Do you miss Switzerland?

So after living in the Swiss mountains for some three years, ending with a pretty painful breakup, I am back in the Lowlands for a while now. A question I get asked a lot (mainly by Dutch friends) is: do you miss Switzerland?

The answer is not a simple yes or no.

I miss the mountains, fondue, my ex-house, my cat, my ex, snow, living close to nature, the views, my toolstation, the quiet.

What I don’t miss is the conservatism and that most likely has to do with the fact that I didn’t grow up in the mountains and was raised in a different way. I understand that you don’t want to change things if you live in a country with such a high standard of living. But, then again, I’m all in for equality. And people are not treated equally in this world. Is that my fault? Your fault? Most likely not, but by looking the other way and aiming to improve your own standard of living and not the one of others, you are certainly not helping. It’s a choice.

Looking back on those three years in Switzerland, I think the war (read genocide) in Gaza has shown me what ‘‘being neutral’’, as the Swiss are known for, looks like. I am generalising here, I’m aware of that. But the passive attitude of the people in the mountains was rather alarming to me. Yes, you can hide out in your mountains, enjoy your riches, mind your own business. You can say that it is not your fight. Personally I don’t know how you could though. How you can not speak out against a genocide. Could it have something to do with religion? Possibly. I’m an atheist so I don’t know. But honestly I just think the Swiss (generalising again, I know) are masters of making their world small when it suits them, not least because of the countries geography. The mountains make your world smaller. It has a beauty to it, but the world has become so interconnected that it is important to speak up on important topics while you still can, if you want a liveable planet in the future. There is a lot at stake at the moment. I’ve seen the mountains crumble and the glaciers melt in just three years of being there.

So how is it to be back in the Netherlands? I dislike it for not having the things I miss about Switzerland. But I do love it for the 250.000 people that were standing up for Palestine last Sunday during a protest. The people united, will never be defeated.

This is just me rambling on about what is on my mind lately. Aiming to write a little more in the near future again, to keep this blog alive. Hopefully on more cheerful subjects too:)