1st Eid in Switzerland

Tomorrow is Eid El Adha. If we were in Algeria, we'd be having a nice meal, probably a roast chicken prepared by mum, as we don't usually slaughter a lamb in my family. We did it a few times when my sister and I were little. But since we left home some twenty years ago, my parents have never seen the sense in buying and slaughtering a whole lamb for just the two of them.

Over the years, I've managed many times to spend Eid El Fitr with my parents (the one celebrating the end of Ramadan) but never Eid El Adha. It's never had the same importance for our family.

This year it's taken me by surprise. Freshly arrived in a new country, with a ton of things to do and great adjustments to make, I've been caught short and hadn't realised the imminence of Eid. Now we won't even be able to celebrate as a family, since BabelDad planned a day trip in Germany for BK2 and himself to hear Buzz Aldrin talk about the moon and Mars.

Had we been in Manchester, we'd have spent a good part of the day with our Algerian friends, celebrating. Instead, this year, I'll be entertaining two children and resenting the fact there is no one to celebrate with.

This immigrating stuff is still hard, fifteen years down the line... But then I go on the terrace, and look to my right. Life is good.