As a foreigner living in a different country, I have been learning a lot over the last 4 months. While there haven’t been as many cultural adaptations to make as if I had maybe moved to Tibet or the mountains of Chile, there have been some things.
For example, everyone here recycles and you do NOT step out of line. One time we saw a car that stopped too fast and was in the middle of the crosswalk at a red light. The looks this man got could’ve melted his car.
Spicy food is practically forbidden. Tony has been dying trying to find spice ANYWHERE and has had very little luck. Please, send help in the form of red chili flakes!
Being late is extremely rude – everything and everyone is on time and that’s all there is to it. It’s called a watch and the Swiss are pretty good at making them.
You get your fat ass outside and move – swimming, hiking, skiing, biking, walking, running, soccer – the Swiss are very active.
Cheese and chocolate are staple items – won’t find them missing from a menu anywhere in the city.
And the kiss. Yes, the kiss. In many European countries, the standard greetings involves the cheek kiss – two adults touching their cheeks together and making kissing noises. In France it’s two times, but in Switzerland it’s three, just for good measure. This could get tricky if you are visiting a few parties in the same evening, you need to ensure you plan your time wisely so you get all of your 3 kisses in while not being late to the next affair…because then you would be screwing up two cultural norms…
But in the workplace, as an American, this is something new for me. You don’t kiss at work. I started my career in HR and I feel like this was rule #1. “No touching, no harassing, and no eye contact.” Here, however, it’s completely normal and natural.
I find that I actually enjoy this cultural norm very much. I think it’s nice and makes me feel that much more European. However, I have run into a few hiccups.
For example, when in Mainz, upon meeting and saying good-bye to various colleagues, I was all tripped up. There were people from Germany, France and Switzerland in this meeting, and apparently the Germans do not kiss – they shake hands. In some cases I would go in for the kiss with a German and get a weird look followed by a firm handshake. In other cases, I would go for the firm handshake and end up tripping over my own two feet trying not to smash the person’s face with my face.
When with a French person that did allow the kiss, I went in for 3 and they backed away being like, “Whoa lady, I’m only good for two.” What?? Sorry, I’m still learning.
When in Abu Dhabi, similar story. Here there were not only Germans and Swiss, but also Brits and those that grew up in the Middle East. I was now balancing the kissing rule while also trying to be respectful and cognizant of any religious constraints that might prevent me from touching a man that wasn’t my husband. This was so complicated that towards the end I just wanted to hide in the bathroom until everyone left. Instead I opted to stand outside the circle and do a polite wave.
I am figuring it out as I go and in most cases it has been really fun. Who knew that kissing could be even more complicated then we already know it to be?
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