1) Most children at Swiss public schools don't eat lunch at school. They go home for an hour and a half to two hours. This means a lot of mothers have to stay home too.
2) Many companies give a man a raise when he gets married to take care of his wife. But...
3) If there are 2 salaries in the household, the second one is taxed at a much higher rate
4) Children call their teacher 'maîtresse' (meaning teacher), as well as by their name - but the teacher doesn't seem to mind.
5) All shops are closed on Sundays and any public holidays - you have to stock up before a 3 day weekend! (Some exceptions include shops found in the railways, and you can usually find an open restaurant). Most shops also close by 6 or 7pm, with the exception of Thursday which tends to be the 'late shopping night'. Then stores might be open until 9!
6) Tipping is appreciated, but not to the degree of America - about 10% is considered very generous
7) Everyone goes on walks - with their children, dogs, scooters, grandparents, etc. All the sidewalks by our lake our packed every weekend. Lots of people also use nordic walking poles, even on the flat parts.
8) Public transport is amazing, and you can bring your beer along with you. It's not uncommon to bring a can of beer or bottle of wine on a train or bus. The transportation is fast and reliable. If it says the train is leaving at 12:47, it will. This can be a good thing (you are always on time!) or a bad thing (you have definitely missed that train if it is 12:48!)
9) Most people in Switzerland speak "a little bit of English", this means they speak 100 times more English than you speak French without even blinking an eye.
10) Their idea of breakfast out is a croissant - you won't often find nice cafes with eggs, toast, pancakes, or any thing else delicious... you have to make it at home
11) There are four official languages of Switzerland - Swiss German, French, Italian, and Romance (which no one really speaks). Although most students take both French and German at school (and English!), the people in the German section prefer to speak in English to foreigners that in French.
12) While on the topic of languages... many of the "border towns" where the French meets the German section has 2 names, one in French and one in German.
13) Residents living in Switzerland are REQUIRED to have health insurance. We pay large taxes, but health insurance is not included. Most companies offer the same basic insurance, and cannot deny anyone coverage.
14) Most people rent their homes or apartments their entire life - it is so expensive to buy that no one bothers
15) Swiss are very intense skiers, Many parents joke that their kids can ski before they can walk - it might be true!
16) Switzerland is not part of the EU and uses its own currency called "Swiss Francs" which is abbreviated CHF. Things are so expensive that I usually have a 100 or so in my wallet, and 5CHF is a coin. They don't even bother with anything less than 5 centimes (cents)
17) The Swiss in the French section never seem to be working - from their late start, long lunches, early endings and constant holidays it is a wonder anything ever gets done.
18) Adding the the 'no work' comment above, the post near us is only open from 8-10am and from 2-4pm during the summer.... what are they doing the rest of the hours?!
19) The Swiss LOVE their vacation time. People working normally get 5 weeks of vacation. Kids in school get two weeks in fall (half term), three weeks at winter, one week at the end of February (ski week), 2 weeks for spring break, 2 months at the summer, and a variety of other one or two day holidays... I'm not complaining!
20) Swiss people are hard to crack. A lot of people see them as 'cold' and 'guarded' which can be true. But there are many other Swiss people who are funny and kind and just take some time to get to know. Just remember if you are coming here for a day or two, you aren't going to make a million friends. Save that hope for when you travel to Italy.
21) Swiss people LOVE their cows - they have little celebrations when the cows get taken up to the higher pastures in the summer or come down to the lower pastures for winter. They get to wear flower crowns and all the farmers come down in wagons behind them. All cows wear enormous bells that make it easy to find a lost animal.
22) Hikers have right of passage on all private land. This means most hiking trails cut through peoples private farms and pastures. As long as you follow the little yellow walking signs, you're set!
23) Swiss are very particular about their quite time - before 8am and after 10pm (and ALL SUNDAY!) you cannot make any kind of disturbing noise. This supposedly includes taking a shower and using your vacuum. We have heard rumors of the police being called on someone being slightly too loud at 10:01pm.
24) Every adult male must serve in the Swiss military (unless they are lucky to choose one of the other options because or religious or physical limiting reasons). After training, all adult men between the ages of 18-35 (but in special cases up to 50) are part of the standing military. They are required to keep a firearm in their home and be ready to take action should they be called on.
25) All people are required to have access to a bomb shelter, and the military is there to ensure that there are enough bomb shelters to hold 115% of the Swiss population (our bomb shelter is on the first floor with doors nearly a foot thick!)
26) Switzerland's government is a direct democracy. This can mean 2 things: 1) Your vote really counts because each citizen has their say or 2) nothing ever gets done. As I am not allowed to vote, I don't really know, but this seems to be the consensus from most people.
27) Little yellow pedestrian signs can be found on many intersections, street corners, and mountain roads. They tell you the direction of nearby and major cities, and how long it will take you to get there. The time is measured by how long it would take your grandmother to walk the path. Grandmothers are surprisingly fast!
29) There is a very conservative political group here called the UDC. They put up a ton of controversial posters - take a look! (Have you noticed the "black" vs "white" theme?
30) For some reason I can't understand, the Swiss have completely covered their country with benches. Not that I'm complaining, it's nice always to have somewhere to sit. I just find it hilarious some of the places they put them.
32) Now that we know where people get their water from... how about cows? Most of them get to drink out of old bathtubs. I couldn't stop laughing the first time I saw it, but the Swiss farmlands are covered with old bathtubs filled with drinking water for their animals. It's a good way to recycle!
That's all for now, folks. Thanks to Kathleen for giving me this idea by sharing a blog of a friend of hers that lives in France. It's funny the things you notice after living somewhere for a while. I'm sure there are a million other interesting differences out there, none of which I can currently remember :)
