Episode 18: October 2006
October was a bittersweet month for us. We spent the first part of the month bidding farewell to our friends and family in Switzerland and then the remainder acquainting ourselves with our new home in the U.S. The highlights of the month included:
• farewell dinners in Zurich;
• seeing the autumn colors in northern Michigan;
• seeing the Broadway production, “Stomp”; and
• spending a weekend in Chicago to catch up with friends.
Upon returning from Budapest in the early morning on Sunday, October 1, we drove to a half-way point to meet my dad and Julie for one last catch-up over lunch before leaving Switzerland. We met in Biel/Bienne, a town located close to Bern and one that we had never visited. Weather-wise, the day was miserable -- raining and gloomy the entire time. The town was nice to look at, but being Sunday, there was not much to do. We enjoyed a long lunch near the lake, took a short walk around the town (trying to dodge the rain where possible), and then said our goodbyes.
Upon getting back to Zurich, we finished up the last of the clean-up activities. Doing these things reminded us of the regimen we have gotten used to in Switzerland. First order of business was to determine where we could dump our rubbish – we had not purchased Horgen rubbish bags and putting our Zurich garbage bags in a Horgen dumpster would be illegal and very un-Swiss (and, given that we were staying in a Dow temporary apartment, probably result in a fine for the company). Our solution was un-Swiss, nevertheless: we dumped the bag in a non-descript bin by the side of the highway just before going to the airport. Classy, eh?
Our last three evenings in Switzerland were spent catching up with friends. Both of our work departments hosted farewell parties for us, giving us a chance to say goodbye to our colleagues. The evening before we left, most of our friends were able to join us for a dinner at the Seerose, a restaurant/bar along Lake Zurich. We enjoyed great company (about 25 people made it out), great food, and great conversation and said our goodbyes as well. The next morning, we headed to the airport and boarded our flight to the U.S.A.!
I must admit that it was not until we boarded the plane that it began to sink in that we were leaving Zurich and would not be returning anytime soon. That realization resulted in a rather somber plane ride to the U.S., with Neal probably wondering why he was constantly babysitting his wife through her crazy emotions.
We arrived in Chicago just fine but did not get to our connecting flight in time and missed it. That flight to Michigan was the last of the night, so we ended up staying at the airport hotel and then flying to Michigan the next morning. (On a side note, we are now convinced that Chicago has become one of the worst operating, and looking, airports in the U.S.) When we got to Michigan, we picked up the keys to our new house (the one we are renting, that is) and received our air shipment of clothing, linen, and cooking equipment. With all the major things in order, we then went to the supermarket for our first big shop. We took care of all the basics: food, a phone, vacuum cleaner, and a cell phone plan for Neal. I even found time to get what I am sure was the first of many cheap pedicures!
After thoroughly clean the house and testing out the Jacuzzi in the master bathroom, we were exhausted. Although our furniture was not schedule to arrive for another few weeks, our landlords had graciously left a bedroom set in one of the spare rooms, including pillows and linen. We had no problem finding the room and settling in for a much-deserved night’s rest. The following morning, we drove into northern Michigan to experience one of Michigan’s natural beauties: the autumn colors. Friends of ours, Rob and Sue, invited us to their lake house along Torch lake, which is a three-hour drive north from Midland. Along the way, we passed through wooded areas where the trees were taking on amazing hues of reds, oranges, and greens. It is really worth seeing.
We arrived at Torch Lake in the early evening, and later that night, we went out to dinner with Rob and Sue at a Cajun restaurant in the area. We stayed the night at Rob and Sue’s lake house and the next morning, the four of us went into the nearby town of Alden for a look around. Alden was a very pretty, quaint town that had great views of the lake, artistic stores, a classic car show, a pumpkin patch where the local grade-school children had painted pumpkins for Halloween, and one good coffeeshop. After wandering around for a few hours, we hit the road and got back to Midland in time to prepare for our first day of work in the U.S.
The first week of work was good for both of us. We were welcomed by our respective departments and got up to speed quickly. We joined the gym at work, got memberships at the public library, and got re-acquainted with some friends we have not seen in a long time. On Friday night, Neal and I had date night. We went to the Midland Center for the Arts to see the local production of the musical, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”. It was a fantastic, satirical musical set in ancient Rome. Although the musical was put on by an amateur theatre troupe, it was extremely well done – the acting was great and the sets were elaborate.
During the next week, we visited the nearby (and larger) town of Saginaw for dinner (with our friends, Rob and Sue) and then to see a professional theater production of the Broadway show, “Stomp”. The show is based on the premise that anything can be a musical instrument. The artists put together inventive rhythms and beats using stuff you can find around the house – matches, broomsticks, pots and pans…anything! It was a great show and very impressive to see the musicianship of the artists.
The following weekend, we drove south to the Detroit area. We went to the suburb of Novi to meet up with two of Neal’s friends from business school, Paul and Cathy, and to meet the newest edition to their family, Sophia, who was born while we were in Switzerland. We had a great time seeing them, and it was fun to see Neal revisit his business school days.
After seeing Paul, Cathy, and Sofia, we drove over to Ann Arbor, the town where Neal lived for two years when he was getting his MBA. Ann Arbor is a great little town, full of artistic flair, independent shops, and fabulous restaurants. The town is only about a 1.5-hour drive from Midland, and I am sure that we will be spending many more weekends there as long as we are in Michigan.
The next week, I traveled to our manufacturing site in Texas to work with my team as they hosted a hiring expo for graduate engineers. The expo went well – we made 170 offers to students who, if they accept, will begin working for Dow in August of next year. Back in Midland, Neal bought our first car, a silver Toyota Rav 4.
On the tail-end of my trip in Texas, we drove to Chicago for a nice weekend away. Two friends of mine from Australia (who are currently working for Dow in Shanghai), Pat and Glenn, planned to spend some time in Chicago on their way to see a Barbara Streisand concert in Atlanta. So we, too, decided to head over to the Windy City for the weekend. The drive took us about five hours each way, and we did not run into that much traffic. Chicago was fabulous. The city reminds me a lot of Melbourne, especially since the downtown area is along water, Lake Michigan. After arriving, we took a walk along Michigan Avenue and hit some of the shops. We then went to dinner and followed that by seeing the late-night show at Second City, a sketch comedy troupe that has been the start of some very famous comedians.
The following day we hit the shops again. We walked the length of Michigan Avenue (a.k.a. The Magnificent Mile), stopping for coffees, lunch and people watching along the way. We went to the House of Blues to buy a gift for the newest edition of our friends, Eveline and Peter Paul, in Switzerland. Then we walked over to Millenium Park to see the monuments (our favorite was “the Bean”, a mirrored bean-shaped display that reflects images of the city and people around it). We sat in the park, ate Chicago-style hot dogs, and relaxed before heading back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. We met Pat and Glenn for dinner at the Erie Café (one of Neal’s favorite restaurants in Chicago). Over the biggest steaks I have ever seen (and I ordered a petite steak), we caught up on all that has happened in each others’ lives and had a lot of laughs. It was a very nice evening.
The following morning we hit some of the tourist sights. We went to the observation deck of the John Hancock building for a breathtaking view of the city. From there, we walked to Navy Pier – Chicago’s version of Southbank (for all of our Melbourne readers) – and then drove back to Michigan. Overall, it was a short, but very fun, weekend.
The last major event of the month was the arrival of our sea shipment from Switzerland. We spent a few days getting all of our furniture and clothes in order and making the house feel like, well, a home. We were pleased to find that everything arrived in great shape and we found a place for it all. Although the house we are in is much bigger than the apartment we left behind in Zurich, the furniture fits well and it really does feel like home! We watched the leaves fall off the trees, met our local “pets” that like to walk thru our backyard (birds, deer, turkeys, and squirrels), and got familiar with our local surrounds.
Looking back, we certainly managed to get a lot done during our first month in the U.S. Although we like to be on the move, I think we deserve to have some downtime at home!
