Hi guys
It’s me again.
So now it’s time to balance accounts with the Swiss. We are
(according to culture theories) success-oriented and timetable-addicted. This
means we love competitions and everything has to be like planned before. We
generally don’t like unexpected things. That’s exactly what I realised before.
I was sitting on the plane heading to Qatar and it was
served a meal for lunch: Coconut curry with tomato rice and different
vegetables like carrots, onions, spinach and green beans. I love green beans. I
was in the process of eating one of them when I noticed that this one was quite
hard to bite. I swallowed anyway. A mistake. A huge mistake. Suddenly, my
mouth, my throat and my stomach burned like hell (sorry for the word choice but
there is no other word to describe the feeling). Everything burned and my eyes started
watering like crazy. That was the moment when I realized that it was not an
innocent, little green bean. It was the devil itself – a green chili. I
desperately tried to survive but it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I had a window
seat, next to me a little boy (later more about him). Seconds before I lost my
consciousness (okaaay, I’m exaggerating. A little.) I found a little basket
with Philadelphia which was served with bread.
It.was.heaven.
It.was.heaven.
Back to my neighbour. May I introduce you to the little
Korean boy next to me? He was only staring at me like I was an Alien while I
was gasping for breath. He looked like he would eat a bowl of those chili for
breakfast. And do you know what the scariest thing about him was? He left the
cheesecake. I mean, which child eats chili and doesn’t even touch the
cheesecake?!
Strange kid.
Strange kid.
On my connecting flight from Doha to Addis Abeba I was
sitting next to an Ethiopian who started to chat with me. We had a nice talk
and when he found out that I was Swiss, he shouted: “I know a Swiss!” His face
started to beam with joy. “Roger Federer, do you know him?” Is he kidding me?
Of course I know him – I’m Swiss. Okay not personally, but anyway. We talked
about his last match in America (to be honest: I hadn’t the faintest idea about
his last performance) where he played a fantastic game (of course he did).
Anyway, if you work with a stereotyped Swiss, try to be on
time and stick to the planned actions (and don’t put green chili instead of
green beans in a meal as a surprise. S/he will thank you for it.) And learn
something about Roger Federer, he’s our national pride.
Your survivor,
Ari
good to know about the 101 Swiss ppl fact and i wish i was there to see you'r face when you bite that chilli... lolz :P, and be prepared for another bite when you came here :P
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