Breaking the reserve

The Swiss are somtimes considered cold, but actually they are just reserved. There is a friendly person inside most of them trying desperately to break out. This is shown in the fact that runners not only greet each other, but they also automatically get past the formality barrier. You don’t address another runner with the formal “vous” but with the familiar “tu”. (This may not seem like a big deal for an English speaker, but it is. It took Mom’s neighbor 17 year to work up the courage to call Mom “tu.”) At the start of a race it’s, “la forme?” (“in shape?”); during the race, “croche” (“hang on”); and at the end, “bravo” or “tu m’as tiré en avant” (“you pulled me along”). No wonder so many are racing regulars.