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. =)