Saturday, March 05, 2016

Picnic at Onex

We had a mission Friday -- get an Attestation d'Habitation for the bank in the off-chance the bank will give him a bank account. Under FATCA most Americans are persona non-grata at banks. This bank will at least look at the paper work. We'd already left tons of it with them.

It doesn't matter that Rick had many documents to prove that he lives where he lives from the Canton and he has a signed lease. We still needed to go to the Cantonal Office in Onex for the Attestation d'Habitation. Only that form would do.


While Rick parked the car, I got a number (in fact two in case he took longer) but it was the wrong window. He wasn't Swiss, although that wasn't clear on the take-a-number sign. I should have known that the line was too small and things moved too quickly.

Our next number had almost 30 people before us.

Lunch time grew closer. I grew hungrier. The options outside the building for food were non-existent and we also knew after our wait was over lunchtime service would be long over.

Rick spied some vending machines and went on mission. He came back with the good news we could get hot paninis. We chose ham, mozzarella and pesto.


He also reported the time of heating had been increased from two to four minutes with the number four pasted over the two. Timing was not a problem. We still had 24 people ahead of us at that point.




My hero. He brought back our lunch and we declared it a happy picnic which helped pass the time while number after number was called before ours.




We finished, we read a bit more as we would have had we been picnicking in the countryside...it was better than an outdoor picnic because it was pouring outside.

Finally it was our turn, a pleasant man generated the form in less than a couple of minures, we paid him the 25CHF and we headed home not hungry. 

Whether he will be given a bank account after that three-hour experience is still unknown.

I have doubts that I would select this place to picnic again, but it was kinda fun. They say when life gives you lemons make lemonade but I prefer the slogan, If you have a long wait, make a picnic.


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