Want a C Permit? Take that test.

After five years living in Switzerland on a B permit, most Americans and Canadians can apply for a C permit, which has certain benefits like 1) it’s good for an entire five years instead of just one and 2) it makes it easier to get a job and freelance like a normal person.

But here’s the catch: you must prove you have made an effort to integrate in order to receive the C permit. Never mind if you speak fluent Deutsch at the Migration Office, as we learned before, they are not paying attention to your Deutsch. They are looking at...um. Yeah.

So it doesn’t matter if you’re fluent, it matters if you have a piece of paper. After all, we are in Switzerland, people. Logic isn’t important. Paper is. The more expensive the paper, the better.

That’s why I’m going to spend over CHF 300 to take the Goethe Zertifikat B2 test. Because one of my German-speaking American friends was just refused a C permit despite logic. A fluent German speaker who had lived here for five years on a B permit, she must now wait another two years to apply for her C permit because she was ohne test certification when she filled out the paperwork.

Moral of the story: If you’ve been taking a German class (or are just naturally good at German) and have reached at least the A2 level, take the appropriate test in case you overstay your expected Swiss residency and want that C permit, after all. The next Geothe tests are in August/September and you must register for them by July 15. At minimum, you must pass the A2 test or higher to prove proficiency as far as the permit is concerned. Real life is another story.

Note: For a C permit, you must prove language proficiency of the language spoken in your canton. If you live in Zurich and have French certification, that’s great, but it doesn’t matter on your permit application. C'est la vie.

5 ways the USA and Switzerland are Different, Part II

Here is a continuation of yesterday’s post about the differences between the USA and Switzerland.

6. Prices. I bought a pair of Nike running shoes for $32 at the Chicago Outlet Mall. Later I realized I had bought the wrong size so I returned them for a full refund AND then was also offered a 20% off coupon if I shopped again in the store in the next 2 hours. So I got the right size of the shoes for even cheaper—this time they were $25 with my coupon. In Switzerland, not only would I have not been allowed to return anything, they also would have cost $150 for the same thing.

7. The food. Most Americans eat terribly. The number of processed foods and fruits and vegetables made to last weeks is a little disconcerting after learning to buy things the same day I’m going to eat them lest they go moldy in Switzerland. In America, a loaf of bread can last two weeks. Very different from my Swiss bread I have to eat the same day or feed to the birds. The American food sure is convenient. But my stomach paid the price.

8. Personal space. Yesterday on the tram in Zurich, a guy was literally standing right over me and coughing and hitting me with his bag every time the tram turned. In Swiss stores, people push you to grab what they want. But in America, people give you your space. They wait for you to stop looking at something in a store before they barge in. They would never stand so close to you that you were touching if there was an alternative. It’s really great to feel not so closed in all the time. I definitely prefer American-sized space!

9. Dress. Americans are slobs. They parade around in sweats, running shoes, velour outfits, and huge sweatshirts. I loved it and took advantage of wearing what is considered pajamas in Switzerland to parties in the U.S. It was really great to be a slob for a few weeks. The Swiss dress much nicer, wear fitted clothes, and leather shoes.

10. Smiles. Americans are very friendly and smile a lot. Usually this is a nice change of pace, but I would get the occasional cashier or stranger that wanted to know my entire life story behind why I didn’t want their store’s credit card. In Switzerland, people don't smile much at strangers. The cashiers don't smile. They say “hello” and “goodbye”. Sometimes they ask you if you have the store's points card. But if you don't, that's the end of that.

5 ways the USA and Switzerland are Different, Part I

I had lunch with a Swiss colleague yesterday and he wanted to know about some of the things I noticed while I was in the US over the holidays and compare it with Switzerland. Here’s a run down of 10 observations—both countries have good and bad, and if there’s any lesson in this it’s that no place is perfect:

1. Smoke. I think I smelled a total of maybe 3 cigarettes my entire 3 weeks in the US. It was really a pleasant change from smoky Switzerland. All the restaurants and bars in Illinois are smoke free and it was wonderful. After all, there’s really no motivation to start smoking when you can’t even stand outside the doors of buildings to do it, but are made to stand at least 15 feet from the door. Love it.

2. Public Transport. There is a lack of public transport even when there is the infrastructure for it in the US. One day over my vacation, I wanted to meet an old teacher for lunch. I was meeting her about a half hour away, right next to a train station. So I figured I’d just take the train. Ha. Even though the route was available, during the day there were trains only every 2 hours, and they did not arrive even close to the time I needed to meet her. So much for that. Switzerland is much more advanced in this regard.

3. Fat people. I hate to say it, but Americans really are fat in comparison to their European friends.

4. Stuff and the compulsion to acquire it. Americans have stuff galore. For example, my mother stocks at least six weeks worth of cereal in her cabinet. Kids have every toy imaginable. People shop and shop to get more stuff. They can shop on Sundays. They can shop at 3am. It’s a very different lifestyle from the Swiss, who have little space to put things not to mention very restricted store hours. I rarely shop in Switzerland, but somehow the minute I set foot on US soil, I just have to shop.

5. Sales. Everything in the U.S. is on sale. This year, entire stores were 50% off. I couldn’t get enough! In Switzerland sales are the exception. And most of the time if a sale is advertised, the items are 10% off. Wow. What incentive!

A new global leader needed

I don’t really like to write about politics, but since my in-laws are here and like watching TV, we have had some American TV on through our connection with the Slingbox. They’ve got some of the Republican convention on, mainly stupid discussions about everything except the real issues. The last point that was brought up before we turned it off was about the fact that the Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin, doesn’t have a passport. (And it was reported that only 27% of Americans have one.) Wow. But still. This may seem like another small picky thing, but to me, after living abroad, I think it’s huge.

This is a global world. You don’t understand your own country or know what it means to be an American until you go elsewhere. You can’t understand how the rest of the world sees Americans or America until you hear it from them personally and read their newspapers. Just today, we heard from a German woman living in Switzerland (who lived in the US for 10 years) about how she couldn’t believe one man (W. Bush) could do so much damage. When asked if she’d ever go back to live in the US, she said, “no, it’s really gone downhill.”

To be fair, Palin’s got five kids not to mention a big job, so maybe she didn’t have time in the last ten years to travel abroad. But if you are training to be a global leader, you should have an interest in the rest of the world.

To me it feels like McCain picked her to get all the people wanting a woman in the White House in order to stick it to the dems. But that makes me not like him all the more. Don’t get me wrong, I want a woman in the White House as much as any other American woman. But it’s got to be the right one for the right reasons. I guess I’m a little tired of a campaign that’s all about if we’re black or white, woman or man. What happened to picking the right person based on their credentials and what they believe?

American Clothes

The only time I really get use out of my American clothes is when I go on vacation. Don’t ask me why, but somehow when I’m a plane ride away from Switzerland, I feel like I can suddenly break out the Americana. The running shoes, the sweatshirts, the shorts. They all get celebrated with equal pleasure and vicariousness. (I held back on going all out and bringing the sweatpants to Norway, but that was a mistake as Norwegians actually wear these.)

Now that I'm heading to Chicago tomorrow, I will revel in everything comfortable for 10 days straight. And it will all come out of my closet at home or from shopping as I plan to bring pretty empty suitcases.

But this time, I won't be going into "I'm a tourist and I don't care" attitude about my clothing. Because no one will notice anything strange if I prance around in flannel (except of course that it's out of season). After all, what is sold as pajamas in Switzerland are sold as street clothes in the US. And the fun part will be seeing what I bring back with me and making that same realization all over again.