hi everyone!
I know this may be unconventional but I figured I’d take advantage of my ability to post on the EduBlog already, and I’m not sure if anyone will actually see this since you’re all graduated and entering the adulting life (congrats, by the way!) but I’m going to ask anyway . Anyway, my name is Amelia, and I will be student teaching in Zurich this fall. As I’m reading through everyone’s posts I just find myself with a million questions that I feel like only those who have gone through this experience can truly answer. That being said I have a few questions for y’all and some specific ones for those who went to Zurich.
Everyone:
1. Did you experience culture shock, and if so how did you deal with it?
2. Did you save up enough spending money? What did you find yourself spending the most of your own money on?
3.what was the most rewarding moment you had while student teaching?
4. What kind of schools supplies to you recommend bringing (if any), aside from pens/pencils, laptops, papers, and a binder?
5. Is there anything you wish you had brought but didn’t?
6. Is there anything you brought but wish you hadn’t?
7. Any packing tips?
Zurich teachers:
1. What do the teachers there wear? Is it business casual like many of our schools, more casual, or more formally business attire?
2. I know Zurich is expensive, but how expensive is expensive? Did you bring enough spending money/ how much would you recommend bringing?
3. Were you able to travel to school on foot or did you have to take public transport? If you had to take public transport how expensive was it?
4. For the meals your host families didn’t provide, did you go to the local grocery store and prepare them yourself? Also, what foods would you recommend?
5. What are the students like in comparison to American students? What are their relationships with teachers like?
heyy, so most of the questions you asked were answered but one thing I would like to add is about the spending money and the packing. I paid for everything myself and found that it was extremely hard to keep spending money without being able to work for such a long period of time. Go into this adventure as if it is a long vacation and you will only have this opportunity once. Don’t focus on how much you spend or add it up at the end ( it’ll bring you down). Your host family provides you most of the food but you’ll end up going to the grocery store to get snacks and stuff you like. Everyone speaks english and getting around is super easy. For packing I ended up paying to bring another large bag. this is totally not necessary but it was much easier to pack for the trip home having that extra space. I would also recommend bringing a really large back pack. when you travel to other places a backpack is much easier to lug around then a carry on (especially on cobble streets). hope this was helpful. have fun
Hello, I just got back from teaching in Zurich, it was such an amazing experience. The teachers normally wear jeans everyday, it was pretty casual. However, I did bring dress pants and wore those as well. Zurich is very expensive, for example if I were to buy a drink out at dinner, it would be 20 Swiss Franc. I brought about 1,000 Swiss Franc for spending money, and it was more than enough. I would recommend bringing 500 Franc of spending money to start, and then you can always stop at an ATM if you find that you need more spending money. I also brought 150 Euros before I left, because I ended up traveling in other European countries. I took the bus to school everyday, a monthly pass was 91 Franc. For lunch, my host family was kind enough to give us left overs for dinner. The food is pretty good in Switzerland, I would recommend trying the fondue at least once, and the chocolate of course! The students were similar to those in the U.S. and so were the teachers. My teacher and Makaila’s teacher were both from the United States. She was extremely helpful, and made me feel welcomed in the classroom. Hope this helped, enjoy your time in Zurich!
this was super helpful! thank you so much, and welcome back 🙂
1. Did you experience culture shock, and if so how did you deal with it?
I traveled to Ecuador for my student teaching, so my experience will be very different. I felt I had done a lot of research on the country and talked to other students who had traveled there so I felt I knew what I was getting in to. It’s good you are asking questions, talk to as many people as you can who went abroad. At first I didn’t think I felt culture shock, but as I was writing this response I realized that yeah, I guess I did feel it. I never felt depressed or homesick, but there were South American cultural things I had to adjust to. Examples include the language barrier, lack of internet, lack of good coffee, not being able to flush toilet paper in the toilet, always having to be aware of my surroundings and watch for pickpockets, the pollution, fruit that looks good but tastes terrible, and feeling like I’m going to die any time I get in a taxi (crazy drivers). It was fun though and every day was an adventure. You will find similar and different experiences in any country in the world. As challenging as some things were I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was a great experience!
2. Did you save up enough spending money? What did you find yourself spending the most of your own money on?
I saved a ton of money because I knew I wanted to travel on the weekends and my mom and I were planning a trip to the Galapagos, which is extremely expensive. I also applied for scholarships through the Study Abroad office and through external resources. I won 2 scholarships to help pay for my trip. BSU Study Abroad has money that they can’t give away because people think, “Oh, I’ll never get a scholarship,” and are not applying for them. Just apply! (I’m not sure what the deadline for scholarships are, but check their website.) Not including the Galapagos I spent around $1,000. Mostly travel related expenses, hostels, bus tickets, entrance fees, food, taxis, guide fees, tips, souvenirs for family and friends, and lunch money at school.
3. What was the most rewarding moment you had while student teaching?
Getting to know the kids and their response when I told them I was leaving.
4. What kind of schools supplies to you recommend bringing (if any), aside from pens/pencils, laptops, papers, and a binder?
My teacher’s classroom was very bare. She didn’t have typical things like a stapler, hole punch, paper cutter, pencil sharpener, or paper clips. I think this was more of a reflection on her because she never bought or asked for them, other teachers had them. I usually had to go to the library to do any sort of organizing for my binder and use their supplies. I would definitely bring whiteboard markers though, give them as a gift to your teacher lol.
5. Is there anything you wish you had brought but didn’t?
My suitcase was so full – I had to take a couple things out that I really regretted later. I did a lot more outdoors type travel and I regretted taking out my binoculars and flashlight. I also took out my travel mug, which really made me mad because I had to buy a new one once I got there. Our school has several coffee stations with free coffee and tea and I was always drinking coffee. Bring a raincoat and umbrella. I’m not sure how expensive things are in Europe, but bring enough toiletries so that you don’t have to purchase them again. In Ecuador shaving cream was $9.50 and a bag of pretzels was $7! Also, bring a water bottle.
6. Is there anything you brought but wish you hadn’t?
I brought too many clothes. It was hard to know what to bring, I was packing dressy school clothes, but also casual weekend clothes, and stuff to trek through the mud with. I did laundry every week and ended up not wearing several of the outfits I brought.
Thank you so so much for your reply. I know we’re going to vastly different countries, but any advice I can get is appreciated and you’re answers were really thorough, so again, thank you! 🙂