This week, almost six months after we had
our first interview, we received the invitation to the Gespräch mit der
Einbürgerungskommission. This is the big
interview with a committee of seven people during which we’ll be grilled about
Swiss history, geography, traditions and the government. The
first three categories shouldn’t be difficult but the fourth, because it will include
the names of our federal, cantonal and local politicians will be a bit trickier. We may even be asked the departments for
which they’re responsible. My strategy
will be, when in doubt, answer Urs or Ueli and hope for the best. Our interview was initially scheduled for
October 11th, when we’ll be in San Diego for Lindsey’s wedding, so I shifted it
to the week after we return. Not a problem. We’ve waited this long so what’s two more
weeks. We know others who’ve done this,
although no Americans, so we’ve done some research to learn a bit about what to
expect. All Cantons do it differently and
in Basel we’ve heard that one member of the committee does the speaking and will
direct each question to a specific family member. Unfortunately,
this means that it’s not done like a game show where the family can huddle
before confidently responding with their collective answers. This is too bad for us because while Paige’s
excellent German would ensure we understood the questions correctly, her negligible
interest in preparing may leave her stranded, short of the goal. In a team scenario, I could have then stepped
in to demonstrate the benefits of my boundless enthusiasm and preparation to provide
the correct answer. Alas, that’s not how it will go so we run the
risk of me accurately answering the wrong question while Paige is left responding,
“I don’t know” in perfect Schwyzerdütsch.
We’ll see. Wish us luck.
