Here's a quick break-down of my relocation, this has turned into somewhat of a FAQ.
Where:
Switzerland. Most specifically, I'll be working in Moncor Villars-sur-Glâne, La Sarine, Freiburg, living in Bern (near Liebefeld-Köniz)
Duration:
2 years (maybe more?) If I decide I need to come back to the US before a year, the company expects some money back. The closer to a year I stay, the less money I have to fork back.
Reason:
Because it's a heck of an opportunity, of course! The children may hate me for it now, but I'm sure they'll grow up to be more interesting people. Also, this is likely to be the only opportunity for the family to ever get to see Europe.
Details:
Living in Bern, working in Fribourg. The kids will be in school at the International school of Bern.
Job:
Same job I had before. Just a different continent.
What is VeriSign doing in Switzerland?
They want to have some locational diversity (I have no other details). VeriSign is also moving up 30 employees from the South African office; and hiring local people to do work.
Will you be able to keep soaring?
Heck ya! There is a gliding club within biking distance. I visited them while I was on the house-hunting trip back in June. [http://www.sgbern.ch] [Article on Blog]
What about the kids? Do they come along?
Yes, the kids are all here with me. The wife too. The rabbits, too. (but they are a lot of trouble, we should have left them behind)
What about your Glider?
I do not get to take it along. It is being left in the capable hands of my other two partners. I have no current plans to sell it. I hope to return to fly the heck out of it.
Do you know French?
I'll answer in French: No
How are you going to make it if you don't speak the language?
I happen to be pretty good in German. And that is a big reason why we're living in Bern, and not Fribourg. All of the street signs are in German there, and I can make my way around by speaking HochDeutsch to the locals. I can't understand the Swiss children, though. I took 4 years of German in High School, and went on to the German Governor's school of Virginia in the summer of 1989. There, I spoke German for 5 straight weeks without any English at all.
What about your house?
We found a nice couple who are originally from Texas who were willing to rent our house. It was snatched up within a week on the market, so I guess we didn't charge enough.
How much is VeriSign paying?
A lot, but I can't really disclose the details.
Are you going to come back from Switzerland with huge wads of cash?
Probably not, I think we're taking a little bit of a loss on the rent on the house. Life is a little more expensive in Switzerland, and whatever things VeriSign pays for will probably be eaten away by the little things, like going to McDonald's for a family of 6 paying 70 CHF.
How will I be able to stay in contact with you?
Drop me an e-mail, of course. The whole family has e-mail at pietbarber.com. The formula is: "Person's name" @ pietbarber.com. Even Joey has an address. (But he doesn't check it often, so you should be understanding why he doesn't respond).
Have you ever lived abroad before?
I have (Piet), but not Stacy. I was an exchange student in 1988 for the Irish Way, a program under the "Irish American Cultural Institute." Stacy has not even been out of the country before this excursion. She does not speak German or French. (I think she'll be learning soon).
Do any of the other family members speak the languages?
Stacy learned Spanish, Jake has some compulsory Spanish education, Cecilia has about two hours of French tutoring, Josh keeps asking how somebody says "German" in German, Joey responds to the remark "Da ist der Hund!" with, "No! It's a doggy!"
So far, that's the extent of their language skills. But I'm sure in a year's time, all will be different.
Are you taking your cars?
No, they go into storage. The company pays for the storage. They will be turned on to keep the engines from rusting over, and will be generally loved.
Why didn't you just sell your cars?
They're paid off, dude.
Are you going to get a car in Switzerland?
We recently purchased a used car here, for a very reasonable price. This enables Stacy to take the kids to school without spending the whole day on the train. I have found little use for having a car, except for the occasional trip to Ikea. As a daily commute, I find the train from Bern to Fribourg to be quite relaxing and enjoyable. My daily commute takes an hour each way (27 minutes of it on the train).
Do you have any details about what's happened recently?
I'm glad you asked. Please to be reading the blog, which I try to keep as up to date as possible. [http://pietbarber.blogspot.com/] Notice that the URL I just gave you has no "www". So please don't put 'www' before the pietbarber.blogspot.com, then complain to me that you can't get to it (I hate it when people do that).
Will you be living in a house?
Nope. I'm living in a nearly-brand new apartment. It's so new, that it doesn't show up on Google Maps, and the satellite views of the area just show an empty lot. The apartment is lovely. Here's a view of the apartment, before we moved in.
What about church?
I find little need in my life for superstition and organized mythology, so I don't go.
