This weekend I went on a trip to Switzerland, and it was the most amazing experience. Outside of it being my first trip, I was able to miss Roma, which was a really cool experience. On Sunday everyone in our group was saying "I'm ready to go home" and we where referring to our apartments in ROME. How cool is that? It definitely helped me feel more adjusted to my life here in Italy, and it made my daily Cappuccino that much better this morning!
I was able to cross skiing in the Swiss alps off my bucket list on friday, and in addition to tons of fresh powder, there was not a single bad view on that mountain. The hill wasn't crowded at all, so we were able to speed down the hill, hop on the chair lift without waiting in line (VERY lucky because none of us had brought winter jackets to wear) and enjoy the views while on the chairlift. After a day of skiing we went to a bar inside a Tee Pee on top of the mountain, and drink some great Swiss beer while watching a group of french guys play an interesting drinking game that involved a barrel, nails, and a hollowed out hammer. After an INCREDIBLE burger at an Irish pub that night, we walked around the town we were staying in and admired the mountains.
The next morning my roommate Jess and I impulsively signed up to go Canyon Jumping! We then got on a bus, hiked about twenty minutes up the mountain to the edge of the canyon, and after waiting out turn in line and dancing to Timber three or four times I proceeded to confidently walk onto the platform, step right up to the edge, allow the guy to unattached me from the platform, and to the rope that swings through the canyon and..... FREAK OUT. I told the guy I couldn't jump and he very sternly told me that if I did not jump on three he would push me on four.... One, Two, Three, and I jumped, and screamed and I free fell 85 meters into a canyon. IT WAS AMAZING. I swung through the canyon a couple times before being pulled to the side, and I'm fairly certain I didn't stop shaking for about 40 minutes, but I would do it again in a heartbeat :) And yes, afterwards I got hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps in it because I decided I deserved a reward for jumping off a canyon, even if it was a bit forced...
We spent the rest of our time wandering around the town, and walking out to the lake to take in one of the most beautifully blue-green lakes I have ever seen. One of the things that struck me most about Switzerland compared to Rome (other than the mountains) was how friendly everyone was. I'm not sure if it was because we were in a small town, or that their economy was more dependent upon tourism, or if it was a culture thing but everyone on Interlaken was so nice to us, it was refreshing. People in Rome are nice to us, but they never go over the top to make us feel welcome. But in Interlaken everyone just seemed very happy, and everyone we met went above and beyond to make us feel at home.
Oh! And we got chocolate, because it's Switzerland, you can't not get chocolate!
This weekend was such a fun adventure, and it has inspired me to start planning more trips, but for now I have a good amount of homework to do. For some reason nobody ever mentions readings, presentations, and tests when they talk about study abroad, but it's the third week of school and my professors don't seem to care that I was skiing in the Swiss alps this weekend....
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