Genießen Sie Ihre Mahlzeit

Enjoy your meal. By the way, I apologize to my faithful readers for not writing in a while. I was going to post on Tuesday evening, but our internet went out and since then, I haven't been able to connect except through Ethernet, which is in my roommate's room. I will make this one worth reading (I hope).

The food here is awesome, though I do miss processed American foods a little. I think my favorite thus far is gnocchi. I had a bad craving for it all day at work so I went and bought some for dinner tonight. By the way, for all you Jersey folks, the ice cream selection here is lame. You can get Hagen-Daas, but they only sell about 5 flavors in the 100 mL size. I don't think I've ever seen anything come in a carton that small, except for maybe minced garlic. So of course it was 3 S.Fr. for one little super-mini carton, with about five choices.

This morning I brought in my book about Living and Working in Switzerland. I told my boss that I would show it to her so she could see some of the things that I had read about and thought were crazy. According to my boss, and my personal experiences, that book doesn't apply to Bern. Bern is more laid back than the rest of the country. You don't have to worry about people being rude to you (as often) or dressing European. They just don't have the same attitude as the rest of the country. Zurich is more uptight and conservative when it comes to the things this book is claiming. For example, it really is okay to flush your toilet between the hours of 10 P.M. and 6 A.M. or hang your clothes out your window to dry at any time (not just certain times). Most of the rubbish (a term most Swiss use for trash) in that book is simply that.

Today, for lunch, my boss and I went to downtown Bern. She takes me in a shop and says, "You mentioned you were looking for a skirt...". Completely surprised, all I managed to say was "Sure!" So we looked in a few shops and I realized that the cheapest sale skirts were still 80 francs. I'm not willing to stop sweating at work for that. Besides that, they were too industrial-looking and made of heavy material.

After lunch, I stopped in Starbucks and ordered a Iced White Mocha. Everything on the menu was in English! Except for the descriptions, which I found strange because you won't find descriptions on any of the Starbucks' menus in the US. Anyways, I was pulling my usual "English, please" stunt, and the guy in line behind me starts talking to me after we've both placed our orders. For the sake of names, and because I don't know his, we'll call him SBG (Starbucks Guy):

SBG: It's hot in here, yeah?
Me: It is a little warm.
SBG: Where are you from?
Me: The US, you can't tell?
SBG: (laughs) It's your accent. I just came from the US.
Me: Yeah? Where?
SBG: Philly.
Me: (thinking it's strange that a foreigner is calling it Philly) My relatives live near Philly! What were you doing there?
SBG: Ski meeting. Where are you from in the US?
Me: Virginia.
SBG: Langley?
Me: (wondering how he even knows about Langley) No, Richmond.

And then the usual chit chat about what I am doing here - because everyone's first response is "Oh you're here on holiday?" So that made my day to talk to someone who knew the US better than the "where is Virginia?" question that I always get.

Since it is Thursday, the stores are open until 8:30 or 9:00, so I went to do some more shopping. Shopping in Switzerland is nothing like shopping in the US. It's not uncommon to see a person trying on clothes over their clothes in the middle of the store. Extremely messy and disorganized stores are a requirement. And when you're looking at something with your hands, people don't mind pushing their way in front of you to grab something right next to it. Usually in the US, you'll wait until someone is done looking or if you're blocking the aisle, you'll politely move forward. Your best defense? Stand your ground and bump - not brush - into them if you're trying to get by. Point of the story? I've given up on European fashion and I hate shopping here. So I did the American thing and drooled my way around the chocolaterie.

Here's something I've noticed lately: the Swiss love the curse word "shit." I didn't even realize they knew or used the word, but it seems to come up in conversation frequently. I always make the mistake of saying "what?" when they use it, because I felt like I misheard them, but get clarification the second time. They really emphasize the word the second time around, you can hear it from their diaphragm.

Tomorrow, during my lunch break, one of my coworkers is taking me to the Communications museum. I'm actually excited about this because I've never heard of such a museum in America. Then again, it might be because I don't do the whole museum thing.

Tomorrow is also an exciting day because I get to put my education to use and design the newsletter I've been drafting. I was so excited to find out that I get to work on some design stuff. Originally, they were going to install the Adobe software onto my work laptop. I told them not to because I have the programs on my laptop - and they're in English. Although, if I want to get used to the German version, the Adobe software is much cheaper here - and I do need Adobe Flash.

Anyways, since my laptop is about to die and there's no free plugs in this room, it's bedtime. I will write again soon - I promise you won't have to wait a week for another entry! Or pictures!

What I learned in the past week:
- There are pills you have to take to prevent your body from becoming radioactive in the event that a nuclear reactor blows.
- The Swiss francs (the paper version) are all different sizes, the biggest being the 100 and the smallest the 10.
- You cannot do laundry on Sundays. I definitely got some crap for that.
- Your trash will not be picked up if it is not in the expensive blue bags.
- It is 10 S.Fr. to rent a movie for one night. FYI: I didn't rent it.


Liebe,
Jessica