A New Host Familie

A new host family, a new town… a fast train!



My new host family, as all of them have been, is wonderful. From what I can tell it will be a good 3 months. But I am guessing 3 months will be the perfect time with them. I still the oldest reigning over 3 younger siblings.

Lisa - Age 9

Max - Age 6

Felix - Age 3

And then I have my two hostparents Vrenni (Franny) and Peter.




I have not met my host father yet, well, since I moved in, but the host mom is great. She will speak her mind, likes bagels, and is fun to be around. Lisa is one sweet older/little sister, plays the violin, and likes the color red. Max is the rebel of the family, is good at climbing, and has selective hearing when you tell him to go to bed. Felix is the baby of the family, prone to accidents, and as opinionated as any other three-year-old.



This house, well, I would say it is huge! It is quite large... they just built it recently. And I think the highlight for me is my room. To get the room in the first place, I have to walk across a mat, while there is a huge climbing wall right out side my door. Then my room is quite large. Like an apartment. Spacious. High ceilings. All natural wood all over. And a bathroom connected to the room, my own bathroom, with a shower and a orange and green color scheme. I have a large window looking to the mountains and right, right next to our yard is the Dreiwässer Fluss… the Three Water, um, stream. I know Fluss and what it is, but not the translation to English. Anyway, it is quite lovely, quite blue, quite moving, and quite loud… so at night I get to hear it. Pretty much a babbling brook on steroids. And there are the walking paths through some fields also spreading out beyond the Fluss, and so I can do people watching even more.

Part of my room. The door leads to the lovely bathroom..

The fast train! Going from Luzern (the main station that I need to go to get anywhere) to Giswil travels two trains. A fast train and a slow train. The slow train stops in every little village along the way. I used to live in Sachseln, so with that, I could only take the slow train. Therefore requiring 42 minutes for every trip to Luzern. But now, well, I can take the fast or the slow train. As I am in one of the few selected villages along the fast train route. The fast train makes 4 or so stops. So now, it takes me a mere 20 to 25 minutes. It is quite the party. And now I take the train to school each day, with a refreshing view of Lake Sarnen the entire way.



They do speak Swiss German here, but by now that is no problem. I won’t say I understand every word that comes out of their mouths (the same goes for High German), but almost all… or at least enough to get the idee.