So I'll try to catch you up on my first couple of days in St Gallen. First of all our plane was delayed for 3 hours! We taxied around the airport for about an hour and then we had to de-ice the plane (for which we waited in line for about 20 minutes), then we got back in line to depart. They turned on the engines to takeoff, we moved about 5 meters, and then the engines became quiet again and we started taxiing away from the takeoff lane. Now folks, for someone who has never been to Europe and is excited to get into the air, this is like taking candy from a baby! The pilot came on to the announcements saying that the navigational equipment wasn't working properly and that we would have to get a new computer on board. So we returned to our original gate to get that problem fixed. By the time we had a new computer on board we had to get back in line to de-ice and finally, 3 hours after our departure time we were airborne.
The rest of the flight went seamlessly. I had two seats to myself next to the window so I was able to spread out and get a couple of hours of sleep. The plane food wasn't too terrible and I even had a glass of white wine to accompany my dinner. As the plane was landing two Indian women were singing prayer songs which was interesting. As we gradually descended through the clouds I had expected to see the great metropolis of Zurich sprawled across rolling hills beneath me...instead there was farmland and a few clusters of houses. Turns out you don't actually fly over Zurich to get to the Zurich airport. When we got to the baggage claim there was an exact time for how long our luggage would take to arrive (9 minutes!). We were already becoming aware of how efficient Switzerland would be.
We took the train from the airport to St Gallen. Unfortunately the train doesn't pass through Zurich either so I still have yet to catch a glimpse of the city. There was four of us traveling together from Queen's and one of our friends who was already in St Gallen met us at the train station. The rest of the day consisted of lugging our way-too-over packed luggage around St Gallen to find our apartments and a trip to the school to get our keys and welcome packages.
Our first night in St Gallen we had cheese fondue at one of our houses (how authentically Swiss of us!). We had one of my friend's Swiss roommate to help us make it though, or it might not have turned out so well. It was absolutely delicious and I'm really looking forward to Fondue Night during orientation week. The first day we were here it happened to be the annual day when they test the air raid sirens from the war. All of us Canadians were looking around confused when they started the test but none of the Swiss were even remotely fazed. Definitely the first of many cultural experiences!
Some important things I have learned since my arrival 4 days ago:
1) The Swiss do 3 kisses when they greet you.
2) When you 'cheers' with someone it's considered rude if you don't make eye contact with them (just found this out yesterday and now I'm wondering how many people I have offended haha)
3) The cheapest drink at most restaurants is 15CHF about $15!
4) They don't accept my visa or my debit at the grocery store (good thing I had cash with me haha or that could have been embarrassing)
5) When you are buying vegetables you have to weigh them yourself at a nearby scale, enter their code, and put the sticker that prints out on the bag
6) It's tough to find milk that has less fat than 2.5% or 3.5%
7) CHEESE.IS.AWESOME.
8) My school is at the top of a mountain....and I live at the bottom. I have walked to campus 3 times so far and was out of breath by the time I reached the top every time. I will therefore be taking the bus to school most days!
9) All the students speak several languages!!
10) The food is labeled in German, French, and sometimes Italian. I am glad I know French or else I wouldn't know what I am buying.
11) St Gallen is a very international town, especially the students who go to the university. Most exchange students haven't arrived yet but even without them I have already met people from: all around Switzerland (French, German and Italian areas) Germany, Brazil, all over the US, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Liechtenstein and Austria. Which means that while I have been here I have already had the opportunity to speak 4 languages!! Most of you probably know how exciting that is for me!
Overall the experience has been amazing so far. My posts won't normally be this long but I felt like so much had happened in so little time that I wanted to share. I'm off to explore the city now! I hope all is well in Canada xoxo
My apartment building, it's five apartments, 4 students per apartment.
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