How do you greet an expat for the first time?

Yes! Finally, and thanks to the TBFs, we got to meet Sal from the “Fat Sal's Smoking Lounge” blog (formerly known as “Sal’s virtual tapas bar”) in flesh and blood. We had arranged for this meeting a few weeks ago already, and we were both really excited. We decided to meet at the Brauner Mutz, one of the oldest and most traditional restaurants in Basel.

Sal and TBFs had lunch there, but we had agreed we’d meet them later. Around 2.00 pm, we walked in and saw that “perfect bald head” and knew immediately where we had to go. We sneaked up behind their table (that was thankfully covered by a half wall and lots of green plants). O-X, armed with only a camera, took this first shot. Just for the record… I think this guy smells that there is a camera 100 yards away! Really! How can a guy pose like that in the blink of an eye/flash??

So how do you greet an expat that you know from blogging and see for the first time? Well, Sal stood up and said “Hi. I’m Sal”, to which I kinda responded: “Hi. I’m CS”. And there we stood… not knowing what to do. How embarrassing! As good Swiss citizen, I extended my hand, inviting him to take it and then wanting to pull him towards me (naughty girl!) for the mandatory 3 Swiss kisses. And then, he catches me off guard by just opening his arms to hug me. Although my plan was ruined, it was a very warm welcome greeting indeed!

We had a beer, chatted a bit and decided to leave the restaurant to walk a few steps through Basel, lost Mrs TBF (she had informed us that she still needed to get a few things and prepare the rest of the dinner and would “jump-off”), took the ferry across the Rhine, had another beer and chatted some more. Thank goodness we had the chance to chat a bit with him before “the party”! You’ll understand as you read. :)

Since TBF also still had a quick vacuuming in mind before the other guests arrived, Orange-X and I decided to stroll through the Christmas market and join them later.

We arrived (like any good Swiss) five minutes before the expected time. Sal was helping set up the table and we had nothing to do. We tried not to stand in the way. Soon enough, the doorbell rang and the other guests arrived. Full house! Seven adults and 3 kids: The TBFs, Sal, Rammy, John and their son Oliver, Andy, Di and their two off springs, Ali and Sam, and us. Chit-chat, chit-chat: My head was already spinning and at some point, I asked Sal: “Is this what you had expected?” Sal’s answer went something like: “Uhm, yeah. It’s pretty much what I expected.” I wonder if he meant the cross chatting, or the champagne. Sal?

Mrs. TBF had cooked an excellent meal again, but much too much (to our luck… we were hoping for leftovers!), and it was De-Li-Cious! First a chick pea soup, then meatballs, filled conghilie (large pasta shells) with light tomato sauce, fennel and a beautiful assortment mushrooms. Of course, I just had to fill my plate (that I couldn’t finish!), but I did have a bit of Tiramisù that Rammy had brought later on. Yummy!

During dinner – even for us – it was difficult to follow all the different conversations that were going on, but let me tell you, it was very lively, fun, entertaining and interesting. We had many laughs … Andy even tried to get TBF to work again. Now THAT is a conversation you would have enjoyed! Of course it was full of jokes! What did you expect? Just look at the pictures!

We had a last few drinks … (yes, we were again the last to leave *sigh*. Will we ever better ourselves?) and left short before 2am. But you know what? We never got the “green fairy”. My fault…. I forgot to ask. Sorry, Sal.

We had a great time again, and Sal? Next time we meet, it will be in Chicago, or in Nova Scotia (this is a joke between Sal ‘n me, okay?) ;) What do you say, Sal?

I got an award... I got an award!!!!

First off, thank you to SwenglishExpat for the "Roar" award. I really don’t understand why he chose me, because I haven’t been very active in blogging lately (both posting and visiting other blogs), and I think there are much better blogs than mine out there. Nevertheless, I’m very honoured to receive it and should encourage me to post more often/regularly.

Here are the details: Those people I've given this award to are encouraged to post it on their own blogs; list three things they believe are necessary for good, powerful writing; and then pass the award on to the five blogs they want to honour, who in turn pass it on to five others, etc., etc. Let's send a roar through the blogsphere! The image at the top right can be copied and pasted onto other blogs. Also, a small size of the award for sidebars can be found over at the writing circle site.

I think that’s pretty cool, don’t you? Okay. So let’s start.

Originally, I put it up so that my family and friends, who are pretty much strewn all over Europe and Canada, could follow the daily ongoing of our lives. My blog is about our life in Switzerland, friends, travel and a little bit of bitching every now and then. I do it for fun. That’s all. Like many other blogger buddies, there are no literary ambitions behind this blog. My original thought is still there, but I'm happy to say that I have made many friends through blogging.

However, I do believe that:

1. A catchy title is always a good start to attract the reader.



2. I tend to do posts that are much too long (I think I do), and when I’m in a bit of a rush, I really value short and concise posts. Less is sometimes more. (note to self: remember that line).



3. The contents should – if possible – not be too offensive. Being critical about things happening around us is all right and sometimes a must, but at times, I just think it gets too close to the edge of offensiveness and rudeness. This doesn’t only happen in the posts themselves, but also in the comments, which often results in comments being blocked until approval of the blog owner.
   

Now to my awards (this is not going to be easy):

The Big Finn (alias TBF)
TBF got me started with blogging, so he gets special thanks for that, too. Yes, it's all HIS fault! ;)

He - and once in a while, Mrs. TBF - write about the daily life as an expat in Switzerland, friends, family and travel. He’s “da” (Did I mention that he grew up in Chicago?) houseman and never gets bored. You'll love it!

ExpatTraveler
ET loves travelling, Switzerland and swimming. Not only that, she’s an excellent photographer. Originally from California, she lived in Switzerland and France for a few years and is now in Canada with her husband.

Shelli’s sentiments
That says it all, doesn’t it? Shelli is a loving mother of three children and grandmother of little Belle, and a wonderful person with a great personality. She’s a talented, witty writer and an avid blogger AND she's my friend :) I *heart* her. Go pay a visit.

Ginnie
Ginnie is pure soul and pure gold. She is a loving Mom and Grand Ma, retiree and a very close friend of mine. Not to mention that she's a fantastic photographer. Ginnie travels regularly between Atlanta and Amsterdam with Donica. She loves nothing more than to capture the moments on camera. Curious? Go see! She's incredible.

Kill the goat
Jay is a not only a fabulous writer, she’s also a lovely person AND she’s Canadian. She will make you look for tissues just as much as she can get you to roll on the floor laughing.

So there. It was a difficult choice to choose only five, but you can find my blogroll on my sidebar. It’s there for a reason, you know. ;)