Let the Countdown Begin

Whenever I am super excited about something that's coming up, I make a paper chain to count down the days. These are some pictures I took with my camera phone of the paper chain I just crafted at work. Each day has a message, such as, "FRIDAY -Casual Dress! Weekend! 3 days left!" but it's nice and discreet and fits under my desk out of sight.

Truth be told, I knew this job would be temporary when I started six months ago. It's a desk job and I'm a newly trained and inexperienced Montessori teacher. What I didn't know is how good it would feel to be almost done. Hurrah!!

Monopoly Money

With the internet, there are no surprises. Here is what the 20 CHF (short for Swiss Franc) bill looks like, courtesy of a Google images search. The bill pictured here is the equivalent of $16.47 in the US, courtesy of Google converter. Google is now equipped with a calculator and conversion tool. Just type in what you want, ex: "20 swiss francs to us dollars conversion," and voila! It magically appears. Also works for mathematical equations, celsius to Fahrenheit, meters to feet, so on and so forth. In other words, it's indispensible!!

It seems that when you arrive in a new land with new currency, it just doesn't seem real. It's like Monopoly money, except, it's not! A good rule to apply when arriving in Switzerland might be thinking of Francs as dollars -- judge prices and tariffs as I would in dollars to determine their reasonability.

I'm very curious to get to Switzerland and see just how high the cost of living is. It's reputedly obscene with Geneva and Zürich ringing in at 6 and 7 respectively for the world's most expensive cities. The survey, conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, looked at all sorts of criteria including alcohol/tobacco, clothing/footwear, domestic services, etc. But I'm certain that list is falwed. Hello! It ranks New York at 13!

Now, let's look at some facts. It's possible to find a studio apartment in Geneva for as low as 800 CHF (or $650 US) per month. It may be just slightly larger than a shoebox and have no windows, but it is possible. In New York, that is simply impossible -- you would never, and I mean never, find a studio for $650 per month, shoebox and windowless or otherwise. So there is one tidbit of fact that makes me question their survey.

Lucky for me, I am told that the cost of living in Neuchâtel is much lower than Geneva anyway. That's not to say I don't anticipate being in for a few surprises. Still, at the end of the day, I'm very pleased with the salary I was offered. I predict that, in most repects, I'll be quite comfortable.

Why are a camping stove and butane listed under "kitchen"?

As I prepare to move to Switzerland, a very wonderful list comes my way via email attachment. The girl who's moving out of the apartment I'll be moving into is offering to sell me some of her furnishings. The list is in French and very organized with furnishings listed under headings by room. The bedroom is first with all the usual suspects - bed, for one. A desk and shelf are also thrown in there. Then I come to kitchen. The first item makes me run for the dictionary even though I know I'm reading it correctly: "A light blue camping stove with two burners and an old fan oven." Skip over a spice rack and garbage can and I arrive at "One camping butane tank and one wooden stool from IKEA."

I don't know what is more staggering - being asked 40 CHF for a tank of butane and an IKEA stool, I mean how much butane are we talking here - or the fact that it's listed under kitchen in the first place. Naturally I begin to imagine myself perched on the edge of the wooden stool from IKEA, cooking on a camping stove on the floor of my kitchen in Switzerland. For dessert will be, of course, s'mores! This is not an attractive picture.

I attempt to counter these thoughts, which are growing increasingly absurd by the second, with some reasoning. The wooden IKEA stool perch and stove have now moved out to the small balcony - yes, even in the Alpine winter, where I huddle near the pitiful flame, thankful that I am not inhaling too much butane and thereby dying. Wait! The Swiss are exceedingly outdoorsy people, I remember, this gal must be an avid camper, right?? Maybe, but I am thrown by the heading of "Other" at the bottom -- wouldn't camping gear go under other?

In the end, I email the sender of the list with my potentially (hopefully) ridiculous questions and hope for a favorable reply.