Bonjour from Switzerland!

Hello friends!

Megan and I have now been in Switzerland for just under a week, and I don’t know that I’ll find the words to fully capture what this experience has been like for us thus far. Having read several study abroad blogs and done a lot research on Europe prior to our departure, we now know that there isn’t anything that can fully prepare you to live abroad for an entire semester. 

We were warned of many things before leaving—we were told to beware pickpockets, we were advised not to smile at guys walking by on the street, we were warned about the difficulty with directions and transportation due to language barriers, about culture shock and homesickness, about jet lag, and we were informed that Switzerland (and Europe in general) are very very expensive. Despite all these cautionary tales, Megan and I for some reason departed the States under the overly optimistic impression that we were immune to all of these obstacles.

Let’s just say that the “honeymoon phase” of our study abroad experience lasted about the last fifteen minutes of our flight, in which we began to break through the thick veil of thick clouds shrouding the city.  As we looked out the plane window—onto the lake and the vineyards and patches of green and farmhouses illuminated by the few rays of sun peeking through the clouds—we felt as if we were descending onto heaven on earth.

     

             Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for us to fall from cloud nine. The jet lag, the dreadfully long orientation sessions, the ridiculously high prices of everything, and our awful sense of direction began to crush our spirits a little bit. I had some naïve expectations that everything would be perfect, just the way we planned it. These past few days have definitely been a bit of a wake-up call, but maybe that’s a good thing. 

              Since those first rough days, we’ve made plenty of mistakes including getting lost several times, not having the right type of payment, not understanding the language, and accidentally getting on the first class train cart. As stressful as some of these experiences have been, Megan and I have found ourselves laughing in relief and saying, “this would only happen to us!”

            Even though it feels like we’ve been here a month, tomorrow night marks one week since our arrival in Geneva. Things have definitely begun to look up for us. So far we’ve explored Old Town Geneva, gone to the Scots Kirk and Le Musée Olympique in Lausanne, gone sledding and devoured fondue in St. Cergue, and spent a lot of time getting to know our classmates. I also feel a lot better about our travel plans now that we’ve spent some time budgeting and planning our weekends and our backpacking trip for the end of the semester.  I’m looking forward for our classes to start tomorrow (French in particular because I would like to not be confused anymore) and to our first weekend trip—we’re going to Belgium!!!!

         There is far too much that I would like to share about our journey so far, so I’ll simply conclude by saying that I am so thankful for everyone who supported me and helped me get here—shout out to my parents and the rest of the fam! I still can’t believe my dream of living in Europe has finally come true. I feel like the luckiest girl.   

Au revoir, 

Lisa