SWITZERLAND!!!!

After months and months of waiting for the day, it is crazy to believe I am now sitting in my room in Ormalingen, Switzerland!! It feels like I have not posted in years, but that is probably because so much has happened to me the past few days!! It is hard to express in words how amazing this country is and how much fun I am having, even though I can not understand anything. ;) I guess the best way would be to start from the beginning....however there is so much that has happened I think I will just start with my first day....

Orientation was good..... compared to here it was nothing, but it was good. They split us up into country groups (there was kids heading to Norway, Finland, Iceland, Belgium, etc.... as well as the swiss-kids) and from there we started bonding. There was 12 of us in the group...two boys and ten girls, and everyone was so nice. We all got close very quickly, and I now feel like I've known them for weeks, not days. The hotel was amazing...I originally thought they would squeeze four of us or more into a room, but everyone was with just one other person. I was with a girl named Mika from New Mexico who is also here in Switzerland now (actually in my language class, but I will get to that later...to much for one post). We both got our own bed, and she was very nice. We did a lot of orientation stuff, and during free time all the Swiss-girls went to Maggie's (another girl going to Switzerland....she actually lives in Gelterkinden, the town next to me, with a girl who she hosted here in the states this past year who is good friends with Carla....she is also in my language class) room to watch a movie but all ended up just talking. However, everything seemed to take forever because we all just wanted to get on the plane and go already!!

The house from the road. :)

The bikes, and parking area.

The view from my bedroom (to the right)

The view from my bedroom (to the left)

The living room

The kitchen with Esther, Martin, and Carla making dinner.

Finally we left for the airport, and after sitting around for a few hours, we boarded, and said goodbye to America until July. The flight went well, we were all sitting together, so that helped. Unfortunately I never fell asleep other than 30 minutes at most, but we arrived an hour early (at 06:30) so it went by fast. Before I knew it I was off the plane smelling the swiss air, going through customs, and then meeting my host family!!! Their train was late, so I went to a little cafe while we waited with Maggie's host family for about 5 minutes. It was such a strange feeling realizing I was there, this was my family, and I was in Switzerland!! My whole host family speaks very good English, and so communicating is very very easy. (I forget how much they know, until I am with their friends who often have much more trouble).

We took the train back from Zurich to Gelterkinden (the closest train station which is like a 5 minute ride from my house in Ormalingen) and I was amazed at how clean the trains were compared to those int he USA. Everything I saw amazed me, from the beautiful views,  to my first ticket check on the train, to how to open the doors, to even finding out I would be going to Spain during school vacation!! It was all so exciting, and new, and interesting!! There are no words to describe what I was feeling. Mixed with the exhaustion, I spent most of the day sitting back, observing, and soaking everything in.

All of a sudden we were at the house, and I must say it is the coolest house I have ever seen!! It is so modern, and cozy at the same time....already now it is starting to feel like home. Everything is so beautiful...(see pictures)


After having breakfast, and showering, I went with Lukas on a bike tour of Ormalingen/Gelterkinden (Carla and Rahel had to return to school). I didn't realize how close everything was, and I started being able to recognize where I was! I met their father and saw the house where Lukas now lives (since I kicked him out of his bedroom), and where all the kids grew up. The house is hundreds of years old, but everything in side it looks brand new! It is beautiful! We then went to the pool/park/sporting area, and met up with two of his friends. We played soccer, and went swimming, and just hung out for a few hours...I even forgot I had not slept in 30 hours!! :) When we returned home we had Lamb for dinner as well as many other things, and it was all delicious!! All the food is amazing!! Rahel left for a volleyball weekend, and then we had cake (bread and a delicious creme center), and watched part of a movie, before I finally collapsed and made my way to bed. It was an amazing first day, and my bed is so comfy so I slept like a baby!

Its crazy to think I will be here for a year. Everywhere I look things are different, from how to flush the toilet, to the chocolate draw, to the door locks/handles, but in many ways, things are the same. As you can see there are many things I am leaving out, but I promise to post again soon with stories form Basel, the lake house, and Language school!! I'm off for dinner! As they say in Switzerland,


Tschüss!