By Therese Moser-Rønning, 2011
It’s Wednesday morning and I am sitting in a café in Lucerne with a group of women and their kids. They all connected through Mamicafé and this is their Coffee Morning meet-up.
The women come from seven different countries and speak at least seven different languages. Half of them are married to a Swiss man. One woman has been living here for over ten years and another came three months ago.
All of them are expats.
This of course does not define them; it merely states one thing they have in common. What they also have in common is that they are women, mothers who wish to connect with other English-speaking mothers in their area.
Mamicafé was founded under Mamizeit.com just about a year ago and has quickly grown to include over 250 members. Foremost, this is an online forum where expat mothers in Switzerland can interact and share experiences. What better way to avoid the long and stumbling way of integrating into a new culture than learning from the experienced?
In Zürich, Luzern and Nyon the members of Mamicafé can meet each other in real life through organized Coffee Mornings. These meet-ups usually take place twice a month and it was last week at just such a Coffee Morning I got the chance to meet: Camilla with daughter Selma (Norway), Melanie with Louisa (Germany/USA), Helene with Victor (Sweden), Amanda with Luna and Caio (New Zeeland), Karina with Oskar (Canada), Malin with Ava (Finland) and Rebecca with Sophia (USA).
Helene: I come here to meet other moms and kids, and that we speak English means a lot.
Rebecca: It means that I can communicate more freely.
Malin: To me it’s more about meeting other foreigners and exchanging views on the Swiss people and Swiss culture. I have Swiss friends, but this is my international group.
One thing is moving to a new country but try combining this with having a baby.
Melanie: Everything was different before children. I used to work and would like to find a part time job here. We’ve been moving around a lot from Thailand to Italy, Holland and now we’re here in Switzerland.
Rebecca: I actually feel lucky for having had the chance to stay at home with Sophia for seven months. In the US you get three months maternity leave. Now it’s time to get the right nanny though because soon I will go back to my old job.
Malin: In Finland, I could have stayed at home with a child for three years without loosing my job. On the other hand I couldn’t afford it because it needs two incomes to support a family there.
So how long are you here for?
Rebecca (laughing): I am married to a Swiss guy so I am stuck.
Karine: I don’t know. We have moved a lot these last years and my husband is German so I don’t know how long we will stay.
Malin: We’re both from Finland and consider moving back in maybe 3-4 years time.
The women continue chatting on among themselves.
The kids are asleep, playing with each other or knocking over a glass of juice.
How ever long their expat stay these women sure make a lasting impression and will surely leave their footprint in Luzern.
