President of Switzerland

I've been so busy I forgot I even had a blog! Oops... Anyways, I can't remember everything I have done this week but I'll try to remember.

I've been spending a lot of time in the Rhein river. It has been so warm here that you can't NOT go spend a few hours swimming. We blew up the boats and floated down the river. It was so relaxing. After floating in the river, my host brother asked me if I wanted to jump off the bridge nearby. Of course I said yes! Never thought I would have jumped off a bridge here! My host mom was more nervous than i was. How cute :). No worries, though! I'm still in one piece!

I went to the river a few more times after that. I was actually there yesterday and we floated down the river for almost 2 and a half hours. I couldn't get over how beautiful this country is. I forget how lucky I am sometimes.
Last Tuesday was kind of stressful. I had to wake up at 6 in the morning and go to language camp in a city called Oerlikon. Since, I believe, my German is decent, I didn't think I should have to go to this school. I had to take a test, speak German with one of the Rotary advisors, and then it was OK for me to leave. A tad annoying, but it's all fine now. The only thing is now, because I don't have language camp, I start school on Wednesday in Winterthur. I'm so nervous for school, to be honest. I hope everything goes well.
I MET THE PRESIDENT OF SWITZERLAND. I DON'T THINK I EVER THOUGHT THAT WOULD HAPPEN! My host father and I went to an opening of this new Nature Reserve in Flaach. There were so many people there and I wasn't exactly sure as to why. I turn around and I see this woman walking with a bunch of bodyguards. I knew she was a political figure but didn't know what all the fuss was about. I ask my host dad who exactly she is and he tells me she is the highest positioned President of Switzerland. Now, that may sound weird to you. The Swiss Confederation has a board of 7 "Presidents" that work together. There isn't just 1 person making all the decisions. But, Doris Leuthard, the woman I met, holds the highest position. HOW CRAZY IS THAT?! There were animal-like performers and lots of music there. It was really interesting, if you ask me.
I finally met a HUGE amount of exchange students! They're awesome. Today was our Welcome-Orientation and I finally got to exchange pins. I'm loving my blazer now! I'll post a picture of it sometime this week. At the meeting, we got in groups and talked about what is expected of us as exchange students in Switzerland. I met former Swiss exchange students, new ones, and old ones that have been here since January. We laughed a lot and I am sure I'll see them all very shortly.
My German is getting better and better each and every day. I'm even beginning to understand SOME Swiss German. I didn't think it was going to click that fast! The other day, one of the main Rotary councilors came over to my house just to do some paper work. We were talking and he began to say that I speak German like an exchange student that has been here for one year already. I literally was SPEECHLESS after hearing this. In all COMPLETE honesty, it's just decent. Conversation is OK but I can't state my opinion as well as I want to. I know that I won't have that much trouble as other exchange students. I only know of one other person here in the whole country that has had previous experience with learning german. Everyone else is a small fish in a pretty neutral pond.
Oh I forgot! I went to work with my host parents the other day and REALLY got to know what my host parents do for a living. They own this glue-adheasive company that distributes it's products all over the world. (***If you want to learn more, the website is http://www.alfa-klebstoffe.com/en/simalfa/overview/***) It has a sister company in New Jersey, too. Anyways, my host dad had me translate the english websites for him to see if there were any mistakes. Everything was OK! Just a few things only a native speaker wold notice. I was happy I could help him out. :)

I've been riding my bike a lot lately. It just relaxes me and makes me happy. Plus I am getting my exercise! I love being out and about having my own adventure. The other day, my host mom, host brother, and I went and explored Zürich. It's so diverse and beautiful. We walked through a lot of the old city which were just these stoned paths and alleyways with cute little shops and restaurants. Later that night I met up with a lot of Aussie exchange students and went to Enge, which is a very popular place to swim in Zürich.

I meet new people everyday. Everything is still pretty new but I am finally beginning to settle in. All is well and will hopefully update this sooner.

LG aus Hüntwangen

Mark