Livia Huwyler, Rotary Exchange Student

In Switzerland we speak 4 languages Swiss-German, French, Italian and räterrumanch. In school we learn just French and English. If you want you can choose Italien.

And now the public transport in Switzerland. In almost every little village you have a bus line or a cable railway. In the mountain regions you often see the post auto they make in curves the famous tüütaatoo. Which every child in Switzerland loves. In the citys you see will typically see green buses and trams.

In the mountains you see a lot of cable railways used by tourists for hiking and skiing. They are experiencing some challenges because the swiss franc (money) is very high and less people are coming to ski. They need financial support from the community or the cantons.

In Switzerland we have also a lot of trains. My father works for the firma sbb which is responsible for  the trains in Switzerland. Mostly the tickets for the trains are expensive. But in return the organization is very good. For example, when a train doesn’t come you have always an alternative bus. Switzerland has the tightest travelled train net of the world.

We do not have numerous lakes like here in Canada.  The biggest lake which is complete in Switzerland is called Neuenburgerlake and it’s 218 square kms.

I have already become aware of the differences in the school system here vs. back home. I like the more open relationship between students and teachers here. In Switzerland there is a bigger barrier. We have just one classroom and the teacher comes to us except in biology, chemistry and gym. So we are in one class and don’t switch and meet different students.

Our school system at home is different across the country.  I am still what is referred to as the old system. First two years are kindergarten, followed by 4 years primary school, then 3 years at an orientation school.

I live in the canton Basel-Stadt, I think it is a beautiful city with charm. In the summer you can swim in the Rhein. Also you can eat a lot of specialty’s like Magenbrot or Rhamdäfeli (caramelbonbons).

I live in Riehen, which is close to the German border, so a lot of people go shopping in Germany because it is much cheaper. Famous in Riehen is the Fondation beyeler. That’s is a museum with pictures from Monét, Piccaso and Jacometti. Many tourists come every day to visit it. Almost from everywhere you can see the Chrischona tower. In Riehen I can go everywhere with my bicycle so I don’t need to ask for a car or something, naturally I could also go with the public transport. 

I have a younger brother who likes to bake and to go hiking in the mountains - the higher the better. My mother is a nurse and my father works for SBB the firma for trains in Switzerland. We live in a housing estate. I am 15 years old. At home I go every Saturday to the scouts because I like to be outside in the nature, I like to swim, play the flute in a trio, ski, snowboard and hiking and climbing.

I have been here now for 30 days and find everyone I meet to be so kind and welcoming, starting with my first two weeks staying with Kelly and her family and now with Jackie and Andrew. I had an amazing kayak trip with the other Exchange Students from District 7010 and am now enjoying how beautiful North Bay is.

Natalie told me to create a iist of things what I would like to do during my exchange. So this is my list., knowing it may not be possible to do everything…visit a maple syrup farm, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Canada’s Wonderland; see Canadian wildlife (perhaps in a national or provincial park); take in a hockey game; go ice fishing; and a boat ride perhaps to the Manitou Islands in Lake Nipissing.

Now we are almost by the end at least a few Swiss-words on Swiss German. At first Grüezi that means Hello but a bit more polite you say this for example to a teacher. Also it is different in the other dialects in Basel you say Grüezi and in Bern you say Grüessech… so it is a bit different everywhere. Now E Guete that you say before you eat something. And Chuchichästli is the word which a lot of people want to hear when they find out that you are swiss. It means a cupboard. And at least Adieu that means Goodbye also for a teacher to friends we say Tschüüs…

Now this was my presentation about my home country Switzerland I hope you enjoyed it and know Switzerland now a bit better than before. Adieu thanks for your attention and for providing me with this awesome experience!