WELCOME TO 2-2-2 TUESDAY
Here are 2 Cultural Highlights, 2 Quotes, and 2 Brief Stories for you to enjoy.
Inspired by Romont, Switzerland
2 Cultural Highlights
1.
Swiss Quality of Life:
Switzerland is consistently ranked among the top 3 countries in the world when it comes to quality of life.
“Why?,” you ask.
Is it the yodeling? Alpine lakes? Happy cows producing delicious cheese, milk, and ice cream?
Check. Check. Check.
In addition to the obvious reasons above, Switzerland excels when it comes to safety, traffic levels, average commute length, food quality, education, healthcare, pollution levels, and climate/weather.
However, scoring high in these categories comes at a price. This explains why the cost of living is the only major drawback on the Swiss report card.
As long as the Swiss can keep the yodeling and cheese fondue alive, happiness should continue.
2.
Speak Like The Swiss:
What, would you guess, is the official language of Switzerland?
Hint: “Swiss” is not a language. This is actually a trick question.
Most people don’t know the fun fact that Switzerland has four official languages!
Here’s the breakdown:
63% speak German, 23% French, 8% Italian. A meager 0.5% speak Rumantsch Grischun (Romansh).
Interestingly, the common thread between citizens from different regions is…English!
This unusual cultural fact presents some strange situations.
For example, if you travel to Romont Switzerland, you’re in a French speaking region. If you drive just fifteen miles down the road to a town called Tavel, you’re in a German speaking area. The locals in Tavel typically don’t speak any French and the locals in Romont don’t speak a lick of German. Fifteen miles apart!
Talk about a diverse culture.
Guten Tag. Bonjour. Ciao.
2 Quotes to Consider
1.
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
– Mark Twain
2.
“When you need to learn quickly, learn from others. When you need to learn deeply, learn from experience.”
– James Clear
2 BRIEF STORIES
1.
Fly Swatting Grandma:
A bike ride through the dense forest trails brought us close to Farah’s 85-year-old “Nanni.”
She’s a sweet, witty, french speaking firecracker. Naturally, we chose to stop in for a brief visit.
After five seconds of figuring out who was pounding on her door, Nanni swung the door open, greeted us with hugs and cheek kisses, and sat us down for cookies. Then juice. Then homemade jam. Then fresh plums. Then chocolate. Then an assortment of candies.
As we found ourselves slouching forward on the verge of a diabetic food coma, we perked right up as Nanni spotted flies buzzing around the kitchen. Apparently, they also enjoyed the variety of goodies.
Unfortunately for the flies, Nanni was not as welcoming towards them. In fact, she demanded that I take a fly swatter to handle the situation. Within two minutes, three flies buzzed their lass buzz as I gave them a quick trip to fly heaven. I proudly looked over at Nanni as she enthusiastically congratulated me in French.
Moments later, Nanni looked me in the eyes as she gave me another command. Farah had to translate.
Farah: “A fly landed on her arm. She wants you to hit her and kill it!”
Me: “Are you serious!?” I said, wondering if Farah was pranking me. “I’m not going to hit your grandma.”
Farah: “Seriously! She wants you to hit her arm to kill the fly.”
Nanni looked me in the eyes with a certain intensity and repeated her request. I knew she wasn’t kidding.
I weighed my options, thinking the fly would move along quickly like any normal insect. Of course, this particular fly awkwardly remained on her arm without budging. It was as if the fly was part of this absurd plan…to test me. To see whether I’d actually go through with smacking a cute 85-year old grandma with a fly swatter.
Did I even have a choice? I couldn’t disappoint my grandmother-in-law.
Seconds later, made a subtle approach and dialed in on her right upper arm…
Whack!
“Got it!,” I exclaimed. My prey dropped to the kitchen tile like…a fly.
Nanni didn’t flinch, but she was now speaking again with a fierce tone.
“Shoot! What did I just do?,” I thought to myself, assuming I offended her.
Farah translated again. “No. She’s not mad. She says you now need to put the fly in the sink and drown it so that it doesn’t come back to life.”
We all laughed.
I made a mental note: Don’t get on Nanni’s bad side. You won’t survive.
2.
Don’t Look Down!:
My wife and I were three hundred feet up. There was nothing below us for except for human ants and a half inch thick piece of metal bolted to the wall of a mountain in the Swiss Alps.
A gentle breeze escalated into a wind. To my right, a massive waterfall launched mist onto the metal rungs we were using to climb the mountain. Now, the metal “holds” were slippery. Needless to say, my mind was becoming increasingly aware of gravity.
In that moment, I saw a confident, strong, older woman whizzing up the mountain. She had a grin on her face as she made the vertical climb look easy. Her courage gave me a nice psychological boost through a technical section.
As we all made it safely to the top of the climb, I watched the woman in awe. She was beaming with light and excitement as she gave high fives to every member of a large German group who arrived just before us.
Everyone at the top of the mountain was shocked to learn two things about this woman:
- This was the first ever Via Ferrata climb she had attempted. She rocked it.
- She was celebrating her 70th birthday!
After this news, the large German group sang “Happy Birthday” in English with hilarious, stereotypical German accents. We were all on cloud nine as we celebrated a truly inspiring woman.
The best part? This amazing woman happens to be my mother-in-law.
Happy Birthday, Terry!
Thanks for tuning in to 2-2-2 Tuesday!
If you have any feedback, comments, or suggestions, we’d love to hear from you. Have a wonderful week.
