It has come to the time for me write my final blog entry here
in Switzerland, as I return to Northern Ireland later this week meaning my
concluding entry with be written from the comfort of my own home as I reflect
on the past five months.
As I had mentioned in last week’s blog entry I was facing a
full week of exams and deadlines. On
Friday I had a Religion and Ethics exam where I had to learn about different
religions from round the world, for example: Islam; Judaism; and Hinduism -
just to name a few. This was an exam I
was very worried about and one that I was conscious I had to do a lot of work
for. Having received an email over the
weekend it is fair to say that hard work does pay off as I received the top
grade of an A! Maybe Erasmus is changing
me after all… A quote from Derek Jeter helps sum it up:
“When you put a lot of hard work into one
goal and you achieve it, that’s a really good feeling.”
Having supported Switzerland in their world cup pool game
last week, and because we live on the border with Germany, it was only right
that we should offer them some support too.
So on Saturday, with German flags painted on our face and a drink in
hand, we headed over the border to cheer them on!
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| Go Germany! |
With the adventure fast coming to an end it means that we are
starting to say the dreaded goodbyes and doing things for the last time. On Sunday we were kindly invited back to our
study buddy Tracy’s house for a traditional Swiss meal – Raclette. This is seemingly her Dad’s speciality, so
for him to take time to host this dinner for us was so nice. Raclette involves melting a full round block
of cheese on a grill and with it you have potatoes and vegetables. It was delicious – very rich – but delicious! Ashleigh and I also arranged to meet a
teacher – Holly - from our placement school for a catch up this week. It was really nice of her to stay in touch
with us while we have been here in Switzerland and for her to take time out of
her busy end of year school schedule.
The meeting ended with a very warm invitation to stay at her house when
we return to Switzerland in the future– this is maybe an offer that I will take
her up on.
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| With Tracy and Bea - the best study buddies! |
Also this week, Ashleigh, Sarah and I decided to spend some
time together in Konstanz as we went for some food and shopping. During this outing we reflected on our time
here and how far we have come, not believing we are going home next week. Although we are fully aware that the end is
coming we all agreed that we do not think it has sunk in – maybe it will when
we board the plane.
In a previous blog I mentioned how amazing the Thermal Pool
was meaning that we had to make a return visit. This time however, we decided to really relax
and enjoy all it had to offer meaning we purchased a three hour ticket! Between enjoying the heated pools and hot
tubs we also made our way to the slides (which we were unaware of the last
time) for some fast and furious action.
This incoming week is one that that I’m sure will be full of
mixed emotions. It is the week that I
say all the sad goodbyes to the close friendships I have made while being here. Coupled along with all the excitement of
returning home to my family and friends its sure going to be a strange week
emotionally. Here goes my last week here
in Kreuzlingen!
Stephanie
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