I accidentally got stuck in a dead end. I saw the apartments I was trying to get to and kept going thinking the dead end was them. Well, it wasn't.

So instead of backing up right then and trying to find the other side of the building, I just had the person in the apartments run to my car with the little bag of things that I was picking up. My car was running, it took maybe 5-8 minutes for the whole thing.

While we are standing outside the car, an elderly lady comes out of her house wagging her finger as if I had done the most horrific thing and somehow even my leaving didn't seem like it would make it better. Even though I am 9 month pregnant with 3 kids in the car, and I had no idea what she was saying, she didn't stop yelling and insulting and made me feel all of 1 inch tall and I sooo hope this doesn't reflect on what life is going to be like here for me for the next 3 years. Are people not allowed mistakes??

Ugh!

In short: no*

*unless you are Swiss.

HTH

She just had a bad day
Nobody is perfect in this world, making mistakes is common. "If someone feels that they had not made any mistake in their life then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life "

I hope so...cause I just want to cry...well, I am also pregnant and hormonal but really I was excuse moi"ing" myself all the way back off the road...even my five year old was like, wow mom that lady is really mad at you...

get used to it! i just ignore them.

if i had to spend time dealing with everyone i angered whilst driving, i wouldn't really have time to do much else. if they are still capable of talking, walking and being angry, then they should really count their blessings

for reference, this was the last 'whoopsie' i made whilst driving:

Lovely sentiment Aryans but I think you are being generous! This kind of occurrence happens here with alarming regularity (sorry Abbie).

Dead end does not mean you are not allowed to enter that road. I have no idea what you did that was wrong, unless you were extremely noisy, etc. sounds like that lady was out of place. Don't feel bad. Nex time, keep zen, laugh and nod, or short bark back at her will keep her quiet and snap her right into her place (I would never do that last resort emergency survival maneuvre here with a kiddo in the car). People only do what they think you might allow them get away with.

Given that you don't understand the language, did you not think to check around your car that she wasn't trying to tell you that you had a flat tyre / were leaking petrol / had run over her chihuahua / were just about to be side-swiped by a delivery lorry?

Nice picture you've posted, 1 dead and 10 injured in that accident.

I think one can tell the difference from someone talking to you with concern in their voice to someone being almost apoplectic!!

May be people are not ready to accept the new things and changes

I just got "yelling" and "wagging finger" from her post. "Insulting" is irrelevant seeing as the OP didn't get the language (unless the old dear was flipping the bird then it would be clear ).

I missed the "almost apoplectic" bit.

Maybe that was the problem - she objected to her nice neighbourhood being gassed by carbon-monoxide fumes, and the excessive noise of an engine ticking over.

You're expected to turn off the motor, here, when waiting at a train crossing.

i've been here 4 years and despite stupid driving errors (mine not yours), i've not experienced such an incident. having said that, there are petty, rude and judgmental people. it's harder when you're stressed, in a rush and don't understand the language. give it some time and space...it should get better.

Honestly you should just get used to it and take it in your stride. The Swiss folks (specially the older ones) are quick to judge and let you know how they feel (specially if you are an Auslander). They are nice bunch of people really and hate confrontation but it's in their culture to immediately let you know if they see you doing something wrong. They see it as stating to explicitly that what you did was wrong.

Don't let it beat you down. It's part of the process of getting settled into CH and you'll soon see that you'll appreciate their honesty (in most cases) .

That's a complete no go here. Never ever do something while your car is running !!!!!!!!

You will find yourself surrounded by eco friendly people (and everyone else) in seconds.

It's a cultural thing. I know in the US people do all sort of things while their car is running. Here it's considered the worst you can do to the lovely nature and clean air.

To turn off the car is the least you can do to accommodate the feeling of ecology.

I wasn't loud, perhaps my car was? Her garage was open, though there wasn't a car in it nor one trying to get in it...she did motion to it and potentially say something about it.

I probably could have turned off my car, but I was afraid she would think I was parking or staying longer than I intended to...and I knew at that spot I probably wasn't allowed to do that. It was just a tight squeeze and I had to back all the way out of the road.

She was upset with me for whatever reason...it was head shakes and finger no no's. And lots of motioning....oh well, I will try to let it roll off.

Noise is a weird thing here. My kids have gotten shushed by the neighbor (who is ALWAYS using power tools in his yard during appropriate times) while riding their scooters in our driveway in the afternoon. Apparently kids can't have fun? I guess I have a lot to learn....

You are getting the hang of it pretty quickly, it would seem!! Get used to the head shaking though - that is a favourite.

However, as mentioned above, we just have to take it in our stride and rise above it whenever we can.

If you were parked across her garage or it's access, she was probably trying to inform you of the imminent return of it's "occupant". She wouldn't have known that you were only going to be a few minutes.

I've had the same in reverse - cars blocking my garage access, and even parking on my adjacent parking area, blocking the entrance of my bike shed.
When I questioned the offending drivers, they gave a snarled look of indignant surprise and wondered why it wasn't transparently clear to me, that they were obviously not going to be long, and what was I complaining about .... although any one of my neighbours, whom they could be visiting, have sufficient guest parking, of their own.

I once got yelled at by some old fart (in another country) who lived in our building. She began in Finnish, switched to Swedish and then finished in English. Apparently there's a old crab in every building who exists only to share their misery with everyone else (there is a specific name for this in Finnish even ). It also helped that she was completely bonkers. I should have just slapped her before she made it to Swedish but....I let her go on until I rolled my eyes and walked off (and then crumpled on my sofa in quiet sobs). Hang in there and don't let the old hags get you down.

And *pfft* to the 'eco friendly' rubbish. WTF - with the number of people who light their damn ciggie up as they are walking out of the train and into your face without a single person smacking them upside the head? The number of women with infants in prams who smoke right over them without retort? Please. It has nothing to do with the environment or exhaust. Noise, probably. Fumes? Very unlikely.