This post is based on my experiences while living in Bern between 2015 and 2017 and this question on Quora, about the possible cultural shocks you may experience when going to Switzerland for the first time, or going to live there, in addition to curiosities that draw the attention of who is not used to it. It is not about criticism or preferences. Especially for those having in mind to emigrate, either you adapt or leave. The ungrateful immigrant does not integrate anywhere in the world. So, let’s go to the shocks I have experienced, which also draw the attention of many foreigners living in Switzerland.
Punctuality and excessive planning
Swiss are famous for punctuality and such fame is confirmed in every detail of everyday life. Are they punctual like the Germans? Swiss are more punctual than Germans, and as the founder of CultureMee has written in a Facebook post, the Swiss on the German part is more punctual than those on the Italian and those on the French parts. If the train is two minutes late, the railway company apologizes in newspapers, radio, TV, social media, etc. If the delay takes more than two minutes, Swiss people tend to panic and for longer delays, passengers usually ask for a refund. Being late is unacceptable in Switzerland, it is considered an offense.
Following punctuality in milliseconds, it is a very Swiss custom to plan everything in advance, including personal and social life. Let’s have a beer? For a coffee? Yes, of course, I have free time at 8:00 pm on the first Wednesday of month X, or at 9:00 pm on the third Friday of month Y. Spontaneity in Switzerland is to book a week in advance, I never got used to it thereby.
Predictable day-to-day
The Swiss perception of time is millimetrically linear and you feel that sense of predictability, that control of being able to plan until what you are going to do at 3:00 pm on the first Sunday in November 2030. If you have lived in other parts of the world, especially in countries with a fluid sense of time and an unpredictable daily life, as was my experience in India, Switzerland is the opposite extreme and can be very tedious depending on how you live your life. Forget spontaneity.
Rules for everything
Along with the custom of planning everything, Swiss people are also known for being very rule-oriented. A minimum of rules for living in society, that’s fine, but in excess, it gives a feeling of “holy shit”. I noticed that people in the German part are more rule-oriented than in the French part. For example, in Geneva, I used to see people crossing the crossing lines without being a green light a few meters from police cars. On the German side, to think about crossing the street when the traffic light is not red, people look to see if there is no policeman nearby because if they get caught, they get a fine.
The difficulty of socializing with Swiss
The difficulty of socializing with Swiss people was my biggest culture shock in the country. If you didn’t grow up in Switzerland during your childhood and adolescence, you will hardly have a Swiss friend. Most of the Swiss people grow up in villages of 2,000 or 4,000, with half a dozen friends since childhood. And I got to know two Swiss people who grew up abroad due to their parents’ careers and returned to the country without Swiss friends, like a foreigner who moves there. My social life was basically with foreigners who had lived there for years and their social life was mostly with other immigrants, including those who grew up there, through the Internations community. We were all in the same boat. Some people with whom I have met there already returned to their country of origin or moved to another country, there comes a time when it gets tired of that coldness. The social life that we are used to in Latin America, Israel, and the Mediterranean, that thing that everyone knows each other does not exist in Switzerland.
Women without femininity
Along with the difficulty of socializing with Swiss people, another of my shocks in the country was the overwhelming majority of women who are not feminine, entitled to the hair on the armpit and mustache, or cursing the husband (partner, sorry) who offers help to carry a bag – especially on the German side. It is not exclusive to Switzerland, it is something I have seen all over central and northern Europe, which also explains a large number of men from these regions looking for women in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Philippines, Thailand, and contacting marriage agencies in Russia and Ukraine; wherever women are feminine. I would do the same in their shoes. Even men who grow up used to women dressing like skater boys and political correctness are fascinated when they see women well-groomed, made-up, showered, jumping, etc. It’s a kick in the ass for a feminist.
I noticed it in my Swiss colleagues – just like Germans, Scandinavians, Dutch, etc. – who were looking for a girlfriend, the difficulty of approaching a woman. They are already extremely shy and inhibited to the point of having to drink a lot and even resort to drugs, and with each new wave of political correctness, the insecurity of being frowned upon and rejected only increases. Will she think I am sexist? That I’m not vegan? Am I not cool? Competition between men and women leads to a distance equivalent to that of countries where contact between both sexes is taboo. So the situation goes to a point where the flirting already starts through dating sites and apps like Tinder, such a difficulty to approach a woman face to face. And if nothing happens virtually, the solution is to order a bride overseas.
Outdoor changing clothes
While a short bikini can attract attention in lakes and pools, but without harassment as far as I have seen, it is normal in public swimming pools, rivers, and lakes in Switzerland to see people changing clothes outdoor like they were in a bathroom. You are lying on the grass and, suddenly, someone takes off his bathing suits shorts, gets naked, and puts on the other clothes. There are differences in customs that are better not even trying to understand.
Outdoor sale and cash box
Outdoor sale is not exclusive to Switzerland, but either way, it is normal to see products sold outdoors or inside buildings with a box containing the money. You choose the products you want to buy, pick up and collect change straight from the box. If you do that in Latin America, for example, the cash, the products, and even the table will be stolen.
Talking about money is taboo
When it comes to money, Switzerland attracts immigrants from all over the world for its economic prosperity, but talking about money is taboo for many Swiss. Even more taboo is asking about the dirty money kept in Switzerland, something that I have always been faced with disagreements about every time I asked (and I’m still curious). The fact is that corrupt politicians from all corners of the world, the Russian mafia, the Italian mafia, just to mention a few examples, launder money in Swiss banks and take advantage of bank secrecy laws. Switzerland was a poor country before World War II and the fear of losing money is still visible in older generations.
No country is perfect but I’m still curious about why Swiss banks accept dirty money – including the cash stolen by Brazilian politicians. 🤑🤑🤑
Originally posted 2021-09-04 01:17:58.
