Today was a beautiful day, perhaps the clearest day I have seen since we have been here, and the views of the Alps were awesome. I regret I did not take my camera out with me. Mom has been moaning quite a bit about how no one speaks English, so she was surprised and pleased today that nearly everywhere we went people switched over to English: the post office, department store, and restaurant tonight for dinner-quite impressive. Not only that, but she also spoke more French today than she has since we have been here. Why is it that she has an easier time speaking French when the people she is speaking to understand English? I guess it's a mental thing-she won't have to panic that someone is going to start rattling off in a foreign language.
Overall, it was a good day, although apparently the Swiss authorities think that I have been in the country since December 1st (got here Jan 19th) so now we have to prove when I got here. It still makes no sense though. They think I got here the first because I was on the original paperwork for a residence permit but got denied. So they denied me, but still presumed I came and now want me to get a residence card that I can't actually legally get, because they denied me a residence permit to begin with. Fortunately for me, I haven't had to deal with it-lucky Dad. He is having a very difficult time.
Reading about permits in Switzerland, I find the following passage quite telling: "most Swiss companies and many foreigners in Switzerland, sooner or later become entangled in the complex and bureaucratic nightmare of the Swiss permit system (do Swiss officials really understand it?)."
It's funny, because it's true.
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