How AFS Affected Me

Going on exchange was a life-changing experience for me. For the first time in my life, I was an independent being, fully responsible for myself and my actions. Having this freedom allowed me to discover who I am and decide for myself what I really value. Going on exchange put me in a limbo between my host country and my home country, and the discrepancies between the two cultures allowed me to find my own culture, in a way. Going to a country where everything had a different meaning and value meant adopting those things as true or normal while, at first, still believing in the values of my home country. Having been immersed in two cultures really put the social and cultural norms of both societies into perspective for me because I began to question both sets of principles at once. I saw how the people in Switzerland would do things in a completely opposite way as the people in the US, and from my viewpoint I was able to see the good and bad in each. It gave me the ability to evaluate the goods and bads in my own life and morals as well. I am now a better judge of my surroundings because I have grown accustomed to changing my mind about things.

Being a better judge of things has allowed me to become the kind of person I've always admired. Now that I have a more concrete life outlook, I am more able to speak about myself. Before going on exchange, I was always a little shy, and I now realize that it may have been because I wasn't quite sure what I thought about everything. I wasn't able to be social with everyone because I wasn't sure about who I was, and wasn't able to properly judge my surroundings because I didn't know what to think about them. Now that I've gone on exchange and have experienced some sort of cultural limbo, I know who I am, and what I want. Now I can be the person who speaks up for things I believe in, and talk about the things that are important to me to people outside of just my family and close friends. I feel like during exchange I became my own person. But still, throughout this change I'm still the same person I was when I left Hawaii. I have a new outlook on life, but my personality has remained the same. It's interesting to see how I've changed so much, yet have remained the same.

Blog Update

I've decided to finally update my blog for the first time since October.

Herbstferien: Part 2

In the second week of fall break I went to Lausanne, Vevey, and Montreaux in the french speaking part of Switzerland with Pin, from Thailand and Fernanda, from Brazil.  We went to the biggest castle in Switzerland, Chateau de Chillon, and the only Olympic museum in the world.

In this week, I also went to Lugano in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland with my host mom and sister Beatrice.

During the last week I went to Lausanne again, but this time for a week with my class.  We saw lots of the city, walked through the biggest vineyards in Switzerland in Lavaux, and went to Geneva and toured the UN office and the Red Cross museum.

Winterferien

I had a two week long winter break.  The first week was the week of Christmas.  In Switzerland, people celebrate Christmas mostly on Christmas eve, but the holiday lasts until the day after Christmas.  Santa comes on the 6th of December and fills childrens' boots with peanuts, oranges, and chocolate.   Then, on Christmas eve the angel of Christmas comes through a window and brings the presents.  Also, there were real, lit candles on our Christmas tree.

In the second week of break, I went to the Italian speaking part of Switzerland for five days with my exchange student friends and stayed in my friend's host family's 400 year old house in Pura, Tessin.

Sportferien 

About four weeks after winter break came sports break.  In these two weeks, I went to Germany, and Andermatt to ski in the Alps.  In Germany, I stayed with Katja, a friend of my mom's, who lives in Brandenburg (about a 45 minute train ride from Berlin).  While I was there, I went to Berlin twice, once to see the tourist things with Katja and her son Aenea, and the other time to go shopping because everything is cheaper when you're not in Switzerland.  Berlin was definitely one of my favorite places I've been this year.  It's a really cool city, 100% would recommend.  While I was in Germany, I also got to see a pretty cool castle in Potsdam.

In the second week, I went to the small Alp town of Hospental in the Andermatt ski area to learn how to ski.  It was really nice weather most of the week, and everything was covered in lots of snow.  Skiing was great, and I'd love to do it again sometime.

Frühlingsferien

During this last break, I went to see the Matterhorn in Zermatt, went to Zürich a few times, and toured the Bundeshaus (parliament building) in Bern.  The train ride to the Matterhorn was about four and a half hours, but it was totally worth it.

I went to the Bundeshaus with the other "oldie" exchange students in Switzerland.  We took a tour of the building and learned it's history.

For Easter I went hiking up a hill/small mountain near my house.  We made a fire and roasted sausages.  At the top there was snow, and we could see all the way to Germany!

General Life Update

I just accepted my offer of admission from University of California, Santa Cruz.  It'll be nice to live in sunny California again :).  I'm not sure yet what I want to study, but I'm thinking about Language Studies, or Women's Studies.

My German is getting better.  Now I can understand mostly everything in Swiss and High German, unless someone is telling a long story, or is talking fast for a long time without many breaks.  I speak German with my host family and in school.  I still don't speak very well, but I can make myself understood.

In other news, spring is here! The tulips that I planted in the fall have finally bloomed, and it's not so cold that I have to wear two pairs of pants at once anymore!

If you'd like to have more regular updates, you can follow me on Instagram @shinaeestel :)

Herbstferien: Woche 1

Today is Friday of the first week (of three!) of fall break.

On Saturday I went to the local Schutzenhaus (shooting house) with my host family and I tried shooting for the first time.  It was okay, but I don't really think it's my thing. 

On Sunday I played minigolf for the first time since I was nine.  I lost but that's okay because I had fun anyway.  Later this week I went to the garden center with my host mom and picked out some tulips to plant before the winter.  She says they will bloom in six or seven months.  I'm excited because I don't think we have tulips in Hawaii.

Yesterday was super cool because I went to a real castle!  We don't have those in the US!  Anyway, this castle was really big and up on a hill so you could see super far and it was really pretty.  You could even see three other castles from that castle.  It also had the most beautiful garden I've ever been in with really big bright flowers.  So after visiting my first castle, I've decided that my goal in life is to live in a castle.  It was really cool.

(Hedwig, is that you?)

Giant hole in the kitchen...

Wooooowwww

Cow crossing

Palm trees in Switzerland??

And here I attempt to write about my week in very simplified German without using google translate:

Heute ist die erste Freitag von Herbstferien.

Am Samstag, ich bin in das Schutzenhaus gewesen.  Am Sonntag, ich habe Minigolf gespielen mit meine Gastfamilie.  Am Dienstag, ich bin nach die Gartencenter  gegehen und ich habe tulipen gekaufen mit meine Gastmutter.  Am Mittwoch, ich planted die tulipen.  Am Donnerstag, Ich bin nach der Schloss Wildegg gegehen.  Es war sehr cool!  Es hat ein gross Garten mit grosse und sehr schone blumen.  Der Schloss war gross und alt und hoch und mega cool! :D