Bern!

The Capital!
Taylor, Cindy, Ceele, and I in the capital!

Swiss bank!

Me and Ceele

In the water fountain in front of the capital!

Bern!

9/18/09
Today, we started our day nice and early by loading up a huge bus and heading out to Switzerland’s capital, Bern. We started by going on a guided tour of the Celts exhibition. We then were allowed to explore the Einstein museum upstairs which turned out to be really interesting. However, the day really picked up once we were allowed to go and explore the city ourselves. Now what is really tricky about Switzerland is that they have four official languages. So even though we have been studying French, Bern is in the German speaking part of Switzerland making things for all of us even harder. Luckily we found a really great Italian restaurant where the owner of the restaurant spoke English! After eating, we walked over to the Parliament building which was beautiful. It had beautiful fountains and was right next to another incredibly beautiful building which turned out to be a bank (go figure). After resting, we all decided to go out to discover the night life in Lausanne. A huge group from Pepperdine went to this club, Darling, and we all had the best time! It definitely made me think of my friends and miss them even more than I already do!

Chantilly? Excusez-moi?

Amazing hot chocolate!



Taylor, Cindy, Me, and Ceele!

Today is Wednesday, the first day of classes! Luckily, I don’t have any classes until 10:10. So today I had French in the morning and then I have religion at 4:25. So far, I really like my French professor. He is very understanding and patient. He has been helping us a lot with our pronunciation which is hilarious every time. Today, on our break, Ceele and I walked into town (on our own!) and went to the store to buy a few things. We even found our way back! It’s not too hard to find your way around Lausanne, especially since we have been on so many walking tours. All of the staff here has been great with directions and helping us get aquatinted with the city! Later on in the day, I had religion and then went out for another adventure in Lausanne! Ceele and I met up with some new friends, Cindy and Taylor, and decided to go out for some world famous hot chocolate! We got some simple directions and headed out on our way. Well it turns out that the directions were not so simple and not so easy to follow at night! After a lot of wrong turns and a lot of laughs we finally found the little café. Not only did I get to use the French that I learned in the morning, but I got to enjoy a delicious cup of hot chocolate! It is more like warm chocolate pudding with a lot of heavy whipped cream!! Mmmmmm!

View from the top!

Tuesday, we began our day once again with intensive French. We then met for another walking tour. This time we went back to the cathedral. However, this time, we did not only walk through it, but climbed up to the top. Even though we had to walk up a lot of stairs to get there, the view from the top made it all worth it. After that, we walked to an art museum that displayed L’art Brut. This is an art collection composed of a bunch of works done by people who were in prison or mental hospitals. The art was definitely out there, but also very interesting. That night, we went back to Manora for dinner and then hung out at the house and got ready to start classes!!

Intensive French....Intensive Walking!

View from the start of our adventure!
In one of the public gardens!

Our new best friend!

The public gardens in Switzerland have everything! They are kept so neat and have tons of fresh veggies!

A beautiful trail through the woods.

On Monday, we started our intensive French classes. In the morning, we met for our first chunk of intensive French with our new teacher. We went over a bunch of questions to ask people and introduced the students in our class. He then realized how far we still need to go! He also barely speaks English which should make this year very interesting! In the afternoon, they decided to take us out for another walking tour for our second chunk of intensive French. What they should have called it was a hike, not a walking tour. We started by walking down to the metro station and riding it up to the last stop possible. We then got out and started our “walk” at the top of this exhibit called Lausanne Jardins 2009. We continued to follow pink and black posts all throughout Lausanne to see different public gardens planted throughout the city and walked all the way back to the Pepperdine house. This may not seem that bad, but we were gone for at least 4 hours and definitely hike down some dirt trails in the middle of the woods. Ironically, I hardly heard any French. Monday night, we went back to Manora for dinner and passed out after a long day!

A Day At the Vineyards!

On Sunday, our entire group walked down to the train station and we took a train out to a nearby town, Lavaux. Here we walked through the UNESCO World Heritage vineyards. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We walked on paths through terraced vineyards that bordered Lake Geneva. We were even allowed to eat some of the grapes! There were small towns throughout the vineyards that were so cute and quaint with an amazing view of the lake! After walking through the vineyards, we took a boat to the next town, Lutry. Here we were given free time. Ceele, Naomi, and I ended up exploring the town with a Lausanne native. Finola was an older lady who was born in Ireland and has lived in Lausanne for 30 years. She took us through the quiet town, which was deserted because it was Sunday. She knew the streets very well and was able to explain to us all about the town and the country. She showed us a beautiful church and even took us to an amazing café where she treated us three to cappuccinos. After, she walked us along the lake and told us stories and taught us some French phrases. She was one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. Her generosity and willingness to share her knowledge reminded me a lot of my own grandma and made me miss her even more!!

Finally in Switzerland!

The view from our room!!

Hotel La Croisse

Our Room! :)

The waiting is over. I am finally in Switzerland! We landed in Geneva on Friday night, September 11th. Once we arrived, the staff picked us up in a huge bus and we made our way from Geneva to Lausanne, however, it was pitch black outside so I could not see much of the country. Once we arrived at the house, we all got together to receive our room and roommate assignments. The house is amazing! It is a renovated hotel, Hotel La Croisee. On floor 0 (yes, floor 0. One of the many things that is different in Europe) are the classrooms, which are a lot different than regular classrooms, a lounge area, a study room/library, a computer room, and program offices. On -1, there is the Student center which has a pool table, ping pong table, couches, a separate movie room, a separate music room, and a kitchen. On floor -2 there is a bomb shelter (don’t be scared mom, it is just the law in Switzerland) and a small gym. And by gym, I mean a room with a yoga mat, a mirror on the wall, and two sets of weights. Floors 1-4 have all of the student rooms. What is really neat is that each room is different from the next one, but still very similar. We all have this huge closet type things, but some are painted and in different spots. My room is baby blue with teal bedding. We also all have balconies. My room faces the lake. It has the most breathtaking view. There is also a sink and mirror in our rooms which is new and extremely convenient. Each floor also has study rooms at the end of the hall for people to use computers, read, and obviously study. Overall, the house is amazing!
The weather since I have been here has been random. The first couple days it was sunny but chilly. But they have us walking around so much that by the time you get out and get going, it gets hot again. The nights get cold but nothing compared to how cold it will get in the winter.
Our first day here, we went through an orientation, and then went out for our first day in the city. We went on our first of many walking tours. We walked through the streets to one of the biggest cathedrals. It was absolutely beautiful. The streets of Lausanne remind me a lot of the rest of Europe, but are still unique. The cities are very clean and you can tell the Swiss have a lot of pride in their country. That night, we ate at Menora which is a restaurant that we will be eating at a lot. I’m starting to think that Switzerland doesn’t have specific foods that are unique to their country. All of the foods that were served were just like back home, except some are prepared differently. At this restaurant, you could get anything from chicken and rice, to pizza, to pasta. However, I have yet to see a Mexican restaurant! After dinner Ceele and I went with two other girls, Cindy and Taylor, to find an ATM and a place that sold shampoo. Even though this may seem like an easy, everyday task, it is a lot more complicated in a foreign country and a foreign language! It can also be tricky because everything over here closes around 6. But not only did we find an ATM and an open pharmacy, we found our way back to the house!