Thinking back

I created a music playlist on Spotify called “San Francisco Road” and listen to it all the time. All my friends I met there come to my mind, our adventures, our little road trips to the Headlands or to the beach and of course when listening to these songs, I remember how my host sister and I blasted folk songs on our way to school and sang along as if we were alone to afterwards in school be annoyingly hoarse. These songs make me close my eyes and remember the three most rewarding, interesting and joyful weeks of my life. I profited in so many ways, not just in language but also socially. I find it really interesting to meet new people, especially from a different country and culture, so if I need a stay in San Francisco I know more than enough people who I could ask.

Honestly I like Zurich a little better as a city to live in, but that’s probably because I’m used to it. But what makes me actually sad and what keeps me wanting go back to San Francisco is not the city itself but the friends I have there. Although three weeks is a short time I met so many new lovely people. Of course I miss having no sciences and have music classes all day, but that’s sadly just not realistic.
I’m super excited to welcome our American brothers and sisters in Zurich and can’t wait to see my host sister again. But I’m even more looking forward to go back and visit them, to see all the friends and teachers that obviously won’t come to Switzerland.

At this point I really want to thank from the bottom of my heart the KEN for making such an exchange program possible and of course all the schools, teachers, host parents and siblings in San Francisco for making our stay in your beautiful city such an incredible experience! (SB)

Rückblick

Es sind bereits drei Wochen vergangen seit wir das sonnige Kalifornien schweren Herzens verlassen mussten. Während meine Erlebnisse langsam zu Erinnerungen verblassen, denke ich oft an diese wunderbaren Tage in San Francisco zurück. Nebst dem, dass ich unglaublich tolle Menschen kennenlernen durfte, habe ich unzählige neue Erfahrungen sammeln dürfen. So habe ich zufällig eine Gruppe Delfine beobachtet, während ich die Golden Gate Bridge überquerte oder ich wagte mich aufs Wasser mit einem alten hölzernen Segelboot, welches auf den Wellen heftig hin- und herschaukelte, sodass ich das Gefühl hatte jeden Moment runter zu purzeln.

Ich könnte hier noch über mehrere Seiten hinweg von all diesen wunderbaren Momenten schreiben, doch was ich eigentlich sagen wollte ist, dass so ein Austausch eine richtig tolle Chance ist seinen Horizont zu erweitern. Mag sein, dass ich nur wenige Wochen in Amerika verbrachte, dennoch finde ich, dass jeder der die Möglichkeit hat sie ergreifen sollte, sofern man offen ist eine andere Kultur zu erkunden und auch etwas Mut und Lust hat Neues zu erleben.

Ich muss zwar zugeben, dass sich nach so kurzen drei Wochen mein Englisch nicht signifikant verändert hat, aber trotzdem fiel es mir von Tag zu Tag leichter in einer fremden Sprache zu kommunizieren, es wirkte auf einmal natürlicher und sogar mit meiner deutschsprechenden Zimmergenossin sprach ich von Zeit zu Zeit mehr Englisch, wodurch sich vermutlich auch mein Wortschatz verbessert haben sollte.

Ein weiterer toller Aspekt des Programmes war, dass jeder von unserer Klasse seine Zeit anders verbrachte, die einen genossen die Natur, während andere durch die Stadt bummelten. Auf diese Weise hatte jeder jedem etwas zu berichten bei den wöchentlichen Treffen, dies hat unsere Klasse aus meiner Sicht ein ganzes bisschen zusammengeschweisst, was schön ist, da man neue Facetten an Menschen zu entdecken beginnt mit welchen man schon bald drei Jahre in einer Klasse ist (besser spät als nie).

Doch nun gilt es sich wieder an die Schule zu gewöhnen (ist schwieriger als man denkt) und bis im Juni zu auszuharren, denn dann kommen unsere Gastgeschwister in die Schweiz und ich bin mir sicher, dass auch sie eine tolle Zeit haben werden, schliesslich hat unser kleines Fleckchen Land auch ganz schön viel zu bieten!! (NB)

City diversity

San Francisco is a very diverse city with a lot of embedded cultures. There are hundreds of different restaurants all from different cultures. We tried a lot of them and most of the restaurants are the same in one aspect; Very good food but terrible service. That’s what I experienced at least. The city itself is also grouped in different areas like the Castro, Chinatown, japan town and more. When you enter those districts everything changes.

For example in Chinatown all the shops are labeled in Chinese and 99% of the people living there are real Chinese people and some of them can’t even talk English. The stores also offer a lot of goods which you cannot find in other stores around the city, typical Chinese goods. Chinatown is also the most characteristic districtin in San Francisco since for example the Italian district looks the same as the rest besides the Italy flag on all the street lanterns.

Also there is a huge contrast between the area where people live and where they work. Downtown looks just like every other big city in the US, alot of skyscrapers and a ton of people, on the other hand the area where people live is very unique. There is no such thing as every house needs to fit in the neighbour hood like in switzerland. Every house is unique, it has it's own form and color and there are no modern buildings. All of the houses are very cute and made with love, not like those new "modern" buildings that basically are just a cube of cement with no color. (DA)

Rain...

Today when I woke up I heard a familiar, calming sound that I've never heard since my arrival in San Francisco. It was the rain against my windows. At first I didn't really think about it because I was still tired and to me it is nothing special. But when I later talked to Branson students, many of them were super excited and totally overdressed for this light rain, I recalled that they were in a drought. Some wore raincoats, high boots and carried an umbrella, which sounds more like heavy storm equipment to me. It was funny to see how unusual rain was to them and how they reacted to it. 

Today might've just been the first precursor to the feared and wished for rain season that is expected for late November. Wished for because water means life and feared becasue after this very long drought the ground is very weak, which could result in much destruction through mud slides. Also if too much rain comes we will see a next Atlantis. (LH)

Differencies

In the last few blogs I listed some of the positive aspects of living here in California. But of course there are a lot of things I miss about Switzerland, one of them being the public transport system. You really need a car to get anywhere, leading to a more extreme air pollution. There are buses and boats but they follow a very inconvenient schedule, are always late and to even get to a station you need a car. Our host siblings can already drive, but they have homework to do or don’t want to do the exact same things you might have planned. Even though the food here is great, there are things I miss like fresh salad, our milk (here it’s so watery) and of course rivella J. 

Honestly I don’t like the hot weather here, I’d much rather have Swiss fall weather. Yes I know you might be wondering how can someone possibly like rainy cold weather better than high summer California weather. I guess it’s in my genetics and the origin of this DNA part is pretty easy to follow if you know my dad. 

But I think what I miss most besides the public transport system is the safety we have even in a city like Zurich. I can walk around the city at 3’o’clock in the morning and don’t have to worry about getting attacked or anything. I was scared walking through San Francisco at 2’o’clock in the afternoon. While searching for a guitar shop I was witness of a drug deal, got insulted twice and thus was out of this neighborhood as fast as possible.

Now usually when I talk to students here, after five minutes of introduction the conversation’s about us being able to buy alcohol and go clubbing. Now I don’t want to say that I miss the alcohol, because I can thankfully survive 3 weeks without a beer but the parties and clubs are still very different here and to be honest a little more fun in Switzerland. Even though the teenagers can drive here it still seems like they’re more controlled by their parents and teachers. For example there was a school party for Halloween and the party was from 8 till 10 (that’s when our parties usually start), there was water to drink and the teachers stood next to the dance floor to see if there are boys and girls dancing together, which was to my astonishment prohibited. It was still very amusing and of course there’s no need for alcohol for a party to be fun, but I’m still excited to show our American host siblings what it means to party when they come to Zurich. (SB)

Music

If you know me, you know how addicted I am to music, whether it be listening, performing, learning about its history, analyzing or composing it, I’m all into it. So when I got the chance to choose whatever lesson I wanted, I took it and went all out on music. 

I quickly realized that the Branson students are behind on science but far ahead on music skills. Not only are they better on their instruments than the average student in KEN, but also their knowledge about theory, so chord progressions, scales, intervals and so forth is better than ours. Also I feel like, although we learn more about the history of classical music, they concentrate much more on modern styles like Hip-Hop or Rock. 

I’m in a “History of Hip-Hop” class and they really interpret songs and music videos, look at technical changes in time, try to understand the idea of sampling and other things that we only briefly cross in our music lessons. I don’t want to state that the music education in Switzerland is bad, but here so many students can play an instrument really good and play in a band or ensemble. Of course I as a musician would like to have more friends who can play an instrument in Switzerland which is quite rare sadly. Also what I think is missing in Zurich are street musicians. Walking through a city and hearing some background music gives it so much more character and atmosphere. I always love seeing artists performing when visiting other cities. (SB)

The view

Yesterday was a truly amazing day! The day already started with a highlight when we went to one of San Francisco’s best pastries, where me and Michelle P. treated ourselves with a croissant and a pain du chocolat plus some extraordinary blue bottle coffee. Afterwards we met our class and went all together to the famous prison island and Al Capone’s old residence. The audio guides we were given told us everything about the place packed in a kind of story, which was narrated by former prisoners or their correctional officers. That fact made the whole tour very interesting,

When we returned from Alcatraz in the early afternoon, we (me, Michelle P. and Giorgio) said goodbye to our teachers and went to a coffee shop on Jackson Square and I enjoyed my first flat white (a special and very delicious cappuccino).  The rest of the day we were wandering around in the city and let San Francisco’s vibe sink in. As slowly our feet started hurting and our knees aching we all went to mine and Michelle’s host family where we had delightful pasta.

After this perfectly fine dinner our host father took us up to twin peaks. A place located above the city, which gives you the perfect view over the whole region. The lights of the city were sparkling while the water was calm and smooth, shining in a matt black, because of the moon, which was nearly full. It was freezing; every one of us was shaking. But we stood there and felt like we were on top of the world, while we were looking down on the city and totally feeling this magical moment. (NB)

Cross Country Run

Today I ran my first race in cross country in my life. I skipped the last class on the afternoon and went on a bus with the whole team. The ride there was long and hot. But at least I managed to have some nice conversations. When we arrived a nice wind came up and cooled us down. We arrived late so we didn't have time to warm up and went to the starting spot immediately. Then the race began and I started running. All the wind was gone and the sun shone down on us. My mouth dried out. Slowly the legs began to get heavy. Then I spotted the one mile mark. I had no clue how long the race was but running the first mile gave me some more energy. Then I ran further. A while after that I saw something that looked like the end, but the faster runners came back on the same road. My breathing was heavy. And then came the worst part of the race: a 180 degree turn to run back the whole distance. I was already far in behind the fast runners but I decided to go through it all. So I kept on running. Now it was hard to even get the inside of my mouth wet, but I continued. I kept on running, told myself to always look forward. At one point I closed my eyes and ran blind. Then after a long time I finally saw the end nearing. The only thing that kept me running was all the nice people who cheered on me. And then I passed through the finish line. All the annoying stability muscles hurt. I walked through, grabbed water and had to sit down in the shadow of a fence. After a while the nice feeling of having done something hard for the first time kicked in. A smile surfaced my face. It was fun. It was a five kilometer race that we ran in something above 20 minutes. It was an amazing day, but I would most likely never have the will to do something like that at home. (LH)

Pictures

Academy of Science etc

This was the first weekend I spent with my host family. Sadly I didn't spend a lot of time with my host sister until now, as she has a lot of homework to do.

On the other hand I could do a lot with the host sisters of ohter students, which was a lot of fun. On Saturday we went to the mission and she showed us around. We later went to a Spanish restaurant and it was quite tasty. On Sunday I went out with my host parents to the Academy of Science. It was the first time I went to a planetarium and it was very astonishing. We later ate BBQ ribs and they were delicious. (DA)

Branson Library

A big difference between Branson School and the Kantonsschule Enge (KEN) is how students and teachers treat and appreciate the library. When I hear the word 'library' a picture of a white, cold room filled to the brim with books pops up in my head. Because that is how many libraries in Zürich look like, especially the library in the KEN. You are alone between tons of books and skim through titles to find something that might interest you. Everyone is silently reading and the only thing you hear is your steps on the ground. The air is clean but cool. But the worst: many students in the KEN don't even know that there is a library, which is not so surprising because the school does everything possible to hide it. 

It is not near to the main building. It looks exactly like all the buildings surrounding it. And if you don't enter exactly the right path you can't see it. Now you might think that there would at least be a link referring to them on the homepage of the school. Well there is one. But even I, a regular visitor of the library and the homepage, didn't know about it until the librarian told me about it after three years. And now that the school has two homepages it's even harder to find it. 

And now the library in Branson: it's the most visited building on the whole campus. Why? You have just as many books as the library in the KEN, but. But the library is located right in the middle of the campus. If you go from the Academics part of the school to the arts part you go right through it. The whole building is warm and cozy. There's a fire, some nice chairs and a lot of students talking freely. And this is what is the best about a library. Not the books, but the social interaction. 

A library should be a meeting point for people with similar interests, people who want to hear new oppinions, people who just want a relaxing place. And this is exactly the reason why here at Branson everyone knows to appreciate the library and at the KEN few care about it. And because just talking in a library can be a good experience and bring you new friends or a place to retreat to when your mood is cloudy, I think that we at the KEN should care more about the library. Not instead cut down their budget so they can't even buy a new printer when the old one died. (LH)

Branson High School impressions

Today I want to talk about school. I’m visiting Branson School located in Ross (outside the city) and I have to say that it’s one of the best experiences of my life. Branson is a very expensive school and thus does not set the American education standard, because for a lot of families a private school like Branson is impossible to finance. Keeping that in mind, the school campus is super nice. It has a beautiful library with a fireplace and couches, the art department is very well equipped and the campus is generally very well looked after and clean.

The honor code is that astonishing mind set of students and teachers and really blew me away. Leaving backpacks on the campus, laptops on the table and wallets with cash unattended is no problem, and you really don’t have to worry about it being stolen. The lessons are far more based on technology and network than in Switzerland. The exercises are all stored on the intranet and students can solve them or have a look at the reading assignment on their iPads and Macbooks.

Another difference is the schedule, because students can choose all their classes (of course having limitations and ground rules) and thus create a much more individual and personal schedule, exactly fitting their needs and interests. That also means that your classmates change every lesson, which can be good if you want to know as much students as possible but it also means that you’re not as close to your classmates as maybe we are in Switzerland.

I personally like the American system much better, where you chose your lessons and know almost all the kids at your school. Because at KEN we maybe see other students in the hallway or Facebook but you only really know your classmates. Now the student-teacher relationship is also quite different. It’s much more considerate and friendly, what makes the lessons much more relaxed, personal and interactive. Generally people, be it students or teachers, are very friendly and welcoming, always trying to include us to make our stay and school experience very enjoyable and profiting. It seems like the school is very focused on all the individuals and tries to not only educate them in knowledge and skills but also in reason, behavior, moral and decency, which I think is sometimes left out a little bit in our schools. (SB)

Music festival at Treasure Island

We left early in the morning and went to a friend’s house, where I met a bunch of my host sister’s friends. They were immediately really friendly and included me to their circle right away. We grabbed some bagels and played football in a nearby park. Pumped and excited we drove to Treasure Island, where we went to a music festival. The festival was great! I bought a San Francisco beanie to fit in, we went to the comedian stage, to the silent disco (a disco where everyone wears headphones and dances), enjoyed the view on the city of the Ferris wheel and of course sang along to the awesome live music.

School started on Monday and I think it was one of the first times I was actually excited for school. I already knew some people from the festival which made the first school day a little easier for me. Because we could choose whatever lessons we want, my schedule turned out to be the most fun and not science based schedule I ever witnessed in my life. History of Hip-Hop, Chorus, Political Philosophy, Modern world history, Athletic Dance for Men and Rock Band are the lessons I ended up with. So the first day went great and we’re already free at 3’o’clock, which is great for me because I don’t really have homework to do. School’s such a cool experience because it’s so different from Swiss schools. It has its pros and cons but more on that in the next blog. (SB)

First weekend in San Francisco

So I have to confess that I only spend half of the weekend in San Francisco, because on Saturday we went to Santa Cruz.

Anyway let’s begin with the 23th of October, a Friday evening. The Swiss students and the kids from Lowell wanted to organize a get-together, so we could all get to know us. Someone came up with the great idea of making a bonfire at the Ocean beach. I have to say it was wonderful. We all sat there on one side the ocean and we heard how the waves were crashing, while on the other side the streetlights were covered in fog. We made smores and talked about the experiences we made during our first week in San Francisco. Sadly it ended quite abrupt, because the police came and asked everyone to leave the beach, but still I made some memories, which are worth to be collected.

On Saturday we had to get up early, because as I mentioned earlier we planned to go to Santa Cruz, a city famous for waves that are waiting for someone, who rides them and the oldest amusement park in California, named Boardwalk. It is located right by the beach, so when you get on a ride you have a truly awesome view over the ocean. I have to say the rides might not have been the newest but still I had to convince myself to even go on them and the Fright Walk almost made me pee in my pants. After we left Boardwalk we took a look at the city center of Santa Cruz, where a lot of surfer shops are located, besides that the town is decorated with lights, which give the buildings an extra portion of charm in the evening.

On our way home we stopped by at IN-N-OUT and found a delicious way to end the day!!

The next day, we thought we deserved to sleep in. We planned to go on a picnic in the Golden Gate Park, so we had to prepare some food. Our host dad dropped us of near the Haight-Ashbury, which was in the 60s the center of the gypsy movement and where artists like Janis Joplin or the Grateful Dead once lived, until today it is an alternatively shaped district of San Francisco. Anyway from there we walked to the Golden Gate Park, where we also visited the De Young Museum and just enjoyed our walk. We spontaneously decided to walk all the way home, which forced us to overcome a few of San Francisco’s steepest streets, but when we finally reached the top, we must confess that it definitely was worth the view!!

(NB)

Some impressions from UHS

After the past 3 days that I spend at UHS I think I got a very good insight of the school. Lunch is always an exciting time and I could sit with others every day and get to know different people. It is very exciting to get to know the different people going to school here and listen to some of their stories. Especially since they are very different to Swiss people. Every student I met so far is very nice and open and most of them are very funny and talk a lot. So you never have a boring lunch at any given time. 

Computer science is very nice since I know what they are talking about since I learned most of the stuff by myself but letting someone explain it to me is way easier to understand. Also there is always a girl and boy sitting next to me that are a lot of fun. 
(DA)

Running @ Branson

My legs are totally sore. Yesterday the cross country team of Branson School went on a little trip. They ran from the Branson campus all the way to Stinson Beach, which is a short 14 miles (22.531 km) run. And there was one Swiss student who decided to join them. Guess who it was. Sadly I only managed to run 11 miles (I got taken up in the car of a nice dad for the rest of the way). We started at around 2:30 pm. and by the time I arrived I could already see the sky turning red. It was a hot day and a hard run but the fun, the sea, the food and the feeling of accomplishment at the end totally made up for it. It was a great feeling to jump into the freezing cold water while enjoying the sunset. Only bad thing about it: I got a monster cramp in my right calf. But the whole cross country team is really cool and so I had an awesome day. That definitely was an experience I will remember for a long long time. (LH)

First day at University High School (UHS)

Today was my first day at UHS and the difference to our school is astonishing. The atmosphere within and outside of class is very different to what I'm used to in Switzerland. The relationship of teacher and student is way more friendly and casual and the lessons are funnier and more interactive then in Switzerland. Also they have way fewer lessons a day but because of that they have a lot more homework to do. They usually have 3 to 6 lessons a day and school always ends at 2:30 pm which is way earlier then in Switzerland, which ends at 5 pm or 6 pm. Also the food at the cafeteria is way better then at our Mensa and there are more sitting possibilities then at the KEN. You can sit inside or outside at the nice and hot sun. Because of that people don't go out eating and stay at school and eat all together unlike in Switzerland where small groups of friends go to different restaurants. You also have a ping pong table where you and your friends can play table tennis and there’s a free gym you can go to to play basketball like I did. Because of school ending at 2:30 pm already you have enough time to go out with friends and do some fun stuff before dedicating yourself to homework.

I reached the end of my first day and I need to commit that I like it more then the swiss school life. Its more fun and the people are simply nicer.

(DA)

Das Klassenzimmer

Grundsätzlich fängt der Alltag im sonnigen San Francisco nicht anders an als der von unseren Schweizer Kameraden, die wir im grauen Zürich zurückgelassen haben.

Um ungefähr sechs Uhr wird man unsanft vom Piepen des Weckers aus seinen Träumen gerissen und schleppt sich mühsam ins Badezimmer. Irgendwann sitzt man dann in einer typisch amerikanischen Schulbank und wartet bis der Unterricht (endlich) beginnt.

Im Grossen und Ganzen unterscheiden sich die bevorstehenden Stunden nicht gross von denen in der Schweiz, was mir allerdings auffällt ist die lockere Atmosphäre im Klassenzimmer. Das Verhältnis zum Lehrer wirkt freundschaftlicher und allgemein sind die Stunden nicht allzu formell gestaltet, beispielsweise trägt mein Psychologielehrer jeden Tag einen anderen Hut, welcher alles andere als normal ist. Zudem ist sein ganzes Schulzimmer mit Hello-Kitty Figuren oder Bildern dekoriert, ein weiteres Beispiel liefert mir meine Lehrerin für Shakespeare, die nicht lange um den heissen Brei redet, sondern die Sachen beim Namen nennt und kein Tabu in ihrer Wortwahl zu entschuldigen weiss. Diese Lockerheit scheint die Arbeitshaltung nicht negativ zu beeinflussen, im Gegenteil, die Schüler wirken auf mich meist motivierter und lernwilliger als in so manchen anderen Schulen. Sie erledigen pflichtbewusst ihre Hausaufgaben und nehmen ohne zu zögern Zusatzaufgaben auf sich, die natürlich benotet werden.

Es sind diese Momente, die einem die doch teils grossen Kulturunterschiede vor Augen führen und einem die amerikanische Mentalität spüren lassen, es sind Momente in denen man zu vergleichen beginnt und sich fragt, ob das eine besser als das andere ist oder wie es wäre wenn es in der Heimat auch so aussähe?

Liebi Grüssli usem windig-wunderbare SFO

(NB)

Honor Code @ Branson School

What amazed me most on my first day (Monday 19) in Branson School was that there were bags, mobile phones and jackets lying around on the whole campus. When the students felt like it they just dropped everything they were carrying on the ground. This is possible due to their 'Honor Code', on which a big part of the social life at Branson Campus is based. The most important rule in this 'Honor Code' is to never touch or take anything that is not yours, unless you have the permission to do so. And it works. I think this 'Honor Code' is something really great if it can be achieved and it's definitely worth a try for every existing institution. Of course to realize it you need the necessary means. Branson School has it easier in that aspect than many other institutions. They are a private school so they have the power to drop out students if it is needed. Also Branson School is quite small with less than four hundred students, which makes the process of convincing them easier because there are less people who could possibly try to take something away. And also important to look at is that all the people at branson school have enough money to have a decent life so there is no need to steal anything. But they managed to make everyone follow and appreciate this 'Honor Code' and I think that is very beneficial to the life of every person in Branson School be it teachers, students or guests. So I hope that such behaviour will be possible at our school as well someday. (LH)

Arriving in San Francisco

After our plane arrived at the airport late and my host sister and dad picked me up, we grabbed dinner at a Japanese place, on the northern side of the golden gate bridge. I never ate Japanese, and it’s usually quite difficult to get me to try something new. But in the end I decided that while I’m here I want to enjoy all the things San Francisco has to offer. Because that’s why we’re here. We’ll be back in our Swiss routine in already 3 weeks but in this short time I want to try out as many new things as possible. I want to meet new people, do things I elsewhere would never do and generally get the whole Californian lifestyle experience.

So when we arrived at my new temporary home, a deer was standing right in front of the house! They have a huge porch, where you can sit and with a little patience observe the wildlife that hides in the bushes (or sometimes just stands in front of your house). I can sleep in the room of the oldest brother, who is not home at the moment. He’s a climber, so to get to the bunk bed in about 4 meters height you have to fight yourself up a climbing wall. What sounds like a boys dream is actually quite annoying if you wake up and have to go to the bathroom and while still being halfway asleep doing some hardcore climbing at 5’o’clock in the morning. After the 3^rd time in one night you start thinking about if you really have to go or if you can hold it for 2 more hours. But in the end some work out is required to compensate the delicious cheeseburgers I get here. So after being awake for almost 22 hours, I don’t think I have to tell you how tired I was! But as I closed my eyes I finally realized where I actually am. I’m in San Francisco!

(SB)

Einführung

Während der nächsten Tage finden Sie hier eine lose Sammlung von Eindrücken und Erlebnissen verschiedener Schülerinnen und Schüler der Klasse.