From A to Z

The Swiss are known for many things and like any country that is awarded certain stereotypes, some are nice and some are not so nice.  I have chosen to highlight one that is not only positive, but one that truly endears me to my new home - Trust.


I was out walking the doggies when I spotted this rad piece of machinery.  Cars typically don't do it for me but this one made me rush home for the camera.  Yeah, it is a cool old car but what really made me rush home was the evidence it was a participant in the Peking to Paris Transcontinental Road Race. The Boy and I once watched a show on these crazy peeps who take their really old vintage cars, that break down in really shady places, to race between Peking, China and Paris, France.  It is a really cool event so I felt pretty fortunate to have seen a participant's car up close and personal.

After the initial shock wore off that I just spotted a really cool car in a really random place, I busied myself with a photo shoot making sure to capture all the car's angles.  I felt sort of strange taking pictures of a person's car when they weren't around.  Not quite as strange as the time I was snapping photos of kid's scooters at the local school but strange nonetheless. I thought nothing of the fact that engine door was wide open as I was more consumed with the car's leather belt.  I don't even own a leather belt.  As I was thinking to myself that I needed to buy a leather belt because a  friggin car had one and I didn't, something new caught my eye and it was far more incredible than spotting the belt or Peking to Paris sticker.


Now who in their right mind would leave their keys in their really old, really vintage, really rad, really pimp ride unattended?  A Swiss person...that's who.  These people are trusting.  This just wouldn't be done in Atlanta, at least not on purpose or without the need to call a locksmith.  Living in Switzerland transports me back to my childhood days where we used screen doors in the Summer and we kept them UNLOCKED.  As an adult, I would have never left my screen door unlocked in Atlanta and I certainly wouldn't have left my keys in my really old, really vintage, really rad, really pimp ride.


I am not suggesting Switzerland doesn't have crime.  What I am suggesting is the trust people have for each other and their surroundings is refreshing.  It makes me feel like June Cleaver just gave me a big old hug.  Of course there is more to it than it being cultural.  Atlanta has a much wider gap between the rich and the poor thus being a prime target for crime.  There isn't a whole lot of poverty here or the need or an individual to take another's property.  I suppose I could do a much lengthier essay on Switzerland's low poverty level and its effect on crime, but I am satisfied feeling like I no longer have to look over my shoulder.  No wonder I always had a stiff neck in Atlanta.


This post was written for AffordableCallingCards.net, a community linking Expats and soon to be Expats.  I know a lot of my readers are thinking about becoming Expats.  So when you are doing your pre-move visit, be sure to call Mom and tell her how it is going.