Switzerland - Culture Smart!: The essential guide to customs & culture

by Kendall Maycock

Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.

Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include


* customs, values, and traditions
* historical, religious, and political background
* life at home
* leisure, social, and cultural life
* eating and drinking
* do's, don'ts, and taboos
* business practices
* communication, spoken and unspoken


"Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel

"... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel

"...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer

"...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine

"...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 2004

Reviews

[Phoebe Scarborough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books I find in my apartment bookshelf: Part 6

Fun to read (mainly because it satisfying to have already gained most of the knowledge presented from real life experiences over the last four months). I love Switzerland 🇨🇭

[Jeainny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, easy book on Swiss culture! This book helped me understand my Swiss partner better and resolved some of the our frustrations that are apparently common between American vs Swiss people.

[Oana · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what it is, this is a good little book that squeezes in a ton of information about Switzerland. Its small size (smaller than a mass market paperback) is perfect for carrying in a relatively small purse or in a man's jeans back pocket: this makes it easy to carry around and read anywhere, even in supermarket checkout lines.

Now, for the info itself, compared to another book I recently read on Switzerland, this was, as mentioned earlier, packed with information. I can truly say I know more about Switzerland now. I wish I had read this before my trip this fall. However, I know more for next time. Here's some great facts I loved:

- The Föhn (or hairdryer) is an annoying warm wind on which the Swiss blame their headaches. There's also a more ominous-sounding wind called La Bise.

- Switzerland joined the UN in 2003, though the UN European headquarters have been in Geneva since 1945.

- There's a Krampus-like festival called Tschäggättä in Lötschental. Also, there's a harvest festival called Aelperchilbi in Stans in Nidwalden where butzi dress in skins and moss and chase kids around before giving them candy.

- Saint Nicholas has the Swiss version of Black Peter as a sidekick: Schmutzli, who beat bad children then dragged them off to the woods to eat them.

- There's a little celebration when one's relationships change from Sie to du and vous to tu. In German, it's called dudsis and in French it's schmolitz.

- Previous tenants are expected to take light fixtures with them when they leave. (I am a little suspicious of this one - more research is needed.)

- The Swiss take laundry days very seriously and you might only be assigned a laundry day every 2-3 weeks if you live in an apartment.

My only complaint is that the focus is on Swiss Germans, with a nod towards the Swiss French and very little at all on the Swiss Italians and the Romansh. Presumably this is because most international business happens in the German parts and most international work in the French parts. Still, it feels like those minority parts of Switzerland are still mysterious.

[Amy Langston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Culture Smart book I read, and I knew I wanted to read more after finishing. These little books provide basic, straightforward information about the culture of our world's countries, in concise volumes. The content is breadth over depth, naturally, but what I like most about them is the overview of the behaviors, customs, and social interactions common to the people. It also can be a bit of starting point to learning more.

The author Kendall Maycock is Canadian and has spent time living in Switzerland, allowing her to see it as an outsider. Culture Smart is published by a UK company, and the book is suitable both for British and North American audiences. I read this book shortly before a trip to Switzerland, and I can say that it prepared me for what I encountered. This book's descriptions of Swiss life provided a broader view of their society, giving me a first glimpse into their fascinating and sometimes paradoxical culture.

Switzerland is predominantly German-speaking, and I would say the book does a better job of describing the themes common to those areas, but it does explain the differences in the "Latin-speaking" regions, as the author puts it. As such a culturally varied country, it can be difficult to present a snapshot of Switzerland as a whole, but this book does a decent job of explaining overarching values and the attitudes that affect things like infrastructure and institutions.

This book is handy if you are planning to visit Switzerland, move there, or just want to learn more about it.

[Natalia UN · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great "trip" to Switzerland. I found out a lot of interesting information about the Swiss lifestyle, traditions, their way of spending the holidays and their business culture. Now all that's left is to visit this beautiful country. The book was published in 2014 though, so some information is a bit outdated, but overall it's a pleasure to read it.

[jim phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro info for country

Great overview of culture, people, attitudes and insite in what to expect when visiting country. Quick and concise sections that explain what to expect and how to interact with the locals.

[Bernard M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice travel book. Good info.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful read if you spend more than a week in Switzerland. I'll be much more direct when emailing hoteliers/landlords or chatting with others on our next visit, instead of adding all sorts of American/Brit conversational niceties. This book helps reframe how their reserve is based out of a respect for privacy until the other person is comfortable asking for what they need or want. I was familiar with a piece of this after spending so much time in the UK, but the Brits talk more than the Swiss do, and there's a lot more coded language in what they say. So I'll take the Swiss on face value next time instead of overanalyzing.

Also, I'm trying to remember if I've ever opened the window on a bus or train and horrified any Swiss persons nearby by allowing windy air to flow past their face.

[Sha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall good book. Very informational. Easy read. I read it while on my Honeymoon in Switzerland. Pretty accurate from what I experienced. Through this book my husband and I found our favorite drink in Switzerland called "Panache." So good. Don't think I would have ever found out about it if it weren't for this book. =) When I travel to other countries I will certainly look for another Culture Smart book by Kendall Maycock.

[Private Account · Rating 4 out of 5]

-Switzerland has practically no natural resources
-All new legislation is put to nationwide vote
-President rotates every year
-Autonomy of their "states" allows for and requires high degree of political involvement of citizens
-National pride not really, hometown pride is the thing
-No self promotion, good work speaks for itself
-Huge smoking population
-Home schooling possible in some areas but rare
-Super rule abiding citizenry

[Matt Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not get bogged down in details but tended to paint in broad strokes: there's a German, a French, and an Italian side of life among the Swiss. Only a couple of times did it seem to burrow down into the Swiss cultural psyche. The cultural tips are, however, extremely helpful. The travel tips should be verified through more recent guidebooks and local tourism organizations.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This concise succinct book is more thorough than I expected. It's small format, easy to fit in a hip pocket, and a valuable source of information.

[Quiver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise, to the point, perhaps a little outdated.

[Tony Steiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super informative & made use of humor well