E-mails have been a good part of human communication since the prevalence of the internet. Indeed, it has effectively substituted the telephone as a major means of office communications. As well, it is, to a lesser extent, becoming a major mode of communication in keeping in touch with friends, family and everything in between.
To this effect, I have been using email as a means of communicating to my friends and workmates. Recently, because of the arcane and boring duties here at work that for sure does not contribute to my professional development, I have tried reaching out to potential departments at my workplace that might as well relate to my background and give me some interesting tasks for my remainding 30 days here in Geneva.
I communicated to them my request verbally at first which to my delight arrived to some kind of consensus and promises that by next week, I would expect some interesting tasks to be assigned to me. Good at least I have something to look forward to and not be bored for 8 hours starring at the calendar every morning counting the number of days I have left till my virtual alarm clock ticks away. Well, as they say, promises are meant to be broken and in true international bureaucratic fashion, all of the talk that we had just seem to be just a show.
With that, I tried using my email to somehow bombard them with follow-ups and inform that 'Oh yes, just so you know I am still here, alive and kicking.' And of course, there's also the magic telephone which into this day and age, has turned into a mailbox announcing in a glorious French and English greeting their abscence and their pseudo-willingness to return the call as soon as possible.
Days and week passed by with no reply. I've tried this and I've tried that and with all these attempts, I have definitely proven to myself that 'promises are meant to be broken.'
I have a theory: the more people use email, the more prone they are to anxiety and emotional stress and the more stress you have, the more email there will be. Sounds absurd? Let me explain.
Twenty milleniums ago, communication was simple. Utterances were usefully accomplished by non-verbal cues: tone of voice, facial expressions, or perhaps nudging your fellow hunter-gatherer in the ribs upon reaching a reaction.
Twenty years ago, communication was pretty much simplier. Much of it was still by phone - true there's no shoving, but intonation could help distinguish say wry irony from bitter resentment to genuine gratification. Plus, when you asked a question, the answer came rather in seconds leaving no time for calibrated response and manoeuvring, as opposed to minutes, hours, or as in the case of my significant emails, never.
Don't get me wrong. E-mail is great. It has vastly expanded my social horizons. When e-mail was still not on my horizon, I rarely spoke by phone to more than five people in a day -- airtimes back then are unaffordable and phone lines only for the select few. Now, my mailbox is actually bombarded with dozens of mails everyday. I have so many friends, albeit most of them are spammers!
But my many email friends also have many friends, and I'm just a single hay in the stack. So they can't really afford to treat me like one - you know, reliably acknowledging my existence, that sort of thing.
Inevitably, questions arise. Is Bob - who once answered e-mails promptly but has fallen silent - indignant? Or has my social status, in Bob's view, dropped so much, so I'm not quite worth the time?
There is actually a cure for this condition, chanting - It is the spam filter!
Serotonin is the chemical secreted by the brain that actually helps us handle social hierarchy. Respect and other forms of positive feedback elevate serotonin effectively raising self-esteem and leading to a sort of self-assurance conduct befitting a normal homo sapiens. Disrespect and disappointment can lower serotonin, opening oneself to self-doubt.
Self-doubt can be valuable when it is reality-based - if, say Bob is really mad at you, and self-doubts leads you to wonder why and to make amends. But the landscape of e-mail is full of noise and imagined signals. The waiting time can just induce paranoia.
The reasons that we've carved various means to communicate is a primal need to have human contact. Humans just deeply need it. If the deft use of e-mail makes each of us more successful, we may, one by one, amend the structure of ourselves until we are optimal e-mail animals.
Wait, I got 5 new messages in my inbox, need to answer them ASAP. Nah, just let them wait....
Monday, April 30, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Today
Today, my workday was kinda spiced by a Russian colleague who brought in traditional Russian bread and salami straight from Moscow.
Today, I also took the chance to stroll around town and enjoy Geneva's sights and sounds during this time of the year. A lot of things have already changed and the gloomy weather of the past seems to have gone away and you could just feel a breath of relief that the winter is over:
Walking down one of the city's lakeside promenade, I get to pass by a Japanese/Asian food store, such a rarity in relatively homogenous and European Switzerland:
Inside, I was soo eaget to see Japanese/Asian goods until I saw the prices:
A single pack of noodels cost CHF 2.50 while a cup noodle costs CHF 4.50. A medium bag of nori costs CHF 8.50 and a 250 mL can of coke costs CHF 2.00. Importation must have probably made the price this high... however, considering their high salaries, it is still dirt-cheap to the inhabitants of this country.
I got really jealous of Mario back in Winnipeg being able to savour sumptuous Japanese cup noodles so finally I got tempted and bought furikake, yakisoba, regular ramen, and a medium bag of nori for CHF 27. I hope I would not get addicted as this gastronomic craving would surely punch a hole in my budget.
Here's my purchase... Mario can you read the characters?
I forgot how this flour-cake is called, its just delicious with its red bean filling.
And for dinner, rice with furikake..
Yes, I am still alive and kicking here... bonne soiree de Geneva!
Today, I also took the chance to stroll around town and enjoy Geneva's sights and sounds during this time of the year. A lot of things have already changed and the gloomy weather of the past seems to have gone away and you could just feel a breath of relief that the winter is over:
Walking down one of the city's lakeside promenade, I get to pass by a Japanese/Asian food store, such a rarity in relatively homogenous and European Switzerland:
Inside, I was soo eaget to see Japanese/Asian goods until I saw the prices:
A single pack of noodels cost CHF 2.50 while a cup noodle costs CHF 4.50. A medium bag of nori costs CHF 8.50 and a 250 mL can of coke costs CHF 2.00. Importation must have probably made the price this high... however, considering their high salaries, it is still dirt-cheap to the inhabitants of this country.I got really jealous of Mario back in Winnipeg being able to savour sumptuous Japanese cup noodles so finally I got tempted and bought furikake, yakisoba, regular ramen, and a medium bag of nori for CHF 27. I hope I would not get addicted as this gastronomic craving would surely punch a hole in my budget.
Here's my purchase... Mario can you read the characters?
I forgot how this flour-cake is called, its just delicious with its red bean filling.
And for dinner, rice with furikake..
Yes, I am still alive and kicking here... bonne soiree de Geneva!
UN exhibit
As warm, spring weather continues to descend in Geneva, the city has started to showcase its artistic side. In front of the UN building, there's a special fountain that awes tourists, visiting bureaucrats and residents alike. Theres another big exhibit in the square as well, with this big chair being the centrepiece.
And the fountain looks like this:
It goes on and off in a dance-like fashion:
And here is me enjoying the fountain after another boring day at work (thanks to the arrogant, unhelpful and hesitant American tourist who took this picture, she does not even have a sense of lighting, grrr....):
And the fountain looks like this:
It goes on and off in a dance-like fashion:
And here is me enjoying the fountain after another boring day at work (thanks to the arrogant, unhelpful and hesitant American tourist who took this picture, she does not even have a sense of lighting, grrr....):
Continuation
At long last I am back... Sorry for the long pause, I have been quite lazy for a while and besides, there is nothing interesting to report. Anyhow, I'll continue with narrating the things I have done for several weekends.
One quiet Swiss Sunday, I decided to have a second trip to Laussane to cut the boredome I am having in Geneva. For this trip, I decided to pass by the neighbouring town of Morges which is about 5 minutes away by train from Lausanne. I have already bought a ticket for Lausanne so why not take advantage of this and stop by Morges and then hop on the train to continue to my main destination.
Since it was Sunday afternoon, all stores and shops are closed and places transform into a sleepy spell which is typical thing in Switzerland. Downtown sidewalks are desserted as people prefer lakeside-promenade to splendour their weekend break.
On my promenade in town, I passed by a sorbet stall where I took the chance to keep cold in unseasonably warm Swiss April temperatures.
Ice creams in Switzerland, at least in this particular case, is charged per scoop or 'boule' as they say en francais.
Being the frugal person I am, I chose to have a sample... I was delected to choose mango which I have missed a lot for an ice cream sherbet flavour. Having a taste of the ice cream was an experience in itself, it was just delicious!
It was 19 C outside and weather reports at that day say that it was such an unseasonal phenomena to observe temperatures as high as these. Walking by, I saw people in shorts and flip flops as the Swiss start to show their true summer colours and shed off some skin.
Reaching the downtown shopping district, what I saw was indeed spectacular. It was just nice to get out of a big Swiss city and settle into the tranquily offered by Morges.
Strolling further, I reached the lakeside where tonnes of people are promenating strutting their stuffs in the summer heat.
And the flowers are in full bloom as well as Switzerland's well-greased tourist infrastructure.
You can actually see the hilly city of Laussane on the adjacent side of the lake.
Plus there are boats sailing around for the tourists to ride:
Continuing my excursion to Laussane, I noticed that there have been a lot of things that changed since I last went to the city. Trees are already in their full bloom, flowers in their full glory and the gloomy atmosphere has already vanished.
I just love this shot I took in the park.... wouldn't it be nice to have someone to stroll along with in the park?????
Some other views in the park:
And along the lakeside, this is what I saw:
Well, after some stroll in the city centre, I took the train back to Geneva. Fortunately, the train trip back to Geneva is for free thanks for Gleis 7 which allows me to take Swiss trains without paying fares after 7pm.
With the tranquility of Lausanne, I would actually prefer to live in this city than in Geneva. It's just full of charm and simplicity.
One quiet Swiss Sunday, I decided to have a second trip to Laussane to cut the boredome I am having in Geneva. For this trip, I decided to pass by the neighbouring town of Morges which is about 5 minutes away by train from Lausanne. I have already bought a ticket for Lausanne so why not take advantage of this and stop by Morges and then hop on the train to continue to my main destination.
Since it was Sunday afternoon, all stores and shops are closed and places transform into a sleepy spell which is typical thing in Switzerland. Downtown sidewalks are desserted as people prefer lakeside-promenade to splendour their weekend break.
On my promenade in town, I passed by a sorbet stall where I took the chance to keep cold in unseasonably warm Swiss April temperatures.
Ice creams in Switzerland, at least in this particular case, is charged per scoop or 'boule' as they say en francais.
Being the frugal person I am, I chose to have a sample... I was delected to choose mango which I have missed a lot for an ice cream sherbet flavour. Having a taste of the ice cream was an experience in itself, it was just delicious!
It was 19 C outside and weather reports at that day say that it was such an unseasonal phenomena to observe temperatures as high as these. Walking by, I saw people in shorts and flip flops as the Swiss start to show their true summer colours and shed off some skin.
Reaching the downtown shopping district, what I saw was indeed spectacular. It was just nice to get out of a big Swiss city and settle into the tranquily offered by Morges.
Strolling further, I reached the lakeside where tonnes of people are promenating strutting their stuffs in the summer heat.
And the flowers are in full bloom as well as Switzerland's well-greased tourist infrastructure.
You can actually see the hilly city of Laussane on the adjacent side of the lake.
Plus there are boats sailing around for the tourists to ride:
Continuing my excursion to Laussane, I noticed that there have been a lot of things that changed since I last went to the city. Trees are already in their full bloom, flowers in their full glory and the gloomy atmosphere has already vanished.
I just love this shot I took in the park.... wouldn't it be nice to have someone to stroll along with in the park?????
Some other views in the park:
And along the lakeside, this is what I saw:
Well, after some stroll in the city centre, I took the train back to Geneva. Fortunately, the train trip back to Geneva is for free thanks for Gleis 7 which allows me to take Swiss trains without paying fares after 7pm.
With the tranquility of Lausanne, I would actually prefer to live in this city than in Geneva. It's just full of charm and simplicity.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Nakakabagot na trabaho
Lunes na naman at tapos na ang bakasyon ng weekend. Sa makatuwid, trabaho na naman. Kung maitatanong ninyo, ano ba ang ginagawa ko sa aking trabaho? Opo, isa akong intern sa isang organisasyong internasyonal na dapat may ginagawang makabuluhan sa araw-araw kong pagpasok.
Pero hindi iyon ang nangyayari. Kung ako lang ang masusunod, matagal na akong umalis dito at nagpalit ng trabaho. Bakit kamo? Sa araw-araw na ginawa ko dito, wala naman talaga akong makabuluhang ginagawa na makakacontribute sa professional growth ko at career. Kung baga, magandang ilagay sa iyong resume ang mga katagang International Labour Organization kasi syempre mataas ang pagtingin ng tao sa organisasyong ito pero sa totoo lang, wala akong ginagawa kundi tumitig sa aking computer screen sa loob ng 8 oras araw-araw at magbrowse sa internet kung saan-saan.
Pero hindi pwede at napakakomplikado ng paglalakad ng papeles. Bilang dayuhan sa bansang ito, calibrated at planado dapat ang iyong mga kilos. Dadaan ka sa butas ng karayom at kumplikadong proseso kung gusto mong magpalit ng trabaho.
Bakit ganito kamo? Bakit hindi ako makipag-usap sa aking mga boss na super bossy at feeling pa-importante. Sa opisinang pinagtratrabahuhan ko, mahirap atang hagilapin ang mga tao. Either sila ay 'nakabakasyon' o 'nagkakape sa baba.' Lagi-lagi ko itong ginagawa, pag gusto kong manghingi ng appointment sa kanila, tatawag ako sa telepono at mararating ang kanilang mailbox. Syempre mag-iiwan ako ng message doon. Tapos mag-eemail pa ako sa kanila. Wala naman akong maririnig na sagot! Pati mga secretaries dito, ganyan din sila. Kailangan halikan mo sila at sumipsip mula ulo hanggang paa para lamang gawin nila ang iyong request. Hindi ba hindi dapat ganoon kasi iyon ang trabaho nila? Parang ang tingin ko tuloy, mamamalipit ka muna sa kanila bago nila gawin ang trabaho nila.
Teka, bat kaya ganoon sila? Take note na nakakalula ang mga sweldo ng mga balyenang ito. Pag ikaw ay napasok sa trabahong ito (take note hindi biro-biro ang mapasok dito hindi dahil dapat qualified ka, kundi dahil dapat may kapolitika kang mataas na tao, masama mang sabihin, marami ditong ), ang paunang sweldo ay mga CHF 5,000 perakada buwan o pera po sa atin, mga mahigit kumulang dalawang daang piso lang naman depende sa palitan ng pera. At syempre, dahil mga 'international civil servants' kuno ang mga taong ito, hindi sila nagbabayad ng buwis ni singko sa kanilang sweldo. Biruin mo!
Kaya naman naiisip ko, paano kaya nila ginagastos ang ganitong kalaking salapi buwan-buwan? Isa na rin siguro iyang dahilan kung bakit puno palagi ang kapihan sa baba. At iyan din siguro ang dahilan kung bakit palaging may fashion show dito araw-araw ng mga mamahaling damit, relo at alahas. At iyan din siguro ang dahilan kung bakit sa tuwing makikipagplastikan ang mga tao sa akin dito, wala na silang ibinida kundi ang kanilang weekend shopping escapades sa Paris, Milan, London, Berlin at ang kanilang hindi malilimutang pagtira sa kanilang mga chalet sa itaas ng mga Swiss mountains.
Mahirap din makatagpo ng mga taong bukas-palad at palakaibigan dito. Unang-una, pakiramdam ko hindi pa rin ako gamay sa kultura ng tao dito. Mas malamig sila at close-minded at siguro hindi rin gamay makipag-ugnayan sa mga taong may kulay. Kakausapin mo sila ng ingles, i-prapranses ka naman... Tuloy ang default expression ng mukha mo ay tuliro, nalilito o naprapraning. Maiistress ka lang sa huli. Lalo na ang mga tao dito sa trabaho, kung saan ikaw ay inoobserbahan sa tatak ng iyong relo at damit kung mamahalin ba iyan o hindi at syempre ang iyong mga taste sa bagay-bagay. Siyempre mahirap nang makipagsabayan sa mga ito pag sila ay nag-aya, sa mahal ba naman ng bilihin dito.
So ganyan ang aking work life dito. Papasok ako at bubuksan ang computer, at magbrobrowse nang magbrobrowse hanggang sa sumapit ang katapusan ng araw. Exciting di ba?
Pero hindi iyon ang nangyayari. Kung ako lang ang masusunod, matagal na akong umalis dito at nagpalit ng trabaho. Bakit kamo? Sa araw-araw na ginawa ko dito, wala naman talaga akong makabuluhang ginagawa na makakacontribute sa professional growth ko at career. Kung baga, magandang ilagay sa iyong resume ang mga katagang International Labour Organization kasi syempre mataas ang pagtingin ng tao sa organisasyong ito pero sa totoo lang, wala akong ginagawa kundi tumitig sa aking computer screen sa loob ng 8 oras araw-araw at magbrowse sa internet kung saan-saan.
Pero hindi pwede at napakakomplikado ng paglalakad ng papeles. Bilang dayuhan sa bansang ito, calibrated at planado dapat ang iyong mga kilos. Dadaan ka sa butas ng karayom at kumplikadong proseso kung gusto mong magpalit ng trabaho.
Bakit ganito kamo? Bakit hindi ako makipag-usap sa aking mga boss na super bossy at feeling pa-importante. Sa opisinang pinagtratrabahuhan ko, mahirap atang hagilapin ang mga tao. Either sila ay 'nakabakasyon' o 'nagkakape sa baba.' Lagi-lagi ko itong ginagawa, pag gusto kong manghingi ng appointment sa kanila, tatawag ako sa telepono at mararating ang kanilang mailbox. Syempre mag-iiwan ako ng message doon. Tapos mag-eemail pa ako sa kanila. Wala naman akong maririnig na sagot! Pati mga secretaries dito, ganyan din sila. Kailangan halikan mo sila at sumipsip mula ulo hanggang paa para lamang gawin nila ang iyong request. Hindi ba hindi dapat ganoon kasi iyon ang trabaho nila? Parang ang tingin ko tuloy, mamamalipit ka muna sa kanila bago nila gawin ang trabaho nila.
Teka, bat kaya ganoon sila? Take note na nakakalula ang mga sweldo ng mga balyenang ito. Pag ikaw ay napasok sa trabahong ito (take note hindi biro-biro ang mapasok dito hindi dahil dapat qualified ka, kundi dahil dapat may kapolitika kang mataas na tao, masama mang sabihin, marami ditong ), ang paunang sweldo ay mga CHF 5,000 perakada buwan o pera po sa atin, mga mahigit kumulang dalawang daang piso lang naman depende sa palitan ng pera. At syempre, dahil mga 'international civil servants' kuno ang mga taong ito, hindi sila nagbabayad ng buwis ni singko sa kanilang sweldo. Biruin mo!
Kaya naman naiisip ko, paano kaya nila ginagastos ang ganitong kalaking salapi buwan-buwan? Isa na rin siguro iyang dahilan kung bakit puno palagi ang kapihan sa baba. At iyan din siguro ang dahilan kung bakit palaging may fashion show dito araw-araw ng mga mamahaling damit, relo at alahas. At iyan din siguro ang dahilan kung bakit sa tuwing makikipagplastikan ang mga tao sa akin dito, wala na silang ibinida kundi ang kanilang weekend shopping escapades sa Paris, Milan, London, Berlin at ang kanilang hindi malilimutang pagtira sa kanilang mga chalet sa itaas ng mga Swiss mountains.
Mahirap din makatagpo ng mga taong bukas-palad at palakaibigan dito. Unang-una, pakiramdam ko hindi pa rin ako gamay sa kultura ng tao dito. Mas malamig sila at close-minded at siguro hindi rin gamay makipag-ugnayan sa mga taong may kulay. Kakausapin mo sila ng ingles, i-prapranses ka naman... Tuloy ang default expression ng mukha mo ay tuliro, nalilito o naprapraning. Maiistress ka lang sa huli. Lalo na ang mga tao dito sa trabaho, kung saan ikaw ay inoobserbahan sa tatak ng iyong relo at damit kung mamahalin ba iyan o hindi at syempre ang iyong mga taste sa bagay-bagay. Siyempre mahirap nang makipagsabayan sa mga ito pag sila ay nag-aya, sa mahal ba naman ng bilihin dito.
So ganyan ang aking work life dito. Papasok ako at bubuksan ang computer, at magbrobrowse nang magbrobrowse hanggang sa sumapit ang katapusan ng araw. Exciting di ba?
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Swiss immigration
I don't know why I always have this kind bad luck when dealing with immigration bureaucrats. Today, I tried calling the Federal Office of Migration in Bern to enquire about re-entry requirements to Switzerland regarding my impending travel to the Netherlands this May. I already did the same enquiry 3 weeks ago, but it was in French. As the language of enquiry was in French and I am dealing with very important legal matters, I decided to send them an email immediately after my enquiry three weeks ago in English but have not received any reply from their office.
Today, I decided to call again and tried to enquire about my situation in English. I reached a German-speaking switchboard receptionist in which I enquired if I can proceed in English. She politely said 'non, français s'il vous plait' in which to the best of my ability, I tried relaying to her about my plans to travel to the Netherlands and my immigration scenario and enquiries whether I need to secure a Swiss re-entry visa. She then transferred my call to this guy which was the beginning of my problems.
After the transfer, I asked this bureaucrat if I it would be possible to have assistance in English. Although I already did the same enquiry a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to have my questions answered in English as these are all legal matters and that it is indeed of utmost important to have 100% understanding of the Department's feedback. He agreed to conduct the consultation in English which was a relief on my part as I would be more effective in stating my circumstances and of course would be in a better position to understand the Department's feedback on my enquiry.
I asked him about the requirement of securing a re-entry visa from my trip to the Netherlands. Fortunately, my legitimation card will be sufficient enough for me to be granted entry and there is no need to secure a new visa. Now, here is the beginning of the problem. I ask him if I could have another question regarding my intentions to travel around Europe and Switzerland for half a month after the expiration of my legitimation card. At this point, he became really irritated and acted out rudely to me with his tone really becoming hostile. In a rude and arrogant tone that makes you feel stupid, he says a matter of factly that I am calling the Federal Office of Migration in Bern and that he does not know the answer to my question. I then ask him if he could refer me to the office responsible that might be able to answer my question to which he rudely and unhelpfully responded 'I do not know.' He then started rattling words which I could not remember to specifically write here which made me feel I was being treated impolitely.
Despite the beating I received today, there is something on me that wants to keep an open mind. I keep trying to tell myself that the guy must have had just a stressful time and it just irritates him answering the same questions again and again and again and again. As I have experienced myself, doing repetitive tasks can be quite stressful indeed and might drive a person crazy. Another thing might be the language barrier. Again, as I have experienced myself, communicating in a third or a fourth language is stressful indeed with my struggles with French. This might have been one cause as well as I do recognize the fact that since I am in Switzerland, I must speak in one of their official languages to receipt prompt service.
On the other hand, the other part of me wants to think radically. There's a part that wants to think that this person is power tripping. Since he knows that a foreign person's stay in this country is at the mercy of this organization, he has gotten to a position that he holds a lot of power as he has plenty of reasons for others to be wary of him.
As a person working for the immigration department, he should have been exposed to customer service etiquette as his job requires interacting with clients usually of a different cultural background of his own. As a civil servant, one must adhere to the highest standards of conduct and to exercise competence, integrity, impartiality, independence and sensitivity. Unfortunately, in my own personal opinion, not only has this civil servant failed to behave professionally and but has also lacked competence by being ignorant on matters that he should be aware of. For a job requiring a lot of customer interaction, he effectively puts the department and ultimately this country's image in a bad light on the way he treats foreign clients such as me. As a bureaucrat for the Swiss government, he effectively serves as an ambassador of this country. If indeed he does the same thing not only to me to other foreign people as well, it does not give a good impression on the Department and inevitably the way how foreign people are treated here.
Today, I decided to call again and tried to enquire about my situation in English. I reached a German-speaking switchboard receptionist in which I enquired if I can proceed in English. She politely said 'non, français s'il vous plait' in which to the best of my ability, I tried relaying to her about my plans to travel to the Netherlands and my immigration scenario and enquiries whether I need to secure a Swiss re-entry visa. She then transferred my call to this guy which was the beginning of my problems.
After the transfer, I asked this bureaucrat if I it would be possible to have assistance in English. Although I already did the same enquiry a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to have my questions answered in English as these are all legal matters and that it is indeed of utmost important to have 100% understanding of the Department's feedback. He agreed to conduct the consultation in English which was a relief on my part as I would be more effective in stating my circumstances and of course would be in a better position to understand the Department's feedback on my enquiry.
I asked him about the requirement of securing a re-entry visa from my trip to the Netherlands. Fortunately, my legitimation card will be sufficient enough for me to be granted entry and there is no need to secure a new visa. Now, here is the beginning of the problem. I ask him if I could have another question regarding my intentions to travel around Europe and Switzerland for half a month after the expiration of my legitimation card. At this point, he became really irritated and acted out rudely to me with his tone really becoming hostile. In a rude and arrogant tone that makes you feel stupid, he says a matter of factly that I am calling the Federal Office of Migration in Bern and that he does not know the answer to my question. I then ask him if he could refer me to the office responsible that might be able to answer my question to which he rudely and unhelpfully responded 'I do not know.' He then started rattling words which I could not remember to specifically write here which made me feel I was being treated impolitely.
Despite the beating I received today, there is something on me that wants to keep an open mind. I keep trying to tell myself that the guy must have had just a stressful time and it just irritates him answering the same questions again and again and again and again. As I have experienced myself, doing repetitive tasks can be quite stressful indeed and might drive a person crazy. Another thing might be the language barrier. Again, as I have experienced myself, communicating in a third or a fourth language is stressful indeed with my struggles with French. This might have been one cause as well as I do recognize the fact that since I am in Switzerland, I must speak in one of their official languages to receipt prompt service.
On the other hand, the other part of me wants to think radically. There's a part that wants to think that this person is power tripping. Since he knows that a foreign person's stay in this country is at the mercy of this organization, he has gotten to a position that he holds a lot of power as he has plenty of reasons for others to be wary of him.
As a person working for the immigration department, he should have been exposed to customer service etiquette as his job requires interacting with clients usually of a different cultural background of his own. As a civil servant, one must adhere to the highest standards of conduct and to exercise competence, integrity, impartiality, independence and sensitivity. Unfortunately, in my own personal opinion, not only has this civil servant failed to behave professionally and but has also lacked competence by being ignorant on matters that he should be aware of. For a job requiring a lot of customer interaction, he effectively puts the department and ultimately this country's image in a bad light on the way he treats foreign clients such as me. As a bureaucrat for the Swiss government, he effectively serves as an ambassador of this country. If indeed he does the same thing not only to me to other foreign people as well, it does not give a good impression on the Department and inevitably the way how foreign people are treated here.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Weekend
Spring has already settled in in Geneva with temperatures rising to 22 C this weekend. This means that it is more enjoyable to go outdoors and enjoy the sunshine without thick secondary clothing layers. Actually, my fourth month of stay here has kinda immersed me with the French language and I mustered all the confidence I had to send mails to Canada totally in French without anyone's help. The past three months have been quite debilitating as I felt living in an artificial biosphere where when you go out of work, you are kinda handicapped and isolated with the rest of the society trying to cope with the stress regarding your deficient and non-functional knowledge of the region's lingua franca.
Anyhow, I felt that for the fourth month I needed to reform myself and muster as much courage to initiate conversations in French and pretend that I understand what the other person is telling me even though I only understand 20% of it. With time running out fast,itwould be nice to get to know people from Geneva and have some experience of its culture. With that, I mustered all the courage I have left and tried randomly approaching one of my foyer house mates and ask him in my 'rehersed French' if it would be possible to be shown around Geneva on a Friday night.
Indeed, luck has been somewhat on my side as the people I meet have somehow Canadian connections. Karim, a student of Business Management actually studied English for 10 months in Vancouver, BC. At least I would not feel that ackward to build on a good conversation as I have some topics in store to talk about and I could somehow switch to English if I go blank with my French vocabulary.
Karim actually has an American vintage car, very special for Genevans as most cars I have seen are European-type the size of a Toyota-Yaris. It was interesting to see a dashboard like this:
First stop was the Italian restaurant where it took me such a hard time to decide which one to order. Being in the backyard of Italy, Italian restaurants are indeed very, very particular about their menus here with more selections than what we usually have in Winnipeg. Moreso, I need to be wise enough in choosing which one will best suite my taste and of course my budget which at the same time must also be decent enough in quantity to fill-in my hungry stomach. At first, I was opting for a CHF 17 spaghetti with bolognese sauce but finally decided to go with a single-person pizza for an extra franc.
Unlike North American pizzas, this particular pizza of the original Italian variety has eggs on it. Being ignorant on European cuisines, it is my first time to see pizza with an egg on top of it which drove my curiosity with the taste and appetite even further and allowed me for a couple of minutes to somewhat forget the price that I need to pay for the meal.
In going to this restaurant, I also learned a new indispensible lesson that needed to be done. When the waiter was asking me for the drinks, I do not know how to say 'tap water' in French and I was somewhat in grave danger. I should have memorized how to say 'tap water.' Last time I dined in a Geneva restaurant, saying the magic word 'eau' opened to disaster as we were slapped with a CHF 6.50 water bill for a 500ml bottled water. To mitigate that, I tried to think it over and just opted to have some 'coca' which I expected to be 8 oz. coming in the neighbourhood of CHF 3.50 - 4.50.
The meal was pleasant itself. Most of the time, Karim and I talked about his stay in Canada and his and my respective opinion regarding life here and there. He told me that when he was studying English in Vancouver, he homestayed in a Chinese family where he, in his own terms, had to endure Chinese meals for 6x a day. He also had an impression that some Chinese and Indian meal preparation practice he observed in Vancouver are 'unsanitary' and that Chinese houses 'smell differently' which he attributed to Chinese food ingredients. He also mentioned that his host family, having lived in Canada for a couple of decades, maintains a very strong relationship with the Chinese community only going to Chinese stores, Chinese church service, Chinese social gatherings, etc. He also mentioned that he seldom sees Asian people going to discotheques and hypothesized that they must have their own place for night life.
Talking about Switzerland, he had a concept of the country as the best place to live as almost everything works systematically in order and almost always right on time. He further mentions that although there is a housing crisis in Geneva, most Geneva Swiss people purchase real estates in nearby France as house prices are somewhat a 'bargain' by Swiss standards. I asked him what are the noticeable differences when going into the French side of the boder and he candidly told me that it looks more like a 'poorer country with the disorganizations and road potholes that they have.'
After dinner, I had the chance to go round Geneva for the first time during the evening in a car. I was able to see the headquarters of the king of all watches whose products I could only own in my dreams.
In our drive, we passed by an interesting showroom:
And we stopped to see the banking district of Geneva:
The next day, I embarked on a walking tour of Geneva's shopping district. Spring is way already in its progress in Geneva and on this Saturday, the shopping district has been teeming with people. Unlike in North America, Genevan's prefer to shop more in open-air complexes and not in air-conditioned malls. It gives them the chance to promenade and enjoy the sunshine.
After the shopping district, I went into Geneva's main town square - Plainpalais, where a major spring carnival is going on. They have various rides to cater every tastes, kids and adults alike:
It would have been interesting to try out at least one of the rides but its just dissinteresting and unmotivating to try it out just by yourself. Here are some vids of the rides, reminds me of Disneyland and of course, the Ex:
To be continued....
Anyhow, I felt that for the fourth month I needed to reform myself and muster as much courage to initiate conversations in French and pretend that I understand what the other person is telling me even though I only understand 20% of it. With time running out fast,itwould be nice to get to know people from Geneva and have some experience of its culture. With that, I mustered all the courage I have left and tried randomly approaching one of my foyer house mates and ask him in my 'rehersed French' if it would be possible to be shown around Geneva on a Friday night.
Indeed, luck has been somewhat on my side as the people I meet have somehow Canadian connections. Karim, a student of Business Management actually studied English for 10 months in Vancouver, BC. At least I would not feel that ackward to build on a good conversation as I have some topics in store to talk about and I could somehow switch to English if I go blank with my French vocabulary.
Karim actually has an American vintage car, very special for Genevans as most cars I have seen are European-type the size of a Toyota-Yaris. It was interesting to see a dashboard like this:
First stop was the Italian restaurant where it took me such a hard time to decide which one to order. Being in the backyard of Italy, Italian restaurants are indeed very, very particular about their menus here with more selections than what we usually have in Winnipeg. Moreso, I need to be wise enough in choosing which one will best suite my taste and of course my budget which at the same time must also be decent enough in quantity to fill-in my hungry stomach. At first, I was opting for a CHF 17 spaghetti with bolognese sauce but finally decided to go with a single-person pizza for an extra franc.
Unlike North American pizzas, this particular pizza of the original Italian variety has eggs on it. Being ignorant on European cuisines, it is my first time to see pizza with an egg on top of it which drove my curiosity with the taste and appetite even further and allowed me for a couple of minutes to somewhat forget the price that I need to pay for the meal.
In going to this restaurant, I also learned a new indispensible lesson that needed to be done. When the waiter was asking me for the drinks, I do not know how to say 'tap water' in French and I was somewhat in grave danger. I should have memorized how to say 'tap water.' Last time I dined in a Geneva restaurant, saying the magic word 'eau' opened to disaster as we were slapped with a CHF 6.50 water bill for a 500ml bottled water. To mitigate that, I tried to think it over and just opted to have some 'coca' which I expected to be 8 oz. coming in the neighbourhood of CHF 3.50 - 4.50.
The meal was pleasant itself. Most of the time, Karim and I talked about his stay in Canada and his and my respective opinion regarding life here and there. He told me that when he was studying English in Vancouver, he homestayed in a Chinese family where he, in his own terms, had to endure Chinese meals for 6x a day. He also had an impression that some Chinese and Indian meal preparation practice he observed in Vancouver are 'unsanitary' and that Chinese houses 'smell differently' which he attributed to Chinese food ingredients. He also mentioned that his host family, having lived in Canada for a couple of decades, maintains a very strong relationship with the Chinese community only going to Chinese stores, Chinese church service, Chinese social gatherings, etc. He also mentioned that he seldom sees Asian people going to discotheques and hypothesized that they must have their own place for night life.
Talking about Switzerland, he had a concept of the country as the best place to live as almost everything works systematically in order and almost always right on time. He further mentions that although there is a housing crisis in Geneva, most Geneva Swiss people purchase real estates in nearby France as house prices are somewhat a 'bargain' by Swiss standards. I asked him what are the noticeable differences when going into the French side of the boder and he candidly told me that it looks more like a 'poorer country with the disorganizations and road potholes that they have.'
After dinner, I had the chance to go round Geneva for the first time during the evening in a car. I was able to see the headquarters of the king of all watches whose products I could only own in my dreams.
In our drive, we passed by an interesting showroom:
And we stopped to see the banking district of Geneva:
The next day, I embarked on a walking tour of Geneva's shopping district. Spring is way already in its progress in Geneva and on this Saturday, the shopping district has been teeming with people. Unlike in North America, Genevan's prefer to shop more in open-air complexes and not in air-conditioned malls. It gives them the chance to promenade and enjoy the sunshine.
After the shopping district, I went into Geneva's main town square - Plainpalais, where a major spring carnival is going on. They have various rides to cater every tastes, kids and adults alike:
It would have been interesting to try out at least one of the rides but its just dissinteresting and unmotivating to try it out just by yourself. Here are some vids of the rides, reminds me of Disneyland and of course, the Ex:
To be continued....