Gespräch mit der Einbürgerungskommission

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.