One week ago I made my descent into Basel and checked into my temporary apartment. I managed to spend an afternoon doing some grocery shopping, the Sunday doing site-seeing, then Monday morning registering myself to the canton. A few hours after, an already unreal feeling of now living abroad entered the realms of surreal when Switzerland announced new guidelines and entered a 5 week lockdown. Thanks coronavirus. The days I was able to spend outside were lovely. The temperature peaked at 20 degrees (a nice change from the frosty mornings in Norfolk!), everyone I spoke to was cheery and jolly …

It’s too late to change my mind and turn back now. On Saturday I’ll be flying out of London Heathrow and landing in Basel. It’s a curious feeling to book a one-way flight away from the country I’ve always lived in, and I’m sure it will feel only stranger once I’m actually sat on the flight. Having spent the last two weeks in recluse at my mum’s house in Norfolk, it’ll be a breath of fresh air to escape and start a new life elsewhere. A list of firsts awaits me; first time moving abroad, first time living alone, first …