Sunday, January 16, 2011

Winter Holidays and Dance

Boy, what a month and a half! I have done so much recently, so I'll now try to talk about all of it the best I can.

Christmas: So every year on on the 18th of December my family hosts a very big Christmas party for friends. There were about 25 people, and we ate a very typical Swiss winter dinner called Raclette. With Raclette you put a small square of cheese in a mini oven that sits in the middle of the table (we had three due to the amount of people) and when it melts you put it over potato slices. You can also put small cubes of ham, pineapple, onion, tomatoes, curry, paprika, or even threads of yarn from your Grandfather's favorite hat (which was not offered on that particular evening) on it to make it more lively. It's really up to the eater what they want. We then sang Christmas carols and just had a very nice and fun time.
As for the actual Christmas, here in Europe they celebrate Christmas Eve more than the actual day, so on the 24th we opened our gifts and had a more quiet and peaceful evening. I got two movie tickets, a scarf and hat, two shirts, chocolate, and some other little nik naks from my family back home. It's always fun to get things from home. It was also snowing the whole week before so it was really nice to have a white Christmas in Switzerland.

Trip to Lugano: Lugano is at the very southern tip of Switzerland, and is basically Italy, but in Switzerland. I was with four others, and after 3 hours of train riding, we were there. It was very nice weather and we just walked around and took lots of pictures. For lunch we ate pizza, which was simply amazing. I know I will be going back for summer though, as that is the best time to go.


New Years: This was a really nice celebration party that I spent with my Swiss friends who live in my little town of Bolligen. There were about 25 kids, and I met some other kids that go to my school. It's funny that even after being here for 5 months(!) I'm still meeting so many other kids and making new friends.

Skiing for a week in the Alps!
So because my host family owns a small house in Adelboden, we do lots of skiing. And for the second week of my break we stayed there. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the snow was very good (except near the end when it was too warm and the snow was too soft). It is so different here though, because you ski really inside of the mountains. All around you are just big, intimidating mountains. It really is something you have to see to understand. My host brother is also a very very good skier and so he is fun to ski with. I've also discovered that I'm not so good, as my Nordic skiing techniques and habits are not perfectly compatible with downhill skiing. It's also hard trying to ski and look at the surrounding area at the same time.

After break school started again.

Then this weekend came, and what a weekend it was! I must first give a little background information. So, about 2 months ago a girl in my school wrote me a Facebook message asking if I can dance, and would join a dance group for a small dance competition. Thinking that this was, in fact, a small dance competition, I said "sure" and didn't think too much about it. Well, it turned out that it was a national dance competition. We practiced about twice a week for a month, and this weekend was the qualifying round. We practiced from 9 in the morning until 6 o'clock when the actual judging began. All of the other six groups did a hip hop routine, but we had three main parts: hip hop, ballet and salsa. In the end, we were 3rd place, but only two teams moved on to the final. Out of 200 points, the first group had 192, the second 187, and we had 186. So it was a bit disappointing to lose, but it really was a great experience. For me, it's things like this that really make an exchange year what it is: getting out and doing things you ABSOLUTELY know wont be fun, and yet in the end it was one of the best decisions you've ever made.

That's about it. Lately it's really been going well for me, and I know that the remaining 6 months are going to absolutely fly.

I also need to say to anyone who has sent me a Christmas letter or an e-mail, please know that I am very thankful. I'm doing my best to try to write back, but with the very small amount of time I have here, it makes it very difficult.

Anyways, I wish you a happy new year!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Half of October and all of November

So, though a lot of time has passed, there really aren't a whole lot of big new things to talk about.

School is long, and I'm actually starting to run out of things to ponder. If any of you have any ideas of things I could sit and think about, please let me know. That's only a joke; I do in fact have things to work on during class so I do stay busy enough.
School takes up almost all of my time. This last week I got home between 7.30 and 8.30 every night. After a long day I don't really have much energy to do much of anything, so on weekends I try to pack as many things as I possibly can.
Most of the time I will meet up with Swiss friends in the evenings, and travel with other exchange students during the day. If you are wondering why I don't travel with with Swiss kids, it's because I have a GA, which allows me to use any method of transportation for free (well, it's actually very expensive but Rotary buys every student a GA)and many of my Swiss friends don't have one. They are also very busy with school; When I ask many of the students what they did over the weekend, they often say they were studying.

As for German, it is getting better. The problem is that it is very difficult to notice any improvement. During class, I only understand about 5 percent more than what I did on the first day. However, I can now follow the conversation during dinner. So I know it is improving, but like I said, it's very hard to tell. I am in a language course in Zurich now though, so in theory my German should continue to improve.

About a week ago, the first snow fell. It was so peaceful and pleasant and it really was beautiful. It snowed most of the night, so in the morning there was a nice, 4 inch layer of snow. This also means that the ski season will be starting soon...!
Because my family owns an apartment in Adelboden (a small town in the mountains), we will go skiing every other week.

For Thanksgiving a small group of exchange students and I had an American Thanksgiving dinner that we shared with a few other families. It was a lot of fun, with good food and lots of story telling. I slept extra well that night.
The next day was the Zibele-Märit (Onion Market)! This is a 5-600 year old tradition that is held in Bern. Basically all the farmers who grow onions come to Bern at 4.30 am and set up booths, and tens of thousands of people come. All the Trams through Bern are shut down that day, so I got to walk through the city. Confetti was literally everywhere! All the kids have bags of it, and they simply throw it in your face as you walk by. There are also these little plastic hammers that the kids/teens buy. It was really quite funny, because you would just watch a teen go up to an old lady he doesn't know, and would just repeatedly bop her on her head. What was funny is that she would simply stand there with a smile until he stopped.

This weekend I had a Rotary trip to Zermatt (Where the Matterhorn is). It was a large group of about 105 kids, and we all stayed at a small youth hostile. I wish I could say that the Matterhorn was beautiful, but unfortunately we couldn't see it due to the weather. For dinner we went to a restaurant and ate Fondue. I didn't really care for it, but I still ate a lot. It was at about 12.30 that night night that I started feeling sick. After not sleeping and being on the verge of throwing-up the entire night, I had to leave early and go home the next morning. So here I am Monday afternoon in bed writing this blog post. But it's not too bad anymore, and tomorrow I will be in school.

So, that's about it, and the next post will be about Christmas!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

2nd Month

Well, it went a little too long between my blog updates, but I guess maybe that's good because it means that I am staying busy here.

School started, and it is fine. Though I understand an ok amount of the German when the teachers speak, I always seem to miss the important words. I never really know exactly what is going on then, but I am learning the art of the "exchange student human mirror." This is when you do everything the other students do: If they get out their notebook, you get yours out too. If everyone starts sprinting to class even though you still have plenty of time left, well, you sprint too.
As for my classes, they aren't easy: Math, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, German, History, Music and English. At the moment all I'm trying to do is simply understand what the teachers are saying. It's a difficult balance and it's a very different mindset then what I had back home.
As for my fellow students, it is just ok. It is hard, because they are a very close group. The way their school works is that the students are in one class, and then they switch rooms. This class though has been together for 2.5 years now, so it makes it a little bit harder to just "walk in." But I know it takes time, so I just have to keep trying and stay patient.

After two weeks of school, it was fall holidays for the next three weeks. Within the first few days I went to Luzern with a few other students. It is a very beautiful city, and I am sure I will go back there often. It was also funny because we bumped into a few other students there, so it was kind of a nice surprise.
A few days after Luzern I had my birthday. I had a cute little cookie with a candle in it for breakfast, and then I just hung out out and had a relaxing day at home. For dinner my host-grandma, Nelly, came over and cooked my favorite dinner: curry sauce with rice, chicken, pineapple and peaches. For dessert we had a very good yogurt cake. It was a very nice day and was glad that it was during the break and not during school.
As a birthday present, my host family took me with them to Turkey for a week. Turkey is a such a different country than any I've ever seen, so it was really quite fun and interesting going to all of the markets and just seeing things. We stayed in a very nice hotel where we did lots of swimming, relaxing, eating, shopping and so much more. For me it was my first time being in a beach hotel like that, so it was a really fun and new experience. One thing about Turkey that was a little interesting was in the markets, just how much the employees would almost beg you to come into their shop. Sometimes they would even put their arm around your shoulder saying "come look, we have everything." And then they would bargain with you until a sale was made. Only a few stores had set prices, but the majority of them simply made the price on the spot, and then went from there. So, there were more than a few awkward times of just having to say you're not interested and then walk out, which is difficult if you're not used to doing it like me. All in all it was a fabulous week and I really feel lucky to have been able there.
For the last week of break I had a small cold, and unfortunately it doesn't really want to go away. It's more annoying than anything else.
For the last two days I went on a small overnight trip with the Rotary group. There were about 30 kids from all around the west part of Switzerland. We went to a cookie factory (Kambly) and ate way too many cookies, and then stayed the night at a small community center in a very small town near Bern, where we then played games and just had a nice time talking about all of our experiences thus far. The next day we went back into Bern and went bowling. It was a nice weekend and a good way to close off the break.
So, that is the last month in a nutshell, and it was a good one. Next time though I won't wait as long to update my blog.
As for pictures, I have some here- http://www.flickr.com/photos/54389909@N05/sets/72157625062421634/

and a few here-http://picasaweb.google.com/ian.b.neubauer/Switzerland#

More are on their way...

Sunday, September 12, 2010

The First Month

It's pretty amazing that a month has already gone by. I've done so much, so I will write about the main things.

Rotary Meetings and Conference:
My first Rotary club meeting went well. It is only men, and there are about 30 members. I watched a presentation by the other girl, Grace from Australia, who is also sponsored by my club. The food was good, except for this salmon paste stuff that tasted like salmon flavored butter. It was awful, but I still ate what I could.

The EEMC conference was held in a small town near Zurich. All of the inbounds in Switzerland were there, and we gave a group presentation to the 300 Rotarians there. We sang songs, and a few kids gave demonstrations from their culture. It was all fun and it was great meeting all of the other students.

Neuchâtel:
A few students from my language class went to a small town on a lake called Neuchâtel. It was very beautiful and we went to many different places. Me and another student went swimming and it was awesome.

Moving right along...

Thun:
A few students from my language class went to a small town on a lake called Thun.
It was very beautiful and we went to many different places. Me and another student did not go swimming, as it was a little too cold. There are also mountains very near by, so the views of everything were great.
I also just went to Thun again with one other student this weekend and we attempted to go on a hike. It turned more into walking around the town looking for the trails, which we later found out didn't really exist. It was still nice and a little exercise never hurts I suppose.

The Hike:
I went hiking with my host mom, my host brother and a family friend, Mario. We left at 8:28:45:22, and got to our destination at exactly 8:58:45:22 to catch the 9:00:00:00 o'clock lift up to where the trails start. The Swiss are very punctual people...
We hiked for a while, and eventually made it to the top. The views were simply amazing, and the Alps were crystal clear, as the weather was just about perfect. Right up until a few clouds blew through and decided to park themselves right where I was trying to look. The hike down went well and the cows kept us company. It was a great little hike.

Language School:
Is now over, and on the final exam, when discounting four of scores better than mine, I got the best score in the class! I really learned a lot in the class, and I have some good friends now, which is nice. Three of them are going to my school too.

School:
Starts tomorrow (Monday the 13th.). I will write more about it in my next blog post.

Ice Hockey Match:
A few of my Swiss friends invited me to an Ice Hockey game in Bern. The Bern club team, SCB, was playing some other team from a little town. I stood right in the middle of the fan section and it was a lot of fun. Bern won 6-2, so everyone from Bern left happy. After that we met up with some other kids and had a good time. They practiced their English, and I practiced my German, so it is good for everybody.

So for my first month, I would say it has been pretty darn good. My host family really is great, and I have no real complaints about anything or anyone.

I am going to find a website to post my pictures up onto. While I can upload pictures here, I can't really organize them or label them in any way. I will post a link when the day comes.

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Language school and other things



LANGUAGE SCHOOL- Language school is right in the middle of Bern at the WWF (the one with the Panda sign, not wrestling) headquarters. There are eleven of us. Six from USA, two from Brazil, two from Ecuador and two from Canada. It is pretty difficult, but it isn't too bad. The teacher talks about 70% of the time in German, which was very difficult at first but now I understand most of what she says.

Party- I went to my first party this weekend. It was in the woods at kind of a campground. There were about 30 kids. Some spoke English and they asked me lots of strange questions. It was just very strange being there- not knowing anyone, the language, the "normal behavior." It was definitely an experience, and I think as the year progresses I will get be around it more and it will be more normal.

Swimming in the Aare!- This was a very fun day. There is a river that goes around Bern called the Aare. I was invited to tag along with a few people. The water was a bit chilly at 17 C (62 F) but it was worth it. It is a bit of a dangerous river, because the current is very fast. Several people die each year (most are Jamaicans) because they underestimate the speed and they are alone. It wasn't allt hat bad though, and there were many people there that day. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was just such a strange but great feeling floating down a river in Switzerland.

Bike ride- I went on a bike ride (is it one word- "bikeride?") to the radio tower next to my town. It took about an hour and a half and the view was amazing. I could just see the alps through the clouds. On the way down we met back up with my host parents in another small town for lunch. It was another very beautiful day and a great way for me to see more of the country side.

Those are the main things from this week. For more pictures, go to my Facebook. Or Google "Bern Aare"and you will see some fantastic pictures of the Aare taken by professional photographers.
(The reason I don't post many pictures here is because it only takes one at a time, so it is very slow).

Saturday, August 14, 2010

My first few days here

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It is not easy to write a blog, as it is difficult to balance the main highlights of a day(s)/week with all of the little things that were just as influential, but only to myself. So, I will try my best to pick out the most important and exciting things that will keep you as the reader entertained and satisfied.

ARRIVAL: I arrived in Zurich, Switzerland on Tuesday at 8:25 am. I met my host mom, Anita, and my new little brother, Guy (he is 13, and his name is pronounced "Gee"). I then took the train to my small town of Bolligen. It has about 6,000 people, but it is very close to Bern, which has a population between 150-300,000 people (It depends on what your definition of "in the city" is). I then met my host dad Patrick, as well as my host brother, Luc. Luc is 16 and will be leaving for his exchange to Canada on Sunday. My home is a very modern, and clean apartment with three levels (see pictures that are not yet posted below). I also got a tour of Bolligen, which took about 15 minutes.

BERN: Bern is a very beautiful city, and it felt strange walking down a street that is older than the United States. The public transportation is very nice, and it is always great to have a nice walk between the trains, trams and buses.

As for the social aspect of everything, it has been very good. I met many of the neighbors two nights ago when we had a small party. Every single guest spoke fluent English, so it was very nice. I have also met many of Guy's friends, and we've played a lot of basketball.
Last night was very exciting, because Luc had his going away party. I was then able to meet many kids my age, and a few will be going to the same school as me. Most spoke English, and they made lots of jokes about America. It didn't really bother me at all, but it was interesting to hear what they thought an average day for me would be: wake up, eat a hamburger for breakfast, watch football, eat a hamburger for lunch, shoot things with my gun while driving, and eat one more hamburger for dinner before falling asleep to the TV. All in all it was very fun, and it was a good way for me to start getting to know more kids my age.

That is all, and if this uploads correctly there should be a stunning picture of my flight in.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Hello everyone,

The blog I have started is a way for you to read and enjoy my stories as I live in Switzerland this year. I plan on updating it around once a month, but that could always change.

Thank you for taking time to read about me, and I hope you enjoy it.
Ian
(July 16, 2010)