Summer Adventures and Switzerland Arrival

I started my journey on July 4th.  I left Hawaii with my sister for California.  We stayed there for a month with our dad and did lots of fun things.  In the beginning of our trip we had a family reunion with our cousins, aunt and uncle, and halmony (grandma).   

Together we got to watch the World Cup, eat lots of yummy korean food, pick strawberries as Swanton Berry Farm, and watch The Lego Movie about 50 times with these two crazy monkeys.

Later, after everyone went home we went to the San Francisco Palace of the Arts and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Later, we got to go on a family vacation to the Grand Canyon with our dad.  We drove about 750 miles in 12 hours to get there, then spent a day walking around and looking at the canyon.  We were all excited to be there because none of us had ever been before.

A few days after we got back from the Grand Canyon we had to leave California.  My sister was especially sad because she had to go back to school when she arrived in Hawaii.  I on the other hand was excited because I was on my way to see New York!  My international flight to Switzerland was from JFK airport to Zurich airport, so I decided that I would stay with my grandma and uncle (who is a Buddhist monk) at Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, NY before I left.  The day after I arrived, I went to Manhattan with my uncle, my grandma, and Phap Lac (Brother Happiness).  While we were there we went to the Museum of Natural History, visited Columbia University and Barnard College, took the subway, and ate street food.  It was a good day.

Living in the monastery was very interesting.  I got to be there for the August Mindfulness Retreat.  It was very peaceful and beautiful, and I got to meet lots of new friends.  The food was also very good.

On Monday the 11th I left the monastery to go to my Gateway Orientation at the JFK Hilton.  There were sixteen other students going to Switzerland from the US, but there were also students going to Thailand and Sweden at the orientation.  We did a few little games before dinner, then after dinner we split up into our country groups for information sessions.  The Switzerland session was led by a man who went to Switzerland with AFS 27 years ago, and he answered all our questions about being an exchange student in Switzerland.  The next day, Thailand left early in the day, but the rest of us did a few more activities before our flights.  We did a geography quiz and a celebratory toast, then ate lunch.  After the Sweden group left, there were no more planned activities so we bonded and played some games before we had to go to the airport.  

The flight to Switzerland was a little over 7 hours long and I only slept for one hour.  My host family picked me up at the airport and drove me to their house in Freienwil.  Most of my host family speaks English.  So far, Switzerland is not too different from the US, but there are a few little differences that I found interesting.  The locks on the doors in the house are actually old fashioned keys.  In Swissgerman, they call the crosswalks Zebrastreifen which translates to zebra stripes.  Also, the toilet paper is shaped differently.  Out of all of the things I was expecting to be different, the shape of toilet paper never crossed my mind.  I also went to the Swiss supermarket Migros in Baden today with my host mother.  There, they lock the shopping carts together and you have to put in 1 Franc to take one, and you get it back when you return the cart so nobody steals them.  Smart!  Also, both the front and the back wheels turn. 

I like that the Swiss Francs are so colorful!

 Today I also gave my host family some key chains and some Mauna Loa coconut macnuts and Reese's becuase they don't have peanut butter or macnuts here.  They loved it! :)  I also showed them my yearbook because they don't have those in Switzerland either.

This is the view out of my bedroom window.

Next week I will start German language school in Zurich for one week.  Then after that for three more weeks, I will go to language school from Monday to Wednesday and public school in Baden on Thursday and Friday.  Then I will start going to public school all week.  My host sister Beatrice goes to the same school.

I will try to keep this blog updated as the year goes on.  Feel free to leave comments!

Tschuss!