What seemed like endless waiting for my visa documents to arrive quickly turned to warp speed when my passport arrived unexpectedly holding my visa.
You see, I had mistakenly sent the wrong documentation to the Swiss embassy in L.A. but they agreed to hang on to it until the correct paperwork arrived. However, I never received that documentation, instead the efficient Swiss took care of it on their own. I received my passport on Thursday and then was off on a plane last Saturday evening. Of course everything was left to the last minute, 6 suitcases and no time to officially clean my apartment, I made it to the airport with minutes to spare until they cut off accepting bags.
As my plane descended into the Zurich airport, the Swiss weather welcomed my arrival with sunny skies highlighting the beautiful rolling green hills and snow capped Alps. Customs was a breeze, gathering my 6 bags...not so much. I had to use two carts that I ended up linking together. It was a pretty sight of me leaning over, pushing one lever with my hips and the others with my hands. This was working quite well until I had to make the turn to exit the baggage area. Thankfully, an Angel fell upon me in the form of a fellow traveler who helped me push one of my carts out of the final door. There, Mariano was anxiously awaiting my arrival with a bunch of pink roses :). Very strategically he fit all my bags in his small Euro car and we set off for home.
The pretty flowers and our cool makeshift vase, plus the bags that overtook Mariano's apartment!
No time was wasted. I began work the following day. A weird, surreal feeling is all I can say. Familiar faces fill the hall but there are just as many that I do not know. My new UK team welcomed me with a British flag draped over my computer. I quickly feel as though it's my first day at EF, 6 years ago. There's a new system to learn and suppliers to get to know. I feel as though I know nothing. I know (at least I hope!) this will quickly subside with practice and getting my hands dirty in the role. The rest of the week was filled with trainings but I still have so much to learn!
We are apartment hunting at the moment. It's a very aggressive process. It doesn't seem to be a first come, first serve basis. If you are Swiss you immediately have the upper hand. We've looked at 3 places since I've been here. Mariano was hoping I'd love the first. It was a brand new development but I wasn't much impressed. I think he was ready for the search to be over as he has been looking forever. The 2nd one had a gorgeous wrap around balcony. We were there at sunset and the views were breathtaking. Unfortunately, we were the 5th people to see it and after follow up, we believe they have 15 applications. We don't feel our chances are very good here. On Friday though, we saw another place that is almost perfect, a reasonable price, decent sized rooms and two balconies. We have a good feeling about this one! We hope we can work this one out, if not our search will continue while we remain cozy in his current apartment.
On Tuesday, I applied for my residency. This was an interesting experience. I feel guilty for not speaking German. I hope to find a class that works within my schedule to at minimum get some basics down. I had to give an address so I gave Mariano's and as she looked it up his name was attached to the address and the conversation goes like this, her-"Vitiello, you live with this man? (in a thick German accent), me "Yes." her- "You live with this man? (again as though I didn't answer the first time). me-"Yes. I just arrived Sunday, we are looking for a place to live." I wonder if this was an honest misunderstanding or if she was judging me for living in sin (Lucerne is very Catholic).
There was a music festival in town on Friday night. I was tired and not feeling well but I pushed through it to go out and enjoy some of the night. Many hotel and bars around town were hosting local musicians. First stop, was the hotel where the EF office is located for a funky pop jazz band. We moved on to some Funk at a hotel nearby but the body heat was a bit much being so sober! The music was great but we decided to move on. Mistakenly, we thought there was a band playing at Bar 59, instead it was just a DJ playing oldies rock music. I shouldn't underplay this place so much. It was an AMAZING dive bar. And that DJ was playing actual records. Visitors, I have a feeling we will be having a stop here. I sadly didn't take pictures, but here is their website: http://www.bar59.ch/
My first work trip to London is Monday/Tuesday. I should be seeing a lot of that city in my new role. I also look forward to trips to northern England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
A few random thoughts...
-Cougars exist even in Lucerne. One 40 or 50 something woman spotted rocking out to the Funk band Friday night in a black mini skirt barely covering her ass and a red laced see-through shirt. A bit much lady! Legs or Chest...pick one! And at your age, even though you had nice legs, the skirt should be slightly longer, period.
-I love Ikea and spending 3 hours there and didn't buy a thing.
-Church bells are loud, very loud. Love the 5 minute walk to work but will not complain too much to exchange a longer commute for a more peaceful Sunday morning.
-McDonald's Ketchup sold at the grocery store??
No phone yet. Will let you know when I get around to this. Most likely when I return from London. It's been nice to be phone free after having the BB attached to my hip for so long. If you have a SKYPE account, let me know your name. You can find me on there with my work email address.
Ciao for now,
Laura
Oh, and this is the view from my office!
Loved this advertisement for the zoo in Basel:
How the Swiss announce the births of their children. You see these all over the city. Not sure how long they leave them up for...seems as though this one has been up for 2 years. It shouldn't really be news any more should it?
