ch ch ch change

You've got to trust me when I'm not the type of girl unaccustomed to change. In the past in fact i thrived on it. Sought it out even. New country? when do I fly? New continent? Which plug system should I stock up on? I'm becoming a little more settled now and one of the thing I love about my annual visits to Switzerland is that things here largely stay the same. My first shock was directly at the airport. I went into the Presse to buy my favourite Milka chocolate and there wasn't any. I found it a little strange, but carried on to he train assuming I'd find it elsewhere. nada. The whole 4 days here have been a fruitless search, even after enlisting the aide of my friends! I've no access to the internet so i can't do some research into this sorry state of affairs. even those large posters of purple cows have disappeared.

Next stop - drinks and dinner with IB GF (Investment banker girlfriend). Her shocking news - she's no longer got a job. I'm too discrete to ask if she jumped or was pushed. I had found it strange to find her in Lausanne on a week day, let alone available at 6pm for drinks. She was slightly shell shocked in the way that victims of trauma are. Luckily I had all the time in the world to listen to the stories off all her deals of the last few years. And that's just it - she was in deals all the time. ones that got executed I suggested that she now spent a little time on her personal life - like if she found a new job at least ensuring it was in the same country, if not town of her long standing long distance boyfriend for example. The worst of it all for her was that in her particular bank they've given the keys to the asylum to the lunatics. the very people who'd bankrupted the system were not only still around but were running the show.

At IMD I hear stories of changes made by the new president. after 15 years with Peter Lorange thing had a certain course and certainty. Like the Berlin Philharmonica after the death of van Karajan, the orchestra conducted itself. And even though all these sane and intelligent people could rationalise the change and even their reactions to it, it was still change. and change, when it's not exciting, is uncomfortable.

After resisting for a few days, I go and have a look at my emails. A person I respect hugely has decided to withdraw his child from ISF. I'm devastated. I'd known his issues, and they're similar to mine, but the last chat we'd had we'd both pretty much decided to wait and see what the change of a new principal and head of primary would do. I'd been cross at discovering that they're changing the math curriculum for the 3rd time in as many years. and the trend is not for the better. Going from Singapore math to NSW math to my despised Everyday math is not what I view as a positive change. That was perhaps the final straw for him as his child is talented in Math, whereas for me the Chinese is paramount and maths secondary. But

i shouldn't speculate.

Last night I was chatting to BI GF (Big industry Girlfriend). She's been away with her kids in Germany so I haven't been able to see her this trip. We were debriefing on her last performance appraisal and she was saying how part of her just wanted to stay in her current town and job and industry forever. And part of her ... at this point I thought she'd say "wants to go back to X" - her home country. She is after all, a single mother in a foreign country. But no, she continued that part of her wanted to go to INDIA and work there. I applauded her enthusiastically and emphasised the positives of such a move. She's never been a girl to let social convention tie her down, so why should she start now. And change, as hard as it may be, it makes us stretch and grow and challenges our assumptions - not the least of which is what we are what we want and why.