Asking QuestionsSetting: A classroom in California, atthe end of the school yearCharacters: Mrs. Day, a teacher; Leeand Kim Dow, students

Finding CluesMrs. Day: Are all the textbooks packedaway?Lee: Yes. We labeled each box, too.Mrs. Day: Thanks for staying afterschool to help out. Now, tell me: Do youhave big plans for the summer?Kim: We’re going to Switzerland!Lee: Mom has cousins in Lucerne.They’re celebrating the 100thanniversary of their family’s touristbusiness. And they invited us to visit.Mrs. Day: What a chance to learn aboutSwitzerland!Kim: I remember what we learned, wayback in the Fourth Grade. “Switzerlandproduces cheese, chocolate, andwatches.”Mrs. Day: The Swiss make other things,too, Kim: Precision tools, textiles, drugsto fight disease. It’s amazing, since theyhave so few natural resources!Lee: I probably won’t learn much onthe trip. I don’t know any Swiss words.Mrs. Day: But you’ll see things! Andyou’ll meet Swiss people who speakEnglish. Just for the record, there isn’t a“Swiss” language. About 70 percent ofSwiss people speak some form ofGerman. Others use French or Italian.All three are official languages inSwitzerland.Lee: How come?Mrs. Day: Maybe this atlas will help you

figure it out. Let’s find the section thathas maps of the Euopean continent.

Connecting DotsMrs. Day: Okay. Here’s a physical map ofEurope. And Switzerland is…Kim: Right there, in the center. Look atall those mountains!Mrs. Day: Those are the Alps, in thesouth. The mountains in the northwestare the Juras. And this narrow strip ofland between the two ranges is aplateau. It’s hilly, and the early Swisslived mostly on isolated farms amongthose hills. But the plateau is also anatural passageway between eastern andwestern Europe. So early farmers oftenhad to fight against invaders. They hadto be strong, self-reliant.Lee: And the three languages?Mrs. Day: Wait! Now use this politicalmap to find Switzerland’s neighbors.Kim: There’s France, on the west,Germany, to the north…Lee: Liechtenstein is on the east.Austria, too. And Italy is to the south.Kim: Oh, I get it! The Swiss use thelanguages of three neighboringcountries: France, Germany, and Italy.But why?Lee: Maybe Switzerland is younger thanthose countries, and the Swiss peopledidn’t have time to develop their ownlanguage. Or, maybe thosecountries conquered parts ofSwitzerland long ago andforced the Swiss to use theirlanguages.Mrs. Day: Good guesses! Butremember: Switzerland isn’tyoung. In fact, it celebrated its700th anniversary in 1991. Andit was never conquered.Lee: So, what’s the answer?Mrs. Day: Look. Why not do alittle more research on yourown? I’ll be here next Monday,finishing reports. And we cantalk then.

Solving PuzzlesMrs. Day: Well! How’s theresearch team?Lee: Great! We went to thelibrary, to look through theWorld Book Encyclopedia. Wediscovered that the Swiss

people’s early ancestors spoke German.Kim: And, for a long time, they lived insmall, independent states. Then threestates—they’re called cantons—formedan alliance to fight off invaders. Otherstates joined later. But as they joined,“people from different areas kept theirown ways of life, … language, customs,and traditions.” That became the rulefor each new canton!Lee: Then the librarian showed us the“about.ch” Site on the Internet. It has apage with facts about the cantons. Welooked at the date when each cantonjoined Switzerland. And we noticedsomething. In several of the last states tojoin, the people spoke French orItalian…Kim: …Probably because those statesare next to France and Italy, and thepeople in them shared the same cultureas their neighbors.Lee: Anyway: Since states didn’t have toadopt a new language to joinSwitzerland, the country now has threeofficial languages.Mrs. Day: Right! If we were in class,you’d get an “A” for that report!Lee: Thanks, Mrs. Day! We'll thinkabout you, in Switzerland, especiallywhen we see those Alps!Mrs. Day: Keep a journal on what yousee and hear! I’d love to read it!

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In Its HomelandDISCOVERINGSwitzerland!

Let’s say you wantto explore anothergroup’s culture.

How do you start?

Study the place where that culturewas born. Ask: What

clues can I find in the geography of this place? How did its envi-ronment shape the lives of people who settled there? TakeSwitzerland, for example….

A.Q.

Keeping JournalsSetting: Various locations inSwitzerlandCharacters: Lee and Kim Dow, youngAmericans who are keeping journals oftheir visit to Switzerland

Kim Writes (Day 3)We’re in Switzerland! Mom’s cousinMax met us at Zurich’s airport, andwe’re staying at his friend’s house for afew days. Yesterday, we toured Zurich onbikes that you can borrow, rent-free.This city seems packed with historicbuildings and modern shops. Andbanks! Max says Zurich is a hub for Swissindustries, so it works hard to limitpollution. That’s where the bike plancomes in. When commuters from thesuburbs know they can borrow thosebikes to get around, they take trains(instead of cars) into the city.

Lee Writes (Day 6)This morning, before we left Zurich,Max’s friend gave us a book aboutSwitzerland. Inside it, he wrote, “Prayand work.” I thought that was anunusual wish for people on vacation.But Max told us later that they were thewords of Ulrich Zwingli, who is very bigin Zurich’s history. Zwingli was one ofthe world’s first Protestant leaders.

Kim (Day 6)We finally arrived in Lucerne, at Max’splace. He and his wife Ruth run a touristbusiness. We’re glad they speak Englishso well. Their sons, Karl and Kurt, dotoo. Both K’s are university law students.

And they offered to show us around thissummer. (Say yes, Mom!) I’m going tobed, now. I ate too much cheese fondueand rosti (potato cakes) today. The foodhere is so good!

Lee (Day 11)It rained the last two days. We watchedsome TV, but it’s hard to follow theaction when everything’s in German. Iwas glad when we took a boatride acrossthe lake to Rutli Meadow today. Kurtsaid the flagpole at that site is areminder of when Switzerland began tobe a nation. Long ago, the leaders ofthree cantons (states) met at Rutli, andvowed to help one another fight offinvaders. The Swiss have been free eversince. Kim and I read that story beforeour trip. But we didn’t let on. Kurtseemed so proud, telling it.

Kim (Day 15)A few days ago, we came to Interlaken.On our first day’s hike, we saw awedding party outside a hillside berghotel.The bride and groom wore traditionalcostumes, and some men playedalphorns. (Nice!) Today we took thetrain to Jungfraujoch, one of the highestpoints in the Alps. Lee and I rode adogsled on a brilliant glacier, more thantwo miles up! (Awesome!) On the waythere, the train passed throughtwo mountain tunnels. Mom saidthe Swiss must be excellentengineers. Another passengersaid, “Yes. In the southern Alps,the Glacier Express crosses 291bridges in about seven hours!”She was from Ticino, whereSwiss people speak Italian.

Lee (Day 23)Last week, we rented bikes andheaded west. (Dairy-farmcountry. More cheese!) On thethird day, we reached Bern, theSwiss capital. Karl told us thatSwiss voters have a lot of power.With just 100,000 signatures,they can ask the government tomake changes in the federalConstitution. (That’s calledtaking an initiative. They needthe backing of at least half thecantons, too.) Cool…. From

Bern, we headed for the JuraMountains, where the people speakFrench. Kurt said that Swisswatchmaking began there, centuriesago. Mom was taking pictures of all thebeautiful churches.

Kim (Day 27)We’ve been in Geneva for the last fewdays. Ruth joined us, too. We saw theRed Cross museum and the Europeanheadquarters of the UN. Ruth said thatSwitzerland has a strict policy ofneutrality. (Meaning: The Swiss don’tget into other people’s wars.) Andbecause of that, other nations trustSwitzerland. So they often send theirleaders here to work out worldproblems. Good idea!

Lee (Day 28)Ruth gave us two going-away gifts—aSwiss music box and tour tickets to theCERN labs, near Geneva! What a greattour that was! Scientists from all overthe world visit CERN, to study matterand energy! Maybe I’ll come back andjoin them, some day. I’d like to be ascientist. But right now, our plane isboarding at Geneva’s internationalairport…. So: Auf Wiedersehen, Schweiz!Au revoir, Suisse! Ciao, Svizzerra! Goodbye,Switzerland! I'm glad we met!

FOR YOUR NOTEBOOK

• Small country. Switzerland measures about 220 miles from east to west, and 140 miles from north to south. It’s roughly one tenth the size of California.

• Crowded space. Almost 70 percent of Switzerland is mountainous. That doesn’t leave its 7.3 million people much room for homes! Thousands of their towns fill a narrow plateau.

• Smart plan. The Swiss have few natural resources. How do they make their economy work? By importing raw materials that they turn into valuable products.

• Religious freedom. About 40 percent of Switzerland’s people are Protestants; about 46 percent are Roman Catholics.

• Canton count. Over the years, Switzerland was formed by many cantons (states) that gradually united with one another. Today, Switzerland includes 26 cantons.

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Within Its PeopleDISCOVERINGSwitzerland!

When you studyanother culture,what can you learn

from its people?

You can learn aboutthe beliefs they share,their lifestyle, their

customs. Notice, too, what they take pride in, as a society. And what goals they share in common. Take Switzerland, for example...

A.Q.

Summing UpSetting: A classroom in CaliforniaCharacters: Mr. Raj, a teacher;students Lee and Kim Dow; otherstudents, including Jesse, P.J., and Sonia

The Dows’ ReportMr. Raj: Good afternoon, clubmembers! It’s time for this meeting ofour World Cultures Club to begin. Lastweek, Amy’s report helped us to exploreNigeria. This week, Lee and Kim willtalk about their visit to Switzerland.Well, Kim?Kim: Thanks, Mr. Raj. First, we’d like tohand out a fact sheet on Switzerland.Lee: You’ll see a map sketch, and somequotes from the journals we kept on ourtrip. Take a few minutes to read it….Kim: Is everybody ready? Okay. If youlook at the map, you’ll notice lines thatmark off Switzerland’s four languageregions. In each region, most kids growup learning a different language—German, French, Italian, or Romansch.Their textbooks, newspapers, and TVnews use that regional language, too….Sonia: What’s Romansch?Lee: It’s very old. Less than one percentof the Swiss people speak it. But theother three languages are official inSwitzerland. Meaning: The governmentpublishes all its laws in French, Italian,and German….Kim: There are other differencesbetween the regions, too. In one region,the people’s customs might resembleGerman customs. In another place, thelocal customs might seem French, orItalian. Local foods and festivals—and

even architecture—are clues to eachregion’s special culture. Even touristsfrom other countries can spot theseclues.

Many Cultures?P.J.: Why is it important to know that?Lee: Because, when you’re talkingabout world cultures, you have to askyourself: Do the people of Switzerlandform one culture? Or three?Mr. Raj: Well, they are one nation.Kim: Yes. We researched that. Swissterritory was once covered by smallindependent states. Then, over thecenturies, those states (they’re nowcalled cantons) joined an alliance todefend their freedom. Later, thatalliance became the SwissConfederation, a democracy.Lee: The cantons, towns, and peoplestill hold a lot of power, though…. Infact, cantons are the basis for Swisscitizenship. For example: If you’re acitizen of Canton Zug, that makes you aSwiss citizen.Kim: But the Confederation’sgovernment has power, too. It issues thenational currency, the Swiss franc. Itmakes trade treaties. And it representsthe Swiss people to other nations andgroups. (However, it might not join aninternational organization, if it thinksthat would weaken Swissindependence.)Jesse: But how does any ofthat prove that all the Swisspeople share a commonculture?

One PeopleLee: Here’s our argument: AllSwiss people support theircountry’s federal system. And,by doing that, they all help toform a national culture.Mr. Raj: Do you mean a“political culture”?Kim: Well, yes. But they shareother things, besides politics. InZurich, we visited the SwissNational Museum, where thereare exhibits on all the Swissregions. And we saw sculpturesby Alberto Giacometti. He wasfrom the country’s Italian-speaking region, but he’s

popular everywhere.Lee: The Swiss have national heroes,too. We visited relatives in Lucerne, andthey said the whole country admiresBertrand Piccard.Kim: He was the Swiss co-pilot on thefirst non-stop balloon flight around theglobe in 1999.Lee: They also told us about HenryDunant, who helped to found the RedCross. Dunant won the first Nobel PeacePrize, in 1901.Kim: And that brings up another point.Our cousins said that Swiss people workhard, as a nation, to solve globalproblems—poverty, conflict, disease….Lee: They cooperate—big time!—withany group or nation trying to findsolutions to global problems. Forexample, the World HealthOrganization is based in Switzerland.Kim: So: The Swiss preserve theirregional cultures. But they live as anation, too. Here’s a quote from theSwiss constitution that sums it all up:“We, the Swiss people and cantons … insolidarity and openness to the world …are determined to live our diversity inunity, respecting one another.”Mr. Raj: That’s wonderful…. Thankyou, Kim, and Lee! Well! I’m convincedthere’s a true “Swiss culture.” What dothe rest of you think?

HENRY DUNANT, HERO

Henry Dunant. Citizen of Geneva, Switzerland. Hard-working businessman. He probably never thought, “I’m a hero.” But he was….

On June 27, 1859, Dunant was traveling in Italy, when he came to a place called Solferino. He knew that two armies had recently fought a battle there. But he was horrified to see thousands of wounded soldiers still lying on the field, with no one to help them. Dunant tended as many soldiers as he could. Then, after returning home, he wrote a book, A Memory of Solferino. In it, he urged Europe’s leaders to form an organization for the “relief of the wounded.” His idea caught on. And in 1864, the Red Cross was founded in Geneva.

Its headquarters are still there. So is the Red Cross museum. On the inside, a banner displays these words: “Each person has a shared responsibility to humanity.” Henry Dunant knew that…. He lived it.

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Through Its HeritageDISCOVERINGSwitzerland!

Every society honors its own heritage. But how

can you tell what that is?

Pay attention to the traditions that the society holds on

to. Look at the origins of its government. And notice how itrelates, as a society, to the rest of the world. Take Switzerland,for example...

A.Q.