EPFL Exchange Part 3: Making the Most of Switzerland
Funny that I finished Part 3 before Parts 1 and 2.
After taking several trips with my Canadian-German group, I decided to branch out on my own. I determined that:
- Four was the ideal group size, but we were much larger. It got too cumbersome to coordinate everyone.
- They travelled slower than I would have liked.
- I enjoy physical activities like hiking, while they prefer museums, sit-down restaurants, and spending evenings at the bar.
As November came around, I wanted to make the most of my remaining time in Switzerland. Here is my final Switzerland blog.
Switzerland Highlights
Oeschinensee
This was the most insane hike I’ve done. The hike itself was great, but the shenanigans at the end were unforgettable!
It’s a long story of how we got six/eight of us together for the hike. I met a biking friend who also studies at Waterloo while we were both interning in California. He was on exchange at Delft and stayed over at my place this weekend. His friend, an intern in Geneva, joined us too. To split a Swiss train pass for four youths, I found another Canadian friend to join. I met him through the UNIL campus tour, which I almost skipped because UNIL is not my university and I was still sleepy from jet lag at the time. At Lausanne station, he ran into a Singaporian he knew from his home school (Simon Fraser University) plus her friend from China, who happened to both be going to Oeschinensee on the same train as us!
Communicating was a bit awkward: the Chinese student didn’t speak English and the SFU guy didn’t speak Mandarin. The other SFU student, a Tamil-Singaporean girl fluent in both (Singlish and Mandarin), acted as our translator. My Delft friend and I weren’t fluent enough to express complex ideas in Chinese, and the Genevan intern had the same issue in English. So we stumbled on thus.
The train ride was 2.5 hours from Lausanne so it was 11h00 by the time we arrived. It was a comfortable forest hike to the lake where we ate lunch. One guy even went for a plunge in the cold Oeschinensee! Then the rocky dirt trails began. We rose high into the barren mountain and began to feel the heat. We went from winter jackets to shorts and t-shirts—it was summer in November.
The Chinese and the Singaporean students told us about student life in their countries. Students there gamed a lot, and they were surprised that none of the three Canadians did. What did they expect from the three biggest hikers in the group? 😂 I think we are an exception, though. I often hear my classmates talk about League of Legends, and it’s a well-known stereotype among Waterloo CS students. So, what do the three of us do with our spare time? We don’t really watch movies or use social media. Well—the SFU guy and I write daily diary entries, and he even draws and makes collages out of them! My Waterloo friend and I spend our weekends biking together in the countryside. The Chinese guy couldn’t imagine living such a life. He felt lonely in Switzerland because there were so few people. He needed to see people out and about to feel comfortable. This just isn’t the place for him. I’m the complete opposite: I get overwhelmed by crowds and love nothing more than relaxing in nature.
At some point, I mentioned it was unfortunate that Computer Science pays so poorly in China. They clarified that the bigger problem was its low social status. How so? In America, the software industry—and especially the quantitative trading industry—is highly prestigious. In the Greater Toronto Area, all the ambitious parents send their kids to study CS. But they explained that in China, everyone needs doctors when they get sick and teachers for their children’s education. But as a technical person, you have no favours to offer and will have a harder time making connections in society. This problem had never crossed my mind. It never occurred to me how important connections were because, growing up, I had virtually none.
I think back to a situation years ago: a University of Toronto Chemistry professor sent me an email inquiry about programming contest lessons for his son. I replied that I had time and he pulled in his son’s email to get us in touch. The son never replied and I wasn’t looking for more students, so I didn’t bother following up. My friend said I wasted a chance to network with a professor, but I was just annoyed that there was no follow-up and found it pretentious that he reached out with his university email and signed with Dr. [Name]. Perhaps I ‘ought to manage my relationships differently from now on…
The way down
The Shenanigans
On the way down in the dark, two of us split off from the group to help an old drunk couple. The woman could be guided down, but I had to carry the man by my side. At first, I thought they were just tired and old, but I soon smelled beer, and the woman confirmed that the man drunk too much. The pair thanked us for helping them, but the man kept falling and telling me he was alright, despite nearly falling off the cliff several times. He was Alsatian and despite me making it clear that I did not understand German, he was so drunk that he kept switching between French and German anyway. At some point, he shit his pants. Thankfully I was not able to smell it.
Two hours later, we made it down, but to our shock, the man was planning to drive them home even though the woman protested that he was too drunk. He wandered into a farm looking for his car, so I don’t know how was he going to drive straight. He offered the two of us a ride, but there was no way we were going to accept. They gave us a warm thanks and farewell before they parted. I let the police know their license plate and their destination in case they could be stopped before causing an accident. The car drove off straight, so perhaps they made it home safely—go figure.
I’m so glad I had my new friend with me. I was tired from carrying the drunkard and couldn’t think straight, so he had to reassure me in addition to the two drunkards. While all this unfolded, the others took beautiful pictures of the stars 🥺
Lucerne
This was an overnight ESN trip. We did a scavenger hunt in the city, went to the transport museum, were served bad mac ‘n cheese at a restaurant, and went to a bar on the first day. The second day, we took a ferry to Rigi Kulm and went for a short hike. Rigi was incredibly beautiful, but I was indifferent to the rest of the trip. A day trip to Lucerne would have sufficed. Perhaps three day trips, as I would have liked to hike Mount Pilatus and Titlus too. It’s just not worth the cost of overnight stays in Switzerland. I wouldn’t be out and about a whole day anyway, so a few hours on the train to rest is fine. This is assuming I’d split a Swiss train day pass with four youths, which comes out to 20 CHF per person.
The train up to Rigi Kulm
A radial rainbow
The final stretch to Rigi Kulm
Sunset on Lake Lucerne
The most luxurious public transit ferry I’ve been on
Les Gorges de l’Areuse
This was a small ESN day trip. We took the train up the Travers Valley via Neuchâtel and walked down toward Boudry. It was cloudy and the trail was boring at first, but soon we dipped into the gorge and got to enjoy the water and rocks. It felt cozy walking in single file, contained within the two sides of the gorge. I listened to the water and chatted with the people directly in front of and behind me.
My Canadian and German friends were away, so I joined a new group this day! We consisted of one Marathi-American, one North Indian, one Japanese, one French, one Chinese-Canadian, and me (a Canadian). As you might guess, communication was challenging.
- I had a hard time understanding the Japanese girl. Her grammar and accent were alright, but after I parsed her words, I still had to figure out the significance of what she said. I often didn’t know why she was telling me something or how to respond. I haven’t faced this problem with anyone else.
- The others struggled with the Indian guy’s accent. He told me he believed the British accent was hard to learn, while the American and Indian accents were easy. I agreed but pointed out that it depends on what you grow up hearing rather than the accents themselves. He then asked why I had no trouble understanding Indian English. Well—guess what? I grew up listening to Indian English too! 🤣
- The Lyonnaise was silent. She’d look at us while we talked, but an hour after we met, she still hadn’t spoken a word. Occasionally, someone would ask her a question, and she’d take a while to think of a short answer. I told her she could respond in French, and I’d help with translation. That worked better, but she still didn’t talk much. As we walked through a single-file path, I asked her a question in French. She responded instantly and elaborately, leaving me to keep up with her pace. It was more entertaining now that I was the one doing the listening rather than the talking 🙃
Luckily, talking fast wasn’t important for us. We were quiet and in the mood to relax. The long, gradual descent gave us plenty of time to wait for inspiration for conversation.
The Lyonnaise lives in the same dormitory as me. She once asked me a question as we entered the elevator. It wasn’t until we exited that I gave my reply… So yeah, I really can’t speak French.
Walking to calm river sounds
Ponies
We took a different train back to Neuchâtel and got a tour with an ESN Neuchâtel volunteer. There was nothing special about the town. As I’ve said before, once you’ve seen one medieval Swiss town, you’ve seen them all. The rocks by the lake were fun, though.
Creux du Van
I researched nearby hikes and was intrigued by the hollow rock formation at Creux du Van. All the photos I’ve seen were taken in summer, but I was determined to experience it in winter.
I was joined by a friend from Southwestern China where it never snows below the mountains. One snowy day in Lausanne had brought a brief mid-morning snowfall that all but melted by evening. Unfortunately she had work to do, so she missed the only snow day we had. Luckily for her, Creux du Van is nestled in the mountains of the remote Travers Valley, so there would be plenty of untouched snow awaiting!
The path up the rock formation
A donkey outside the pen 🤔
The valley’s humidity was at 85%, making the 4°C temperature feel much colder. The dampness also affected the snow’s behaviour: the higher we climbed, the more the snow clung to branches. This was incredibly pretty—the only similar sight I’ve seen was in Toronto’s Don Valley after a fresh snow on Christmas Day, 2020. By the time we reached the top, above the clouds, the ice formed radial crystals around branches! What a sight! My friend turned into a complete child—she shook snow off the tree branches, had a snowball flight, made snow angels, and slid downhill on her snow pants as though sledding 🤣. And I take snow for granted every winter.
Ice crystals on a branch 
Snow sticking to the trees 
The Travers Valley in the background 
It was scary not being able to see the depth of the basin under the clouds
This was the most beautiful hike I’ve done, thanks to the snow and low clouds! I’m so envious that the Neuchâtelois get such beautiful snow all winter whereas I’ve been waiting four years for another perfect snow day back home. The more I explore Switzerland, the more I want to stay here 😩. On the way down, we lamented that our exchanges were coming to an end. How could we return to normal life after this?
“Where are you from from?”
We caught the train down to Neuchâtel and ate at an Indian restaurant. As we left, an old waiter asked in Indian English, “so where are you from?” I said Canada and she said China. He asked again, so I repeated “Canada.” “That’s not what I mean; I am Swiss citizen [sic] but born in India, so I am Indian. So where is your origin?” I briefly considered responding “I am from Brampton, Ontario”1 in a thick Punjabi accent—which would have been hilarious2—but I saw what he was asking for and just said China. Now he was satisfied (for the record, I was born and raised in Canada). My friend and I had a good laugh after we left. If the waiter could hear my foreign accent in Chinese, he’d reconsider 🙃. That being said, we talked to each other in Chinese, so it mades sense that he’d think I’m also from China. For the longest time, however, the girl and I talked in English. This was the default option as everyone spoke English at the international student events; it was only after discovering that she’s more talkative in Chinese that we switched over.
At the start of the semester, I’d introduce myself as being born in Canada with parents from China. By the end of the semester, I had gotten used to just saying I’m Canadian. On a later trip, I asked to join a group of international students of Augsberg University at a hostel. One was Chinese and asked me in Mandarin if I considered myself to be Chinese or Canadian. I believe I gave him an accurate response: at home, my family life is Chinese; but outside, I speak English and am thoroughly Canadian. Anyway, what really matters is figuring out how to get the Renens kebab guys to call me habibi 🥺
My punchline this semester was when a European insisted that an Iranian looked Canadian. I interjected with, “he doesn’t look Canadian at all (he really didn’t); I’m what a true Canadian looks like!” 🤣
Other photos from various hikes
I tracked most of these on Strava.
Les Rochers de Naye
Very steep and would not do if wet! The max grade was 116%, which means a 1.16m rise for every 1m forward. Hiked up and caught the last vernicular down. I would not want to hike down such terrain.
Yes, this means exactly what you think it means
View along the length of Lake Léman 
Drainage divide between the Rhône and Rhine basins
Le Chemin du Vignoble
Walking from les Pléiades to les Avants
Planned to just circle around les Pléiades, but saw a sign with directions to our destination, Montreux. Picked a path through trails and side roads to the funicular station at les Avants, but had no idea how long it would take. Google Maps said two hours but we took four and a half. The last half hour of the hike was in darkness and we arrived in Montreux in time for the last Flying Santa run of the night.
A little backcountry
More
My only regret is not going to Zermatt 😭
Bidding Farewell
Farewell is a heavy word in English. It’s used to part with someone, uncertain if you’d ever meet again. I didn’t have to bid the Canadians farewell, knowing I’d meet them again. But the others didn’t like saying farewell. One said, “don’t say ‘Lebewohl!’—it’s as though we’ll never see each other again!” Very well then, ce n’est qu’un au revoir.3 Yes, we did sing Auld Lang Syne4.
We bought Swiss flags to get them signed by each other! This has been our EPFL F24 Fall (mostly) Canadian-German exchange group.
A final group photo 
Flag signing 
My flag
Here may it wave, our boast, our pride,
And joined in love together,
The thrisle, shamrock, rose entwine,
The Maple Leaf Forever!
Having a bit more fun
Now that all my projects were done, I went on a week-long trip to Provence to enjoy the warm weather!
I came back to Lausanne to find it still sunny in December. The Europeans had gone home for Christmas and many more were skiing or travelling, so there were only four of us left. We celebrated with a Christmas dinner.
The best Lavaux red wine I’ve ever had
The following morning, I checked out of my apartment and left for Milan.
Reflections
Food
I’ve only eaten out at restaurants four times in Switzerland! It’s just too expensive and the food’s too bland. My cooking is also bland, but I expect to enjoy more flavour when I eat out. Plus, the produce here is incredibly fresh. There’s a grocery store right in my dormitory so it’s faster for me to buy some vegetables to cook up than to get fast food.
The People
I’ve gotten to know Chinese people a lot better. It’s odd that I haven’t thus far in my life, as there are a ton of internationals and first-generation Chinese at Waterloo. I do talk to a lot of internationals in Waterloo, but perhaps it’s due to the language barrier that I’ve only been with the Indians and Germans who are all fluent in English.
As for the locals 😅—I met a ton of friendly Swiss at the ESN events and from my buddy group, but other than the guy who exchanged in Waterloo and wants to move to Toronto, I didn’t get to spend much time with them.
Seeing myself living in Lausanne
That being said, I was able to carry out my daily communication in French. Outside of the university, people generally didn’t speak English. Being able to converse with the locals makes life run smoother. Serenity is exactly how I would describe my life in Lausanne. Hakuna Matata 🦁
It would be so nice to retire in Switzerland 🥹. But practically speaking, there are more affordable places.
Future Goals
Will I try to get my French DELF B2? I don’t enjoy studying French. I only chose it in high school as the most useful among useless courses. Had I not done this exchange, French would indeed have been useless to me. I suppose knowing more languages makes you seem more cultured—perhaps that’s what my high school classmates had in mind.
I do, however, want to learn more German! I keep encountering German people, German history, and German music (see my Germany trip). I took German 101 at Waterloo with my roommate and had a blast. It was a sixth course (an extra on top of my normal course load) that made my semester so much more enjoyable. It’s just such a fun language!
I’ve had French-Chinese and Singapore-Chinese mock my accent too many times. I’m not in any rush to fix my accent (or perhaps it’s too late for that), but if I go on a second exchange to China, I’ll need to improve, as there won’t be many international students around.
I’m worried that I won’t enjoy hiking in America as much now that I’ve seen Switzerland. The bigger problem is that if I settle in NYC after graduating, I’ll be far from any mountains.
I will, however, do more weekend trips by plane! I’ve gotten good at travelling fast and light. There’s a small airport in Waterloo operated by a budget airline. They fly to Vancouver, Halifax, Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and in the past, Las Vegas. The risk is that they cancel underfilled flights (with advance notice), which is fine for flexible weekend trips. The worst is when they cancel Christmas flights due to weather—then you’re stuck in Waterloo unless you’re willing to pay a thousand dollars elsewhere for a last-minute flight.
Thanks to my exchange semester, I’ve become more open to meeting new people, especially foreigners. I plan on joining the Waterloo exchange student events even though they’re nowhere near as developed as ESN. This semester was also a great opportunity to experience different kinds of people. In my freshman year, I was reading one of Paul Graham’s blogs5:
I think the best test is one Gino Lee taught me: to try to do things that would make your friends say wow. But it probably wouldn’t start to work properly till about age 22, because most people haven’t had a big enough sample to pick friends from before then.
Elsewhere in Graham’s blogs, he wrote on the importance of raising children in cities to expose them to more of the world and the usual point of university as a place to meet people from all around the country. I am 21 years old and I agree that I haven’t had much exposure to people. Waterloo is a software engineer factory and the Bay Area is where they all go. The tech people I’ve met generally have similar backgrounds and lifestyle—so much so that I’ve seen more variety in my high school than at university and work. In fact, a majority of my high school classmates didn’t go to university.
It was nice being around others for a change. I now have a clearer idea of what kinds of friends I want. New York City is the perfect place to continue this adventure—far better than being in a sea of software engineers in Seattle or the Bay Area!6 😂
Footnotes
In Brampton, Ontario, some ridings are more than 60% Punjabi! ↩︎
If I had been drunk, I’d have hit him with the tunak tunak tun (the waiter was not Punjabi though 🤫) ↩︎
“‘Tis but a goodbye” or “‘Tis not a farewell.” This “goodbye” literally means “until we see (each other) again,” which is to say that this is not a farewell. See the Auld Lang Syne link for the song by the same name. ↩︎
Interesting that none of the Germans knew this song, some of the Canadians did, and all the Chinese I’ve met did. ↩︎
Check out this guy’s incredible life! He first went to university for philosophy before switching to functional programming. He dropped out of his PhD to study fine arts and painting in Florence, finally coming back to work in the nascent tech scene of the 90s! ↩︎
Although—aside from a few low-rise condos, San Mateo hasn’t gentrified. It’s still a suburb of local families. I found myself at peace while living there. ↩︎