Thursday, June 19, 2008

You know you've been living in Switzerland for long when....

Taken from a group on facebook...funny :)
You know you have been living in Switzerland for long when -
...you think getting up early is good
...you throw a party and expect everyone to leave by 11:30 pm
...you clean up during parties
...you expect dinner guests to help with the washing up
...you think it's fair that you can only wash clothes once a month
...you religiously and carefully write down the dates of the Waschküchekalendar in your agenda
...you wish that your hometown had expensive garbage bags too
...you wear white socks with black shoes
...you become concerned about the color of your neighbor's curtains
...you dress up to go grocery shopping
...you prefer plain chocolate to candy bars
... you love Sunday Brunch
... you make your own yogurts
...you feel really hungry if you don't start eating lunch by 12:00
...you love Migros Budget
...you have breakfast cereal for dinner
...you consider it healthy to eat lots of milk products and lean red meat
...you know fruit pies are a perfectly good meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner
...you don't mind waiting in restaurants
...you think it's OK for a Chinese restaurant to be run by a Swiss and staffed with Spaniards and Portuguese
...you start thinking, 'Why can't they just speak Schwiizerdeutsch?'
...your German is better than the waiter's
...you prefer Swiss wine
...you don't worry about your jacket being stolen in a restaurant
...you don't feel embarrassed when you order something non-alcoholic in a bar
...you expect a slice of lemon in your coke
...you prefer fizzy mineral water to tap water
...you only eat fondue in winter (yuck!!!)
...you begin to understand the subtlety of the Swiss cuisine
...you think that milk and butter prices should be regulated
...you worry about the economic hardships that Swiss farmers face
...you consider getting goats and sheep to graze in your backyard
...you appreciate the differences between the cantons
...you actually get interested in the local elections
...you know the words to the Swiss national anthem
...you try to defend cartel based economics to a visitor
...you think it was through their own efforts that Switzerland stayed out of WWII
...you think that Switzerland's conservation efforts make a difference
...you think that hard work is responsible for the stability of the Swiss franc
...you hope Switzerland doesn't join the European community
...you think that Swisscom approved telephones are better
...you buy a new one instead of getting it repaired
...you refuse to tell someone your salary
...you get concerned about all the foreigners moving into the country
...you think that 3% unemployment is high
...you are willing to pay higher prices, because it ensures higher quality
...you feel like you're broke if you have less that CHF 300 in your pocket
...you don't mind paying CHF 16 for a paperback book
...you wonder why anyone would want to shop outside of working hours
...you expect the shop clerk to say goodbye after you purchase something
...you say Grüezi to everyone, and consider it impolite when they don't say it back
...you know "let's go for a walk" translates to "let's go for a five hour hike up hill/mountain in considerable amounts of snow"
...you call your cell phone "handy" and a projector "beamer"
...you have trouble finding English words
...you start capitalizing Nouns, and joining Bigwords together
...you insist on speaking German to people that are obviously English speakers
...you take a foreign language course, in German
...you start preparing costumes for Fasnacht
...you think Thursday night shopping is really convenient
...you buy Swiss
...you anxiously count your Coop Supercard and/or Migros Cumulus points after each trip to the supermarket
...you pick a three-wheel push cart for your kid
...you become interested in the myriad of insurance offerings
...you think that air conditioning makes people sick
...you don't mind spending all day in the restaurant at a ski resort, and wonder why all the foreigners insist on skiing when the conditions are less than optimal
...you consider target shooting a 'sport'
...you wouldn’t miss Herbschtmäss for a sack of gold
...you're not upset when a public holiday falls on a Sunday
...you think that Sunday should be a day of rest
...you start complaining about the breakdown of traditional Swiss values
...you complain to your neighbor about the noise when he flushes his toilet after 10 pm
...you get annoyed when the car ahead of you doesn't turn off it's motor at a traffic light
...you call the police when you see someone washing their car on a Sunday
...you stop your engine at the red light
...you start getting irritated with honking (if at all it ever happens!)
...you consider it normal to pay 50 CHF for a haircut
...you read this far