By jkichton
And just like that 3.5 months flew by! Today I write this post in the post-apocalyptic danger zone that is known as my room. I am currently packing up all of my stuff because my program is officially over and tomorrow I leave for Italy! This post will be dedicated to how I spent my last days in Switzerland, a general reflection on the program, and how I am saying goodbye.
This past week has been crazy. On Wednesday one of my best friends in my program and I went to Zermatt, Switzerland to see the Matterhorn! The Matterhorn is Switzerland’s pride and joy. It’s one of the largest mountains in Europe and has many roller coasters named after it. It’s huge. Like. 14,692 ft. Crazy. Anyway, it only took a little more than three hours to get to Zermatt by train. On our way there we passed many a snowy scene in the Swiss countryside. My friend said that it looked as if we were riding through a black and white photograph because the snow contrasted with the darkness of the mountains and darkness of the farms. Once we got to Zermatt, a lovely and quaint mountain village, we walked around. Thank goodness all the shops were closed for their lunch break, or else we would have done some damage to our alredy suffering bank accounts. We then took the Gornergrat train up a mountain so that we could get a better view of the Matterhorn. Problem was, it was snowing! Like an actual blizzard. So we couldn’t see anything when we got up there, at 10,135 ft. It was just a sheet of white! Oh well, my friend had never seen snow before so we got to play in it.
The next day was Thanksgiving in America, so my program decided to throw us a cute potluck Thanksgiving lunch! It was pretty early though, we started eating at 11:30 so I guess it was more of a Thanksgiving brunch. Everyone brought food, but the program provided the turkeys (three!!!) and drinks. I was actually really impressed with everyone’s cooking skills! There were deviled eggs, roasted cauliflower, creamed spinach, homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, quinoa salad, fruit salad, cranberry sauce, crust bread, and lots of desserts! It was delicious. I was a little sad in the beginning of the day because I wanted to be at home, making cookies with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on in the background in Christmas music on in the kitchen. For some people though, this was their first Thanksgiving without their family and that was sad. But many students went home and had thanksgiving with their host families too!
The day after that we had our last excursion with our program. They took us to Chateau Chillon in Montreaux. Super beautiful and old castle right on the water 10 minutes away from one of the most romantic towns in Switzerland. After our tour, we had Chinese fondue, although it was just kind of like the Melting Pot to me. We were given raw meats and then hot vegetable broth to cook it in, along with sides of bread, vegetables, and scalloped potatoes. I was really bad at cooking my meat; I had to keep asking my friends if it was done or not! I also tried horse meat for the first time. It taste just like beef haha! After the meal, and several games of telephone (because my friends and I are little kids at heart) we walked down to the water and went to a Christmas market. It was really cute! There was tons of stuff there to buy, especially if people needed presents for their host families or gifts for the families at home in the US.
By now it was Saturday, two days before I left! My other best friend in my program and I went to the Maison Cailler, the oldest chocolate factory in Switzerland for a tour. It. Was. Amazing. So much history and so much chocolate! I got to see one of the chocolate machines actually making the chocolates called ‘mini branches’. I also got to touch and smell some of the ingredients that they include in their chocolate such as cocoa beans, cocoa butter, almonds, sugar, and vanilla. Lastly, I was taught how to eat chocolate like a professional! They take it so seriously. Every day, a panel of 10 people from around the factory goes and checks each set of ingredients being used that day to make sure they are up to quality. At the end there was a tasting room with all types of their chocolate and I ate so much I honestly thought I was going to be sick. I figured out my favorite chocolates that they make though! Femina and Ambassador. They both have a subtle crunchy texture and hints of hazelnut! The scenery near the chocolate factory was incredible. My friend said, “This is where Santa lives.” And I’m sure he was up on top of one of those mountains slaving away with his elves!
Today I have taken it easy and started packing. I really enjoyed this program. I actually learned a lot about international organizations and the European Union. I learned a lot about politics too, especially international politics and diplomacy. I also learned about a lot of problems facing the international community, and also how the US is seen from an international perspective. One guy from my program said that the main thing he got from our lectures was that the world is imperfect and always will be. I also wrote a lot. About 53 pages worth of papers. But also, and I think this is the most important, I was exposed to different lines of thinking and different cultures. Be it cultures from those who are in my program or my host family’s Swedish/Swiss culture, or the culture of the place I was visiting. I learned how to get by in a foreign city without speaking the language. I learned how to master any form of public transportation. I learned how to travel for 5 days with just a backpack. I learned more than I thought I would!
Saying goodbye is always hard. My host mom, Carin, is going to drive me to the airport tomorrow and I know that I am going to cry. I actually didn’t get to say goodbye to one of my best friends because I thought I would see her that night. But I guess that’s okay because it isn’t goodbye. It’s see you later! Which is exactly what I said to her before I got on my train to go home.