I love my home in Swiss Romand. I love when we are in the South of France. Both are Francophone areas.
When I was first working in Switzerland, I had clients in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. Although they were all Europeans, I discovered there were several small differences I need to adjust to for maximum communications -- Very simple things.
For example, I'd sends tons of info to the Germans in advance. When I met them in person, they would have read everything and have questions. No point sending things to the French. They never read it. I would take one piece of info with me to leave, and highlight points when I talked. One would be on time, the other would consider time a suggestion.
None of this is critical. It just is and as is, I found it interesting.
I've discovered another subtle difference.
For several years, our French village has had the logs decorated for Christmas. Bark is falling off. This year they've repainted faces but last year, they were a bit worn.
Now they have the same concept in Switzerland. Notice how neat the logs are. No shredded bark. There are no cracks.
It is a perfect analogy of the two cultures within a francophone culture. Not good. Not bad. Just is and I love them both.
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