Swiss Holiday- week 2

At the beginning of the next week, my host mother and I left early Monday morning in the car for Gstadd, where we left the car, and took the bus up into the mountains. Taking the bus from the small town of Gstadd to the hiking trails, was quite a swiss experience. Firstly, the bus was going so fast, on windy roads one lane wide-but meant for two lanes of traffic, that we were whipping around corners and I was afraid of falling off the edge of the mountains were were circling! "The Post" bus is a bright yellow bus run by the post office here (go figure) and it is known for a) running all through the countryside, and b) It's horn. For example, on the sharp turns where it is impossible to see cars coming from the other direction,  the bus toots it's obnoxiously out of tune arpeggio of a horn. DADADA-DADADA. Ahhh the peace and queit of the mountains ...then...DADADA.

 Secondly, we were stopped in a couple "traffic jams" in the tiny mountain villages. But not like you'd think. During the summer, the cows live up in the alps and wear big bells so they don't get lost behind a mountain or anything. Every Fall, the farmers have to bring them down from the alps and in some towns they have a big parade for this event. But heading into the mountains on the bus, the tiny village streets were filled with little children, no more than 8 or 10 years old, leading herds of cows through the streets on their way to the farm! I was amazed that the  kids could handle herding that many cows, and that they were allowed/ given that responsibility! It was very picturesque having little bond haired kids running through the streets herding a group of bell wearing cows. It definitely showed me a more traditional side of Swiss life!

Once we got up in the mountains and started hiking, we reached a pretty little lake nestled between the mountains where we stopped for a picnic and then continued hiking for another couple hours until we got to Gstadd. Gtadd is located in the famous ‘Berner Oberland’, an area where the government enforces laws demanding that all buildings have to be made out of wood, and in the traditional style. This makes for beautiful scenery, and I felt like I was walking in an earlier time! On our way to my host grandmother’s cottage, we stopped to pick up some groceries for our stay. My host mother said, “Do you like lamb?”. Although I was adverse to the thought of eating a cute little lamb while back in Canada, I am trying to be open and try new foods here, so I replied, “I have never had it, but I’d be willing to try!”. I was quite surprised when she told me, “Yes you have. We had it for supper a couple of weeks ago. I guess that means you’re okay with it!”. It makes me question a lot of what I have been eating and not asking about for the past couple months!

With no clocks, and a body exhausted from hours of hiking, I thought I was making a good effort to stay up until an acceptable 10:00pm, but it turns out I’m not so good at judging the time by sun/stars and went to bed at 8:00 the night before. So the next day, I woke up in the mountains, comfortably wrapped in layers of blankets (it’s a lot colder in the mountains) and very well rested. That day, my host mother and I took the train through the alps to Montreux- a largish city in the French part of Switzerland. From there, we took a boat (not unlike the Halifax ferry) to a castle called “Chateau Chillon”. This was the second part my host family’s gift to me! They knew I had never been to a castle before, so they took me to one of the most well known ones in the country!  We rented headsets (one in German, one in English) and set off on our tour of the castle. 

Sections of the castle are thousands of years old, and have been built, and rebuilt, abandoned, and stolen by kings and lords of different time periods and different nationalities.  The water that surrounds the castle looked so bright and almost tropical! From the castle’s tower we had an amazing view of the lake, and the French alps on the other side! All in all, I had an absolutely amazing “first castle” experience, and it was so nice of my host family to take me!

On our third day in Gstadd, my host mother and I took a ski lift up onto a mountain, and did some serious hiking. Despite my sore bum from Monday’s hike, I was keen and ready for another day in the alps. We climbed (not hiked-climbed. It was steep) up a nearby hill and I tried to capture the beautiful view on my camera (as always, it’s never quite the same) and then continued on our way. From here on out, we were walking mostly downhill. How hard could it be?! … a lot harder than I thought! We took one of the more advanced trails, but even so, by the end of the day, the back of my legs felt like jelly, and I decided to walk behind my host mother so that she wouldn’t see me holding my legs as we walked. I thought I was in decent shape, but I have never done anything like mountain hiking before! I have so much more respect for all the retired Swiss people who hike on a regular basis! After we stopped to stock up on “Alp Cheese” and other alp specialties, we left Gstadd and drove back home. My legs were happy to have the rest, but I was just a little bit sad to be leaving Gstadd, which really was paradise in the mountains, and it was a nice escape from the busy city life. 

Swiss Holiday- week 1

Although I have been here two months, I've had only two weeks of Swiss school so far! The first three weeks I was here, I was in a special language school, then I went to school for two weeks, had my social work week in the swamps, and then comes a three week vacation! Coming from Canada where snowstorms are the longest holiday of the year, the Swiss school system is a little different! Here they have one week of volunteering/social work, and then three weeks  break in October. So basically, I ended up having a month of no school.   

I spent my break discovering Switzerland. What better time to see the the country that I am living in for the year?  I made day trips with other exchange students and with my host family. 

Danielle and I in Konstanz

Danielle, (from saskatchewan) and I started off our vacation by making a day trip to Thun/Interlaken which was pretty, but tourist filled.

And the next day we went to Konstanz, which lies on the Bodensee lake and is on the border between Switzerland and Germany. We were stunned and amazed at the difference in prices between Germany and Switzerland! Even with the difference between the Swiss Frank and the Euro, things cost half as much in Germany! Needless to say, we took the opportunity to do a little shopping in Konstanz.

Me in front of Jungfrau mountain

For my birthday, my host family very generously gave me a home made "coupon" for a trip up Schilthorn mountain, and to Chateau Chillion. So later in my first week of vacation, my host mother took me to Schilthorn! It was a two hour train ride, then a series of different buses and special mountain trains before we arrived at the base of the mountain, and then we had to take four different gondolas before we reached the top! The whole was the view was very scenic, and the whole travel experience was an adventure! My host mom said that we came to Schilthorn because it had the best view of Jungfrau, Eiger, and Monch mountains- three of the most famous in Switzerland! Schilthorn is also famous for being the site where the 1969 James Bond "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"  was filmed. Rita and I ate our swiss cheese sandwiches while sitting on the rocks, looking out over the mountains. Afterwords, we went up the the rotating restaurant and sat down for a tea. The mountains and mountains in all direction as far as I could see were absolutely breathtaking,  and certainly different than  the gentle rolling hills of PEI!

  

Danielle and I met up on the weekend to go to Aarau's annual Fall Market. It was already chilly out, but we got to sample some great food (wood fired pizza, cheeses, crepes...YUM) and it is always nice to be out in Aarau. When everyone is out in the streets talking and chatting, it really reminds me of market day in Charlottetown!

My Week in the Swamps- an unforgettable 18th

At my school, all of the second year classes (there are four grades in highschool) have a "Soziale Woche" which translates to 'Social Week' but is really more about community service. Each class travels together and is given a place to stay, and a task to do for the week.

My class and I were sent to "Wengimoos" a kind of swamp/moor area near Bern to help a local farmer. We stayed in an old army base that had a hostel-like set up for sleeping, as well as our own kitchen and eating area. We took turns being part of the "kitchen team" which exempted us from a morning of field work, in exchange for cooking meals for the group that day.

We were woken for breakfast at 7:30 and left at 8:30 by bicycle, so that we were working by 9:00. In the swamps, we had pitchforks and linen sheets (brought from home) which we used to rake dried hay into piles, then shovel it into the sheets, and carry the full sheets across the field into one big pile. Although it wasn't too complicated, the work was tiring! By the time the kitchen team arrived with sandwiches for lunch, we were all more than ready for a break! And when we finished at 4:30, the half hour bike ride home (of course, all uphill) seemed like an almost unbearable thought! After we all made it back to homebase, we showered, ate, and then played cards for most of the evening!

Monday was my group's turn to cook, so I was saved from the swamp that morning, which also happened to be my birthday! That evening they sang happy birthday and we had birthday cake which some of my classmates had baked at home! Working in the rainy swamps and birthday cake with my whole class sure made for an unforgettable birthday!

Of course it wasn't hard work all week, we had Wednesday free, so we all took a train into nearby Bern and spent the day! It was my first time really getting to see Bern and I loved it! The parliament building, and national bank very regally overlook the river, the market had lots to offer, and the shopping was great!

By the time the week was finished, I ended up working only Monday afternoon, and all day Tuesday and Thursday (Friday was our cleaning and travelling day). I felt I definitely moved forward on my German because I was continually questioning my classmates as we worked! I had a lot of fun with my class, and they are all great people to spend a week with! I understood -some- of what they said, and guessed the rest. Overall, my week in the swamps was a great experience both because I got to experience Swiss farming, and because I really enjoyed bonding with my classmates!

Coming soon, to a blog near you

Sorry to keep you in suspense (is it too much to assume you're sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for my blog postings?), but I haven't yet had a chance to write anything about my week in the swamps! You might ask, "Why doesn't she just do it now instead of apologizing/promising ?". Answer: Sleep. I take my sleeping very seriously here in Switzerland (German is a lot harder when I'm tired) and I have to get up early tomorrow morning!

So I had a great week working with my class, and I am now a week and a half into my three week school break! Tomorrow morning I am going to my host family's cottage in the mountains, with my host mother, and I will return on Wednesday all set to tell you about the swamp and about my first week off!

In the meantime, I will leave you with a picture of my week. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Photos

This blogging site isn't the greatest for uploading large numbers of photos, but I have started a facebook album. I changed the setting so that you don't have to be my friend on facebook to see the pictures, but I'm not sure, you might still have to sign up for a facebook account. In case you're interested, here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150754203745162.726334.597035161&l=4ca7f75a72&type=1

It's official

After a month of practice, I can ride my bike between the bus station and my house with no hands. There's a catch. I can only do this if my school books are in the basket on the back of my bike for balance. The Swiss have so many bicycles, that I think there are more bicycles than cars!

Swiss School

I have officially survived two weeks of Swiss school. While that might not seem like the biggest accomplishment, school here is pretty different than what I was used to in Canada.

^ My school, Alte Kantonsshule Aarau

For starters, almost everyday (well Monday to Friday, at least) my classes startat 7:45 am and my last class goes until 5:30. Compared to the 9:00-3:00 schoolday of Canadian high school, this makes for a long day! When my Swiss classmates hear about school in Canada, they are both surprised and envious of the short schoolday. Another difference is that while in Canada we normally have a different class for every subject and  change classes every semester, here you stay with the same class all day everyday, and for all four years of highschool! This has been good for me in the way that I really get to know and become friends with the people in my class (22 people, smaller than the average class at Colonel Gray) but also a kind of tough because it is then hard to meet people outside of my class. At home, in Charlottetown, my school experience was more similar to school here because I ended up being with the same class for three years because I was in the International Baccalaureate Programme. I grew to love my class at home and every person in it, we were all close friends by the end of three years together, and had lots of fun during class. When I was introduced to my class and went to  my first class last Monday morning, I felt immediately at home. They were just as noisy, just as crazy and just as friendly as the IB class at Colonel Gray. They have  all been really welcoming to me, and super patient with my German! If one of them ever tries to talk to me in English, the others will quickly tell the each other to speak to me in German so that I can learn! I feel so lucky to be in this class and am looking forward to the rest of the year with them!

Another difference from school on PEI is the number of subjects that we take. Whereas in school on the Island you take the same four subjects everyday for a semester and then completely switch your subjects/ classes, here I have many subjects and my schedule is different every day of the week. I didn't get to choose which subjects I take, as most of them are mandatory. I'm taking:  Physics,  Geography/Social Studies, French,  Spanish, Music,  German, Math, English, Biology, History, Economics, and Sports. No wonder Swiss people are good at everything!

This afternoon I am leaving for my "social week" with my class. It is a mandatory week in your second year where you must go with your class, usually to the country/mountains, and do a service project for a week. My class and I have been stationed in a project where we will sleep in a old military base (bring your sleeping bag) get up and bike 10 km to a field/swamp (rubber boots mandatory) and as far as I can tell, our task is to gather cut grass/wheat, and pile it onto a bedsheet (brought from home) and consolidate it to one location. So if you think of me on my birthday (tomorrow), I'll be working in the swamps. I am actually really looking forward to this week! Although it will be a lot of work, I think it will be a lot of fun to spend it with my class! I'm even bringing maple syrup to share in hopes that we have pancakes!

Catch up : Language Course

I haven't exactly been the best blogger, but  stay with me as I try to figure it out as I want to keep everyone at home updated on exchange life!

Language Camp: Starting the third day I arrived, and going for three weeks, I attended a language course. It took place in Zurich, and I was learning German with a group of other Rotary Exchange students! I think there were over thirty of us exchange students, so on the first morning they had us do a test and then split us in to two classes. (Somehow I managed to to into the more advanced class which was ) Learning German is tough, but we had a really really sweet teacher that made it a lot of fun. We went on scavenger hunts and did surveys in different areas of Zurich and one day she even took us to the pool! It was sunny at 35+ degrees almost everyday, which made me miss the PEI beaches!

 My favourite part about language camp was meeting all of the other exchange students. We all bonded really quickly and had a lot of fun together! It was really nice to have so many other people to be able to talk to about going through the challenges of changing families, living in German and Swiss culture! These students came from various countries around the world including: Canada, Taiwan, USA, Peru, Equador, Brasil, Japan, Argentina, Russia, Mexico... etc. So it made for a really cool experience to talk to other students about their home culture and how they find it different (or the same) to Switzerland's. Mayu, from Japan, had her birthday during one of these weeks, so each of us sang Happy Birthday in our first Languages! We ended up being able to sing in Taiwanese, Japanese, English, Spanish  German and French ! That was a really eye opening experience for me. We all come from different countries but can still hang out and be friends!

We had school from 9:00-3:10 so on some of the really hot days we would all go together to the park after school and go swimming in Zurich Lake! Swimming in the lake with international friends and looking back to the shore of Old Zurich that I really appreciated how amazing it is to be here! And to top it all off, I came out knowing much more German than I took with me to Switzerland! The German course was awesome for the language benefit as well as meeting the other exchange students!

*******

Please note a change to my earlier post: I would like to send my enourmous thanks to the Charlottetown ROYALTY Rotary Club. While I'm sure the Charlottetown Rotary Club is nice too, The Charlottetown Royalty Rotary Club is my sponsoring club and has been very generous to me. It is thanks to them I can be here in Switzerland! Thank you!

Becoming Multilingual

Coming to Switzerland, I was told of the difference between "Swiss German" and "High German". However, I can definitely say that I did not understand at all, and the variation between these two languages has been a big part of my life here.

It's hard to explain the relationship between these two dialects, but I imagine it something like the difference between Acadian French, and France French. Technically the "same language" but neither can really understand the other. There are many different dialects  of Swiss German, even between towns right next to each other. The Swiss can easily tell where someone lives based on their accent. However, the variation in these dialects is so strong that if someone from the North went to a more Southern area, they probably couldn't understand each other, and would instead speak High German, or English. High German is the more official, or formal language for Switzerland. Swiss German is derived from High German and has many shortened forms of High German words. Some words differ by merely accent, and others have an entirely different word.

For Example:

    English                High German                         Swiss German

    carrots                   karroten                                 ruebli
    three                        drei                                      drue
    cupboard              kuchenshrank                        chuchichastli

Swiss German is spoken at home and between friends, but students learn to read and write in High German, and teachers speak High German at school, as school is technically "totally in High German". But- students still talk to each other in class and on break in Swiss German. In the same way that Taiwanese is not a written language, and the Taiwanese instead use Mandarine for writing and in school, Swiss German is a mostly oral language. However, my host family explained to me that as more and more kids are getting cell phones, the formality of High German is thrown to the wind and Swiss German is used more and more through technology.

I have been told that people here don't like to speak High German. Swiss German is their first language, and English is the "cool" language. The heirarchy of languages goes: SwissGerman>English>EverythingElse>HighGerman. So I am finding that a lot of people would rather speak English to me than High German. First of all it is easier, because I actually understand it, and secondly, they like the opportunity to practise their English.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO ME: I am learning High German. At my language course, we were taught High German, as it is the "official" German language. This means that I have nothing to do with Swiss German. So when my family or schoolmates talk, they speak Swiss German. That means that I can't understand their conversation, or attempt to participate. They will either make an attempt to speak High German if I'm with them (which doesn't usually last long) or take pauses to explain to me in High German or English the general idea of conversation. So I'm stuck not understanding while everyone else involves in conversation- not to mention when they laugh at a joke and I still have no idea what is going on (I usually laugh too). It makes it difficult to learn High German when everything around me is happening in Swiss German. I guess it's part of the challenge of learning German is Switzerland!

My High German is coming along and I am now up to caveman grammer, " Me Bus Go" or " Me Play No Volleyball". However stupid I sound, I always try to speak German because I know the more I speak, the better I get. I think my host family has finally starting laughing at me when I say "Das ist Gut" (That is good) because for my first couple weeks that was pretty much the only German I knew that applied to every situation. No matter what someone said to me  "Das ist gut." always seemed to fit. I guess that is a reflection of my exchange so far. Everything has been very positive, and although some days are harder than others, I haven't had a bad day yet.

Some of the sounds between English and German are really different, so my class is currently coaching me on my accent. I have had people say things to me like, "You aren't making the right sounds. You have to pretend you have something in your throat and that you're choking." Needless to say... I haven't quite got the hang of it yet.

Language Camp helped a lot, and I have been working hard on my German so I am pretty proud of how far I have come in three and a half weeks! If I keep learning this much, I think I will be a master by the end of the year!


[sorry this post was a little (or a lot)  long and boring but it's important cultural exchange stuff that I just have to get out of my system. I promise to update more about life and school soon!]

Salami

We had a substitute today. Her name is "Salome" (Zah-lo-may). But my class misses out regular teacher and called the sub Salami. It's not every day you have a teacher named Salami.

Foosball

When asked if I play sports in Canada, my host mother will list my sport history at whoever's asking. So after a week here, my host mother took me to a soccer game, and began encouraging me to join because I "am a sporty girl". Now, this isn't just any regular soccer team. My host sister, Jamina, currently on exchange in Australia had played on this team for years, and they even won the Swiss Cup! Watching them play I just say "Wow, they are good. really good" (that's about as far as my German goes). So after watching a couple of their games, my host mother and I talked to the coach and we agreed that although I don't really play soccer, he would let me come to the practice and if it wasn't going to work I could play with a younger group.

 Leading up to my first practice, I was terrified. Will they laugh at me? Will I fall flat on my face? What if I don't understand anything?  In the end, I decided that I don't really know anyone here, so I don't care if I embarrass myself. That's what my exchange year is for. Going for it.

So tonight, I went to my first practice. The whole team was super sweet (despite my fears) and was happy to whisper English or easier German translations to me. I made it through all the drills (only mildly embarrassing) and did my usual "run in circles and smile" tactics on the field. I couldn't decide if I was playing in the World Cup, or in the Olympics but the other girls were very good, and it was pretty cool to play with them.

When I asked the coach if I should come back, he took me to talk to the coach of the other group, so I will be joining a different (younger) group on Thursday!  It's too bad that I can't practice with tonight's team, but to be fair, they have been playing for years and many of them are much older (a lot are 21 and well into university). On the bright side, I think I'm making Swiss friends! After practice, a couple of the girls approached me and asked me (in English/German combo) to hang out with them soon!  Also, I understood much more German than I expected to! At least I'm heading in the right direction!

Here's where I live

See where I live

Erlinsbach is the town, Aarau is the nearby city where I will be going to school!

First Post from Switzerland

So it's been two weeks. I had planned to update a blog much more frequently, but I've been busy, so I'll do what I can!

Although it was very hard to say goodbye to all my friends and family, I am so happy here!

 My host family is really very nice and have been very welcoming to me. Rita my hostmom is the perfect Swiss mom, and is also a great cook!  We had loads of fresh bread, and always lettuce, cucumbers, zuccini's or even berries from the garden! My host sister, Fiona, had been on Rotary Exchange from Switzerland to Ontatio  several years ago, so  her English/German translations make my life a lot easier! My host brother, Andrin, is in the army for 17 weeks as is mandatory in Switzerland, so he is only home one day each week. Mitch, my host father is an architect and he even designed our very modern house! I have my own room (borrowed from a host sister on exchange in Australia), with a beautiful view of the surrounding hills, with a field of yellow flowers in the valley. So far, I have been managing to keep my room clean (a change from my canadian room) and I hope to keep it this way!


For the past two weeks, I have been attending a language camp in Zurich. Every morning I get up at 6:15 so I can leave the house by 7:15 and start my journey to school. I bike from my house to the bus station in my village, Erlinsbach, then take the bus into the nearby city, Aarau, next a train into Zurich, where I switch to a different train which takes me to the area of the city where I go to school. Luckily, I have train buddies. There are two other exchange students living near Aarau, so we meet at the train station at the same time every morning and travel together. I have become good friends with Danielle from Saskatchewan and Ben from Mexico on our daily train rides!

 At language camp, there are 30 Rotary Exchange students closest to Zurich. There are also German language camps in Luzern and Bern and I think even one in the french part. The first thing they had us do on our first day of language school was a test. Thirty minutes, fifty questions. All in German.  Somehow, I guessed enough questions right because when they split us into two classes, I was put in the "advanced" class. Most of the other students in my class have more German experience than I, and a couple of the Americans had even taken German classes in school! However, I have improved a lot, and can now understand and speak simple sentences. My teacher speaks to us in only German, and at home, my family speaks to  me in almost all German so I think that helps me learn faster.

My favourite part about going to language school is seeing the other exchange students. Everyone is so happy and friendly that we've all become friends. After school last week, we went swimming on Monday and Tuesday in Zurich Lake! The water  here is amazing. Fresh Alpwater! I felt like I was swimming in a water bottle (weird analogy, I know) but seriously, there were no jelly fish or crabs or seaweed or anything! It was great! I have also been to a couple pools, and my hostfamily took me to the Halwiler Lake last weekend which was absolutely clear and amazing. I went swimming 6 out of 7 days- and I'm glad because it has been 34+ degree weather since I got here!

This coming week is my last week of Language camp, and then I will start real swiss school in Aarau. Also, my host mom signed me up for soccer, so I have my first practice tomorrow! So far I am loving my exchange, and I will try to post another update soon!

Today's the day.

Today's the day. Today's the day I have to finish packing up my life, today's the day I have to say goodbye to my friends and family, today's the day I spend 10 hours travelling to a new life in Switzerland. I will be at the airport at 4:30 for some tough goodbyes before my flight.

About Me

 If you are reading this, then you might already know me.... but just in case: I am a 17 year old from Charlottetown, Canada, who has been given the amazing opportunity to live in Aarau, Switzerland through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. 

    I live on Prince Edward Island, Canada, with my Mother, Father, Older Brother, and Younger Sister (Todd, Donald, Alexander, Mamie), not to forget our much loved dog, Keigan. It will be hard to live away from my family and friends this year, but I know that we will remain close.

    

    I am very thankful to the Charlottetown Royalty Rotary Club for offering me the chance for such a great experience, and I will be sure to make the best of my year in Switzerland!