ME TIME
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
www.expertenglish.ch
Expatriates often cling to other expats, failing to integrate into their new
communities. I didn’t want to make this mistake when I moved from the US
to Switzerland, the homeland of my husband.
So when I saw an ad in the community paper for a floral workshop, I was the first
person to sign up. Being a plant lover, I had already met the florist organizing
the event. She was always friendly, never impatient with my halting Swiss-German.
Her floral boutique was cozy, and I was hoping the workshop would be a good opportunity
to meet some of the locals.
When I arrived, I didn’t recognize anybody except for the florist. There
were about 20 women, and most seemed to have come with a friend or two. As it
was shortly before Easter, our arrangements took on a springtime theme. The florist
had a wonderful assortment of decorative birds in all colors. I felt that a nesting
pair would look best, but I couldn’t decide what color. Blue and yellow?
Or brownish-mauve? I settled on one of each. “But they don’t match!” insisted
the lady to my left. “That’s an odd couple!” exclaimed another
woman. Others murmured and giggled in assent. I was startled by their reactions.
In such a small and homogenous country village, it seemed they weren’t
used to much diversity. I spoke carefully, wanting to defend my choice without
offending them too much.
“Well, I think they look nice together. Are you and your husband identical?” I
asked. It got very quiet for a moment as all eyes turned toward me. Because of
my accent, now everyone knew I was a foreigner. I suddenly felt extremely exposed.
Then someone said, “That’s true – she and her husband look
nothing alike,” at which point there was more laughter. People continued
admiring each others’ work. I worried that my cheeks were still red, so
I looked down, fussing with my own project. By attending the workshop, I had
wanted to fit into my new neighborhood better, but the silly Styrofoam birds
only emphasized my foreignness. I was lamenting the irony when the florist approached
me.
She studied my arrangement and gave me some pointers. Then she said, “You’re
so right. Why should the birds – or spouses for that matter – match?” I
smiled at her gratefully. The workshop was coming to an end, and she was treating
us to coffee and cake. Part of me wanted to take off with my mismatched lovebirds,
but she urged me to sit down and meet some of the others. They were curious to
learn where I was from and how I had come to Switzerland. After the incident
with the birds, I was able to relax and enjoy myself. They’d already seen
my true colors, and seemed willing enough to accept me into their flock.
I went home happy, pleased with my creation and my little feathered friends.
(This piece was originally published in the October 2004 issue of Swiss News.)
| SUSAN VOGEL-MISICKA Born: in Boston, USA Family: married to Tom, with two cats Occupation: writer and editor, www.expertenglish.ch |
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WE READ:
Out Stealing Horses- by Per Petterson
Summary:
Trond and his father decide to spend their summer at the cottage not
far from the Swedish border. The year is 1948 and Trond is 15 years old.
In the following couple of weeks he will experience murder and betrayal
that will eventually change his life forever. More than 50 years later
he lives alone with his dog in a small house in the eastern parts of
Norway. There “the difference between talking and not talking
is slowly wiped out.” The summer of 1948 is haunting him again..
Out Stealing Horses is the Norwegian novelist’s breakthrough fiction.
It was translated into English in 2005 and published the same year. In
2007 it was published in the US. The Times named Per Petterson’s
book as one of the top ten books of 2007.
“
If you’re a Norwegian writer, you are not visible in the world" Petterson
said in an interview with the WashingtonPost.com.
Well, for his sake,
that time is over: In 2006 he won the Independent foreign fiction price,
in 2007- Le Prix Mille Pages, in the same year the International IMPAC
Dublin Literary Award (the world's largest monetary literary prize
for a single work of fiction published in English).
“
The result is not merely a luminous story of the turning-points that
waymark the end of childhood, but a genuine work of art.” Independent
“
nothing should suggest that his superb novel is so embedded in its
sources as to be less than a gripping account of such originality as
to expand
the reader’s own experience of life” The New York Times
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