The first
time a radiator repairman came to The Frau’s small Swiss apartment, he shook
The Frau’s hand, introduced himself, and then proceeded to take off his shoes.
A lot of hot air. You need it in Chicago this winter. |
The Frau
thought this was both overly formal and overly informal at the same time. Herr
Schumann, someone she just met two seconds ago, was walking around her
apartment in his socks. It’s not like they were on a first-name basis or
anything. So, sorry, yodelers, but as a newly expatriated American, she found the whole situation kind of gross.
Well,
fast-forward almost a decade and The Frau found herself letting two furnace repairmen
into her big, fat American house. And you know what? She was offended. First of
all, they didn’t introduce themselves. Or shake her hand. And then, they slogged
up the wooden staircase in their snowy boots.
At this
point The Frau was not only wishing for heat during a -10 Celsius Chicago
winter. She was also wishing for a little shoe removal action.
But no. Up and
down and out the door and back went the repairmen in their big, snowy boots. They
were very friendly, just not very Swiss. Not that you can blame them, since Chicago is, after all, not Switzerland.
The Frau
thought about asking them to take off their shoes. But this felt so un-American
and she’s trying hard to be American these days so she said nothing.
Anyway, when
they left The Frau’s house, she happily had heat. But she also had ten minutes
of floor cleaning to do too. Which, when you’ve just spent $500, isn’t exactly an
added bonus.
Shameless self-promotion section: if you enjoy
little stories like these, you may enjoy The Frau’s book, Swiss Life: 30 Things I Wish I’d Known. It’s now available via Bergli
Books in Basel as well.
7 comments:
O M G!
I just had this experience today and was trying to talk myself out of hating the repair guy! W TF? he tracks all that salt melting snow all over my house and doesn' even bother to introduce himself properly?!?
Luckily for me, I am gearing up for a move to Geneva after a number of years living "at home" in the US following a 5 year expat assignment in BE/FR.
Gotta focus on the positive, not how crazily expen$ive it is, but the civilization that can be had in Europe. Love your blog, repat is hard, bon courage! LA
merci d'avance for tous! LA
The Frau is happy to hear she is not alone in her repairmen regrets!
لمسات جدة تعتبر افضل شركة تنظيف خزانات بجدة وتعد من اقوي شركات مكافحة الحشرات بجدة لأنها شركة متميزة ولديها فريق عمل متخصص وتستخدم دائما ما شركة صيانة خزانات بجدة ما يناسب وضعها ومكانتها فى سوق العمل شركة تنظيف منازل بجدة , نحن نقدم اليكم خدمتنا , فاذا استعنت بنا شركة تنظيف منازل بمكة فانت الرابح الاكبر لا تترد فى الاتصال وسوف نصلك فى اى مكان
تعتبر مؤسسة مكافحة حشرات بالجبيل مؤسسة الكمال،افضل مؤسسة في مكافحة البق، والنمل الابيض والفئران والصراصير بالجبيل، حيث تعتبر المؤسسة الافضل في إمتلاكها أفضل المواد القاتلة للحشراتشركة النجوم لمكافحة الحشرات
شركة مكافحة حشرات بالطائف
شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بالطائف
شركة كشف تسربات المياه بالطائف
Best eCOGRA Sportsbook Review & Welcome Bonus 2021 - CA
Looking for an eCOGRA Sportsbook Bonus? https://deccasino.com/review/merit-casino/ At this eCOGRA https://septcasino.com/review/merit-casino/ Sportsbook review, we're talking about a variety of poormansguidetocasinogambling.com ECCOGRA febcasino sportsbook septcasino.com promotions.
Big thumbs up for making such wonderful blog page!
Post a Comment