Zurich - Settling Back In

Manifesta 11 Pavillon de Reflections - New in Zurich!

Returning somewhere is always a bit of a wake-up call. You somehow expect nothing to have changed, but it always has.

It takes me about 45 minutes door-to-door to get to work from my studio apartment. This is the longest commute I’ve ever had. Surprisingly, having to leave earlier isn’t bothering me at the moment – maybe it will be different in the winter months when the sun isn’t streaming through my window already at 6am. However, I will need to start taking a book or having some kind of task to do for the journey, as it’s rather boring, to be honest. On the plus side, I’m on a route that many of my colleagues and former colleagues take to work, so I’ve caught up with a few people by just greeting them on the tram! It’s been great to see them, and all without the effort of organizing mutually-agreeable times, venues, etc.

On arrival at work, I had to renew my entrance badge because it had expired; for a moment I even had to think about which floor I was on. And then, as soon as I entered the office, change was obvious. We’ve got new decorations in the office of cardboard cutouts of trees standing in the middle of where you walk. Two new people were sitting where I used to sit and where Steph used to sit. In fact, many people seemed to have changed location.

I was placed at a different desk and had to register my card before I could book my desk, just as if I were a new person! It was nice, though, to see everyone again, to get all the greetings; even the cleaner welcomed me back, much to my astonishment.

I was reunited with the items I’d left in the office. I’d left a whole rucksack full of shoes in the office (trainers, walking shoes, shoes for snow, work shoes – all items I never wear in Egypt but are costly to buy new), so I was relieved that they’d not been thrown away. However, I’m not sure if I was being shown them as a hint to remove them or just to let me know they were there. It was probably a bit of both. I’d really like to leave them there for now as I don’t have anywhere else to put them. As an employee, I’m entitled to some cupboard space, surely…

Returning also means you have to do all your start-up tasks again. I had to buy a monthly season pass for the public transport. This really went fairly smoothly, only when I paid at the counter, their machine told me I’d got the wrong PIN for my Swiss account and I ended up putting it on my UK credit card (which means I’ll get currency change charges now). I got it wrong a second time when I paid for my year’s subscription to the swimming pool, so that too had to go on my credit card. In the evening, I hastily transferred some money across to make sure I could pay it. 

I avoided using my debit card after that but I knew sooner or later I would have to give it that third and final attempt. My cash ran out and I resorted to the number I first used, and on the third go, it worked. Phew!

I feel a bit panicked at how much money I’m spending. I’d forgotten that about Switzerland. But it’s also a feature of coming back as you have to buy everything all at once – your salt, your spices, your washing powder, your sugar, your shower gel, your soap, your rice… normally these are spread out a bit. This has made me pine for renting somewhere that’s mine. 

Although I’m starting to settle into the studio flat now, I keep on having to remind myself it’s only for five weeks and then I’m out. It’s not really “mine”. If I get any kind of contract extension longer than 3 months, I may try to see if I can rent a flat by offering to pay the year’s rent up-front, just so that I can settle myself a bit better (and also no longer burden my friends who I am registered with). It seems a bit of a waste of money, or a lot to pay for storage, basically, but I think maybe it’s psychologically worth it.