Though I’ve now had two weeks in Switzerland, my process of studying here began much earlier. In the winter of sophomore year, I began my application for the Gilman Scholarship, a program through the U.S. Department of State to award scholarships to Pell Grant recipients who may not typically be able to study abroad. With the help of the Whitman Off-Campus Studies office, I submitted a successful application and received a scholarship. I truly encourage everyone eligible to apply. As part of the award, I have to complete a service project which, in my case, is this blog! 

My purpose in writing is to illustrate the professional development benefits of studying abroad and the attainability of an abroad experience. Of course, I will also be sharing travel and adventure anecdotes. This brings me to this past week…

For most of our “working” time, we were running around Geneva, from train to bus to tram, to visit various organizations which have created relationships with SIT for those who apply to become interns. After we return from Greece in mid-March, we will embark on a six-week internship in our admitted organization. Most of them are start-ups looking to make a difference in the environmental sphere, combat climate change, or fix a social problem. A few internships are clustered at GENEUS, a start-up incubator, and Impact Hub, a co-working space. Toward the end of the week, I submitted my resume and cover letter to three and arranged interviews (SIT reserves two and a half days for independent interview work). I’ve already had to sign an NDA to discuss a certain start-up’s technology–I will reveal more next week once I know where I’m headed!

We have French for two hours Mondays and Fridays which means that I’ve now had three classes. Having studied French for four years in high school, I tested into Intermediate French which means I’m in a class of just three students. The majority of the program has no French experience and is in Beginner French. All the classes are complete French immersion with a native speaker. It is a sharp learning curve, but it is extremely valuable to know French here. Despite Geneva being an international city, daily tasks and life in the city of Nyon and the surrounding villages are very much conducted in French. Though people may know English, there is a preference that you try to speak French. 

Our homestays are also meant to be French immersion, although different families seem to have different expectations. With my homestay, we had a rough start on French because I was sick last week. We are working towards speaking more French, though I’ve been very privileged since she speaks perfect English. We’ve been able to have fascinating conversations about life, politics, and cultural differences. I think we have been warming up to each other and I try to show appreciation by helping her cook dinner, taking out the dog, and helping clean up the kitchen. I feel very safe and comfortable in my life here even though it’s been barely more than a week.

I commute every day from my homestay in a village near France to either Geneva or Nyon. The public transportation is excellent and without parallel. Our Swiss Pass from SIT allows us to use virtually every form of public transit anywhere in Switzerland for free. We are completely spoiled as many Swiss do not even have this *extremely* expensive pass. I took advantage of this fact this past weekend by traveling to Lugano, a city in the south of Switzerland near the Italian border with friends I’ve made in my program. We took the five-hour trip Saturday, explored the city over 24ish hours, and returned on Sunday night. I can’t recommend Lugano enough. We emerged from snow and mountain tunnels into a breath of summer, Mediterranean color, and Italian atmosphere. The sunshine was absolutely blissful and danced on the gorgeously clear water of Lake Lugano.

We found an affordable Airbnb in Campione (an Italian enclave inside Switzerland) and split the cost among us five. For a one-bedroom private apartment that could sleep five, it was only $26 per person. Though we splurged on a nice lunch, we made pesto pasta and shared a bottle of Prosecco for a calm night in. Sunday morning, Lugano was tranquil and we looked around in awe as the bustling streets of Saturday had been transformed into a peaceful network of stone staircases and church bells. To punctuate our trip, we took the funicular rail up Monte San Salvadore for panoramic views and lunch with a phenomenal view.

I should cut my writing here, but next week I’ll share my thoughts about our visit to the World Trade Organization and interviewing for my internship.

Merci, à bientôt!

Finances (Sunday 1/29-Monday 2/7):

– 25 CHF Airbnb in Capione (split bill)

– 7 CHF for Capione groceries (split bill)

– 25 CHF lunch in Lugano ( 15 on pizza and 10 on Aperol Spritz)

– 20 CHF more cold meds

– 75 CHF at Migros on foods/snacks  (covered by SIT food stipend)

– 15 CHF on coffee at my favorite spots (Ex Machina in Nyon and Foound in Geneva)

= 167 CHF/180 USD (75 of which was covered by SIT)

* calculations are not exact but close estimates