Story time! I arrived in Switzerland on Monday, September 10th around 1 pm. To me it felt like 7 am. I flew into Zurich, a modern city in Switzerland known for its banking. From my arrival gate, I followed signs towards baggage claim, Tip: The German word for baggage claim is “Gepäckausgabe.” It was extremely easy to follow the signs to the train station, even if you don’t know Swiss. With your luggage in tow, follow signs through Customs and to the train station, or “Bahnhof," which is located underneath the airport. Before you get on the train, be sure to buy a ticket, either at the desk (yes, they speak English!) or at the self-service kiosks. The kiosks do have an option for English as well, so it is pretty self-explanatory. You can also buy a ticket beforehand online at  sbb.ch. as I did, by entering your destination, departure station, date and time. Be sure to pay attention to which ticket you buy, since some include a transfer, while other trains go directly to Basel. Online tickets are often discounted, which in Switzerland, makes a big difference! But enough about tickets… Once you are on your train, I advise you to leave your huge suitcase in the space reserved for luggage, located near the door of the train. Push it to the side so people can still get through, rather than taking it with you to your seat, which I did. If you are worried about the safety of your belongings, sit near the doorway, but it is common that people leave bikes, luggage, and strollers in the entrance rather than taking up seat space inside the train (still face-palming). From Zurich to Basel, it is about an hour train ride, depending on which train you are on. Do your best to stay awake on the train so you don’t miss your stop for Basel!  One of my go-to tips for getting around train stations is to follow the people!... So in this case, follow the people up the stairs to the main corridor lined with shops galore, then down the stairs located below the giant screens. There is a Migros store down there, which one of two huge grocers in Basel.

 

Once you are downstairs, head out the doors and continue straight to where you see a line of tram platforms. It is important to research beforehand which tram can get you as close to your living place as possible, but there are also tram line maps posted if you need guidance. I saved one to my phone so as to always have access to it, whether I had service or not. To buy tram tickets, there are more kiosks (green in color) that you can buy individual tickets from. The trams have assigned numbers for identification and route purposes. There is a screen on the outside of the tram, displaying the previous and next stops, which is how you can determine which direction each tram is going. TIP! My traveling journey went fairly smoothly until I got off the tram. I realized at this moment that I did not have a map to my apartment from the tram stop! I must admit, I wandered around for more than an hour walking in circles, looking for 1) my street or 2) a place with internet. Another tactic I tried was asking people, but the few I asked could only give vague directions. Eventually, I did find a public map that showed where I was and where my destination was. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, I can inform you that train stations always have free internet, as do universities and select hotels. Lesson learned, and I hope you can learn from it too!

 

The most important goal for your arrival day is to get to your living arrangement and begin to create an environment that you consider comfortable and safe. It is advisable to stay awake until at least 8 or 9 p.m. on this day so you easily adjust to the time difference. Once I finally arrived at my room, I was hungry, exhausted, sweating, and cut off from any internet access (I forgot to bring a LAN adapter!). The first thing I decided to do was unpack and change clothes. Next, I ate the snacks I had packed and washed my face off. Taking care of these basic needs was vital to keeping up personal morale. Physically feeling good leads to a clearer head and more rational thought. The first day alone in any new country is fairly stressful, no doubt about it. Life will inevitably throw curveballs, and will challenge you to have confidence in yourself. There was a moment in my room that first day that was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before, and it is a true testimony to how one grows from international travel. I was sitting on the floor in my new room, still feeling dirty and tired, my things scattered around the room as I tried to organize everything, with no ability to contact anyone I knew. It was a moment of strange crossroads. There was a part of me that was freaking out about being alone and lost in a foreign city, but there was also another part that found extreme peace that, in those minutes, I had unprecedented privacy, being disconnected from, well, everything. The remaining part of me decided to make a plan and follow the steps I needed to take to execute it: First to unpack and take care of my physical needs, second to find internet and connect with my family to let them know I arrived safely. This ended up being relatively easy because the University of Basel was only a half block away from where I lived.
 
The first day will be crazy and probably intimidating. Overall, remaining rational and taking things slow is the best recipe for success! Either way, that night you will have one of the best night’s sleep of your life.