St. Moritz--Day 4 & 5

I woke up at 10.00 in the morning on Sunday morning & went to greet Mami. She asked me what was the time & I said 10. Oopps! I forgot that on that day, all clocks had to be changed so that it would be 1 hour faster. That is what we call summer time. In August, the time would be changed to 1 hour slower. Techinically speaking, I woke up at 11.00am.Summer time.

As the weather was not looking good, we decided not to ski & therefore returned all the rented ski stuff. After a scrumptious easter 'brunch' , we went out to have a walk around St. Moritz. That place was full of posh shops, like Prada, Gucci, Emilio Pucci, Bucherer, Cartier etc. Most of the shops along the streets there were really pricey stuff, & I really mean pricey. For example, the jacket for babies that I saw on the window display cost about few hundred francs! Just for that little piece of cloth! Other stuff like pullovers cost up to 500 francs--just for one !!!! Anja let me know another tip which was if the merchandise on the window display has no price tags on it, it meant that those stuff are really, really expensive.

We bought some pastries & then took a bus to visit Mami's good friend in another village near St. Moritz. Her two 3-year-old twin sons are soo cute! Anyway, we hung around there till 4.30 & then we went back. I then went out with my sisters for a drink. It was nice having a warm drink in a cold weather. For dinner, Mami cooked chicken curry! Woohoo! I miss curry. Although it wasn't spicy at all & didn't really taste like the curry back home, but it was good --for me. At least it was curry.....

On Monday, we went to watch Laura's friends snow-kite on the frozen lake. It was pretty cool. The lake was really frozen & people could walk, cycle & snow -kite on it. At 12, we took the bus back to the apartment as we had to prepare to go home. Mami cleaned up the place & by 3pm, we were in the train, on the way back home. All of us were tired. So was I. However, it was a great experience & I enjoyed myself throughly!

It was my BEST Easter holiday EVER--so far.Now, I'm looking forward to spring break, summer break in Tessin & of course the next winter! =)

St. Moritz--Day 3

The weather on Saturday was much colder than on Friday. It was in fact snowing on the slopes. This time, we went to Corviglia to ski & watch a snow-board competition. We took 2 trains up to the mountains & it was snowing up there. The fog was pretty thick too. Could barely see people half a meter in front of me.

The snow board/ free ski competition started down the slopes & we sat in the snow & watched. It was pretty cool. The participants did stunts with their snow boards or skiis. Some did 360,570 degress somersaults When there was a break, we went back up the slopes to ski. Walking in the snow, up the slope, wearing the ski boots truely was a good exercise coz it was NOT easy! Especially with the snow getting into my eyes. > <

The slopes here at Corviglia was harder for me as I couldn't ski straight--or else I might end up way down some place I don't know. Therefore, I had to learn how to turn left & right with my skis. Papi taught me how to ski left & right, but I kept falling down while doing that. I had to learn how to put the weight of my body on the correct leg when I want to turn & I had not mastered the skill yet. After all, it was my 2nd ski. There will be more chances for me to practise skiing in winter. So, what's the rush?=)

During dinner, we had Italian cuisine at home as Papi had to go home coz he had to work the next day. At night, we watched the German made version of Parent Trap---Charlie & Louise. Same story line. Different language & actors. That's all.

St. Moritz--Day 2

We went skiing on Friday(Good Friday) in Diavolezza,which means Devil's Valley, a skiing area not too far from St. Moritz. Before we went there, I had to rent my ski boots, skis & sticks or whatever coz I don't know what those 2 sticks for skiing are called. Ski business is a big business here, especially at the skiing areas. Tourists from Germany, Italy,etc come all the way here to ski as Engadin is like THE place for skiing.

We drove to Diavolezza & boy there were a lot of people there. We changed into our ski boots & brought along our skis to the skiing area. Wearning the ski boots, it reminded me of my roller blades back at home. The only difference is that instead of 4 wheels in the sole, the sole of the ski boots are flat. Papi, Anja & Laura took the cable car up to the high slopes & skied/ snow -boarded from there, while Mami accompanied me at the beginner's slope. What to do, my 1st time skiing mah...Luckily, I was not the only 'older' person skiing at the beginner's slope coz most of them were little 5,6 year old kids. There were other adults , learning & falling too. There was a lady called Alana from Czechoslavia (dunno the spelling) who started at the beginner's slope too coz she didn't ski after a knee injury. She was pretty nice & I was gald I was not the only 'old' one learning how to ski.

Skiing is THE SPORT for the Swiss. It's like football is to Brazil & skiing is to Switzerland. Most kids learn how to ski when they are young. Therefore it's harder for people like me to start skiing now. Oh, by the way, did I mention that the guys at the skiing area are hot? =P

First, I had to learn how to 'walk' on the slopes with my skis on coz I don't know why, I kept going backwards! What the hell was wrong?!Anyway, after a few tries & a few tips from Mami, I was getting better & we decided to use the 'pony lift' to go higher up on the slopes & ski down from there. Woo....the feeling was great! I was going fast down the slopes & it was speeding down---fast! I too had to of course learn how to stop lah. I mean if I learn how to go, must learn how to stop too! Learning to stop wasn't too hard, but learning how to turn left & right was not an easy task. As they say, falling down is always part of the learning process. So, I fell down---so that I could learn!Yeah right. Falling down was for sure lah...of course mah..1st time skiing, what do you expect.... Although I had bruises on my ankles & knees, it was all worth it, for me at least.

At about 2, we had a break as Papi, Laura & Anja had completed their whole ski journey from the top of the moutains till the end. As the others needed a rest, Papi & I boarded the cable car up to the high mountains which were more than 3000m above sea level. Soon, we were at the closest place we could go to see Piz Palu & Piz Bernina & some other ' Pizs' before our eyes.

The view was SPECTECULAR! I was marvelled by the sight of the snow-covered mountains standing tall before my eyes. Papi said that we could actually walk even nearer, on the glacier, but as the glacier was all covered with snow, it was not safe to do so. There were a lot of skiers too high up at the place we were in. The ski journey way down would take a looong time & when they get started, there's no turning back---literally. According to Papi, there are only 4 places in Switzerland where people are able to have tea/ coffee 3000m above sea level, & Diavolezza is one of those places.

We got back to the slopes again for the last 2 skis. The last 2 skis were great! I didn't fall & had a smooth ski all the way down. Super! We went back to the apartment in the evening & had a rest from all the ski hype. We played cards, watched Titanic in German on TV...haha...got to see 'some scenes' which were censored by the censorship board in Malaysia....=P People here are pretty open . Therefore, it's quite common to have the so-called '18 SX scenes' on national TV.

At night, we went out for an early easter dinner in an Italian restaurant. The atmosphere was good. I thought that only Chinese restaurants would be that noisy, but apparently this restaurant too was AS noisy too. Anyway, that didn't bother me much coz I'm used to it. But Mami said that it was too noisy.

Friday was a really GOOD Friday for me. I enjoyed it a lot & had a great time skiing at the slopes. Anyway, what better way to learn about Swiss culture than indulging myself in the famous sport itself? =)

St. Moritz--Day 1

Woo hoo! Easter holiday started on Thursday! No German lessons! In the morning, Mami took me to UBS bank to open a bank account. I guess the guy in charge was new coz frankly, he wasn't really fast. I didn't have time to change bank in my traveller's cheque into my bank account coz we had to catch a train to St. Moritz. Yeap. That's the place my family & I went for the Easter weekend.

We took the train from Reinach to Aarau, switched trains from Aarau to Chur, & then switched another train to St Moritz. The whole journey took us about 5 hours to reach St. Moritz. Along the way, the view was simply great, especially with all the mountains covered in snow. The train passed through tunnels, vioduct , which was a high train rail above the water. Trains here are really an inportant transport. It's so efficient & convininet for people here to travel.

Arriving at St. Moritz, Mami did some grocery shopping at COOP as all shops would be closed on Friday( Good Friday). After that, we went up to the family's apartment, as they would call it in German, Ferienwohnung, which means vacation apartment. We watched some TV & had dinner soon.

After dinner, Anja invited me to come along with her to meet some of her friends. We went to a pub first where I met some of her friends & ex-collegue. We had a drink there first.At the pub, it was a good place for me to practise my use of German coz some one her friends couldn't speak English! As he didn't speak much English, I had to wreck my brain to converse in Deutsch. It was funny how this friend of my sister described the weather of St. Moritz . This was what he said: St Moritz has 11 months of cold & 1 month of winter.Later, we proceeded to a dance club, Vivai. When we went there, I was surprised that there weren't much people there coz a lot of them had gone to another newly-opened club called Diamond. As my host sister used to work in this hotel, where Vivai also belongs to it, I managed to get in without paying.

Most of these people here are party people. From the way they dress, act, & especially dance, it's obvious that they are frequent patrons of this club. These people can really dance, shaking their bon-bons at the dance floor, & of course not to forget the smoke. It's really common here to smoke. It's like everyone smokes here. Anyway, the club was pretty good & we danced to the music. Compared to the people at the club, I wasn't such a good dancer. To be better, I guess I gotta go 'clubbing' more often! =P Just kidding!

Change of Mind

Today, my friend & I for a shop. So, during our 1 hour lunch, we went to H&M, a pretty good shopping paradise for shoppers. Lukily for me, I still had some cash with me, so another good reason to purchase stuff. =) Typical me.

I really liked the blazers & long jackets. Too bad it was too expensive. Couldn't afford it. Anyway, that didn't dampen my 'shopping spirit' coz I manged to find a couple of really cool stuff too. I got these pair of really nice dangling earrings which doesn't cost too much. I'm not going to mention the price coz some people might think it is. But in my opinion, I wouldn't get that kind of earings back home with that kind of price. So, to me at least, it's worth it.

Next up was da skirts & thick jackets. Oh my god, they were like sooo nice & affordable! From that time on, I've changed my mind about shopping here, coz if there is a really good sale, things here are way more cheaper than back home. For example, my friend got this really nice , red jacket for less than Fr 3! In fact we thought that it was Fr 5 (which btw was cheap enough), but when she paid at the cashier, it was actually Fr 2.45 !!! How can you get this kind of price back home???!!!

I tried on this coulderoy skirt & a thick jacket which is really practical for this kind of cold weather & immediately fell in love with both of them. Checking out the price, I was even more convinced to purchase those 2 items. Why? Read on.

Well, guess how much those 2 items cost me. * drumroll* LESS THAN 20 FRANCS !! To be exact, it was Fr 16.40 !!! Can you imagine that? Even with the exchange rate, it is still cheaper here! That jacket I bought was just Fr 15! Even if I mutiply by 3.4 , it is just RM 50!! Even in Malaysia or even in CHINA I wouldn't have gotten such a nice jacket for such a good price.

I'm really satisfied with my purchase for the day. Really. Another lessons learnt : Not eveything here in Switzerland is expensive.Even for clothes, shoes & accessories. Hmm...next buy..should I get another pair of shoes? =) Well, I guess before I can do more 'shopping' , I really gotta open a bank account soon. Literally a Swiss bank account.

Till then, I'll be enjoying my puchases. Viva shopping ! =) Well & of course studying & learning new things lah...coz that's da reason I'm here. But any how, that doesn't mean I shouldn't enjoy rite ? =P

Sunday Outing

Sunday, the day I love & hate. Love--it's still a weekend. Hate-- It's begining of another week.

After lunch, which by the way wasnt much different from breakfast coz it was bread & cheese again, we went to Mami's father's house here in Reinach too. It was a big house & Mami had to clear the house A.S.A.P coz they would want to sell the house as no one was staying there anymore. Grandfather was also a doctor, same as Mami.

There was a lot of art in this house. In my opinion, this family travels a lot, reads a lot & has really good taste. Mami chose the art she liked & put them in the car. According to Mami, some of the pictures were very expensive. One of them cost Fr 7500 which was bought by her father 20 years ago. Imagine how much does the art cost now?! My sisters took a lot of books that they needed from the shelves. There were a lot of travel books coz Mami's parents travelled a lot. Laura was glad that she manage to get a few books on Paris, coz she would be going there in April. How cool is that? I'm hoping that I get to travel around not only in Switzerland , but also to other countries around coz it's cheaper compared to traveling straight from Malaysia. Like what Anja said, she went to Europark in Germany & it was really cool & fun. How much did that cost? Fr 50 ! WOW ! See how tempting is that?? =)

We waited for Benny to come & collect the garden chair.It was nice to see the place Mami grew up in & where Benny, Anja & Laura spent their childhood time in.After hanging around for sometime, we proceeded to Lucern to the ' Verkehshaus ' also known as the Transportation museum. We went on this train & it was about the history bout how trains & tunnels started in Switzerland. At 5, we went to the Imex theatre. It was a documentry about tigers. Overall, the trip to the museum was good. Learnt some things bout trains & tunnels & stuff.

Anyway, for dinner, we had rice! Woohoo! 2nd meal of rice here. I had a lot of rice. Something which I would never take alot back home. Right mum & dad?=P

I think I will put on weight over here coz I eat cheese EVERYDAY! It's unevitable ! I've already cut down on chocolate now. This is becoz for the first week of arrival here, I've had a stick of chocolate everyday! These are the sinful food which I never took back home. Not to say never, but rarely took. Not to mention thick chunks of butter on bread coz the butter is so hard to spread! & of course mayonaise. See what I mean? All the sinful food! Luckily I have that 'privillege' of walking home everyday, so I hope that's enough of exercise I need to burn all the calories. Hehe.....

Well, at least I'm not the only one here eating all these sinful food. Some of the students here bring chocolate bars to class everyday for lunch. Anyway, I don't really care much coz it's a one in a life time oppurtunity to try new things here & I only have 1 year to do so. If I do put on weight, who cares?!I can always go on a diet. How often does oppurtunity knocks on my door & give me a chance to experience a real, typical Swiss life?

Conclusion : Be daring to try new things (which btw actually means food) & if worse comes to worse, there's always a place called a gym, isn't ? =)

Weekend

Woo hoo! It's finally weekend! I love the weekend coz 1)I get can get up late 2) It was my first real weekend with my family.

Saturday morning, Mami got me this bike so that I can cycle to the train station in future. Anja, Laura & I travelled to Migros & went to get some clothes. Actually, the clothes here are not as expensive, provided I dont convert to RM. I've learnt 1 thing during my stay here. If I want to buy stuff, MUSTN'T CONVERT! Or else I really don't have to buy anything. Seriously.

I bought to tops as I didn't bring a lot. I brought more pants & skirts than tops. What a mistake...or not. I get to buy extra tops ! =) Btw, mum & dad at home, if you are reading this, dont worry coz I'm not a spendthrift. But for your information, I've used up more than half the cash I brought along with me. It was neccesary. =) Hehe......

For lunch, the sun was shining, & meanwhile it was also cooling. we had lunch in the garden & it was nice. I cant imagine doing that back home coz it's too hot! I wouldn't want drops of sweat dripping into the food. Yucks! Anyway, my whole family was just enjoying the warmth & had a good time basking in the sun. However, I told them that I didn't miss the sun coz I've enough of that for ,like erm..17 years? I wouldn't mind having more snow or cold=)

After lunch, Laura helped me to do my hair. She helped me to make my hair wavy. Maybe I was a little 'bored' with my long straight hair that I wanted a change. So, Laura used some strong gel & helped me blow my hair. The end result was pretty good & I liked it. Hmm...maybe some other time when I have the time, I'll make my hair wavy again=)

In the evening, I played badminton & volleyball with Anja. It was ages since i've played badminton, but still it was still a good game with her. We had bread & stuff for dinner. It's kind of a 'family tradition' that if we have a warm meal at lunch, it'll be bread at night & vice-versa. For me, so far so good coz I'm not that kind of petty person who would mind much about food.

Laura's friends came at 8 & I chatted with them too. One of them, Andrea goes to the school in Aarau, the school which I would be going to. I asked her questions about the school as I was really curious how was the school like. I'm pretty looking forward to start school, but in the same time, I'm scared too. Imagine that you don't know anyone there & their main language is German---or French!

Anyway, we spent the rest of the night watching 'The Prince & Me' by Julia Stiles. It was a good show, & also good time spent with my sisters & her friends.

Orientation Camp

11th March 2005---as usual, there was German lessons...& after German lessons, all 10 of us from the Zurich language school had to catch a train to Langnau & then a bus to Barau for the AFS orientation camp.

In camp, met people from different countries, e.g Australia, New Zealand, Columbia, Japan, Thailand, Panama, etc. Well, though some people were from the same language school as I am, I think that it was pretty amazing to see people from different backgrounds, different cultures & different countries gather in a place.

As we arrived at about 6 something, we unpacked our stuff & pretty soon it was dinner. After dinner, we had this session regarding what was the impression we had of Switzerland. This is what I think :

1. The scenery here is really, really beautiful (well at least for winter that is. I dont know about spring & summer but my mummy that it's as beautiful as well)

2. People here really smoke A LOT, & I really mean A LOT!! In the trains, train stations, restaurants, etc. There was once I went out with my host family for lunch at this restaurant, we were the only table without smoking!

3. Things here are expensive, especially if I convert from Malaysian ringgit to Swiss Francs. Really expensive.

4. Everything here is mostly expensive, except for CHOCOLATE! WOO HOO! Can you believe that with 5 Francs, I can get a whole big bar of chocolate. Even with the conversion, it's still cheap! In Malaysia, I guess it would be at least RM 15 & above for that kind of Swiss chocolate. Furthermore, if we had RM 2 in Malaysia, would we be able to get a BAR of chocolate? I don't thik so. Not even BUATAN MALAYSIA chocolate. =P

5. Trains are really efficient & punctual. I guess I won't be able to see that back home. Once after my German class, as usual, I took the train home. While waiting for the train to leave at 4.04pm( & when I mean 4.04,it's 4.04. NOT 4.05), I saw a lady miss her train by just 1 KISS. She kissed her mother goodbye & because of that, she counldnt enter the train coz it was 4.04. Wow.

6. The dogs & cats here are so FAT & BIG!! SO CUTE! I guess my Tabby at home is able to compete with the cats here. They are huge! So is my cat back home =)

7. People here eat A LOT OF CHEESE & BREAD. The bread here is much harder than the bread we have back home. Some of my friends even joked that breakfast is the time for hand, teeth & jaws exercise. Haha...

Well, to make this short, the camp was OK. I wouldn't say that it's terrble, but it was a bit boring. I certainly would've prefered staying at home with my host family & spend my first official weekend with them. So did other AFSers too. We were given too much free time & frankly, it can be a bit boring.

12th March--Saturday--Anyway, the highlights of the camp was when we played in the snow in the afternoon . It was really fun! We played catch in the snow which was more than 15 cm thick! After the games in the snow, my socks & shoes were soaking wet! Well, I had a good time in that segment.

At night was also great. It snowed as we walked up the hill & I could feel the fresh snow sometimes getting into my mouth. We had to go up the hill coz the Japanese student performed a 'Fire Dance'. It was really good. I wonder how long he took to the that stunt.

13th March--Sunday--Time to go home. Most of us, were feeling 'homesick'.Not the real home, home sick, but host family home sick. I was excited as my mami & sisters would be picking me up at Lucern & get to sight see around there. We had to roll the dice to decide what job we were stuck to. Luckily, I didnt get the job in the toilet or bathroom. It was in the kitchen. A couple of us had to help make sandwich,which btw wasnt too bad coz we got to make our own sandwich of our liking. By 1.40pm, all of us were on the bus on the way to Lucern.

By 3 something, we reached Lucern & my host family,except for Papi (coz he went to Italy for golf) were already waiting for me. Mami, Laura, Anja & I walked around the streets of Lucern. The weather was really nice. Warm, & yet cooling. We went to Starbucks(coz it was my host sister's favourite) for tea. Man, stuff here really IS EXPENSIVE. Let me explain how. Well, take my hot chocolate for instance, Fr 5.70. After converting, it's like RM20 for that stupid SMALL cup of HOT CHOCOLATE! mind you, not COFFEE, but chocolate. But lucky for me anyway, I didnt have to pay=)

Things are pretty different here in Switzerland. Sunday is really are rest day for all of them & not many shops are open on Sunday. Even the big chain stores like Migros is closed. Unlike Malysia, the weekend is the day for shopping!

Anyway, at night, we had a pretty cosy night & I watched a movie at home with my sisters. For me, it was a good weekend. =)

German Lessons

Today was my 1st German lesson in Zurich. To get there, I have to take a train from Reinach to Aarau, & then take another train from Aarau to Zurich. The train from Reinach leaves at 8.14 sharp...unlike Malaysian time. The Swiss trains are very, very, very puncutal.It leaves right on the dot. My Swiss mummy, Anja & I took the train from Reinach to Aarau , then Anja had to take another train to Bern, which is a 2 hour journey from Reinach to school. My Swiss mummy accompanied me to the train station in Zurich coz this was my 1st time there. Swiss mummy bought me a Gaya ticket, kinda like a ticket for unlimited train rides around Switzerland. No need to worry bought buying the correct ticket liao....

All AFS students who lived around Zurich had to meet at the meeting point in the train station. It was kinda amazing to see people from different countries, different backgrounds, different cultures gather toghether in a place. Seeing my other 2 "orang Malysia", we all suddenly felt so patriotic that we spoke Malay! We really wouldn't have done that if we were in Malaysia.... hahaha... Maybe it could be also that everyone was speaking German & we didn't understand a word..so we also started speaking in Malay. Wah, patriotiknya....hehehe =P

We went to the language house...or some place & we were asked to write down everything we knew about German so that it would enable the people there to put us in the classes with a same level. In my class, there are 3 Malaysians, 1 Thai, 3 New Zealanders, 1 Brazilian, 2 Australians. We had German lessons from 10 till 12, then there was a 15 minute break, then we continued after that. At 1 was our lunch time,& all of us went to the cafeteria to have our home brought sandwhiches. At 2, we continued our lessons & pretty soon there was another short break. Our teacher is very nice & the classes aren't as boring as I thought it would be. Hopefully, I can understand at least some German in a months time.

Class ended at 3.30pm, & I met up with Laura, my other host sis, at the train station. She brought me to this shopping street just next to the train station. After that she showed me the old part of Zurich. It's simply beautiful. As it was too cold for me ,we went to have coffee in one of the cafes. I had a good time chatting with Laura.By 5.30pm, we took the train home.

It's my 1st day of "school" & as all teachers around the world are the same, we had homework. So I gotta go do my homework! Tata!

Snow Man!

I woke up today & it was snowing! Woo hoo! I woke up rather late & had a rather late breakfast. Benny ( my elder gost brother who moved out) came for lunch. Swiss mummy baked pie for lunch. After lunch, Swiss mummy suggested that we go out & make a snow man! What a great idea! The "jakun" person that I am (coz it`s my first time making a snow man), I didnt know how to start off. Benny & Anja started making snow balls & we had a snow ball fight! Pretty soon, the snow man was done. We used a carrot as a nose & stones as it`s eyes & mouth. It was fun making it.

After making the snow man, we went in & watched tennis. My whole foster family are tennis fans so I watched along with them too. It was an international tennis tournament where it was Switzerland Vs. Netherlands. As I had a headache, I went for a nap.

In the evening, I followed Papi to a church in Lanzburg where Mami would be performing in an orchestra. The concert started at 8 pm sharp. The concert was really good & I really enjoyed myself. It was a huge choir with soprano, tenor & bass who was a chinese guy. We were the only 2 Asians there. Anyway, the orchestra & choir was as good as listening to a good CD!

By 10 somthing, the concert ended & we went home. I then had a meal with Mami & then I went to sleep. Guten nach!=)

Departure & Arrival

Well, on 3rd March, I was still feeling pretty normal--till lunch. That was the time where I felt there were butterflies in my stomach. Why? It`s obviously that I`m scared.That`s why. I would be lying if I told you that I`m not scared. Firstly, I`ve gotta start all over again over at Switzerland. Secondly, I`ve gotta start there using German! NOT an easy task you know....

Anyway, on my way to KLIA, I received phonecalls, sms-s from all my good friends wishing me good luck. That time, only Rahayu was the only sure person who could come to send me off. Others called to say that they couldn`t come & wished me good luck. I was really glad to receive all their sms-s & phone calls. One all the way from Australia! Thanks ! Hope you are also having fun there too!

While pushing the trolley, my good friends appeared!! Gees thanks guys! I really appreciate it =) & to think that they called b4 hand saying that they were busy....hehe...Anyway, there was photo session & stuff....pretty soon it was time to leave. I was soon crying while hugging my mum, dad, bro, sis & all my good friends who came. I`ll miss all of you....

After taking the aerotrain in, all 7 of us hung around the seats waiting to board the plane. By 12:15, all of us boarded the plane.However the plane didn`t take off till 1 something due to some minor technical problems. Soon, the plane took off & we were on our way to Zurich.

We had so-called "light" supper( to me, it was quite filling coz there was lagsana, potato salad, cake, juice) shortly after we boarded the plane. While eating, I watched Ladder 49, checked the flight time ,etc. By 3am, I was pretty tired & tried to get some sleep. It was rahter hard trying to sleep in a sitting position. However, after a few "tries", I managed to fall asleep. Well, at least some sleep.

The 12 hour journey was looong. I slept, watched TV, listened to music, had breakfast, chatted with my friends who were with me together on this trip..... Finally at 1 sumthing (Malaysian time) / 6.35am ( Swiss time) , we reached safely at the Zurich International Airport safe & sound. I finally got to meet my host mother or my Swiss mummy & Anja, my host sis. They came to pick me up & then I followed them to my new home in Reinach.

Along the way, I could see that there was snow covering the earth. Swiss mummy said that it`s very unusal this year as there shoudn`t have snow in March. After an hours drive, we finally reached Reinach in the canton of Aargau. I got down of the car, & me for the first time seeing snow, was feeling ridiculously excited touching the snow! What a " jakun I am. Hehe=)

We went into the house & Anja gave me a grand tour of it. It`s a double storey bunglow, more like a farm house, but it`s not a farm. It`s really cozy & it`s big! I do not have to share a room with any of my sis as I am given my own room.The scenery just outside my windows are simply lovely. Just imagine a hill slope all covered with snow, with bare trees standing tall, & along the slopes, there are cozy houses on them....really, it`s really, really scenic.

Next, I had breakfast with Swiss Mummy & Anja. We chatted & I got to know more about them. Mummy is a violinist & plays in the orchestra. While I`m sitting here typing all these stuff, she rehersing with the orchestra in the church. Anja goes to school in Bern, which is a 2 hour ride by train from where we live.

After breakfast, we sent Anja to the train station while Swiss Mummy & I went to Migros (sumthing like Jusco or Carrefour over at Malaysia) to buy some groceries as older brother, Benny, would be coming for lunch tommorow. After shopping for groceries, we went to an community office to register myself. Some procedures foreigners gotta do here.

After completing all these tasks, we went home where I sorted out & unpacked my luggage. For lunch, Swiss Mummy & I had scrambled eggs & salad. We chatted while eating. After that, we had to go through some AFS stuff & some rules. In my opinion, Swiss Mummy seems like a very sweet & gentle lady. After unpacking my stuff, I was pretty tired & had a nap.

Well, at 6 something, Swiss Mummy had to go for her orchestra rehersal as the concert would be tommorow & Sunday. As for me, I`m waiting for dinner to start at 8. While waiting, what better way to spend time than posting my blog? =) I got to meet my host daddy, or Popi. He`s tall. He`s a doctor who works in a hospital in Baden.

Anyway, I`ve written a lot, & there`s more to come. I will be starting my German lessons in Zurich next Monday till 1st April. By 25th April, I would have to attend school in Aarau, which is a 30 minute journey by train. Next Friday would be the orientation where I would get to meet poeple from different countries.

Feel free to write to me. To my family, this is da house add : Holenweg 19, 5734 Reinach, Switzerland. All of you, do take care ya?!=)

Farewell Par-Tay!

It's par-tay time! February 26th was "the day" I got to spend some time with all my pals...

Looking at the cloudy sky, I hoped it wouldn't rain as my pals would be coming over....well, if it did rain, there wouldn't be a problem too coz the tables were under the shed.

Soon, my pals started pouring in one by one. We started our dinner rather late at 7.30 pm.While having dinner, people were chatting among one another.

After dinner, it was photo time! Precious moments like this must be remembered forever! & I mean it....FOREVER!!! =) I was really happy that my pals turned up...some even for a short while..but hey, at least they did turn up!

During my par-tay, my good friend called----all the way from Newcastle, England! Wow! Thanks for calling! It was so nice of her to call me... =)

The photo session lasted all along the time. Different sides of the interior were used as "props" for all da pictures. Even the badminton pole outside at the badminton court! HAHA =P How can a photo come out nice posing with a badminton pole?! Haha! Nuo Geng's BMW was used for our photo session too! Rich guy.... Apart from Nuo Geng's BMW, the most welcomed car was ------ (drumrolls.....)---- Jun Wei's car! All of us wanted to take pictues with his car's number plate! Well, actually I don't know why, but suddenly everyone was like wanting to take pictures with Jun Wei & his car, especially the number plate! Who started the craze of taking pictures of that number plate? I also dunno...if anyone knows....can you plz tell me who & why? =P Anyway, it was really a fun time.I enjoyed the photo session. Hehe.... =)

Soon, it was time for my "guest of honour" to come out. He had to be carried out by my sister! Who was that? It was my lovely cat!! I juz loooooooooove him sooooooooo much!!!! =) Everyone said that he's sooo fat. ..Hehe.......From my point of view on him, being fat = being cute & loveable....don't you guys agree? Haha.....I love him just the way he looks....the way he walks...the way he purrs......=P

Anyway, the party lasted till mid-night & my last guest left at 1.30am. She's such a sweetie=) Therefore, the farewell officially ended.

Last but not least, I would like to sincerely thank all of my friends who attended my farewell & thank you very much for all the gifts that I have received. I truely cherish the friendship that we have bonded among one another for all the years. In time to come, I sincerely hope that we can still remain as close as we are now. Some people might claim that friends come & go, that one can never have a friend for life....but I'm sure that we, all of us, can prove those people wrong. In some cases, friendships do last for life! =)