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3 Years Ago I Studied Abroad in Switzerland and Europe. This is a 6x6 of various things and events t...

$Covid Restrictions International Borders >Once you were in the EU (and Switzerland) you could practically walk between the nations unmolested u >Turned a semester of travel into less than two months >Locked Italy out early on :( >We were eventually told we could finish out the semester but we would have to stay in Switzerland 31 >6 hours later the President says otherwise Trains >They run on time, they run efficiently, they are clean and orderly >I prefer driving, but damn, they're honestly great >Compliments the clustered nature of the villages in the area Tour Guides >There were guides for nearly every place we wanted to go >These usually weren't touristy areas so they seemed less like employees and more like English- speaking local citizens >Highly knowledgeable about their local history $ S----- Spatalian >Spent three years leaning high school Spanish >End up in an Italian speaking area wth only a semester of Italian to help >mfw sent to Spain after acclimated to Italian >mfw spoke Spanish to to the French after acclimated to Spain (they found this hilarious) Rabbit Night >Lots of concsientious eaters and vegetarians in my group >They refused to eat rabbit and offered it to me >I dined like a king that night Experimentation >Milan was a local gay capital, wanted to explore myself there >Covid locked the borders before that could happen >Had to wait another semester >Checkpoints were as simple as a lone Kiosk and were often ignored on foot or on the trains 10 Weekly Phone Calls Home >Thank God for wifi call capability >Black classsmates were encouraged to stick with the group at the borders. There was a hstory of guard harrassment, likely agitated by the migrant crisis >Would take the classroom no one uses and take over an hour to catch up with each member of my family >As independent a spirit I am, I missed them dearly The Lakeside Park >Our village had a small park adjacent to Lake Lugano >Helped stave off homesickness >Miniscule gravel beach, bathhouse, public giant chess set Food Quality >Oh God, I could ramble for days about how good European food is >I spent a lot of time sketching the mountains and contemplating >Their ingredients are simply vastly superior to America's COEXIST >Quality means, their cheapest cheese was deli-quality, the produce was fresh Mountain-Hiking >Nature and verticality grant me peace >It was Blue >Ever climbed above the clouds on a cloudy day? >I love the Alps, and miss it dearly The Ocean >I know that sounds like an incredibly stupid statement but where I'm from its a cloudy brackish-green >You have no idea how much this impacted me back in the day, I never saw blue oceans before Active Citizenry >The Swiss towns are very active in their local politics >Flag flown for country, canton, and village >Big sense of community and duty over there Facility Library >Our facility had a small library of rather insteresting books, ranging from academic to history to even culinary >Makes me reconsider what it means to be a citizen. I don't feel like I am a good citizen >I didn't spend enough time with the books Indian Restaurant >The Indian girl got homesick and a group of us went to an Indian place >Little nuggets of knowledge you won't necessarily find on the Internet >She chatted on with them and they gave us free appetizers wxx >Guy beside me was complaining about the spice level. Mine didn't seem that spicy to me so we swapped thinking they mixed ours up. Photography >Parents gifted me a Canon, a tripod, and some lenses, and I captured near half a terabyte's worth of photos in less than 2 months >...Aaaand they didn't, now his tongue is truly on fire. Oops >A camera handles much like a rifle, and you set up, take careful aim, and pull when your opportunity is greatest PARD Wine >Cheapest thing to drink, sometimes cheaper than water >Alternatively, since the SD held 128 gigs, you can machine gun it and achieve the perfect shot through volume of fire >...Or just touch it up with Photoshop and fake it >You could pick good bottles off the crates for less than $3 >>Lots of drunken phone calls to my siblings >My accent comes out in full swing too Tinder >All my matches after I got home kept asking if I was Swiss >It turned out I forgot to change my home location back to the US when I returned >It never occured to me to even check the whole time Conscription >All the guys there are required to complete military training, can keep their weapon post-service >Also helps fuel the gun culture there. Its an active debate rivaling the States. >Whole state is built for defense. We visited some of the bunkers there. >There's a difference between peaceful and harmless. The Swiss definately ain't the latter Blues Bars >Guy in our group had exquisite taste in whiskey and blues, took us out to all the Blues clubs abroad >Fond memories of classy drinking and sketching on bar napkins with my colleagues >Our last night before leaving for the States was spent this way Mistaken for German Tourist >I looked the part, and my accent was muddied as well >When I reached the end of my Italian, they would sometimes switch to German for me first >Would eventually switch to English after realizing I was American Barcelona Troubles >Arrived when Spain took some political prisoners >Apparently they've been trying to gain independence for the past 150 years. Their dialect is distinct enough to be considered a language >Every apartment was flying Catalan flags >The South Will Rise Again Yes I know its on the Northeast side of things The Obama >Barcelona Britamerican restaurant >I went solely because it was called the Obama >Best mojitos I ever had. Food was good but not spicy, damn Brits >70s rock cover band there. Helped with homesickness Pickpockets >Our risk of violent crime was minimal. Our risk of theft was damn high >Felt safe in Ticino but was on guard in Milan and Barcelona \>Someone had their watch and camera stolen The French >Proud people, refuse to speak anything but French >Wide roads, car culture >More burger places on a single street than a whole American town >Arguably the most American of I saw over there Ticino >Italian speaking canton of Switzerland ple >Lang ago, the Swiss declared war on Milan. Took all their territory but the city proper stalled their invasion >Kept the land, said "No Backsies!" and declared they're now neutral forever >300 years later Napoleon makes it into a proper canton >Where I was based for the study abroad Swiss Cars >These f------ were tiny box deathtraps with a smaller engine than my lawnmower >I understand cars are secondary over there (though the Swiss have an impressive highway system) but my American brain looked at them and was like "W--" >I saw an imported Chevy Corvette on the streets of Lugano. It damn near took up both lanes Wine Incident >No wine opener in the apartment, so I took a screwdriver and a hammer and whacked it inside the bottle to open >Made a Mach 1 splatter pattern on the ceiling >Cleaning lady flipped her s---; admin weren't mad, just curious "how the hell did you manage to get it on the ceiling?" What self-respecting Italian home doesn't have a wine opener? Spices >Europe can't handle spice (Spain gets a pass) >Indian girl brought curry, the Japanese guys brought siracha, I brought hot sauce >The Italian cooks did not like us for this Farmer's Market >Excellent source of community in Switzerland and good bargains in Italy >Got an excellent pair of hiking boots for 25 bucks >Bought half a wheel of cheese because cheese Ordered Home >President delegates all of Europe as a Class 3 Travel advisory, orders us home >Had 2 days to scramble for a flight and clear out Lemon Smuggling >Had a fridge full of food I suddenly had to empty in 2 days >In hindsight we were probably safer staying in Switzerland >Brought the lemons home >Was detained for 2 hours for having lemons Two Phones >I had a new phone with a superior camera, but that was reserved for WiFi calls only >My luggage was TSAed for having lemons >Brought my old phone and put a Euro chip in it for emergencies >When asked why I carried 2 phones, I joked one was for my wife and the other was for my girlfriend Foreign Currency >When Covid forced me home I still had ~200 bucks worth of Euros and Swiss Francs HODL4EVER- Dr Pepper (23) >Decided to keep them and cash them later, banking on the prediction the relative value of the dollar was going to drop sharply >...Boy was I wrong >I'll pull it out and ask places if they accept Euros as a joke McDonalds >First place I went when I stepped into the Lisbon airport >I wanted to know if the Royale with Cheese was real >The McRoyale is real Search for Dr. Pepper >There is no Dr Pepper in Switzerland >There is no Dr. Pepper in Italy. >There is Dr. Pepper in Spain >There is Dr. Pepper in (southern) France >Why would they not like sugary bbq water$

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