It’s now been a week since I started at Supertext. Being the new kid on the block can be daunting, especially given the language barrier. But despite my rudimentary German, at-times baffling Scots-English, and non-existent Schweizer-Deutsch, I’ve been made to feel fantastically welcome. The job is everything I hoped it would be and I’m looking forward to making the role my own.
I must warn you, though: I’m also a pedant for British English, so please remember your irregular verbs and think twice before reaching for that “zee” key.
Train Tickets and Formula 1 Drivers
Speaking of languages, while I may struggle to order a train ticket I can certainly order a computer around. No, I’m not some cyborg sent back from the future, rather a software developer. I’ve been working with ones and zeros since I taught myself to program about ten years ago and have been fascinated by its mercurial depths and elusive perfection ever since.
In spite of my lack of language skills I’ve actually lived and worked elsewhere in Zürich for over two-and-a-half years. I hadn’t ever planned to move to die Schweiz, I thought this was only an option for Formula 1 drivers and Roger Moore. Then I spotted an advert for what looked like a perfect job. The one catch? It was in Zürich. But I threw caution to the wind and went to the interview, reasoning at the very least I’d have a night in a foreign city. Fast forward to three weeks later and there’s my girlfriend and I, bags packed, new tenants in our flat and hopping on a plane bound for Switzerland.
Mountains, Lakes and Buses That Run on Time
It’s hard to say what first attracted me to this city. It certainly wasn’t the Swiss penchant for the countersigned document, nor the near-impossibility of renting an apartment (and I won’t even tell you how much cheaper a beer is in Scotland). No, I was at first struck by the sheer beauty of the place. I thought we had mountains and lakes back home (where we call them lochs) but nothing as breathtaking and awe-inspiring as Zürich. But it was more than that. I was struck by the modernity of the city: its vibrancy and confidence; Its cleanliness and efficiency. Coming from a country where it rains 364 days a year, snows (grey) on the other, and the buses are perpetually late, it was a breath of fresh air.
The Final Piece
And now that I’m working at Supertext I feel I have the final piece of the picture. My career here has just started but already I can see this is a company that shares many characteristics with its host city – modern and vital, and with an exciting future.
So, just a brief introduction today but feel free to ask me anything you wish – or help me out if you see me struggling to order that train ticket.
Title image: Photo via Supertext
9 Kommentare zu “The New Kid on the Block”
Good luck for your start at Supertext and the new home Andrew!
Hi Fabienne, thanks for your best wishes.
Hi Andrew,
I must say it’s nice to see a bit of English for a change!
Supertext is a great team, no doubt you’ll quickly feel at home.
All the best!
Hi Andrew
Nice to hear that there is a fellow Brit around!
Not that we’d be able to understand each other though what with your Scottish accent and my Welsh accent…
I would like to offer you a training course in buying a train ticket, but last time I was down the Bahnhof there was a new machine and I had to ask for help myself!
Any other De-Eng problems though and I’m more than willing to help ;-)
Maybe I’ll actually get around to visiting the big city and Supertext one day and we can meet up.
Regards
Claire
PS:I only came to Switzerland for 6 months originally and I’ve been here for over 18 years now!
On the subject of buying train tickets, I learnt (by rote) which buttons to press to get my monthly pass from the ticket machine. Then they changed the options…
…although the gentleman in the ticket office at my local station says they haven’t changed anything, so maybe I’ve been buying the wrong ticket for the past two years.
Probably.
Yeah Andrew
Wear a Scottish Skirt for me on a Freaky Friday! It was a pleasure talking with you some lonesome day in the office!
All the best
Thorsten
Nice to hear from you again, Thorsten.
We Scottish men prefer to call them ‚kilts‘ rather than ’skirts‘.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilt
And let me tell you, nothing attracts the single ladies at a wedding more than a kilt does.
I wish I would be a Swiss Scottish!
[…] Als ich vor zwei Jahren bei Supertext angefangen habe, war die einzige exotische Sprache noch Andreas Hochdeutsch. Aber da waren wir ja noch zu fünft. Inzwischen parliert es hinter mir immer auf Französisch, um die Ecke wird Englisch gesprochen und am Mittagstisch wird brav gemischt. Okay, Englisch könnten wir noch ein wenig mehr reden. Sorry for that, Andrew. […]