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also known as Confoederatio Helvetica (therefore the abbreviation CH)
Switzerland is located at the heart of Europe with Germany to the north, Austria to the east, Italy to the south, and France to the west. It hosts about 20% of the Alps in which it has some of the most famous peaks like the Matterhorn and the Jungfrau. Switzerland also has a great many lakes, rivers, and glaciers.
The Switzerland government is simular to Canadian government but has its unique characteristics. In their legislative authority, there are two houses but both have elected representatives. The Executive authority falls to the Bundesrat which consists of seven memebers elected by the members of the legislative authority. The president of this seven changes every year. The judicial authority then falls to the corts as it does in Canada.
There are 23 cantons (provinces) in Switzerland, 3 of which are split states. Their functions in government are much the same as the provinces in Canada.
There are four offical languages in Switzerland; German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Most common language spoken though is the Swiss german dialect. If a person from Germany was talking with a person that was speaking Swiss dialect, the would not have a clue as to what they are saying.
The one thing that the Swiss are known for is their puntuality. If you are to meet someone at 9:00 then you had better be there 10 minutes early.
Their school system is interesting as well. When kids reach their 3rd year in gymnasium (15 years old) they decide which carrer path they would like to take. For the next 3 or 4 years they focus their learning on that particular subject or aspect. In their final year of school, they have to write what is called a 'Matura' along side their regular school work. The matura is basically a study that is done in the field of the writers interest. I have heard that the average matura report is about 35 pages long. I have also heard it been done on biological experiments, musical endeavours, art forms, carpentry and more.
