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| Danielle Bird |
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| Danielle with her host family |
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| Danielle on the ski slopes |
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Botanical Gardens
Geneva |
Hello Strathmore!
I have been having a fantastic time in Zurich, Switzerland and I can't thank you enough Strathmore!
I arrived in winter, which was a huge shock, but slowly I got used to the cold and it wasn't too bad. The snow made the landscape and houses look so beautiful - just like a fairy tale.
Since I have been here in Switzerland I have been to many places.
I have visited Grachen (a small town in the countryside), Lucerne, one of Switzerland's most beautiful cities, Bern, Engelburg, Toggernburg (a small town between the Swiss Alps and of course Zurich where I live.
Firstly I started off my exchange with a 3 week German course, where I met 12 other exchange students (mostly from Australia). These exchange students have become really great friends of mine.
I really love my host family! I have 3 host sisters, 1 host brother and 2 host parents. My family is so nice and we get along really well. They always laugh and make jokes, which I am so thankful, for because it makes me feel apart of the family.
At the end of my German course I went to Toggernburg with my host family to their holiday house in the Swiss Alps.
Their house is 350 years old and shared by 5 other families. It was kind of like a dolls house with small staircases leading up to back rooms and no order to the layout of the house. I had such a great time there! During this week it also happened to be my Birthday, it was lovely to be surrounded by the beautiful Swiss Alps. We went skiing for 3 days during the week. My host mum taught me to ski and we had a great time! By the end of the 3 days I could ski down from the very top of the mountain, which was one of the most terrifying and enjoyable adventures so far. No crashes I am pleased to say (well no bad ones).
After the Swiss Alps I returned back to Zurich to start school.
School here is very different to Australia. School starts at 7:50 in the morning and finishes at 5:30 in the afternoon!!! When I started school, I realized how very little German I knew. School has been very difficult of me because of the language and culture barrier, but it has slowly become easier and more enjoyable.
For one weekend I got to go to Garmisch-Partenkirchen with a member from Rotary and his wife. Garmisch is on the border of Germany and Austria. When I was there it was the Winter World Cup. I got to go to the closing ceremony and participate in the German celebration activities. It was a great weekend!
I have also been to a few Rotary events organized by Swiss Rotex, who are members of Rotary and past exchange students. I went to a winter weekend in Engelburg where I met other exchange students from all over the world. We went ice-skating, sledding and to a cheese factory.
My Rotary club here is Zurich West. In my first meeting, I did a short German presentation about myself and Australia, which went very well. My club is filled with all sorts of interesting and successful people, who have been welcoming towards me.
I just finished school holidays. The highlight of my first week was going to Geneva for the day (which is in the French speaking part of Switzerland). There I went to the United Nations and the lake of Geneva.
The second week I went to Hamlen in Germany to visit my Aunty and Cousin. The week was great! I got to practice my High German, enjoy the German culture and do a bit of sight seeing.
I love it here in Switzerland. Time has just flown by! The snow has all melted now and the weather is much warmer. I continue to struggle with Swiss German dialect but the challenge is good : and all the people are generally very nice.
In the future months and summer holidays, I have the Rotary Euro Tour coming up, a Rotary Turkey summer camp and a two week school project camp in the Swiss mountains. I change host families this Saturday and I am moving to a village called Alterndorf, which is 40 minutes by train from Zurich.
I can not thank you enough for this amazing opportunity, I have already seen so much already, made many friends and learnt quite a lot of German. This is a very beautiful and interesting country that I have learnt so much about.
Thank you!
I hope all is well in Australia and I look forward to hearing from you.
All the best
Danielle Bird
May 2010
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