Christmas in Switzerland

The test is done: Geneva is indeed just seven hours away from here, that is when airports are open... I arrived while it was snowing, so I scraped through. And when it was time to return, the flight to New York was cancelled, due to snowfalls on the other side... In Geneva, I experienced a "white Christmas". The festive spirit was all around to feel, but the best place to see it was by the lake. The trees were illuminated with lots of classy and fancy lighting. That was brilliant...
The spiderweb-like lighting was particularly well done. Unfortunately, like a spiderweb, it is too elusive to photography.
In this spot, you had to ride the bicycle to get the trees colored accordingly. With the cold temperature outside, it was no problem to ride fast.
And then the organisers certainly wanted to have fun by including pacman !! Good memories for a whole generation who started exercising their fingers on this very basic videogame. I was just missing the music. What would Christmas be without the Christmas tree... and the gifts underneath it... Not the same! The good thing this year is that the violin strings were broken, so not much singing.
Being in Switzerland for four days resulted in me trying to fit the best into my program.
The best includes a cheese fondue. This time we were treated to a very special and secretive mixture. And it was excellent!
How ironic, that I am gaining weight when I am Switzerland, and not in the USA... But I mean with food and desserts as good as these, who could resist. That's definitely the best black forest one could dream of!
So as not to feel bad about indulging, nothing better than a game of tennis. A great sweat. And I am looking forward to trying my new tennis racket - a good Christmas indeed.

Christmas party

Oups... it should actually read "Holiday party" - that is the official and politically correct wording here. So no talking about a Christmas party.
It all started with a fancy invitation via e-mail with a link to a website and a page to register. The work ID gave the right to one single extra ticket (still more than 2000 people attended). A leaflet described all what would be on offer all over the two main buildings. Did I mention the party took place on a Saturday?
Quite strange then to go to the workplace on a Saturday evening. Even stranger to see how the place had been made over. In particular, the lighting was great. Still stranger to see colleagues partying and socialising in the very same place where we usually have very formal meetings. The place filled quickly and people rushed to enjoy various types of food. As to the drinks, the waiters were very generous. Never had such strong vodkas... even in Russia and Belarus! The "Christmas" tree was standing in the main lobby. I did not get it why there were presents below it and especially who they were for? We moved around to enjoy listening to live music from oriental, Jamaican, classical, international bands. The quiet and thoughtful meeting rooms were turned into sweaty and loud dancefloors. Let's see if the festive spirit is still there on Monday.
All in all, it was great to see that the IMF is truly an efficient and international organization. Everything was well managed and people from all over the world mingled and interacted. A colorful evening !

Basketball

After having enjoyed great games at the Maracana Stadium in Rio (football), Roland Garros in Paris (tennis), Newlands in Cape Town (cricket), the Velodrome in Marseilles (rugby) and the Arena in Berne (ice hockey), it is time to experience a great game of basketball in the Verizon center in Washington. This evening, the Washington Wizards were playing the Charlotte bobcats. Suspense suspense, not really, since the Wizards lost 85-93, after having led at some stage by 6 points. Their shoot success rate let them down. Still there were some impressive combination and rapid play. In the end, this is not enough to help their standing in the league.
The match is not the whole experience though, with almost as much activity during the breaks and off the field. Very striking is the live singing of the national anthem at the start of the match as well as two reminders to the audience to stand up and cheer for the war veterans.
Then there was the crowd... the super noisy crowd. Behind us was seating a big group of young African-American ladies who would continuously shout, whistle and woo for their team. My seven co-spectators said that I should not be so cheap (did I ever hear that before...) and have gotten better seats! I just looked at them like some sort of local vuvuzela! Finally, there were also the cheer-leading ladies, the beers and the hot-dogs - all what the crowd needs to leave happy.

Car - finally

One thing that I thought I knew was that America was the land of cars. So many road movies, so many famous firms, even a way of life. Yet my experience of it is definitely not that. Indeed, before coming to the USA, I bought a car (VW Rabbit) from a colleague and trusted that I would be able to drive it the next week-end. Well, I was all wrong - and by more than a mile! Here is what happened - hopefully you will not get bored while reading it...

On my very first week-end here, there I go for the first time to the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV), after having read their requirements on the website, and asked to get temporary number plates. I was promptly told that this was not possible and that I would first need to get a local driver's licence. And there was a long list of requirements for that, including getting a social security number. A tad ironic in the land of free market (another symbol... or is it all what is left - a symbol). But a foreigner can only apply for a social security number 10 working days after having landed in the USA. And it takes another three weeks to receive it per post. So there flew a whole 5 weeks without being allowed to drive my own car.

In the meantime, I could happily drive a rented car !!! The international driver's licence is fine as long as it is not to drive your own car - how absurd !

There were other requirements clearly stated in three distinct categories: proof of identity, proof of residency and ability to drive. In the first category, on top of the passport, visas and work permit, I had to obtain a letter from the US Department of State stating that I did not qualify for a diplomatic immunity. I also got an insurance. Then I had to translate my swiss driver's licence into English and have it certified.

Once all this paperwork was done, I went to take my written test. I queued to get a numbered ticket and queued again until my number was called. The written test consisted of answering 25 questions on a computer. I could have taken the test in French, German or Spanish, or even Amarhic, Arabic, Japanese, Hindi and so on. Let me say that I passed the test and got the required 80 percent pass rate. Yes! There I got my credit-card format driver's licence and the temporary number plates.

Around a week later, I had to go to the vehicle inspection center to get my car certified. I had applied online for a 15-minute inspection slot. This went well, quickly and efficiently. Got the OK. But it was not the end of it.

I had to go - for the fourth time ! - to the DMV to get my definitive number plates. There again, I had to queue for around 3 hours. The reward was a nice number on my plate. But the bill to register my car was far less nice.

All in all, it took me two months, 4 visits to the DMV offices, approximately 10 hours of queing and costed almost 1000 dollars. Still, all ended well. What a relief to be finally able to drive my own car. Hope to make the most of it now!

Work

Time to talk about the reason why I am in Washington: work! Indeed this time of the year is quite special for the big multilateral financial institutions: it's the Annual Meetings. 187 countries' governors (in most cases, central bank governor or minister of finance) convene here. A good test is to recognize all the flags. My knowledge rate is around 95%, still having trouble with a few Pacific and Caribbean islands.In between the restricted breakfast, the bilateral meetings, the regular summit, the press conferences and informal exchanges, the ministers and governors quickly posed for a family picture. An even better test is to recognize them. At least, the first two rows should not be too problematic... I must admit it gets more and more difficult the further up one goes.
Behind the smooth and efficient Annual Meetings, there are many dedicated people, including me! Here my office where inputs, speeches, statements are initiated. Nice office, good colleagues and interesting work. Maybe I should not mention the pay...

Shenandoah

Being finally allowed to drive my own car, the visit of a swiss friend was the perfect opportunity to discover the area. First stop: the Shenandoah national park. Most of it is about driving along the Slyline, a panoramic road up the Appalaches mountain range, with a great view over the Shenandoah valley.
Other highlights include great walks in the lush forest. We did a four hour walk to reach a serie of waterfalls. On our way back we met other tourists on horses. I surely would not have minded highjacking - or horsejacking - them. No, actually for us swiss this was like a walk in the park.
My friend wanted so badly to see a black bear. We were not so lucky - so she got herself a T-shirt with a funny bear and a motto "I'm beary tired". Still we got to see some chipmunks but they were too fast for my camera. At least the deers were more accomodative. Almost made me feel like being in an african national park.
It is written all over the park: the national park benefits from the American fiscal stimulus program. View points, parking spots and trails are renovated thanks to the "recovery dollars". But I have not seen these dollars being used to upgrade the lodges (they could definitely get a facelift) or to expand them. I wondered whether additional tourists would be attracted by spotless parking lots or by cosier and environmentally friendlier lodges. It is quite possible that the return on these dollars will be very low. But here is probably not the place to discuss the effectiveness of fiscal stimulus...!

Football in the land of "football"

All is not lost to civilisation in the USA. Indeed in the land of "football", there are many people playing Football ! Indeed, we managed to build up a team to compete in an internal work cup. 20 teams entered and each team played three first round games of 25 minutes. Our team did really well with two wins and a draw. Lots of nice running and sweating. Good spirit and fun - at least during our games. We saw another player demonstratively push down his opponent's goalkeeper. He got a redcard for that - well deserved.
We played on half fields and 7 against 7 with a lot of substitutions. Our "grey" team qualified for the next round. But I had to leave and my team promptly lost in the quarterfinals. Surely us economists could find a strong causal relationship there!!
The cup took place at our club. There is a golf course and plenty of tennis courts... Great but far and expensive... Not too say a little touch of exclusive. Still it was a fantastic day with temperature above 30 ! Already looking forward to next year's cup!

New home

The search for a new home in Washington was firstly a very good way to get to know the city, its streets, avenues and milestones. Since I had to move around without my car (a later entry on that shortly), it also was a good workout for my legs... I contacted an agent through which I visited a few flats. Then a colleague told me to check on a website. This was much more productive and allowed me to visit quite a few places. Of course, in some cases, they would ask for your social security number or for your credit score... all foreign concepts to a foreigner... Then I found this flat and fortunately the owner is an Eastern European who worked for the World Bank. But the agent was not pleased that I found something on my own, and required that I pay her a fee equivalent to half a month's rent. After enquiring with the Embassy and my employer, I did not reply to her demands and have not heard anything from her yet.
September 2 was the move-in date. My belongings had arrived the week before at Norfolk after an uneventful crossing of the Atlantic. Whereas in Switzerland, it was a team of Balkan people who packed my things, on this side of the Atlantic, it was a team of black people. They were efficient and quick. They put everything back in functioning order. Nothing was broken during the trip. Nice to have everything back in to rearrange stuff in a much bigger space.
The flat is in a fairly new building, on the 8th floor (from 14). It has all amenities, such as washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, built-in store space, two bathrooms. The building itself has a fitness room, a community room with a pool table, a poker table and a TV (with the tennis channel), a garage and a big roofdeck. This deck is apparently hugely popular on the 4th of July for the fireworks display. My Geneva friends should definitely plan to come around at that time and compare with ours!
This downtown building is situated on one of the main street and part of an area that has improved a lot over the past years in terms of the quality of the buildings, the social activities and security. It is a 20 minutes walk to my work and there is a direct bus (the circulator) just on my doorstep.
You might have noticed that there is no picture of the guest room. Well this should be taken as an invitation to come over. At least, there is a little bit of a surprise for when you come around. Surely you will not be disappointed.

USA - first impression

There is probably no better way to start a new episode in one's life than to be upgraded from business to first class on the flight to the new destination. Well, there I got it. I should even have gone all the way and ordered some champagne... I guess my protestant education still restraints the full enjoyment of freebees.

The first impression about the US and Washington is that people are very polite, even friendly. Then there is quite a huge bureaucracy and it takes time to settle and to be full functional. The most frustrating for me is the fact that having bought a car (and holding the keys) and having driven for more then 15 years, it will take me more than one month to be allowed to drive my own car! Then there is all the other paperwork... Hopefully I can report more positive news on my next entry.

For me to feel welcome, you have got to give me tennis as well. And there on my very first week in town, there was an international ATP tournament.

My very first week-end was spent watching great tennis at the Washington international tournament. The stadium was really nice and the games in the evenings were certainly favored by the players, in view of the very hot and humid conditions during the day. Compared to what I am used to, I must admit that the crowd behaved so differently. First, most people do not care if players are playing, the walk in and out of their seats anytime. No gentlemen here. Worst still, some people come with their take-away food and eat their own their next. Nice odor of thai food next to me at one stage - the only thing well respected is the "no smoking" policy.

Back to the players, it was two of the injured "old" guard who made it to the final: Nalbandian and Baghdatis. It was a good match with an impressive and dominant performance by the Argentine. The crowd was happy! I think that for once I was relieve not to be the one of the court - I was sweating just sitting and watching...

So Nalbandian won it. And the awards ceremony was very interesting. Such a long list of sponsors who got to say a few words. Also big applause for young tennis players who benefit from private sponsorships. And finally a huge check (we can see it on the picture) given to the winner.

Welcome to America!

Packing

And then it was time to pack things... actually to have things packed for me. That is the beauty of being sent abroad by the workplace. Anyway, it took just three hours for three men to pack all my belongings in these little boxes, including my big wooden giraffe. Is there a sign, here? At least, things in each box were neatly wrapped and each box was clearly labelled. Much more order than in real life, I would say.
Once everything was packed, it was time to load the container. A colleague of mine would laugh if she saw its name was "evergreen", especially in view of my not-so-perfect ecological track record. Then again, all my things did not even fill hald the container. Ok, maybe it is then a good sign that I am not yet half way through life. I think I would rather go for another explanation: I was very good at keeping only the necessary stuff and got rid of all the excess bagage. The container is now making its way to Hamburg, before being loaded on a ship to Norfolk. It should get there on August 14, quite a quick journey. Then, it will have to go through customs, and I hope my kudu horn will make it! So watch this space.
Then, it was time for me to leave Berne and catch a ride on the usual train to Geneva. The big flight will be on August 1, our "national day". As I told my colleagues, I am really the most patriotic swiss since my "national day" will not last for 24 hours, but for 30 hours. That gives time to sing the national anthem many more times... provided one knows it...

Good to be at home

Is it because I am soon leaving that here is another entry about my home province... Of course not, it is simply because it is the best province. Here is why? First, the transport are world class, with a train ride in which it takes 45 minitues to cover 20 kilometers. And then a telecabine that might be out of business next year, because of a small group of hyterical green fundamentalists.Second, the food is so tasty, light and delightful. A sort of mushroom pie for starters and then a toasted cheese with ham and egg for main course. Thankfully, there was a glass of white wine with it... I think I will not mention this to my doctor when he says next time that I should watch my diet to lower my cholesterol...
Third, a meal is incomplete without a nice dessert. And there I had the famous "gâteau des Ormonds". It reminded me of my childhood when my mother cooked it. Well, I must admit that my mother's recipe was better.
Fourth, the landscape was stunning. Here the view from the terrasse of the restaurant! When one looks closely, we should see the start of the glacier. Ok, with global warming it has shrunk a little bit.
Finally, the village has retained this traditional feel. For example, the school building is still more or less the same as for 80 years... Let's hope the content of learning has changed. Anyway, a charming little village that contributes to my province being the best. Keep it up!

2010 Football World Cup - outside

Here I am again in South Africa to enjoy the Football World Cup! Teh country is ready, the airports are shiny, the vibe is there. First thing first, time to print the tickets, directly upon landing.
Second must is to get a vuvuzela. This is THE cult object of the world cup - although the octopus Paul comes a close second... Vuvuzelas come in two sizes, but with many different design - apparently mostly made in China... It needs some practice to blow a powerful sound.
By the way, the biggest vuvuzela is 35 meters long and 5.5 meters vide. It sits on an unused part of the freeway in Cape Town. The authorities did block it, because they feared someone might manage to blow it and that it could have an impact on the traffic below...
But obviously, not everybody is a fan of the vuvuzela. Wimbledon has banned it, as well as the New Zealand rugby federation. A big commercial center in Cape Town is of the same opinion.
A place where it was no problem to blow it is the fanzone! The one on the Parade in Cape Town was beautifully set next to the municipality and with Table Mountain in the background. Great ambiance, especially with the orange Dutch. They were definitely the best supporters! There was also a lot of support for England, Germany and the only decent African team - Ghana. The victory of South Africa in their last game against France certainly helped restore some pride. Still it must be said that South Africans are in general sports-loving people and they like watching sport.
After all this energy clapping, shouting, blowing the vuvuzela, cheering, it comes the time to get some energy. Nothing better than a delicious cheesecake!

2010 Football World Cup - inside

The first match was in Port Elizabeth: Switzerland-Chile. The drive along the coast was scenic. I had to laugh when I saw the sign "(the host town of) Knysna proudly welcomes the teams from France and Denmark"... Getting closer to the stadium, the indications were good and the traffic fine. We parked on a school's rugby ground and then walked to the stadium. It is that easy. Lots of fans, festive atmosphere, great weather, friendly officials... After all, the motto of Port Elizabeth is "the friendly city" (in Cape Town, we say it is because they have nothing else they could advertise...). Anyway, I was quite impressed with the whole experience around and inside the stadium. Well done!
The new stadium is beautiful and we got to sit in the fifth row. Besides, all the positive points, it was a little disappointment that 10000 seats were left empty. Surely, FIFA must have some rigid rules not allowing last minutes local fans to access the stadium at a discount price... On the other side, the monopoly given to sponsors inside the stadium gave an impression of communism. Sad to see only one make of soft drinks and of beers available - and of course none is local. I wonder whether these sponsors were pleased that the stadium was not full, because of FIFA...
I suppose I should not comment much on the game itself - you all read the score and a resume in the newspapers. So let's move to the second match, in Bloemfontein. The first thing I noticed when I got there is that everybody spoke to me in Afrikaans. Maybe I should take it as a positive sign that I look like a local. Still I found it very interesting that this language manages to keep its position in society (even black people spoke to me in Afrikaans...). The game took place in the renovated rugby stadium. Again, there were numerous empty seats for this Honduras-Switzerland match. Still it was nice to see black and white South Africans watching the match together.
I will again abstain from mentioning the scoreline. All I can say is that I was very disappointed not to see a single goal from the swiss team. At this world cup, it was clear they had reached their ceiling. The only thing they did well was defending. It is sad that their gameplan has been to speculate on three 0-0. The fact that it worked in the first game against Spain did not encourage them to be more constructive in the next two games. All in all, I think they did not deserve to go any further in the competition. To finish, a little video with the ambiance inside the stadium. but a warning first: get your earplugs - the vuvuzelas are in full swing!