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nickyhudgins-blog · 5 years

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Switzerland

I chose Switzerland for my host country, because it is so beautiful and I feel like I could learn a lot from the countries people. First off to give you an idea of where the beautiful Switzerland is, it is located in Europe and is surrounded by 5 countries: Austria, Liechtenstein, France, Italy, and Germany. Since Switzerland is inland, this country does have many mountains and some are more known than others, but the country does offer more than just beautiful mountains, Switzerland has beautiful lakes and national parks as well.

First, I want to give you a little background information about Switzerland before you travel there. In 500 BC the Helvetians found land, which is Switzerland, and planted their roots here. In 150 BC the Swiss loved their wine and did not want to share it with others but later on the Romans came and brought more grapes to plant and it is said that the beautiful vineyard, Lavaux which is still used today, was used back then. In 1291 the Swiss had formed three cantons in order to over throw those ruling at the time. In 1522 the Protestant Reformation began in Switzerland, all because of a discussion about whether or not the Bible said you could eat sausage. In 1648 Switzerland gain its independence from the Roman Empire thanks to the Treaty of Westphalia. In 1699 the first recipe of Switzerland’s famous fondue was recorded, and now people fly all over the world to try some. In 1815 Switzerland was a neutral country again due to the Treaty of Paris. In 1848 Switzerland became a true federal state, and they even have their own constitution. In 1863 Henry Dunant stumbled across the battle of Solferino on his way to find Napoleon lll , and was struck by the sight of the wounded and he went to Geneva and started the International Red Cross. In 1875 Daniel Peter became the first chocolatier in Swiss history. Lastly in 1971 women were finally granted the right to vote. All of these dates are important because they are moments in history that have shaped Switzerland and what the country is today.

Some more information about Switzerland is the capital is Bern, and some important cities in Switzerland are: Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, Winterthur, Luzem, St. Gallen, and Bienne. Here in America we are used to the main language being English, well in Switzerland it can be German, French, Italian, or Romansh. The language spoken nationally is German at 62.6%, then it is French at 22.9%, then 8.2% speak Italian, and Romansh is only spoke by .5% of the population. The main religion in Switzerland is 65.6% Christianity, the next 35.9% is Roman Catholic, 23.8% are Reformed, and 5.9% are miscellaneous religions. In Switzerland religion sometimes plays a part in politics when it comes to voting for parliament, the voters sometimes look at the candidates religion in order to decide if they get their vote. With that being said Switzerland is made up of a couple of political organizations. First, they are considered a direct democracy, and they have been one of the very few countries to achieve this system close to its full capacity. Switzerland also has a federal council which has twenty-six cantons, which are subdivisions of Switzerland; and each of those have their own parliament. These systems have been used since the 1800’s and some even further back than that and so far they have done well for the country. Another thing about the swiss is that they do not normally discuss finances or make it known if they are wealthy or poor, they like to keep their lives private. Speaking of finances, the most important piece of information that you need to know about Switzerland is that for their currency they use the franc; the euro can be used but only in certain places, and you can also use a credit or debit card for your purchases as well.

Other than the history of Switzerland, you should know about the social aspects of the country. Men and women in Switzerland are able to work for their families but it had not always been that way. The roles were that the men work, and the women stay home and take care of the kids and household duties, but those roles have gradually diminished and women in Switzerland are entering the workforce. Although gender roles have changed, the countries view on social class has not. The upper-middle class, the intermediary class, and the lower class is still used to categorize the people of Switzerland financially. The upper-middle class has the white-collar professionals, engineers, and teachers. The intermediary class includes farmers, business owners, and tradesmen. Finally, the lower class includes blue collar workers, and those in sales and service.

When going to another country it doesn’t just involve going and only knowing general information about that country, you also need to do some research on the heart of the country, which is its culture, that day to day of a swiss so to speak. Switzerland’s culture is unique to Switzerland but it is made up of many other cultures, including Germany’s, France’s, and Italy’s. For starters when you visit Switzerland the common curtesy is to say hello when just passing by. When meeting someone for the first time you say hello and stretch out your hand for a handshake. Now when the swiss greet each other and they are friends they will air kiss three times on the cheek, first the right cheek, then the left, and then the right again. This is the normal way to greet a friend in Switzerland, the women and men do it, women to women do it, and man to man either hug or shake hands. Also, you will learn that when someone bumps into you it is not always on purpose but merely because it is a crowded place; so all you do is say its okay, or if you did the bumping say excuse me or sorry. Since I just mentioned the bumping, you will also learn that they live by the philosophy that every man is for himself and it is first come first serve, they do not believe in lining up so when you see that it is your turn to order food you better speak up or you will be there all day. The swiss do eat at normal times, in the morning during the week breakfast starts between 6:30 and 7:30 am and on the weekends it is at 9 am. During the week they will have a snack around 9 am, which is usually a croissant or fruit. If you eat before 2pm it is considered lunch and the meal selection is usually warm foods. After 6 pm it is considered dinner and during dinner they normally eat cold foods and during the summer they will eat out on the patio but in the winter they stay inside. From 3-5pm this time is considered the “at four” meal; which is just a small meal eaten around that time. Also between 12 pm and 1 pm they designate this time for rest and relaxing, and this is something that is taken very seriously as some wont even answer their phones during that hour. The countries national dish is fondue. Their dominant food is cheese, they are very known for their chocolate as well.

For entertainment, unlike Americans, the Swiss are not very invested in television. They are however very invested in their newspapers, the largest circulating one is the Tages-Anzeiger which is produced out of Zurich. Now with this being said Switzerland does have tv stations but only a few stations are available and are mainly in German.

Some things to think about before traveling is one the language barrier. This is definitely going to be hard if you do not know German or you do not have translator, because there are very few people that speak English in Switzerland. So, try to be prepared a learn a little before your trip. In order for you to blend in is one don’t talk very loud, try to speak at a normal volume. Second, try to get something with the swiss flag on it, it is a very popular item to wear. Also, when passing people always smile and try to greet everyone, especially on Sundays. Personal space is not an issue with the swiss, they are familiar with bumping and touching. When it comes to trying to make a swiss friends they are not very open to fast friendships. For them it takes a bit longer than normal, so don’t go up to a swiss and assume you two will be best friends and start telling them about your life because they do not like that. Another thing is to always be on time, respect the country and the residents, and be prepared for any type of weather. If you take note and remember these things you will have a trip of a lifetime.

https://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Switzerland.html

http://direct-democracy.geschichte-schweiz.ch/switzerlands-political-systems.html

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-type-of-government-does-switzerland-have.html

https://www.myswissalps.com/swissfranc

https://www.lives-nccr.ch/en/actualite/climbing-social-ladder-difficult-nowadays-it-was-several-decades-ago-n1805

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/gender-roles-since-1970_how-work-has-evolved-for-switzerland-s-men-and-women/43953426

https://www.learn-swiss-german.ch/blog/newspapers-in-switzerland/

https://medialandscapes.org/country/switzerland/media/television

https://www.thelocal.ch/20120725/3726

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/switzerland/articles/12-moments-that-shaped-switzerlands-history/

https://www.expatica.com/ch/about/cuisine/the-swiss-diet-schedule-typical-swiss-foods-and-rules-on-when-to-eat-them-803217/

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/top-10-foods-try-switzerland

https://www.newlyswissed.com/how-to-blend-in-with-the-swiss/

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nickyhudgins-blog · 5 years

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Being Prepared:

For me traveling has had its ups and downs. I have never had to worry about a long stay because I have never stayed in a country longer than a week; so I definitely have some fears when it comes to staying for a prolonged amount of time, but I have traveled enough to know what I need to take with me. I personally do not know the types of sicknesses that are predominant in Switzerland off the top of my head. This is something that I would consider a risk before I leave to go to Switzerland or any country at that. First thing I learned is that I would need to talk to my doctor about all my vaccines to make sure they are up to date, and get a few more that are recommended to get for Switzerland, the link recommending these shots is listed below. The other vaccines that I found that would be needed or good for preventions are Hepatitis A & B, and Rabies. Turns out there is a chance I could get bitten by a bat or any other kind of animal, but bats are the most common in Switzerland, at night if I was to go camping. The Rabies shot is for a prevention, incase my sojourn involves me staying outside. Another thing that I have never thought about is making sure the water is okay to drink in the country. The article regarding this risk is also linked below. Although it may state that the water is okay to drink, I would need to be prepared and bring water purification tablets, which was on a list for things to take to Switzerland to be prepared. Hopefully nothing crazy would happen to the point where I would need to be hospitalized, but I learned that in order to prepare for the worst I would need to talk to my insurance company and make sure that I would be covered in a foreign country.

The things that are less worrisome to me are the safety aspects of travelling. I have been traveling just about my whole life and know the do’s and don’ts of travelling to avoid getting robbed, kidnapped, and drugged. If you are not aware of the do’s and don’t’s of traveling, a little tip is that is better to not bring attention to yourself and try not to look like a tourist. For Switzerland, I plan on being prepared for all sorts of ailments now, the article really did put in perspective on how smart it is to know about the place I am traveling to, in detail, to make sure I enjoy my trip and that I’m not miserable the whole time.

Link to Switzerland vaccines:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/extended_student/switzerland?s_cid=ncezid-dgmq-travel-single-001

Link to water purification in Switzerland

https://www.quora.com/Is-is-healthy-to-drink-tap-water-in-Switzerland

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nickyhudgins-blog · 6 years

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The first set of my collection is mainly about the beauty of the country of Switzerland. While some of the pictures are beautiful, there are also some historic places I would like to visit. Although the main reason I want to go to Switzerland is to experience and live in the beauty of the country, I have also chosen some news stories and music that tie to Switzerland’s culture and their lifestyle.

My first set of pictures are of Bern, the Switzerland capital. The first picture is of Bern Old Town. I chose this picture because it really shows the historic look of the buildings, which is something I am intrigued by.

The other two pictures are of Bern, as well. The first one that is in the dark is the Rose Garden, and the other is a street in Bern in the daytime.

Another beautiful place I would like to visit in order to learn about the history, and culture, is Chateau De Chillon.

The picture below is of Zurich.

The next place I would like to visit to learn about the history, but is also very breathe taking is Montreux.

The rest of my photos mainly involve the nature aspect of Switzerland, like the Alps, and their national park, but I do have a photo of a vineyard that I would like to visit as well.

A couple of the blogs I chose really helped me figure out how to navigate my way through Switzerland and what I need to prepare for when I go on the trip. The Switzerland Travel Guide by Nomadic Matt really helped with the budget planning for the trip and also gave some different locations to visit that I did not know about. The link will be posted below.

Another thing that I found out through the news media is about the people in masks in the Alps, and how that is apart of Switzerland’s culture. Here is the article on that interesting topic, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47385356?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cz4pr2gd5rlt/switzerland&link_location=live-reporting-story

In order for me to prepare for my sojourn these media outlets have helped me gain a better understanding of what I will need for my sojourn and what I should plan for ahead of time. For instance how much money should I have with me, and how to grasp their culture fully and do it in a respectful way.

The media I chose helped me to realize that I have a good selection and a good idea of where I want to go when it comes to the nature aspect and the beauty of the country. It did, however, help me realize that I do not have a very good selection of media on the student aspect of it and that my sojourn just looks like a regular vacation, when it also needs to have more learning involved. My plan to fix this is to do more research on previous sojourns to Switzerland and maybe find one that is planned out to find what I missed and is educational and try to fit that into my plan as well.

Resources:

3-4 News Stories on Switzerland

https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/buying/holiday-homes/ski-resorts-in-italy-and-switzerland-the-best-supersmart-resorts-and-chalets-with-luxury-spa-and-a127196.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/most-expensive-expat-places-live-workers-switzerland-zurich-geneva-basel-caracas-a8394721.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47385356?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cz4pr2gd5rlt/switzerland&link_location=live-reporting-story

2-3 Travel Blogs

https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-guides/switzerland-travel-tips/

http://esrquaker.blogspot.com/2017/05/reflections-on-sojourn-in-switzerland.html

3-5 Short Videos

https://vimeo.com/291902832

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/customs-traditions.html

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/expats.html

https://www.bern.com/en/home

3-6 Songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTqI1sHeK3Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhjhwX7h4UI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIHarGP8I2A

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