Dimitri BurkhardYou may have lived in Switzerland for several years. Or maybe you have moved here recently but it feels like years ago. Either way, there comes a point in your expat life when you wonder: "Who am I, really?" If you have caught yourself doing any of the below things, the answer to this loaded question is going to be straightforward: you are becoming Swiss!
We have covered some surefire signs that you're becoming Swiss before. But if you are still unsure, go on and read this list...
You know you're becoming Swiss if:
You think it's safe to watch Swiss fighter jets from a nearby mountain...
You voted against the basic right of six weeks of vacation.
You get interested in the rules of Schwingen.
You have a view from your office that other people save up their whole lives to go see!
You often think that you live inside a postcard.
You know where each cat in your town belongs.
You carry an empty bottle to the city to fill it with fountain water.
In a cafeteria, you grab a table and reserve it before getting food. That's normal though, no?
You won't buy something because it's not expensive enough.
You'll bring an empty paper bag to the store to avoid paying 20 cents for a new one.
Naturally, you remove your produce from all the plastic clamshells right at the store in order to reduce waste at home.
You consider shopping across the border in the Euro zone to save money.
You wonder why anyone would want to shop outside of working hours.
You start planning a two hour trip several weeks in advance.
You stop to like peanut butter.
Instead, you start judging the quality of the whipped cream on pastries.
You consider food with garlic in it to be spicy.
You buy a new ski suit every year to keep up with ski fashion.
You appreciate the differences between the cantons.
You feel comforted by quad-lingual courtesy announcements that your train is running three minutes behind schedule.
You get asked whether you speak Swiss.
You don't think it's funny when someone confuses Switzerland with Sweden. Seriously.
Your only bumper sticker reads "CH".
You get annoyed when the car ahead of you doesn't turn off its engine at a traffic light.
You don't understand irony.
You think spontaneity is OK, as long as it's planned.
You apologize for being two minutes late for an appointment.
You become interested in the myriad of insurance offerings.
You deliberate which lake to either bike, hike or roller blade around on the perfectly maintained paths through the woods that might occasionally block a view of the mountain!
You like to get up at six o'clock in the morning.
You hear the name "Justin Bieber" and you immediately think of "Biberli"!
(Photographs copyright Wikimedia Commons)
