European (Swiss) Culture

Up until this point, I realized that I have not written anything about the differences between European and American culture. This stems mostly from the fact that things seem the same to me. Especially considering that my foreign travel experiences to China and Africa yeilded a vast array of differences. I now wish to share a few of my observations (please note these are my interpretations and by no means generalizations).

First, Europeans are much better dressed than Americans, particularly for casual wear, mostly on weekends and weeknights. It is not uncommon to find people wearing fancy skirts, designer shoes and/or nice dresses just to hang out in the park.

Another major difference is eating- this feat is accomplished with both your fork and knife in hand at all times. There is none of the one-handed fork eat, pushing the food on prongs with a finger! It took me awhile to catch on, but I have now mastered the left-handed eat. At first, I had trouble with hand-eye coordination and think I missed my mouth often. I am sure I was entertaining to watch!

One thing I dislike is the love for animals. People literally bring their pets everywhere- on the train, to restaraunts and shopping. While I like dogs, there are just some places an animal shouldn’t be. Eating at a restaurant loses its appeal when I have to walk over a dog larger than I am. I also was turned off at a shop where a cat climbed out of the back room and ran into the store. However, the worse part of this pet-loving is that there is doggy doo-doo everywhere. Walking on the sidewalk, hanging out at the Eiffel Tower, one really needs to watch where they step! I had the unfortunate experience of walking around smelling like poo since I accidently stepped in some doo. This all really makes me appreciate pooper scoopers ! Maybe I should market a European version.

This past week, I travelled around Switzerland as I was given time off from my internship. First, I spent two days in Interlaken, and took on the extreme sport of canyoning. Then, I swung by the mountain city of Brienz, where there is a Walz tea room/hotel. I also saw an amazing gorge in the mountains of Merigenen. At Lucerne, I visited the transportation and art museums, as well as the jazz festival. My trip rounded up with a day in Bern, the capitol city. More of that to come !