Sixty Days in Suisse - Part IX

Grimaces, Gourmet and Games



My Permis B, complete with psycho stare photo

As I write this blog I am now in my ninth week of being a Swiss resident, and finally received my Permis B (the document that shows I am legally allowed to work in Switzerland). I popped down to the SPOP in Lausanne to collect the document, and luckily I didn’t have to pay any extra administration fees, apart from the 8.- CHF for a passport photo to affix to the permit.

Admittedly it isn’t the greatest photo of me ever, as it looks like I had just been told some exceedingly bad news. The reason for the grimace is that the photo booth had a warning that said “Do Not Smile”, so I didn’t. The end result is a very grumpy looking work permit, but at least that grumpy person can now proudly tell prospective employers that he can work for them (legally).

Sixty Days in Suisse - Part I

As the title suggests, I have now been a resident here in the land of cheese, chocolate and mountains for 60 days, although it certainly doesn't feel as long as it sounds. In fact, when I checked my calendar today and realised I had just finished my 8th week here I was somewhat surprised that time had passed so quickly - I left England with a niggling fear in the back of my mind that I would struggle to adapt to life here, with each day passing so slowly that I would actually start to long for life in Stevenage (which, as anyone who has visited Stevenage knows, would be stooping pretty low).

Fortunately, I began to like life in Switzerland almost immediately, aided greatly by the kindness of my wife's family and friends, who have all made me feel very welcome here. Indeed, my first few weeks here were such a blur of activities, outings and meals that I barely had time to miss my life in England (although I obviously still missed my family and friends). I soon found that I had passed the one month mark here, and thought that I really ought to write another blog article to let people know how I'm getting on and what its like to live in Switzerland. Another month later, and I'm actually getting round to it!

It's fair to say a lot has happened in these last few weeks. So much, in fact, that this effort might take some time to read (apologies for those who were expecting a "quickie" update), although I will do my best to keep it as brief as possible. In an attempt to make it succinct yet readable, I have had to split it into different parts (this one being Part I), with different sub-sections for each of the 8 weeks I have lived here - sort of mini-blogs, if you will.