Hi. Here is everything we have ever posted. Good luck.
Bin ich angekommen? by the MAXIM Theatre
Read about MAXIM Theatre's Katia Franco Hofacker's monologue Bin ich angekommen?, in collaboration with About us. A must-see performance with more to come! Read more
Posted on 13 September 2019 by Tamara Imboden.
Snippet: Katia
Vor einigen Jahren ging ich in ein Einkaufszentrum und wollte ein Produkt umtauschen. Die Frau beim Kundendienst verlangte von mir die Quittung, welche ich ihr zeigte. Jedoch genügte ihr das nicht. Sie stellte mir so viele Fragen über die Quittung und befragte mich so lange, dass ich verzweifelt aufgab. Sie hatte kein Interesse an meiner Erklärung. Ich habe gespürt, dass sie null Vertrauen in mich hatte. Ich sagte Martin, meinem Schweizer Mann, dass er unbedingt dort hin gehen müsse. Er erzählte der Frau dasselbe, das ich bereits erzählt hatte: Er bat sie um den Umtausch des Produktes und zeigte ihr die Quittung. Die Frau fragte ihn nichts weiteres. Plötzlich hatte sie volles Vertrauen. Der Umtausch verlief ohne weitere Probleme. Ich war erstaunt und fragte mich: Ist das jetzt ernst gemeint? Und dann kam die Frage, die ich mir früher oft gestellt habe: Ist es, weil ich Ausländerin bin? - Katia, Brasilien, 13 September 2019, Foto: Leta Motta
Musings about Roots
Some thoughts on trees and their roots, inspired by this drawing. Read more
Posted on 3 August 2019 by Tamara Imboden
Snippet: Lany
I would like to share a funny experience that happened to me just shortly after I moved to Switzerland. To understand why this is so funny to me, you need to know my origins are Croatian. My ex-boyfriend and I were invited to the birthday grill party of a friend, and we were each supposed to bring something along. Everyone brought chicken, some sausages, some steaks and so on. And as my chicken needed more time to be grilled than the steak, I took the steak, which was the first thing to be ready.
Immediately, someone came up to me and said, “That’s what I brought.”
I unknowingly replied, “Oh yes, it’s very tasty, thanks.”
And once again, he said, “It's mine.”
And then he just stood there while I kept eating, becoming unhappier with each minute. Only later did my ex tell me the unwritten rule: in Switzerland, what you take to a barbecue is what you eat. – Lany, Croatia, 1 August 2019
Snippet: Tammy
Moving to Switzerland with the German vocabulary of a six year old was tiring and frustrating for sure. But amidst the hair tearing and nail biting, there were also some hidden gems.
Like when we went to the Thermalbad and I wanted to go to the pool with all the Drüse (glands) instead of Düse (jets). “D’Sirene lüchtet, mir münd zur nöchste Drüse” (“The warning light is blinking, we need to go to the next gland”).
Or that I continued to use the phrase “Vernseh gaffe” (to gawp at the TV), an expression which probably became obsolete in the late 90s.
Or like when I accidentally used the word verstäche (stab) instead of bestäche (bribe). “De Andreas hät mich miteme Schöggeli verstoche” (“Andreas stabbed me with a chocolate”).
I used to be appalled whenever I made a mistake like that. And though I still make them, my perspective has changed. I’ve realised that my mistakes don’t mark me as someone stupid or incapable. The opposite is true. They highlight that I have had an interesting life that’s not always taken me down the same path as everyone else. – Tammy, Maldives/Sri Lanka, 1 August 2019
The Perks of Migration
See the comments. Posted on 30 June 2019 by Tamara Imboden
Between German and English
Growing up in varying countries, I bounced back and forth between languages and had to learn to adjust. Here are my experiences with adjusting to new languages. Read more
Posted on 23 June 2019 by Tamara Imboden
The question we are all afraid of: Where are you from?
We are a diverse, interesting mix of people. Why shouldn't it be okay to be curious? Here's an opinion piece on what I think about being asked where I come from. Guess what? I don't hate it! But read this before you start asking every slightly tanned person you see. Read more
Posted on 5 June 2019 by Tamara Imboden
What do you really want to know?
See the rest of this comic strip. Posted on 31 May 2019 by Tamara Imboden
Aladdin and his baggage
Check out Vox author Aja Romano's article about why the new Disney live action Aladdin has so much baggage – and why the childhood movie that many of us loved so much should be taken with a grain of salt (external link).
Backgrounds
Posted on 24 May 2019 by Tamara Imboden
plus41: Hearing the Voices of Switzerland
What is plus41? What drove me to create this platform? Representation. Reading stories by migrants. Finally taking up a pen and writing for ourselves and sharing our own experiences. By writing, we give people to opportunity to relate, and allow people to delve into the world of difference. And this is crucial to our process of empowerment.
Posted on 20 May 2019 by Tamara Imboden