am just in "pending" mode, before our daughter's school starts and my German classes start. i am putting a lot of hope on my classes - as someone else here said, it is much easier to feel that you have a bit of social life if you have regular classes to go to, then you meet others in your same situation. (I am still in touch with a friend that i met on my very first Dutch class, 11 years ago! she now lives in Germany, and i stayed overnight with her one of the times i was travelling down here!) so that is a great way of making some lifelong friends, if you are lucky!
anyway, all the best, it WILL get better! at least now you can order the cup of coffee, which you couldn't do before.
and today, i met someone through this wonderful forum! so posting this post can be for you the start of a whole new social life.....i hope so!
Homesick? I can't even remember what that was like?? I've been in Switzerland since '96 and I guess I intergrated fairly well. I found it easier, for me, to completly avoid English conversations right from the start. Which, in turn, meant that I leant Swiss German at a rapid rate. But it all takes time. Then there's all the dialekts. The Swiss are generally very patient and will allow you to make mistkes . Just don't be afraid to make them. At the least it'll give tem someting to laugh at, and you'll become less self-concious.
smackerjack is spot on - I read that you have two dogs. Walk them daily, meet fellow dog owners and you will find that you'd learn standard basic phrases: is the dog a boy/girl? how old is the dog? what breed? etc etc
Try understanding what they are saying through immersion first. Dont be shy about making mistakes or even tell them to slow down ("bitte langsam!"). It will be frustrating but the Swiss are incredibly patient and helpful as long as you show that you are trying. As time goes by, you will pick up vocabulary here and there to even carry out a simple conversation. Swiss German is totally relaxed about grammar - I shamelessly use "Das" for most things and no one bats an eyelid.
I came to this country with zero German! My husband goes to school and his German is at a rather respectable level now although he struggles sometimes to understand Swiss German in our daily lives (restaurants, supermarkets etc) etc whilst I dont usually have a problem - all thanks to my fellow dog owners!
Another thing I find helpful is to listen to the radio (Swiss TV really is awful sorry). The deejays rattle off and you probably wont understand 90% of it. There are lots of repeated words and phrases that you will hear though. Patience is key.
I arrived here 24 years ago, and I also get homesick from time to time. Problem is, after all that time, home isn't what it used to be, and neither am I. That's a whole different problem.
When I first came here, I joined a German class and went to the university german classes, just sat in on them no one was bothered and I made some of my closest friends there...
Joining a social club is a great way to meet new people and you can then see them outside of the club context which will be a lot less formal...
I totally understand your feeling. I just arrived here a week ago and I am having very bad homesick. I feel like packing my suitcase and went back home. Unfortunately, I couldn't do that because I am relocated by a company and they have paid everything for me I wish I am in Zurich, it seems there are more expats there and there are a lot of activities. Here not much and most of my colleagues at work are having family and they are busy over the weekend.