Switzerland - Culture Smart!

Author: Culture Smart!
Publisher: Kuperard
ISBN: 1787028615
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Book Description
Don't just see the sights—get to know the people. Set aside your preconceptions of postcard scenery, chocolate and cheese, faceless bankers, and spotless cities. The real Switzerland is anything but bland. This small, multilingual, and fiercely independent country at the heart of Europe is full of surprises. Culture Smart! Switzerland reveals the human dimension of this enigmatic country. It provides an historical overview, explores Swiss values and attitudes, and looks at the cultural continuity of festivals and traditions. It will help you navigate your way through various aspects of Swiss life and society and reveal the warmth, decency, wit and intelligence that characterizes its inhabitants. Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Switzerland - Culture Smart!

Author: Kendall Maycock
Publisher: Bravo Limited
ISBN: 1857338448
Category : Etiquette
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Book Description
There is far more to Switzerland than beautiful scenery, chocolate, watches, faceless bankers, and spotless cities. The real Switzerland is full of surprises and anything but bland. This small, rugged, landlocked country at the heart of Europe has been a confederation since the first three cantons came together in a defensive alliance in 1291. Four national languages are spoken within its borders. Its present twenty-six cantons are largely autonomous and retain their individual characters. In this grassroots democracy real power lies with the people, who exercise it directly through frequent referendums. "Swissness" is, above all, a spirit of independence and of communal involvement. Although it is a model of peace and multicultural cooperation, with one of the highest standards of living in Europe, Switzerland's prosperity has been hard-won. Historically neutral, it maintains a semi-detached relationship within the European Union. In 2014, a national referendum supported quotas on EU migrants. Despite the several hundred thousand EU nationals living and working within its borders, and almost half a million Swiss working in the EU, this small, resource-poor country appears determined to retain its independence. Culture Smart! Switzerland provides an historical perspective, explores Swiss values and attitudes, and looks at the cultural continuity of festivals and traditions. It helps you navigate the workplace, the neighborhood, and the social scene. It offers crucial insights into Swiss business culture, and more generally on differences in communication style. Swiss people are not always easy to get to know. Proud, industrious, fair-minded, and creative, they respect the individual, which means that while they appreciate clear thinking and direct talking, they avoid confrontation. They will never intrude, yet will willingly help out if asked. Make the effort, and people will respond. Warmth, decency, intelligence, and wit are among the many hidden riches of this fascinating society.

Switzerland - Culture Smart!

Author: Kendall Hunter
Publisher: Culture Smart! The Essential G
ISBN: 9781787028609
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Book Description
Set aside your preconceptions of postcard scenery, chocolate, cheese, faceless bankers, and spotless cities. The real Switzerland is anything but bland. This small, multilingual, and fiercely independent country in the heart of Europe is full of surprises. Culture Smart! Switzerland reveals the human dimension of this enigmatic country. It provides an historical overview, explores Swiss values and attitudes, and looks at the cultural continuity of festivals and traditions.

Swiss Watching

Author: Diccon Bewes
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1857889916
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
A Financial Times Book of the Year and international bestseller.

Slow Train to Switzerland

Author: Diccon Bewes
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1857889762
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 243

Book Description
A travel diary from 1863 inspires author Diccon Bewes to retrace Thomas Cook's historic train trip that revolutionized tourism forever.

Festivals & Traditions in Switzerland

Author: Barbara Piatti
Publisher: NorthSouth Books
ISBN: 073584416X
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 96

Book Description
Fire and fur, bells and masks! This book takes you on a very special journey through Switzerland to experience the traditional festivals and customs celebrated in all the seasons. Some are happy and colorful, others are wild and scary. You’ll hear the thunderous noise made by bell-ringers and brass bands at Carnival. You’ll see Hom Strom and his pillar of fire burning in the night sky. You’ll meet a real Pschuurirolli—half human, half wild beast—and the dreadful Tschäggäta with their terrifying masks. On the journey, you’ll also encounter shepherds, rifle queens, and men dressed as trees. At the bull market in Zug, you’ll place a bet on the fastest pig; and in the Jura region, you’ll admire the horse riders as they race bareback over the track. You’ll even find out why the Griffin goes as far as baring his behind in Basel. You’ll be surprised. And you’ll laugh. And you just might be a little frightened, too. Are you ready? This unique collection is a fascinating treat for the whole family.

Germany - Culture Smart!

Author: Culture Smart!
Publisher: Kuperard
ISBN: 1787028852
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Book Description
Don't just see the sights—get to know the people. Germany powerhouse of Europe and pillar of the Eurozone feels reassuringly familiar. However, despite superficial appearances, this is a country that operates very differently from the USA and Britain. German history is more than a thousand years old and the relatively new German nation-state encompasses an astonishing variety of cultural and regional differences. German society is also in a state of flux, as people respond to immigration and a tough economic climate, and traditional attitudes such as formality and rigid protocol are softening as German business globalizes. Culture Smart! Germany sets out to show you how to be a good and sensitive guest. With chapters on core values and attitudes, and a practical business briefing, it is a valuable introduction to the German way of life. It tells you what treatment to expect, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to build rapport and credibility with this culturally rich and inventive people at the heart of Europe. Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss

Author: Paul Bilton
Publisher: Xenophobe's Guide
ISBN: 9781906042509
Category : National characteristics, Swiss
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Highlights the unique character and behavior of the nation. Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.

Costa Rica - Culture Smart!

Author: Jane Koutnik
Publisher: Bravo Limited
ISBN: 1857336666
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 141

Book Description
Costa Rica is renowned for its tropical beauty, the warmth and charm of the "Ticos"—its people's own name for themselves—and its political stability. This "Switzerland of the Americas" is widely regarded as an oasis of democracy in turbulent Central America. Since the first edition of Culture Smart! Costa Rica was published in 2005, however, there have been some important changes and, with rapid economic development, some growing pains. Over the past few years there has been a movement of population to the towns of the Central Valley. Higher education is now the norm for young Ticos, and the middle class has expanded—but so has the gap between rich and poor. Tourism took a dive after the 2009 recession, and the national debt has grown, while the arrival of multinationals and significant Chinese investment has been welcomed. Unemployment has risen, people are prepared to go on strike more readily, and there is a general disillusionment with politicians. In the face of mounting difficulties the Ticos remain remarkably peaceable, relaxed, and fun-loving. Their enthusiasm for life is seen as much in their passion for soccer as in their demonstrations in support of human and political rights. Culture Smart! Costa Rica explores and explains the complex human realities of modern Costa Rican life. Armed with this information, you will be better equipped to understand your hosts and to enjoy your visit to this beguiling and beautiful country to the full.

Swiss Life

Author: Chantal Panozzo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780990315506
Category : American wit and humor
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Life in Switzerland. The not-made-for-TV version. In 2006, American Chantal Panozzo moved to a spa town near Zurich ready for a glamorous life as an expatriate. She would eat chocolate. She would climb mountains. And she would order cheese in four languages. Instead, she lived a life more in tune with reality than fantasy. Contrary to popular American belief, Switzerland isn't just a setting in a storybook called Heidi. It's a real place where someone with a master's degree in communications can't make a phone call, where you can be hired in one language and fired in another, and where small talk doesn't exist-but phrases like Aufenthaltskategorien von Drittstaatsangehörigen do. Swiss Life: 30 Things I Wish I'd Known is a collection of both published (The Christian Science Monitor, National Geographic Glimpse, Chicken Soup for the Soul Books, and Brain, Child) and new essays in which Chantal discovers that no matter how hard she wills her geraniums to cascade properly, she will never be a glamorous American expatriate-or Swiss.