Hallo! :]
I'm not doing to bad on updating this... Once a week-ish isn't bad right? ;] So much happens in a week, though, it's crazy! So we'll go day by day so I can catch you all up :] Starting with Saturday....
Saturday- I went to a farmers market in Biel in the morning, went Swimming in the lake again. Just hanging out with my host fam.. Not to busy.. :]
Sunday- I was at a mountain! :] Rode a cable car up but we decided to walk back down.. My legs hurt for a few days after that. haha Gorgeous view though; could see three different snow/ glacier covered mountains with them reflecting off a lake. Really pretty :] I'll post pictures soon.
Monday- I was back to my language school! I'm slowly learning, but it's weird/ hard because we a learning German, but everyone speaks Swiss german here, which is a completely different dialect.. Hopefully I pick it up pretty fast. Also went riding again. :] My host sister has convinced me to enter a competition already.. It's this Sunday, and from what I understand it's like a Western Trail course, but you ride english.. If that makes any sense. The horse I ride is very stubborn and takes a lot of "convincing" sometimes.. I like her though :]
Tuesday- Consisted of school and then I made my mom's Quesidilla's for my host family. They liked them I think... They ate them at least =P Then worked on my Hausaufgaben (Homework)
Wednesday- School, then a boat ride with my host mom and sister to an island where we swam in Lake Biel. It was really nice, water was warm and we found a little pier to jump off of :] And after that I went and worked out with a friend here. It was fun but I'm always so exhausted after. =P
Thursday- Had school, then went with my host mom and her students (she teaches 3rd grade) to the beach. The kids were funny, I taught a couple of them how to do a synchro move! :] They go on so many field trips here for school! The high schoolers go to the movies and the younger go to the beach! Wish we had that in the US :] I also went riding again to "train" for the competition. It went pretty well, my horse decided it was scared of the woods though and took off running a few times. I was okay, Caroline has taught me well :]
Still feels weird that I'm 7 hours ahead of you all, you all just woke up and I already finished school! It was raining this morning so I walked in the rain to my train... But it had stopped for the moment in when I got to Bern thankfully.
Talking to Grady on skype, anyone can call me anytime and I'll try to talk to you for at least a little bit.. I also made it so that anyone can post a comment without needing an account. So post away! :]
Tschuss!
-Anne-Marie
Friday, August 24, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Ich bin müde!
Hallo!
For those of you who don't speak German, the title means "I am tired!". And it's true, I am tired but happy. I've been very busy the past couple days, and it's only my first week here!
Monday I had my first day of language school, which is in the capital of Switzerland, Bern. That means I take a train to Biel which is 5 min. Then a train to Bern which is 30 min. Trains are amazing! They go everywhere! It makes everything say much closer. So school is from 8:45 until 12:45, then I catch a train home or walk around Bern. The city is so busy, there are so many different shops and things there. I found a bookstore with a whole floor of English books. :] Didn't buy one though, they are expensive!
Also on Monday, my host mom showed me around Biel (closest city to my village, Ipsach). It has a very beautiful old town that I took pictures of. :] Pretty much every city here has has an "Old Twon" and a "New Town" and they work surprisingly well together. It's interesting to see a really old building with a train running right by it... I also went horseback riding with my host sister on Monday! We rode Frieburg horses, which is a breed made in Switzerland. They are pretty big and stocky, they look like a smaller version of draft horses. Big thick necks, and all of their manes are cut short. I like em :]
Tuesday I worked out with the girl who went on exchange to Canada, and I am still a bit sore. haha Besides that and school, not much happened..
Wednesday was a longer day and probably why I am so tired today. First I had school, then my host mom and sister met me in Bern and we went to the river Aare to swim! :] You walk up the bank and then hop in and float down. It is pretty fast flowing, so it was much quicker to go down than walk up. We went four times! :] Then on the way home my host sister invited me to go riding with her again, but at a different place (this one we rode Western and the last English, for those who know what that means :] ). Same Swiss horse breed though, the Freiburg. This one was bigger than the last, and I actually took pictures of this ride :]
So today is Thursday and my host mom declared it a more "relaxing" day. I readily agreed. :] I'll post the pictures I was talking about and I'll post on my next free day! Tschüss!
-Anne-Marie
For those of you who don't speak German, the title means "I am tired!". And it's true, I am tired but happy. I've been very busy the past couple days, and it's only my first week here!
Monday I had my first day of language school, which is in the capital of Switzerland, Bern. That means I take a train to Biel which is 5 min. Then a train to Bern which is 30 min. Trains are amazing! They go everywhere! It makes everything say much closer. So school is from 8:45 until 12:45, then I catch a train home or walk around Bern. The city is so busy, there are so many different shops and things there. I found a bookstore with a whole floor of English books. :] Didn't buy one though, they are expensive!
Also on Monday, my host mom showed me around Biel (closest city to my village, Ipsach). It has a very beautiful old town that I took pictures of. :] Pretty much every city here has has an "Old Twon" and a "New Town" and they work surprisingly well together. It's interesting to see a really old building with a train running right by it... I also went horseback riding with my host sister on Monday! We rode Frieburg horses, which is a breed made in Switzerland. They are pretty big and stocky, they look like a smaller version of draft horses. Big thick necks, and all of their manes are cut short. I like em :]
Tuesday I worked out with the girl who went on exchange to Canada, and I am still a bit sore. haha Besides that and school, not much happened..
Wednesday was a longer day and probably why I am so tired today. First I had school, then my host mom and sister met me in Bern and we went to the river Aare to swim! :] You walk up the bank and then hop in and float down. It is pretty fast flowing, so it was much quicker to go down than walk up. We went four times! :] Then on the way home my host sister invited me to go riding with her again, but at a different place (this one we rode Western and the last English, for those who know what that means :] ). Same Swiss horse breed though, the Freiburg. This one was bigger than the last, and I actually took pictures of this ride :]
So today is Thursday and my host mom declared it a more "relaxing" day. I readily agreed. :] I'll post the pictures I was talking about and I'll post on my next free day! Tschüss!
-Anne-Marie
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Hallo From Switzerland!
I probably should let you all know I actually got to Switzerland, huh? :]
I was greeted at the airport by my host family, and my rotary counselors, who gave me a new phone (touch screen, nicer than the one I had haha), and a train ticket that is good for a train to anywhere! :]
The day I got here I got sick for half the day, so I didn't do much. But I met a bunch of my host brother's friends that night at his farewell party (He is going on an exchange to Arkansas). Most of them go to "the school on the hill" as they call it and I am going to the one "on the lake", so I won't see them often. One girl, who went on an exchange to Canada, is a friend of the family's and is being very helpful. She goes to the school on the hill and she said she would show me around her town. :]
Yesterday I went grocery shopping with my host mother and sister. Their shopping centers are like a small mall attached to a grocery store. And when you buy fruits or veggies, you put it on a scale, push a number (each item has its own number) and a price tag for what you want prints out for you. It's really cool! Another fun fact about Switzerland: all the light switches are opposite. Down is on, up is off.
Today we dropped my host brother off at the airport,in Zurich, and I have to crown Switzerland as the king of long goodbyes instead of Minnesota. They actually have an observation deck where you can watch your person's plane take-off. We waved as it went up, along with others. :] After that we went to Schaffhausen, and we had to go through a little bit of Germany (Schaffhausen is like a point into Germany, google map it :] ). We saw the Rhine Falls, where we took a boat to a rock in the middle of the falls! Next we went to town and stopped at an Italian cafe for lunch (Pizza is so much better here) and climbed a bunch of really steep steps up to a castle! There are vineyards around the castle, which is on the top of a huge hill, so my legs got a workout climbing the stairs. (Pictures of both places to come later!)
We are back home now, and going for a swim in lake Biel, just down the hill from the house.
Remember I am 7 hours ahead of central time so if your wondering how I could do that much when it's only 9 in the morning that's why :]
I will try to write again soon! Ciao!
-Anne-Marie
I was greeted at the airport by my host family, and my rotary counselors, who gave me a new phone (touch screen, nicer than the one I had haha), and a train ticket that is good for a train to anywhere! :]
The day I got here I got sick for half the day, so I didn't do much. But I met a bunch of my host brother's friends that night at his farewell party (He is going on an exchange to Arkansas). Most of them go to "the school on the hill" as they call it and I am going to the one "on the lake", so I won't see them often. One girl, who went on an exchange to Canada, is a friend of the family's and is being very helpful. She goes to the school on the hill and she said she would show me around her town. :]
Yesterday I went grocery shopping with my host mother and sister. Their shopping centers are like a small mall attached to a grocery store. And when you buy fruits or veggies, you put it on a scale, push a number (each item has its own number) and a price tag for what you want prints out for you. It's really cool! Another fun fact about Switzerland: all the light switches are opposite. Down is on, up is off.
Today we dropped my host brother off at the airport,in Zurich, and I have to crown Switzerland as the king of long goodbyes instead of Minnesota. They actually have an observation deck where you can watch your person's plane take-off. We waved as it went up, along with others. :] After that we went to Schaffhausen, and we had to go through a little bit of Germany (Schaffhausen is like a point into Germany, google map it :] ). We saw the Rhine Falls, where we took a boat to a rock in the middle of the falls! Next we went to town and stopped at an Italian cafe for lunch (Pizza is so much better here) and climbed a bunch of really steep steps up to a castle! There are vineyards around the castle, which is on the top of a huge hill, so my legs got a workout climbing the stairs. (Pictures of both places to come later!)
We are back home now, and going for a swim in lake Biel, just down the hill from the house.
Remember I am 7 hours ahead of central time so if your wondering how I could do that much when it's only 9 in the morning that's why :]
I will try to write again soon! Ciao!
-Anne-Marie
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Goodbye USA, Hello Switzerland
I leave tomorrow!!! I have to be at the airport by 9 am, have a layover in Philadelphia, then get to Switzerland 9 am their time. (2 am our time). So jet lag is definitely going to be a factor! I am staying up tonight watching Sherlock Holmes to help me sleep on the plane (mom's idea).
I can't wait to meet my first host family and really learn about and experience a different culture. :]
See you back in the States in a year!
~Anne-Marie
I can't wait to meet my first host family and really learn about and experience a different culture. :]
See you back in the States in a year!
~Anne-Marie
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