So at the gym, there are these people that always stare at me. Not only women, but men as well. I don't know if it's my socks (I wear white socks to the gym), my shirts, my shorts...I have no clue what they are staring at.
And this isn't just a compulsion either. It's as soon as I look at them they immediately turn away from me blatantly. I am very peeved by this because I try to tune them out but it's hard to do when they are ALWAYS doing it. Always.
After a while you might get used to it. How many tall Americans do you see around ? (except for here, we all seem to be here)
Just ignore them and smile
Here they just stare, in other countries it could be worse. I remember a story of a really tall family friend we had when I was a child. He had to travel around Southern Europe for business, and people used to follow him in the street and point. He always had to reserve a double bed in hotels so that he could sleep.. diagonally across the bed.
Its been a discussion point here often.
http://www.englishforum.ch/complaint...t-staring.html
Start to worry when they dont stare (!)
It means you no longer make an impression
They do stare a lot at any person who happens to be out of the ordinary Swiss standard.
I bet you're the talk of the town!
But yes, the white sox are a dead give away. Didnt you know that in Zurich the regulations clearly stipulate that wearing any colour other than black is a punishable crime?
Black black black black, oh.. and black!
I'll try to dig up the story later, if I have a minute.
I would do the same, with a bit of jealousy..... You're probably quite impressive for a normal guy....
Ok, I can't miss such opportunity.....
you shouldn't come with your costume
Little known facts: The canton of Aargau owns a Major-League-Baseball-Team in Chicago.
In those days, Swiss soldiers could wear socks of any colour. It was not uncommon to see young men in orange, blue and red socks out on parade and on the battlefield. Sometimes they would even wear a sock of a different colour on each foot! The brave men of Aargau, however, stood out with their insistence on wearing only clean, bleached white, knee-length socks, which presented a bright contrast to their pitch-black woollen pantaloons and jackets.
Little did they know that one day their insistence on wearing white socks would save their nation!
Picture a cold snowy morning in late July. The Aargauer and Zurcher battalions are gathered on the west bank of the Sihl, their Schwyzer and Urner enemies facing them on the east bank. There is low murmuring in the camps and frequent clinking noises as the troops eat breakfast and prepare their weapons. The Aargauer troops are busy polishing their boots, their white-stockinged feet almost invisible against the frozen snow upon which they rest.
Suddenly, in the hills behind the Protestant camp, there is a loud crash, followed by a very deep and very ominous rumble. The troops look up to see an enormous avalanche coming down the slopes of the Grosser Mythen, straight in the direction of their camp!
The Zurchers immediately gather up their belongings and scatter to the four winds in the hope of escaping their icy doom. The Aargauers, in contrast, stand firm and await the instructions of their commander, a man famed throughout the whole of Switzerland for his wisdom and clarity of thought, General Wilhelm von Wollishofen.
General von Wollishofen immediately orders his men to lie upon their backs, with their feet in the air. His men immediately obey. An instant later they are buried in a mountain of snow, only their stockinged feet sticking out, invisible to the naked eye.
Upon seeing this calamity, the Papist troops descend upon the Protestant camp with glee, with the intention of slaughtering their enemies where they lie. They quickly find and slaughter those Zurcher soldiers who were unable to run away from the avalanche quickly enough, but the bloodthirsty Sonderbundners are unable to see the Aargauers anywhere.
They scratch their heads in confusion. Surely the Aargauers were still in the camp when the avalanche came down? Hadn't they seen them lying on the icy ground with their feet in the air?
At that moment, there is an enormous cry, as the Aargauer battalion falls upon the surprised Papist enemy like a wolf on the fold! Every last Schwyzer and every last Urner is slaughtered in the ensuing melee. The Aargauers are triumphant! And all because they wore bright white socks.
They celebrated with their famous Aargauer carrot stew, and to this day only Aargauers are permitted to wear white socks, in honour of their brave forefathers on the banks of the Sihl.
It'd be a foolish man in Wadenswil who would think it acceptable to mock such a fine and ancient tradition by wearing white socks to the gym!