Bonjour from Geneva!
As my Internet connection has yet to be made available, I am posting this article from an Internet cafe. Please bear with my English messages for the next few days.
After a long journey, I finally arrived in Geneva yesterday afternoon!
Luckily for me, it was sunny and warm yesterday, which boded well for my stay in Geneva for the next 6 months. After being shown my apartment by the property agent, I met up with my Geneva colleague who showed me around the Old Town area of Geneva.
Upon landing in the airport, I could straightaway feel that Geneva is distinctively different from Zurich. For one thing, all signs for passengers are written in French and English ONLY, without a single word of German. In Zurich, people are more accommodating to francophones in the sense that most public places have French signs, in addition to German and English. Another thing that struck me about Geneva is that you can clearly see the French influence in architecture, so much so that you really feel like you are in a French town.
When I met up with my property agent at the airport, we started out speaking English to each other, but once he found out that I spoke French, he switched and spoke French 100% of the time. I was relieved to find that local people seem to understand my French perfectly. Guess I won't have too much trouble trying to make myself understood in Geneva, which saves a lot of time and energy!
It is Sunday today, and most of the shops in Geneva are closed. As I've already finished unpacking my suitcases, I went out of my apartment and took the tram (streetcar) to make a random tour of the city. I was able to see the Old Town and the town of Carouge, which are really beautiful. Then I took the number 12 tram and rode it to the end, where I was surprised to find that the terminal was already on the Swiss-French border. I saw lots of people and cars crossing the border without even being stopped by the passport control officials. This time around, I have decided not to venture out beyond the border, but I would like to do it as soon as I obtain my work permit card!
Tomorrow will mark my first day of work in the Geneva office. The prospect of having to speak French 100% of the time indeed makes me a bit nervous, but as I'm already past the point of no return, there is really no point worrying about it now. I might as well enjoy this brand-new experience in the office!
Many thanks to everyone for reading through this long article today. I'll keep you posted on my new discoveries in the next few days!
Talk to you again soon!
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