A Few Fun Facts

Today marks my first full week abroad! And yet somehow I'm still jet-lagged...

Anyways, I've learned quite a few strange facts about Switzerland in my time here so far. This post is dedicated to describing just a few of them:

• 40% of the people living in Geneva are foreigners - so I guess I'm not such a sore thumb after all! You hear so many different languages spoken on the street, including the four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh.
• Stores close by 6 or 7pm, and sometimes for long lunch breaks too.
• You are expected to greet everyone you see here. A stranger on the street, the man behind the counter at the boulangerie, it doesn't matter - you always say "Bonjour" when you arrive and "Au revoir" when you leave. Anything less is poor manners. 
• There are accordion players on every street corner here and it's awesome.

• The Swiss can never remember who their current president is because it's a rotating position that changes every year.
• The French-speaking Swiss speak much slower than the actual French, especially Parisians, and use more Swinglish (English-mixed words) - thank god!
• You have to bring your own reusable grocery bag when food shopping. I learned the hard way, juggling baguettes for my 40 minute commute home on the train.
• Women didn't get the right to vote here until 1971. Just check out the propaganda poster below - yikes.

• There are quiet laws in Switzerland forbidding "excessive noise" after 10pm or any time on Sundays. Apparently it's pretty strict - some neighbors will report you just for doing laundry because that's considered too loud!
• Switzerland has mandatory military service for all men, but you can be exempted if you pay an extra 3% income tax until age 30 (unless you're disabled). Both my host-father and host-brother chose to serve though, and my host-grandfather actually served in World War II.
• To be drafted as one of the Swiss Guard that watches over the Pope in the Vatican, you must meet a height requirement (6 ft or more). I guess it makes them more intimidating, but in those uniforms, does it really?

• Scooters (and I mean Razor scooters) are still really popular here! My nineteen-year-old host sister wanders around town with her friends and half of them are in hoodies, cruising by on one of those babies. 
• Smoking is also big here. My host sister was very surprised when I declined her offer to hang out with her friends by the village school and "fumer." 
• I've recently been instructed on how to survive if caught in one of the 4,000-10,000 avalanches that occur in Switzerland every year: if you're buried in snow, just spit! If the spit falls back down on your face, you are facing the right direction and will be able to breath. Hooray gravity.

• Social circles here are small but very tight. My host sister's best friend, Clémentine, practically lives here (she has clothing, a toothbrush, and her own spare mattress so she can sleep over any night - which she does). My host family is very close with their extended family as well - they have big family dinners with them every weekend. 
• Speaking of which, weekends are highly valued here and reserved solely for family time. It's much less of a workaholic attitude than in the US. For example, a few students in my program had to email our French academic director over the weekend because there was a homework issue. He politely answered our question, but then very clearly told us (in bold letters) that this was an exceptional situation and, save for emergencies, we should never contact him about work on a weekend again!
• The Swiss really do eat more chocolate per capita than any other country in the world - woohoo! And maybe the US should follow suit: recent studies have shown that the countries that eat the most chocolate also produce the most Nobel Laureates

Anyways, that's all I got for now. Classes have officially started, but I'll post a longer update on all that later. À tout!