Onwards to Bern, Switzerland

One week from now, I’ll be on my twenty-something hour flight to Geneva, the first step on my journey to Bern, Switzerland. Unbeknownst to most people (or at least most of my friends), Bern is the gorgeous capital of Switzerland. It is at Bern University that I will be undertaking a semester of study. Incredibly excited and simultaneously ridiculously nervous about living and studying in a foreign country for six months, I know that, at the very least, this experience will be life-changing.

Arriving at Geneva in the afternoon, I’ll have several hours to get to Bern and make it to my apartment building before they close for the day. If my suitcase isn’t the first piece of luggage coughed out by the pick-up belt at the airport, I risk missing my train to Bern, arriving before 5pm (or as they apparently say in Bern, 1700), and spending the night on the street! Just kidding. I’ll still have full access to my room, and just have to postpone my building orientation to the next morning. J

The exchange department at Bern University has been incredibly efficient, friendly, and helpful with all of my questions, and have even matched me with a buddy as part of their program. Communicating via email and broken (on my part) German, she’s taught me that a “J” after a sentence in German means “smile”. J I plan on using it all the time now. J

After two years of core (and semi-core) subjects at UTS, I’ve decided to use all of my saved-up electives on wonderful Swiss-relevant subjects. Fun Fact: Switzerland had the highest EPI (Environmental Performance Index) in the world in the 2014 report. Therefore, it follows logically that I (studying IT at UTS) should take a course in International Environmental Law. J

With only a week left before I journey to a new city (and a new country… and a new continent), I hope that I’m as prepared as I can be. I have my “Switzerland” OneNote Notebook loaded up with all the information I’ve found so far, whether it be about phone plans, travel plans, or how to say “I am lost” in German (“Ich bin verloren” if you ever need it). At this point, I guess the only thing left for me to do now is hop on the plane and experience it all for myself! J

Thanks for reading (I may have been too liberal with my use of the “J”s),

Olivia Webster 11979440

(Image from www.londoncityairport.com)