Weekend across Switzerland

This weekend I set out to drive across Switzerland with my parents. The goal was not so much to visit the country, but to visit our countrymen (friends and family) that my parents have not seen in a long time (or in some cases never). But since I don't intend this blog to be a simple journal of my activities, I will write less about the itinerary and more about my thoughts.

We visited four different households in three different cities. Personally, I had never met before any of the people that I was going to meet this weekend. I felt slightly worried because I did not know what to expect, did not know how we would be greeted, and what the people we were going to meet were like. In addition, my parents and I have a different idea of how to spend time (surprise, surprise) and doing speed friend and family hopping was not high on my preference list. I thought that there were better ways to budget time, especially since the weather was beautiful, there are so many nice places to see in Switzerland and my parents are here for only a short time.

But then my worries were unfounded, it turned out that the weekend was absolutely amazing. Each visit was different, and wonderful in its own way. I cannot describe how well we were greeted and how each person did their best to try to make us feel welcome. Any Serbian (and perhaps some others) reader will probably say that this is normal but they would only be half correct, which I will explain later. The readers from the west (especially big cities) would not be accustomed to (and perhaps not even comfortable with) this kind of welcome.

In Serbia, there is a tradition of hospitality (yes, I know, there are other places like that in the world. However, most people that read blogs in english don't come from those places. And yes, I said 'most', not 'all'). In Serbia, traditionally, guests are very important. If someone wants to visit you, even a stranger, you are supposed to offer him all the hospitality that you can. In a way, a guest is sacred. In more understandable psychology, Serbian people draw pride out of being good hosts. If you visit someone and you are so impressed about it that you talk about it to others, it raises the status of your host. But I think that this part is subconscious. The reason why I say that our visits were surprisingly good even by Serbian standards is because I have experienced many visits where I was well greeted, but there was a lack of sincerity. People were greeting me well because they were supposed to, not because they enjoyed my company. On our Swiss trip, I really had the impression that people liked having us there and that not only we were not a burden, but that our visit truly meant something to them. In other words, the form of hospitality learned from centuries old Balkan customs was given the colors that were genuinely painted on the spot. And together they gave something truly beautiful. They gave me the felling of knowing the people who were hosting me all my life, even though I never met them before. They made me want to stay with them and talk with them and laugh with them for much longer than I possibly could have. Who knows, perhaps the fact we could not stay long in one place made sure that we left before the magic expired. (Now that I said all of this, I need to remark that the most colorful welcome came from a Macedonian, not Serbian person.)

To put this into perspective, I don't think that this type of hospitality exists in the West (or at least in the big cities). People can welcome you sincerely, and you feel good to be there, and you have a great time, but the form is not the same. It's difficult to explain (the best would be to experience this). Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. The Balkan form seems to be sometimes perceived as too aggressive by those that are used to more cordial receptions. But perhaps the level of warmth that I experienced this weekend is a good thing to be learn by some foreigners (most critique goes to the fellow Swiss who put human relations at 18th place on their list of priorities, somewhere between renewing their Yodle magazine subscription, and going to the seaside for holidays*). On the other hand, there are many things we Serbs could learn from the westerners, but that is going to be a subject for some later posts (unfortunately there may be many on this subject).

*Swiss go hiking for holidays.