We're dancing at a private party in a building that was formerly a horse stable, listening to two large black dudes rapping in Swiss German. No idea what they're saying, but they're clearly pros. We're surrounded by a crowd of even larger dudes who are staring at us, arms crossed, not smiling. Lisa from New York, who invited us to the party, is undeterred.
"Isn't this great? They flew a famous Jamaican rapper to Zürich for the party! He's coming on next!"
My first weekend living Zürich. Good times.
On the plus side, the expats here are super friendly, and they're everywhere. Germans, Swedes, Americans, Brits, South Africans... most of them a bit crazy, of course, myself surely included. Pierre, for example, insists that cunnilingus is more pleasurable for women if salmon is used as an aid.
The Swiss, it seems, are not especially impressed by foreigners, even those with strange fetishes. The ones who've travelled or lived elsewhere are fun, but many stick closely to their Sandkastenfreunde ("sandbox friends") who they've known since childhood. My current record for chatting up a Swiss girl is 10 minutes of conversation before she runs away screaming. Impressive, I know.
The following weekend's big event was an
illegal alternative party on the banks of the river, imaginatively called "Shantytown". They built a stage, some towers, and a few shelters out of planks and tarps, with dancing in the mud and drinking all night A bit like an impoverished, miniature Burning Man festival.
Should be an interesting year. Photos coming soon.
Things get a bit crazy when the population of your city quadruples for a weekend. It was a bit too messy for me to use the big guns, but my trusty old pocket camera found a few interesting people to capture on film. More Swiss pictures coming soon...
