Hi

Hello, random people reading this blog. My name is Alexandra DeCarlo, and as you can probably tell, I am in Switzerland for a study abroad English Literature class. I am a Gatton Academy rising senior and love exploring, so this is a lot of fun. I am not and English major (or going to be such), but I love reading. I also enjoy hiking. Mostly I just hike at Cumberland Falls, which is close to my home town of London, Kentucky. Today we did real hiking up a mountain. I was beautiful, at least in the beginning. We were hiking up and climbing on tall rocks off the path. Unfortunately, it soon started to mist over. It got the point that the people behind me seemed to disappear into the mist, like something from a horror movie. This was fairly effiective, because we were visiting the area we studied in the novel Where the Mountain Fell. This is based on a time when part of the mountain fell, killing all of the people in that area.

In all, the way up took around four hours, including a short break for hot chocolate and for food. The way back took around two hours, and we took the road down. When we started back, it started to hail. This irritated all of us. Everyone was cold and wet, and most of us were wearing shorts. This lasted a very short period. The mist continued on for a while before it too disappeared to leave us to travel in the sun and take off our coats. Over all, it was a wonderful experience, and I was able to take a lot of pictures, some of which will be posted eventually.

So far, one of the main things I have noticed here is how clean Switzerland is. There is no trash littering the railways or streets. Even the construction areas are in their own place, not spreading everywhere. There are fountains located all over, and you can drink out of them. A picture will be posted later. Because Switzerland is very clean, people have to keep it that way, in such ways as not wearing outdoor shoes into the house and keeping things organized.

French is the main language spoken here, so I don't really understand what is being said. Also, something cool about the particular area(Gryon) we are staying is that everything closes from 12 to 2:30 so everyone can go to their homes for lunch. Food here is fairly expensive, so eating out is not something I would do here. Mostly we just cook and eat what we but at the grocery store. It is simpler food, but delicious.