I've been here for about 6 years now. Up until this year, I was working all over the place, trying to make ends meet. I'd never had so many jobs in my life since moving here! I've done : private English lessons (quick and easy way to make money), cleaning (don't need the language), worked on the vinyards (don't really need the language), worked in a shop, posed for art classes!, babysitting, maman de jour... I can't even remember everything I've done since being here...
I now have 2 jobs! (bit of a workaholic I know...). I work at the cinéma and I'm also an independent insurance advisor.
What I'm trying to say is, just keep going. You will find something you enjoy. Unfortunately, experience and foreign qualifications don't seem to count much over here. I just never gave up.
I also never knew any English people over here for at least my first 3 years. I couldn't speak French when I got here, never had any lessons, and am now fluent. It's not easy at the beginning, but it is possible.
I know Brig, and I know it's in the middle of nowhere, lol. It literally is at the end of the line :P (train Genève - Brig)
Maybe you could try in Sion? It seems to be slightly more happening.
I would suggest learning French too. It really does help.
More big changes. My wife ́s part time job was temp and the time ran out and she decided not to stay. It was good at first, but after the first month or so she kept having to call every week to check and see if they needed her in. They didn ́t have enough buisiness to keep her going, so she quit and now I am paying what is the last of our money in a last ditch attempt for a job. I am going to London for a month to do the CELTA course. I only hope that it all pays out when said and done, because this is a gamble and I REALLY don ́t want to go back to the states to work for minimum wage. I hate the slow progression of language here, but have kind of warmed up to a lot of the other things and made a few friends, so I am really hoping it works out and if I can get in teaching English when done than the language can take its ́time coming and I won ́t care.
I don't mean to pry or anything, but I'd like to offer you something I wish someone would have offered me when I was going through a bad patch here - simply someone who would listen. If you want to talk, you're welcome to contact me.
Try to cheer up and don't do anything rash, alright?
Did you ever complete that CELTA course'? I'm interested in doing it, too. But how are are you doing? Are things better? I'm hoping to hear that you did the CELTA exam and are now working somewhere! Fill us in!
It's ratter easier being an arab or albanese (yugoslavian). No need to say being black or simply swiss you find "O" help in your own country! They would ratter sink you . What a country huh ? Beautiful from the outside.
Well... if you had money, red carpet would be landed under your feet...
What to say to make you feel better... I guess I find nothing at this moment. Will keep thinking on it... meanwhile, cheer up, keep looking for english speaking folks. It takes approx a year to start meeting people, not always the best but it leads to others and others and finally you'll feel like a fish in a... you know!
Chill out brother, I know how you feel, goto the RAV and get an appointment, they will listen and may schedule you for German classes with the ECAP, or some other affiliated org, like the Migro Klubschule.
Im here nearly a year and just starting to get it together now, the language is a killer, but it will get easier with time.
I can completely understand you. This country just sucks real bad. The people (if you can call them people) are complete idiots and fools. They have know understanding whatsoever of what is going around in the world around them. The talk a language which was spoken in the middle ages in Germany. They are just so backward minded.
Switzerland is a country of big pathetic fools!!!
As soon as I can, I'll be trying to finally get out of here. I truelly hate all people here. This Swiss mindset is just so impossible.
Good luck to you and don't waste your time learning this pathetic language, just laugh at them when you here it next time. (I always do it and keep talking my own language.) The only good thing here, is low taxes, for the rest, the country is not even worth metioning. Hope Germany has the guts sometime to just take them over.
tgif.nl - I'm all for complaining and getting something off your chest, but there wasn't really very much intelligent in your post at all. Your post was actually quite insulting and dismissive towards the Swiss and Switzerland.
If you want to complain about something specific, then do so with an intelligent argument.
If you plan on sticking around here and posting something else please put a bit more thought into it.
I have travelled alot and I can honestly say that no Country or their citizens can be blamed if you cant crack the egg. Some people just do really well, others have a harder time, but that is not the fault of the people or the country, its a problem with you the individual.
I really got on well with the Canadians, I lived in Montreal for a year and i did really well and made loads of friends. I cant stand it in the US, except NYC, the culture just dosnt agree with me but I like Americans, and for the Spanish, I hate the place, its dirty and backwards yet I speak good Spanish, I love it in Norway, the people are strange but the beer is way too expensive but its a great place ( About 12 franks a Pint).
So what does this tell me? is it the countries and the people are crap? Nah its just some places I fit in better than others, everywhere has it good and bad. Im married to a swiss Girl and Im learning new things everyday. Dont hate the place just put it down to ' an interesting experience'.
When I travel, I have 3 rules that make a city good.
Well I am hoping once I get to Bern and learn the language a bit I will learn that there are things to do here. One of my biggest complaints is that I am always so bored, and everyone I asked in Wallis for what there is to do for fun or past times they all say drink, but seeing as I have little money, nor care to become an alcoholic I skip that. I hope Bern is more cultured than Brig. P.S. I really like Zurich, but my wife likes Bern more because of the location.
I know the feeling, if your mega bored why not take up running, this is a good way to let of steam and think things over, plus exercise is a great mood riser, you'll feel better and also get fit as f*%k. I always feel great after a mega beast session, especially the Gym. Also why dont you use the spare time to watch the German TV channels, this way you can tune your ear into the language. One of the scientific reasons we struggle with language is we cannot hear it properly as the pronounciation of words in a new language is a different set of sounds we cannot recognise. After a while you will start to pick up the different hisses blahs and blurbs and start to conjugate a sentence and soon pick up Hoch dootch. Thats how I am doing it, I pick up new words all the time and am slowly learning to use in my everyday routine. The Kabel 1 channel is great.
I appreciate the feedback, but I constantly watch German tv and have ́t really picked up on much. As far as the running thing goes, I don ́t think I could if I wanted to. I hate to sweat, because it fogs up my glasses and I am blind without them, and I haven ́t run track in 14 years I used to do the mile and 2 mile back to back, now I run 100 yards and I am gasping for air and sweating like a pig.
Watching German TV won't really help with Swiss-German. It took me _ages_ (as in more than a year) before I could recognise Swiss-German individual words as being distinct from the overall flow of sound.
At least with High German I could recognise the distinct words in a sentence from the start, if not actually understand them
Can you go swimming with glasses? If so, I would give it a try. You can set your own pace and even if you only swim once a week, you will quickly notice you get fitter, have more energy, and are generally happier as you feel so much better physically.
Agree Gav, I was only making reference to German Tv, I reckon you have a better chance if you crack the hoch german before you attempt to crack the swiss D. You'll have a better base to work off. the TV is the perfect enviroment to just sit back and listen, I watch the Kabel 1 or Mtv and have learnt loads, then some of the SF channels and am starting to understand alot. Most of the SF channels they speak Hoch D like with the news and weather etc, as that is the official language officially( grr come on swiss people give it too me, I know Im gonna get Hell for this !!!)
I realized something today. I don't hate Switzerland, I hate myself. I am the one who was too stupid to pick a career that could be useful everywhere. I am the one to chose poorly when I laughed at technical and hands on work. And I am the one who is too stupid to learn a new language or pass a CELTA course. I have failed a major task today and I have 1 more shot, but it is a long shot and a difficult subject and I am feeling so down with myself I don't think it is likely. My only question what I should do if I fail? Obviously I never got a proper training for a career and I don't speak any of the languages, so the only work I would be able to find would be low pay crap jobs. I am wondering if my family wouldn't be better off if I just went back to the states and sent them money from there. Cause all I am to them now is a drain.
You've had a really tough time these last few months and you're under incredible stress but that doesn't make you stupid. Maybe a lot of us would have made different career and lifestyle choices if we'd known that we'd end up living in Switzerland. It feels particularly tough for you at the moment because you've been working on a difficult course and not done as well as you expected. Okay, you say tomorrow is a long-shot but it's one you have to take and you won't know until you do it.
After that, whatever the result, you need to talk to your wife and think about what you may do with the future, but not tonight. Tonight you need to try and get your head around what you need to do tomorrow.