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 :)
COOL~~
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