Interview with Romy @ Half the Sugar Bowl

Having been in Switzerland since eight years, I recently thought about creating a blog to interact and meet with new people. As a start, an idea occurred why not interview the special Swiss Expat Bloggers and get to know them. But I was not sure, if this would work out and people would actually take time for such a request.

After browsing through a couple of blogs, the design and appeal of "half the sugar bowl" by Romy stood out. Incidentally, I also saw on Swiss Expat Bloggers that she was infact organizing a Bloggers Meet-up which I intend to join. With a bit of hesitation I emailed Romy if she would accept my request for an interview. Her quick reply and accepting to be on my blog got me excited. I was quite amazed at the variety of delicacies on her blog. (though my wife is more of a sweet addict).
So here she is (and my impressions):

 

I read that you have been almost all over the world, have you ever thought that sometime in future you would rather prefer to settle down in some place.

At this point in my life I'm honestly not sure. I lived in many different and exciting countries in my childhood, but never in my "home" one.  After finishing college, I decided to move to Switzerland - not necessarily to settle down, but to experience life here for a few years and develop some closer ties to "home."  My husband is American, though, so no matter what country we live in we will always have other places in the world that are home as well.

What you like most about Switzerland? What do you not like here in general? What is your favourite Swiss dessert?

I'm a very organized person so I love that everything here is clean, efficient, and planned to a T. My husband often jokes that anyone who likes Switzerland must have at least a little of those qualities in their personality.  I also just love the beauty of nature here, and how well humans and the natural surroundings are in harmony.  In Swiss culture, mountains and forests and lakes are seen as places for recreation and enjoyment, which is a huge contribution to the quality of life and leads to excellent environmental policies because people feel much closer to nature.

There's not a whole lot I don't like - I speak Swiss German so language isn't an issue for me, which is one of the main things I think people have trouble with when they move here. (Well, you got me here)

Hmmm my favorite Swiss dessert!  That's a tough one.  (I thought so:) It would be a tie between huge meringues with thick double cream from Gruyere, and the traditional apple cider pudding (Süessmostcreme) that my grandmother makes.

Is halfthesugarbowl your first blogging experience? Why did you started blogging and has the theme changed with the time?

I started blogging back in 2002 when I went to college in the States, to stay in touch with my family and friends. I was using a different platform back then, and my blog was very much just a random collection of my thoughts and activities.  About a year ago I started to get really into food blogs and decided to move to Blogger and give my blog a better title, and be more purposeful about writing entries with photos and specific topics.  I mostly blog about things and experiences that I find make life sweeter, which covers anything from travel, to couchsurfing, to hiking, to silly things my cat does.  I particularly love to cook and bake, so a lot of of my entries are about food, too. (As I mentioned earlier, the blog design and appearance are quite appealing)

Did you make new friends with your blog? What has been the best experience?

Recently I have been making a lot of new friends through my blog, which is something I really didn't expect to happen. I joined the Swiss Expat Bloggers group about a year ago and have met a lot of great people, especially the four other expat bloggers who live right in my town!  I've also become a lot less shy about emailing someone who has a blog I really enjoy and seeing if they'd like to meet in person.

Would you like to share some tips or experience with someone who is new to blogging here?

When I write, I often think of a quote from one of my favorite authors, C. S. Lewis - "Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth the way you see it (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."

I would also tell a new blogger to get active in the blogging community.  Join groups, read and leave lots of comments on other peoples' blogs, and generally get the word out there about your blog and make friends! (will definitely follow this) Like I wrote above, I've discovered blogging can be a really great way of meeting people, sharing common interests, and feeling like part of a community.