1st French Class
Well I took my first French class last night in Rennens...quite the experience...small class with a Turkish man (Kurd), Swiss German woman, and a Polish man. The class was taught at the supermarket/food distributor Migros...It was fun and I learned a lot...the teacher though commented that I was the first american she has ever seen in this area...
On the way out I was approached by a man from Kosovo who was trying to find his wife who was taking a French class as well. We talked a bit and when he asked where I was from, I said USA. He was aghast that I would want to live in Switzerland! He gave me the horror stories of how much prejudice I would find and how closed the opportunities were for foreigners in Europe...he then went on to say that he appreciated very much what the US had done for his people (he loved Clinton) and though he did not like Bush, he clearly understands what he's doing and thinks the way he's dealing with Europe is necessary...
It was quite interesting getting a pulse on local views...
I then proceeded to get lost on a few round abouts on my bike ride home...after about 45 minutes of night riding I was back where I started, which was good I guess, because at least I was no longer lost!
The other good news was there was a local Coop Super-market by the metro that was still open. I stopped in bought a nice bottle of wine and a frozen dinner and got ready to check out. The cashier offered me a free case of bottled ice tea which I declined, explaining I was on a bike. 'Oh, but it's so cold..., you must be very sportive...(all in french)"...I replied, "Not at all, I don't have a car, I'm American'...his face lit up, both hands shot out and he did a pow pow double gun shot gesture at me....(wild wild west reputation?)...he went on to say how he had been to LA, New York, and Miami and liked the US very much...I indicated 'not too loud' which generated quite a laugh. So I'm having fun with the interactions!
I finally made it home and dinner was not bad and the wine (a local bottle from the Vaud region) was actually quite nice!
On the way out I was approached by a man from Kosovo who was trying to find his wife who was taking a French class as well. We talked a bit and when he asked where I was from, I said USA. He was aghast that I would want to live in Switzerland! He gave me the horror stories of how much prejudice I would find and how closed the opportunities were for foreigners in Europe...he then went on to say that he appreciated very much what the US had done for his people (he loved Clinton) and though he did not like Bush, he clearly understands what he's doing and thinks the way he's dealing with Europe is necessary...
It was quite interesting getting a pulse on local views...
I then proceeded to get lost on a few round abouts on my bike ride home...after about 45 minutes of night riding I was back where I started, which was good I guess, because at least I was no longer lost!
The other good news was there was a local Coop Super-market by the metro that was still open. I stopped in bought a nice bottle of wine and a frozen dinner and got ready to check out. The cashier offered me a free case of bottled ice tea which I declined, explaining I was on a bike. 'Oh, but it's so cold..., you must be very sportive...(all in french)"...I replied, "Not at all, I don't have a car, I'm American'...his face lit up, both hands shot out and he did a pow pow double gun shot gesture at me....(wild wild west reputation?)...he went on to say how he had been to LA, New York, and Miami and liked the US very much...I indicated 'not too loud' which generated quite a laugh. So I'm having fun with the interactions!
I finally made it home and dinner was not bad and the wine (a local bottle from the Vaud region) was actually quite nice!
posted by DFisch at 11:39 PM
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