7 Million Police
February 8, 2010 at 9:06 pm | In Swiss Observations, Switzerland | Leave a CommentBack in November I wrote about the social pressures that the Swiss general population put on those around them to conform to what they feel is the ‘right thing to do’. A German friend we caught up with recently put it into one simple sentence ‘Switzerland has 7 million police’. This makes sense when you know that the population of Switzerland is around 7.2 million.
I had yet another example of this just the other day. As I mentioned in a recent post, all Zürich citizens have to go to extreme lengths to get rid of their recycling. I was doing just this, getting rid of our PET bottles at the nearest supermarket, when I saw an 80-odd year old women staring at me. I knew straight away though Switzerland’s social norms that I must be doing something wrong. After two separate shakes of Grandma’s head I realised what it was. Her PET had been squashed before being put in the bin… mine had not. Definitely worthy of the dirty look I must say. Suffice to say that I will know better in the future.
Break in the Weather
February 7, 2010 at 6:32 pm | In Life Observations, Switzerland | Leave a CommentIt’s funny how quickly you adjust to new surroundings, new cultures and new environments. I just looked at today’s weather on Google Weather (what don’t these guys have…) and it says it is plus one degree outside. I found myself thinking “hmm, not too cold today’. Amazing given I had previously lived in Sydney my whole life where it doesn’t get below 10 degrees. Oh, and there was the 10 months I spent in Darwin as well, where it doesn’t get below 28. What a contrast.
Birthday
February 5, 2010 at 8:55 pm | In Switzerland, Sydney, Travel | Leave a CommentToday is A’s birthday. I had booked dinner for five of us on the top of one of the mountains that surround Zürich, but she has decided that she just wants to have dinner here at home. When I thought about her last two or so weeks I can see why.
The three days before we left for Sydney she was at an offsite in the north of Switzerland. She had literally 30mins to get ready when she came back before we had to head to the airport. We arrived back in Zürich last Sunday night around 9:00pm, and she had to fly to Copenhagen at 10:00am the next morning. Originally she was only there for one night, but got stuck for two due to a blizzard that rolled in. So, she finally made it home late on Wednesday evening.
I worked out this morning that in past 2 ½ weeks she has only been in our apartment for eight waking hours. No wonder she wants to stay at home tonight. Her mum is here with us for the weekend, and we have invited A’s brother and his partner over. Her mum is a wonderful chef so it is highly likely that the meal she prepares will be better than we would have had in the restaurant anyway. I’m hungry already.
Doing the Right Thing
February 2, 2010 at 5:22 pm | In Darwin, Swiss Observations, Switzerland | Leave a CommentWhen I was in Darwin I quickly became aware of the lack of recycling collection in my apartment block, leading to everything being sent to landfill. Not a positive thing for our environment. The Swiss make this even more complex. Normal garbage collection is not covered by council rates so they have implemented a user pays system. Garbage bags are expensive, starting at $2.20 each for a 35 litre kitchen tidy size bag, to cover the cost of its collection. I am a big fan of this system as it makes you think about what you are stuffing in that bag and therefore makes you recycle more, reducing landfill.
But the recycling system is another matter entirely. Paper is collected every other fortnight. Cardboard, which cannot be mixed with paper, is collected the in between fortnight making each collection monthly or so. My brother-in-laws partner mentioned when we first arrived that both must be left in neat little piles, about A4 in size, tied with biodegradable cotton string. I thought she was exaggerating to emphasise the manner of Swiss precision, but as I left our building the other day I realised that all of the cardboard had been collected except one bundle. It was out of shape, not tied with said string, and had three of four newspapers mixed in with it. I now know that she wasn’t joking. I hope my first attempt at recycling meets the collector’s very high expectations. I have been stock piling ours since we moved in because I can never remember what has to go out when. Better diarise for February.
Back Again
February 1, 2010 at 2:08 pm | In Switzerland, Travel | Leave a CommentLast night we returned from our short trip to Sydney. A few years ago I visited Germany with duration of only 10 days, 12 including the two flights, but this week’s adventure has been even shorter. Nine days in total door to door. We managed to cram a lot into this time though, mainly spending time with my family, but also having Sushi Train four times. She is obsessed I tell you.
This week will see me going even harder at my job search. There have been a few promising signs that the market, especially in IT, is improving with the New Year. I am having ongoing discussions with one particular organisation which may bare fruit, but I am not counting chickens just yet. But, I do have all of my possibly crossable body parts crossed. I will be sure to keep everyone updated.
Our Newest Australian
January 28, 2010 at 7:48 am | In Life Observations, Swiss Observations, Switzerland, Sydney, Travel | Leave a CommentOn Tuesday, Australia Day, my fiancée became our newest Australian Citizen. It was the culmination of a number of years work, the completion an endless list of forms, and the patience of a saint (her that is, not me). As I have spoken about recently I don’t think I really appreciate how special this is. But by the look on her face when she finally had the certificate in her hand, I can certainly take a good guess. She was over the moon. It was a very special ceremony and she even received her very own Australian Showbag, complete with Aussie flag. No book on how to use the ‘barbie’ though.
This all took place at 8:30am on Tuesday, and by 10:00am on Wednesday we were sitting in Department of Foreign Affairs completing her interview to get her Australian Passport. And by midday today, Thursday, she will have the passport in her hand through the fast track function they now offer. You pay a bit more but they guarantee you have your passport in 2 business days. Just in time for our return flight to Zürich on Sunday morning.
I started researching the same thing if I ever thought about getting my Swiss Citizenship, and it seems it is even more difficult than it is here, which I find hard to believe. They say that it takes about 15 to 20 years to finally be granted. An acquaintance in Zürich recently received his after 12 years and that was only due to exception circumstances (he works for a government body). I don’t think I will ever get there so no use holding my breath. With my EU passport I can stay indefinitely anyway once I find a job so it doesn’t make a real difference.
Conjugations
January 22, 2010 at 7:52 pm | In Germany, Swiss Observations | Leave a CommentI was looking through job ads today, as I do almost every day, and came across this German word: ‘Finasnzdienstleistungsunternehmen’. No matter how many websites or dictionaries I went to I could not find the meaning. So, off to the German Oracle, my Fiancée. It means ‘financial services company’, but because the German language joins a lot of words together, it ended up this 33 letter behemoth. Kindergarten which we are of course familiar with in English is a simple example, directly translating to Children’s Garden. Words this size I can handle.
Change in the Weather
January 21, 2010 at 7:01 am | In Life Observations, Swiss Observations, Switzerland | Leave a CommentLiving in a city that is this cold is an unusual experience. Sometimes I wonder why evolution didn’t push us out of places like this. I mean, if you need to put on two jackets to go up the road to buy ice cream then maybe it isn’t fit for human inhabitation. But then again, it only gets to about -10 here, and in Siberia, Poland and Iceland it can get to -30 on a regular basis. I have no idea what that must be like.
A’s family have a cabin in the Swiss Alps that was build sometime time in the early 1700s. Most of it has been renovated, but the kitchen, which used to be a cheese making room, is all original and doesn’t have heating. I realised a few years ago when we were there during Winter, and it was about -8 outside, that we were in fact using the fridge as a heating device. That plays with the mind…
Just before Christmas we had drinks with A’s brother at his place. I asked where the beer was and he said ‘outside on the balcony’. Being an Aussie I thought, there is no way in hell I am drinking warm beer, I’m no pom, then I realised it was about 2 degrees outside. Perfect for keeping beer cold. Again, this really does play with the mind.
Multi-lingual
January 19, 2010 at 6:29 pm | In Swiss Observations, Switzerland | Leave a CommentI have commented on here about the diversity of languages in Switzerland, and how much I am in awe of people who speak more than one, given my own current learning. On the weekend I had an experience that was the epitome of this. We had afternoon tea with our friends on Saturday as I mentioned. Our French friend was talking to her daughter in French, her husband in German, and me in English, all in the same conversation. I dream of the day when I can just manage German.
Even more amazing was their daughter. She was comfortably speaking to her mum in French, as well as her dad in German. But, she is just three years old. I could learn a lot from her I feel.
6 Months Down
January 18, 2010 at 10:53 am | In Life Observations, Switzerland | 1 CommentAs of today I have officially been unemployed for 6 months. As I have said for a while now, the first 2 months or so were through my own choice due to holidaying and the big move, but it is the remaining 4 months that have me concerned. My savings can only take me so far, especially in a city as expensive as Zürich.
I have however had some promising signs in the past two weeks. I have been in some preliminary conversations with two large financial services organisations with a view to interview with them in the next few weeks. I have my fingers crossed that something comes of it as the pressure is building.
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