What Switzerland should learn from Malta (and vice versa)

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By Laurent Rueff

“Merhba! How are you guys? Its good to see you again!” That is the sound that resonates all over the place when some of my Erasmus-friends and I are entering our local pub called “Band Club” situated in the quaint town of Balzan in the middle of Malta. The warm-hearted gestures and kindness offered to everyone, not just in Band Club but also around the entire island is simply impressive. While we Swiss usually react reservedly to anything or anyone new, the Maltese culture opens up itself for everything and everyone. On this small and uniquely placed island situated between Europe and Africa which seems to represents more nations than the football world cup, there is an amazing sense of cosmopolitanism due to the diversity in cultures without any sense of racism. Of course there are two sides to every coin and the easygoing lifestyle of Malta could arguably benefit from, a bit of a “swiss revamp” in terms of punctuality, especially when it comes to the public transport system, but everything has its price.

The bus driver who goes into the supermarket

Speaking of public transportation the buses here always keep you entertained, whether it be positively or negatively. On a negative note as mentioned, for a Swiss person it is just terrible that you can’t trust the public transport timetabling. However this is something you simply have to learn and adapt to. An example of this is for my upcoming exams I will simply allow for an extra one-hour journey time to university than would normally be required as to ensure that nothing can go wrong. On a positive note the public transport system itself often provides for the most entertaining stories and experiences. I recall one occasion when a bus driver frantically stopped the bus in front of a supermarket, left as cool as a cucumber, only to return with a can of coke after a minute or two, and then continued his journey as though nothing had occurred. In fact the most amazing part of this story was the bus was relatively full yet no one even battered an eye-lid at this truly amazing sequence of events. I know for certain that if this had occurred in Switzerland it would have triggered a storm of indignation, probably with the bus driver inevitably being sacked.

Holidays and fireworks all over

Apropos job: Compared to Switzerland the culture in Malta must make it a fantastic place to work especially if you are partial to an afternoon nap every now and again, as most of the shops are closed from 1 to 4pm. On the other hand it is this sort of laziness that easily makes one miss the Swiss work ethic. For example it can be tedious to have to wait for an unreasonable amount of time just to pay for your groceries at the supermarket or failing to have your important emails answered for weeks on end from a University member of staff. In addition, Malta have the most holidays in the European Union. In 2013, the Maltese citizens may feel a little bit hard done by as a large proportion of holidays seem to fall on weekends, but this list represents the scale of national holidays celebrate on this fair island:

1st January - New Year's Day

10th February - Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck

19th March - Feast of St. Joseph

29th March - Good Friday

31st March - Freedom Day & Easter

1st May - Workers' Day

7th June - Sette Giugno

29th June - Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul

15th August - Feast of the Assumption

8th September - Feast of Our Lady of Victories

21st September - Independence Day

8th December - Feast of the Immaculate Conception

13th December - Republic Day

25th December - Christmas Day

As a proud Swiss I certainly get pretty jealous of the amount of public holiday’s celebrated in Malta, and I am sure I am not the only one, as any break from the usual working calendar is pleasantly accepted, especially when many are accompanied by a spectacle of fireworks lighting up the evening sky. While in Switzerland fireworks are commonly used to celebrate a couple of days in the year such as a special national holidays or New Year’s eve, in Malta almost every week there is a satisfactory reason to celebrate with a firework or two. However perhaps we should not be so surprised by their enthusiasm for fireworks as on such a small island there are currently more than 35 firework factories and then Island hosts an International Firework Festival each year where every country has fourteen minutes to present their own displays accompanied by music from their own country. This again shows the openness and joy for life that encompasses the Maltese culture making my experience here so uniquely rewarding in comparison to cold Switzerland, not only because of the warm weather but also because of the unforgettable memories that will remain with me for many years to come.

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Comments

[peter claudemir]

very interesting!
finally someone who compares these two countries!