second rumination of the day.

I almost typed "ruination" just now. Innnnnteresting.

So I was reflecting just now on how happy Mike seems to be in his new office, having been introduced there this evening. FYI, it is now 8:00 in the PM and he is just getting home. Of course, this led me to think about jobs and the procuring of one, for myself...which is a depressing subject. Precisely because I have few to no skills to offer the fast-paced, large-amounts-of-money-demanding job market here in one of the world's emerging financial capitals. Can it be, you might ask yourself, that someone with a master's degree in education and an undergraduate degree in history--that's right, history, people!--might have a hard time finding some way to be a productive (and money-earning) member of society, in a country where she doesn't speak any of the 4 national languages? (You'd think that out of a total of FOUR national languages, I'd at least stand a chance, but "rudimentary-at-best Italian and about ten words of German" doesn't seem to cut it here.)

It can be, in fact. It is. And it certainly doesn't buoy the spirits to know that actual qualified candidates, armed with higher degrees than my own, and with genuine experience, can't even seem to land jobs that fall under the "need person immediately for this!!" category. What's left, then, you might ask? I have no idea. I don't know where to look, whom to talk to, or even how I might convince a prospective employer that I, with my single language and vast experience in the American administrative field, might be a valuable hire.

It's not even that I WANT to be employed that much...my dermatologist, upon hearing that I was leaving the country, asked how I felt about becoming a "lady of leisure", and I loved that! I'm SO good at being unemployed! Sadly, however, unemployment does not provide one with the amazing Swiss pension plan that provides one with guaranteed income into his or her twilight years. Nor does it come with a 401(k), or IRAs, or stocks, or even a salary (gasp!), or any of the other underrated financial benefits that an actual job provides, and THIS is my predicament in the city with the world's 6th highest cost of living. While I know that my dear husband will probably work until the day he dies--he can't stand idle hands--I don't feel quite right about relying on his inability to sit still to provide me with sustenance and a comfortable place to live until I kick the bucket as well.

On the up side, the "Mexican" food last night was far better than it should have been. My fajitas came with actual homemade tortillas and real black beans (they had curry in them, but they were the first bean-like substance I've seen here!!), and Mike's chile con carne was absolutely fantastic. No, really. I mean it. We have no green chile, or Sonic, or actual American-style bacon, but we have chile con carne! A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.