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| Photo Credit: Frans van Heerden on Pexels |
Welcome back to July's UBC. This month I'm going to be talking about cultural differences between Switzerland and the USA.
In the last post of this series I'm going to add random info to complete my previous posts:
Back to School Supplies
When I was talking about differences about all things school, I forgot to mention that in Switzerland you won't get "the list" telling you what stationary items your kids need to have for their school year. Swiss parents will purchase a school bag, a gym bag and a pencil case. That's about it, at least in elementary school. These days middle school kids will need to bring their own notebook as in laptop. But never, ever did my parents or I as a Mom had to buy binders, folders, glue sticks, paper towels, etc.
Taxes
VAT in Switzerland is currently at 8.1% in the entire country. As I mentioned, it is always included in an item's or service's ticketed price, so you know what to expect at the checkout.
In the US, it depends whether you're in California or Nevada for example. When I first arrived in San Diego, I intended to buy a notebook, and I had the foresight to check whether it made sense to wait with my purchase until I went to Las Vegas for July 4. As I later learned, there are states like Montana, New Hampshire or Delaware that have no sales taxes at all.
What other taxes do occur? Let's assume a person makes around 100k. The person who lives and works in CA has a take-home pay of 60 to 65k, and the Swiss person's net income is 55 to 60k after benefits and taxes. Interesting fact: federal, state and municipal taxes are not being deducted from your salary in Switzerland. You are expected to budget your monthly income yourself and have enough left over in the fall when the big tax bill arrives. Same goes for healthcare.
Technology
Outside of the US you can find over 20 different keyboards to accommodate French, Spanish or Cyrillic script-using countries. Don't forget Hebrew, Arabic or Asian ones. These must look so cool! Below: A keyboard from Belgium and Switzerland.
Calendar Format
Church and Cow Bells
Church bells in Switzerland regularly chime the quarter hours and the hours. This was historically important to indicate the time to the population, especially before clocks were widely used. The bells also call the faithful to church services. They ring before masses, weddings, funerals and on special occasions such as Christian holidays (e.g. Christmas, Easter), local festivals and sometimes also in emergency situations. In earlier times, for example, the ringing of church bells was one of the main methods of warning the population of fires and natural disasters such as floods, avalanches or earthquakes.
Cow bells are a symbol of Alpine culture and tradition. They are an important element of cattle festivals and cattle drives up and down the mountain pastures. In mountainous and extensive grazing areas, bells help farmers to find their animals more easily. The sound of the bells can also deter predators and thus protect the herd.
However, for people from other countries, especially those with different cultural customs, this can be unusual and surprising. A Dutch woman living in a rural Swiss village felt disturbed by the early morning ringing of the church, and she filed an immission complaint a few years ago. She also called for cow bells to be abolished. Her complaints were rejected. Oh, I forgot to mention she also applied to become a Swiss citizen. She did not get it. Don't mess with our bells, lady ;-) She left Switzerland and lived on the Spanish island Mallorca for a while. To our surprise she returned shortly thereafter to run as a candidate for the Swiss Council of States. She was not elected...
Noise
Switzerland has strict house rules in apartment blocks. For example, it says that you're not allowed to do certain things on Sundays: Use the laundry room, mow the lawn and generally not do anything that causes noise.
We also have official quiet times when you're not allowed to make noise, namely over lunchtime and in the evening from 10pm. Apparently there are still rules that you can't even flush the toilet or take a shower after this time. I've never seen that personally.
Night's rest in the legal sense also applies to barbecues, where it typically gets louder the later the evening and the emptier the wine bottles. I like to go to bed around 10pm, and the neighbors stay up late chatting and laughing. However, it would never occur to me to call them or call the police.
Ridiculous criminal justice case of "Carlos"
As promised I am going to tell you about Brian Keller. This is his real name. For years and years his true identity was protected, and he was called by his code name Carlos. He's a juvenile offender with a long rap sheet. Damage to property, robbery, violence, threats, possession of weapons, drug use, just to name a few. I need to mention that these are his offences as a teenager and younger. He went in an out of detention, juvenile hall, you name it.
In 2011, when Brian/Carlos was 15 years old, he almost killed a young man with stab wounds. Apparently the man had “looked at him funny”, so he attacked him. The victim, who was close to being paralysed and exsanguination, is still in pain today and can no longer carry out his original profession, which was physically demanding.
What happened to the 15yo defendant? He was lucky to be taken care of a youth advocate who thought incarcerating him would be of no use. Instead he arranged for a special setting for the lost boy:
A team of ten people was taking care of him. A coach who is a multiple world champion in Thai boxing, a personal care person, kind of a spare mother, who was there form him 24/7, a handful of social workers, private tutors, his lawyer,...
Did I mention he got to live in a spacious apartment? Lots of amenities. Monthly costs: CHF 29k. (USD 33k) What were the young criminal's duties? He needed to help out at the fitness center. Meaning after Thai boxing practice, he vacuumed the floors.
The Swiss people were outraged. His youth advocate pointed out that prison would be more expensive, and that this setting gave the young boy a chance to learn a normal life.
Well... Over the years, Carlos/Brian, who's 28 in the meantime, was involved in further incidents of violence and offences, which led to repeated arrests and measures. Even in prison, he repeatedly attacked and injured fellow inmates and guards.
Earlier this year he was released. What did Carlos/Brian do? You guessed correctly. He attacked a former fellow inmate on the street. He was remanded in custody again, but for lack of evidence, released. However, for once, the evidence could be viewed publicly. Someone released the surveillance video on social media. Carlos/Brian came running out of nowhere. The victim was standing in a group of people chatting and was literally run down and beaten up. Then Carlos/Brian fled.
Come on, people, how many times does he need to re-offend and injure innocent people? How many chances does this one guy get?
Is he an individual case of lenient treatment? As I was saying, legal cases cannot be viewed by the public, but I have heard of a repeat offender who was only sentenced to prison for his 7th robbery. I don't know what was done the six previous times. How long did he finally get, would you like to know? Nine years. And don't forget, he could be released after two thirds.
OK, friends, let's wrap this up.
I hope you had fun learning about our cultural differences. Thank you so much for keeping me company throughout the month of July! I'm hoping after all these years we'll go away on vacation in October, so I'm not sure I'll be back for the Q3 UBC, but we'll see.
Either way, don't be a stranger, let's keep in touch:
That was so fascinating! And I was appalled to hear about Brian/Carlos. Had I been making the rules, there might have been structure of some kind, therapy, anger management and maybe even psychiatric meds, depending on his diagnosis. But also, accountability if his criminal behavior continued. If we don't see you, have a great vacation! Hope to see you, though, or to stay connected.
ReplyDeleteI have totally enjoyed learning more about the differences between Switzerland and the US. Congratulations on a great blog challenge.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this series a lot and have told everyone of my friends about your Healthcare system and the train ticket offence rules.I recently heard that there are many millionaires in Switzerland and that they are very smart with money. But I didn't feel good about the criminal justice system.Needs definitive action
ReplyDeleteGreat series. Stay in touch.
Tamara, my eyes were boggling as I read your post today. Especially the segment about Carlos/Brian. Do you think the Catholic kindness and tendency to forgive influences the justice system to be so lenient and understanding? The quiet codes are fascinating. When visitors arrive in Switzerland, are they given a list of expectations? Thanks for this great series. I really enjoyed it. Hopefully you will get your vacation at last! And who knows, maybe it will inspire you to create a new series for the next time you do participate in the UBC. Meantime, stay in touch! Blessings!
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