At a Toastmasters workshop last Saturday we were introduced into the art of influential acting and speaking. Amy Caroll was our host and quite the star of the show. The participants were mostly expatriates and people who had settled in Switzerland.
Interestingly enough, a discussion led to quite a few stating that they had had problems getting accustomed to the Swiss reserved manner. Some spoke of how depressed they became whilst they tried to fit in. I got the impression that it was quite liberating for some to express these feelings and to find themselves amongst others who had gone (or were going) through a similar situations. Those who had been in Switzerland the longest shared their experiences of when and how they managed to stop trying to fit in. If Amy had not diffused the situation, I believe the workshop may have veered towards becoming a self-help group!
Nonetheless, I enjoyed listening to their opinions and experiences.
February 09, 2006
Berlin
February 1st saw me packing my bags and making my way to Zürich International Airport. On arrival I sought out a bakery and 50 Berliners (sweet bun filled with jam) heavier, I made my way to the check in counter. My colleagues were waiting for me, smiling and in good spirits. We were all going to Berlin, accompanying a group of wild hairdressers on a shopping spree! As a welcome gift, each participant received a Berliner. Which prompted the question: “what will we get if we ever go to Paris, a Pariser?!” (a Pariser is a condom).
A few of the participants had not flown before, which took me by surprise. It is strange to me that something I consider so normal can be new to someone else.
We arrived and had a sightseeing tour to the hotel. The bus was so hot that I fell asleep twenty minutes into the tour! I like to believe that no one noticed.
The hotel was nice and is highly recommendable: the Lindner Hotel am Ku’Damm.
In the evening we all trouped off to an apéro at Sastre’s an innovative hair salon. Innovative means the place was a bar-meets-salon-meets-club. The owner was a boisterous hairdresser wearing a Scottish kilt which stopped mid-thigh, and had no hair at all, except for a wisp in the middle of his forehead, which he had styled to look like a rooster’s comb. His beard mirrored the wisp of hair, pointing downward of course. He and a colleague picked a few volunteers from our audience and set about creating wild and wacky styles with the new REDKEN hairsprays. He worked and talked at top speed, which everyone enjoyed. But then he started praising the hairspray’s new technology whilst working with an old formula! Luckily no one noticed and he swapped the bottle quickly as soon as he noticed.
After the show, drinks were free until nine pm. I got some girls started on golden Tequila, they couldn’t thank me enough! That was quite an interesting evening.
The next day I teamed up with two girls and we went back to Sastre. There we got some more free booze and watched those participants who had returned for a new do. It was quite interesting listening to hairdressers philosophize about different cutting methods. I was called upon to tidy up some poor unsuspecting boy’s eyebrows. That was quite amusing, he told me his life story to distract himself from the pain. Thank goodness there’s not much you can do wrong with eyebrows!
Off we went to the Hackischen Hofe after that. There we patronised every shoe store available. One girl tried on a pair of shoes and the leather was sooo soft that it got stuck in the zipper and SHE COULD NOT GET THE SHOES OFF ANYMORE! Poor girl was nearly in hysterics after fifteen minutes. But eventually the shoe came off and she calmed down. I have never seen a girl leave a shoe shop that quickly.
Flying home went off without a hitch, apart from our early arrival at the airport. Everyone, including the bus driver, was overly punctual, so we arrived at five pm, which was the time we were scheduled to leave the hotel!
The only fly in the ointment was that my bag did not appear on the luggage belt in Zürich. That peeved me a bit, as I had packed my favourite boots. Fifteen minutes after leaving the airport I got a call on my mobile. They had found my bag. It had fallen off the wagon during transporting from the plane to the building.
What a trip!
A few of the participants had not flown before, which took me by surprise. It is strange to me that something I consider so normal can be new to someone else.
We arrived and had a sightseeing tour to the hotel. The bus was so hot that I fell asleep twenty minutes into the tour! I like to believe that no one noticed.
The hotel was nice and is highly recommendable: the Lindner Hotel am Ku’Damm.
In the evening we all trouped off to an apéro at Sastre’s an innovative hair salon. Innovative means the place was a bar-meets-salon-meets-club. The owner was a boisterous hairdresser wearing a Scottish kilt which stopped mid-thigh, and had no hair at all, except for a wisp in the middle of his forehead, which he had styled to look like a rooster’s comb. His beard mirrored the wisp of hair, pointing downward of course. He and a colleague picked a few volunteers from our audience and set about creating wild and wacky styles with the new REDKEN hairsprays. He worked and talked at top speed, which everyone enjoyed. But then he started praising the hairspray’s new technology whilst working with an old formula! Luckily no one noticed and he swapped the bottle quickly as soon as he noticed.
After the show, drinks were free until nine pm. I got some girls started on golden Tequila, they couldn’t thank me enough! That was quite an interesting evening.
The next day I teamed up with two girls and we went back to Sastre. There we got some more free booze and watched those participants who had returned for a new do. It was quite interesting listening to hairdressers philosophize about different cutting methods. I was called upon to tidy up some poor unsuspecting boy’s eyebrows. That was quite amusing, he told me his life story to distract himself from the pain. Thank goodness there’s not much you can do wrong with eyebrows!
Off we went to the Hackischen Hofe after that. There we patronised every shoe store available. One girl tried on a pair of shoes and the leather was sooo soft that it got stuck in the zipper and SHE COULD NOT GET THE SHOES OFF ANYMORE! Poor girl was nearly in hysterics after fifteen minutes. But eventually the shoe came off and she calmed down. I have never seen a girl leave a shoe shop that quickly.
Flying home went off without a hitch, apart from our early arrival at the airport. Everyone, including the bus driver, was overly punctual, so we arrived at five pm, which was the time we were scheduled to leave the hotel!
The only fly in the ointment was that my bag did not appear on the luggage belt in Zürich. That peeved me a bit, as I had packed my favourite boots. Fifteen minutes after leaving the airport I got a call on my mobile. They had found my bag. It had fallen off the wagon during transporting from the plane to the building.
What a trip!
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