Travel Memories

Hi everyone,

       Last week, I had the opportunity to go to Italy with other exchange students on a rotary trip. We were there for six days, from Monday until Saturday. We were only able to visit two cities but since they were Rome and Venice, I can't really complain. Actually overall, I have so much to be thankful and can't really find anything to be discontent about. I just wish that I had more time to enjoy all the amazing things happening in my life.

      On Monday, I woke up really early so that I could get to the meeting point in Zug on time. After I got there, I waited with the other exchange students until the train arrived. What followed was a seven hour train ride to Rome that most people spent sleeping or trying to sleep. When we finally arrived in Rome, everyone headed to the hotel to drop off our stuff before we headed back into the main part of the city to visit the Colosseum. I can't even begin to describe how unreal it was to stand before the Colosseum, structure that I had seen in so many photos but never actually thought I would see in real life. I am still try to wrap my mind around the fact that I have actually been there. I felt like that throughout my whole trip.

       Tuesday was also really great because we visited the Vatican. Although I was unable to meet the Pope (an emergency came up and he told me he couldn't make it) I did get to see the St. Peters Basilica, the Cistine Chapel, and St Peter's Square. I was blown away by the beauty of the St. Peter's Basilica, by the paintings of the Cistine Chapel, and by the grandeur of St. Peter's Square. I am still processing all of the things I saw. However, the best thing I saw and by far my favorite was the Pietà. There is just something about that sculpture that touched me and it is easy to see how it became one of Michelangelo's most famous pieces. I was stunned by the beauty and detail that he achieved when sculpting one of the saddest and most touching scenes from the bible. To be honest I could have sat there in front of Mary and Jesus for the rest of the day but unfortunately I had only a couple of stolen moments to view the statue before we had to move on with the tour. The other highlight of my day was being able to talk to one of the Swiss guards that was posted outside the Vatican. They are like the sentries posted outside the Queen's palace except better because they were Swiss.

         Wednesday we toured most of the other famous parts of the city. Early in the morning we got a guided tour to see things like the Spanish steps which I know are famous for some reason but I am not quite sure why since I had a really hard time hearing the guide. Nevertheless, the steps were rather wonderful, especially since they gave my poor, tired feet a rest. The next thing we saw was the Trev fountain, which I found almost as beautiful as the Pietà. We even got to stop and throw our three coins into the fountain after which everyone made three wishes. There was something cool about the fact that I was doing something that millions of other had done, that we were all connected through our wishes. A bonus to the whole coin thing is that all the coins get collect and donated to charity so it also felt like I was making a small difference.

     The only thing I didn't like about the fountain was the fact that there were so many people, an unfortunately common thing in Rome. That is why I loved being allowed to explore the city at night with my friends, all the things I didn't like about Rome during the day mostly disappeared when the sun went down. Anyways, I also got to see the Pantheon, which I found to be a really good example of the history of Rome. It originally was a temple dedicated to Roman gods, was structured in a slightly Greek manner, is now a Catholic church and has a obelisk outside with Egyptian hieroglyphics on it. I mean talk about a mix of cultures, it was fascinating!



    Thursday we didn't have an opportunity to tour in Rome anymore because we had to catch a train to Venice. I have to admit that although I loved Rome, I was happy to head to Venice. The trip was relaxing and I spent most of the time just talking with friends, catching up with what had been happening in their lives. My first glimpse of Venice was a little disappointing because there was absolutely no water that I could see. I was relieved to find out that we would go to the island part of Venice after we had dropped off our stuff at the hotel. I can't even describe how much I loved Venice. It is one of the most interesting cities I have ever been in and that is including Rome. However, because we got into Venice late in the day, we didn't get to much time by ourselves to explore so I just spent an hour or so wandering around looking at all the many sights before we headed to eat and after eating, we went back to the hotel.

     Friday morning we got a tour through a lot of the main sights in Venice, such as St. Mark's square, St. Mark's Basilica, the Venetian duke's palace, and the clock tower. I really liked our guide too because she was so engaging and friendly. She was also really funny and knowledgeable. After our tour was finished though, we got a whole six hours free to just explore all of the canals, nooks, and crannies that Venice was comprised of. I had such a blast searching high and low for gifts for my host family and seeing all that this unique city had to offer. One of my favorite things about Venice were all of the different masks that are a trademark of the people. There were hundreds of different types and colors, all of them so beautiful. They could be found on almost every street and I think almost all of the girl exchange students bought one and also some of the guys. One of the most striking things about Venice was how different it was from a normal city. Because it was built on a bunch of islands, the town is divided by water and as a result, the people that live there use boats where people would normally use cars. The police, ambulance, buses, taxis, and normal vehicles were all boats. I don't think I saw a single car the whole time I was in Venice.

    

   

       I loved Venice so much and was really sad when we had to head back home on Saturday but I consoled myself with the knowledge that I would come back. Because I know for a fact that someday I will go back, but this time I will be sure to have more than two days to explore the city because I can tell you, it had not been enough for me. I was still happy to go home at the end of the week. I only have one more week till I switch host families and want to spend as much time with them as I can before I move. Five months went by faster than I had ever expected them to. Before I know it, I will be back in Alaska starting school again. If there is one thing that this exchange has really taught me, it is how to live in the present and enjoy, because once it is over you can never get it back. So, instead of worrying about what degree I want and where I will go to school in the future, I will take this time to live out my present. After all, what better time is there than the present.

                                                                                                              Your traveler,

                                                                                                                         Grace

p.s. I have changed the settings on my blog so that people are now able to post comments. I am sorry I wasn't aware of it not working before. I can't wait to hear back from people! =)

My Favorite Book

Hello to all my devoted readers,

     If my exchange year were an action adventure, I have left all of you at the cliff hanging scene, and now that I have let all of you stew over what happens next, the next chapter in this exciting story. So last time I blogged, I was about to stay with my third host family for a week and I will be the first to admit that I was incredibly nervous and worried. I have come to love my current host family so much, they have become an addition to the people I call family and I already know that switching at the end of April will be so incredibly hard. That being said though, my next host family will also be an amazing family to stay with and I am sure that my time with them will also be so much fun.

     My week started on Sunday when my host parents Karin and Ralph picked me up on the way home from skiing. We drove to Hergiswil, where I would be living for the last three months of my exchange. After arriving home, my host dad showed me the route I would take to get to the train station. It is so entertaining that between my three host families, I have taken three different modes of transportation to get to school. With my first host family, I rode my bike to school, with my second I took the bus, and with my third I will experience the wonderful train system every day. 

   On Sunday night, I had a typical Swiss meal of bread, cheese, and meat. As small of a detail as that may seem to most of you, just that little meal dissipated so much of my anxiety. It was so comforting to know that amidst all the changes that would come with switching host families yet again, there were still some things that I could count on to be the same. I am happy to know that I will still have at least some consistency in my home life.

   I have been so blessed with the host families I have been a part of this year because they are all absolutely fabulous! The Siggs are also really great and I am lucky to have two brothers that I can interact with. The older of the two is Pascal and while he isn't home that often, he is still really fun to be around. My younger host brother is Louis and I have to admit that he is a blast. My second night at their house, I was sitting at the dinner table telling them about my homework and suddenly Louis tells me that I have to help him with his German homework.Of course I was thinking to myself that it would probably just be a waste of time and I would be bored but it actually was a lot of fun. He would write down the answers and since I was in possession of the answer book, I would tell him if it was right or wrong. After we had finished our homework he introduced me to the show Gossip Girl and we watched until he had to go to bed. Over the week, that became our pattern. We would all go to school or work during the day, come home and eat dinner, and then Louis and I would do our homework together and then we would watch a show. I found myself settling in quite well and by the end of the week I was still somewhat miserable but at the same time a lot better.

    Over the weekend, I went with my host family to Engelberg to go skiing but on Saturday I went with some other exchange students. It was really interesting because only eight exchange students went and out of that eight, six of them were from South America. Needless to say, I was provided with hours of entertainment watching them all attempt to ski on the rough terrain. Although everyone fell a couple times, I was blown away by how good they were since all of them had started learning here in Switzerland and snow was so new to them. I enjoyed myself so much and was disappointed when everyone had to leave. On Sunday though, I went skiing with my host family and we ended up having absolutely gorgeous weather and perfect slopes. I love Stoos, but after a winter of skiing almost every weekend had become used to the slopes so it was so cool to be able to ski on some new turf. Plus, there were so many black slopes to ski on. I had the opportunity to experience so many new slopes and skied almost all of Titlis. I was absolutely exhausted after six hours of skiing. Between Saturday and Sunday, I skid for almost fourteen hours total.I also went with my host parents into the glacier caves that can be visited at the top of the Titlis. The ice was so beautiful to touch and see. You would think coming from Alaska, I would have been pretty disinterested by the ice but I actually found it pretty fascinating. Afterwards, I went with my host family to pack up our stuff at their apartment and headed back towards Hergiswil.

      I sat down with my host family to eat for the last time of the week, just before they took me home. The next time I sit down to eat with them I will have switched host families and will be nine months into my exchange. I think I am panicking just a little bit thinking about it. I wish that I could just track Time down, knock it out, tie it up and throw it in the closet so that my exchange would never, ever end. Sadly, Time is very hard to pin down, so I will just have to deal with it. Nevertheless, just because I have almost finished this chapter of my life, the book isn't over yet and I still have many more adventures ahead of me.

                                                                                       Your contemplative writer,

                                                                                                                     Grace