Zurich, Switzerland

Friday evening, Koryn, Christian, Tatjana and I went out for supper at a vegetarian restaurant called Tibits (http://www.tibits.ch/). It was a buffet and you paid by weight ($4.10 per 100g), so it added up quite quickly. It was my first meal out since I've been in Switzerland...besides McDonald's (which I only go to because they have free Internet), so it was quite a treat. We stayed until midnight, talking and drinking wine. It was probably the nicest night out that I've had since I left home.

Yesterday Koryn and I hopped a train to Zurich. It was our first time there (besides at the airport). Everyone LOVES Zurich and I can see why. It has a river running through it that opens up into Lake Zurich. As you can see from the pictures above, it is surrounded by mountains. I would imagine that in the summer when everything is green it is quite picturesque. We met up with my buddy Christian, who lives in Zurich. He took us on the grand tour. We spent the afternoon walking around the city, stopping for coffee and checking out the shops. The picture above is of Christian and I in a really awesome vintage shop. Those glasses were over $100 and probably 50 years old! I really wanted them...but I'm on a student's budget now :( After that we went for a delicious meal at an authentic Italian restaurant! That's two yummy (and expensive) meals in a row for me. Back to PB&J sandwiches for the rest of the week :)

On a side note...I am really enjoying reading your comments! It is so nice to hear from everyone...so thanks and keep it up!

First Week of Classes

It was a long first week of classes...even with Monday and half of my Tuesday classes being cancelled. I'm definitely not used to going to school full time anymore. Tonight we are headed out for a beer or two (probably two since it's two for one drinks for us exchange students tonight) at Zimmer 31. Tomorrow I don't have classes and Koryn and I are planning to go to two world famous art galleries, Fotomuseum Winterthur and the Villa Flora. After that we are going for supper with my two Swiss buddies, Tatjana and Christian. I haven't figured out much else for the weekend, but I'd love to get to the mountains and do some snowboarding or head into Zurich to explore a little.

Böögg Verbrennen

On the holiday Monday here in Winterthur I made my way to the Irish pub (Paddy Obrien's) right next door to the university and had a pint of Swizly (Swiss cider)! Not bad...a little sweet, but the good news is that all of my other favorites are on tap :)

That evening was the Burning Doll event (Böögg Verbrennen) I mentioned in my earlier blog entry. It was way more than I had expected. There was a giant pirate on a stake that was about 70 feet high and a huge amount of wood at the bottom. It was very pagan and a lot creepy...like burning "witches" at the stake hundreds of years ago. In Switzerland at the end of winter it is a tradition to light up a "snowman" which is build of straw, its body is filled with fireworks and its head is brimfull of explosives. The faster the Böögg's head blows up the better the next summer will be. This was a very slow burn (almost an hour) because the fire had trouble catching. I think the wood was wet as it has been quite rainy here. So...I guess that means a bad summer here in Winterthur for us :( I have included a video of the event. I apologize for the occasional swears in there...but those explosives were quite loud and unexpected and the blaze was HUGE :)

Fasnacht

Today is a holiday here in Winterthur as the city is celebrating Fasnacht (http://fasnacht.ch/). For the last three days there has been a street carnival going on here. There are food vendors set up all over the place, a huge parade that lasts for about two hours, people in costumes everywhere and absolutely everyone throws confetti at everyone! It's a bit like halloween. It's quite an exciting atmosphere. As you can see from the picture, I was covered in confetti. It was even in my underwear! My whole aparment is covered in it now :) Tonight the festivities include "Burn Boogg" (burning of a doll) and fireworks and I'm sure more music and street vendors. The last picture is a picture of the street after the parade yesterday and all the confetti. That is Koryn, the other girl from the U of R. I also included a video of the parade at the end.

Random Ramblings

Last night I went to a lounge called Fumetto for my first time out in Switzerland. It was very trendy. It was okay, but I only stayed a couple hours because they still smoke in their lounges and bars here and when you aren't used to breathing that in, it is really hard on the lungs. They have passed a law to ban smoking indoors here, but that doesn't come into affect until May 1st. I was supposed to take a train to Zurich tonight and go to a club, but I don't think I will. For one, I don't think I could handle the smoke and for two...I think I'm a little too old to be clubbing with 20 year olds :) The train doesn't come back until 4am and I'm not sure I want to stay out that late either.

The cafeteria at the university has a vegetarian menu everyday. Yesterday I had fajitas for lunch and today spring rolls and fried rice. They were both delicious and reasonably priced (6 CHF).

Oh...and if you can believe it, there is a Fuchs living in my building! I got his mail, but I assumed it was mine and opened it. He was even born the same day and same year as me, but just a different month. I assumed it was a typo...but nope...Norbert Fuchs lives in my building and he is my age! So anyway, if you send me something, include Wohnung 1404, which is my apartment number. This is not usual because the mail slots have your first initial and last name on them, but in this case since I am M Fuchs and he is N Fuchs, I anticipate some problems :)

Michelle Fuchs
Wohnung 1404
Palmstrasse 1
8402 Winterthur
Switzerland

And sadly...German class ended up on Thursdays...in the evening yet...so no four day weekends for me...just three days :(

University Life

This is what most of the streets in the old downtown look like. It's pretty much where everything is in Winterthur. I walk through old downtown to get to school. Turns out it's a little further than I thought...about 1.5 km, but that's ok..easy exercise. We started orientation week on Monday. There are 56 exchange students from 17 different countries. I have set my schedule up and as it is right now, I have every Thursday and Friday off of school! We still have to work our German class into that schedule, but I have my fingers crossed it's on one of the other three days. I also found out that Swiss students are older than Canadian students because they tend to go straight from high school into a 3 or 4 year apprenticeship before entering University. I was very happy to hear this...perhaps I will find people closer to my age to relate to! I've only met two Swiss students so far and they are both in their late 20s...yay :) Classes officially start next Tuesday for me (Monday is a holiday in Winterthur), but during this orientation week I am taking about 15 hours worth of German language classes (which I desperately need).

I've been pretty busy this first week adjusting to my new home. I've gone grocery shopping a few times, had to buy bedding and towels, applied for a residency permit, and filled out a million forms. In Switzerland, there is a form for everything...apparently even singing in the park, watching TV and listening to the radio all require permits. Anyway, all of this stuff takes a long time to figure out and do because everything (signs, paperwork, labels, etc) is in German and I have to walk everywhere. I did take the bus on the way home from ice skating on Monday, but other than that, I haven't attempted to figure out public transit. Big on my to do list for the day is figuring out how to pay my rent and book a time slot to do laundry...again, not so straight forward because the lady only speaks German.

Oh...side note...I don't think I can send or receive texts with people who have sasktel cell phones. If someone does figure it out, let me know so I can pass it on.

Internet....finally!

It took me a very long time to figure out how to call Canada. Everyone here speaks German and until Monday, I was all alone and had no one to help me out. My dad was moments away from his first ever plane trip to check on me :) I also have not had access to Internet until now, but from now on I will have access at the University...so the posts should be a bit more frequent. I may get Internet set up at my apartment, but likely not. We'll see how it goes.

My phone number is 011 41 52 267 4708 and my mobile is 011 41 76 272 6529. Feel free to call or text, but don't forget I am 7 hours ahead of you!

My mailing address is:
Palmstrasse 1
8402 Winterthur
Switzerland

I have my first German language class soon, but will hopefully update my blog with pics of my apartment and University before the end of the day.

Cheers!

Home Sweet Home

I am pleasantly surprised by my apartment! It appears to be almost new. It has two lovely windows in it and it is quite bright. One window faces a park and the other a street. I'm on the fourth floor and so far, besides the blasting classical music coming from an apartment somewhere near me, it is very quiet. My apartment is one building within a community of buildings. One is a senior's home, one is the dorm for students, and then there is my apartment, which appears to be mainly for local Swiss residents. Somehow I lucked out getting it, because so far, I think I am the only student in the building. There are several other buildings, but I haven't figured out what they are yet. One looks kind of like a chapel. Also, in the middle of all of these buildings is a park...that has a small pasture full of minature goats!!

Comments

I just realized that a setting was selected that wouldn't allow people to post without signing up or having an account of some sort. I have fixed that now so anyone can post a comment. Just choose Anonymous in the "Comment as:" dropdown list. Make sure you include your name or something in your message though so I know who it is from. Ok...so now no excuses about it being too difficult to comment...I'll be waiting to hear from all of you!!

On My Way!

I've made it to Calgary so far. The flight to Frankfurt leaves in a little over an hour. I don't think I'll have access to the Internet for the next day or so, but as soon as I do I'll get some pics of my apartment and city up for everyone. Other than my flight from Regina being delayed for a half an hour, the power at the whole Regina airport going out for about 15 minutes and me forgetting my laptop in security...it's been pretty uneventful :) Here are the tear jerking, heart breaking departure pictures...just jokes...we had no weepers in the house...I assume they spared me and went home to cry to themselves :)

Countdown Is On!

Three more sleeps until the big day...getting a little nervous now. I leave at 10:30am on Friday morning for five months in Switzerland. I am attending the Zurich University of Applied Sciences for a semester, taking business classes towards my Bachelor of Business Administration.

Here is the link to the university I will be attending. It is in a city called Winterthur which is about 15 minutes outside Zurich. I have a teeny, tiny apartment (200 sq ft)...smaller than my bedroom (see page 3 of the second link for a pic)!!

http://www.zhaw.ch/en.html
http://www.sml.zhaw.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/management/international/incomings/pdf/studentenwohnheim_adlergarten.pdf

Check back often and post comments because it's always nice for me to hear from people back home when I'm away...keeps me from getting too homesick :)