Zürich – the Swiss Bliss ☺

Living in Zürich, Switzerland has been a “life changing” experience (the cliché is real).

Zürich IS AN UNREAL CITY. There is something to do in every little corner. It has 300,000 population and it is so chill. IT IS ALSO SO BEAUTIFUL. I could never get tired of going to the lake or sun baking in 14 degree weather (14 degrees is considered warm LOL).

For the last two months, I have been to four different countries (Switzerland, England, France and Germany) and a lot of cool day trips in Switzerland. It is really easy to day trips in Switzerland. Seriously, I cant believe it has only been two months.

I live a ten minute walk to the University of Zürich and the main city. This is AMAZING because at home I live about an hour away from UTS. The people I live with are pretty cool and are from everywhere in the world. However, sharing a kitchen with 60 people however does have its ups and downs.

University life, the classes I am taking are Masters classes in Law and are pretty interesting. There are no tutorials/seminars and only lectures – so self directed learning is a must. The lecturers are leaders in the field and we all knock on the table (like clap) after the elcture ends – this I am still getting used to.

You may all think Switzerland is really expensive. But take the motto 1 AUD = 1 Swiss dollar and then everything is the same. No seriously Mcdonalds cost 13 franc = $18 (but you can figure out the cheaper places or go to germany). I am actually learning to cook because it is cheaper.

Language barriers are not an issue. Switzerland has three official languages (Swiss German, French and Italian) and English. Most people in Zurich speak english. People are so polite, so that when you try and order in german they respond to you in english. I recommend you try and learn some german before coming to Switzerland. Also go to the two week intensive german class before semester begins, you will meet heaps of people.

The people I have meet are from all over the world.They are pretty awesome and are eager to travel. Some of my closest friends on exchange are from Finland, Singapore, Korea and Sweden. I was never considering Finland on my travel Plans in the European Summer, but now its like my main priority and they are also making plans to visit Australia. (which is AWESOME) There are also a lot of Australians from all over Australia studying in Zurich – so its pretty cool to meet them to.

ALSO, GOING TO THE GYM IS FREE (but lol that has not helped my weight gain – #fatgap and too much chocolate). I have attended Super Kondi classes (High intensity aerobic class) and as I write this now I am recovering from basketball spiel. (I don’t think they were happy with my basketball skills J)

If you are all considering going on exchange, I highly recommend it as a MUST. Your whole perspective on life will change and you will actually learn so much about yourself. START SAVING YOUR MONEY, never say no and TRY EVERYTHING.

I should really get on to the study thing……..

Emma Yogarajah 🙂