The First Day

My brain whirs with excitement and wonder as I step into the crowded Foyer. Fragments of french and english fling through the small room and bounce off the walls, encroaching on my own thoughts and drowning me in foreignness. As soon as I see Madame Anne-Lyse Schaad, I can’t help but tense up. She is a small, doe-eyed woman with a warm laugh that forces a smile onto your face. A soup of jumbled sounds pours out of her mouth. “Bonjour!” I exclaim as I lean in to kiss her on the cheeks three times. After that I am completely at a loss for words. My French vocabulary is extremely limited. And by that I mean pretty much nonexistent.

My palms sweat, and I’m thinking to myself why did they pair me with this woman who doesn’t speak English?! This is a mistake! I need to change houses immediately. She’s going to hate me.

Four hours later we are kissing goodnight and saying “bon nuit!” with big grins splayed across our faces. It took some time getting used to listening to my friend Chloe translate for us, all while trying to pick up words I knew coming from Anne-Lyse. My stomach clenched up at the dinner table while I tried to enjoy homemade crêpes avec fromage. But after two days of living with this adorable lady and eating the food she cooks me, I’m starting to feel much more comfortable. It is hard having a language barrier between us, but I almost feel as though my knowledge of French has doubled just in the last 48 hours.

Aside from that extremely new experience, a multitude of other sources are feeding into my brain. I am learning all about World History, Economics, Advanced Functions and the Craft of Writing. I am learning common courtesy of the Swiss people. I’m learning where to shop, and what train to take, and what Swiss college students wear to school. This experience is all so overwhelming, but in the best type of way. I’m sure that even by Christmas I will have gained so much more knowledge—after all, this is just the beginning!

A bowl of chocolates she keeps by the bed!

The desk- I'm allowed fruit, tea and yogurt in my room.

A chocolate coissant- the snack she packed me for the first day☺️

First day of school selfie

A typical breakfast, complete with nutella and raspberry or lime yogurt

Madame on the train- using the tote I got her from SF!

Madame riding her little motorized bike up a hill. She injured it during a hike and has to go to physical therapy. she was sweet enough to walk me to the train so that I wouldn't get lost!