After almost three weeks, the little one and I arrived back home again. On Saturday, all three of us will finally be together again. The last three weeks were very exciting for the little one: we visited both grandparents and she rarely had a moment without attention. Reading books, going for walks, playing on the playground, exploring every single doorstep in the neighbourhood, petting goats and pigs, dancing (she turns out to be a very passionate and tireless dancer) and making nonsense at the dinner table…it was difficult to hold up this programme during our first days back in Switzerland! Our main business yesterday was removing the spider webs (and vacuum cleaning. and doing the laundry. and shopping.)

But there are exciting things going on in our small town too! At the train station, for instance! For over two months now, the farmers have been shipping their sugar beets. Which means that there are dozens of tractors each day driving along the main road to the train station where they stop and load the sugar beets into huge goods wagons. Very fascinating to watch, I assure you! I don’t know how many tons of beets have been shipped so far, but the supply seems to be endless.

And today I had a job interview at a family centre. It was supposed to be a very small job, just a few hours every month, so nothing to make big money but designed for parents who slowly want to go back to the job market after having a child (this approach is really rare…normally, mothers in Switzerland have to go back to work three months after having a child unless they quit their job). I went there with the little one – the fact that it was no problem to bring my child to the interview already shows the family-friendly environment there – and within an hour I did not only get the job but also got my first promotion. It’s a bit a jump in at the deep end and I’ll see whether everything works out fine, but I am glad to start working again, especially because the little one can either join the day care at the family centre during my working hours or she can even accompany me if necessary.

So, exciting times are lying ahead. And blog posts will hopefully follow on a more regular basis again.