World Environment Day in San Francisco

By Evan Tenenbaum, Menlo School

As soon as my host brother, Micha, took off from San Francisco's International Airport after his three-week stay here in California, I couldn't wait to see him again. As we emailed over the ensuing 6 months, our letters became more and more excited as June grew nearer. Finally, after a quick walk through customs (incredibly quick compared to the U.S.), I spotted Micha and his parents waiting for me, ready to whisk me off to breakfast in Zurich.

Many people in Switzerland asked me about the stereotypes of the Swiss in the United States. Obviously, many people think of cheese, clocks, mountains, chocolate and cows. As I discovered over the next three weeks, these stereotypes are true…but they are just a small part of an amazing country. We did see the beautiful Swiss Alps during our trip to Murren, along with a very quick trip to a cheese shop. We also got a Chocolate "tasting" lesson from Lundt and Sprungli's Maitre-de-Chocolatier, in which we learned all about chocolate tasting procedures, including the sound a piece of good chocolate should make when you break it. While the stereotypes were confirmed, we also saw many different aspects of Switzerland, from our meetings with the mayor of Zurich and one of the presidents of Switzerland, to days lounging by Lake Zurich, to our trip to the city's universities. I also attended a few open-air concerts, as well as some local soccer games. All of these adventures contributed to an amazing overall experience!

Getting to know my host family was definitely the best part of the trip. Micha and I have gotten along amazingly ever since he first landed in San Francisco. We listen to the same types of music, have the same sense of humor, and have the same types of friends. I could write an essay just about how great Micha is, and how lucky we were to have been placed together! I was really excited to meet his family as well! Micha's mother (Kristin) and father (Reto) were both incredibly hospitable, and his brother and sister helped make me feel like part of the family. His mother, who works in a Pharmacy part time, was energetic and fun, and even encouraged me to play my (somewhat loud) drums in their house. Micha's father, who is involved in education, was really interesting to talk to, because he was one of the only adults I spoke to who had enough time (and a big enough English vocabulary) to discuss politics and other international issues. His brother, Stephen, was great. Though he spoke very little English he managed to be incredibly friendly and warm. Micha's sister, Carol, had begun to study for her final exams, so I got to experience all of her stress and hard work involved in her final tests. She was also lots of fun to talk to, because there were times when she had a different view of an issue than others in her family, so I got to hear multiple perspectives. It's incredible how close I became with all of them during my three-week stay (though it helped that they all spoke incredibly good English…at least much better than my German). His family reminds me a great deal of mine, and I felt more loved and welcome in their home then I ever could have imagined. We ate dinner together almost every night, and the food was so good that on many occasions I refused to dine out with other friends! While living with his family I had many interesting discussions with them about everything from religion, to politics, to "O.C. California" (A popular American T.V. show set in California, which had recently started airing in Switzerland). While I discovered many differences in our countries, I also came to realize how similar people are all over the world, regardless of where they live.

Before coming to Switzerland, Micha had warned me not to worry if some people didn't talk to me, because many were embarrassed of speaking poor English. I was actually kind of looking forward to being completely immersed in German/Swiss-German, but I was astonished on the first day when I realized that everyone in Switzerland can speak at least enough English to let you know they can't understand you. Feeling highly undereducated, I resigned myself to learning one German phrase I used whenever I needed to explain my lack of communicative capabilities: Ich bin ein dummer Amerikaner. "I am a stupid American". No matter how dumb my question was I could always get a smile and a chuckle out of strangers (something not always so common on the streets of San Francisco). Even with a language barrier, I managed to make friends with basically everyone I met (not that I claim to remember all of their names). During our free time many of us hung out by the lake (because it was so hot), or went shopping. Though I barely bought anything while shopping, I walked around Zurich a great deal! Actually, I think walking is the best way to discover a city, especially when it's relatively small like Zurich. After a week or so of walking around, I felt like I was starting to get to know the city. Now, I would give anything just to be able to walk along the lake again, to stroll through the streets of Altstadt, the old town, or just walking around Micha's village of Oberrierden.

Perhaps not so surprisingly, the Swiss students' class subjects are very similar to ours. The classes taught in English, which we attended, reminded me of the school I had been released from not 2 weeks before the trip had started. We learned the same types of things in Math and Biology, but there were some classes, which we don't have at Menlo School. We don't study much of Economics, and most don't take Geography. I felt bad because many of the Swiss students had big tests during our stay, as well as right after the American students left. The school day is also structured somewhat differently then ours. Our school day is more compact, which results in less breaks and free time during school. Their school day involves 15 minutes breaks between every class; along with a long lunch period and usually a free period. The benefit of our system is that we end at 3 o'clock, while the Swiss students end at 5. I actually like their schedule better, because not only do they have much less homework than we do, but their school day seems more like a full day, because they have larger breaks so they can do other things during the school day. This is not to say that their school is easy! They worked very hard to keep up with all their work while we were there, and it seems like most of their teachers expect a lot from them! What I enjoyed most about school was the humor I saw in how painfully similar school is around the world. Most kids all feel the same way about school, homework, and exams. Apparently stress translates into every language.

It seems funny that less than a year ago, I didn't know Micha, and didn't know very much about Zurich either. I'm so grateful that I got the opportunity to meet such amazing people, and to explore such a beautiful country! I loved just talking to people, and hearing different opinions about the world around us. Not only did I learn about Switzerland, but I also learned a lot about my own country. I heard wide-ranging opinions about world affairs, and about the U.S. Surprisingly, I was much more critical of America than many of the people I met. Micha helped me realize that though many of us don't agree with our government, it doesn't make "America" a bad place, and that I should always appreciate how lucky I am to have been born here. This trip truly has been the best experience of my entire life, thanks to the hospitality and overwhelming friendliness I received while in Zurich. I will make one promise to Switzerland. In the words of California's governor: I'll be Back!