Switzerland - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

by Kendall Hunter

Don’t just see the sights—get to know the people.

Set aside your preconceptions of postcard scenery, chocolate and cheese, faceless bankers, and spotless cities. The real Switzerland is anything but bland. This small, multilingual, and fiercely independent country at the heart of Europe is full of surprises.

Culture Smart! Switzerland reveals the human dimension of this enigmatic country. It provides an historical overview, explores Swiss values and attitudes, and looks at the cultural continuity of festivals and traditions. It will help you navigate your way through various aspects of Swiss life and society and reveal the warmth, decency, wit and intelligence that characterizes its inhabitants.

Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

201 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 4, 2021

Reviews

[Claudia Pino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Respectful and true

This book truly captures the Swiss essence in a respectful and appreciative way. My late stepfather was Swiss (my mom and I are Latin American, he moved to our contry when they got married) and these pages brought to life so many memories! He trying to fit in a society that doesn't plan long term and time is 'relative', our emotional way to socialize, etc. I remember my mom once asking him by the tenth time in a very flirty way (as customary here) 'Honey, do you love me?, and him looking at her with an expression of confusion all over his face, answering 'Darling, I already told you I love you this morning. I haven't changed my mind.' In the end, we learned a lot from him as well as he from us. Books like these, that can actually help you understand and appreciate a different culture faster, are really a treasure. Thanks to the author for this great work. Totally recommended.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would be embarrassed to admit that I was on chapter three before I figured out this book was exactly the same as the one I read before. To be fair, the authors’ names were different and the narrators were also.

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Switzerland is a unique, interesting country in that it maintains a localized system of government that is antithetical to the centralized system widespread in Europe that also bows down to the European Union. Switzerland has maintained its success and unique culture through World Wars and is known throughout the world for Swiss watches and banking secrecy laws that attract bankers globally although the banking secrecy laws are somewhat obsolete after a 2018 regulation.

It's a land of cleanliness, order, multiple languages, and cultures and of hard-working people who respect each-others privacy. They put high value on vocational education and high requirements for academic education so vocational education is very popular, more so than purely academic degrees and they have the lowest youth unemployment rates in Europe.

The Swiss might appear cold and overly reserved for someone coming from the States but they just value each-others space and like to think over things before making decisions.

It's quite infuriating to read how the European Union has attempted to force Third-World immigration quotas on Switzerland for many years but luckily the Swiss have continuously voted to stay away from that demonic pit of hell of a union. It's quite clear to me now that the European Union bureaucrats hate the wonderful multivariant cultures of white European Christians and seek to destroy them by importing endless Third-World wolves in sheep's clothing that hate European cultures and seek to create similar wastelands of hell out of Europe similar to their home countries.

[Dani Ollé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent short text with a lot of relevant information

[Barbpie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adequate.

[Mario Pérez Díaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guía esencial para el que es sin duda, el mejor país del mundo.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to the Swiss and Swiss culture, including is a brief history of Switzerland which gives one a greater understanding of why the Swiss are the way they are.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another in this fine series of books about foreign cultures. A bit too much emphasis on business matters, but otherwise informative and full of practical tips. More examples, of the difference between High German and Swiss German would be beneficial.