If you read my last post, I said that I had my first class at 11:15am the next day. WELL, I was definitely reading my horaire wrong and actually had class at 9:30am. Wow. That’s early for a college kid! My first week of school is over and let me give you a rundown on the schedule of an SIT: Switzerland International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy student.
Every morning, I wake up around 8:00am. I get up, use the restroom, and put my clothes on. Let me tell you, it has been HOT here in Switzerland! Today it was 90F. So recently I have been cycling through my 3 pairs of shorts and 4 short sleeve/tank top shirts that I brought. I was really expecting it to be colder! If we have a speaker from an international organization then we have to dress business causal, and that is the worst because dressing up nice in this heat is annoying and stifling. After I get dressed, I make sure everything I need for the day is in my backpack and head downstairs to have breakfast. Every morning I eat yogurt and two slices of bread with butter and jam. Now, before I came here I never used to eat butter. Ever. I maybe had butter on my bread twice a year. But since I have been here, I have just felt très European by eating my bread this way. If you haven’t tried butter and jam, you’re living a half-life. After breakfast I quickly put my dishes away and make my lunch. Lunch has consisted of cheese, crackers, mini-sausages, a peach, and a yogurt. It’s like a grown up Lunchable! Finally I brush my teeth and race out the door.
For some odd reason I always think I am going to be late, however I always get to the train station at least 5 minutes early. Le gare is a 16 minute downhill walk from my apartment. The walk is beautiful in the mornings! I pass by the town hall, a grape vineyard, and dozens of small yet beautiful European houses. I also pass a few water fountains. But, unlike America where our form of water fountain is an ugly metal contraption that is dirty half the time and the other half of the time doesn’t work, in Switzerland, there are actual water fountains. As in, water comes out of a pipe (or multiple pipes) into big, concrete collection area, usually lined with flowers. Some are simple, and some are extravagant! In America, you would never drink out of one of these, because the water would usually be unsuitable. In Switzerland, however, the water is always drinkable unless there is a sign that says “Eau Nonpotable”.
The train comes at 8:59am and by 9:09am I am in Geneva! I have never gotten a seat on the morning train because it is so busy. Most of the commuters are business people going to work. Therefore, I usually stand in the entrance or sit on a staircase (it is a double-decker train) and look out the window as the train speeds on. It passes through the Swiss countryside, multiple farms, some big châteaux, all whilst lining the coast of Lac Léman. You can even see the majestic, Mont Blanc in the background! On lovely days with blue skies and minimal clouds, I feel as if I am staring at a painting
