unterwegs

Grüezi!

I've been in the land of neutrality and the Matterhorn and chocolate-that-is-better-than-yours for about a week and a half now. My German is getting progressively better by the day, and the best and most adorable word I have learned thus far is unterwegs, which means traveling, or as explained by my host mom, on the road. It reminds me of all the lovely abbreviated English words my friends and I like to use (totes, maybs, strugs) that drive my dear sister up the wall (sorry, Grace.) Because Seraina goes to a different school than I do, this summer break is the only one the two of us have that lines up. We've been taking full advantage of the shared vacation by going on day trips all over the place. Rotary has kindly provided me with a GA (General Abonnement,) which has been wonderful. The GA is essentially my pass to use nearly every form of transportation to get just about everywhere in Switzerland, free of charge. So far we've been to Lucerne, Locarno, Bellinzona, the Rigi, the Schwyzer alps, Brunnen...it's a gorgeous country.

Luzern :

die Kappellbrücke

officially Swiss

Locarno :

inside of Madonna del Sasso

pizzeria on the lake

Rigi: 

Anita, Seraina and I took a train up to the top of the Rigi, a cable car down, and a ship to Brunnen, where we got gelato and took a train back to Arth-Goldau.

on a clear day, you can see Germany!

this ship is 100 years old this year

Schwyzer Alpen :

Look at this lake! Look at it!

Bellinzona:

Seraina and I went to Bellinzona for the sole purpose of castle exploration. This is Castelli di Montebello.

It has a drawbridge. It really does.

view of Castelgrande

castle vineyard

This week I met with both my Youth Exchange Officer and my counselor, and I officially start school on the 19th! I won't know what classes I'm taking until the day of, or even which grade I'll be in. High school students here pick a general direction in terms of subjects they are interested in: languages, math/science (nope), arts, etc. Most of your subjects have to do with the direction you choose, and are with the same group of students. There may be one or two other electives outside of your main focus as well. Regardless, everything (besides any foreign languages) will be taught in German, which will be extremely beneficial, albeit difficult at first - I'm really excited to start.

Tschüss for now!

taking it in

Grüezi, everyone!

I have been in Switzerland for three days now, and it's absolutely gorgeous. My host family and I took the train home from Zürich on Sunday, and Valeria (my host sister) was laughing because I was staring open-mouthed out the window for most of the ride. If you google pictures of Switzerland, that's pretty much what it looks like...everywhere. There are mountains and lakes and classic European houses and green everywhere. When we got home, this was on my bedroom door:

I love it!

My host parents are named Donat and Anita, and their daughters are Valeria (20), Ursina (18), and Seraina (almost 16) - Ursina left yesterday morning for her exchange in Colombia. They live in Oberarth, which is part of a municipality (Arth, Oberarth, Goldau)- if you look on a map, you'll likely just see Arth, on the southern tip of lake Zug. We are right at the base of the Rigi, and just minutes away from the lake. Seraina has already taken me biking around all three villages, and we've gone swimming in the lake twice. Goldau's train station is one of the best - it is right in the middle of everything, and easy to get pretty much anywhere. In a few days I'll have my train pass, and Seraina and I will be taking some day trips all over Switzerland!

Sunset behind the Rigi

Arth

I knew before coming here that German would be primarily used in school, and that Swiss German (Schwyzerdütsch) is what people here speak to each other - these are very different languages. Donat said that even for them, German is a foreign language. For example, today is Ziischtig, not Dienstag, and a horse is a Ross, not a Pferd. Thank you is merci (not French - emphasis on the mer rather than the ci). My family speaks some English though, and they have been very helpful. Valeria is the self-described "walking dictionary" - she spent a year in Nevada on exchange and speaks English very well. 

Last night was music night - Seraina and I played the piano and Valeria played the piano and violin for hours. They're like me - they don't get tired of it quickly. Seraina was so excited that I have the music from Swan Lake, because she has been trying to find it for quite some time and hasn't been able to. She is already working on it. :)

Today Anita, Seraina, and I went to Einsiedeln, and toured a gorgeous baroque Abbey. I found out too late from one of the church officials that photography wasn't allowed inside the Abbey...oops. I don't even have an excuse - the sign had a camera crossed out in red (a sign I didn't see, mind you,) so I couldn't pull the I'm-not-from-here card. Ah well...the inside had arched ceilings with elaborate paintings and carvings, and a chapel dedicated to the "black Madonna. Here it is from the outside:

Stable for the horses

I am so excited to see more of this beautiful country!

Tschüss,

Hannah