I can’t believe it’s been a month since I went back to Boston. So many things have happened since then, it feels like a lifetime ago. I ran a marathon in Athens (post on that happening soon), did a Central Europe trip, became an unofficial Switzerland tour guide, saw the most beautiful image I’ve ever laid my eyes on, and shared some of the best memories of my study abroad the last two nights.

There’s a lot to unpack and I meant to write a post about my marathon and revisited thoughts on Vienna but I think other things are more pressing on my mind right now.

I wasn’t supposed to leave Switzerland this early. I originally bought a roundtrip flight to Phoenix and as such could come back on December 20 but because the one-way flights to Phoenix are too expensive after that, I decided to take all my stuff with me. Since this was unplanned, I thought I was going to travel light and sleep at the airport in Basel, an hour train ride away from Zürich, because my flight is at 6:45am but instead I had to leave Zürich early this afternoon with 3 suitcases, a backpack, and two gift bags stuffed with chocolate and honey and teas. This has been the cause of a lot of stress for me because I didn’t know how I, with two hands, could lug three massive suitcases. The trip from my dorm to Basel airport looks like this:

Dorm -> Zürich HB (main station) -> Basel HB -> Basel EuroAirport

There’s a lot of transfers which means a lot of figuring out how to lug suitcases. Fortunately, I have some amazing friends in Zürich (more to come in a different post), and one helped me carry my suitcases onto the train at Zürich. Then came the hardest part, disembarking at Basel HB and getting to the Uber pickup. I used my belt to leash 2 suitcases together but even that took a lot of effort and made navigating harder. Basel HB is tiny and I’ve previously taken 5 minutes to get off a train and get to the front of the station but I took 5 minutes just moving each suitcase up the first elevator. On the second elevator, a kind man with a baby stroller saw me struggling with my suitcases and offered to help. He then even led me to the Uber pickup spot across the street. I felt so lucky because the Swiss are usually not that nice. He told me he’d lived in the city for 10 years now and was originally from Aarau and assured me he was not in a rush. I can’t believe I was lucky enough to meet him. Then the Uber driver who drove me to my airport hotel was also extremely kind. He rushed out when he saw my 3 suitcases, loaded everything on, and chatted with me about his life in Basel. He’s lived in the city for 22 years now, but he’s originally from Ghana. He works in logistics at a pharma company (Basel is the HQ of Novartis) but that’s not enough to make ends meet so he drives for Uber after work. Basically, the trip has been going smoother than planned and so far I have not lost a luggage yet. My next challenge is getting to the airport tomorrow morning. My flight is at 6:45am and check-in opens at 4:45am but there’s no shuttle from the hotel to the airport that early so I reserved an Uber in advance at 4:15am so hopefully they show up. Another thing is I technically bought basic economy flights which is why my flights were so cheap ($350 roundtrip!) but as a result I’m scared they won’t allow me to check-in my 2 suitcases. I had my parents call American Airlines twice to make sure I could but I’m still super scared they won’t accept them.


That aside, I wanted to use this post to talk about my last week in Zürich. It’s no secret that I dislike the city (read my last posts to learn why). This last week though, I rediscovered the feeling I had in September when I felt like I was falling in love with the country.

I think it started with my friend who’s also studying abroad this semester, albeit in England. She visited me for 3 days so I had to play the tour guide to a country I stayed in for a week total in the last month and a half. I was already super dead because I just got back from a 10-day trip two days before but I summoned up whatever energy I had to take 6am trains around Switzerland. The first day we went to Lucerne, which was underwhelming because of the weather. The next day we were supposed to go paragliding in Interlaken in the morning and see Zermatt in the afternoon. Interlaken weather was terrible too so the activity both of us were most looking forward to didn’t happen. Instead we spontaneously decided to go to Lautenbrunnen and Mürren which was actually really good. I was there more than 2 months ago in the summer but the snow made the village charming. The weather was sort of clear and definitely better than the valley below so my friend finally saw mountains 23 hours after she landed in Switzerland.

After giving up on paragliding in Interlaken, we tried to catch a paragliding in Zermatt at 2pm. However, we got off at the wrong stop twice and didn’t end up getting to Zermatt until after 3pm so we missed another chance at paragliding. The sky was so clear in Zermatt. The town itself was cute but just another touristy resort town. We paid 44CHF each to take the Gornergrat railway both ways at around 4pm. I was originally skeptical of this extremely expensive ride but little did I know that was the start of my return to awe of Switzerland. The sunset started as we were climbing the mountains and I saw the most beautiful views I have ever seen. It wasn’t the Matterhorn that stunned me. It was the snow-capped and rocky black mountains against the backdrop of rolling dunes of snow. It was the sky, this perfect purple-pink-blue and the scattering of clouds at the tips of the peaks. I literally dream this shit. These were the exact things I pictured when I first heard “purple mountain majesties” in elementary school and when I read the ACOTAR series in middle school. When I have trouble falling asleep, I imagine these skies and mountains that soothe me and lure me to slumber. I don’t think I could ever forget what I saw that night. I don’t think I’ll see something that comes close anytime soon. That moment, I started falling in love with Switzerland again.

The déjà vu of these domestic train trips really struck me. I rememembered the adrenaline rush of racing down from my dorm to Zürich HB at 6am to catch the train 10 minutes before it departs. I remember the long talks on train rides with the other kids I met from German classes and the awe we collectively experienced at seeing Switzerland for the first time. I really felt like I was transported to the peak of my study abroad back in September.

The next day we spent in Zürich. At night, we went to a good friend’s birthday dinner. He wanted to cook a huge meal, 4 Chinese dishes, for his birthday so we feasted. Afterwards, we played poker. I had a lot of fun that night. That friendship is probably the most eye-opening one I had in Switzerland. He taught me how to ETH and how to Switzerland. He was a mirror into the world of Chinese Gen Z’s. We went hiking twice, including a 9-hour hike up the mountain behind Oeschinensee (1500m elevation gain if I remember correctly). We both went to our first operas ever together in Zürich. We went to the vigil for the Urümqi fire victims the night after I got back from Budapest. He’s extremely open-minded and one of the people I’m most glad I met this semester.

My last full day in Zürich was more Swiss army knife purchasing and packing. At night though, I went to a friend’s place and cooked dinner for 6 people. I invited everyone I was close to in Zürich. I originally thought we were going to go to a party but I wasn’t feeling the vibe that night so instead I taught them how to play Fish and we ended up staying inside and drinking. People gradually left but three of us stayed up until 7am that night just talking. I love late night talks. We talked about tech and emotional availability and religion and happiness.


Goodbyes are hard. The Americans I know I will see in the future. I’m taking an Asia trip this summer so I’ll see some people then. I can’t say the same for everyone staying in Zürich though, who are also the people I’m closest to and the people most grateful to have met. It’s so weird because I’m so used to saying “see you soon” but I don’t actually know the next time I’ll see them. We say our goodbyes with this glint in our eyes of a hope that one day soon, we will cross paths. I’m sure we will, it’s just a matter of when.


These past two nights are my best memories of Zürich. For once this semester I felt at peace, I felt I had a community, that we’re all trying to figure out our lives because we’re just 20-something-year-old students who have a whole life ahead of ourselves. I’m also so grateful for meeting new people from so many different places. I feel lucky I actually connected to other international students/locals and that I took a step out of my MIT comfort zone. A lot of my friends studying abroad hang out mostly with Americans or other kids from MIT so I’m proud that I’m integrated and vibe a lot with different poeple.

I complain about Zürich a lot and honestly it is nowhere near the top of my favorite places list. The last couple days though have taught me what MIT taught me too: it’s the people that matter the most. That’s why before this week, my favorite memories of Zürich have been the lake swims and the parties and weekend trips. Everyone here has their own story, one that is very different than the ones I’m used to hearing. I am so grateful to have met everyone because I think each in their own way has helped me know myself a little better. I have no regrets studying abroad. If I stayed in Boston, I wouldn’t have grown as much as I did this semester.

Ciao, Schweiz.