Lisboa

A quickie to say hi and let you all know that you should be jealous of teachers and their summer holidays! I'm in Lisbon, Portugal... looking forward to a week of sun and relaxation to kick off the massive 7 weeks I have to recover from the tough spring term I've had - see previous entries for details ;)

Also wanted to have a little rant about ridiculous bank identification rules in Sweden... I want to pay a cheque (check for the Americans!) which is payable to "Richard Walls" into an account of the name "Richard Walls" and they won't accept my passport as ID... in fact no bank will ever accept an Aussie passport as ID... because it doesn't have my Swedish ID number (birthdate plus 4 digits).
"So, what you're saying is that I can enter your country, work here, pay taxes but I cannot pay IN a cheque??"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Does the bank issue a valid ID card?"
"Yes, but... I don't suppose you have any relatives that live here?"
"No" (How ever did you guess?!)
"Well your employer could come and vouch for you. That's the only other option."
hmm.... I think to myself... how likely that my boss wants to come to the bank with me??!!

Anyway, thankfully it was my local bank where I have taken my mortgage and the woman I have dealt with was able to vouch for me... so I got my money eventually!

Swedes are so amazed that Australia manages to function without every citizen having an ID number that is used for everything... I am amazed that everyone here is so happy for "Big Brother" to know everything about them (and me now... I have a number!)... but then I do come from a country founded on convicts and other dubious immigrants. And we all know that all immigrants are violent, rude, criminals that should all be put on the next boat back... except for me, of course, and all the immigrants I know... it's just the ones I don't know that are dodgy. Isn't it wonderful being right all the time... one of the luxuries of being a white, middle class citizen. Time to step off the soap box...

enjoy the sunshine,
rich.