Monday, December 13, 2010

"Samichlaus / Santichlaus" =)


 An amazing thing about an exchange year is learning about the many different traditions that take place around Christmas time. There are so many I have learned about so far, but here is one…Unlike in the US, Santa Clause is not the man who brings presents to Children on Christmas Eve. He is a man that comes on the evening of the 6th of December, and talks to the children about whether they have been good or bad. When a child has been good, they receive Chocolate, an Orange, and a Grittibänz (a man made out of sweet bread, and covered with sugar or chocolate. The tradition is similar to our Gingerbread men). However, when the children have been bad, Santichlaus has the brush part of a broom which he uses to smack them with before taking them with him back to the Black Forest where he lives (in Germany) in his sack. The children also recite a poem/song for the Santichlaus.



Last Monday night, along with Maggie (another exchange student from the USA) and our host families, I met "Santichlaus". Normally this tradition ends as the kids are older, but as we had never participated, our host families thought it would be great for us. I couldn't agree more. However this meant that I too had to learn and memorize a traditional song/poem to recite for Santichlaus when he came. It was hilarious how nervous I was. I only had the weekend to learn, and to make it harder, all the poems I could choose from were in Swiss-German (of course). But everyone from my class, and sports club were very helpful in making sure I learned every word, and found it hilarious as I tried to recite it. For your enjoyment I have attached the poem below along with a rough translation…



Im Schwarzwald                    Black Forest
Im Schwarzwald stoht es Hüsly,            In the black forest there is a house,
Im Schwarzwald stond viel Bäum.         In the black forest there are many trees.
Uf eimol lütet s' Glöggli,                        Suddenly rings a little bell,
Dr Santichlaus chunnt hei.                     Santaclaus is coming home. 

 Er chunnt vo vilne Chinder,                He comes for many Children
er chunnt vo mängem Huus.                He comes from many houses.
Sie Sack isch leer vom schänke,          His sack is empty of presents,
und Öpfeli si druus.                              and nothing is left.

 Im Tannewald isch finschter,                The fir forest is dark,     
im Tannewald hets Schnee.                the fir forest has snow.
am Himmel lüchte Sternli,                the sky is lighted by stars,
Sisch Wihnachtszit Juhee!                Its Christmas time, Hurray!    


We started with a dinner of various cheeses, meats, nuts, clementines, and chocolate (Traditional things for the holiday). There were eleven of us, and the whole thing was amazing. Lots of talking and laughing. We were about half way through dinner when the doorbell rang. Maggie and I were forced to answer alone, and found Samichlaus waiting for us with his bell, sack, etc. He came to the table to join us at the table, and after much small talk, opened his book and started reading from his list of the good things, and the bad things we have done. I found it quite hilarious listening to my family and friends all 15 and older, talking to Santa, "Why hello Samichlaus", "please sit here Samichlaus", "yeah you met me last year, have you already forgotten me?" etc. It was lots of fun! After reciting the poem and saying goodbye to Samichlaus we spent the rest of the night talking, and I found myself completely content. It was such a great night and I am so thankful that are host families put it together for us even though that is not normal past the age of 8. It is definitely a great tradition =)



Just two more weeks until Christmas! Happy holidays!

 


 


 

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Thanksgiving Weekend=)


Last weekend was Thanksgiving in the USA, and instead of watching the Macy's day parade, eating a Turkey feast, and spending the weekend with my family in Massachusetts as usual for the holiday, I found myself in school, learning German, with other exchange students here in Switzerland…while it was definitely not a normal Thanksgiving, it was still a weekend to remember.

Ice Skating <3
Starting Wednesday I went over to Maggie (a fellow USA exchange students house) for a few hours afterschool. We basically just hung out, ate much food, and talked about our lifes. I had language school with her and we live only minutes apart, but as she is not in my class in the school I hardly ever see her. Then around 5 we left for basel to meet up with other exchange students to go ice skating!! It was my first time this yeah, so I knew I was going to be horrible, but I actually surprised myself and only fell once! It helped that I was skating with mostly kids from latin america and asia (who had never been on ice before). We skated at a museam in the city, and it was surrounded, but open to the sky. It had just snowed two days before, and it was absolutely gorgeous! I had a great time just goofing around, and making up silly games with the other kids. There was about 20 of us, and we took up most of the place. =) Afterwards I skyped my family, who was down in Massachusets for thanksgiving. It was great to see everyone, and I got a chance to share my german skills, by speaking with my cousin who has been learning it for years in school. It was funny to watch my parents faces as they understood none of what we were saying. While its always hard to finish the call (you never want to hang up!!) It was great to talk to everyone and see them.
You can see France!

My Thanksgiving Dinner!
On thursday, Thanksgiving day, I had German class which was cool because the only people you could really say "Happy Thanksgiving!" too, were other americans, so we had a great time screaming it at each other. Afterwards I headed to meet my Liason, and then we went to Germany!!! My first time in Germany!! We took the tram from basel, and then walked about 7 minutes to the border (A strange thing being able to walk to germany!) It was amazing, because as Basel is on the corner of Switzerland, there is a point before you cross out of switzerland, where to your left is France, and your right it Germany! We only went about 5 minutes in, but even there there was suttle differences, that even I could see. The bildings were different styles, and the road and street signs and colors were all different. We ended up in a mall like place, and after doing a little shopping (because even just inside, everything in Germany is much cheeper! I am going there next time I go shopping!!), we headed for dinner (food court style...but with better food then a normal foodcourt!). I tried Lemon Coke, which was reallly good, and had a Donnerkabab for my thanksgiving dinner. For dessert a McDonalds Mcflurry with Caramel sause. Not your usual tukey and pumpkin pie, but it was great. We spent over an hour just talking and sharing stories of the past few weeks/thanksgiving in the USA.


Front Gate
View from Herbert's House
Friday is one of my long school days (until 4:30) which stunk knowing that while I was in school, my family and friends were back home taking part in the crazy black friday shopping (My cousins even brought around a photo of me with them so that I could be there!) but it went by pretty quick. I went home and had delicious fondue (Very Very traditional swiss winter meal...although they do eat it sometimes in the summer. This was only my second time having it) for dinner with my host parents, before heading out to what is known as Turnerabend in Gelterkinden (the town next to mine), which is where a sports-hall puts on a night to showcase all the talents in their club. Every group preforms (sort of like a dance recital only with sports). I went with the girls from my sports club, and while the show wasnt that good (although some acts were amazing with what they could do, and the little kids under 5 were adorable!), I had a great time talking and laughing with them. I saw a lot of people I knew there, and it still amazed me all the people I knew in the area. After the show (which ended at about 11) we headed to a local bar and spent two hours just laughing, talking, and dancing the night away. It was a great night, and so different from nights in the USA where everything is closed past 8. I got home at about 1, and headed straight to bed as I still have school on Saturday mornings.



Saturday, after waking up way to early, and making it through school (only until 11:30), which honestly wasnt that bad, I headed to my host siblings dad's house (where I sleep everyother weekend). It was a relaxing afternoon of just hanging out by the fire. The snow had been coming down non-stop for the past few days, so it was beautiful! Around 4 I went sledding for the first time here with Rahel (host sister) and her best friend Patricia. We put on all the gear, and made our way through the downpour of snow to the field behind her house (which you can see from my house as the town sits in the valley, and the houses slop upwards onto the surrounding hill). Unlike in the USA, once the kids are past 10 or so, they start using the old fashioned styled traditional sleds. The kind made out of wood, and are used more for decorations in the USA. At first I was very confused, and worried they wouldnt hold, or we would break them, but as we started sledding down I realized how great they actually are (plus they look really cool!). The hill was pretty steep so we got going really fast which was great until you get to the bottom, where a nice cold river is flowing and you have to bail! We then took a break to take pictures with the falling snow, and drink some tea which they had brought with us. It was about dusk, and the lights from the town were reflected in the snow. It was absolutely beautiful! We then headed back to Patricia's house to warm up and drink some hot chocolate before heading home. As she lives also in Ormalingen, it was about a 5 minute walk. We then quickly changed before heading to a neighbors house for a neighbors dinner. I was at first very nervous, (lots of people I dont know, all speaking swiss german, etc..) But it turned out to be a lot of fun! Everyone was really nice, and the food was amazing. Lots of fresh cookies and such. Rahel and I stayed for about an hour and in that I found myself laughing a lot, and really enjoying myself! We then headed back to her moms house where we met up with Patricia again to watch a film. By now however its was about 9:30, and with school we were all very tired. We made it through about half of Pirate of the Carribien (at worlds end) before finally giving up on fighting sleep and heading back to her dads for the night.


Adventz Calender
My Gritima! (left)
Sunday was great as I got to sleep in late =). The snow was coming down, and it was the first sunday of Adventz. As usual we had Zopf for breakfast, and overall just relaxed for the morning/ early afternoon. A big difference here is on weekends (or sunday as we have school on saturday) we dont eat lunch. As everyone sleeps in breakfast is eaten together at about 11 or so, so no one is really hungry for lunch. At about 1:30 we got picked up by my host mom (Rahel and me) and headed to liestal for an AFS baking event. Grittibänz or Gratima (depending on the dialect) are traditional men made out of a very sweet bread made around december. They are normally covered in sugar or chocolate, and are very very good. (very similar to the USA tradition of Gingerbread men). So with our host parents left downstairs to talk, we headed to the kitchen to make our version of the Grittibänz...which basically involved very colorful decorations, strange shapes, and as much sugar as possible! As seen in the pictures, mine was pretty amazing. Even had chocolate boots! However after baking he...well was not as handsom. While the bread baked we played cards, talked, and just joked around. It is always an amazing time when the AFS kids get together!!! Hard to explain in words how fun it is. Once all was finished we headed back downstairs to enjoy the delicious meal and talk. With in about 20 minutes all the bread was gone, and our stomachs were stuffed. A great surprise of the day was my liason Caroline, who's family here in switzerland celebrates Thanksgiving every year after her returning from the USA (only on friday night as they all have school here) brought me a piece of her Pumpkin Pie from the celebration. It ment so much, and made my day! I ended up sharing it with my host siblings Father, and although he found it to be a little too sweet, he also said it was great.

In the end it was an amazing weekend here in Switzerland. I had had a very bad week before after hearing my Grandfather back in the states was in the hospital from a heart attack, however by Thanksgiving weekend he was doing much better. It was truely a miracle, and made the week that much more amazing. Turns out Thanksgiving in the USA was my 100th day here. Coincidence? I think not. Spending it with new friends, fellow exchange students and my host family was so perfect. While it in no way resembled my normal Thanksgiving in the USA, I had a fantastic time, and know it is a weekend I will never forget. Is truely one of those weeks you count your blessings, and for me this year that list was very long. Hope all your holidays go just as well whereever you are in the world, and Happy late Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Vacation...Part 2

Spain!!! For the second week of Vacation my host family and I headed to Rosas, Spain!!! I couldnt believe it when I first found out! We drove with the car, through France, and it was so beautiful the whole way. Crazy to say I have now been in Spain, France, and Switzerland, when two months ago, I had not even been to Europe! Even though it shouldn't have, the differences between Spain and Switzerland still came as a surprise! Funny to think how in just over 7 weeks, the swiss way of life became so normal to me!

We stayed in a small appartment just minutes from the ocean, with a beautiful view! The appartment has a huge deck/patio area where we spent a lot of time. The mornings consited of sleeping in, eating delicious pastrys for breakfast, and then reading/learning/talking/and more on the deck until mid afternoon. We would then either head to the beach to swim/play volleyball/ soccer/relax, or to a nearby city for sight seeing. The evenings were spent going out for dessert, shopping, or staying in and playing the most typical Swiss card game "Jassen" (pronounced yah-sen). It is very complicated, but also a lot of fun to play once you understand! It was an amazing week, and a great way to spend vacation with my host family. Spain was so beautiful, and its hard to explain what it was really like so here are a bunch of pictures...enjoy =))
Mountains surrounding Rosas
(seen below)
A Beautiful city we visited  
View from our Appartment
of the Mediteranian =)
Appartment view...
Sunset from the appartment...
City streets of Spain <3

Host family...







Nearby city to Rosas






One big thing about the exchange experience that finally hit me is homesickness. It is strange because although I was doing all these amazing once in a life time things over vacation, I was also hit with the worst homesickness I have experienced here. Partly because I want so badly to share all my experiences with my family and friends back home but am unable. Part of the definition of being an exchange student is separating yourself from your old life for a year, and live a new one. But still, homesickness is not one of those things that you can hide from, and I found that things that are normally just a part of my everyday life now remind me of home. I guess when the homesickness hits, it makes you much more susceptible to everything/anything that could bring back a memory of home. Luckily now being in school, and starting to make friends has helped alot, and the homesickness was just a phase. While I still have days when I miss home friends and family, I am also finding that here is now becoming home also. I have a life here, which is so much a part of who I am now, as the states are. Its definitely a big change, but an exchange year in switzerland is proving to be a once in a lifetime experience I know I will never forget. Everyday I am getting to do things I never thought possible, and am finding myself speaking a language every day I knew only two words from when I first arrived. I saw a quote the other day that I think is perfect to describe how an exchange year works....


"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."


Until later, I am off....Tschüss!



Vacation...part 1

So again this post is very last, but I think its important to tell you all about Vacation!!! One amazing thing about schools here in Switzerland = 2 week Fall vacation!
Vacation started with a week of English speaking, because my host sisters friend from Alaska came to visit! It was very strange to have another american in the house!! I realized how much German I actually could understand (things that for some reason I just figured everyone knew). It was also cool to see her reactions to things I found completely normal now, as it reminded me of the differences, and what my first reactions were of things here.

Sunday we went on a hike to see the Castle/Fort ruins of Farnsburg, which are about an hours hike behind our house! It was crazy to think that the same road I was walking on was the one the knights used as they rode their horses home! The view was beautiful, and it was amazing to think how old the ruins were! There is nothing that old back in the states.



On Monday we went into Basel to see this really cool Art exibit there, show off the City, and do a little shopping! Its nice having such a beautiful and great city just a 30 minute train ride away! Tuesday morning all ther girls in the family left bright and early for a 2 day tour of eastern Switzerland!!! We started by taking a bunch of different trains, including the typical mountain train through the alps, down  to St. Moriz, a famous skiing resort! It was beautiful, and I got to see snow for the first time here in Switzerland!! Was definitely an expensive place though, with Ralph Lauren and Prauda shops next to Rolex, and a store selling $10,000 shoes!!! We then continued our Journey to this little village high up on a mountain. It was so cute, and is where a famous swiss children's story is from....I saw the little boy from the story's actual house!!! :). They also had this delicious honey walnut cake, which is special to that area...Its only place you can buy it. We then went north to Scuol, where our youth hostel was. It was brand new and right in the heart of the alps!! We went to a water park spa which was really relaxing after the long day of traveling!! :)....


The next day we left for St. Gallen, and rode right past Lichtenstein!!!  Just looked like switzerland haha so the only way i knew was because my host mom said "over there is lichenstein" In St. Gallen, we walked around, drank a hot chocolate at a cafe, and went to this really old library made for the monks, that is famous from there. We walked around the city for a while before finally getting on a train and coming home. t was an amazing, exciting, and really fun trip!! 

Beautiful Church in St. Gallen

Me, Rahel, Carla, and Esther <3

A random Playground



Small Village in the Alps
St. Moritz
Sisters in St. Moritz

Sleeping on the Train


Thursday,I went to this mountain thing with my host sister and her firend......we were going to go on the ropes course there but it was too full, so we rode these scooter things down the mountain!! It was beautiful with the leaves just starting to change color! I am amazed at how much later fall seems to hit switzerland here. The leaves were just starting to change in late October. Back in Vermont they start changing in early september! However I am enjoyign the fresh apples so late in the season here!

Another big thing about being an exchange student, is handling/dealing with your own money! Switzerland (as I am sure you know) is one of the most expensive places to live. (I went to Mcdonalds one day and a "Happy Meal" costs about $7.50!). Unfortunately for me, one USA dollar is now only 0.961 Swissfrancs!! :(......I am losing so much money! Hopefully the dollar will go up soon, but right now it just seems to be staying the same.

End of week one.... =)

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Ich liebe...

So I realize now I have not mentioned my favorite things about Switzerland! While being an exchange student can be really tough sometimes, there are also some amazing benefits, and it is easy to think of many things that I love, and will miss when my year is over....
  • Cow bells (there everywhere! All the time!)
  • Church bells (every hour!)
  • Foamy hot chocolate (hard to explain)
  • Trains/ Buses/ Trams!!
  • My GA (train ticket...allows me to go anywhere, anytime for free!)
  • Things open past 8pm 
  • Random castles/ ruins behind my house
  • Bread every morning for breakfast
  • Zopf (Sunday bread)
  • chocolate!!!
  • windows that open both sideways and at an angle 
  • Cool shoes
  • European clothes
  • Biking everywhere
  • Kissing Greetings
  • Being able to bike up hills
  • Biking highways
  • German!
  • walking paths
  • Amazing views everywhere you look
  • The food :)
  • Milk in a bag
  • Recycling everything.....(and I mean everything!)
  • The sweets/pastry's/baked goods!!!
  • No school on Wednesday/Thursday mornings
  • The toilet wall flushers
  • Bed comforters with sheets (like a pillow case)
  • Rivella
  • Hours off from school (when no class)
  • Cooking! Everyone can cook (real cooking) (adults, teenagers, children, boys, girls, etc) 
  • Fellow AFS students
  • The sunset over Ormalingen
Thats a very short list, but to name a few. :) 

Things I don't like so much:
  • Expensive!! Living where the money is is not always a good thing.
  • School on Saturdays
  • School until 5pm
  • Biking everywhere (its cold in the mornings!)
  • German!
  • Homesickness
As you can see the "don't like" list, is much shorter then the "like" list :) 
Best Wishes to everyone near & far!
Ciao

Quick updates....

So yet another 3 weeks has passed (without posting....), and I can not believe that I have officially been in Switzerland for almost two months now!!  Every day I am doing something new, learning a new language, and meeting new people, but it feels normal now. Like this is my daily life/routine. It is no longer strange to me to not understand the dinner conversation, or to take a train everyday to school.  Its hard to explain, but I am forgetting the little details that made up my daily life back in the states. Or more forgetting the differences, in the details, between the USA and Switzerland. When people ask me "What is different here?", its hard to think of them, because everything here that is different, seems normal to me now. The USA seems so far away from my life here, but I also feel like I just left.

So quick updates on things that happened before I went on Fall Vacation....


Me & Fellow AFS'ers in Lucerne
As mentioned I had one week of school at gymnasium before fall vacation....before this week I had my last week of language class. That week I spent a lot of time with other AFS'ers in Basel,  at our chapter welcome party, at a birthday party, and even in Zurich visiting another girl from the USA. All the AFS'ers are so nice and fun to be around that I can never stop laughing when we are together. Its hard to explain to people the connection you instantly have with other exchange students, but its really strong. Even though my entire life back home (friends, family, school, interests) are different from theres, its easy to become best friends. I feel like I have known many of them for years, not weeks, and I often forget that really we know nothing about each other. Sharing this exchange year is such a big connection that you don't even realize the differences. Its amazing :)


Beautiful View from the boat

Famous Bridge
On the last day of Language School, my class decided to go to Luzern and see the city. We went on the famous boat, crossed the bridge, and basically just had a fun final last day all together. Lucerne is beautiful, and if you've never been there, then you must go!!




While I am at Gymnasium, I will also have language classes, but only once a week. It is in a town near basel at the Gymnasium there, which is the same school on of my AFS friends goes to. The class is a mix of old (already been here for 6 months or so) and new AFS'ers, mixing kids who know nothing, with those who are almost fluent, so really we dont learn anything....hahaha. But it is a lot of fun. There are so many new exchange students that I have not met yet, so its interesting. I have to prepare a presentation on the USA this week so hopefully it will go well.


On Saturday I had a floor hockey tournament with my sports club in Sissach, which is a nearby village.The club is a group that meets once a week, on Wednesday nights, and plays a bunch of different sports each time. The tournament was a lot of fun even though we lost :) haha. The girls in the club are all really nice, and that night a bunch of the girls and I went out together. It was fun, and really great to finally have some swiss friends here. The club has different tournaments with different sports throughout the year, and in February we have a ski weekend in the mountains. :D


Tschüss!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

School...School...School

First day of School!!! :D

On Monday I finally started at Gymnasium Liestal, the school where both my host sisters go. For the past four weeks people have told me about the school, and after getting my placement in a class two weeks ago I could not wait to start. Unfortunately for me, no one I had met so far knew anything about my class, or any of the kids in it. I was really nervous that it was going to be a bad class. (In Gymnasium, you have one class of about 15-20 kids who you are with in every class) It is very similar to college in the USA, where students pick a major and then have most, if not all, classes with them. Also, you only have to be at the school when you have class, and classes run from 7:45am till 6:30pm, depending on your schedule, Monday through Saturday (however on Saturday school ends at 12)). On Wednesdays and Thursdays for example, I only have school in the after noon, so I am able to sleep in :D. Luckily on Sunday, the day before I started, I met a girl who is in my class. She lives less than 5 minutes away (walking), and is really nice. She told me that it was a really cool class, but still when I woke up Monday morning, my heart was racing....

My first class was sport, which is gym class. We played basketball, and it was fun just getting to know some of the people in my class. Then we had an hour off where I actually started talking to people in my class, and they even bought me a hot chocolate :). I saw a bunch of my host sister's friends in the school, as well as other exchange students, and I was surprised at how many people I actually knew here in Switzerland! It was comforting to have that many people looking out for me, and asking how my day was going. After the break, I had a business and law class, (which I did not understand anything of), followed by biology, where we took notes and I actually recognized some of the names, such as  endoplasmic reticulum, haha. Then wet had lunch for two hours, and we hung out in the sun, got an ice cream, and talked. Everyone explained everything to me, but I still didn't understand anything going on in the classes. After lunch I went to French (which I will not have from now on) simply so that I did not lose my class, before going to art. Overall it was a good day, and it felt really good to finally know my class, but I was very tiered by the time I got home.

While I am having a lot of fun at the school, and am enjoying it, it is very frustrating! It is hard to explain, but being in a class I have already had, where I know what to do, but not being able to understand what the teacher is saying/teaching/asking, or what the worksheet is asking, or even how to answer the questions when I do understand. Tests and homework are not something I have to deal with simply because it would be almost impossible, but it also makes me feel even farther behind and lost in class. Best word for it.....frustrating.

It is funny how different school here is from back in Randolph for me. Even in how I get to school each day has changed. Now, I take the bus/bike to the train station, the train to Liestal, and then walk up the big hill to the school. Very different from simply taking the car everyday, but also a lot of fun. I also have 11 classes here, which is very different!! Biology, Chemistry, Math, English, German, Computer Apps, Business and Law, Music, Geography, Art, Gym, as well as Language school every Thursday for 3 hours. Lots of work, but definitely worth it.

Well I am off to learn!
Ciao!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Daily Living...

3 weeks. 21 days. 504 Hours.  30240 minutes. Also known as the time I have been in Switzerland. Its strange because one minute I am anxiously waiting, planning, and packing, and now all of a sudden I have been here for more than 1814400 seconds, and have a daily life. :) I have not posted in forever, and for that I am sorry! I have just been really busy and as many of you know, I am an expert procrastinator. But I am now planning to write a post every Saturday where I will talk about my week. For now, I will try to sum up my past 3 weeks...

Below, is a (week)day in the life of Sarah- Swiss style... ;)
7:45 - wake up
8:30 - Breakfast
Language School friends :)
9:05 - leave the house & walk to bus stop
9:11 - get on bus headed to the train station
9:18 - Arrive at train station.....chill
9:29 - get on train headed for Olten w/ Maggie and Sofia
9:45 - Arrive in Olten....walk to school
10:00 - Language School
12:00 - Lunch Break
1:00 - Class resumed
3:00 - FREE!!!! Headed home
4:00 - Home :)
4:01 - chilling/homework/hanging with host family/Basel/something
7:00- Dinner
8:30 - chilling resumed haha
11:00 - Bed

The first weekend I went to my host uncles house on the lake in Luzern!!! It was amazingly beautiful, surrounded by the alps, and I couldnt take enough pictures! We hung out in the lake, and I saw for the first time the traditional swiss sport...a strange lumberjack style form of wrestling. Something that started on the farms. Very entertaining to watch and my host uncle got really into it which was fun! The winner of the entire tournament won a $30,000 (the dollar is almost exactly = to the swiss-franc now :( ) cow....hahhahahahaha. A serious prize, but it still makes me laugh :D

The Rhein in Basel
I have been to Basel about 5 times now, and it is a beautiful city! Reminds me a lot of Burlington back home, only much much bigger in size. The first time I did the touristy stuff, and simply hung out on the Rhein with a few of Carla's friends, and since then I have been shopping, gone to the movies (step-up 3D in English w/ German subtitles....amazing theater), been out to a few restaurants, etc. I also carried around my first whine bottle...i didn't buy it, but even carrying it around on the streets was strange! I felt like someone was going to come and arrest me! Its an amazing city though, and I feel so lucky that its so close! Apparently there are some huge festivals there in February that last a week or so.....I am excited!!

It was a pretty amazing Poster :)





In language school, (which is going really well.....its starting to feel a lot like regular school now....boring and I dont want to go in the mornings... , but I know it is helping a lot as I am understanding so much more at home. It really amazing how much German I am learning in just 3 weeks!!) we all had to do a presentation on our country's, in German. I was surprised at how much German I knew when I went to write the speech!. I presented with Maggie, as we are both from the USA (mika, the other girl from the USA who was in our language class knew so much German after 5 years of it back in the states, that she started at the local school after the first week). It was cool to learn about the other peoples country's, as even though i have known them for three weeks, we don't talk much about the details of our country's (more just our lives back home).

Me, Rebekka, and Carla

I have already made chocolate chip cookies over here twice, but I must say, baking something as simple as a chocolate chip cookie is still an adventure. First I had to search Migros (Migros and Coop are the two huge grocery stores over here. There everywhere!) for baking soda, and then had to figure out the recipe conversions, and try to explain the things I needed to my host family. The Vanilla is very different, as it is not really a liquid, and the brown sugar is very different so the cookies end up tasting different. However there still amazingly delicious and the many people I have introduced to them all approve greatly :D haha.

The house we stayed in...It was so old!
Last weekend we had our AFS weekend with kids from Olten Language class, as well as Basel Language class. (about 25). I have to admit, at first I was not excited to go, and thought it would be really boring...just old people talking to us about the rules, and asking "what do you hope to gain from this experience?" but this is not what happened....at all. The camp leaders were four kids who had also been on exchanges, aging from 18-25. They were all really funny, and the camp started with them making us hold hands and walk two by two not talking....I felt like I was in kindergarten...haha. But after the initial traditional haseing and picture taking of our hands, the fun began. It felt more like a weekend hanging out with 20 new amazing friends, chilling around the camp fire, staying up till 4am talking, playing drinking games with overly sweetened ice tea (60% powder, 40% water....so gross) (I still cant think about ice tea without gagging now) and other strange games like trying to open wrapped chocolate with a fork and knife while dressed for winter skiing, or "Honey I love you....but I just can't smile". I was honestly sad to leave, but luckily many of the kids I met are in my local chapter so I will see them often.

AFS'ers!
On Thursday I went to the Gymnasium in Liestal which is where I will be attending school for the year (same school my host siblings go to) and will be in the FMS class, first year. Schools here are more like colleges in that you chose a major, and have mostly all your classes with the same kids (in your major). You only have to be at school when you have class, and there is school Mondays-Fridays anytime from 7:45 - 6-ish. and On Saturdays until noon. Along with my regular schedule, I will have language class on Thursday afternoons in a town above Basel, to help with the German. My schedule seems pretty cool. While I have no afternoons off, I have no school Wednesday and Thursday mornings, and am always out by 4 at the latest. I will post a more detailed schedule once I start at gymnasium.....but you can say I am very excited!

Last night I went to Basel and met my AFS Liaison. Her name is Caroline, and she was in Rochester NY on exchange two years ago. She is actually the host sister of a girl I met at AFS weekend last week :). We went to this really cool Italian restaurant, and just talked and hung out for 3 hours. It was a lot of fun!

Traveling here is also something that still amazes me. My host sister went to Berlin for a weekend with her friends, and my host brother...well okay... Three days after i got here he left for Greece for a week, then was home for a week, Now is in France for a week, then home for a week, then a camp thing, and then home for a week, and then we are all in Spain for a week. Its something so surreal for me, but when I think about it its like me traveling to NYC, Boston, Washington DC,....I still think I would chose traveling to Spain or France over Washington DC or something any day though ;)

Today is September 11th, and its crazy to think its been 9 years since the attack on the USA. My first day on the train ride home from the airport i was looking at a magazine and saw a USA Soldier holding a sign reading "baby I'm coming home". Thats when my host sister said..."oh yeah the wars over, did you hear about that?" It took me about 10 minutes to process the news! Such a strange concept!! I was seven when the war began, and its hard to imagine the USA without it. But I must say it was a great start to my exchange, to know that such a big movement for peace was already happening. :)

Its really starting to feel like fall here, and that makes me miss home. Fall was always my favorite season, with the local Tumbridge fair, school starting, football season starting, apple picking, pumpkin carving, and leaves changing. I am already starting to see some pokes of yellow in the trees here. But while it sucks to be missing everything back home, I know  I am so lucky to be here. There are so many things I am going to get to experience, and so many people I will get to meet from all over the world! So i think its good to have that reminder of home here....Shot out to Randolph!!

Tomorrow I have a welcome party with the local chapter. I must say the chapter is really cool. Its all young kids who have gone on exchanges running it, and we're doing a ton of fun activities together throughout the year like going to see a Basel soccer game (FYI they just made it into the Euro Championship league!!) I can't wait. Plus the other exchangers are all really fun, and entertaining to be around. Well I guess thats all for now! I promise to start posting more often! :)
Bis Bald! (until soon)
~Sarah