AFS Newsletter #1

Here is it, Our Welcoming Gift!

Guess who said that!

“Hastin, this is Rivella. It’s a typically Swiss drink. You have to try this if you want to be the Swiss. So here is it, our welcoming gift to you. Welcome to our class, welcome to our life!” this sweet phrase was the first thing that  I heard in the first day of my school in Switzerland.

 

Oh I’m sorry, I’m to excited to tell you about it that I forgot to introduce myself. So, Hi! I’m Hastin, an happy-lucky-hungry exchange student from AFS Indonesia to the land of chocolate, Switzerland. In my country back home I live in capital city for Indonesian students, Yogyakarta. Then here, during my stay in Switzerland, I live in Dottikon. It’s a small-quite-peace little town in Canton Argaau. This canton is well known as “The Rüebliland (The land of carrot)” because of Aargau’s huge production of carrots. In this land of carrot, I live with my beloved Corsten family. They’re a really nice swiss Family. This family life with puctuality all the time, highly hygine everywhere, lot of perfection, tidy scedule for every member of family, and so on. They’re the real image of swiss family. I think I’m lucky to be with them, they always amazed me on how they life. Hopefully when I come back home I won’t be late to go to school anymore.

I have my school in Kanton Schule Wohlen. That was the place where I got a warm welcoming from my classmatte, as I said before. There are 22 students in my class, and here in Switzerland we have a permanent class member for the whole year.

I was really worried about my first day of school. Because its just like a public secret that swiss people is really quiet, some of them even said that they’re cold and hard person. Especially to new people. They will staring at you, they won’t be speak to you, you’ll be alone, you’ll get lost in the scholl, don’t know the scedule and don’t know where to go. All those stupid thingking was lead me nervous and panic in my head before my first day of school.

But then, see what I found! I found a story of a bottle of Rivella.

I know, it’s easy and cheap to buy a bottle of that Swiss drink. But I found an expensive detail of it. It’s about how the give a special respect for me, the new comer, the stranger from another part of the world. This respect, is the most precious one. Because money can’t buy it. And you can’t ask for it, when you ask for it, then it’s a request.

“Hastin, do you have a plan for next Friday?”

“Not Yet, why?”

“You can come to my house, then we can bake some muffin together!”

Then this short but sweet conversation happened two days after my first day of school.

Rivella and Muffin. Two little sweet things from my little life in this little sweet country.

So, is it true that Swiss people is quiet?

Yes. I found that mostly of them will better be silent than make a conversation of a paltry topic. I think it’s not bad at all, because then if they ask “how are you?” it means that they really want to know how’s your life. They won’t ask just for lead an unimportant conversation. Somehow it’s make life easier, because we life with a pure people. Not all of Swiss, but I think mostly of them.

Saveral days later I found the reason why are they so welcome to me, they said “because you are different. We’re quite and ‘cold’ but you bring us a warm friendship. And thats why we like you”

So? Why bothering of our difference? Who knows it might be your power.

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