Temporary apartment

As I start my apartment search, I have to say that I’m going to miss my temporary accommodations. For someone who has lived a studio apartment the past eight years in SF and NYC, the upgrade to a two-bedroom apartment with a balcony and separate dining room is quite significant.

Don’t get me wrong – I really liked my apartments in SF and NYC. But actually having some space has been great and I’m going to miss it when I move to my actual apartment. Fortunately, I only plan to “downgrade” to a one-bedroom, so it will still be an improvement over the small confines that I’ve become accustomed to over the years.

Residence card photo (mugshot?)

While most people can relate to the sub-par drivers license photo, I think I took things to another level with my Swiss resident ID. Given that you actually bring your own photo for the card (similar to when you get a new passport), one would think that the issue of a bad picture wouldn’t really exist. However, given the strict Swiss photo requirements (specific photo size, specific face size and angle, absolutely no smile, etc., etc., etc.) the picture that I brought wasn’t acceptable. As a result, I had to go to the photo booth in the lobby and take some “compliant” shots.

Unfortunately for me, the photo booth setup was fitted for someone around 5’4” and not 6’. Thus, I had to contort my body awkwardly into the booth while trying to: (1) align my head at the appropriate depth and angle and (2) press the touch-screen that initiates the photo (all instructions were in French, mind you). Not surprisingly, the end result was not so good: I now have a picture that can best be described as one of those terrible celebrity mug shots in which I basically look like a hardened criminal. Should I ever be suspected of a crime here and the jury sees my ID, I’m definitely in trouble. And no, the picture will not be posted…

Summer in Lausanne

Thus far the weather has been great, with lots of blue skies and temperatures in the mid-70s (err…20s…I’m just getting used to Celsius). The sun currently rises before 6am and doesn’t set until nearly 10pm, so there’s a lot of activity in the evenings while it's still light out. (Sadly, along with the long days during the summer will come short days during the winter, but I will choose to ignore that reality for now.)

The focal point of Lausanne during the summer is definitely down by the lake, where most people seem to occupy there time with sailing, typical beach-type activities and a fair amount of general people-watching.

Bienvenue en Suisse

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It’s hard to believe, but the move to Lausanne is finally official. I arrived on Tuesday after the long trip from L.A. to Geneva (via London) and pretty much hit the ground running with work starting the next day. Thus far I’ve been getting settled into my temporary apartment and adjusting to my new life in Western Switzerland. While there’s a lot to write about and I hope to add more in the coming weeks, the following are a few initial observations based on my time in Lausanne thus far.

Transitioning to a country where you don’t speak the language (err…languages, given that Switzerland has four “official” ones) is no simple feat. Though my six years of Spanish and pre-move Rosetta Stone French cram session have definitely helped my French fundamentals, speaking it with locals who generally speak very limited (if any) English has definitely been a challenge. That said, it’s a great environment to learn a new language and when I need my English fix I can definitely get it at work, on TV and while speaking with others in the large English-speaking expatriate community in Lausanne.

Given the proximity to Geneva and the large number of international companies with headquarters or European operations based here, Lausanne is a very diverse city with a significant expatriate community. In addition to the native Swiss population, the city is filled with a large population of Western Europeans and sizable groups from the U.S., Central / Eastern Europe and Asia. As a result, there’s a good variety of restaurants, stores and broader cultural influence.

Sunday in Lausanne (and Switzerland broadly) is indeed a day of rest. Pretty much everything is closed Sundays except for a few main convenience-type grocery stores, a small number of restaurants, and the stores in the train station. Though I’m sure this isn’t that big of an inconvenience once you get used to it (and thus plan accordingly), it definitely caught me off guard.