Hello! Welcome to my blog. I'm Yadiel Ortiz and this blog is part of my English literature class ENGL-3135-001. I am currently studying at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras. Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
The Geography of Bliss- Eric Weiner - Switzerland
In this chapter of The Geography of Bliss the author writes about his search for happiness and what makes people happy in Switzerland. He describes the Swiss as neutral, punctual, clean, serious and humorless. Clean toilets and on time trains make them happy or at the very least contempt. They also have a deep connection with nature, they vote on almost everything reflecting their successful government style. They love and regularly eat chocolate which is found to contain chemicals that b ring happiness. Finally they enjoy, promote and follow rules and reject any form of envy. The way he describes the Swiss makes them sound like the perfect human being and example other countries and people. Nonetheless, he is still torn and mystified as to why they describe themselves as happy but seem, in his eyes, so boring and bland. On the other hand, he ends up enjoying the peaceful and punctual Swiss lifestyle but, ends up recognizing that aside from their mutual love of chocolate they have nothing else in common. In the end the author feels that while the Swiss are not happy they are contempt in their way of life. Personally, I find some of the Swiss rules as excessive, such as not allowing to flush the toilet after 10 pm, but for the most part I appreciate and am quite frankly down right amazed by how well they run their country despite it having its imperfections. I think that to better understand the Swiss we should look at their history and maybe that will explain their attitude towards life and happiness. Happiness is a fleeting feeling that can be either hard to attain or caused by the simplest of actions. It is my belief that since everyone is different and their views and ways of attaining happiness is different then, there are an infinite amount of ways by which everyone can attain happiness.
This video is a musical journey through Switzerland it was really cool, check it out if you like:
after reading for like the 10th time the comment about how they are not allowed to flush the toilet after a certain hour I'm just wondering what happens if someone has an "emergency". *insert laughing emoji here* but really I do believe they a somewhat skewed perception of happiness but hey, to each their own.
I could not believe what I was reading. They are not allowed to flush their toilet after 10 pm? That's crazy! I had never heard anything like that before. I agree that there are many ways to acquire happiness because nobody obtains it the same way. What works for you may not work for me, it depends on the type of person.
after reading for like the 10th time the comment about how they are not allowed to flush the toilet after a certain hour I'm just wondering what happens if someone has an "emergency". *insert laughing emoji here* but really I do believe they a somewhat skewed perception of happiness but hey, to each their own.
ReplyDeleteI could not believe what I was reading. They are not allowed to flush their toilet after 10 pm? That's crazy! I had never heard anything like that before. I agree that there are many ways to acquire happiness because nobody obtains it the same way. What works for you may not work for me, it depends on the type of person.
ReplyDelete