Swiss abroad

I too have a very poor opinion of Switzerland, already covered quite well by other posts so instead I'll tell of my experiences of Swiss people away from Switzerland

Away from home, they still have a serious superiority complex, are utterly humourless, they don't want to mix with the locals because it is beneath them. They are scared of everything and refuse to try anyting new or open themselves to new experiences or in fact - they won't even attempt to just 'chill out' and enjoy themselves.

I know of one Swiss woman whose supriority complex led her to a lot of trouble when I lived in Ireland. She had some sort of an ongoing gastro type problem and had been thoroughly examined by Swiss doctors and they could find no cause. I knew this Swiss woman in Ireland and I asked her one day if she has informed her family doctor (GP) about her gastro problem. She looked at me with contmept and told me that as Swiss doctors couldn't find the problem there was no need to inform Irish (que sneering look) doctors and they couldn't POSSIBLY fix what Swiss doctors had missed. Anyway, Swiss womans gastro problem kicked in to high gear soon after that. Swiss woman knew from past experience what medication would help her get over it, but because she had never informed irish doctors and they had no recorded history of her illness, they wouldn't believe her (absolutely the correct thing for them to do from a clinical point of view). So it resulted in them giving her a suppository (a giant pill you stick up your ass). I loved it

The most telling was when I lived in London and the July 7/7 bombing happened on the tubes and buses. I unfortunately knew a bunch of Swiss people at the time, and also knew others from many other countries - UK, Ireland, French, Italian, American, Australian - and I have to say that out of all the groups the Swiss handled it by far the worst. Not denying that 7/7 was a terrible time and we were all scared and worried, but every group I knew got on with things, they took it in their stride as best they could and pulled together and got on with it. But not the Swiss. They were HYSTERICAL. They just couldnt handle that there was serious danger in the air, some refused to go to work or even step outside. They all huddled together in petrified faced groups like they were all about to be shot by a firing squad in 5 minutes time. They just could not handle the situation at all. Then their infamous lack of humour led them to further problems as certain cultures (especially the British) will deal with situations like that by joking. Not joking at the expense of victims or anything like that but small little jokes to raise their own spirits above the horror thats going on and to motivate themselves, for example a victim of the bombs lying on the floor of the train with his leg blown off saying 'dammit - late for work AGAIN'. That type of thing. That led to consternation among the Swiss - how could you possibly joke at a time like this when joking isn't even accepted at the best of times!! They just couldnt understand that this humour was an aide to people, it helped them get by. For the swiss it seems like humour has no purpose - it's a waste of time

I could go on with many many stories but you get the jist. For those who say that if you don't like Switzerland then don't go there, please also keep your Swiss people from going abroad. The Swiss can't handle it - it's safer for you guys at home

Jay 23 Jan 2009, 04:51 - Report