Scott Stewart, Eta Chi/George Mason 2015, chose Switzerland for his Study Abroad destination because he wanted to study German and French.
“I have been studying German for a few years and knew the University of Fribourg was a great school with an excellent language department,” said Stewart. “The city (Fribourg) is both German and French speaking so I am able to practice both languages,” he added.
In addition to German and French, Stewart plans to continue his geography studies, which is what he is majoring in at George Mason.
“I am a geography student and I am taking a few remote sensing classes and urban geography classes,” said Stewart. “I am also taking two beginner French courses and two German intermediate courses,” he continued.
Comparing the classroom experience to what he is used to at home Stewart had this to say…
“There are many similarities with the classroom experience. However, one of my geography classes is in German and French, and they change the language of the class each week,” he said. “It can be very confusing when it is taught in French, but so far I am managing,” Stewart added. “The class times are shorter but meet more often during the week,” he said. “There is not too much homework, but many readings so far.”
Stewart opted for the full university experience by electing to live in a dorm on campus.
“I live in a single dorm room in a student dormitory, and I really like the living situation so far,” said Stewart. “I have a big single room with a bed and a sink. The best part is there is maid service every three weeks to change the sheets in the room and to vacuum the floor,” he said. “The floors are co-ed and the bathrooms and showers are also co-ed. That took getting used to when you would see both men and women in the common shower room,” he added. “The dorm also has a common kitchen and this is where everyone cooks and socializes. We sometimes make group meals as it is cheaper this way. People do not normally get meal plans here,” Stewart continued.
Stewart admits that he has indeed sampled some unusual food in Switzerland. "I ate horse for the first time last weekend. I bought it in the store thinking it was beef but then found out after buying it was horse,” said Stewart. “It was not bad. It was one of the cheaper meats to buy here so I might be eating it more often. Meat is very expensive,” he said. “For a small piece of chicken, the cheapest price I have found has been $6. The horse was on sale for around 3 Swiss Francs which is about 4-5 dollars and it was a lot of meat,” he added. “I have eaten a lot of fondue since I have been here. It is so good, but then you smell like cheese for a few days after,” he chuckled. “I have also seen rabbit in the grocery stores, but I am not sure I will be eating that anytime soon. Rabbit is pretty expensive here,” he said.
Stewart says that life is Switzerland is different from the U.S., but in a good way.
“I feel half of my free time is spent buying food, making food and cleaning after my cooking,” said Stewart. “Everything is very expensive. The cost for a sandwich is about $8 and a coffee is about $7,” he added. “There is free public transportation after 7 p.m. which is great for traveling, and I have met so many amazing people and we all enjoy exploring the city and the other nearby towns together. There is a large ski culture here, on the weekends in the winter me and some of my friends here go skiing,” he said.
Stewart hasn’t been in Switzerland too long, but he has done some exploring.
“I haven’t been out of Switzerland yet, but I have been to Bern, Lucerne, Lausanne, Geneva, Neufchatel, Basel, Thun, Interlaken, and Shwarzsee so far,” said Stewart. “I have plans to go to Munich to visit an old friend for a weekend and this month I am going to Prague for a weekend,” he said.
As for the highlights, there have been many, says Stewart.
“I have loved meeting so many new people. I have met people from Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Poland, Thailand, China, Iran and many more countries,” said Stewart. “Every Monday they have many parties in the city as this is their big eventful night for the week. During the weekends the city is dead as many of the Swiss students go home to their families so on Monday they have a few celebrations as people are back in the city from the weekend,” he continued. “Traveling has been amazing so far, I have been to so many places that I would never have been to if it wasn't for coming here. I really like going out at night to nearby cities as my friends and I can ride the trains for free with our special "Gleis 7" cards. We are able to leave at 7 p.m. to any city and come back when the last trains run around 11 p.m.-12 a.m.,” he explained.
Stewart says he would definitely recommend Study Abroad to his fellow brothers.
“This has been a great experience so far and I have only been here for a few weeks,” said Stewart. “I have learned a few things I would not have learned if I didn't study abroad -- did you know Switzerland passed a law that will limit the amount of foreign workers that are able to work in the country? It was interesting to hear what Swiss people said about it. The results of the vote came to 51% in support and 49% against the new policy. There was also a protest about the vote in Bern that a few of my new Swiss friends attended. I would not have known this was happening if I did not come here,” he said. “I have been able to travel to so many places, and I have a list of places I want to go to that I hope I will be able to complete. I have learned about so many interesting facts about so many different types of people. Also, taking classes in a different school is very interesting as I am able to learn in a different way from my home university, George Mason University,” Stewart concluded.