While my first entry dealt mostly with the beginning of my semester here studying abroad, time has gone by fast since then. It has now been a month and a half and I feel so refreshed. I know that you’re wondering how that may be considering midterms are coming up soon but allow me to explain. In the United States, every minute of the day is spent being busy worrying about work, extracurricular activities, etc. Walmart is open 24 hours a day and the hustle and bustle of city life creeps up on us that we get stressed out. Time is money and money is time so why waste either of two.

However, life in Europe is completely the opposite. Stores here are closed from 12:00 to 2:30 every day and are fully closed by 6PM. People stay in cafes and restaurants wait for nearly an hour and a half before they get their food and are traditionally friendlier for they are not stressed. I finally understand what my textbook in my marketing class meant when they said that culture really affects a person. It wasn’t a fast transition though. To go from having something to do every minute of the day to barely having anything to do was a big change, but I love it simply because I am much more laid back than I ever was in my life.

The weeks are typically for classes but as soon as the weekend comes then I am gone. The good thing about this school is that classes are Monday to Thursday for the college administrators know that students want to see the world so it is a lot more convenient and cheaper to travel for three days instead of typical two. So far, I have been to Vevey, Montreau, Zurich, Bern, Aigle, Interlaken, Gimmelwald, Geneva, and Lauterbrunnen. I know that to you see this list and you have no idea about them so I will explain the importance.

Vevey is the perfect place to go on Saturday mornings because they have an outdoor market which features the freshen sausages and cheese as well as offering wine tasting for only 5 Swiss francs which is the equivalent to $4.50 US.

Saturday Market at Vevey

Montreau is known for the Chateau De Challon which is a castle used in the past as border control for ships coming into Switzerland.

Chateau De Challon

Through a survey, it is shown that Zurich is the number one city to live in for it has the best standard of living. The richest people of Switzerland live here, which is shown by the Bentleys and Porsches that they drive.

Amazing Sushi Tram

Gorgeous City of Zurich

Zurich at Night

Bern is the capital of Switzerland which has all of the government buildings and Swiss banks.

Aigle is a small village right by the school where I just had the privilege to go grape picking for wine. I also just found out that the white wine that comes from Aigle is known to be the best from Switzerland.

Interlaken is the adventure place and is out of all the cities in Switzerland the most American. By this, I mean that everyone speaks English perfectly and it even has its own Hooters.

Interlaken Sign

HOOTERS

Para gliders Paradise

Charla-Maye and I at dinner

Gimmelwald is a mountain peak which has an incredible view of the Alps.

Gimmelwald Sign

Amazing View of the Glaciers

Lauterbrunnen is to me the nicest place I have ever been to in my life. To look in front of you and to see a waterfall to your right, a glacier to your center, and a mountain peak to your left is just absolutely amazing for all the best parts of nature are together in one view. If it wasn’t for class next day, I can see myself camping out and enjoying the scenery which I cannot do in the states.

Waterfall to the right, Glacier to the center, Mountain to the left

Because of the fact that Switzerland is neutral, a lot of time and money isn’t spent on its military but instead on its consumer goods. The cheese and chocolate here make me wonder how I grew up eating Hershey’s chocolate and Cheddar cheese. The amount of time spent on quality here shows that the Swiss are truly dedicated to their line of work.

Best idea ever, mix of ice cream sandwich and chocolate eclair

Other than all this travelling, I have been focused on school which shows because I just got an A on my online management class through Saint Leo so if I want to play hard then I have to work hard as well. I will be heading to France and Italy in the next couple of weeks because of school break so stay tuned because there is a lot more to come.

“Every person lives by two things… responsibility and accountability.”

Posted by Saint Leo University at 8:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you’re reading this, then you probably have some interest in the encounters of a Saint Leo University student. In that case, let me introduce myself and give you a little information about myself. My name is Philip Vallido and I am a junior at SLU. I am originally from Passaic, NJ and have moved to Cape Coral, FL in the past year and a half. I am pursuing a major in marketing. I work at American Eagle and used to work for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I love quotes and because of this will include a quote to end off every post I make. As you are reading this, I am not actually at Saint Leo University at the moment but am instead studying abroad in The American College of Switzerland which is interconnected with Saint Leo University.

Ready for Something New

Saint Leo University gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. I always knew I wanted to study abroad, but Saint Leo University was the reason that it was all made possible. I remember when I received the list of countries that had schools which were connected to Saint Leo and I chose Switzerland because I wanted to go where no one thinks about going. The usual choices are Italy, France, or Spain but I wanted to take a chance and I’m glad I did.

The first day I got to Switzerland I was taken away. The scenery was gorgeous. The Alps are everywhere around me and better yet, the train was so clean that it made me appreciate public transportation for the first time in my life. If you don’t know, Switzerland is nature capital of the world so that was a huge plus to me because I’m all about snowboarding, skiing, hiking, paragliding, and various other outdoor activities.

The Alps

I then arrived at my school which completely surprised me. This is because I found out that the classrooms, dorms, cafeteria, student lounge, and fitness center were all in one building which meant that I never had to leave the building unless I wanted to which I do. Even more surprising was the fact that there were thirty two students in total. This whole time I thought Saint Leo was small but compared to the school in Switzerland, Saint Leo is incredibly big with 1600 students.

My new school

My new room

With there being six new students, either I would become friends with them or else if all fails then I will be staying in my room all semester. Luckily, it was the former rather than the latter that prevailed and honestly is mostly credited to orientation that we all got close. Besides me, there are two other Americans. Billy is the outdoorsman from Maryland while Christopher is the sophisticated guy from New York. Then there is Charla-Maye who is a current junior at Saint Leo from the Bahamas. From France comes a girl name Marie who speaks amazing English particularly due to the fact that she travels to the US and Canada on a yearly basis. From Jordan comes Karim who can speak English and Italian quite well along with his native Arabic. Finally, Marko is my roommate from Montenegro who gives me no problems and is making my stay here quite convenient.

New Friends (From L-R, Billy, Me, Charla-Maye, Marko, Marie, and Chris)

Now that I have described each and every one of them, I shall continue on. Orientation was basically the solid foundation that brought us all together. First off, the campus directors and administrators as the most welcoming and friendly people that I have ever met. They took us on a tour of the village of Leysin as well as local areas such as Vevey and Montreau. At the end of orientation, we had fondue and wine on top of the mountain which made it seem so surreal.

Village of Leysin

Sign of Leysin Promoting the Fresh Air

Montreau

Montreau

Vevey

Marko, Myself, and Billy with the spoon

Marie, Marko, Charla-Maye, and Billy on top of the mountain

I still couldn’t believe I was in Switzerland nevertheless being in Europe. With this and all the trips, this is mainly how and where we got close. The way I looked at it, we all came from different areas, but we were open to each others differences which made it work. The stereotypes that typically come with every nation were dropped on the spot because we wanted to find out who each other was without the bias of where they came from. Even though it has been a month so far, I see these same people everyday along with the current students and we have gotten closer finding out who each of us are beneath the skin. That is pretty much it so stay tuned because there is a lot more to come.

“If you want what you’ve never had then you have to do what you have never done.”

Swiss Wine

Planchette which is basically dried meats with vegetables

FONDUE

Posted by Saint Leo University at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)