|
|
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Practical about Swiss life, which itself is not inspiring, 6 Dec 2003
I found this book through a recommendation on an expat forum on the web, when the web was pretty under-developed itself. That should have been a sign of the lonely life of foreigners in CH, which being a very (enthusiastic) young person with a big corporate responsibility on my shoulder and dreams of Swiss Alps in my eyes, I ignored. At my peril as I learnt later. The book itself is very practical and useful in almost all areas of the rules-driven Swiss life, but even this did not prepare me for a life in an apartment block with instructions in the lift telling 'gentlemen to please sit down after 7 PM'. It took me a year and my husband, who did not live with me in Zurich, a second to figure it out! I strongly disagree with the critics of Hampshire's commentary on the Swiss. Amongst all Europeans, and I have lived in a few countries, they struck me as the most aloof. Perhaps my gender and my colour had something to do with it as well. They are not much used to seeing women in leadership roles! Fremdenpolizei prevents (trailing) spouses from doing any work at all, incl charity, driving many of them in hordes to psychologists for depression-counselling. The book does not prepare you for it at all. All this said, if you are a speaker of German and French, prepared to immerse yourself in your work, willing to take solitary treks into the mountains and keen on eating roesti (my fav roesti bar in Zurich HB closed down sadly!) and are willing to wait all year for the beautiful Xmas markets, CH is for you! One caution: don't take your spouse along, but don't forget this book!
|
