Swiss Students In NYC

American and the Swiss Students posing in front of the Wall Street Bull.

Surely you noticed the temporary addition of European teenagers walking down the hallways with our own students and speaking in a foreign language last week. Those were the highly anticipated Swiss exchange students.

In keeping with our school’s international mission, we recently hosted Swiss exchange students from Kantonsschule Im Lee High School from Winterthur, Switzerland.  While here, the exchange students were able to experience a different culture as they shadowed their host students in school, traveled into the city, and stayed in their new homes from October 13th to the 24th.

Unlike the varying ages in the United States, the driving age in Switzerland is 18.

“The driving age in Switzerland is 18. To drive a tractor or a moped the age is 14. The younger kids always go fast on the mopeds, and its quite funny,” said Swiss student Vanessa Romanescu.

So what language were they speaking? Switzerland has four official languages, German, French, Italian, and Romansh. German and French are the two most dominant languages spoken in Switzerland. Romansh is spoken primarily in the villages and in the mountains. Swiss people have their own dialect of German, which is referred to as Swiss German.

They listen, however, to about the same type of music that we do. The music in Switzerland is the same as in America.

“We have the same music as Americans but we also have German music. The Swiss rap is different. They [artists] rap in Swiss German or French,” said Swiss exchange student Dominique Peter.

The educational system in Switzerland is much different from the United States. Children start kindergarten at about 5 years old. The primary schools last up until the 6th grade. After the students finish primary school, they have the option of going to secondary school for 3 years and then move onto an apprenticeship.

An apprenticeship is when the students go to school for two days out of the week and work the other three days. Another option that students have is to take an admissions exam to get into a specialized high school, which will allow you to study at any university in Switzerland.

Students in Stock Exchange Plaza posing for a group picture.

When the Swiss students first arrived, one of the first questions was about the drinking age?

“The drinking age in Switzerland is 16 if you want to drink beer, cider or wine. If you want to drink liquor like vodka, then you have to be 18,” said Dominique Peter.

Midweek, during their visit, the American and Swiss students saw The Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theater on West 44th Street.

“My favorite part of the play was the costumes and the acting, as well as the heart wrenching ending, which was unexpected. The most fun part of the night was being able to see the play with the Swiss, which made it a great bonding experience,” said junior Paulina Plata.

However, not all students agreed.

“I thought the play was really great and the effects were too. But I would’ve rather gone to a real musical because this one was more opera then singing” said Swiss student Jasmin Odermatt.

Before our Swiss guests left, the Americans threw a farewell potluck dinner. Before everyone started to eat, Principal Aimee Horowitz spoke about the exchange and thanked the teachers for organizing this event. Each American student presented his or her exchange student with a school bag containing a journalism water bottle inside.

Overall, the Swiss students seemed to enjoy their immersion into American culture as they practiced their English skills and lived with families on the Island.

Let’s hope the American host students, who are going to Switzerland in April have as much fun.  Even with the language barrier.

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