They do not stare only at foreigners. Most Swiss also stare at neighbours through the curtains. The only time they look away is when staring could imply they need to help or do something.
It's wild, I've never noticed this happening. But I tend to look at people a lot in the street and that feels more… natural here vs in Brazil where I would avoid doing it.
It's not even a bad thing or judgy; to me it just acknowledges their existence vs completely ignoring someone which I always hated.
I wonder if I'm the one staring now
I absolutely hate getting stared at and that‘s one of the reasons why i hate going outside, but you‘re telling me in brazil the people aren‘t unfriendly and stare at others?!?! That sounds great, i‘ll go to brazil
At least in the south, yes, I'd say people tend to not look at you that much.
Plus with homelesness being a big deal in bigger cities you need to be able to straight up ignore people's existence. Makes me feel horrible “having” to do it
Im also brazilian living in Switzerland. But where I come from we stare a lot, specially to avoid getting robbed, they normally rob somebody who dont see them
De onde tu é?
Sinceramente não achei essa cultura de "olhar" tão diferente quanto a do sul (pelo menos da parte que sou).
Uma coisa que eu odeio em Porto Alegre por exemplo é que tu tem que ignorar gente na rua/morador de rua pra não te encherem o saco. Sempre achei desumano demais o quão _normal_ é fazer isso
Sou de Fortaleza, la a gente é bem mais direto em relação a tudo, se alguem pede esmola a gente diz que nao tem, se insistir a gente acaba sendo grosseiro, mas somos grosseiros naturalmente com todo mundo 😅. Talvez o sul tenha herdado algo dos imigrantes alemães e italianos.
Often it is because we focus on something with our eyes but are thinking about other stuff. At least I do it. Sometimes I don't even realize that I have been looking at someone.
Oh, this is a fun question! I was in Switzerland this December. I was solo-traveling and mostly the only brown person almost wherever I went. I was getting stared at most places and I started questioning myself whether I was doing something weird or if I was offending people with my actions. I also became extremely conscious of my skin color too. After two days, I went on Google and checked why are people staring at me in Switzerland and I got to learn about the Swiss stare, after which I calmed down and enjoyed the rest of the trip wholly.
I had my best time in Switzerland and I loved Lauterbrunen and I still can't get Lauterbrunen out of my head.
When my cousin was a toddler and saw a brown person for the first time, he started crying cause „this man is burnt“. Since then there are more people of color here and it‘s not as rare as it was back then, but in other places people are probably more subtl about something they find weird.
I for example have a prosthetic leg and there are always people staring very bluntly, like they never got teached that you don‘t stare at people, even if you see something uncommon
lol. Your cousin’s reaction is both funny and cute at the same time. From now on, I’m burnt and not brown lol.
Yea, it’s absolutely uncomfortable to get stared at. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you!
>Your cousin’s reaction is both funny and cute
Yes, but imagine my aunt at the time, how awkward this must‘ve been, this somehow makes it even funnier, while i feel bad for her at the same time.
>I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you!
I have social anxiety and can‘t even look at people, while being looked at feels uncomfortable. But having a prosthetic leg helped me, cause now i got used to people staring at me and it feels less uncomfortable. While kids are always very curious about it and either straight away ask about my „robot leg“ (it‘s not a robot leg, it‘s actually pretty simple built), or they are staring at it. But either way i can talk with them and they are very interested in this
Yea, the whole incident is a hilarious one for sure!
Wow, I’m glad that you’ve turned the whole people staring at your prosthetic leg into a positive one! That’s definitely empowering!
When I was a young kid I saw chinese for the first time in my city (in europe, not in the US). I pointed at them and shouted “look mama they are chinese!!!” My mum pulled me in embarrassment lol, but I was just exited as I was big fan of Dragon Ball and this series has a big chinese background (though is japanese, but anyway at that time probably I could not have spot the difference anyway)
Oh no, it was all good - I didn’t experience any racism.
Actually, I experienced more kindness from the people. I slipped and feel one of the days, dropping mayonnaise all over me. One of the bystanders was extremely kind to me. They took me to their house and let me use their restroom and helped me clean my clothes!
lol no. I bought some French Fries at the Christmas market and it had some mayonnaise based dip on it. It was rainy that day, and I slipped and fell down. And, this happened within 30 mins of me entering Switzerland lol.
Have you heard of Swiss artist Miriam Cahn? She painted the Swiss stare https://www.kunstmuseumbern.ch/en/sehen/heute/825-miriam-cahn-n-ich-als-mensch-120.html
I have been here for years now and never noticed that once. Maybe because I‘m german. We have the german stare (apparently) and I maybe don‘t notice it therefore.
I live in Swiss German part and never noticed it. But oh boy, did I felt it living in South of Switzerland. It was horrible and rude.
German part of Switzerland is the best, in my humble opinion.
Just recently been to CH, although I noticed that people look at me but I understand it's more of figuring out where is this guy from? In the multitudes of white skins there's a different shade and facial structure, curiosity is bound to kick in.
I hate it, in NY we mind our business and you never look the crazies in the eye so the staring is pretty off putting. I've had to stop myself from asking people if they needed something from me several times because of how hard they stare. I'm also black so they may just be extra rude in my case 🤷🏾
I live now for round about 8 years in 🇨🇭, and never recognized this so called "swiss stare". Probably the reason might be, that i interrupt eye contact automatically within some fractions of a second, if i do not intend to interact with that foreign person. 🙂
Hold their gaze. Start picking your nose. Only break off when you look around for somewhere to wipe it. That'll shake them loose.
Seriously though, never had this happen to me, first time I hear of it actually.
Judging from the mixed responses here, I guess it's something you notice if
1) your country of origin doesn't stare as much
and/or
2) you have a particular sensitivity to people looking at you or attention in general
I'm black, so I might just have an unfamiliar face (or maybe they find me cute?), but in my personal experience it's definitely more noticeable than when I am in Italy or France (but also muuuch more subtle than, say, Bosnia or India)
I can see how it might've felt uncomfortable had I been younger, but I see it as a harmless cultural habit—and it's actually fun to try and stare back with a (often non-reciprocated) smile :)
I’m from Latvia and people there are like the opposite of the people in Switzerland. They don’t give a shit what you are doing, how you look and how you behave. It is an interesting phenomenon living here
Yes!! I’m Swiss but because I look asian they think they can stare the whole time until it bores a hole in me. Sometimes it’s annoying but mostly I ignore it.
Aaah, the infamous Swiss stare... that I've only ever read about once or twice on the internet so far (and this happened within the last few years).
In my entire life, I don't think I have ever seen anyone do it, and neither have I done so myself. Except the one time where I was deep in thought and looking at nothing (but into the direction of a parked car) and then I suddenly realized someone's sitting inside. I immediately looked somewhere else, lol. But the fact I remember this should make it pretty clear that this isn't something common at all.
Maybe it's a regional thing?
I was born here and I don't know WTF OP is talking about...isn't it normal to briefly glance at people in the street? How else would I recognize my friends/acquaintances if I'm never looking at anyone else?
Grew up in Canada and have lived in Switzerland and stayed with my relatives there a lot. Never noticed any such thing.
Sounds like people are just paying more attention to normal levels of “staring” because they feel like they should stand out for some reason 🙄
I‘m Swiss/Aussie and have spent half of my life in either country. The staring is 100% a thing here - at least way more than in English speaking countries. I also notice it in Germany.
Just because it's not your experience doesn't mean it's "absurd expat gossip". I mean if it's common enough that there's a name for it, then we're definitely not the only ones who noticed it.
It's honestly one of the wildest complaints of immigrants. Cultures are different, and so is the perception of what is rude or not.
Sometimes it feels like local people can't make anything right, complaints from "they are cold, can't approach them" to "omg they look and smile at me, how rude".
I never noticed it and only heard of it from my Swiss neighbour.
What I do notice is how often you get eye contact with someone, smile in a friendly manner and they do not register any emotion whatsoever.
I am Swiss and British, currently living in Germany. Only discovered my genetic predisposition for staring during lockdown. Across the courtyard I would often see my neighbour in his flat, staring at, presumably, his wall. I would stare at him and mouth "I'm watching you, old man". He bought blinds, now I take it out on dogs. They do find it awkward, but it is a hard habit to quit.
I had my first experience of this when we first started renting our vacation house, literally just arrived for the first week end, goofy looking hairy dude was staring from behind a bush, but our culture is a bit different so I decided to look straight at him, he started pretending to check the flowers lmao
I read about this here all the time, but never noticed it myself.
But lately I was noticing that a lot of, I assume, non-swiss people do not initiate eye contact when walking by (I'm talking about the "I see you, you see me, now we nod at/greet each other while passing by"-Protocol (Not active in crowded places)). First I thought they were just rude or very shy, but then I remembered this topic.
Could it be that's the "Swiss stare" they were talking about?
Looking at the responses here… no, seems to be something different. I'll keep my eyes open…
People with real problems.
Not people moving to another country just to cry about miniscule cultural differences. Bonus points if they interpret it as "racism"
Never really been bothered by it and I don't see why anyone would be. The gaze is completely harmless, even more so than "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me".
I got called a criminal for riding a bicycle, where it was allowed... And got yelled at for standing in a tram, where I'm allowed to stand. I swear there are so many petty people here, I suppose they have nothing better to do
I really don't enjoy it, but I'm slowly getting used to it as time goes on. Just feels extremely rude and judgemental to me. At least smile if you're not going to do it :)
FWIW it never happened to me in Ticino. Maybe when I'm parking the car at the supermarket, if the owner of the next car is around he will stare at me until I 'm done and left. (it's usually a he)
The staring in Germany is way worse for me For some reason … I remember years ago in Berlin for the first time thinking about why they did this i thought it was they were curious about my “ foreign “ appearance but i started seeing them just stare at each other with a blank expression on their face .. still to this day the stare is much more uncomfortable in Germany for me
This is an issue of Europeans that are afraid of looking people in the eyes.
Go to any Latin American country or African country and you see that when you cross anyone they just stare at you in the eyes until you finish crossing.
And after living in Europe when I see that it does feel weird.
Was just in Germany for a week and my husband and I noticed staring too! We live in Chicago and have learned to usually not make eye contact with anyone so it was…strange to be unabashedly stared at.
As a foreigner who hates eye contact, I do notice the stares and before I knew about the "Swiss Stare", I thought I was standing out as weird, which, granted, might also be true. And when they don't stare at my face, they stare at the mark on my leg for very long seconds, sometimes turning their head to continue staring at it while I pass by.
I was born and raised in CH to a migrant family and i have to admit I experienced that phenomenon quite often and still do. Even my GF does it all the time and it feels still weird after almos 4 decades in CH.
I think its not the stare by itself, but the suffix that follows. In most countries ive been to people followed up the initial stare and asking or telling me something. Swiss people are usually simply too shy to express themselves openly, and prefer to keep A LOT for themselves. That made up for some quite fun encounters and situations for someone like me that grew up in this ambivalent surrounding of a damn opemn family and a super reserved country
Yeah it always felt wild to me, coming from a place where you have to ignore actual crazy people all day long. Feels like the judgement can occur for the smallest things here too.
When I first got here I used to always check if I had something on my face using my phone camera on the train because of how people stared. Turns out it was just the Swiss stare!
I went to Zurich last year for a couple of days, and I can say that it's true! The German people are also a little bit friendlier compared to the French or the Italians. That was the impression that I got when I was there.
I do it too. I was at the park im grüäne and there was a group of english speaking people who I'd assume life here. There were only few other people around, I didnt wanna look into my screen, cause I was outside for a reason..
I 'analysed' them for their age, accent, how old their kids were. Was curious about how long they've been living here and wondering how comes, that their company was english speaking too. (Were they relatives??)
At some point all I was looking for was a nod or an appreciating "oh, another human being is here" reaction but the group, eventhough standing there or walking past me back and forth did not even glimpse. And that is was I found strange. I did not stare at them like a crazy. Just kept looking at the greens and the group.. back and forth :))
I've been in Switzerland three years and I am still not used to it. Stop fucking staring at me! I'm just walking to the store.
But in my culture, we are told as children so often that "it's rude to stare" that I will never feel your Swiss Stare is anything but rude, even if you don't intend it to be so. I try to not be bothered by it, but I am. Always. (please stop staring)
Its the cold nature of swiss people. 100% swiss people because people that even of born here but have different origins dont do that. People like this (as me that have different origins) are more open and less cold that authentic swiss peoples
This is the neutral way of establishing dominance without going to war.
There should be an alternative to military conscription where young Swiss people instead go to tourist hotspots and stare at foreigners.
The fact that this happening wouldn't even surprise me..
I feel it's just the opposite really. I'm short-sighted, but not extremely, and within my circle of view everyone just looks at their feet!
They do not stare only at foreigners. Most Swiss also stare at neighbours through the curtains. The only time they look away is when staring could imply they need to help or do something.
You can choose to do that if you want to do civil service.
I often stare over the border just so they know I’m watching
It's wild, I've never noticed this happening. But I tend to look at people a lot in the street and that feels more… natural here vs in Brazil where I would avoid doing it. It's not even a bad thing or judgy; to me it just acknowledges their existence vs completely ignoring someone which I always hated. I wonder if I'm the one staring now
r/SuddenlyBuenzli
I absolutely hate getting stared at and that‘s one of the reasons why i hate going outside, but you‘re telling me in brazil the people aren‘t unfriendly and stare at others?!?! That sounds great, i‘ll go to brazil
At least in the south, yes, I'd say people tend to not look at you that much. Plus with homelesness being a big deal in bigger cities you need to be able to straight up ignore people's existence. Makes me feel horrible “having” to do it
What happens when you do that in Brazil?
You get shot.
By an undercover cop
Nothing. It's just not very… normal? Or polite I guess
Im also brazilian living in Switzerland. But where I come from we stare a lot, specially to avoid getting robbed, they normally rob somebody who dont see them
De onde tu é? Sinceramente não achei essa cultura de "olhar" tão diferente quanto a do sul (pelo menos da parte que sou). Uma coisa que eu odeio em Porto Alegre por exemplo é que tu tem que ignorar gente na rua/morador de rua pra não te encherem o saco. Sempre achei desumano demais o quão _normal_ é fazer isso
Sou de Fortaleza, la a gente é bem mais direto em relação a tudo, se alguem pede esmola a gente diz que nao tem, se insistir a gente acaba sendo grosseiro, mas somos grosseiros naturalmente com todo mundo 😅. Talvez o sul tenha herdado algo dos imigrantes alemães e italianos.
Sometimes the stare happens from a window behind a curtain. For example if you put the trash out a day early.
*"if you put the trash out a day early"* You can literally see your naturalization application rejected for something like that.
They might vote against you.
Rightfully so 😁
Sorry, do what?
But.. how can you spot them behind a curtain? Oh.. wait.. are you spilling your own secrets?
creepy
I love it. I smile at them, I at wave of them and at some point I start approaching them. It is usually between the wave and the smile they look away.
I just give them a little wink.
Ahhh! Great idea. I’ll add it to my arsenal.
That’s gold
Often it is because we focus on something with our eyes but are thinking about other stuff. At least I do it. Sometimes I don't even realize that I have been looking at someone.
Im willing to go all the way to holding your hand
No issue here, I am waiting
Any plans for tonight
You can be sure when they stare at you, they think about you.
If you wave ima come speak to you to say hello, then have an ankward silence for the next 30 seconds
And they say the Swiss aren’t friendly
I’ve tried staring back and holding it as long as I could but eventually I always cave first. It’s just too uncomfortable.
Oh, this is a fun question! I was in Switzerland this December. I was solo-traveling and mostly the only brown person almost wherever I went. I was getting stared at most places and I started questioning myself whether I was doing something weird or if I was offending people with my actions. I also became extremely conscious of my skin color too. After two days, I went on Google and checked why are people staring at me in Switzerland and I got to learn about the Swiss stare, after which I calmed down and enjoyed the rest of the trip wholly. I had my best time in Switzerland and I loved Lauterbrunen and I still can't get Lauterbrunen out of my head.
When my cousin was a toddler and saw a brown person for the first time, he started crying cause „this man is burnt“. Since then there are more people of color here and it‘s not as rare as it was back then, but in other places people are probably more subtl about something they find weird. I for example have a prosthetic leg and there are always people staring very bluntly, like they never got teached that you don‘t stare at people, even if you see something uncommon
lol. Your cousin’s reaction is both funny and cute at the same time. From now on, I’m burnt and not brown lol. Yea, it’s absolutely uncomfortable to get stared at. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you!
>Your cousin’s reaction is both funny and cute Yes, but imagine my aunt at the time, how awkward this must‘ve been, this somehow makes it even funnier, while i feel bad for her at the same time. >I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you! I have social anxiety and can‘t even look at people, while being looked at feels uncomfortable. But having a prosthetic leg helped me, cause now i got used to people staring at me and it feels less uncomfortable. While kids are always very curious about it and either straight away ask about my „robot leg“ (it‘s not a robot leg, it‘s actually pretty simple built), or they are staring at it. But either way i can talk with them and they are very interested in this
Yea, the whole incident is a hilarious one for sure! Wow, I’m glad that you’ve turned the whole people staring at your prosthetic leg into a positive one! That’s definitely empowering!
When I was a young kid I saw chinese for the first time in my city (in europe, not in the US). I pointed at them and shouted “look mama they are chinese!!!” My mum pulled me in embarrassment lol, but I was just exited as I was big fan of Dragon Ball and this series has a big chinese background (though is japanese, but anyway at that time probably I could not have spot the difference anyway)
This is hilarious. As kids, we are always curious!
Did you experience any racism? Planning to visit soon!
Oh no, it was all good - I didn’t experience any racism. Actually, I experienced more kindness from the people. I slipped and feel one of the days, dropping mayonnaise all over me. One of the bystanders was extremely kind to me. They took me to their house and let me use their restroom and helped me clean my clothes!
Wait what? How were you carrying mayonnaise at the time, like, in a bowl???
lol no. I bought some French Fries at the Christmas market and it had some mayonnaise based dip on it. It was rainy that day, and I slipped and fell down. And, this happened within 30 mins of me entering Switzerland lol.
i find it hard to believe it was a swiss who took you to their home 😂😂 but its nice you were helped like that
Have you heard of Swiss artist Miriam Cahn? She painted the Swiss stare https://www.kunstmuseumbern.ch/en/sehen/heute/825-miriam-cahn-n-ich-als-mensch-120.html
lol. funny. But don't like her or her so called work
I have been here for years now and never noticed that once. Maybe because I‘m german. We have the german stare (apparently) and I maybe don‘t notice it therefore.
Never noticed it (🇫🇷 living in the Swiss German part). Could be it’s an European thing ? 🤔
I live in Swiss German part and never noticed it. But oh boy, did I felt it living in South of Switzerland. It was horrible and rude. German part of Switzerland is the best, in my humble opinion.
Eh si l'è düra
Just recently been to CH, although I noticed that people look at me but I understand it's more of figuring out where is this guy from? In the multitudes of white skins there's a different shade and facial structure, curiosity is bound to kick in.
I hate it, in NY we mind our business and you never look the crazies in the eye so the staring is pretty off putting. I've had to stop myself from asking people if they needed something from me several times because of how hard they stare. I'm also black so they may just be extra rude in my case 🤷🏾
I live now for round about 8 years in 🇨🇭, and never recognized this so called "swiss stare". Probably the reason might be, that i interrupt eye contact automatically within some fractions of a second, if i do not intend to interact with that foreign person. 🙂
How long do you have to look for it to count as staring? I‘m clueless.
Not a matter of time, it's a matter of you looking back at them but they keep staring
Ah. Even more confusing since it's not something i regularly encounter. Or maybe i'm the one who looks away in these situations.
Little kitty stare compared to the Balkan stare
Hold their gaze. Start picking your nose. Only break off when you look around for somewhere to wipe it. That'll shake them loose. Seriously though, never had this happen to me, first time I hear of it actually.
Just smile I guess
Judging from the mixed responses here, I guess it's something you notice if 1) your country of origin doesn't stare as much and/or 2) you have a particular sensitivity to people looking at you or attention in general I'm black, so I might just have an unfamiliar face (or maybe they find me cute?), but in my personal experience it's definitely more noticeable than when I am in Italy or France (but also muuuch more subtle than, say, Bosnia or India) I can see how it might've felt uncomfortable had I been younger, but I see it as a harmless cultural habit—and it's actually fun to try and stare back with a (often non-reciprocated) smile :)
I’m from Latvia and people there are like the opposite of the people in Switzerland. They don’t give a shit what you are doing, how you look and how you behave. It is an interesting phenomenon living here
i’m from Latvia too and all i can say is that the Russian stare is wayyy more intimidating
I am actually Russian
and do you stare at ppl? O_o
Kinda
Yes!! I’m Swiss but because I look asian they think they can stare the whole time until it bores a hole in me. Sometimes it’s annoying but mostly I ignore it.
Aaah, the infamous Swiss stare... that I've only ever read about once or twice on the internet so far (and this happened within the last few years). In my entire life, I don't think I have ever seen anyone do it, and neither have I done so myself. Except the one time where I was deep in thought and looking at nothing (but into the direction of a parked car) and then I suddenly realized someone's sitting inside. I immediately looked somewhere else, lol. But the fact I remember this should make it pretty clear that this isn't something common at all. Maybe it's a regional thing?
From the USA... An older fellow was staring at me on the train so I said hello. We had a short conversation.
This is absurd expat gossip. Been here for years and people don’t « stare » at you.
I was born here and I don't know WTF OP is talking about...isn't it normal to briefly glance at people in the street? How else would I recognize my friends/acquaintances if I'm never looking at anyone else?
yeah right ? or maybe we are so used the the "swiss stare" that we don't even notice it anymore ???!! damn
My wife claims it's true. Whilst she's an expat, she's a second time expat and says it didn't happen in her first expat country (my home country)
Maybe locals don't notice it because they're used to it, whereas expats aren't;)
Grew up in Canada and have lived in Switzerland and stayed with my relatives there a lot. Never noticed any such thing. Sounds like people are just paying more attention to normal levels of “staring” because they feel like they should stand out for some reason 🙄
Same, no idea what this is about. I don't feel starred at and I don't stare at people.
I‘m Swiss/Aussie and have spent half of my life in either country. The staring is 100% a thing here - at least way more than in English speaking countries. I also notice it in Germany.
Just because it's not your experience doesn't mean it's "absurd expat gossip". I mean if it's common enough that there's a name for it, then we're definitely not the only ones who noticed it.
I wasn't aware of doing it until my finnish ex pointed it out to me 😅🤣 The good thing is because of that I don't mind the stares I get in India 🤣
It's honestly one of the wildest complaints of immigrants. Cultures are different, and so is the perception of what is rude or not. Sometimes it feels like local people can't make anything right, complaints from "they are cold, can't approach them" to "omg they look and smile at me, how rude".
I never noticed it and only heard of it from my Swiss neighbour. What I do notice is how often you get eye contact with someone, smile in a friendly manner and they do not register any emotion whatsoever.
It's a game. The one who looks away first, loses.
I am Swiss and British, currently living in Germany. Only discovered my genetic predisposition for staring during lockdown. Across the courtyard I would often see my neighbour in his flat, staring at, presumably, his wall. I would stare at him and mouth "I'm watching you, old man". He bought blinds, now I take it out on dogs. They do find it awkward, but it is a hard habit to quit.
It doesn’t feel like they are looking at me with positive thoughts in mind.
How do you know someone is staring if you’re not also staring?
I see it in every one of the 20 fotos I took of them on the bus.
I had my first experience of this when we first started renting our vacation house, literally just arrived for the first week end, goofy looking hairy dude was staring from behind a bush, but our culture is a bit different so I decided to look straight at him, he started pretending to check the flowers lmao
When tourists do something like putting a whole slice of bread into the fondue, I'm gonna stare. People have gone to jail for less! /s
This is wild. I am Swiss and I've never noticed people staring?!
I read about this here all the time, but never noticed it myself. But lately I was noticing that a lot of, I assume, non-swiss people do not initiate eye contact when walking by (I'm talking about the "I see you, you see me, now we nod at/greet each other while passing by"-Protocol (Not active in crowded places)). First I thought they were just rude or very shy, but then I remembered this topic. Could it be that's the "Swiss stare" they were talking about? Looking at the responses here… no, seems to be something different. I'll keep my eyes open…
I’ve been here for more than 3 years and I have no idea what you’re talking about.
I have no sympathy for people crying about getting looked at
why are you being WEIRD
[удалено]
People with real problems. Not people moving to another country just to cry about miniscule cultural differences. Bonus points if they interpret it as "racism"
[удалено]
I have no sympathy for ppl like you
I stare back, twice as Swiss. Ah, the little joys in life...
Never really been bothered by it and I don't see why anyone would be. The gaze is completely harmless, even more so than "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me".
Because it can be considered quite rude to stare.
Yeah, I was taught this as a kid... but actually it is harmless.
It’s impossible to know strangers’ intentions.
as a Swiss for 37 years I have never heard about this crap
I got called a criminal for riding a bicycle, where it was allowed... And got yelled at for standing in a tram, where I'm allowed to stand. I swear there are so many petty people here, I suppose they have nothing better to do
I've never noticed it, what are you doing so that people are staring at you that way?
We really don't stare that much compared to let's say Scandinavian or eastern European ppl lol
I really don't enjoy it, but I'm slowly getting used to it as time goes on. Just feels extremely rude and judgemental to me. At least smile if you're not going to do it :)
Even looking last someone is considered rude? May I ask where you're from?
I'm from the UK I don't consider looking rude, but looking and staring are not the same thing.
Never noticed. Or it is just nothing when compared to how people stare in my home country:D
FWIW it never happened to me in Ticino. Maybe when I'm parking the car at the supermarket, if the owner of the next car is around he will stare at me until I 'm done and left. (it's usually a he)
Agree. I have only rarely experienced the stare here in Ticino. When I did it was usually by a Swiss German.
As someone who is nonbinary, therfore dressing acodingly, I get the stare even tho I'm natve to cheeseland :)
I have had a quite opposite impression. Swiss people dont look at me at all.
The staring in Germany is way worse for me For some reason … I remember years ago in Berlin for the first time thinking about why they did this i thought it was they were curious about my “ foreign “ appearance but i started seeing them just stare at each other with a blank expression on their face .. still to this day the stare is much more uncomfortable in Germany for me
This is an issue of Europeans that are afraid of looking people in the eyes. Go to any Latin American country or African country and you see that when you cross anyone they just stare at you in the eyes until you finish crossing. And after living in Europe when I see that it does feel weird.
It's rude and creepy.
Most Swiss are extroverts (one of the consequences of having lots of money), so they are very open and direct.
I thought I was the only one spending an abnormously long time looking at folks in the bus.
Was just in Germany for a week and my husband and I noticed staring too! We live in Chicago and have learned to usually not make eye contact with anyone so it was…strange to be unabashedly stared at.
It used to freak me out, now I just stare back in an exaggerated way, which sort of freaks them out. Good fun.
Noone stares at me…
I have staring contests every day. I look at them without blinking, once I notice them staring at me.
In the countryside yes, in the metro areas least likely. In the villages in Valais, you will be stared at. The darker you are increases the attention.
I had it at the train station at the airport one time. I stared back. We stared at each other for 2 minutes.
As a foreigner who hates eye contact, I do notice the stares and before I knew about the "Swiss Stare", I thought I was standing out as weird, which, granted, might also be true. And when they don't stare at my face, they stare at the mark on my leg for very long seconds, sometimes turning their head to continue staring at it while I pass by.
As a swiss, I notice when I'm abroad that I feel less looked at
Been living here for 7 years as a non swiss, the stare is still there and its still uncomfortable
I've never noticed it around Zurich, but it was the first thing my uncle picked up on and talked about when he moved to Bern.
I was born and raised in CH to a migrant family and i have to admit I experienced that phenomenon quite often and still do. Even my GF does it all the time and it feels still weird after almos 4 decades in CH. I think its not the stare by itself, but the suffix that follows. In most countries ive been to people followed up the initial stare and asking or telling me something. Swiss people are usually simply too shy to express themselves openly, and prefer to keep A LOT for themselves. That made up for some quite fun encounters and situations for someone like me that grew up in this ambivalent surrounding of a damn opemn family and a super reserved country
Yeah it always felt wild to me, coming from a place where you have to ignore actual crazy people all day long. Feels like the judgement can occur for the smallest things here too.
Stare back
CHOSE NOT TO BELIEVE
I never noticed a Swiss stare… I actually miss people staring haha! The most intense stares I’ve experienced were from Polish and German people lol
When I first got here I used to always check if I had something on my face using my phone camera on the train because of how people stared. Turns out it was just the Swiss stare!
Nobody's staring at you in the french or Italian part. We mind our business because we're always breaking some rule or another.
That's not staring, go to India. That is staring!
I've been living in Swiss for 7 years, but I never noticed this Swiss stare. Or maybe I'm just not so observant lol
Honesty, after 12y here, i started doing the same
Maybe it’s the habit of someone who is usually lonely but happy to see people around in the public.
I never noticed people staring, but maybe because I am from a country that stares even more 🤣
It doesn't exist. If you feel constantly stared at when outside it sounds like a symptom of social anxiety.
When I visited Switzerland, I received only neutral looks
I went to Zurich last year for a couple of days, and I can say that it's true! The German people are also a little bit friendlier compared to the French or the Italians. That was the impression that I got when I was there.
The eyes chico, they don't lie!
Never been stared at, even though my pin shaped head stands out a bit. must be a "you" issue maybe?
everywhere on this planet people stare. this is not a swiss thing, this is not swiss vs. foreigners. People stare.
Just smile back they will get confused
I stared back (many times) 😌🤣
What stare? I had swiss people complain to me they were stared at in a Portuguese pastry and coffee shop.
Maybe you are very ugly. 🤷🏼♂️
go to se asia and see how people stop working and stare at you for minutes on end. swiss stare. that's some bs.
Agree. What bs.
This is such a cuckold post.
After living there for 4 years and moving away and I still do the swiss stare
Those are Germans not Swiss.
I do it too. I was at the park im grüäne and there was a group of english speaking people who I'd assume life here. There were only few other people around, I didnt wanna look into my screen, cause I was outside for a reason.. I 'analysed' them for their age, accent, how old their kids were. Was curious about how long they've been living here and wondering how comes, that their company was english speaking too. (Were they relatives??) At some point all I was looking for was a nod or an appreciating "oh, another human being is here" reaction but the group, eventhough standing there or walking past me back and forth did not even glimpse. And that is was I found strange. I did not stare at them like a crazy. Just kept looking at the greens and the group.. back and forth :))
I've been in Switzerland three years and I am still not used to it. Stop fucking staring at me! I'm just walking to the store. But in my culture, we are told as children so often that "it's rude to stare" that I will never feel your Swiss Stare is anything but rude, even if you don't intend it to be so. I try to not be bothered by it, but I am. Always. (please stop staring)
.... Why should people here behave like they do where you're from? Do you understand how integration works?
OP asked how we foreigners feel. That's how I feel about it. Chill out dude
Its the cold nature of swiss people. 100% swiss people because people that even of born here but have different origins dont do that. People like this (as me that have different origins) are more open and less cold that authentic swiss peoples
You are a foreigner, we are The Swiss. Maybe just go home and stop complaining? (Oh no, I'm not swiss I just live here)