Comments on: Switzerland is in Sweden – right?

By: Nolan

Nolan — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:54:49 +0000

I live in New Mexico too! People on the East coast USA think we are from Mexico!

My favorite is “Is it safe to drink the water where you live?”

By: Natasha

Natasha — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:14:37 +0000

People ask me if we have elephants on the streets in India – you do encounter them sometimes, but they are not as common as cows.
And naked fakirs – I have yet to see one
And snake charmers – they exist, but not all that common

But, increasingly it is now call centre employees that people think of when they think India.

By: cartablog

cartablog — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:28:39 +0000

i liv in Hong Kong but some friends fom America are still asking me how is lfe in Japan ….

By: J

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:12:59 +0000

Great post. Most of the Chinese people I talked to about the UK didn’t realise Ireland was a separate country. Let alone that England, Wales, Scotland are actually also different countries, and you shouldn’t use ‘English/England’ when you mean ‘British/Britain’. Just hoping none of them ever found themselves in say, a Republican area of Belfast.

By: Brandon Erik Bertelsen

Brandon Erik Bertelsen — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:05:01 +0000

“and the trains often on time”

That’s a total understatement. They are ALWAYS on time, and if they are more than 1-3 minutes late people start making that sound one makes when they kiss their own teeth. It’s quite funny actually. But it rarely ever happens.

Same thing with buses and trams. If the bus is a tiny bit late you’ll get to hear people complain in three languages depending on what part of Switzerland you’re in (they have three national langauges: French, Swiss-German, and Italian).

I’ve lived here for almost a year now and it’s really comical when they get pissed about one or two minutes – in Canada, a bus/train/streetcar can be 20 minutes late before people start to bitch.

I guess it’s all about building expectations.

To your point, I don’t even want to tell you how many people I’ve met that suck at geography. But if you’ve never ever traveled than I guess you really only need to know the place you are.

By: Nina Aksell

Nina Aksell — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:27:08 +0000

I thought this post was hysterical.

By: Chantal

Chantal — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:35:35 +0000

As a child, I lived in the Emirates in the Middle East. I was always asked why my hair wasn’t blond as I was swedish..from Switzerland!! And when I came back to Switzerland, I was asked if I went to school riding a camel and lived in a tent in the desert…Hey, ignorance is worldwide! PS: we DO eat loads of chocolate and we DON’T look at cuckoo clocks as they come from Austria(no, that is not Australia).

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:13:25 +0000

LOL I’m sorry I payed attention in school and I can actually point to the map and tell you where Switzerland/Sweden are!
I live in New Mexico. Yes it’s the 49th state of the Union. So Yes I live in the United States! I love when people ask me if I speak English! The best? When I was 12 and went to Cornell University in NY for a summer camp and everyone asked if we rode our wagons to to town!

By: ndin

ndin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:05:55 +0000

haha.. so funny..

By: karin

karin — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 04:25:49 +0000

That was a delightfully fun read! I live in Canada and people think Alberta is near Toronto or Ottawa. The also think we drive snowmobiles all the time and walk around with snowshoes. We, too, have four seasons. Spring, Construction, Fall and Winter! And we love IKEA any season of the year!