Switzerland – 2/21-2/24

One of the coolest weekend trips to me was heading to Geneva, Switzerland. While this may not have been on the top of the list for other students to visit, it was for my group because Cat has family that lives there and thought it would be fun to explore a new place while catching up with family that she hadn’t seen in a while. Her uncle picked us up from the train station, and immediately was so sweet and welcoming to all of us. They opened our home for us to stay in and seemed excited that we were there. The weekend was incredible, thanks to Cats family. At first, I was apprehensive, going into someone’s relatives’ home and staying for a whole weekend when they’ve never met us. But, just like her uncle, all of the family, her aunt and two younger cousins, were so welcoming. They set us up in our room and took us out for a mini-tour of the area, so we didn’t get lost while exploring. We ended up by a beautiful church where Cat’s cousin, Layla, met us for some hot wine right by the water. I don’t know why but I was nervous to meet her. She is 16 and, in my opinion, very similar to Cat, and I wanted her to like hanging out with us and showing us around. She showed us her favorite spots, helped us plan a delicious picnic, and acted as our translator because she was proficient in 3 languages which blew my mind. This was extremely helpful in stores and at restaurants, and we were very lucky that she wanted to hang out with us. Compared to Rome, Geneva was a nice change of pace. The whole trip was very relaxing, and their ways were much more relaxed than the Romans. This experience made a huge impression to me, because it was the first European country outside of Rome that we were traveling to. With new places come new fears, but here, there was nothing to be afraid of. In the beginning of this weekend adventure, I was nervous about entering the home of people I’d never met before. But, by the end of the weekend, they felt like family of my own too. I thank Cat for inviting us to join her on this trip, and her family for being so hospitable! It was an experience I’ll never forget!