A month ago, I quietly turned 24. Since then, I have made a resolution to make my 25th year count, let go of something I shouldn’t have, failed in my third attempt to quit smoking and arrived in Switzerland for a four month exchange program.

Switzerland,  or the little part I have seen, is beautiful with green hills all around and is prohibitively expensive. St. Gallen, the little town my university is located in is so hilly that it has a network of roads and a perpendicular network of steps. The people here must be crazy over plains. Most commercial establishments close by seven, except of course, the ubiquitous night clubs and bars.

It has been two weeks of worrying about how cold it might get, waiting for the resident permit and trying to live frugally.