Hey everyone,
I am just updating you on some of the more recent stuff that I have done. For fall break I found many opportunities to see Switzerland, to get to know the wonderful country and the people that I share it with. For me it was really interesting having a fall break because that isn't something that really is done in the United States. It was so funny when I was talking to my friends at home, that when I told them I was on break for two weeks they always talked about how they wished we had a break like that in fall and also how lucky I was. The first week of my break was very busy and I found myself doing something every single day. As crazy as it was I loved it!
The first day I treated myself to a nice late morning and I didn't get up until almost 1 o'clock. After I had a leisurely breakfast. Then my host sister and I went to replace my phone cable because it had broken over the Wanderwoche. After that I caught up with an exchange student from Texas. After wandering around Luzern for thirty minutes or so, we caught a train heading to her house, where I would be staying the night. After a three-hour train ride, she lives far away from me, we arrived in Bad Ragaz, where she lives. Once we got to her house I diposited my stuff in her room and followed her upstairs for a traditional swiss snack of bread and cheese. Unfortunatley, we culdn't stay up late and talk because we had to get up early the next day to go tour a chocolate factory.
We woke up at about 6:45 the next morning and groggily made our way upstairs for breakfast. After getting ready we headed to the train station, just strolling along leisurely talking...until we realized that or train arrived in two minutes. We made it onto the train literally ten seconds before it pulled out of the station. We met her friend a couple towns away and then we all continued on to the town where the chocolate factory was. The tour itself was actually only mildly interesting but the chocolate was absolutely superb! It was also fascinating to watch the precision of the workers as they did the same task over and over again. I even got a free box of chocolate from the tour! After we were finished, we went to get food at the local Coop, and then went to a local park to eat. I then headed home and for the rest of the day relaxed and enjoyed my break.
On Wednesday, my host sister and I went to Basel to stay at my host brother's apartment, because he had invited us to a party a couple weeks before. We got there around six o'clock in the evening and were quickly invited into the apartment, where we were surrounded by music and people. I quickly grabbed myself some water and then went and sat in a chair before I was completely overwhelmed. On the TV they had a football game playing, with Basel vs. Another Team and every now and then people would cheer when Basel scored a goal. I ended up really enjoying myself and met many interesting new people. I was still very happy to get to bed later that night because I was absolutely exhausted.
The next day, I woke up at about 11 o'clock to the sound of my host sister rustling around in the kitchen. She had already been up for an hour or so and had gone to the store for bread, to eat at breakfast. My host brother woke up about ten minutes later and then everyone sat down to eat. After we had cleaned up, my host sister and I were trying to figure out what to do for the rest of the day. When she suggested the zoo, I jumped on the chance to go see it. I loved it there! My favorite exhibit was the chimpanzees because it has always fascinated me how agile they are in the trees. I could have sat and watched them for another three hours, at least. I also enjoyed seeing the penguins and lions as well. When we got back to my host brother's apartment, we found him sitting and playing on his gaming console. We joined him and proceeded to play for the next few hours. I had so much fun. Later that night we went to a club where I eventually lost my wallet. Despite having lost my wallet, I still ended up having a good evening. It was interesting to see how young people in Switzerland party. It was an Oktoberfest party so of course there was a lot of acohol. They also played traditional Swiss music and had girls walking around in traditional Swiss clothing. For the second night in a row, I felt into bed completely, mentally exhausted. Trying to make sense of the conversations I heard that night was so difficult.
On Friday, I got up around ten with my host brother to go report that my wallet was missing and then we had to go to the train station to get my GA replaced. However, they only were able to give me a signed ticket saying that my GA had been lossed, so that when I went to get the card replaced, I could get reimbursed for the ticket purchased. I had a great time in Basel, but I was relieved to be heading home. Once I was back in Stans, I took some time to unpack my things and wrap the present that I had purchased for a friend that had his birthday the next week. I then had to repack some of my things so that I would be ready the next morning when my second host mom came to pick me up when we went to Austria. After I had everything packed, I grabbed my gift and then headed to Zurich, where I was meeting up with some other exchange students to celebrate my friend's birthday. After wandering around Zurich for thirty minutes trying to find somewhere to eat, we finally stopped at Coop to buy sandwiches, me and my friend from Texas also bought a tiny carrot cake for later. After we finished our sandwiches, we brought out the cake and proceeded to savor every bite. When I got home later that evening, I crawled into bed to get some sleep. The next day I was going to Austria for a week!
Friday, October 26, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Wonderful Wanderwoche
Hey everyone,
Recently I got to spend a whole week with my class from school, climbing in the mountains. When I first heard that I would be spending a whole week hiking my first thought was that there was no way I was going to survive a week of intensive hiking. But after getting to think about it, I realized how lucky I was to be getting the opportunity to become better aquainted with my fellow classmates.
The two or three days before we were supposed to leave, I spent preparing for a week in the wild. I didn't have much trouble with that part though since, being from Alaska, my whole life is spent living in the wild (just kidding). I must admit though, I found myself listing pointers that my dad had given me in the past, such as no cotton and plenty of chocolate. Being in Switzerland I had no trouble with the chocolate part. I have to admit that is one of my favorite aspects of Switzerland, the chocolate. Although I have to admit that the transportation is pretty incredible too.
One Monday, we all arrived at the bahnhof at about 8:20 in the morning. We then proceeded to get on about five different trains and travel for about four and a half hours before we finally arrived in Andermatt, our starting point.From Andermatt, it was a five hour hike up into the beautiful swiss mountains. I actually found myself singing songs from The Sound of Music. I wanted to start dancing and singing Do, Re, Mi . Sadly, I restrained myself. I also found it curious how many little cabins there were fpr people to stay in, all along the trail.
When we arrived at the place where we were staying for the night the first thing I did was peel off my wet rainclothes and then stand in front of the blazing fire for the next five minutes. After I felt sufficiently scorched, I went to get situated in my bed, then trotted downstairs to find out what everyone else was doing. I spent the next several hours enjoying the company of my classmates playing card games and learning to play a game called Die Werwölfe von Düsterwald. I enjoyed the food and the warm, inviting bed at the end of the night.
The next day we had pretty horrible weather. It was like Switzerland was trying to prove to me that it could get as cold as Alaska if it wanted to. I got really frustrated when I had to take off and put on my jacket, like twelve times throughout the day. Everytime we started hiking I would heat up and have to take of my jacket and then everytime we would take a break, I would immediately freeze my tushy off. I am a little suprised I didn't get hypothermia. Needless to say, it was a blessing when I finally saw the place where we would be staying for the next two days. It was a cute little hostel (for a lack of better words) up in the middle of the mountains. After securing a bed for myself, I went to obtain some food for my poor stomach. Unfortunatley, that meant walking uphill for five minutes, in pouring rain and strong winds. The meal was so good that it ended up being worth it. After hanging out with my classmates, laughing and talking, I finally curled up in my bed and slept.
The next day was nice because we didn't have to go hiking at all. After breakfast, we all came back to the hostel so that our teachers could outline what the plan was for the day. For the most part, we would stay inside. However, for two hours we were supposed to go off by ourselves and have alone time to think. As much as I had enjoyed my classmates, I welcomed the opportunity to be by myself and just let my mind have a rest. So I went off into the woods to think. At first I was a little bored because I had nothing to do, but once I settled down, it was nice to just think about home, what I missed, what I would do when I got back, how happy I was in Switzerland, and I even started reciting sentences to myself in German. After getting back I sat in front of the fire driving the cold from my bones. We had a brief moment where we panicked about the exchange student from Mexico who hadn't returned yet. When she got back, she calmly informed us that she had fallen asleep. I still chuckle when I think about it. That night, one of my classmates had a fever, so the next day he went back home.
On our fourth day we were back on the trail, heading to the next hostel that we would stay at. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and even though it was cloudy, at least it wasn't raining.
Once we arrived at the hostel, all of the girls took a well-deserved bath. Once everyone was settled into their rooms and had indulged in a nice shower, we all went downstairs for dinner. Afterwards, the chores were delegated and I ended up working in the kitchen cleaning up after everyone. I loved it though. For some reason, doing dishes is such a great job for me to do when I want to relax. Later in the evening, we all had a talk as a group about what we had liked about the week so far and what we found difficult. After that we played a couple games and then everyone went upstairs to our rooms to sleep.
The next day we were blessed with beautiful weather and I mean absolutely gorgeous. There was not a cloud in the sky and there was only a slight breeze to keep us cool as we hiked. After about three hours, we were in the valley where we would catch a train back. It was really cool to be in the italien part of Switzerland and the other exchange student kept pointing out words that she understood because of her spanish. One of my classmates ran around with no shoes and we all enjoyed a nice meal. I really enjoyed the architecture because it was slightly different from what I had seen so far in Switzerland. After catching a train back to Nidwalden, I took a bus to get to Stans and was there picked up by my host parents after having said good-bye to everyone. Once I got home, I had dinner and then excused myself to go get some well-deserved rest. For the next two week I would have fall break and I knew that I would need my rest because I had a lot ahead of me.
Grace Mullins
Recently I got to spend a whole week with my class from school, climbing in the mountains. When I first heard that I would be spending a whole week hiking my first thought was that there was no way I was going to survive a week of intensive hiking. But after getting to think about it, I realized how lucky I was to be getting the opportunity to become better aquainted with my fellow classmates.
The two or three days before we were supposed to leave, I spent preparing for a week in the wild. I didn't have much trouble with that part though since, being from Alaska, my whole life is spent living in the wild (just kidding). I must admit though, I found myself listing pointers that my dad had given me in the past, such as no cotton and plenty of chocolate. Being in Switzerland I had no trouble with the chocolate part. I have to admit that is one of my favorite aspects of Switzerland, the chocolate. Although I have to admit that the transportation is pretty incredible too.
One Monday, we all arrived at the bahnhof at about 8:20 in the morning. We then proceeded to get on about five different trains and travel for about four and a half hours before we finally arrived in Andermatt, our starting point.From Andermatt, it was a five hour hike up into the beautiful swiss mountains. I actually found myself singing songs from The Sound of Music. I wanted to start dancing and singing Do, Re, Mi . Sadly, I restrained myself. I also found it curious how many little cabins there were fpr people to stay in, all along the trail.
The next day we had pretty horrible weather. It was like Switzerland was trying to prove to me that it could get as cold as Alaska if it wanted to. I got really frustrated when I had to take off and put on my jacket, like twelve times throughout the day. Everytime we started hiking I would heat up and have to take of my jacket and then everytime we would take a break, I would immediately freeze my tushy off. I am a little suprised I didn't get hypothermia. Needless to say, it was a blessing when I finally saw the place where we would be staying for the next two days. It was a cute little hostel (for a lack of better words) up in the middle of the mountains. After securing a bed for myself, I went to obtain some food for my poor stomach. Unfortunatley, that meant walking uphill for five minutes, in pouring rain and strong winds. The meal was so good that it ended up being worth it. After hanging out with my classmates, laughing and talking, I finally curled up in my bed and slept.
The next day was nice because we didn't have to go hiking at all. After breakfast, we all came back to the hostel so that our teachers could outline what the plan was for the day. For the most part, we would stay inside. However, for two hours we were supposed to go off by ourselves and have alone time to think. As much as I had enjoyed my classmates, I welcomed the opportunity to be by myself and just let my mind have a rest. So I went off into the woods to think. At first I was a little bored because I had nothing to do, but once I settled down, it was nice to just think about home, what I missed, what I would do when I got back, how happy I was in Switzerland, and I even started reciting sentences to myself in German. After getting back I sat in front of the fire driving the cold from my bones. We had a brief moment where we panicked about the exchange student from Mexico who hadn't returned yet. When she got back, she calmly informed us that she had fallen asleep. I still chuckle when I think about it. That night, one of my classmates had a fever, so the next day he went back home.
On our fourth day we were back on the trail, heading to the next hostel that we would stay at. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and even though it was cloudy, at least it wasn't raining.
The next day we were blessed with beautiful weather and I mean absolutely gorgeous. There was not a cloud in the sky and there was only a slight breeze to keep us cool as we hiked. After about three hours, we were in the valley where we would catch a train back. It was really cool to be in the italien part of Switzerland and the other exchange student kept pointing out words that she understood because of her spanish. One of my classmates ran around with no shoes and we all enjoyed a nice meal. I really enjoyed the architecture because it was slightly different from what I had seen so far in Switzerland. After catching a train back to Nidwalden, I took a bus to get to Stans and was there picked up by my host parents after having said good-bye to everyone. Once I got home, I had dinner and then excused myself to go get some well-deserved rest. For the next two week I would have fall break and I knew that I would need my rest because I had a lot ahead of me.
Grace Mullins
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