Breakfast with Stories from Women
“Frauenfrüstuck mit Frauengeschichten” is an occasion where international women gather together to share breakfast and stories of individual struggles at Zwinglihause in Basel. We hear stories about overcoming handicaps and experiencing culture shock; we hear stories about the struggle of immigration and integration in a new country with different traditions.
Four times a year, these sixty to eighty women, who come from countries like, Egypt, Algeria, Nepal, Japan, Eritrea, India, Sri Lanka, Denmark, Morocco, Turkey, Kurdistan, Scotland, Switzerland, France, Germany, Mexico, Peru, meet to listen, motivate, support and inspire each other. Today, I am representing the Caribbean, and today I am here to listen. I will tell my own story at another time.
Before breakfast, some are busy in the kitchen making preparations, others set the table for guests, and those who arrive early meet and greet each other, get acquainted.
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After breakfast has started, and after guests at tables have had a chance to meet new visitors, it is the tradition that two women speak about their own struggles and how they overcame them and how they are now in a position to advise others on how to navigate the challenging world in which they live.
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Today’s speakers are Berrin Canbaz from Turkey and Sonja Ryf from Switzerland.
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| Berrin Canbazz |
Berrin Canbaz, who has been teaching meditation for de-stressing in everyday living, was the first to speak.
She tells us that her people are a minority in Turkey. She is a descendant of Genghis Kahn and therefore looks Asian. She mentioned that some members of her family have blond hair and blue eyes, but appear Asian. On her arrival in Switzerland with her family at age 5, their facial features made their integration much more difficult. The Turkish were suspicious of her claim to Turkish citizenship and so were the Swiss because she and her family did not fit the stereotype.
The isolation made life difficult for her father who was a tailor. In addition, adapting to a new culture caused her parents to become ill and depressive. She spent a lot of time looking after her parents and siblings. She, a female, fought against being kept down and this caused great friction in the family. In the end, she decided that she had to look after herself and her future. She took up several apprenticeships while trying to determine what profession was best for her. She survived with meditation, humor, sport and today she teaches meditation and coaches people on how to make better life choices. (See her ad below)
Culture shock is very real if you have not experienced it.
Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply transition to another type of life.[1] One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign environment. Culture shock can be described as consisting of at least one of four distinct phases: honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, and adaptation. See this link for more details.
https://medium.com/global-perspectives/the-4-stages-of-culture-shock-a79957726164
Sonja Ryf, who is Swiss and, advises people with psychiatric problems and migrants, talked about a different kind of culture shock. It is culture shock within Switzerland. On her move as a young woman from Bern to Basel, she was faced with a different German dialect and a different school system.
Annette Keller in her essay, “Native Foreigners?” published in Tickling Along with the Swiss, ed. Diane Dicks, 1988, talks exactly about that.
Sonjy Ryf found it very difficult to adapt to these changes.
She, too, tried different apprenticeships and took a long time to decide on a compatible profession. She had not done a lot of planning and participated in apprenticeships that were contrary to her nature. She had worked in a bookshop, worked as a secretary and worked with the law for example.
In the end, around age twenty-nine, she decided that she needed to work with people. Working with people and giving them advice is what she finds most fulfilling. She also does a lot of voluntary work and helps out where she is needed.
At a breakfast, in 2016, a “little person” and her mother were guest speakers. They spoke about the challenges of being a little person from the moment of being diagnosed to birth, entering school, socializing, to coming into adulthood.
Their talk was so captivating and emotional that some members of the audience went up and hugged them afterward
Next meeting and where to register, and how to get there, who runs it, what you can find there.
The next “Frauenfrüstück mit Frauengeschichten” (Breakfast with Women Stories) takes place on Saturday, December 2017.
If you are interested email (fraenfruehstueck@k5kurszentrum.ch) to reserve a place. You can also write:
K5 Basler Kurszentrum
Ela Satora
Gundelingerstrasse 161
4053 Basel
Women Meet Women
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2930277/Eleven-fathers-Asia-800-million-modern-men-descended-ancient-leaders-including-Genghis-Khan.html
Born in Antigua, West Indies, Althea Romeo-Mark is an educator and writer who grew up in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. She has lived and taught in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, USA, Liberia (1976-1990), London, England (1990-1991), and in Switzerland since 1991.
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