After 12 hours of a car ride, two planes, and a train, I have arrived in Zurich! Even after just a few days, I have found Zurich to be a very picturesque, charming city. Shortly after settling in, my fellow students and I ventured out around town. We walked down cobblestone streets to a park with a panoramic view of the city (pictured below). In the distance you can see GrossmĆ¼nster Cathedral. You can actually climb the towers and see great views of the surrounding city. Finally, we all enjoyed a celebratory kick-off dinner with traditional Swiss food to start the program!
Even after being here for just 2 days, I can tell this program is going to open my eyes to a lot of new ideas. On day 1, we visited mobile Health AG, a startup company aiming to use digital health as a platform to consolidate all patient information, including symptoms, health-related visits, medications, etc. onto one app. Currently, they aim to help cancer patients improve patient outcomes, and they hope to expand the patient population eventually.
My overarching goals for the trip are to make connections with locals and lecturers and to act like a sponge throughout the entire experience. I want to soak up all of the information I possible can and to have an open mind while doing so. I’m doing my best to go into this trip with no expectations. Like I said in my introduction post, I really want to study and/or work abroad after I graduate, so I hope to learn a little bit of German and French, try new foods that are popular in town, and live like locals when possible! I can tell I’m already becoming acclimated to some customs.
The people in Zurich have been so welcoming and kind. The streets are crowded with cafe goers and bikes. I am blown away by how efficient and popular the public transportation is here; there are sensors on every corner so that you never sit at a red light for no reason. Many Swiss buy a “Swiss Pass” each year that gives them free transportation on buses and trams as well as half priced tickets on trains for the whole calendar year. If only the Port Authority worked as well as the public transport here!
Another thing that sticks out to me is breakfast…I’m used to pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit from all over the world, and more at a hotel. Unsurprisingly, the offerings here are a little bit different. A popular menu item is cold cut meats and cheese, so for breakfast, I had salami and brie with honey drizzled on top. I think I could get used to this! Of course they also had a spread of yogurt, croissants with Nutella, and coffee.
I’m looking forward to visiting the Nursing Institute at Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Winterthur tomorrow! Below are a few more photos from my first day in Zurich.
