Feeding the Angels

Thursday morning, walking Desmond in the park next to my temporary flat, I noticed a man on one of the benches. He was surrounded by shopping parcels (everyone here uses recyclables!) and was eating something out of a bag. I had noticed a small shed in the far corner of the park weeks before, and Friday, it had a sleeping bag spread out, visible through the bent tin door.
Desmond woofed at him - of course: he's male and a stranger - and then stopped, sidling up to investigate what he was eating. Opportunist. I apologized and shooed Desmond away. And as we returned along the path, the man approached and asked my name and place of origin. He was pleasant and friendly, and yet I did not tarry long, in part because work awaited. His name, he'd said, was Seraphim.

Seraphim stayed with me that day, an invisible presence, but a source of pensiveness and perhaps guilt.

Serendipity - Found an Apartment

Most people will say that finding an apartment in Geneva is extremely difficult. High density, high demand, and a very stable Swiss Franc contribute to this. There is simply a limited amount of space before reaching the lake or France. Due to these factors, finding a place to live is competitive, and one hears stories about 30 people applying on-the-spot and then each application being compared against the others to determine who is the most desirable tenant. This involves a "regie" or a Swiss rental agent, which can be made even more challenging if one does not speak French.

There are several approaches, including renting through an agency, buying (expensive!), renting from the owner, and subletting. Subletting - often these are found through office bulletin boards and English language (and others) sites like World Radio Service or Glocals. The process of finding a place can take months. I found an apartment in 5 days.