This is the end. (Hold your breath and count to ten). I seriously can not write that sentence without thinking about Skyfall by Adele. haha
In reality it was the end about two months ago. And I'm just writing this now. I'll just use the excuse that I was too busy trying to get back into American mode. :]
I miss Switzerland, and I miss the people more. All my host families and friends. I miss them so much. Thankfully it is relatively easy to get in contact with them through e-mail, skype, and instant messaging. But they still feel far away. Now instead of being homesick for the US, I'm homesick for Switzerland.
In other news, my culture shock is going well. I honestly don't think it really hit me until I went to college. Being home with my family, seeing everyone I hadn't seen in a year, and seeing all my horses again really kept my mind off of it. But now, I see people my age and I sometimes can't help but think "Seriously? How can you think like that? This is why people in other countries don't like Americans." It just feels like some people are ignorant of the world, but I know I can't do anything about that. I wish going on exchange was required for life, the world would be such a better place, people would actually understand each other and problems could be solved.
Okay, I guess my culture shock is a work in progress according to that last paragraph, getting annoyed with the way people do things is one of the steps. haha Well as I said before, I'm in college now, at South Dakota State University. I took a German placement test to see which courses I could take to get a German minor, and for a girl who could say "Hello" and "My name is..." when the plane took off, I think I did pretty good! I tested out of thirteen credits of German, all I have to do is pass my level 400 course with a C or better. I think I can handle that. :] Here at SDSU, you only need 20 credits to get a minor, and I'll have 17 done hopefully after this semester. My parents are pretty happy about that!
Speaking of college, I should probably be doing homework and getting ready for class. This will probably be my last blog, unless I go on another adventure in the future. So until then, tschüss! Ich hoffe wir sehen uns wieder!
Liebe Grüsse, Anne-Marie
Monday, September 9, 2013
Sunday, June 16, 2013
I Lived
Ok wow. I have three weeks left of my exchange. And I may or
may not be super far behind on writing this blog. Oops.
Let’s see:
April: I switched host families, and went to Rome and Venice
(and took 500 pictures). My new host family is great. I feel like I haven’t
been around them much because I keep going on trips and things, but they are
still awesome. I have three host sisters; the oldest went to Australia two
years ago on exchange, so she speaks to me in English, then the middle speaks
Swiss German or High German, and the youngest pretty much only High German. It
makes my brain keep thinking! Haha The trip to Rome and Venice was with all the
Rotary Exchange students (well 54 of them). It was SO much fun. We had 3 days
in Rome and 2 in Venice, and we walked A
LOT. It was also 4 to a room, and when you have four teenagers in a room
together, not much sleeping happens. I guess it was good we walked so much, so
we went to bed a little earlier at least. Haha Like I said earlier, I took 500
photos just on that trip, so I’ll try to pick out the best ones to post on
here. :]
May: First I sang in a choir concert, on May 1, 3, 4, and 5. Most
of the songs were in other languages, including Swiss German, English, French,
Italian, and Portuguese. I only sang one song in Swiss German, but we did sing
three in English. My favorite one we sang was Bohemian Rhapsody, except they
can’t pronounce the “th” sound so we would sing “sympaTy” instead of the right
way. Haha My second favorite was the French one we sung called Tourdion. Each
section (bass, tenor, alto, soprano) sings different verses, and they sound so
pretty together. It’s also a drinking song haha. I also went to my friends
Opera concert on May 8. Next I went with my current host family to France from
May 9 to the 11. We were visiting a friend of my host mom who lives near Annecy.
We also went to this really cool (scary) gorge called Les Gorges du Fier. There
was a walkway built into the side of the gorge. And the water rushed below us.
Got back, had school for a week, and then went to France
again! :] This time to Alsace from the 17th to the 20th
with my first host family, but because it was a family trip, my second family
was there too. (Host dads are brothers) I’ve gotten to know that big family
really well with me living with both of them. :] We had a lot of fun, eating a
lot, going to the nearby city of Colmar, going walking (three hours in the rain
to a different village to have lunch, and then back), and seeing the Stork
Park. I really felt like I was another
family member, I loved it.
Next I had school for a week; well three das really, because on
Friday (5/24) my class went on a field trip. We went for geography class,
learning about agglomerations, and the villages around Bern. We also hiked
through the forest, saw a waterfall, and hiked by the river. :] It was a bit
cold, and a very gray day, but it was still a lot of fun.
Then my parents and aunt and uncle arrived!!! I was so happy
to see them again after 10 months! They arrived on the 26th, and we
toured around Switzerland for a week. We saw Jungfraujoch, my home city of
Biel, the Gruyere cheese factory and village/ castle and the Cailler chocolate
factory, Schaffhausen and Rhine Fall, Avences to see some Roman ruins, Bern (my
favorite city), and a bit of Geneva before we caught the train to France. My favorite
evening was when my parents and aunt and uncle got to meet all three of my host
families. We all had dinner together on Friday evening. I have pictures of all
of my mothers, and all of my fathers together; I think they are my new favorite
pictures ever.
Then it was June! My parents, aunt and uncle, and I caught
the TGV train to Paris on the 2nd. Paris is just as amazing as
everyone raves it is! We had dinner with friends of my parents, and the parents
of the Frenchie who stayed at our house for a month two summers ago. It was
great to see him again. :] I saw the
Eiffel Tower up close at least 4 times, and went up it once, went up the Arc de
Triomphe, walked down the Champs Elysees, went on the Bateux Mouches (a super
fancy, dinner boat tour), saw Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, and Sacre Couer
Cathedrals, and, of course, the Louvre, and finally a Moulin Rouge show! It was
definitely an awesome week! Then I hoped on a train to come back to Switzerland
on the 7th, while my parents and aunt and uncle stayed in Paris to
catch planes home the next day. It felt kind of weird leaving them, the whole
time I was with them, I felt like I was going to be going home with them. I’m
still in Switzerland for three weeks though! And I’m definitely going to be
enjoying them!
This week, I gave my last presentation to Rotary on Tuesday.
I compared the US and Switzerland (with WAAAAY better German this time, haha), and
then I tried to tell them about my exchange. I saw tried, because I got about three
sentences out before I just started bawling. I think they thought it was because
I was nervous or something first, so they had me sit down, and the kid who’s going
to Brazil next year gave a quick speech about who he was and why he wanted to
go on exchange. Then I stood up and tried again, I made it to the last slide,
with a trembling voice and half sobs, but then I just glanced at the pictures
of me with my host family, and my host sisters and I just lost it again. I don’t
want to go home.
Don’ t get me wrong, I love my family and friends in the US
and all that. And I am excited to start college. But I have another home here too. And I’m going to miss it so bad
when I have to leave it all on the 5th.
So I started my crunch of trying to do as many things as
possible in the little time I have left. I’ve been doing awesome so far! I had
dinner with my class at a teachers house on Tuesday night; went to an Opera
Wednesday night, and it was actually funny and interesting, because I could
actually read the translation into German (it was originally in Italian); then
I went with my class on Thursday to Europapark, a big theme park in Germany;
then Friday I actually had school (which I didn’t know until Tuesday evening
haha). Yesterday my Rotary district (about 20 exchange students) had our last
debriefing meeting. Although honestly, it was not very well planned out. We
took pictures and all that, which was fun, and then they said wait 15 or 20
minutes and we’ll call you in to walk around with your flags. We waited and
hour and a half! And then we walked two circles around a room, while people
clapped. Then someone spoke in French, even though half of us only speak
German, and have no idea what was being said. And the “lunch” was basically
little tiny appetizers, you had to eat so many to get a real meal. Haha Then
finally we met with a Rotarian who spoke German, and we talked about how our
exchange went. For about 20 minutes. The best part about it was that I got my
exchange friends to sign my Swiss flag (all exchange students get a flag
from their host country signed, yes even
the ones in America).
Well that was my last three months! I’ll try to get some photos
up, but I’ll try and pick the best ones too, so there aren’t like 500. ;] I
probably won’t write again within the next three weeks, but I’ll try and write
an update when I’m finally back in the states.
Tschüss!
-Anne-Marie
Friday, April 5, 2013
3 Months
It is almost exactly 3 months (AKA 90 days) until I return to the US... It's really bittersweet. I miss everyone back home, sure; but I have lived so much here... I'll definitely be in culture shock going back to the loud, car-driving Americans. But more on that when it happens!
It is already April! Holy cow! I've probably said this before, but time just flies by. I did A LOT last month. Probably one of my busiest months here so far!
Since I last wrote, I went and saw a dance competition in Biel on March 16 (My friends "crew" got 2nd!); went skiing with my Rotary club (mostly old men, I was the youngest by at least 30 years, haha) (3/22-24), spent 5 days (3/29-4/2) in Tessin (Italian part of Switzerland) with my host family (plus their friends, my host dad made lasgna for 24 people Saturday night), visited a Brewery and a wellness pools/spa with my class (4/4). Well I guess that's getting into April, but if you count all the stuff I did the first half of March it's a lot! Fasnacht feels like so long ago, it was only a month!
The dance competition was really cool to see, it was mostly "street dancing", so the busted out some pretty cool moves! haha
Skiing was also good! I didn't fall once! :] We went pretty early (on the slopes by 9 am every day), and the snow got really soft in the afternoon from the warm sun, so we stopped around 1 pm every day. I was still really tired afterwards though! There was a pool and spa at the hotel too. I had the whole pool to myself one afternoon. :] Before dinner on Saturday night, we had a presentation from the world champion paraglider! He did the "Red Bull X-Alps" competition, and got first place by a pretty big margin. According to Wikipedia: "Athletes must either hike or fly almost 900 km across the Alps from Salzburg to Monaco in the fastest time possible" It runs every other year, and the guy I met won the last two years, with Swiss guys winning every year since it started in 2003. It was so cool to see how he went through training and how he beat out everyone else. Here's the website if you want to check it out: http://www.redbullxalps.com/
The Monday after I got back from Skiing, I went to see my friend Mackenzie (from Buffalo, New York) play piano and sing in front of a Rotary club. Six of us exchanies showed up to support her, and she was AMAZING.
So missed school Monday, then we had Good Friday off, and I went with my host parents to Tessin! We had to cross a part of Italy, but we didn't even have to slow down at a check point.. I didn't even notice we were in Italy until an hour in! Then we were back in Switzerland, in the middle of the mountains. We literally had to hike to the house. Which was kind of hard for me because the night before we left (Thursday), I was riding my bike home, it was snowing/ raining, and my friend asked me a question, and then a pole jumped in front of my bike. Needless to say, my knee is still black/ blue today, but I couldn't walk very well the day after. So my host dad made three trips down and up (the mountain) to get all our stuff. It was a really fun trip though. I met a lot of people because my host brother and sister (even though the don't live at home anymore), invited their friends, so they had 19 people in another house. The houses we were staying in were around 300 years old!!!!! Pretty much completely made of stones, even the roof! I learned how to bake bread (in a wood-fire oven), and we also went hiking. There are these awesome "remains" of abandoned houses. The roofs were caved in but the walls were pretty much still there, but covered in moss and things. Really cool.
Finally, yesterday I went on a field trip with my class to the Feldschlosschen Brewery. We got a tour, and the explained how they made the beer. Though it was all in Swiss German, and not the dialect I'm used to, so I didn't understand a lot. It was still interesting though! We also got to see the horse team. They have 8 Belgians (I think). One of them tried to bite me and another slobbered all over me haha. I miss seeing horses almost every day! After the brewery we went to a pool/ spa. It basically had a bunch of thermal pools, steam rooms, etc. That was really nice!
So I'm all caught up now! I just started Spring Break today. :] On April 11 (Thursday) I go to my 3rd and final host family; they have three daughters ages 14, 16, and 20, so it should be interesting! Plus, on the 15th I go to Italy!! I'm so excited for that trip! :]
I'll update with pictures soon (not like last time, where it was a month..)
Tschüss!
-Anne-Marie
It is already April! Holy cow! I've probably said this before, but time just flies by. I did A LOT last month. Probably one of my busiest months here so far!
Since I last wrote, I went and saw a dance competition in Biel on March 16 (My friends "crew" got 2nd!); went skiing with my Rotary club (mostly old men, I was the youngest by at least 30 years, haha) (3/22-24), spent 5 days (3/29-4/2) in Tessin (Italian part of Switzerland) with my host family (plus their friends, my host dad made lasgna for 24 people Saturday night), visited a Brewery and a wellness pools/spa with my class (4/4). Well I guess that's getting into April, but if you count all the stuff I did the first half of March it's a lot! Fasnacht feels like so long ago, it was only a month!
The dance competition was really cool to see, it was mostly "street dancing", so the busted out some pretty cool moves! haha
Skiing was also good! I didn't fall once! :] We went pretty early (on the slopes by 9 am every day), and the snow got really soft in the afternoon from the warm sun, so we stopped around 1 pm every day. I was still really tired afterwards though! There was a pool and spa at the hotel too. I had the whole pool to myself one afternoon. :] Before dinner on Saturday night, we had a presentation from the world champion paraglider! He did the "Red Bull X-Alps" competition, and got first place by a pretty big margin. According to Wikipedia: "Athletes must either hike or fly almost 900 km across the Alps from Salzburg to Monaco in the fastest time possible" It runs every other year, and the guy I met won the last two years, with Swiss guys winning every year since it started in 2003. It was so cool to see how he went through training and how he beat out everyone else. Here's the website if you want to check it out: http://www.redbullxalps.com/
The Monday after I got back from Skiing, I went to see my friend Mackenzie (from Buffalo, New York) play piano and sing in front of a Rotary club. Six of us exchanies showed up to support her, and she was AMAZING.
So missed school Monday, then we had Good Friday off, and I went with my host parents to Tessin! We had to cross a part of Italy, but we didn't even have to slow down at a check point.. I didn't even notice we were in Italy until an hour in! Then we were back in Switzerland, in the middle of the mountains. We literally had to hike to the house. Which was kind of hard for me because the night before we left (Thursday), I was riding my bike home, it was snowing/ raining, and my friend asked me a question, and then a pole jumped in front of my bike. Needless to say, my knee is still black/ blue today, but I couldn't walk very well the day after. So my host dad made three trips down and up (the mountain) to get all our stuff. It was a really fun trip though. I met a lot of people because my host brother and sister (even though the don't live at home anymore), invited their friends, so they had 19 people in another house. The houses we were staying in were around 300 years old!!!!! Pretty much completely made of stones, even the roof! I learned how to bake bread (in a wood-fire oven), and we also went hiking. There are these awesome "remains" of abandoned houses. The roofs were caved in but the walls were pretty much still there, but covered in moss and things. Really cool.
Finally, yesterday I went on a field trip with my class to the Feldschlosschen Brewery. We got a tour, and the explained how they made the beer. Though it was all in Swiss German, and not the dialect I'm used to, so I didn't understand a lot. It was still interesting though! We also got to see the horse team. They have 8 Belgians (I think). One of them tried to bite me and another slobbered all over me haha. I miss seeing horses almost every day! After the brewery we went to a pool/ spa. It basically had a bunch of thermal pools, steam rooms, etc. That was really nice!
So I'm all caught up now! I just started Spring Break today. :] On April 11 (Thursday) I go to my 3rd and final host family; they have three daughters ages 14, 16, and 20, so it should be interesting! Plus, on the 15th I go to Italy!! I'm so excited for that trip! :]
I'll update with pictures soon (not like last time, where it was a month..)
Tschüss!
-Anne-Marie
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Glunge
Anyone want to guess what the title is? Hint: It's Swiss German, and there's probably a lot of them in the Spring time. ;] I love that word, it fits the thing so well. haha
Wow so much has happened in the last month.. I have officially hit over 1,600 photos taken, but in my defense it has been over 7 months!
I ended up going to four different Fasnachts. :] My first was in Luzern (2/11), where everyone dresses up in crazy costumes, with lots of marching bands in parades (and TONS of Confetti). The masks are often three times larger than normal heads, so they have a hole for the instrument to be played. And all the costumes are hand-made!! People really go all out. I went with a exchange student who lives in Luzern, and her host parents had literally 100 costumes that we were allowed to wear to the festival. I had blue pirate pants on, a greenish-bluish waistcoat, a rainbow-sequined fanny pack, and my blue sequined fedora hat. I was quite a mix match of things haha.
My second was in my "home-town" of Biel (2/14), where I went with my host club to a dinner/ Fasnachtfest. It was all inside, and some of the heads on the costumes were to big to fit through the doors! A lot of the costumes lit up too, so they would sometimes turn all the lights off as they played. It was pretty funny being the youngest one there, but all of the adults pelted confetti at each other like they were teenagers. :]
Then in the capital of Switzerland, Bern (2/15), which was again all outside, and I was with a bunch of other exchange students (a lot live in/ near to Bern). The last was in Basel (2/18). Basel was really special, because I took a train at 2 in the morning to get to Basel by 3, and then you go into the heart of the city. Right at 4 am, every light in the city turns off, and all of the "cliques" (bands, consisting of only piccolo/ flutes and drums) are all lit up. Sometimes all you could see were floating lights. SO pretty, but I was so tired the rest of the day/ week! Didn't help that I hadn't gotten much sleep the bulk of the weekend. Bern Fasnacht was Friday, then we had a Winter Weekend (2/16-17) with a bunch of other Exchange students in Engelberg where we went ice skating, played in the snow, and went sledding. This is not your normal sledding we think of though, this is basically a luge run down a mountain! So much fun, but most definitely a bit dangerous on the really steep parts. Needless to say, being with a bunch of teenagers, we didn't get to much sleep. Then Basel Fasnacht was Sunday night/ Monday morning. I was really tired for a few days afterwards!
A woman from my Rotary club took me to Luzern on 2/24 to show me around, it was nice to actually have a "formal" tour, instead of the random wandering you do with other exchangers. She took me to Zurich as well on 3/9, and today I'm going to watch a dance competition with her here in Biel.
On 3/2, I went with the daughter of my host parents (she doesn't live here anymore, but I guess she's still my host sister?), to Grindelwald. It was with a church group again, but all young adults, I was the youngest. We had cheese fondue on a fire (a upright standing log with slots cut into it for fire, and nails on the top for a stove-top. Not really sure how they did it, but it worked really well.), and went sledding. Again, not your average, every-day sledding! Grindelwald was WAY steeper than Engelberg. There was a "fast" run and a "slow" run, we all agreed the fast run was much more fun, but it really was down a mountain! Plus it was at night... at least we all had ski helmets on! There was even an accident (not from our group) and a girl got flown out with a helicopter! So kinda dangerous...it was so worth the soreness and bruises though! haha At he end we sledded down the ski hill! It had no lights on it unlike the sled run, so those who didn't have head lamps had to follow someone who did. Only in Switzerland. :]
Next weekend 22-24 (skipping school on Friday, ;] ) I'm going with my Rotary club (which is mostly old guys... haha) to Adelboden-Lenk for a ski weekend. Over Easter my host parents are bringing me with to Tessin (East, southern, Italian part of Switzerland), and I change host families one more time! And right after I change families, I am going to Italy! My trip includes Rome and Venice (Rom und Venedig auf Deutsch) and it is the 3rd week of April (14-20) , second week of my spring break. So I have a lot to look forward to this next month as well. :]
So hope you all have a wonderful month! And maybe if someone can guess the title right, they will get a prize. ;]
Tschüss!
-Anne-Marie
Wow so much has happened in the last month.. I have officially hit over 1,600 photos taken, but in my defense it has been over 7 months!
I ended up going to four different Fasnachts. :] My first was in Luzern (2/11), where everyone dresses up in crazy costumes, with lots of marching bands in parades (and TONS of Confetti). The masks are often three times larger than normal heads, so they have a hole for the instrument to be played. And all the costumes are hand-made!! People really go all out. I went with a exchange student who lives in Luzern, and her host parents had literally 100 costumes that we were allowed to wear to the festival. I had blue pirate pants on, a greenish-bluish waistcoat, a rainbow-sequined fanny pack, and my blue sequined fedora hat. I was quite a mix match of things haha.
My second was in my "home-town" of Biel (2/14), where I went with my host club to a dinner/ Fasnachtfest. It was all inside, and some of the heads on the costumes were to big to fit through the doors! A lot of the costumes lit up too, so they would sometimes turn all the lights off as they played. It was pretty funny being the youngest one there, but all of the adults pelted confetti at each other like they were teenagers. :]
Then in the capital of Switzerland, Bern (2/15), which was again all outside, and I was with a bunch of other exchange students (a lot live in/ near to Bern). The last was in Basel (2/18). Basel was really special, because I took a train at 2 in the morning to get to Basel by 3, and then you go into the heart of the city. Right at 4 am, every light in the city turns off, and all of the "cliques" (bands, consisting of only piccolo/ flutes and drums) are all lit up. Sometimes all you could see were floating lights. SO pretty, but I was so tired the rest of the day/ week! Didn't help that I hadn't gotten much sleep the bulk of the weekend. Bern Fasnacht was Friday, then we had a Winter Weekend (2/16-17) with a bunch of other Exchange students in Engelberg where we went ice skating, played in the snow, and went sledding. This is not your normal sledding we think of though, this is basically a luge run down a mountain! So much fun, but most definitely a bit dangerous on the really steep parts. Needless to say, being with a bunch of teenagers, we didn't get to much sleep. Then Basel Fasnacht was Sunday night/ Monday morning. I was really tired for a few days afterwards!
A woman from my Rotary club took me to Luzern on 2/24 to show me around, it was nice to actually have a "formal" tour, instead of the random wandering you do with other exchangers. She took me to Zurich as well on 3/9, and today I'm going to watch a dance competition with her here in Biel.
On 3/2, I went with the daughter of my host parents (she doesn't live here anymore, but I guess she's still my host sister?), to Grindelwald. It was with a church group again, but all young adults, I was the youngest. We had cheese fondue on a fire (a upright standing log with slots cut into it for fire, and nails on the top for a stove-top. Not really sure how they did it, but it worked really well.), and went sledding. Again, not your average, every-day sledding! Grindelwald was WAY steeper than Engelberg. There was a "fast" run and a "slow" run, we all agreed the fast run was much more fun, but it really was down a mountain! Plus it was at night... at least we all had ski helmets on! There was even an accident (not from our group) and a girl got flown out with a helicopter! So kinda dangerous...it was so worth the soreness and bruises though! haha At he end we sledded down the ski hill! It had no lights on it unlike the sled run, so those who didn't have head lamps had to follow someone who did. Only in Switzerland. :]
Next weekend 22-24 (skipping school on Friday, ;] ) I'm going with my Rotary club (which is mostly old guys... haha) to Adelboden-Lenk for a ski weekend. Over Easter my host parents are bringing me with to Tessin (East, southern, Italian part of Switzerland), and I change host families one more time! And right after I change families, I am going to Italy! My trip includes Rome and Venice (Rom und Venedig auf Deutsch) and it is the 3rd week of April (14-20) , second week of my spring break. So I have a lot to look forward to this next month as well. :]
So hope you all have a wonderful month! And maybe if someone can guess the title right, they will get a prize. ;]
Tschüss!
-Anne-Marie
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Schon 6 Monaten!
EDIT:
Grüsse all!
I haven't been to busy lately, mostly just school. I started a new semster Monday (2/4), but I ended up not having school that day because my classmates had "matura arbeit tag" (Like a thesis paper they all have to write to graduate, and they start their 11th year and get work days). My Mondays-Wednesdays are pretty long now... 7:30-3:35 on Monday (lunch not till 1 D: ), Tuesday 7:30-5:20, but a long midday break, and Wednesday 7:30-4:30. But Thursday is only from 7:30-12 and Friday 9:15-1:50, so it kinda makes up for it..
Last Friday (2/1) I went to a concert here in Nidau, it was a son of a friend of my host parents (he's 20s ish). He was really good! His name is James Gruntz, he sings pop and in English (a lot of people do actually). After the concert his dad bought me a CD and James signed it. :]
Then the next day (Sat 2/2), I went to Geneva with a friend. We basically had no plan, so we got there then picked random directions to go and got on random trams and got off when something looked interesting. We found the Sumo guy on the side in front of a modern art place, so we thought we'd take him on. ;] And we ended up finding the lake eventually, and a really big cathedral: St. Pierre Cathedral. It was huge and gorgeous. :] Then we went to Basel (on the other side of the country, a four hour train trip) and met up with three other exchange students. I caught a train home around 10, but I was still really tired the next day from all the walking. :]
On that Thursday (2/7), I ate wild pig with my host Rotary club! There were only 5 women there including me, so the guy in charge of the night (also the hunter) gave us each a rose. :] The food was SO good, and I ate way to much. haha
On Saturday morning (2/9) I made an American breakfast for 10 people (pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs). :] I think I didn't make enough still, but everyone liked it. They all tried maple syrup for the first time, and peanut butter too! :]
I'm on break now, "Sportferien". Literally a week off so people can go skiing; only in Switzerland. :] I am maybe going skiing this Wednesday, and then on Thursday is a Fasnachtfest (Carnaval) with my Rotary Club. Then Saturday and Sunday is a Rotary Weekend with a bunch of other Exchange Students; we're going ice skating and sledding (down a mountain!). So this next week is pretty busy. :]
Annnnd...
I've been in Switzerland 6 months already!!!!! Well as of tomorrow anyway!
Das ist unglaublich..(That is unbelievable)
Time has gone by so fast, yet so much has happened. There's a great quote I heard once about austauschjahre (exchange year): "Exchange isn't a year in your life, it's a life in a year." And that really is true. I am so glad I got on that plane and didn't say my thoughts of "I want to go home" out loud the first or second month. It was hard at first, but it was so worth it. I've met so many amazing people, done so many amazing things. I feel like I've changed, maybe even grown up a little, and learned so much. It's the kind of experience no school or actually person could teach you, it's just life. And being on this adventure is the best year of my life so far. I can't wait to see what will happen in the months to come, and I know I will miss Switzerland dearly when I have to leave. Because it really is a life in a year.
Have a wonderful February!
-Anne-Marie
Grüsse all!
I haven't been to busy lately, mostly just school. I started a new semster Monday (2/4), but I ended up not having school that day because my classmates had "matura arbeit tag" (Like a thesis paper they all have to write to graduate, and they start their 11th year and get work days). My Mondays-Wednesdays are pretty long now... 7:30-3:35 on Monday (lunch not till 1 D: ), Tuesday 7:30-5:20, but a long midday break, and Wednesday 7:30-4:30. But Thursday is only from 7:30-12 and Friday 9:15-1:50, so it kinda makes up for it..
Last Friday (2/1) I went to a concert here in Nidau, it was a son of a friend of my host parents (he's 20s ish). He was really good! His name is James Gruntz, he sings pop and in English (a lot of people do actually). After the concert his dad bought me a CD and James signed it. :]
Then the next day (Sat 2/2), I went to Geneva with a friend. We basically had no plan, so we got there then picked random directions to go and got on random trams and got off when something looked interesting. We found the Sumo guy on the side in front of a modern art place, so we thought we'd take him on. ;] And we ended up finding the lake eventually, and a really big cathedral: St. Pierre Cathedral. It was huge and gorgeous. :] Then we went to Basel (on the other side of the country, a four hour train trip) and met up with three other exchange students. I caught a train home around 10, but I was still really tired the next day from all the walking. :]
On that Thursday (2/7), I ate wild pig with my host Rotary club! There were only 5 women there including me, so the guy in charge of the night (also the hunter) gave us each a rose. :] The food was SO good, and I ate way to much. haha
On Saturday morning (2/9) I made an American breakfast for 10 people (pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs). :] I think I didn't make enough still, but everyone liked it. They all tried maple syrup for the first time, and peanut butter too! :]
I'm on break now, "Sportferien". Literally a week off so people can go skiing; only in Switzerland. :] I am maybe going skiing this Wednesday, and then on Thursday is a Fasnachtfest (Carnaval) with my Rotary Club. Then Saturday and Sunday is a Rotary Weekend with a bunch of other Exchange Students; we're going ice skating and sledding (down a mountain!). So this next week is pretty busy. :]
Annnnd...
I've been in Switzerland 6 months already!!!!! Well as of tomorrow anyway!
Das ist unglaublich..(That is unbelievable)
Time has gone by so fast, yet so much has happened. There's a great quote I heard once about austauschjahre (exchange year): "Exchange isn't a year in your life, it's a life in a year." And that really is true. I am so glad I got on that plane and didn't say my thoughts of "I want to go home" out loud the first or second month. It was hard at first, but it was so worth it. I've met so many amazing people, done so many amazing things. I feel like I've changed, maybe even grown up a little, and learned so much. It's the kind of experience no school or actually person could teach you, it's just life. And being on this adventure is the best year of my life so far. I can't wait to see what will happen in the months to come, and I know I will miss Switzerland dearly when I have to leave. Because it really is a life in a year.
Have a wonderful February!
-Anne-Marie
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Frohes Neue Jahre!
Well hello all!
Yes it's been a month since I last wrote, but in my defense, everything really interesting happened in the past two weeks, and I had no time to write.
So let's see, my last week of school before ferien was great. Had a couple tests, but the teachers were really relaxed otherwise. My Chem teacher bought us coffee. :] I also went to a hockey game on the 22. Biel won again. :] But I got beer spilled into both of my boots.. That was gross, plus it was raining outside and I had to partially walk home. :[
Skyped with my family in South Dakota on the 23rd, and my mom's side of the family on the 25th. It was good to see all of my family, I was a little sad that I couldn't be there in person. All of the exchange students say Christmas is the hardest time to be away from your family, and I would definitely agree. But I'm taking advantage of my awesome year in Switzerland, and trying not to stay homesick for to long. Christmas is not so over the top here. Where we put up a crazy amount of lights and decorations up, they seem more minimal here. They also don't really put up decorations until a week or so before Christmas, and take them down almost immediately afterwards. Not like the USA, where the decorations are up from November until March. haha And the tree, that kind of scared my sometimes. They put REAL candles on the tree!!! Every time they lit them (whenever people were over) I was just imagining my family's tradition of burning the tree in the first bonfire of the year, and the flames reaching 30 ft into the sky. They also put little sparklers on the tree. Yes, the fire kind. They only last a couple seconds, but they still worried me.
I skyped with my mom, my synchro co-captains, and their moms on my mom's Birthday (28th), that was nice too. I miss those girls, and their moms were like second moms to me, so them all together was fun. :]
For New Years, we went to Lenk, where friends of my host parents were staying. At midnight there were fireworks and lots of bells ringing. It was loud, we were up the side of a mountain a bit, and we could still here the people yelling the countdown in the town below. :] Then on the first, I had my first skiing experience in the Swiss Alps. :] I only fell a few times, but it was still fun. :]
Then the next two days were spent packing and cleaning. I moved to my new host family (the brother of my old host dad), on the 3rd. I really settled in fast here, I think. My room is already all decorated with pictures my parents have sent me, a Hawaii calendar from my Auntie, and a horse calendar from my grandparents. :] (anyone else want to send me pictures for my wall? ;] )I also have a stash of food from Christmas still; so much chocolate!! I went to see Life of Pi with my host parents too, that movie is so good! And the music is awesome too! I highly recommend looking up the soundtrack. ;]
Then on the 5th my old host family picked me up and we went to Leukerbad for a skiing/ thermal pool week. That was AMAZING. I'm basically speechless on how to describe it. It's on people bucket lists to go skiing in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by gorgeous snow covered mountains, and I got to do it. There were moments when I was skiing where I just looked around me and thought "Oh My God, I can't believe I'm here". It was so surreal and just amazing. Falling at least twice a day didn't even take away the surrealness. ;] I was always exhausted afterwards though. There are also thermal baths (pools). Only one comes right from the ground, the hottest one (you can't stay longer than 30 min, I only stayed 10ish), the others are all hot-tub-warm though. And most of them are OUTSIDE. So you're just relaxing in the warm water, with jets giving you a massage, and there are mountains around you. It was amazing! My host sister, her friend and I spent all of Monday there. :] I also found out that my camera can go underwater! It said it could, but it didn't look like it, no protective casing or anything, so I was nervous to try; my host sister dunked it for me. So that was fun having an underwater photo shoot. :]
On Tuesday evening I met up with an exchange student from Canada in her "host town" Brig. It's not to far from Leukerbad, only a bus down the Mountain than a short train ride. :] We went ice skating, and I'm proud to say I didn't fall!(Though there was plenty of arm flailing haha) We skied on Wednesday and then packed up and drove home that evening. And the next day I had school! (Technically I had school the whole week, but I'm an exchange student and need to experience the culture ;] ) My old host family had three weeks off, I only had two, but I have another week off the second week of February.
So now I live with a two year old, and a 6 year old. They love to come say hello when I'm in my room. And look at all my stuff. haha. As long as I'm here I don't really mind. Little kids mostly only speak Swiss German here though, so sometimes it's harder to understand them, but I'm getting better. I think my German will get a lot better here because I have no other option. :]
So that was my past three weeks. It was a great ferien, and now it's back to school! My second semester starts the first week of February, so I'll get a new schedule then..
Hope everyone had a Good Christmas and a good New Year!
-Anne-Marie
Yes it's been a month since I last wrote, but in my defense, everything really interesting happened in the past two weeks, and I had no time to write.
So let's see, my last week of school before ferien was great. Had a couple tests, but the teachers were really relaxed otherwise. My Chem teacher bought us coffee. :] I also went to a hockey game on the 22. Biel won again. :] But I got beer spilled into both of my boots.. That was gross, plus it was raining outside and I had to partially walk home. :[
Skyped with my family in South Dakota on the 23rd, and my mom's side of the family on the 25th. It was good to see all of my family, I was a little sad that I couldn't be there in person. All of the exchange students say Christmas is the hardest time to be away from your family, and I would definitely agree. But I'm taking advantage of my awesome year in Switzerland, and trying not to stay homesick for to long. Christmas is not so over the top here. Where we put up a crazy amount of lights and decorations up, they seem more minimal here. They also don't really put up decorations until a week or so before Christmas, and take them down almost immediately afterwards. Not like the USA, where the decorations are up from November until March. haha And the tree, that kind of scared my sometimes. They put REAL candles on the tree!!! Every time they lit them (whenever people were over) I was just imagining my family's tradition of burning the tree in the first bonfire of the year, and the flames reaching 30 ft into the sky. They also put little sparklers on the tree. Yes, the fire kind. They only last a couple seconds, but they still worried me.
I skyped with my mom, my synchro co-captains, and their moms on my mom's Birthday (28th), that was nice too. I miss those girls, and their moms were like second moms to me, so them all together was fun. :]
For New Years, we went to Lenk, where friends of my host parents were staying. At midnight there were fireworks and lots of bells ringing. It was loud, we were up the side of a mountain a bit, and we could still here the people yelling the countdown in the town below. :] Then on the first, I had my first skiing experience in the Swiss Alps. :] I only fell a few times, but it was still fun. :]
Then the next two days were spent packing and cleaning. I moved to my new host family (the brother of my old host dad), on the 3rd. I really settled in fast here, I think. My room is already all decorated with pictures my parents have sent me, a Hawaii calendar from my Auntie, and a horse calendar from my grandparents. :] (anyone else want to send me pictures for my wall? ;] )I also have a stash of food from Christmas still; so much chocolate!! I went to see Life of Pi with my host parents too, that movie is so good! And the music is awesome too! I highly recommend looking up the soundtrack. ;]
Then on the 5th my old host family picked me up and we went to Leukerbad for a skiing/ thermal pool week. That was AMAZING. I'm basically speechless on how to describe it. It's on people bucket lists to go skiing in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by gorgeous snow covered mountains, and I got to do it. There were moments when I was skiing where I just looked around me and thought "Oh My God, I can't believe I'm here". It was so surreal and just amazing. Falling at least twice a day didn't even take away the surrealness. ;] I was always exhausted afterwards though. There are also thermal baths (pools). Only one comes right from the ground, the hottest one (you can't stay longer than 30 min, I only stayed 10ish), the others are all hot-tub-warm though. And most of them are OUTSIDE. So you're just relaxing in the warm water, with jets giving you a massage, and there are mountains around you. It was amazing! My host sister, her friend and I spent all of Monday there. :] I also found out that my camera can go underwater! It said it could, but it didn't look like it, no protective casing or anything, so I was nervous to try; my host sister dunked it for me. So that was fun having an underwater photo shoot. :]
On Tuesday evening I met up with an exchange student from Canada in her "host town" Brig. It's not to far from Leukerbad, only a bus down the Mountain than a short train ride. :] We went ice skating, and I'm proud to say I didn't fall!(Though there was plenty of arm flailing haha) We skied on Wednesday and then packed up and drove home that evening. And the next day I had school! (Technically I had school the whole week, but I'm an exchange student and need to experience the culture ;] ) My old host family had three weeks off, I only had two, but I have another week off the second week of February.
So now I live with a two year old, and a 6 year old. They love to come say hello when I'm in my room. And look at all my stuff. haha. As long as I'm here I don't really mind. Little kids mostly only speak Swiss German here though, so sometimes it's harder to understand them, but I'm getting better. I think my German will get a lot better here because I have no other option. :]
So that was my past three weeks. It was a great ferien, and now it's back to school! My second semester starts the first week of February, so I'll get a new schedule then..
Hope everyone had a Good Christmas and a good New Year!
-Anne-Marie
Monday, December 10, 2012
Schnee und Märkte
Grüsse!
Every time I have taken a picture of it snowing here, it has melted the next day. Seriously. So this time I didn't take a picture of it snowing like crazy on and off for around a week and it has stuck around for awhile. :] Everyone says it's a crazy amount of snow, but to me it's a normal winter! haha
Since it's December, it is the season of Advent here, with holidays like St. Nicholas Day (observed by eating lots of chocolate, oranges, and peanuts), and many, many Christmas markets. There is one every weekend in different villages across Switzerland (and all Europe for that matter). I'm pretty sure I have been to at least one every week.
Two weekends ago (12/1-2) I went to two Christmas markets. The first was in Aarberg with my host sister, and the second was in the Altstadt (old city) in Biel. The Aarberg was all in one centralplatz, and Biel's was both in the centralplatz and along side streets. Both were really pretty, and I didn't even buy anything. Both days were also super cold!! But it wasn't until later that week that we got all the snow.
Last Thursday, I had an advent event with my host Rotary club. I really like my club, and I'm not just saying that because I'm trying to be a suck up. haha They are all super nice and easy to talk to (even in German). We went to a church to hear advent songs, and then we went to a Spanish restaurant called Schöngrün for dinner. The dinner lasted until past 11! I was really tired the next day. =P
Last Saturday (12/8), I made chicken wild rice soup for my host family and a friend. I think it turned out pretty good with European ingredients! My mom would be proud I think! haha My host mom wants the recipe now, so I call that a success. :] Then on Sunday (yesterday 12/9), we went Sledding! Only not the sledding you would think of where you go up and down a hill a million times. No we went up on really long curving hill (basically up a snow- covered road), playing in the snow on the way up, and then taking one really long sled down the hill. We had two sleds: my host parents, and my host sister and I. My host sister and I crashed into the snow banks multiple times. haha It was more than likely my fault too. haha That was a lot of fun though.
Today it snowed in the morning, and then got super sunny and warmer, but I hope because there's so much of it the snow won't melt, even if there is a lot of slush now. =P
Ich wünsche dir eine schönen Woche! :] Tschüss!
-Anne-Marie
Every time I have taken a picture of it snowing here, it has melted the next day. Seriously. So this time I didn't take a picture of it snowing like crazy on and off for around a week and it has stuck around for awhile. :] Everyone says it's a crazy amount of snow, but to me it's a normal winter! haha
Since it's December, it is the season of Advent here, with holidays like St. Nicholas Day (observed by eating lots of chocolate, oranges, and peanuts), and many, many Christmas markets. There is one every weekend in different villages across Switzerland (and all Europe for that matter). I'm pretty sure I have been to at least one every week.
Two weekends ago (12/1-2) I went to two Christmas markets. The first was in Aarberg with my host sister, and the second was in the Altstadt (old city) in Biel. The Aarberg was all in one centralplatz, and Biel's was both in the centralplatz and along side streets. Both were really pretty, and I didn't even buy anything. Both days were also super cold!! But it wasn't until later that week that we got all the snow.
Last Thursday, I had an advent event with my host Rotary club. I really like my club, and I'm not just saying that because I'm trying to be a suck up. haha They are all super nice and easy to talk to (even in German). We went to a church to hear advent songs, and then we went to a Spanish restaurant called Schöngrün for dinner. The dinner lasted until past 11! I was really tired the next day. =P
Last Saturday (12/8), I made chicken wild rice soup for my host family and a friend. I think it turned out pretty good with European ingredients! My mom would be proud I think! haha My host mom wants the recipe now, so I call that a success. :] Then on Sunday (yesterday 12/9), we went Sledding! Only not the sledding you would think of where you go up and down a hill a million times. No we went up on really long curving hill (basically up a snow- covered road), playing in the snow on the way up, and then taking one really long sled down the hill. We had two sleds: my host parents, and my host sister and I. My host sister and I crashed into the snow banks multiple times. haha It was more than likely my fault too. haha That was a lot of fun though.
Today it snowed in the morning, and then got super sunny and warmer, but I hope because there's so much of it the snow won't melt, even if there is a lot of slush now. =P
Ich wünsche dir eine schönen Woche! :] Tschüss!
-Anne-Marie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)