Survey reveals how foreigners perceive Slovaks

Ethnologists Helena Tužinská and Ľubica Voľanská Herzánová took a look at how foreigners living in Slovakia perceive Slovaks. The Denník N daily chose 6 significant attributes that the Expats find 'very Slovak'. They called the first one "Buddy-ism". This term describes the common convention of having and calling friends to solve problems or get something done in both private and professional situations. The second trait is having affection for one's family. Slovak formal kisses and an obsession with university titles were also found to be surprising for foreigners. The Denník N daily also mentioned a lack of ability in foreign languages and difficulties in accepting those different to themselves. Despite the curious findings, the results of the research only have symbolic value, as only 50 out of the approximately 85,000 foreigners living in Slovakia were interviewed.