Last week

Last week I had the opportunity to go to a University of Iowa Professor’s apartment who’s teaching here along with 3 other Iowa students for dinner. It was definitely one of my favorite nights here so far. Just being able to get off the campus and hang out was such a nice break. It’s really great that we are able to get to know our professors so much more here. Classes have begun to pick up and we are now on a regular schedule. The realization has set in that I’m going to have to work very hard on school during the week in order to travel to all the places I want to go on the weekends. I think this week was the beginning of the “down” period they tell you about that happens after the excitement of being in another country wears off. I started to get so sick of having pasta every day and I missed SO many things about home. After a few days of slight depression I decided the only way to get through this low spot was to simply accept that pasta will be a part of my diet every day for the next 3 months and accept that though things are different here, they will just take a little getting used to. There is nothing I can do to change them so the only thing to do is make the best of it! The next few weeks are going to be so busy I doubt I will have time to even think about home.

This past weekend was my first opportunity to travel since arriving in Europe. Interlaken, Switzerland was my place of choice along with about 40 other students from the school. After a 7 hour bus ride we arrived at Balmer’s hostel in Interlaken around 2:00 am. Most of us went to bed pretty soon after arriving as everyone had big plans for the following day. This was my first time staying in a hostel and I was pleasantly surprised. I slept in a room with 8 others and the mattress pads were quite comfortable. Interlaken, the extreme sports capital of the world, had everything from skydiving to canyoning. While my roommate went skydiving I decided on the safer path and went canyoning. While I missed out on the 8 hour hike, I was able to go on the 3 hour long one which was still very fun. We squeezed into wetsuits that covered everything but your hands and began hiking through streams, jumping off rocks into pools of water and repelling down low cliffs. My experience canyoning made me realize how important it is to take every opportunity to try new things. Initially I was a little apprehensive about canyoning, I even started the hike with a bit of a negative attitude. The whole hike was so exciting and definitely an experience I will never forget. After canyoning I got the opportunity to walk around downtown Interlaken and quickly realized Switzerland is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. I was disappointed at how quickly the weekend went, but I am definitely adding it to my list of places I want to visit again. This weekend I leave for Cinque Terre, which I heard is amazing so I am very excited! More later…
Rachel