Rebellion

Remember those days back when you were a teenager when your folks kept shoving rules down your throat just like the nasty canned spinach they always made you finish. Didn't they realize that I just spit it into my napkin every time? Is it really that hard to make broccoli instead? Or maybe just try the fresh stuff?

The Kreisbüro (government office) here is making me want to revert back to my rebellious ways. Everyone knows that Switzerland loves their rules, but I am ready to pull my hair out. I am sick of jumping through hoops and trying to read in between the Deutsch lines of jargon. There is always a hidden rule when it comes to renewing permits, getting a bank account, applying for a Swiss driver's license, you name it. Basically anytime you need to go to the Kreisbüro, you had better be ready for shenanigans.

Josh and I just turned in our renewal paperwork for our permits. That all went smooth (at least so far)...thankfully. I then go to pull out my driver's license application and the woman "helping" us just looked at me an laughed. Ok, maybe not exactly, but she might have well as. That condescending look....like you idiot, you have to apply for this when you still have THREE months left on your permit. Duh. Are you fricken kidding me? Everything that I have read and heard says that you just have to apply before you have lived here for a year. Simple enough. Too bad what they actually mean to say is that you have to apply before you have lived here for NINE months, leaving you with THREE months left on your permit.

I think this is how they entertain themselves over at the Kreisbüro. It's like a game to them. Each time you get to roll your eyes and make an Ausländer feel like a complete moron you get a point. The one with the highest score at the end of the day, WINS!