The Day I Realized I was an Uptight American

My friend Annie and I stood poised by the train door, leaning forward, packs strapped on, and ready to sprint. We were making our way toward Gruyere – a tiny little medieval village way up in the hills of Switzerland. The town was known for making cheese. And we loved cheese.

A giant vat of cheese in Gruyere, Switzerland

A giant vat of cheese in Gruyere, Switzerland

This trip, of course, involved several train stops and switches along the way. We had just come from Milan two days before, a gigantic train station with a chaotic mess of people bumping up against each other. We had this on our minds, as well as the recent memory of us sprinting to catch a train at Domodossola, full packs on, only to watch it pull away in front of us in slow motion as we clutched air. (See: every dramatic scene from every travel movie ever).

So when we pulled up to a station near Gruyere knowing we would have to switch trains, we stood poised by the door. The train stopped, the doors opened, and we took off in a dead run……

view from the Swiss train

View from the Swiss train

We heard a sound to our left as we sprinted by the station office. A station employee stood chuckling at us. He reached out both hands and waved them in a downward motion. “Calm down, calm down – Ze conductor, he ees ‘ere. Ze train ees not going anywhere. Calm down ladies! (Chuckle, chuckle).”

We slowed to a walk and took in our surroundings. The tiny station had one other train sitting in it. Ten feet away. The conductor was obviously in the station – probably using the toilet, we realized. And all of the employees were lazily chatting and strolling toward the train. And silently laughing at us. None of the other passengers had even moseyed off the train yet.

We took a deep breath.

The view from the Swiss train station

The “frantic” view from the Swiss train station

That night we were finishing up our meal at a local restaurant. Annie bought a spicy Thai food meal, and I dug into some sort of rice cakes that came with the meal. I pretended that they were giant communion wafers, and Annie just rolled her eyes.

Me and the giant rice wafers

Me and the giant rice wafers

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We glanced over at a nearby table, and there it sat: a very expensive laptop bag. A couple had been eating at that table earlier, chatting and gazing at each other across their rice wafers. We quickly looked around the restaurant – they were gone. The couple had walked away and the guy had forgotten his pricey laptop and bag. Of course, we ran after them. Geez, we do a lot of running, don’t we?

“Pardon! Pardon sir! You left your bag!” We caught up with them, huffing and puffing. “Pardon sir – Parlez-vous anglais? You left your bag.” We pointed back toward the restaurant frantically. He just looked amused. We struggled to catch our breath, panting out broken sentences. “In there. The bag. Speak English?”

He smiled. “Of course I speak English. It’s all right, it’s all right, I just stepped out.” He lazily leaned back on one foot and held up a cigarette in his hand. “It’s fine in there. You’re in Switzerland, you know?” He gave us another amused smile. “Would you like a smoke?” We said no and walked away sheepishly, glad we had already paid for our meal.

Apparently things weren’t quite so frantic in this country. When had I gotten so uptight? Since forever. I had gotten used to a crazy pace of life without even realizing it.

And everyone in Switzerland was conspiring together to tell me one thing: “Calm. Down. Already.”

Sometimes getting away from your normal routine helps you get a fresh perspective about your life. And sometimes you can bring back more from a trip than a souvenir.

Like a calmer, less-frantic way of living.

Take a break this week. Kick back and sip some tea or listen to the rain. And just be for a while. Pretend the world won’t fall apart if you don’t rush.

And as they say in Switzerland, “Calm down. It’s okay.”

Kinda is an author, speaker, and hopeless wanderer. Her favorite places in the world include Manarola, Italy, and Gimmelwald, Switzerland. In her free time, you can find her bargain shopping and hanging out at coffee shops.

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8 comments on “The Day I Realized I was an Uptight American
  1. Kathi says:

    Nice one! Still remember how you told me the story of the train station 🙂 Welcome to Italy again if you need one more lesson of slowing down, haha! 😀

  2. Kinda Wilson says:

    KATHRIN!!!! Oh my gosh! I didn’t even think that you might read this haha. Don’t worry – I have plenty of stories and pics to tell about you as well 😀 I hope our paths will cross this May….if you make your delicious food again, I’m sure it will help me to relax 😉

  3. Casey says:

    Sitting on the sofa with a glass of wine listening to 5 kids tromping around upstairs. Knowing I have things to do but realizing sometimes a glass of wine on the sofa is a better choice. Miss your face my friend!

    • Kinda Wilson says:

      Miss you too girl! Sorry I didn’t get to see you more the last time I was there. I’ll be back your way shortly though….we have a LOT of catching up to do….

  4. Michelle says:

    This is great! It brought back so many memories of my travels, backpacking around. Switzerland was always my favorite. The glacial lakes and majestic peaks. Thanks for the reminder to slow down.

    • Kinda Wilson says:

      Thanks Michelle! I know, there’s really nothing like the mountains there – so amazing. I think that little hostel up in the Alps was the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. And you had to walk down the road and ask for cheese from the farmer! I wish life were more like that….

      (ps, we should go back)

  5. Ethan says:

    I would have done the same things as you in those situations! I’ll admit to filling my day with activities and not enough downtime, I get antsy. The relaxation in life is nice too.

    • Kinda Wilson says:

      I completely understand. I was just telling someone that if I’m not working around the clock, I start to feel guilty. Like I’m not making progress or not working as hard as I should. It takes a while to get out that mindset. Actually, I’m still trying 🙂

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