After a good day of skiing, we decided to end the day with a nice hot chocolate to relax. I guess we weren’t the only ones who thought this was a good idea, as the lodge was packed. Interestingly enough, Rob’s brother’s friend pointed out all the skis in the middle of the entry point to the lodge that people had just dismounted and left. Really? Instead of putting them on the ski racks right by the lodge entrance where they belong, people just left them wherever was easiest for them to take them off, blocking people from skiing around the lodge area. It reminded me of my kids (they are 5 and 7) who leave their dirty laundry exactly in the place they take it off, as if they might just jump back into those pants again any second. My kids never intend to wear their clothes again, but in this case, the owners of the skis did intend to come back to collect their skis and take off.

He made a comment about what was happening to our culture. My ears perked at the mention of the world culture. I thought this comment was really interesting, as I had not thought about it that way. I see that there are others concerned about where our culture is headed – they see a shift happening before our eyes.  It is a pretty selfish thing to do, blocking areas that are designed for skiing or walking to the lodge without thinking about it twice. It wasn’t one row either; it extended a fair distance into the outer area. He also said that 5 years ago, this was not the case and would have never happened. Really? What has happened within the last five years that changed people’s attitudes?

I thought this was an interesting discussion to provide to this group. Is this a sign of our changing culture and shift to a focus on the self? Is this the “me first” generation?

I have realized that in America, a big emphasis is put on grades, test scores and results. These are certainly important in Germany and Austria, but the system is set up in a way in which actually learning and retaining the material is inevitable. I have realized now that I am in college that I barely remember anything I learned in high school, because I would just cram for each test a couple days before instead of learning the material throughout the entire semester. Since each exam is cumulative, the material has to be retained throughout the semester and cannot be crammed the day before the final exam like in high school. However, since exams are so infrequent, each one is important since there are no other ways of getting a good grade. Extra credit is a completely foreign concept there! This makes it super important to study a lot for each exam, and puts a lot of pressure on each student to do well. I think students would probably benefit most from a hybrid system that combined a way in which they need to learn the material, but still were offered help and multiple opportunities to get a good grade.

Especially different is how sports teams are formed. In Germany, if someone is interested in playing a sport they join an independent team or league. They are usually very serious players and skills are needed to join or make the team. These teams meet outside of school and are not affiliated with any schools at all. I was so surprised when I saw how many different teams my high school had! I decided to join the swim and the water polo team and absolutely loved it! Most years no one had to be cut from the teams, which was great for me since I wasn’t too good at either sport. It was great being able to form such a close bond with my teammates and getting to know people I did not have classes with. However, it also was very time consuming. It is great that such an importance is placed on getting involved, but I also had barely any time to see friends during the week or focus on anything other than school and my activities. I did miss having more free time and at times I had trouble balancing everything as we had practice daily and I was also taking very demanding classes. I do believe that it was all worth it, since I loved every second I spent at my activities and I know that my involvement helped me get accepted at a great college!

After 4^th grade however, this changes. Students are separated into different schools based on their previous achievements. There are three schools that students can attend, all of which have different degrees of difficulty and different aims. Depending on the area and the state, other schools might exist as well, but most are very similar. The highest level is called a “Gymnasium” and most students there will move on to attend a University. In the lowest and middle level, students will most likely learn a trade or vocation and attend a technical or trade school after graduating. And even though the students are split into different schools, often times these schools are right next to each other and students share lunch rooms or outside courtyards. (In Germany most students go outside during lunch as opposed to sitting inside like in high school, but that is a different story)

You might think that 4^th grade is incredibly early to be separating students- which it is! The student is able to choose what school to attend to for the most part, and the teacher will help parents and the student with this choice. Since the class has the same main teacher for all four years of grade school, the teacher is able to get to know the student very well, which makes it easier for him or her to make a recommendation. Even though this split is very early, it does not seem like a big deal at the time. When I had to make the choice, it was clear which one I would have chosen, and most of my friends felt the same way. If it is determined that one chose the wrong school later on, it is also always possible to switch schools. Unfortunately, I moved to Austria at the end of 4^th grade, so I never got to experience the switch. It was a very exciting time, and all everyone at school could talk about, which did make me upset but I was excited for my friends. I did go back to visit twice and attended the “Gymnasium” with my friends. I realized that the split created a very comfortable learning experience, as most students in the class were on the same level. I think if the split happened a few years later, it might be more beneficial as most 4^th graders do not have a real idea of what they actually want to do later on in life. I remember wanting to become a pilot but I ended up studying Marketing and International Business…It does however provide more specialized paths for students with varying interests, as opposed to the American middle and high school system, where everyone attends the same schools for all twelve years and no specialization exists for the most part.

With time, I began to slow down and follow the pace of the crowd. I stopped wearing my sneakers… after all they didn’t look nice with my outfit anyway, and if I wasn’t speeding off, I didn’t need to wear them out.

Slowing down my pace was like a vacation! It took a week or so to settle into this new routine and get into the vacation mode. I know that when I slow down and make time for myself, I am better in touch with my creativity and my energy. I think we all know that this is true, so why don’t most people do it? Is it cultural? Maybe we need to slow down in order to move further faster. What do you think? How can we achieve this feeling for our employees and ourselves and also appreciate the long-term value it will bring?

Anyway, I read this email with great interest as I didn’t know about meet-up’s history and why it was founded. I was astonished to learn that this popular way to find people with common interests came as a result of what these two people had witnessed after the attack on the World Trade Center. They wanted to see this sense of brothership continue. What a great job they have done in bringing people together on topics from sports and arts to business and networking.

This email spurred thoughts inside me since I have been digging deeper into understanding the American Culture and where it has been and more importantly where it is headed. I was thinking that this concept of community living, helping each other out and looking out for one another, was a concept that made this country strong. People came to America from all over Europe with very little money and a dream for a better life.  They counted on their community and their family to help them get adjusted and find work. They stuck together, helped each other financially, helped each other emotionally. It was this community support that helped them to create opportunity for themselves. This is how things used to work.  Even back 50 years ago, depending on the community, new comers were welcomed with baked good or flowers to welcome them to the neighborhood.

How does it work today?

I moved back after16 years in Switzerland partially because I missed the sense of community.  I don’t know if it was because I was a foreigner but I felt less of a sense of community than I felt when visiting or from my childhood in the U.S..

I just moved back to the US about 1.5 years ago. I live now in a small neighborhood in Devon, PA.  The neighborhood today is a mix of older couples whose kids have graduated from college and have kids of their own to a few of us with small children in elementary school. Although due to busy schedules I didn’t have many people knock on my door to welcome us to the neighborhood (that would be too “Leave it to Beaver”), many came by to say hello and brought cake or flowers to welcome us at my open house party.

My neighborhood gets together for holiday celebrations ( 4^th of July, Labor day, Christmas, Halloween parades.) It is a nice community.  My neighbor two door downs picks up my leaves and plows my driveway in the winter. Really! Most of the inhabitants have lived here in excess of 20 years so they might still be old school.

I understand neighborhoods don’t do that anymore. Why not?

Our immediate community should be a great resource to each other.

Funny, a friend of mine lives in an affluent neighborhood and he said his neighbors barely know each other and have actually sued each other over stupid petty stuff like a dog barking. As a result of not knowing each other, the suing neighbor didn’t know the man’s dog died six months prior. It wasn’t even his dog. Huh? I guess that is a reason to know people too.

9/11, challenging economic times, severe weather situations – this is what we are experiencing today. What does it mean to you? It is clearly through tragedy and challenge that we are brought together. It is at these challenging times that we grow the most through pain and /or discovery.

I believe we have been brought these challenges because we have gotten away from the idea of how we can help each other and have become so self centered over the years and I see that as a natural part of development like a teenager. As we mature we come back together spiritually as a collective and community.

What do you think?  What do you notice about our communities and what does it mean to you?

I used to believe the same thing, but after having lived in Switzerland for 16 years, this has changed. Before I left in 1994, my colleagues and I did the same thing at JP Morgan. We stayed late every night. When I lived in Zurich, I found the work place emptied out at 6 pm. It actually felt almost like a half day to me, especially in the summer when it was light until 10 pm. I did not know what to do with myself at first as I was not used to having so much free time. However, it turned out to be great! I could actually have a life outside of work, go for a bike ride, a walk, or do something fun and recharge my batteries. As you can imagine, I quickly came to like this lifestyle. I came to realize that the Swiss are very family focused and in general they do not believe in face time.

Funny enough, I was just hired to coach someone on time management within a Swiss organization in Zurich. The man I am coaching was taking on too much and was working very long hours (to the point of jeopardizing his health). His boss hired me to coach the man to be more strategic in his thinking, how to prioritize his work and more importantly to say no to extra tasks. The boss told me that this man will only receive his raise and gain the respect of his boss if he learns to work less and more effeciently. How is that for a difference in culture!

Cheese fondue made Swiss style is prepared on the stove in a decorative crock pot. The pot is rubbed with garlic, you add wine, various cheese types, corn starch to thicken it and a bit of schnapps to the mix. Bring it to a boil on the stove while constantly stirring until it reaches a rich and creamy consistency. Then you light the sterno and transfer it to the table. The fondue pot is in the center of the table and everyone puts bread on their special long forks with only three prongs on it. You put it into the fondue stir it around a time or two and then pull it out with strings of cheese that follow the fork back up the mouth of the enjoyer.

The adult version is to dip your bread in schnapps and then stir it into the cheese. If you loose your bread in the pot you have to do a shot of schnapps…who knew the Swiss were into drinking games. Don’t tell the college kids because they will start eating more fondue.

Well, tonight we planned to make a fondue in America. We got home late so we didn’t have a lot of time. Maybe we didn’t even have enough time to eat fondue…”Pleeeease the kids pleaded” and they gave me those puppy dog eyes that I couldn’t say no to. So I looked at the container we bought (this mix was from Trader Joes, which I might add has excellent fondue mixes and I am a  true cheese connoisseur) and it came with microwave instructions. Really? At first I was skeptical. Leave it to the Americans to find a meal like fondue (in which the lengthy process is part of the enjoyment of eating it) and bring it down to an art of cooking it in 3 minutes so the meal can be finished in 10 minutes flat.

I know I am back into my American mindset as I accepted the short cut version and thought that is was perfectly acceptable to microwave it.  What can I say, I can’t disappoint my kids, can I?

Well, I found that I did have a little Swiss left in me as I did not eat it from the plastic container. I also didn’t want to rush the eating and scraping process (this is the best part– when the cheese has been cooking a while and has burned a little to the bottom of the pot and has to be scraped off. We all fight over that part). We put the hot cheese from the container in the decorative fondue pot with matching plates that I brought back from Switzerland and lit the sterno. We ate it the old fashioned way, just sped up the cooking process. That sounds like the best of both worlds doesn’t it?