Tim's Exchange to Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts | Switzerland
I had never taken the thought of travelling abroad seriously during my studies. It was always in the back of my mind as something that would be an amazing experience to go through, but that was as far as I had gone. I never put any thought into progressing it further, until I had an email come through about the deadline for applications. This triggered a massive snowball affect that I never thought would get to where it did, but I have never been so happy about the impulsive decision to put my application in.
I cannot even begin to put into words how amazing my exchange was. I was blessed with the opportunity of spending my time abroad in Luzern, Switzerland. I had travelled to Europe before but never Switzerland, I had only ever seen Switzerland’s beauty in magazines and photos. That was until February 2017. I had landed in Zurich and was on the train to Luzern, that the reality of the next 5-6 months had truly set in, and it was at this point I was filled with joy about the position I had myself in. I was in complete awe of the culture I had immersed myself in.
I was accepted on a one-semester exchange program with Hochschule Luzern, (University of Applied Sciences). The month leading up to my exchange, I have never been so nervous than I have in my entire life. Everyone was telling me about how much of an experience it would be, but never had I been so far out of my comfort zone. I had always wanted to put myself in a position, where I was on my own to see how I would cope and adapt to another culture where English wasn't their mother tongue, and what a learning curve I had for the next 5 months.
Luzern is about an hours train ride from Zurich, and that train ride allowed me to calm my nerves and take in the surroundings of the place I would be calling “home” for the next 5 months. I was placed in a student accommodation about a 10 minute bus ride from the city centre, which was set-up through the international office at Hochschule. From the moment I stepped into my accommodation, which was filled with a variety of international and local students, I felt like I was home already. The people around town were amazing, and the students at Hochschule were super friendly and were more than happy to accommodate and aid in any issues or troubles I had with understanding the local culture.
After a couple of weeks of being in Switzerland and making a few friends, I was informed about a week-long street party where essentially anything goes. Being an Australian, I was told this is where the Swiss really show their colours in a once off celebration. The festival is called “Fasnacht” which has a few meanings such as a tradition to end the winter season, and welcome the warmer weather and also for the catholic to celebrate the beginning of their 40 day lint coming into Easter. Either meaning the Swiss choose, they definitely know how to party. A country that is seen as the financial capital of the world, party for 24 hours a day, 5 days straight. My friend and I had hired nun costumes and were drinking amongst some Swiss friends, and we came across another group of nuns. They were a mixture of Swiss and French but they loved our costumes as much as we loved theirs, as seen by the amount of smiles in the photo.
With Luzern being so central in Europe, I was blessed with the opportunity to visit many neighbouring countries. I had my cousin living in Finland, so I went and visited him for the Easter week-long break, which was spent snowboarding in Norway’s finest mountains. I have never had so much fun as I did in that week. Norwegian’s themselves are beautiful people and get so excited hearing the Australian accent. Especially being in small ski resorts in the far north, Australian’s are seldom seen in that terrain. We spent numerous days snowboarding in a resort in a small town called Malsev, Norway. Upon our return to Finland, we spent a day snowboarding out on a mountain called Pyhätuntui. It was great to have a connection out that way that could show me the small villages that held such beautiful resorts and weren’t crowded with tourists. One tradition I was exposed to in Finland was the use of saunas and dipping into the ice lakes for a “cool-down” once it became too hot in the sauna. Quite an experience that was alone.
I had signed up for the buddy program and was assigned to a guy of similar age to me. We initially met during the Fasnacht festival, and after couple of beers we were best mates. He took me out to his friends holiday house out in the mountains for a traditional Swiss meal, “Raclette”, showed me the nightlife in Luzern and for a hike up one of the more known mountains in Switzerland called “Pilatus”. We watched the sunrise with a beer or 2, and really took in the breathtaking views, an experience I will hold close to my chest. Something about watching a sunrise at ~2200m above sea level has a special element to it, something that I cannot put into words. This particular friend I made, I will hold for life. We still keep in contact, and he plans on luring me back with a job upon my graduation (fingers crossed).
Switzerland, known for its many mountains and the breathtaking views at the respective peaks is something not to be taken lightly. Being someone of a football background, I was not going to take the easy option in taking advantage of Switzerland’s meticulously engineered public transport system up these peaks. I wanted to hike and conquer them and take the success of these hiking trips with me for life. I had no idea if I would ever be graced with such an opportunity again, so I had to prove that the Australians could conquer these mountains. I climbed 3 nearby mountains, 1 of medium-hard climb, 1 medium and 1 real easy climb. They were all within a half hour train ride from Luzern, as my study program still had a relatively intense workload, I was not blessed with too many free weekends. I climbed Bürgenstock, which has the highest exterior elevator in Europe, us which is known for its breathtaking sunrises and Stanserhorn which was organised through the student association of Hochschule.
If anyone has taken light to the idea of an exchange, or there is a slight doubt to whether you want to go or not, all I can say is bite the bullet and go for it. I have made many friends that I will never forget, and I am planning to go back once I have completed my degree. You are able to really learn a lot about yourself as a person, and the opportunity to network overseas isn’t something that is open to everyone. Utilise the resources you have at university to the best of your ability, so that you have the best pathway to a job upon completion of your degree. Socialising in foreign countries and meeting people studying similar degrees, you never know where you may end up once you have finished. And having friends overseas makes things just that little more tempting to go back for work, and to experience something similar all over again. What have you got to lose?
- Tim studied abroad at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland
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