Jet Lagged Giggles

What an incredible experience. Being the first day back, I've definitely gotten hit with question after question about how the trip was, our favorite memories, and how exhausted we are today. With that, I wanted to share some hilarious moments from our trip- some insightful thoughts, some very obviously exhausted quotes...

~The sudden realization made at the train station in Geneva: European dogs aren't trained to respond to "Sit."

~In response to a comment about Europeans not shaving as we obsessively do: "I think I was born European. I don't shave my legs. My boyfriend knows not to comment either. I am an independent woman. Then again... I can't complain about his scruffy beard either so.... yeah."

~We found the UN basement on accident and wandered the halls until we found an escape route

~We consistently found ourselves sitting with random locals who were very friendly and had many questions about our course

~A "Bae of the Day" was named (either a group member with a great idea or a random person that walked by), if they put a smile on someones face, they were named Bae of the Day. Some people's response: "Can we not Bae, though?"

~"Coffee is just as important as water, Dr. Schratter. It is life sustaining."

~"There are so many wee woos here!" - Geneva must have a law about sirens needing to ring through the night. I mean, all night long. They don't stop.

~A group of German travelers conversing with some people from our group:
Them:"What state are you guys from?"
Us: "Tennessee"
Them: "*Excited looks and nods shared between them* You have good whiskey!"
Us: "Yes! Where are you from?"
Them: "Germany"
Us: "You have good beer!"
Them: "Ehhhh not really. But we drink it a lot!"

~In a discussion about chocolate melting:
"No, they should be fine. And, for the record, chocolate welfare is never a silly question."

~We were approached while walking in Bern by a band and the drummer started a conversation:
"Hey girls, do you like Harley Davidson?" (We thought he was hitting on us so we noncommittally nodded.) "Great! So you like rock music! Let me tell you about our new album!" Later on, we chipped in together and bought a CD just because he was trying so hard.

~On the wall in a boarding school: A drawing of a frowning Kinder Surprise Egg, not sold in the US (choking hazard), with the caption, "I just can't crack America!"

~After the announcement that we should be using the safes in the rooms to store our money:
"Safe is actually a fridge with a key. If you put money in it, it will get cold."
"We actually do have a safe! It's above the fridge."
"You must have a premium room. I have the lockable fridge model where you keep your chocolate cool & passport safe at the same time."

~After some of us (Definitely not just Addi) slept through the fire alarm:
"Note to self: Addi will not save us in case of fire."
"That's ok. That's what Swiss rescue dogs are for."
"I waited hoping it was a false alarm. "Hope" probably not a good emergency protocol."
*Further discussion about who would save who*
"But... Bobby would have taken our chocolate during the evacuation."
"Bobby Foundation of Souvenir Rescue has a huge budget due to all the good work it does. Read about it @ UN"

~"My Kinder Egg broke... That's why they're illegal in the US. They make children sad..."

~"What do you think is down there?!"
"Bodies."

~"I love your laugh, Sarah Grace."
"It's the laugh I came with!"

~Why we sang "I'm So Fancy" for such an unbelievable amount of time... I have no idea.

~"He is Swiss Thor."

~In response to his daughter's sad remarks on not seeing the skyline from Mt. Titlis, a parent of one of our travelers said, "You didn't miss it. You lived it."

~In the Newark airport on the way home, waiting to board the plane, an exchange between two students:
1: "I'm hungry for water."
2: "You mean thirsty?"
And a bit later...
1: "Can I have some of your water? You can fill it up when we get to America!"
2:"We are in America..."


I hope you've enjoyed a few of our random travel moments. This is such a short list, we laughed a great deal of the trip and made amazing memories together. We are so thankful for Maryville College and this opportunity to travel like we did. We made lasting friendships and are excited to see what our next chapters look like. Thank you for all your support and encouragement through our journeys.

Until next time,
Alyssa
ICW Blogger

Home!

We have finally arrived after a long and exhausting journey! Stay tuned for more pictures and reflections from our trip! Thank you for following us on our whirl wind adventure!

Jenny

ICW Blogger

Almost home!!!

Oh sweet American soil!!! We are finally back in the US after a long and very turbulent flight! We are scheduled to leave Newark at 7:20pm and arrive in Knoxville at 9:35pm, so let's hope this flight goes without a hitch (that would be a first for us)! These weary travelers are ready to be home!

See you soon!

Saturday: Glacier Conquered!

Hallo!

We have had an epic and exhausting day in Engelberg today! We all started at Mount Titlis and then divided and conquered! After the gondola ride to the top, many of the traveler's walked across the suspension bridge and through an ice cave, a group went tubing, and a group posed as Yodelers! Many of us came off the mountain and explored the local cheese factory and monestary or did some last minute souvenir shopping. We also had a great deal of fun with Kinder Surprise Eggs! We all gathered for a farewell dinner tonight and a few brave souls walked back from the mountain top restaurant by torch light! It was a great last day here in Switzerland! We head out in the "morning" at 4am for Zurich International airport and will land in Knoxville at 9:35pm tomorrow if all goes according to schedule!

Good afternoon for those of you at home, good night for us- see you soon!

Alyssa

ICW Blogger

Friday: Zug and Lucerne!

Today we were off to another early start after a good night's sleep in our new hotel in Engelberg! We first visited PH Zug, a Swiss University for teachers. Our sessions were very interactive and we got to help the students with their English, as German was their first language. While Geneva is primarily French speaking, Zug, Lucerne, and Engelberg are primarily German speaking. This is a new challenge for most of us!
On a side note, Amanda, Ansley, Sarah Grace, Samantha, and Catherine were featured in a music video for the American song "Happy" that the school was producing. Stay tuned for a link to experience the soon-to-be famous Swiss-American pop stars! Maybe we can all learn a few dance moves from them while we are at it!
We also had the opportunity to tour Zug Stadt, a school for disabled children. We were very impressed by the system in which students are trained for a particular vocation and that all other therapy needs were met within the school. Our interactions with the few children that we saw were quite heart warming! We were also in awe over their basket weaving, textile production (via loom), and card making abilities! The principal was even kind enough to let us take home one card each (normally sold) as a momentum from our visit.
Afterwards, we took a short ride over to Lucerne where we had several hours free to shop, eat, and take more selfies (like good Americans) around the city.
Saturday morning we will head out to spend our last day on Mount Titlis for some ski resort play time! In good time we will be heading home to you all with vast amounts of chocolate and other Swiss goodies!

See you soon,

Jenny

ICW blogger

Thursdays Are For Teenage Astrophysicists

It's been a long, crazy, but incredibly eye opening day for our group.

We spent the morning and early afternoon at Anhugar School, a school for gifted children. They hold classes from 9-5:30pm on weekdays and break every 45 minutes for a time to relax before heading back to class. They are built on mutual respect between teacher and student, they embrace sympathy, empathy, and competency, but even more importantly, they make sure that if you are there, you are welcomed by each and every person. After a 2 day trial period, prospective students are admitted to the school and are expected to work hard and play hard, yet move at their own pace. 

We spent the entire morning with students of all ages, all with amazing stories about how they have progressed since starting at the school. Some overcame suicidal thoughts and disruptive behavior and others tackled extreme cases of school fobia. The small staff and student body call eachother respected friends. With this type of relationship, changing bonds are formed both in and out of the classroom. 

We spent a lot of time with John, who took 6 weeks at Anhugar to simply be able to step into a classroom due to such extreme school anxiety. He was 13 years old and later in the afternoon, gave us a lecture on Light, Gravity, Matter, and Energy. No biggie, just a 13 year old boy explaining, quite well too, astrophysics and different relationship theories between gravitational particles. When asked what he thought about the possibility of interstellar travel, he said that we need to solve our world's problems and answer all our questions before we move on to space. He also asked us if we would rather have less work so less money, but more vacation time (like the Swiss), or  work more, make more, and vacation less. What an insightful young man. 

The first person we met at the school, she actually ran out to the bus, was Kate- an American girl that had lived in Geneva for 10 years now. She was 15, spoke incredibly good English and French, and intends to get her PhD and pursue a career in Art Therapy. Her first public art exhibition was last week and we got to see pictures. She's got amazing talent. 

Students at the school eat healthy snacks, no sweets, and I do not believe I have ever eaten a more tasty, healthy school lunch. The students will bake cakes together, all from scratch, for every person's birthday and everyone cheers each other on for making good grades. Bullies are immediately removed from the school and it was made clear to us that though many of the students face various learning and physical challenges (ie. Dyslexia or Tourette's), every one knows, accepts, and loves eachother through the challenges they face. I was blown away by their incredible insight and work ethic- everyone chips in to prepare their building's main space for lunch hour. 

After a tasty lunch and lots of goodbyes and au revoirs, we left La Rippe and went to take a tour of Brillantmont International  School in Lausanne. 

We took our tour and talked to a number of current students from multiple countries. It was a great experience and the facilities were incredible. They allow a maximum student population of 10% per nationality in their student body to ensure diversity. With that, they pair roommates from different home-countries to encourage a global understanding and mutual respect. The view from the dormitories was incredible and the architecture was breathtaking. The school is very involved with Habitat for Humanity and international travel during school holidays is very popular. The students spend their free time in town or just hanging out together. They take studies extremely seriously too!

After the schools, we set out to our hotel in Engelberg and made a quick stop in Bern, Switzerland's capital. We made time to see the Bears of Bern, take pictures at the breathtaking overlooks rising above River Aare, and grab a quick bite for dinner before hitting the road again. 

We've now checked in safely at Hotel Central and our headed to bed early! We head out at 6am for tomorrow's adventures!

Au Revoir!

Alyssa

ICW Blogger

The WFP and Sustainability

The WFP or the World Food Program is a UN Agency that is responsible for ensuring that every man, woman, and child has access to the food needed to maintain an active and healthy life. They are also responsible for the logistics arm of the UN. They provide transport and communication devices  for the other UN agencies.
But, I'm here to tell you about how they are stepping into the future and incorporating sustainable solutions into their relief efforts.
In the past the WFP has purchased the food and supplies for relief efforts from developed countries (like the US and UK). However, they have a new goal for new action. This new action will hopefully become a sustainable solution.
Instead of buying food from developed countries, in the future the WFP will either buy food from the effected country itself (when this is possible) or from developing countries. Developing countries are at a medium economic level like the Philippines for example. Their economy would greatly benefit from such a purchase.
They are also providing vouchers to appropriate people. These vouchers allow people to purchase food from local supermarkets and other such stores. These vouchers can come in paper or electronic (good for the environment!!) forms.
These new actions will help the economy of the area in crisis and therefore pull it out of a crisis faster.
Our speaker left us with this thought, "Every country today that has a thriving economy started from somewhere. The U.S. was not always a super power. Other countries need help to develop."
With this sustainable solution, the WFP is offering these countries a helping hand by stimulating the growth of their economies.

-Sarah Grace Holland