Rotary Clubs appoint a couple of the members to be designated support people for the exchange students. A YEO is a Youth Exchange Officer and my Swiss counsellor is as it sounds. These are just some official names for the folks who quickly became like family.
I was due to meet my YEO, Benno and counsellor who is also his wife, Chantal. My host mom told me they wanted to take me on a hike to Schwarzsee. I didn't know what that entailed so I just put on my regular hiking stuff. They came to pick me up from the house and when they stepped out of the car I saw they were dressed so nice. I was a bit confused but I didn't say anything. Off we went to Schwarzee which was beautiful and had a nicely groomed path around the lake. We ended up bumping into the people who are going to be my second host family, the Fasels! They had come to the lake for the kiddos to go swimming. It was a short but sweet interaction and I look forward to getting to know them soon! We proceeded to walk around and I realized it was not much of a hike. It was a misunderstanding on my end art which was fine until we walk up to a super fancy restaurant, the Schwarzsee Stärn. I did not know we were going out for dinner let alone to a 5 star restaurant. I felt super underdressed. My cheeks got rosie and I apologized for my misunderstanding. They laughed and told me not to worry about it. I am really indecisive when it comes to most things and picking what to order at a restaurant is just ridiculous. I also didn't understand everything on the menu so I just closed my eyes, pointed to something and ordered that. It ended up being fish & chips, just about as fancy as my outfit but it was super delicious. We had such a nice dinner and I had a really great time getting to know them. Their son has become one of my good friends here and he was also an exchange student. They have also hosted an exchange student in the past so they know what's up.
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