“Every country has its cocktail-party question. A simple one-sentence query, the answer to which unlocks a motherlode of information about the person you just met.... In Switzerland it is, Where are you from? That is all you need to know about someone.” KnowsNeedsPersonsCountrySimpleAnswersPartyInformationMetsSentencesCocktailsSwitzerlandOne SentenceCocktail PartiesQueries Author:Eric Weiner
“For me, a place unvisited is like an unrequited love. A dull ache that- try as you might to think it away, to convince yourself that she really wasn't the right country for you- just won't leave you in peace.” ThinkingTryingCountryMightDullConvinceUnrequited LoveAcheUnrequited Author:Eric Weiner
“And yet, over the years I've met so many people like Jared who seem to be more at home, happier, living in a country on of their birth. ... Not political refugees, escaping a repressing regime, nor economic refugees, crossing a border in search of a better-paying job. The are hedonic refugees, moving to a new land, a new culture, because they are happier there. Usually hedonic refugees have an ephiphany, a moment of great clarity when they realize, beyond a doubt, that they were born in the wrong country.” PeopleYearsCountryMomentsHomeSeemsJobsMovingPoliticalCultureRealizingBornDoubtEconomicLandBirthMetsClarityBordersRegimesRefugeeCrossingsEscapingNew Cultures Author:Eric Weiner