- Well, it's now the end of March, and we're still dealing with government bureacracy over being forced to obtain Swiss
medical insurance. On top of that, since they had made a mistake with the date on our visas, we now have more paperwork to
do, and they are wanting to take our passports for a certain period of time as part of the "work" to extend our visas! They're
not getting MY passport!
- When driving around Switzerland, you need to know what the name of a city or special landmark is called in the local
language. For example, the city of Solothurn has 3 names. Solothurn is the German name, Soleure in French, and Soletta in
Italian! When traveling through the Simplon pass from the Italian side, you need to watch the signs for "Sempione", or you'll
be lost!
- sweet pickle relish, brown sugar (as we have in the US), cool whip and real chocolate chips don't exist here.
- I've found that there are no small wash cloths in any hotel we have stayed in, so I have to remember to bring my own.
These hotels are well over $100 a night - you would think they could provide a wash cloth!
- I've mentioned before that the Swiss don't use a top sheet. In the winter they have a comforter - either synthetic
or down, with a duvet cover over it. I have not slept well in any hotel because I get much too hot under this thick comforter,
and then I'm too cold without it. There's nothing in between. No simple sheet or blanket. This is really frustrating!
- back in the states I use little twist ties all the time. I haven't seen them in use here. My parents brought
some for me when they came to visit. I am very careful not to waste or lose my twist ties!
- we just found out that we finally will be receiving our visas to stay the year. We should have received them
by now, but Berny, our Swiss partner who is at our house in Wheeling, emailed me to tell me that they came in our mailbox
in Wheeling! So now we have to wait for him to mail them back to us in Switzerland! It just never ends....
- so we finally get our resident permits for our stay here, and it is marked that they are valid until June 7, 2005 -
Rick is not even done teaching at that time! I don't know how they came up with that date, so, here we go again trying to
get this straightened out. I'm really starting to think that they are doing this on purpose so that we will be so happy
to leave at the end of the school year!
- milk and orange juice comes in 1 litre paper cartons. To open the package, you need to cut off a little flap on the
carton. We've have not figured out a fool proof way to cut them open which would guarantee no spills! This also presents
a problem for orange juice, in which the carton normally needs to be shaken a little before serving since the contents
settle. Once the carton has been opened, it is impossible to shake without spilling all over the kitchen.
- Although calorie amounts are listed on most packaging, it's not as readable as in the United States. Plus,
on a box of cookies, for example, they will list the number of calories for let's say, 300 grams. The package might be
450 grams, which means you'd have to open the entire package, count all the cookies, spend 10 minutes doing mathematical calculations
to find out how many of those cookies equal 300 grams and divide to find the calories per cookie! I've solved this problem
by forgetting the calories and just eating the food!
- Product labels are difficult to read. Since there are 3 main languages in Switzerland, they try to cram everything
in all 3 languages on even the smallest package! If they can't, it's at least in German and French.
- The bureacracy in aggravating. Back in August I turned in all the paperwork they requested in order for us to get our
visas to stay the year. Now, they say our marriage certificate is not valid in Switzerland! Yes, according to the Swiss, Rick
and I are not married! They only will recognize a civil ceremony and we were married in the church. We are still trying to
resolve this problem - I can't believe they haven't come across this before! Rick and I are wondering if we should take advantage
of the situation --- just kidding!
- Everything takes 2-3 times longer to do. When you need a simple item, you often can`t find it - they don`t always
have the same products, or they are probably sold in some store you`ve never seen before, so you have no idea how to obtain
it.
- They don`t sell simple two-pocket school folders. Nowhere. Nada, niente. I have to put papers into a plain file folder
- where they can fall out.
- No garage door opener. Have to get out of the car and open the door the old fashion way! (although there are a few
rare people who have them)
- No kitchen garbage disposal. I have yet to find any European who even knows what it is.
- No dryer. Very few people have dryers since they use up too much energy. This means washing and drying clothes is a
long process and I have to iron everything since it's all very wrinkled!
- Can't find just a simple broom in the stores. They are all the long, wide type which I don't like to use.
- Not a feather duster to be found. How do they dust the little delicate areas?
- Restaurants are smokey. It's getting better though. In Ticino they just passed a law which mandates a non-smoking area
of a restaurant - although at this point it is just a few tables. In other parts of Switzerland all restaurants are all smoking.
- The house we are living in does not have any carpet anywhere. No place to just sit on the floor.
- The car we use only has 2 seats, which becomes a problem if we have a guest. Renting an automatic car is extremely
expensive.
- The washing machine takes almost 1 1/2 hours to do one load.
- Everything is closed on Sunday. You better plan your weekend meals ahead of time! Nothing is open on Sundays.
- Apples don't look bright and appealing like they do in the states.
- If you miss a turn while driving, you often have to drive for so long before finding a place to turn around - and sometimes
you don't - because the roads are so narrow.
- Rush hour traffic is heavy because there is often only one way to get over a mountain.
- You often have to pay to park anywhere - even at many grocery stores.
- During the week all the stores close by 6:30pm. (except for Thursday nights when many are open until 9pm).
