Musings by Rebekah Stewart: Grüezi! 4pm of Darkness

Shönen Tag alle!

So my time here is almost done (and there better not be any huzzahs!). Yesterday was my last hurrah to Zürich. I went to the Land Museum to see a photo exhibit and the China Garden (which was closed for the winter). There’s a bog pond where they have stones that you can walk on to get to the other side, once there I ate lunch by Lake Zurich, enjoying the early sunset at 4pm. The only way I could describe my day was a line form one of my books, “…all for the last time.”

Did some window shopping and got ingredients for my cake for tonight’s dinner party with the neighbors. Tonight I am baking a lemon vanilla yoghurt cake. It’s in the oven now and I have everything I need to make the icing. I <3 dinner parties! Libby cooking two chickens and I’m not too sure what else we’re having yet, it’s only 2pm!

Earlier this week, Libby and I had our own Zürich day where we went to NONAM (North American Native Museum). It houses a huge exhibition of Native American and Indigenous tribes. Then we met Alain in Winterthur to eat at this place called the Outback Lodge where I enjoyed kangaroo steak for the first time! Ist schmeckt sehr gut!

There was tea time with Madeline twice this week. She came here and then we went over. I got to see their house for the first time. And she showed us the goulashes and dry suits she got for the boys when it wet outside, they can still play.

Let’s see, I was oinked at last week. I glared at someone Wednesday after they reeked of booze and begged me for money for the Zug. Got pissy hearing Spanish on the bus from two obviously loud Dominican Republic Gucci wearing women. And you know what they were blabbing about so damn loudly, coffee. They were complaining about this place that serves bad coffee. Get a life! I laughed when some German guy told them to shut up!

This leads to: the Swiss are as reserved about certain things like us Americas are. In public places (unless you’re drunk) you don’t go screaming about like some whacked up freak, especially on the bus and train. The only allowance is children but they like them to stay as quiet as possible in public places. Like on certain trains, they have cars for families so you can be as loud as you want without bothering somebody. We like to think we are very direct but no, you haven’t met the Germans, they have zero tact. In America we would consider them highly rude.

A good example cane from my German book where we read off a conversation about someone who was having a house warming dinner. Immediately the first question was, “how much do you pay because this is terribly small!” As we know, in America we’d only ask that if we know the person personally and even then, people get iffy. I don’t like sharing how much I pay for something and I don’t ask other people. My teacher was like, “in Switzerland, saying something like that to someone you barely know is horribly rude!”

I don’t think the directness is a bad thing, just funny how cultures are very different.

Speaking of German books, Frau Porolli is giving me Schritte 2 and Schritte 3. In Europe, when you learn a language, you get a certificate and the level tells the work place, or school what you know. You start with A1 (Schritte 1 and 2) which is basic German grammar, alphabet, simple verbs, Dative, Gehen + Infinitive, etc. A2 (Schritte 3 and 4) – is more complex verbs, writing (writing and speaking is different), etc. B1 (Schritte 5 and 6) you only take if you are going to write reference papers, do government work, write a novel, etc.

We would call these, Elementary Conversational German, Intermediate Conversational German and German Composition. I thought it was very nice of her. She did tell me that it’s nice to have a student who is serious about learning. To which I smiled.

Now, here is something we should have in America. What my teacher meant was that the people who go to these German courses are there because the government or the place of work sent them. You legally cannot become a citizen, work or have any say in the government unless you complete A1 & A2 then wait 15 – 25 years. If you’re married to a Swiss citizen its 7 years. Even then if you are married (like in Libbys’ case) you cannot be a citizen unless you get a certificate in A1 & A2.

So two more classes left in A1 Scritte 1 and 10 days to go until I return to Florida. Just wish me a safe flight. I don’t want to hear anything else.

Ich wünche alle sehr schön Abend!