Friday's Five - 5 Swiss French Words (Related to Food) You Should Know

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Some years ago, when I was working in Zürich, I was overwhelmed with swiss german. Although I considered by german relatively fluent, I didn't understand a word of swiss german. After 3 months, I could know when my work colleagues were talking about the weather, some recent news or the upcoming weekend. But as you can see, I spent most of my time there guessing the lunch topic of the day. I usually had a poor soul sitting next to me who's job was it to translate whenever I had a clueless look on my face. 

Before moving to the french part, I thought that at least this time, the french would be the same as in France. At least some of the (very few) words I had learned in University would find their use. I was right, kind of. French in Switzerland isn't that different from the french from France, but there are, in fact, some words that will be confusing for other french speakers. 

1. Cornet. You go to the supermarket to buy some fruits and the cashier asks you if you want a cornet. Why would the cashier want you to take a music instrument similar to the trumpet after buying some fruits? Turns out, cornet is the swiss french word for sac de plastique (plastic bag). 
2. Services. Whenever I buy a quick take away salad, the kind waitress asks if I want service. The first time I thought: better decline any service, whatever it is, it will probably have an extra cost.  I then took a plastic fork and knife and went back to work. Soon afterwards I found out that service is the swiss french word for couverts (cutlery). I can picture the cashiers' puzzled look when I kindly declined and then took it anyway!
3. Déjeuner. Yes, you know this one. But, as confusing as it may be, déjeuner in Switzerland is not having lunch, but having breakfast - what in France is called petit déjeuner. 
4. Dîner. 1:30pm on a saturday. I went to have lunch on a terrace. The waiter comes to take my order by asking "Quest-ce que vous voulez pour dînez?". "Dinner?" I thought "who wants to have dinner at 1:30pm?". What school had taught me to be dinner in french seems to be lunch in Switzerland. 
5. Souper. So, if breakfast is lunch and lunch is dinner... what the heck is dinner? Souper, as in supper!

All these words are related to ordering food and going food shopping, which is as far as I can get with my limited french. 

Do you know about any words that are used differently in another country? 

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PS: Just a quick note on my april blog cleaning challenge - I'm probably going to make the move to Wordpress this sunday! I realized that many design options can't really be seen correctly unless you've already got posts in it, so... wish me luck! 

How Do You Cope With Culture Shock?

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I've been an expat for one and a half years now, and had never before sat down to clear my thoughts and feelings on living in Switzerland. It's not my first time abroad. However, its the first time that I left my country without knowing when I'd be going back. I didn't care about not knowing one single sole in the whole country, nor did I care about my lack of french knowledge. I hardly blinked when it came to leave the comfortable familiarity behind and dive into the unknown. I was going to conquer the World (or at least, Switzerland). 

But my thoughts on working in a foreign country have changed over time. 

Contrary to what I thought when I knew I was moving, culture shock is not only about different social norms or exotic food, which you can usually prepare for before moving, which I did. I had already worked six months in Zürich a couple of years before and had learned about many swiss standards - I learned how to eat fondue, how to greet co-workers in swiss german and where not to park my bike in the building (this one I learned it the hard way). Culture shock continues long after becoming familiar with your new life. Experts like to classify this identity crisis into four phases. 

1) Honeymoon

Fairy Tale Sunset in Lausanne, Switzerland

The Honeymoon phase is full of excitement and euphoria. You feel you can grab the World in your hands and do whatever you want. Every day is a new adventure - new faces, a different restaurant, a hidden shop, a cute small side street with a boulangerie selling the best baguettes you have ever tried. The public transport is reliable, the city is peaceful, clean and safe and people are kind and respectful. 

You smile while you walk. Life is good. 

2) Frustration

"Careful not to fall down the mountain" Sign, in Switzerland

But honeymoons don't last forever. You start to realize that there are actually less than 5 bars where you can go to  - either because of the crowds or because of the prices. Its the forth time you try asking for a glass of water with your coffee and you receive an arrogant look from the waiter. Maybe even a clueless arrogant look - you're wrong pronunciation bothers them, and having to repeat the same word 10 times (when you know there's nothing even similar that it could be mistaken with) bothers you. You go to a hairdresser and come out with a messy cut and completely broke. Every saturday feels like a monday - you have to wake up early to do all the shopping for the next 6 days, as you will have no time to do so during weekdays. 

Basically, this is the time when you get familiar with the flaws of living abroad: you don't understand locals' social norms, you get laughed at because of your pronunciation. You feel disillusion, frustration and anger. You blame all your mishaps to the culture and people in your new home country. At this point, you feel alone and misunderstood and would sell your organs to go back home (figuratively, of course). 

3) Understanding

Filet de Perche with sauce tartare, a speciality from Lac Leman

After a while of closing yourself into a bubble, things start to get better - You're adjusting to the new culture. Things that used to annoy you during the second phase, now are insignificant or can even be laughed at. You've adjusted your meals to the local timing (well, almost, I mean, sorry but a spaniard will never have dinner at 6:30pm) and are even trying out some new activities that are key in the new country, such as hiking, skiing and snowboarding. You have set up a routine, and feel comfortable with it. 

You understand the cultural differences with your home country and are learning how to deal with them. 

I believe I've passed the second phase (although frustration comes back eventually when I have to cope with a new shock). I've developed a routine for saturdays, that gives me enough time (and flexibility) to deal with the weekly food shopping. And in case I run out of milk, I know where I can buy some last minute. I've also realized that there's so much more outside my city that is just a short bus, train or plane ride away. It's really easy to keep on seeing new faces and different places whenever you get bored of it. I guess that's one big advantage of Switzerland. 

4) Acclimatation

Sunset over Lac Leman, Switzerland

Although I have adopted some local habits and am adjusting to the new culture, I still don't feel that I belong here - I feel like a foreigner. Part of it may be because of my ridiculous french skills that don't really take me any far. But there's much more to it than the language barrier. I feel that I don't have something really settled. My family is a couple of thousand kms away and my best friends are spread across Europe, too. I do know people that I consider friends, but most of them come and go - as most expats do. I guess the idea would be to start making local friends, which would only truly happen if I was fluent in french, and not only talk about where I come from and what I want to buy in the supermarket. 

There's still some hard work to do. 

Have you lived or are you living in a foreign land? If so, in what phase do you think you're at? Any tricks on how to get more involved in the host country's culture? How do you meet locals?

Photo Essay: In the Land of Bisses

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Walking along Bisse Vieux

I know I've been missing in action for the last couple of days, but I promise to make up for it. After all, during this time, I've been discovering some more corners of Switzerland, that I can't wait to share with you. Given that I missed out last week's Photo Essay, I decided to start the week with a walk through the land of bisses. 

What are bisses anyway?

To put it simple, Bisses are old water channels that are used for cultivation. These channels were built to fight the drought that farmer's in Valais are exposed to during summer time. By carving out water paths, farmers collect water from rivers ( mainly La Printse) and artificially divert it to their crops. 

I was surprised to find out that particularly this region - Nendaz - is one of Switzerland's most important raspberry and apricot plantations. When driving up to Haute-Nendaz during spring, we were surrounded by beautiful flowering apricot trees all over the valley.

Walking the Bisse Vieux 

Although there are several hike along different bisses in the region, we decided to explore the Bisse Vieux, one of the oldest channels, built around 1658.

The path next to Bisse Vieux, Nendaz

We found frozen water along the walk!

Unusual rock formations covered in moss

On our way back 

This walk goes for 7 kms starting in Nendaz up to Planchouet. We didn't walk the whole way, because we weren't really prepared for it - it was already late in the afternoon and, as we went by car, we would have had to walk back another 7kms in the dark. However, what I saw (about 3 to 4 out of the 7 kms) were beautiful. Its an easy hike for any age, since the height difference is of 100m along the full trail. 

Its views are spectacular - on a relatively clear afternoon, we could see the whole valley!

Views from the walk

The views as well as the hike is probably even more spectacular during late spring, when the fields are greener and more water flows through the bisse vieux. But I was impatient - couldn't wait for another month!

Facts on Bisses in Canton Valais

1. The water that flows through the bisse vieux has its source in the glaciers Grand-Désert and Tortin. 
2. The oldest bisse of this community - Nendaz - is Bisse de Salins, which was built in 1435 and is still regularly used to irrigate the crops of the region. 
3. In case 7 kms walking aren't enough, there are another 750 kms of walks along  200 bisses in the canton Valais. 
4. Valais is part french-speaking and part german-speaking. Therefore, whereas in the french side these channels are called bisses, the german-speakers call them Suonen. 
5. Valais' longest bisse is a hike of 32 kms that goes through 100 year old larches. 

How was your weekend? Did you find something new in your area?