1 Month In

Wow... Well, a month just completely flew past me. I should keep track of time more closely. It feels like just yesterday that everything was so new and different, and the realization of actually living in Switzerland for a whole year hadn't sunk in. But, now that it's September, I feel settled in and know I have a long adventure to look forward to.
So much has happened since my last blog entry. In a nut  shell, I can't complain about anything. I enjoy going to school to see my Swiss friends (minus the 5:30 AM wake-up call) and speaking the language gets easier day by day. I actually tend to hang out with my Swiss friends more than exchange student friends, it seems. It's not like I have anything against them! It just happens to be like that at the moment. In a way, it's a good thing for many reasons; I can keep speaking German while making long-lasting relationships and learn more about this beautiful country. But I have been with exchange students a little this past week. This Sunday in Zürich was a Knobschiessenfest, which was pretty much like the Altamont Fair back home; rides, food, games, entertainment, and even a "shooting range" where you shoot this target and try to win up to Fr. 3,000! (Or more...or less... I can't seem to remember). I didn't shoot because 1) You have to be younger than 18 (safe?) and 2) It started to DOWNPOUR so the other exchange students and I RAN to find a tram back to Zürich's main station.

About two weeks ago I went to Konstanz, Germany to go shoe shopping with my host family (no big deal or anything..). It was so cool because once we crossed the border and hit the Autobahn with NO SPEED LIMIT, my host dad floored it in his BMW 5-Series at about 240 kilometers per hour. I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO LEAVE THE GROUND AND START FLYING. IT WAS INSANE!
I kind of want to write a little schedule of my daily activities (when I'm in school), just to give you guys a quick rundown.

1) Wake up at 5:30 AM... Fun.

2) Get ready, eat breakfast with host family around 6 AM.

3) Walk 2 minutes to bus stop and wait for bus until 6:33 AM.

4) Arrive at Hüntwangen-Wil Bahnhof and catch train at 6:50 AM.

5) Get off train and Bülach and catch connecting train at 7:05 AM to Winterthur.

6) Arrive at Winterthur Bahnhof at 7:24 AM and meet Swiss friends from school to catch the bus to Kantonsschule Büelrain.

7) First class begins at 7:45 AM. Now, this gets a little complicated. Sometimes I have breaks in-between the school day because either I am not obligated to take certain classes (like French, Latin, etc), or I am not scheduled whatsoever. Classes range from German, Music, Math, Geography, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, English (I have to take.....), and Economics. It's quite a challenge since everything is in German plus the Swiss German accent when the teachers speak High Geman but I take it day by day. I can't expect to be perfectly AMAZINGLY fluent in one month, ESPECIALLY in Swiss German.

8) Last class ends at either 3:05 or 4 PM. Catch bus to Winterthur Bahnhof and take train to Bülach at 4:37 PM.

9) Take connecting train from Bülach to Hüntwangen-Wil Bahnhof at 5:01 PM and catch bus back home.

10) Eat dinner usually as soon as I get home from school, mostly around 6 PM.

11) "Play" piano for about an hour or two (my how dog seems to really like it). :)

12) On Thursdays, I go to the church choir rehearsal with my host parents from 7:45 to 9:30 PM. The director is from Chicago and now living in Switzerland. It's been really nice to listen to the choir.

13) Hang out with the how family, get ready for bed, and asleep usually by 11:30 PM. I should actually try going to bed earlier!

That's a pretty GENERAL overview of my day. Friday nights and weekends are usually with my Swiss friends from school and exchange students sometimes. The kids in my class have been so welcoming and always invite me to their hang outs. I honestly feel honored and blessed to have such an amazing group of kids to go to school with. I am beyond lucky.

Thanks for reading!