Category Archives: Cultural Differences

A Page from the Swiss Rule Book: Recycling

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Post by Lauren

I am all about protecting Mother Earth. However, here in Switzerland, it really requires a lot of knowledge and time to keep up with your recycling. I really don’t know how I would manage if I were working full-time and had to do all of this, especially with the limited hours that the bins are available for use and stores are open. Also, they have “garbage police” that track down any offenders via rooting though your garbage for clues about your identity.

So, here is a breakdown of what is required:

Aluminum – cans go to a special aluminum bin that is normally located in your neighborhood recycling area. Note that my closest one is on the walk to the women’s club, so I take aluminum on days I have French.

Batteries & Lightbulbs – you have to take these back to the store you bought them. Usually the bin is right before you get into the store. We haven’t had this happen yet but good to know.

 

Compost – you are required collect your natural food scraps and put it in the special bin for compost. They make special bags for this but I have been using the bags that my salad comes in to dump since the teeny bags are about 1 CHF each.

Glass bottles – these go to a neighborhood collection site. The closest one is 3 blocks away, on my way to the post office. Usually this bag gets quite heavy as I despise going to the post office. Note the bag can get very full if you have a dinner party with beer and wine.

WARNING – you are only allowed to do this within certain hours, 8a-8pm, and NEVER on Sundays or holidays. My friend Alysoun and her husband were severely reprimanded by two separate neighbors for breaking this ordinance on the last Swiss holiday during the middle of the day, which was on a Monday.

Milk bottles – these have to actually go back to the grocery store, they usually go to the milk section inside the store – there is a little hole in the wall you insert your old bottles into. This has to happen during store hours, 8:30-7pm and when you know you are going to the store. One day, I carried three empty milk bottles around all day because I knew I was going to hit the Co-op that afternoon.

Paper & cardboard – this goes in your building’s bin. If your building doesn’t have a bin, you have to tie it up neatly in a 1’ x 1’ bundle tied with twine and put it on the street a certain day.

 

PET / Plastic Bottles – these have to be collected from the store you brought it from since it is the liability of the store from making profit of selling plastic bottles. So when you go grocery shopping, you need to return them with you. Sometimes these bins are just outside of the store, sometimes they are in the store.

 

While I feel very eco-responsible, I do miss single stream like we had in the US. And I never leave the house without a bag of something to recycle. I am a continual bag lady. This is typically the size of the load I carry out each day:

 

 

We had been keeping everything in the kitchen for convenience:

However, I finally couldn’t take the eyesore and smell, so I invented a new bin using a Rubbermaid tote. It sits outside on our kitchen balcony.

Happy Recycling Everyone!

Rain, rain go away…..

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Post by Lauren

When it rained in Charlotte, it wasn’t a big deal. I mean, it was a good water cooler topic, with people commenting, “ummm…i think its supposed to rain today” and “man, did you hear that crazy storm last night?” but it really wasn’t a show stopper. Mainly because we had cars there. And you’d hop in your car that was really close to the office entrance and drive that car to a grocery store and park really close and then home which was virtually by your door or even completely sans rain with a garage. And you could keep rain gear in your car if the occasion arose to need it.

And as we continue, this post is not meant to discourage public transportation. I am a huge fan and it would rank in one of the top 3 reasons I love Geneva. But, I am certainly developing a whole new appreciation for city-dwellers all over the world. They have this completely different life than what I am used to.

And……sometimes it is not glamourous.

I got my first taste of this when I walked / trammed / bussed home a large house plant from IKEA over the course of a 2 hour adventure. Quite different from my experience buying a plant in the US. Before, I’d roll up to the Home Depot about a mile from my house, pull my car really close, use a cart to load it, and I was set. It would take 10 minutes tops and I wouldn’t break a sweat. A little different carrying a fern a mile and then getting boxed into a tram and needing a rescue effort to get out and home.

And, now, I am learning from rain. Life goes on when it rains, but in a city, it is quite different. You have to be prepared, or else be drenched.

#1 – You have to remember your umbrella. And if you live on a lake, there is a chance of rain most days, so you really should bring it with you at all times. And since we don’t use cars, this means – carry on your person. Here are the contents I already have in my bag this week:
– normal purse stuff – wallet, phone, camera, passport, etc.
– gym clothes and shoes – since i go before French, and then have to carry my clothes and shoes for the next 12 hours. This would be better if Globo Gym didn’t require a clean set of shoes upon entrance, but it is what it is and i have to carry them around in my purse all day after my session
– toiletries from showering at the gym – makeup, hair, comb
– my school books, papers, pens, pencils, highlighters, French dictionary, reading glasses
– my breakfast and lunch for the day – the lunch line is too long with our 15 min break
– my umbrella and rain coat
It makes me tired listing this out. The umbrella and rain coat are the items that really push it though.

# 2 – You have to accommodate your umbrella at all times. On the tram, while you are walking if its not raining anymore but the thing is wet, in stores ( got yelled at for bringing mine in store the other day), and when you reach your destination – whether it be temporary or permanent.

# 3 – You have to navigate your umbrella. On a city street, this can get awkward. I had a showdown with a lady in my neighborhood on the teeny sidewalk. Who was going to jump of the sidewalk and risk death by bus? I ended up raising mine really high to the sky to avoid either of us going into the street…not easy when you are 5’ 2”. However, I am worried I might lose an eye over here to an umbrella showdown.

# 4 – You are permanently damp and icky. But at least everyone is. Just today, I had an appointment with the chiropractor at 6:30. It required an hours worth of connections to get there. It just so happened one of my transfers that I wasn’t familiar with was in the middle of a big downpour burst and doing the turmoil, my umbrella broke and I was soaked to the bone. Good thing I had my gym clothes with me, as guess what I did?

There’s always a bright side to being a bag lady I suppose.

Why our life looks like the NYSE

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Post by Lauren

 

I actually hope that by the time I post this, I am over my down-funk that I have been living in all week.

But I knew that it would likely come…….

In acclimation class, we learned about the various stages of culture shock. This is the true terminology, but I realize that when I use the phrase “culture shock”, it comes across as strong or extreme. I think maybe a better way to describe it is “culture disorientation,” so for the purpose of this blog post, I’ll use that vocabulary.

For those who aren’t familiar, the textbook stages of “cultural disorientation” go like this:

1. Initial excitement
2. Initial anxiety
3. Arrival fascination
4. Initial culture shock
5. Surface adjustment
6. Internal shock
7. Acceptance & adaptation
8. Return anxiety
9. Reintegration shock

However, it is not guaranteed how long you stay in each stage as well as both spouses can be in different stages or move along the continuum at different paces.

Here is a depiction of this with our 8 weeks here in Geneva. The pink is me and the blue is Gabe. I actually don’t even know where we are on the numbered list…..maybe somewhere between 3 and 5.

“How can you be blue in the land of cheese and chocolate?” one might say. “Don’t the Alp views you see daily give you a high all the time?”

We would probably be happy non-stop if it weren’t for culture disorientation – a reaction to the loss and to the ambiguity created by the unknown rules of the new culture. So, at our downturns, some may seem reasonable (we miss friends and family) but some others may seem a little silly (laundry, not being understood, not understanding).

However, sometimes the little things can have pretty big effects. The textbook explanation is that these little things get at the core of your self image – on how you view yourself as a person. You used to be capable, but in this new situation, you are not. While you were seen one way amongst your community in your home country, in this new country, people react to you and see you differently. While you expect to miss your friends and family, you don’t expect to feel like a different person some days because of your environment.

Here is an example…..after standing in a really long line at the grocery store, I happened to have a zucchini in my basket. When the cashier got to it, I hadn’t known to put a produce sticker on it from the machine in the produce department. So, it didn’t have a barcode for her and she growled some French disdain at me. I didn’t know enough French to explain that I didn’t know and I was sorry, that they could put it back, or I could put it back, whatever was easier to keep the line moving. I just kind of muttered “je suis désolé” which i thought was “I’m sorry” and just stood there pitifully while they got a manager to come take the zucchini, weigh it, bring it back and plop it on the register with even more disdain for me and my idiocy. The people in line behind me gave me exasperated looks like I ruined their day.

And this happens every day – I don’t necessarily get down on myself that I didn’t know how to do things – that is to be expected. But, some of the disorientation comes when people perceive you as something you never believed yourself to be. In the US, that situation would have gone differently for me because I knew the language and norms of my local grocery. I would handled myself fine. And it gives me empathy for those visiting the US and how they are treated if English isn’t their primary language and they are just starting to learn, like I am here.

And of course, the peaks of this experience are well worth these downturns. As I share on Gratitude Fridays, these highs are just incredible. The highs are just balanced by the valleys too; as is life – full of ups and downs.

Like the top photo, I am sure our experience in the end will turn out soaring like this mountain range. However, I just wanted to share a little more on this subject, and it gives me a reason to use PowerPoint, which i miss and used to be really good at 🙂

Gratitude Friday: Cosmopolitans Anyone?

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Post by Lauren

This Gratitude Friday, my post is both a vocabulary lesson and a story of my appreciation for this new word.

Before moving to Switzerland, my definition of the word “cosmopolitan” consisted of : #1 the pinky yummy martini, #2 the magazine, and #3 maybe an adjective to describe a swanky metropolitan environment.

Pre-Geneva me knew cosmopolitan as this

I realized I was a bit naïve in this area when our cultural trainer Gary kept referring to Geneva as “cosmopolitan”. See, we’d been there just a month prior and I wouldn’t have described it as using the word cosmopolitan, as I knew it. In fact, what came to mind was beautiful, ancient, wordly and a bit ecclectic.

However, thanks to Wikipedia, I learned the proper definition of cosmopolitan is:
–A city/place or person that embraces its multicultural demographics
—World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship
—Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community
–Cosmopolitan Society/Cosmopolitan City, where people of many ethnicities, religions and cultures meet and live in close proximity (especially applied to busy sea ports)

Well, in living in Geneva, I think I would agree with those better than my prior vocabulary.

In fact, Geneva is quite an anomaly compared to the rest of Switzerland. In training, we learned about Swiss stereotypes, how our personalities matched to their customs, and how to adjust our behaviors accordingly. However, Geneva is more “Swiss-light”, with a big influence from France, and an even bigger cosmopolitan influence.

One big reason is the proximity to France and influence of French culture, food, language, and architecture. Fast Fact: the canton of Geneva shares only 4 km of border with Switzerland, but 108 km with France. I read that most Swiss Germans don’t even consider Geneva really part of Switzerland at all!


the tail is not wagging the dog here



However, probably the biggest reason is the cosmopolitan nature of Geneva. Based on the numerous humanitarian agencies, world organizations, and corporations headquartered here, 40% of Geneva residents are foreigners. There are people here from all over the world, living, working, and bringing their cultural influences in. Just in my own experiences, there are 40 nationalities represented at my church and 54 at my women’s club. It’s mind boggling!

So, onto Gratitude Friday. I absolutely love this about Geneva: interacting with people from completely different backgrounds as me and the exposure to all of their opinions, interests & beliefs.

Here are just a few specific examples of this :

In my Monday French classes, there is a South African woman, an Ethiopian woman, a Dutch woman, a British woman and me. Our teacher, Esther, is Swiss and was a teenager during WW2 here. All learning French together, we all have different accents and interpretations of words which is really entertaining and Esther considers it her English lesson at the same time.

Last week, Esther asked what the lady from South Africa thought of Nelson Mandela’s leadership, and it was a really neat education for me to hear firsthand from someone who lived there to hear about her own experiences. Prior to living in Geneva, I had never had this opportunity – all I learned was from movies and books.

In my photography group, there are three ladies from the Netherlands, a few Americans, one from the U.K., one from Australia, and one from Brazil. We all bring different things to the table. I really enjoy how much time the women from the Netherlands take to find out how you are doing and to learn about you. I always felt so much in a whirlwind that I am not sure if I have done this enough with people.

Friend and fellow blogger, Lady J, has taught me about Singapore and her time in Japan and I love her passion for her favorite foods and her dedication to bringing those flavors to Geneva in a beautiful way.

At Canadienne Buffets, we have been so lucky to meet great people from China, South Africa & Australia who we really have enjoyed hanging out with and learning about their experiences.

So much to be grateful for this week when it comes to the word cosmopolitan!

Bon weekend!

Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas Anymore: Part 1

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Post by Lauren

This is a new series meant to bring a little bit of humor to things that we see on a day-to-day basis. Of course, we want visitors to come see these neat differences yourselves, but hopefully this will keep you up-to-date in the interim!

1 – Freshly baked pastries and FREE wine on short flights – this is a normal occurrence on Swiss Air. I understand they had some financial problems recently but I am not complaining. I have never had an airplane meal this good, sans charge.

2 – The lack of refrigeration of dairy (milk, cream, whipped cream) and egg products. Milk products are ultra pasteurized so that they can stay on shelf. They’ll last up to two months before opening. Eggs are also left on shelf, but just need to be consumed within a week. If you could see the size of our fridge, you’d be trés grateful you can stock up on dairy without needing precious cold space!

3 – Don’t even try it, folks. This gas station does not take 1000 CHF bills. Note: this is like $1200 USD. In the US, they frown at you for giving 50 dollar bills.

4 – The use of Indians to guide angry cars and people during construction. Here he is saying, “Caution – roadwork. I am your guide”.

No further comment. I am just pretty sure I wouldn’t see something like this back home.

Mr. Edible

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Post by Lauren

If you love animals, you might want to stop here.

So, as a beginner in French, our first week here, I took notice of a menu posted on the street with “cheval”.

 

“Hmm” I commented to Gabe, “ I thought that cheval meant horse! Ha, my French is really awful….Rosetta Stone really didn’t pay off, huh?”

A few weeks later, I saw it again. It must be some sort of goat cheese…..like fromage de chèvre. Sort of sounds the same, right?! So, thirsty for French knowledge, I looked it up.

Oh no.

And, I found that I was accurate the first time.

Yup, as confirmed by the meat labels in our local store, people here like to eat Mr. Ed.

Riding or eating. Either will work!

I was shocked and brought it up on our next women’s hike. My friend M noted that usually this is served prior to fondue, as a dried meat. Bleccccck!!!!


Horse steaks on sale in Carouge!

If you don’t believe me, check out the little animals on the packages they have at the Co-op to help people identify the meats. I should dedicate a Gratitude Friday to these labels so that I haven’t mistakenly eaten horse.

Speaking of mistakes, when we were in Chamonix a few weeks ago, I was eating the dried meats they served with raclette until I remembered M’s fondue advice mid-bite of a really tough piece.

Getting upset thinking about what I might be eating

Don’t worry, we asked the waitress and it was a false alarm – all jambon, or ham. I couldn’t eat any more after that though.

European Fashion: The Man Scarf

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Post by Lauren

One of the really intriguing things about living in Geneva is the incredibly International fashion scene here. Geneva has quite a selection of luxury goods available on the main rues – consisting of watches, jewelry and couture fashion.

The stores are so high-end here that after 8 weeks living in Geneva, I still have yet to walk into one. It is best not to tempt myself as my clothing budget in one of the top 5 most expensive cities in the world would not get me very far.

Gabe and I were amazed on our visits. We’d peer into the beautiful windows and see ski jackets, leather boots.

“Really, nice,” we would comment.

Then we would take a closer look at the price tag and see a Columbia jacket that would be $200 in the US at 999 CHF ($1200 USD) and the boots I adored at 800 CHF ($1000 USD). It was then that we decided that most of our clothing shopping would need to happen back home in the US. In fact, if we needed to buy 4 pieces of clothing between the two of us, it would be less expensive for me to book a flight home to DC and purchase it at Tyson’s Corner and fly right back to Geneva.

While everyone dresses to the nines (except moi, who tromps around Rue to Rhone in my gym clothes on – gasp – my way to the gym ) , Geneva has quite a varied fashion scene as 40% of its residents are foreigners. It is one of the things that I really enjoy – the exposure to different ways of dressing and people watching while waiting for the tram or bus.

One of the fashion trends for European men is the man-scarf. This is not commonly seen in the US unless it is the dead of winter, but it is very popular here…in fact, all of these shots were taken in one July weekend. It is so much more a fashion accessory than a necessity for warmth that many sport it with short sleeve tees. Anyhow, I think the guys pull it off well.

So, we need to decide if we are going to get Gabe on the scarf-train.

Please leave a comment below with your vote – scarf for Gabe? Or leave it to the European men?

Reason I Wish I Knew French #77

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Today at Globo-gym, we had an unpleasant surprise. Ironically, the class I was taking was named F.I.R.E. and I am not quite sure what those initials stand for in French, since the acronym doesn’t mean anything in that language. However, 20 minutes in, the F.I.R.E. alarm went off.

A french voice came on the loudspeaker and everyone started moving for the doors. Hmm. No clue what they said but I am pretty sure I should follow. We weaved down stairs and were in the basement of the large department store and we eventually found our way outside to find a huge crowd of people, also from other floors in the building.

They ushered us to the lakeside only a block away. Everyone looked down at their feet in dismay. Most of the shoes had never seen the light of day since they have to be brand new and squeaky clean to be worn within the facility.

Yes, that was the first thing that popped in my head too during a fire emergency as well.

A few minutes later, the suited employees came running out of the building with stacks of towels for everyone. Remember, Swiss people (or at least in Geneva) don’t like to be seen in gym clothes in public. Many of the people in the class with them took them and wrapped them around themselves. Not for warmth…it was 70 degrees out….but as the sweaty attire was not appropriate for the posh neighborhood we were in.

My American brain was thinking maybe the instructor should continue class outside – we were wasting precious work out time there!!! I am sure that would have been frowned upon though so I didn’t lead the movement.

You’ll be happy to know that it was a false alarm and we all returned in after 20 minutes.

Glad I hadn’t taken an earlier class and been in the shower – that could have been super unpleasant without being able to understand and follow the lead.

So, this week, I resolve that I will attempt to learn more about emergency words in French so I am better prepared.

Reason I Wish I Knew French #76

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Most every day, I have been going to my gym. I secretly call it Globo-Gym (you know, from Dodgeball) as it is just very “interesting”. Post on the word “interesting” and its different meaning in Europe to come in the following weeks.

Here are just a few reasons why its “interesting” (European meaning):
-Women wear full fledged make-up, hair perfectly done, and jewelry to work out – I am talking gold bangles, etc.
-Other than my husband, i have not seen a guy wear a tee shirt in that place yet – all spandex outfits
-I have seen several women in “couture” gym clothes, which I didn’t know existed!
-I am the only one who ever walks in or out of this gym in my gym clothes. Everyone else who comes in or out is in suits, formal business clothes, or totally put together.
-You aren’t allowed to wear shoes from the street, you must change into special gym shoes
-There are always more trainers than people working out in the gym (at least in the hours that I frequent it, i could only afford the “off-peak” pass)
-People sunbathe topless on the outdoor part of the gym. Really.
-They are obsessed with disco lights. I did a prior post about disco spinning, but since have discovered that during all the classes, the last 10 minutes they turn out the lights and on the disco ball for the finale of class. Why, I ask?
-Oh, and the men who check you in and give you towels are wearing suits.

Anyhow, it is because of these “interesting” things that I don’t feel so bad shelling out an obscene amount of money to have the pleasure of attending this facility during only certain specified hours. It’s worth it in entertainment value alone.

Also, I am learning French better by attending. Since I go to classes most of the time and the instruction is in French, I have learned a few more words. Here is a cheat sheet for those thinking of attending a French gym class anytime soon:

Left “Gauche”
Right “Droite”

Do it again “Encore” or “la meme chose”
Let’s go “Aller”
Poitrine “Chest” as in, we are moving on to that muscle group now. I only actually know this from buying chicken breasts at the store.

Today, the instructor kept saying the word “souffle” . After the tenth time, I started to guess what he was saying. My thought process went something like the below.

See if you can guess the meaning!

a) Souffle….served at the end of the meal, maybe he is telling us we are ending this set?

a) Souffle….a yummy treat. maybe he is saying that we deserve to eat lots of it after this super hard weight-lifting class. Maybe I’ll go see if I can find the ingredients at the Migros….chocolate…check…..

a) Souffle…maybe it is some sort of reverse psychology that if we actually ate souffle last night, we should work harder in this class.

OR

a) Souffle….a derivation of the verb souffler for “to breathe”

and the answer is…….

Wow, I am glad I learned this before my first French yoga class.

Thanks, Google Translate!!!

The Office

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Post by Gabe

It appears that my blog post count is just “slightly” behind Lauren’s…. I suspect that may always be the case though.

Regardless, I thought I would give you a look inside my new office. The company that I work for is in the process of establishing it’s EMEA headquarters in Geneva. It currently has many offices spread through out Europe but over the course of this year will consolidate many of them into one Geneva office. This consolidation is what created the opportunity for Lauren and I to live in Geneva. The new office is largely empty at this point and I would put myself in the first third of people to begin working here. Thus, most of the desks around me are empty. That won’t be the case after the summer though. Several new employees move to Geneva every week so it won’t take long to fill it up.

So as an American in Switzerland (Europe) here are my observations after two weeks of work:

1) Tram = Awesome – No more Atlanta traffic! All I do is walk a few blocks from our temp apartment. Get on the cool looking tram (see below). Then 25-30 mins later I am at work. It takes about the same amount of time is it would in a car but I just chill, read or use the time to catch up on emails. Brilliant.

1) Damn, the food is expensive – My average cafeteria lunch the first week cost around 13 Swiss Francs. ($15USD) I am little smarter and selective these days and can have a nice lunch for $9-$10 dollars. The $2 little cokes in the vending machine still get me every time though. (i need to kick that habit)

1) Energy Efficiency (Star Trek Style) – I knew before coming to Geneva that we Americans generally aren’t as conscious about the resources we use compared to many other parts of the world. (water, energy, etc) My new office is a perfect example of that…It doesn’t screw around when it comes to conservation. I am typically one of the first people into the office but luckily I don’t have to worry about turning on the lights. That’s because the building monitors movement in sections of every floor and then turns lights on or off based on activity. I feel like I am on Star Trek as I walk down the hallway to my desk and the lights turn on in anticipation of me walking into that area. Very cool.

1) Snow In June? – It got cold here on Tuesday and the Jura mountains near Geneva were topped with snow. Below is a picture of the snow on the mountain top I can see from my desk.