Arrived.

Zurich is like a doll house. All the buildings look like they’re Victorian cupcakes with pastel stained window shutters and the streets are paved in hand-made cobblestones. And its all draped along a pristine lake with white swans dozing on the surface. The people are soft spoken in their high German and I feel like half the population there is retired. The spikes of centuries old church towers gaze over the sleepy city and if you walk along the hilly streets you feel the intense desire to whisper and tip toe with your umbrellas past shop windows. Bells chime the hour day and night.

Ok so yeah you need to go there. It was like a fairy tale. Smaller then I expected and the Bourne movies do not capture all the details I saw in 24 hours there. I landed around 11 in the morning and found my friend Eliza really easily. We spent the day scouring the city-comparing different phone providers, sorting out my train ticket and pass, and exchanging money. Alfredo gnocchi for lunch, German sausage and potato salad for dinner, yogurt for breakfast the following morning and then some Chinese to run on for lunch before I caught my train from platform 17 to Lausanne. It took 2 hours, and I passed through Berne, and like 3 other stops I couldn’t pronounce. The landscape began to stretch out more beautifully and the hills rolled over like a map, dotted with cows with bells.

I love cows with bells. They look nicer then American cows somehow. More mellow. Yummy.

I got picked up at the rain station in Lausanne around 7 and came back to the base just in time to grab the last serving of Kailua brisket, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Shuffled with my duffles up to my room on the top floor! 3 bunk beds, 3 desks, a sink, and practically no drawers or floor space. But its working so far. My roomates are Julia and Son from South Korea, and Taylor from San Fran, and Kristen from Vancouver. Taylor, Kristen and I became friends on sight and we all wear the exact same clothes size and shoes. So yeah we’re automatically bonded. My calves are sore from the stupid stairs. The language barrier is pretty tough this school, there are people from 6 nations in just my school! And there’s only twelve of us!

This morning as one of the leaders explained each school, it was translated: English to French to German to Korean. That was a long introduction! The rest of the afternoon was registration, and then a tour of the base itself. Singing in French is awkward. I need to go into town and buy a towel. And laundry detergent. I’ll probably do that tomorrow. But so far its been interesting-out of your comfort zone with the languages all flying around like bumble bees in a crowded room. I skyped my parents, the my little sisters, and then my boyfriend. That was a highlight to the day. Now off for evening lecture. I dunno many details or schedules yet but so far its been delightful.

Until next time.

Love&Blessings,

Bri