Fifteen Days in With So Much to Share!

I have been in Switzerland now for more than two weeks and I'm already dreading going back to the states in January! My initial impression of this country and its people can be summed up in a single word: beautiful.

Like any person who is travelling to a foreign country for an extended period, I began to feel anxious over the summer about certain aspects such as the language barrier (my French is far from perfect) and the typical Swiss stereotype. Any person who says that Swiss people are just like their country; cold, closed-off, and neutral; has obviously never visited this country whose people are anything but the description above. My first Swiss impression arrived at the airport to pick me up. Xuan, a Swiss native with a Vietnamese background ended up having to wait at the airport for over an hour due to my plane being late and then the discovery that my luggage was not on the plane. This did not bother her at all and when we finally greeted she was full of questions and excitement!

I have found that most young Swiss natives as well as the international students that come from all over the world are just like Xuan; curious and open-minded as well as very informative. Most of the people I have met know about issues not only in their own country but in the whole world. Last night for example, a group of students I live with who come from Germany, Egypt, Russia, Spain, as well as other countries, sat in the kitchen for two hours eating dinner and talking about various controversies such as the French burqa ban, Swiss minerat ban, and immigration problems. It is the fact that we all come from different cultural backgrounds that makes this type of "dinner table learning" so effective and more so than anything I've learned in a classroom.

I have so many more observations to write about but I'll leave that for another time. Tomorrow is my orientation with the entire international student population; should be interesting!

Au Revoir!

A Little Background Information...

"In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love; they had 500 years of democracy and peace. And what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

This quote by actor Orson Welles in the 1949 movie, The Third Man, is probably the most famous quote about Switzerland, but to Swiss natives and those who have visited Switzerland, it is regarded as a misrepresentation of the beautiful country.

What Welles forgot to mention is that this tiny country, with a population of less than eight million, is seated at the heart of Europe and although it is not a member of the European Union, this does not make it any less of an influence on Europe and the organizations seated in it. In fact Switzerland's neutral status has made it a prime spot for the headquarters of many international organizations. Some of these organizations include: the Red Cross, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the European Broadcasting Union, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Telecommunication Union, the World Economic Forum, the International Olympic Committee, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), and many others.

Its rich culture due in part to its location but also because of having four official languages (German, French, Italian, and Romansch, will make this experience educational and interesting. I hope to discover more about this country especially in regards to its media system and the customs of the people. I also hope to gain more insight into other European countries through its relations with Switzerland and my expected travels outside of Switzerland.

Sous le Soleil Suisse

Sous le Soleil Suisse translated in english means: Under the Swiss Sun. This will be quite literal for me in the coming months. As a student at California State University, Long Beach, I have decided to take part in the Fall 2010 Direct Exchange Program. What does this mean? Starting Sept. 1, 2010, I will be in Switzerland studying French at the Universite de Lausanne. Whether this experience is good or bad doesn't really matter (though I'm sure the latter will not be the case), because of the fact that I'm getting the chance to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I'm a journalism student and because of this I've decided to use my observation skills as well as my natural curiousity to develop this blog into an accurate and first-hand recording of my time and travels in Switzerland. Enjoy!