I was in Switzerland from May 1st to May 14th.

An obstacle I faced when beginning my program was navigating the transportation system in Switzerland. It was very different from the layout in Pittsburgh with the Port Authority. In Switzerland, there were many systems of transportation such as buses, trams, and trains. As soon as I got out of the airport, I had to travel by train to get to a hotel in Zurich to meet my classmates. I went to the train ticket station while on FaceTime with my friend who had bought train tickets before, which helped me figure out where to access tickets and how to get to the right station. After getting on the train, I was very confused about when to get off the train, and I was worried that I was going in the wrong direction until the loudspeaker said that the next stop was Zurich. 

To prevent the same situation from happening again, I made sure to download an app called SBB Mobile, which showed me different routes to take to get to a destination, including the times that buses and trains arrived. I used this app to get around different cities in Switzerland when I happened to be alone or had to help my group of friends get home. This app was very useful since they had options to buy tickets straight from the app, and the times that trains and buses arrived were very exact.

Some similarities I found in the way I navigate daily routines are that I take long walks every day in Switzerland. I enjoyed taking long walks on hiking trails or around my neighborhood every morning. Turning off my brain and listening to a podcast while enjoying a nice view is my way of unwinding and relaxing. During my study abroad experience, I was able to listen to podcasts and take walks in different scenery. I would walk along the river in Basel and explore the fantastical old town of Zurich, which allowed me to maintain my usual routine. Some differences in my daily routine included how fast-paced and busy my routine was when studying abroad. Since finishing finals and starting my summer, I have spent most of my days back at home hanging out with my friends and visiting my family. However, my days in Switzerland were packed with visits to hospitals, clinics, and presentations. These visits were enriching, and I loved engaging in all of the different activities we participated in, but they were also very exhausting. Although two weeks seems like a short period of time to study abroad, it was a perfect amount of time as my days were filled with back-to-back activities that would have gotten overwhelming if the program was any longer.

My favorite experience throughout the entire program has been my visit to the Janus Heroin Treatment Center. In Switzerland, medical-grade heroin is administered to individuals who have a dependency on the substance so that they are able to resume their normal lives, minimize the effects of withdrawal, and decrease instances of overdose from street drugs. I visited a facility that administers this treatment, and I was able to ask many questions regarding Switzerland’s unique practices. I was also given a presentation on Switzerland’s harm reduction-focused medical system as well as a tour of the facility.