Originally I come from the German speaking part of Helvetia (better known as
Switzerland). My youth I spent in a small village, not far away from the
Austrian border. Passing the border to Austria within 15 minutes by bicycle
does need a bit of hurrying, but is absolutely doable. Also the German border
is not really far from this place, but as there is the Lake of Constance and I
still did not find out how to ride a bicycle on the water, actually going to
Germany takes a bit of time.
Having spent my youth close to these countries, you might well imagine that
I not only speak Swiss, but also Austrian and German perfectly. <g>
What would you say is a typical profession for a Swiss? Watchmaker? Cheese
farmer? Banker? Mountaineer? Chocolate maker?
Yes, I do have a diploma as a banker, even with a Swiss bank. But actually
I'm not at all patriotic. Soon after finishing my apprenticeship I went to
England to acquire a better command of the English language, a language I'm
rather fond of using. And not long after returning from England I set out for
Japan, where I learnt yet another language and got to appreciate another
culture. Probably I'd still be living in Japan today if I wasn't so opposed
to the schooling system in the land of the rising sun. After seven years in
the so called 'Far East' I returned to Switzerland to send the kids to school
where I trust the system better. But other than that I'm sure I'd never have
come back to this cold country. Often I wonder what my ancestors had in mind
when they decided to settle in such a cold place where the year consists of 8
months winter, 8 weeks spring, 8 weeks autumn and only 8 days of summer.
For me Japan is a fascinating place and environment. Trying to describe it would mean writing volumes and still not being able to paint the picture. To at least get a visual impression of that world, I can recommend the travel diary of Francois Jordaan and Kelly Henderson.
If you're in love you can live on air and love alone, it is said. At least as
long as this is not scientifically proven I prefer to go the traditional way
and eat and drink. Even though I'm not all too picky about what I eat, I sure
do have some favourites. HOT is one. The hotter and spicier the better,
generally and up to a certain degree. But it's not only spicy things such as
curry or pizza with hot peppers and much garlic I like. I'm always more than
willing to help you eat good sushi or sashimi, in case it's too much for you
or you don't like it. And whenever passing a Yakitori shop, my feet seem to
slow down automatically, my mind goes astray and passing by becomes a
battle.
When I also tell you that tempura, unagi and tonkatsu are high on the list of
my favourite dishes (I don't dare to tell you about karaage, because I'd just
fall into dreaming of it), then it's not difficult any more to guess that
my
favourite cuisine is Japanese,
even though what you get served in Malaysia is
splendid as well, especially considering that in Malaysia you can already eat
spicy things for breakfast... But also the Chinese and the South Korean
cuisine didn't let me down when I was there.
I'll eat almost everything, and especially things I have never tasted before
are tempting. I just don't like it when you serve me lots of meat and no
vegetable. But I'm quite content with lots of vegetable and no meat. And
maybe some cake for dessert?
I'm not very picky with food, but it's a bit more difficult with drinks. If you want to buy me a drink at a pub, Gin Tonic will always be appreciated, but if you offer me a beer, I will certainly refuse your offer. The same with coffee. You can make me quite happy with a cup of good black tea or Japanese green tea and many Chinese green teas, but if you put a cup of coffe in front of me it will be left untouched. No offense taken if you serve plain tap water, mineral water (preferrably carbonated) or milk, I like them all. And if you insist on something alcoholic, make it an Amaretto, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, Cognac, some good wine or top of all: atsukan (hot Japanese rice wine).
What a boring place this planet would be without a bit of music. I can live
easily without TV and actually it is hardly ever on, but not turning on the
radio or CD player? Even though I very much like The Buggles with
their hit Video Killed the Radio Star, it surely is not true for me;
for me radio is still the biggest star (if it is a station playing the music
I like, that is).
What I don't like is (c)rap, techno and those things that are made up of beat
only. Some melody is required to satisfy me. Some of my favourites include
Meat Loaf,
Dire Straits,
Queen,
Elton John,
Eric Clapton,
Heart,
Alison Moyet,
Joan Jett,
Bon Jovi,
T'Pau,
Enya,
Kate Bush,
Fleetwood Mac,
Eurythmics,
Annie Lennox,
Bonnie Tyler,
Peter Maffay,
Kim Wilde,
Texas,
Kiroro,
AC/DC,
Nanase Aikawa,
Cher,
The Corrs,
Otsuka Ai
...
Too bad there is no radio station here in Switzerland broadcasting lots of
J-Pop. Tuning in to internet broadcasts somehow is not the same.
By the way, did you ever notice that Great Britain probably has the greatest
concentration of Pop Stars? Might be that's the reason it is called
Great Britain, isn't it?