Lydia Lutchman

Photo taken by Lydia Lutchman

Being able to study in a different country is an experience that is not easy to forget. More often than not, it will leave you with amazing memories of both the places you’ve visited and the people you’ve met. I have wanted to study abroad since high school, but due to the pandemic, those plans were postponed for the foreseeable future. Luckily in my junior year of college, I was finally able to set foot in the land of fondue, chocolate and reliable public transportation; otherwise known as Switzerland. 

A landlocked country in Central Europe, this magnificent country is known for its beautiful landscapes and snowy mountain peaks, amazing watches and who can forget Heidi, Girl of the Alps. The city where I studied and lived in is Zürich, the financial center of the country, so be prepared to see banks at every corner you turn to and luxury stores that adore the downtown street of Bahnhofstrasse. Nearby Zürich Lake, you can see Grossmünster, Fraumünster and St. Peterskirche, which bears the title of having the largest clock face in all of Europe. Big Ben has nothing on this clock. Since I wanted to explore the country, I opted to get a GA (General Abonnement) travelcard, allowing me to travel an unlimited number of times on their transportation services.

The university has connections to ZHAW Zürich School of Management and Law, which I attended with well taught classes by professionals in the specified fields. Despite taking the classes in English, I picked up on native phrases and had interactions with many locals who knew English, making the language barrier not an issue. However, I still wanted to immerse myself into the official language, German but an official language does not always mean primary spoken language, in this case Swiss-German, which shares some similarities to German but sounds completely different as it follows its own rules and has various dialects. I got by with a mixture of Swiss German, for example “Grüezi” (hello) and German, “Dànke” (thanks.)

One tip I have for those that would want to embark on this journey would be to plan ahead. Figure out which country you would want to go to and consider all the factors in making your final decision. After all, this is where you will be living and studying for the next couple of months. Look at housing options: is the school you intend on going to have on-campus housing or are there student dormitories available for rent? Look into how the transportation works: if you must commute to school or simply if you want to visit different cities.

I personally chose Switzerland because it was culturally diverse with four national languages and high education standards, but my final decision came down to the fact that this was one of the safest countries in the world. 

While in Switzerland, I developed a liking for hiking, an activity you would never find me doing had I stayed in New York. One of my fondest memories is hiking up to Oeschinensee, the prettiest lake I have ever seen that is surrounded by the snowcapped Swiss Alps. Almost equally as beautiful was my favorite landmark,  Matterhorn Mountain,  which I visited multiple times. Aside from the gorgeous view, I frequented Matterhorn Mountain because it is the same mountain featured on the Toblerone logo. Since I was a child, my aunt would always gift me one of these chocolates for Christmas and it is something that I always looked forward to during the holiday season. 

Another tip I have is to not wait until the last minute to apply for study abroad scholarships. Immediately start looking at organizations that offer them both inside and outside of the University. Lubin School of Business has an entire section devoted to international resources known as the Global Business Programs. From their resources I was offered the Figueroa Family Scholarship of $3,000 which helped me with living costs in the most expensive city in Europe. 

I can not stress enough how important research and preparation is. While the study abroad department was helpful with certain things, such as health insurance and applying to the school abroad on your behalf, there were a lot of things I had to do myself, such as acquiring a visa. The study abroad department last semester only gave visa workshops for Spain, Italy and France, meaning anyone going to any other country had to figure it out themselves. The momentarily stressful process of accumulating and sending in the documents to the Consulate was all worth it when I finally got to hold my residence permit in my hand. 

Studying abroad was one of the best decisions I have ever made and along with making lifelong friends and amazing memories, I learned a lot about myself and other cultures that made me more knowledgeable of customs other than my own. If you have the option to study abroad, I highly recommend going for it and seeing what’s in store outside of the U.S.