I just found out that I will be moving to Vevey with my husband from the U.S. No big surprise he works for Nestle. I have no idea what to expect and we don't speak French. All I've seen are pictures and by reading a bit of this website. Seems like people there are mean to foreigners and we are also African-American. I was really disappointed to read about the treatment of people who apprear diffrent. But that's the least of my concern right now...any advice on our big move? Any other websites I should be checking out?
I live in Vevey and you can be rest assured that the people here are very nice. My husband works with Nestle too and they have a really good support system for families moving in to help you settle in here faster. Of course if you know french its an added bonus and you integrate faster into the place
There is a Riveria playgroup of nestle mothers where you can meet up with other english speaking moms, if you fall into that category. There is also the coffee mornings organised by Nestle, to help you meet other english speaking friends...they also organise a lot of activities etc.
Feel free to send me a mail if you need any help. We have been here for 2.5 years now (and i still dont know french)
All the best with your move
African American? Well no worries there. You'll find 20-30% (maybe) of the population are colored people (from Africa actually, the ones I met). So if you are worried about color, don't. Vevey is a beautiful area. French is not too hard to learn, but people wil tend to grin when they hear funny accents. Racism is tolerated, but most of the Swiss culture are racist again the differnt regions. Swiss Germans against the Swiss French, against the Swiss Italians, against all other foreigners.
But don't feel threatened about it, it is very relaxed and normally you will never be bothered.
How long are you planning to stay?
Good luck with your move.
I know Vevey quite a bit. Very friendly city because a lot of expats are there. I know quite a few places to hang out in vevey and if your husband plays soccer or any sport, he can join us. Thats a great way of meeting people. Once in Vevey, keep us posted when you can. I might be able to give you guys some useful tips.
Cheers
An agency has just forwarded my CV to Nestlé.
It would seem Nestlé is a good firm and Vevey a wonderful place; and I speak French
In the event, is there anyone who could be of help in getting a job there?
Send your cv to my company and I'll do what I can to help.
Here black people ONLY do some manual works, which is not the case in the US. I must say that US is more open to colored people than Europe.
The original poster was a bit fearful about it, and I was trying to make them feel more comfortable to be in Switzerland.
I am sure everyone sees it differently anyway.
Sorry to butt in here, but since the original writer is American I think I should point out that "colored" or "coloured" are seen as derogatory in the US.
Zetalambda,
As you can see some of the vocabulary which is considered offensive in the US isn't considered offensive at all here. It's probably hard, but please try to keep it in mind.
-mark
ps. Also "corn" just means grain in British English. There are a lot of those sorts of things.
You need a daily newspaper to keep up with what is rude and what is correct now-a-days in the US, so pardon my Canadianism, no harm intended to anyone.
Maybe start a new thread on language conflicts?
Thanks for all the advice ! LOL ! MarkJ thanks for speaking up on the colored thing. I see what you mean. I'm not offened, I'm taking it in context. I think it's funny actually, and we won't be doing any manual labor either ! LOL. Anyways you all have been a great help. I will try to find some French classes. Pryia I hope to meet you when I get there. Nice to know you've been ok without French.