Thanks
Aufgegeben von Roger B in Schweiz Forum
Yeah, I know, I somehow have the propensity to drift into essay-like answers...it's just that I think to explore a difficult topic, sometimes a long and detailed answer is required. And by the way, having read a fair deal of your posts, I'd say your sense of humour is very visible and that your criticism isn't always ment to be taken at face value (though legitimate) is evident, at least for me (and as you said, I'm a cold-hearted, seclusive no-nonsense Swiss, so it shouldn't be difficult for all others to recognize... :-)!
I guess your advice is a good way to start. Don't assume Switzerland to be a land of milk and honey or heaven on earth. It's a great place but has its peculiarities and follies. The Swiss in general are reserved, come across as cold, but with hard work and the fair share of luck, you get your way around and probably will find some of the most loyal friends you could ever think of. Learn the local language (for starters, German or French will do, but if you are planning on staying here longer, picking up a few words in local dialect will charm the Swiss - as I've mentioned before, we're pretty prickly when it comes to not being mistaken as our neighbours - i.e. Germans, Italians, French).
And of course "the Swiss" can be very divers. For instance, I like if people are aware of our system, know what is going on in the country (i.e. political & cultural) and show an interest in the place. I can't help but perceive it as somewhat dismissive if someone has been here for several years but still doesn't know that we are not ruled by a prime-minister or president, have a federal system and pay taxes at three levels. I don't mind to talk politics with foreigners (testament to it should be my posts here) and think it's ok for someone to express his opinion (as long as it's brought forward in a constructive and informed manner). Now, that's my view. There might be others thinking that it's none of your business talking politics or history if you ain't a citizen... so be carefull and try to gauge your vis-à-vis, probably you'll notice what topics are adequate to talk about. But showing a sense of knowledge about our country will always charm us and be a good entry point into a discussion (and if it is only that you know that we celebrate the all-mythical "Rütlischwur" on August 1).
And as for that animosity towards the Germans, well, I guess you could write a book about that. I think it's a combination of things. For one part it might be the desire to underpin our distictiveness from them. That's also the reason why the dialect is so prevalent in Switzerland, it's something that sets us apart from the Germans (and most of them have difficulties understanding us). Another part might be some sense of lingual inferiority complex because we are inherently (through our speaking of dialect) less skillfull in speaking "standard" German (we're perceived as being slower and most of the time carry a very destinctive accent). Add to this that to their polished way of speaking, the Germans are often perceived to be very bossy in their behaviour and not in line with our cherished custom of being very reserved and polite. Another, inferiority complex-ey kind of thing is that the very fact you mention (that the Germans don't take issue with the Swiss), often the Germans have a complete lack of knowledge about Switzerland or, when encountering one of us, kind of perceive our way of talking as "cute" (in the childish sense of the word). That transmits an image to us of being disrespected or not taken at full value. There's probably even more to ad to the list of issues but one, in my mind, rules supreme and has aggravated the situation majorily: Quantity. The pace of German immigration over the last couple of years has taken a marked increase. They are now the most common group of foreigners, meaning that their increasing number leads to even more problems of the sort described above. Plus, the Germans know our language (sort-of), enjoy a level of education similar to ours and are therefore perceived to be a threat to jobs. To be fully transparent, I'm not free of those feelings either and it kind of bugs me when I am walking through Zurich City and all I hear is standard German, when in our hospitals there seem to be only German nurses and doctors, if our Universities & Colleges are flooded (to the expense of the tax-payer - roughly 500 MCHF) by German students or when in every other company the CFO & CEO are hailing from our northern neighbour. As I mentioned in my previous post, that leaves behind a feeling of unease and worry about the future of our nation and the sell out of one's own country.
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