Communication bites!

I have been making preparations to go to graduate school in Geneva... things have been working out... well, sort of. There have been so many instances of miscommunication, it is really getting on my nerves. I am going to be learning Master's degree level material in French. I can speak, read and write extensively in French but I still find it hard to understand different accents and to discern the language when it is spoken at a fast rate. I'm a little bit worried that I might be lost in translation the whole time... that I might be the student in class who is always apologizing and answering questions with "Répétez votre question s'il vous plaît"... there is certainly a difference between learning a language within the socio-cultural milieu and learning the language from a distance. I hope I am making the right decision to study in Geneva.

Sometimes, I wonder if I should just stay where I am, to take a somewhat easier way out. I have made up my mind about Geneva though so I am going to stick to the plan. It takes the Swiss embassy a minimum of eight weeks to process a permit... wth? Why? Upon that, the application requires more that 15 different supporting documents. These are the times when I wish we lived in a world without national boundaries and limitations. Okay, so I am whining like a lazy bum... hehe...