XI. English is everywhere

   Perhaps before I came to Switzerland, I was very naive or just completely dumb. I knew that English is considered a universal language for business like Chinese, but I didn't realize, that everyone knows it.

   For example, in that German course that I mentioned previously where I reviewed German for a grand whole three days, there were kids from Japan, China, Indonesia, a gazillion South American countries, and more, and everyone spoke English. Everyone but me was learning a third (or fourth or fifth) language through a second language. When I asked, they said that they all learned English in school. My fellow classmates in the Kanti (high-school) also know some English, but they are not necessarily fluent in it. 

   When my plane landed in Zürich, every single sign in that airport was in German and English. Not kidding. My family sings "Happy Birthday" in English, and lots of songs that we sing in church are either the same tunes with German lyrics or actually in English.

   Speaking of church, I went to the service last Sunday, and the entire sermon was in Swiss-German... It was at least half an hour long, and - I am not joking - excepting the Bible verse that was put up on the screen in High-German, I caught five or fewer words. 

   Yeah.

   The good news is that when people speak directly to me, I can understand almost everything that they say, and I have on occasion engaged in full, one-on-one conversations. My fellow female classmates have also discovered that I am good in Math, and so it is not an odd occurrence to find me, explaining a math problem that is written in a different language to students who can't understand it in their native language.

   There are so many differences between here and home that to list them all would make this post exceeding long, and you, my wonderful readers, would yawn, promptly turn off the computer and pick up a book instead. Therefore, I will treat you with a few differences in every post.

   I should probably begin with the ones that are kind of small but that really surprised me and that I have already become adapted to because otherwise I will forget about them. 

   Did I ever mention the blinds in Switzerland? They are much thicker and are built-in on the outside. Then,
instead of a string that you pull, there is a rod that you bend to make a handle, and then you have to turn it. It took me a while to figure it out. 

   The notebook paper that we use in school is not the normal lined paper that I am used to. It is actually graphing paper. At first I thought it was weird, but now I think that it is quite handy. You can still write straight, you can draw better diagrams, and when you're bored, you can also doodle. 

   My school schedule is probably similar to that of one in college. Every day is different, and sometimes I don't have class. It begins at different times and ends at different times.

   The Kanti that I attend and my school in America really could not be more different. Compared to the Kanti, Warwick is strict. Like, really strict. Perhaps it is because the Kanti is a little smaller (and I'm sure that every school is different) but where in Warwick students always need a pass to go somewhere and the students are always always ALWAYS watched over by an adult, here in the Kanti, if the teacher is away, that means the teacher is away. Yesterday, I had three class periods without a teacher because there was a school trip that they went on. So, we sat in the classrooms (or outside because the one was locked) unattended, and it wasn't even a big deal.

   You must be wondering now how school is going for me after my long lamentation of the first day of school. I can honestly tell you that (with the exception of yesterday) school has gotten much better with each consecutive day. I can actually understand some of the classes, I can communicate with people (that really is an accomplishment by itself), and I am making some friends. So, yeah, when I am not running 3.6 km in Gym or doing "self-learning" for a straight 3.5 hours, I am actually having a good time in school. (That "self-learning" was part of what made yesterday so boring.)

   I apologize for the length of this post and for most likely neglecting to speak about many topics, but if you have any extraordinary, urgent, or nagging questions, feel free to ask, and perhaps I will answer. Unfortunately, I do not have any interesting photos to share, but I will have some next week. 

   Oh, the food is superb by the way (that seems to be a popular question). :)