A close-up and personal look at Switzerland
“Bureaucracy is a specific form of organization defined by complexity, division of labor, permanence, professional management, hierarchical coordination and control, strict chain of command, and legal authority”*. Now isn’t that a mouthful? We’ve all had to deal with various forms… Read moreBureaucracy at its Very Best
It happens all the time. When you are learning a new language you are constantly trying to figure out what all the new words mean. Combining the known with the unknown. Maybe the new word is a diminutive or a… Read moreNames and the Perfect Mix-up
Who doesn’t like to get them? Little gifts of recognition, appreciation or for just an uncomplicated thank-you or thinking-of-you. Until I came to Switzerland I didn’t know that that could be an art. Sure, you give gifts for birthdays and… Read moreThank You and Thinking of You Gifts
You’ve just got to love idioms and metaphors. You say one thing and mean something completely different. Literally translating them are lots of fun, too. Understanding them can sometimes be like mental gymnastics. How to do the Impossible German: Wie… Read moreIdioms and Metaphors
I put together some interesting facts I found that I think make Switzerland Swiss. Political Level Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Confédération suisse, Confederazione Svizzera, Confederazium svizra I guess with 4 official languages it’s difficult to decide which one to use as the… Read moreFacts About Switzerland You May Not Have Known
Fundraising, charities and nonprofit organizations are all about helping other people not as lucky as ourselves. This is neither a Swiss nor an American thing, it’s a humane thing. The school systems in both Switzerland and America also encourage doing… Read moreSwiss and American Charities
After moving to Lengnau, Ben and I joined the local business association. One of the first events we got an invitation to was for a ‘Treberwurst’ dinner. I had heard of and tasted a lot of different kinds of sausages… Read moreTreberwurst, Specialty of the Lake of Biel Region
Egg cartons warn ‘this product contains eggs’, milk cartons that have a label ‘contains lactose’. Really? Sometimes I think ‘They can’t be serious!’ Can anyone really be that stupid and not know that eggs contain eggs or milk contains lactose?… Read moreOnly in America
Italy is just to the south of Switzerland. As I’ve mentioned before, I find it amazing all you have to do is cross the Alps and you enter Oz. A different language, different architecture, different climate, in short, a different… Read moreItalians, a Culture of Their Own
Ben worked for an American company on a telephone project in Switzerland a couple of years ago. He found the work and the people extremely interesting. For a little entertainment someone hung a description of the qualities a multinational employee… Read moreThe Multinational Employee Has… Stereotypes and Cliché
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