Some days are not sunny.

I recently realized that if you read this blog, you might get the impression that it is always sunny and that life in Switzerland is all rainbows and unicorns all the time. And, while it is true that life is pretty great over here, there are still days when it is not sunny, and I am reminded rather harshly that I don't exactly belong here. Today was one if those days.

A morning visit to the Post nearly reduced me to tears, as the woman behind the counter was quite rude, and I realized that even after 2 years of learning German, I still can't make myself understood in ordinary situations.

Then, I had to visit the US consulate to renew my passport. I thought I had everything in order, but of course, normal photo sizes are different between the US and Europe, so my photo was rejected. I was instructed to go to one of a couple shops in Zurich that use the right size photo, and then I could renew my passport.

Not daunted, I attempted to hunt down one of these places, but got massively lost thanks to the new iPhone maps app that had me wandering around the middle of some tram tracks in search of this store. Once I got to the store (thank you, Google Maps), it was again a supreme language struggle to get done what I needed, and the photo is so grainy (and looks like something straight out of Felony Arrests in the paper) that I'm not confident that it will be accepted.

And, by the way, it was raining this whole time I was running around the city, so I was soaked the whole day.

Anyways, tomorrow is another day, and I am hopefully that my trip to the Post will not prove cause for tears and that my photo is accepted. (Although given how terrible it is, maybe I should hope it's rejected?) I just thought I'd try to be honest about some of the ups and downs of life here. It's still an adventure!