Cash vs Plastic around the world

 One thing that I always try to research before traveling to a new country is if I'll be able to use debit/credit cards without any issue. The use of cards in the country determine how much foreign currency I'll take out before traveling abroad. I also find myself observing others while I'm abroad, seeing what the locals use; if everyone is using cards I find myself pulling out my own card before using cash.


I prefer to take out cash before leaving the country, mainly because it's free and Chase bank has always been able to get me whatever currency I need within 2-3 days. On rare occasions I've used ATMs
within the country, but I've found that the fee for using an American card really adds up. I've also had my fair share of card troubles while abroad. For example, ATMs in Turkey will suck your card into the machine if you leave it in for too long, and you'll get weird looks in Russia if you even move towards your credit card, because no one trusts using plastic in their country.
Below is my ranking, which doesn't have much of a system to it, but it's my interpretation of the best and worst countries for cash vs cards.

By far the two countries with the least amount of cash use are Iceland and Sweden. They both are consistently ranked for all transactions being 90% or higher in plastic. While in both countries I didn't touch a single bill, instead I paid for everything from car tolls to meals with a credit/debit card. I traveled to both countries with extreme confidence that I would survive with just my cards and wouldn't need to track down an ATM along the way.


Australia has a currency that is both water proof and rip proof, which made me want to take out some bills before venturing down under, just to see what they looked like. If it hadn't been for my curiosity I probably wouldn't have needed to take out any cash, because I used my card for almost every purchase including ferry tickets and souvenir shopping.

Next I found that Switzerland and Liechtenstein almost always have an option to pay with a card, however, the locals seem to use more cash than plastic. The smallest bill in the Swiss Franc is a ten franc bill, meaning that the coins really add up, which is heavy and annoying. I usually take out a decent amount in Swiss Francs, but attempt to make larger purchases with my card.

Countries on the euro seem to have an even mix of cash vs cards. I've stumbled upon small hotels in Italy that would only accept cash, but could easily point me in the right direction of an ATM. Train stations usually have ticket machines that accept cards, but when in the European Union I usually carry a decent amount of euros so I'm not stuck in an awkward situation.

Balkan countries have given me mixed opinions on cash vs cards. I found in Croatia that most restaurants were completely fine with using cards, but I realized that locals around me were usually paying with cash. The problem came when it was time to buy bus tickets. Even when paying for a ride half way across the country they would still only accept cash, which completely drained my wallet. Afterwards I went to the post office to mail some postcards and found they wouldn't accept my card there either, so I had to hit up an ATM before mailing anything.  I tried to keep at least the currency equivalent of $50 USD on me while wandering around Croatia. Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro showed similar results as Croatia; restaurants were fine with cards but smaller tourist shops and bus stops would only accept cash.

Lowest on the list of cash friendly countries are Thailand, Turkey and Russia. As I stated above, Russia isn't considered a safe place to use cards, because systems are easily hacked, leaving your bank account at risk. I don't know anything on the security of cards in Turkey, but I found that almost everywhere I looked people were using cash instead of cards. However, I haven't been to Turkey in 5 years, so this might not be accurate anymore. Thailand, and many other Asian countries (Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia) don't seem to be up to date on the technology that allows credit cards. In Thailand the only place I used my card during my six months there was at Tesco, which is a large department and grocery store. In many Asian countries, larger and more expensive restaurants often accept cards, but even so I still try to carry around enough cash just incase.

I prefer to be over prepared when traveling, and I also enjoy seeing new currencies, so when in doubt I take out at least a small amount of foreign currency before leaving the country. However, in this day and age the use of cards is becoming more widespread and it seems that cash flow is slowing down, especially in Europe.

la fin

Celebrating the 4th of July in Lucerne with other exchangies

Coming home from the 4th

Grace is legitimately the only reason I've survived this year. I would have been so lost without her.

All of a sudden the countdown went from months to weeks to days and now suddenly we're using hours. 24 hours and I'll be on a plane headed for america. A year ago when I was down to the hour countdown leaving for Switzerland I was a mess. Ask anyone who saw me, I cried for about 3 days straight. So far this departure has shockingly been easier, because this time I know exactly what will be waiting for me when I step off that plane, but at the same time, I don't think it's fully hit me that I'm about to leave everything behind. I can guarantee that I will not be a good sight at the airport tomorrow morning. Grace and I are taking the 5.30am train to the Zurich airport with Mylisha, Meredith and Whitney for company and then we'll meet up with the other AFSers from America who we haven't seen since August and we'll be on our way.

I don't even know how to express how amazing and beneficial this year has been. When I boarded the plane back in August I did not want to come here at all. I was just waiting for my parents to tell me that it's okay if I changed my mind and I could come home. But that phone call never came and I had to face the fact that I was definitely here for a year. My first few weeks here were the hardest weeks I've ever experienced, despite the support of my host family and my new friends, I still wanted to leave this foreign life. Then after months of struggling I suddenly realized that I was happy here. Suddenly french didn't stress me out anymore, I didn't feel awkward living with a family that wasn't mine. I knew the bus and train schedules and had finally stopped getting lost everywhere I went. The feeling can't be described, it's just something you have to experience, but for the first time in my life I felt as if I was actually living. I wasn't just taking up space on the planet, I was doing something. I've hiked endless mountains, touched snow in June, spontaneously hopped on a boat and went to France, traveled to England, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Liechtenstein, Turkey and Spain, spent days aimlessly riding trains across the country, met some of the most amazing people I've ever had the fortune of stumbling across, and most importantly I've learned so much about myself this year. I think I've changed a lot this year, I've grown up and realized what I want in life, and I know that every single crappy situation that I went through this year only made me stronger in the long run. I've survived an entire year in a foreign country without knowing a soul when I arrived. If I can survive that, I'm pretty positive I can take anything else life hands my way. So now all I have to say is thank you. Even though I was time zones away, I always had a solid support system in america, and in all honesty, I wasn't really expecting that. But all year long I got messages and letters from my parents, sister, cousins, neighbors and friends. And even just a small email made the world to me, so thank you to all the people that sent little words of encouragement throughout the year. Words can't describe how ecstatic I am to finally be back home, but if you ever see me looking a little lost, please remember that I've just lost everything that has been close to me for the past year. I'm about to leave behind an entire world in order to go back to my old one. I promise I'm excited to finally be back, but it's still bittersweet. I've never had to say goodbye to somebody not knowing if I'll ever see them again. So excuse me if for a while I look a little out of place, I'll just be trying to get back on my feet.

I'm slowly starting to get all of my stuff together. I'm not exactly packing yet, I refuse to take out my suitcase, but I'm trying to organize my life a little bit. I've been throwing out papers all week, stupid stuff from school, random lists I don't need anymore, clothes that no longer fit, empty bottles that I thought I wanted to save and the list goes on and on. This is definitely a challenging task, but I feel like it's also rather beneficial to see exactly what I consider important in my life. yes, I love saving small souvenirs of my life such as receipts and magazine pictures or stolen shot glasses. But is it really essential? Is it really worth the space and weight that it will take up in my suitcase? I feel like once a year I should try to fit my entire life into a suitcase, that way I can get rid of all the stupid stuff I think I need but really don't.

Right before I left for Switzerland I found out my mom would be moving to a new house while I would be here, so I took the time to pack up my entire room into cardboard boxes to get sent to the new house. I think I had 7 boxes sitting in my room when I left for Switzerland, 7 boxes worth of stuff that I consider to be extremely important in my life. But I've lived without that stuff for an entire year, and I can't stop wondering what is inside of those boxes. I know I have a lot of books and scrapbooks, but what else did I think was necessary to save? Unpacking those boxes and getting settled into my new room will definitely make my return more stressful, but I'm actually slightly excited to unpack each box and see if I still consider everything to be as essential as I did before.

Time for another photo update!

My host family in Barcelona! We rented bikes for an afternoon and cruised around the city.

My host sister Pauline and I while waiting in line for the cathedral.

Epitome of my family. Maxime, Guillaume, Me and Pauline

The beach in Barcelona!

Parc Güell

Barcelona was amazing and it was really fun to take a trip with my host family, but it was still good to get back to Switzerland.

This week my friend Kelsey came to visit me! She's from Bay Village but is studying in Florence for 6 weeks. So she came up to Switzerland for the weekend.

We took an afternoon to go see the Castle of Chillon with Mylisha and her cousin April who is also visiting Fribourg.

Lac Léman

With Mylisha at the castle

Just doing some interpretive dancing

On another note, I have to leave Switzerland in 19 days. What? I'm pretty sure I'm not okay with that. And it doesn't really help that my host mom brings it up practically every single day, making sure that I don't overpack, talking about train times and plans for the last week here. But don't worry, I told my host sister that I'm just going to stay here and she didn't have a problem with it. Although I am looking forward to seeing the midnight premier of Harry Potter in Bay Village, so I guess that means I'll have to leave...

it's still good

Spent the day visiting the Castle of Chillon with Mylisha and Grace, yet another perfect day in the Swiss sun.

Paradise.

After dinner the weather dropped from 80 to 60 as an enormous thunderstorm rolled in. I'm spending the evening sitting on my windowsill watching the lightening and letting Andrea Gibson serenade me with her poetry. If you've never heard of her, go watch her other videos on youtube :)

Photo Update

We have a cathedral in the center of Fribourg that you can climb and view the town, so I went up with my dad and Whitney during his visit. This is a marvelous view of my current home.

Went to Interlaken for an afternoon with my dad and Whitney to do some canyoning! You literally swim, repel and jump down the river. It was really fun, although I did get a few bruises!

The pre-alps

View from Fribourg's mountain the Moléson.

Took a quick day trip to Interlaken last week with Mylisha and Meredith. It was storming the entire time, but absolutely gorgeous.

These are 5 reasons why I don't want to leave this beautiful country.

Lausanne

It suddenly hit me that I don't have too many weekends left to explore Switzerland, so I've been doing my best to get out to a different part of the country each weekend! But somehow I always end up near Lausanne, because it's by far the prettiest area in Switzerland.

On Lac Léman in Lausanne (my favorite area)

Once again on Lac Léman with Mylisha and Whitney

View from the train as it enters into Lausanne. The Lavaux region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of it's numerous vineyards

Whitney and I found a carnival in Lausanne last week, what a pleasant surprise!

Went to Zurich with Whitney and Kelly. We went to the Freitag store where you can climb to the roof of the building and overlook Zurich. It's right by the train station, so you mainly just see all the tracks surrounding you.

tout est magnifique

In case I haven't mentioned it recently, I LOVE MY LIFE. So so much.

Last week I took some time to travel around Switzerland to see some of the touristy spots. Some days I was by myself, while other days I was with Andrew or Whitney.

At the Rhine Falls in northern Switzerland with Andrew

The Matterhorn in Southern Switzerland

Andrew and I spent over 8 hours on trains so we could cross the Swiss border and enter into Liechtenstein. It's the 6th smallest country in the world, but probably the most boring. We stayed long enough for Andrew to eat a Kebab and then booked it out of there to return to Switzerland.

I got the marvelous chance to spend yesterday out on the water of Lake Biel which is on the west coast. The weather was perfectly warm and I finally got to be out on a searay again, which is the boat my family has in Ohio. It was very relaxing to be out on the water again and a perfect way to end the week!

Last week there was some sort of milk festival happening in Fribourg. So they brought in cows (both real and fake) and handed out balloons and fresh milk!

Giant easter egg in the park near our train station.

I am in love with our backyard.

In the beginning of the week we celebrated Grace's 19th birthday by throwing her a surprise party!! This is me, Whitney, Grace and Andrew at her house. They were some of the first exchange students I met in Switzerland, and we've stayed really close this year.

I joined a choir at the beginning of the year and we had a small concert last week!

One thing I've learned while traveling and meeting people these past few weeks is that everybody in Europe is so much more cultured than people in America. They can always speak at least two languages fluently, and then usually another one well enough to manage in a different country. I met a lady who was born and raised in the US but then married anAustrian and later they moved to Switzerland. She speaks both french and high german fluently, and understands almost all of swiss german. For those of you who don't know, swiss german is the dominating language in switzerland, but it's probably one of the hardest languages to learn. It's not written or taught in school, you just have to learn it through daily conversations. I love how everybody I meet here has some sort of traveling history about them, so many people were born somewhere else and then came to Switzerland to settle down. I would love to be able to do that. All I want to do with my life is speak french and ride trains everyday. I think I've fallen in love with this beautiful country.

As of today I have been living my life in Switzerland for exactly 33 weeks. . Which leaves me exactly 3 months left. I use to be so excited to go home. When I went to the airport in January with all the Aussie's who were going home, I was jealous of them. Jealous that they had already completed their entire year and got to go home, when I hadn't even made it to my half way point.

Well, the halfway mark has come and gone and every day I dread the future a little bit more. Because the problem is, each day in Switzerland is getting a little bit better. New adventures are arising, the weather is getting warmer and easter break is in the near future. Each day I get a little bit happier, but each day I get closer to July 8th. I made a countdown on my calendar in the beginning of January, but even then, I couldn't write anything for the 8th. It just has a very small zero in the corner, reminding me that time will eventually run out. I don't even know what I would write in that little box... Home? That doesn't seem right to me. When I return to Ohio I will be moving into a house that I've never slept in. I have to set up my room, unpack boxes and adjust myself into a house I've never lived in before. I won't know where the plates are, where we keep the spare key, or how to load the dishwasher. And of course, I went through all of that last year while moving to Switzerland, so it's not like I can't do it again. But the thing is, this is my home now. Can you honestly leave home and go home at the same time?

wanderlust

The spring of my Junior year the questions started: "Where are you going to college? What are you going to study?" and my answer was always "I have no idea."

That's when I started looking into studying abroad. I figured there's no time like the present, especially when I had nothing else planned for the future. I didn't want to take the normal path that everyone else in my class was doing, I wanted to do something different, I wanted adventures. I remember one night I was attempting to get some sleep before school the next morning, but I was too excited just thinking about the potential for my future. Living somewhere exotic and taking adventures everyday. For endless nights I would sneak out of bed and research on the internet for hours. Reading blogs of people who studied abroad and looking up costs and benefits of a year abroad. I wanted to make sure that I knew everything possible, that way when I finally approached my parents I would be confident and know exactly what to tell them. I had the idea of europe in my head for about a month before I told a single person. It seemed like such a far out idea that would never happen, so I kept it quiet until I was completely sure it was what I wanted. I don't actually remember telling my parents that this is what I wanted, but apparently whatever I said was convincing, because a year later I was on a plane bound for Switzerland!

Well, now it's time for round 2. I officially have the travel bug inside of me, and the thought of being bound to tiny little Athens, Ohio for 4 years makes me feel claustrophobic. The world is massive and I've only managed to see a tiny corner of it. The reason I was so happy during the month of March was because I was actually doing something. I saw so many new things and met amazing people while doing it. I had new horizons and languages everyday and was walking around with 4 currencies in my wallet. It reminded me that there is still so much to see. I know that college is important, but who says I have to stay in Ohio the whole time? Maybe I'll give myself a break from learning new languages, which puts Australia as my number one. and whatya know, Ohio University works with a program that sends people to Sydney! So parents, if you're reading this, be prepared because I'm doing my research!

100

The month of March was without a doubt my best month here. It was the first time that I was actually busy and got out of the boring pattern of school everyday. I had the first week off for Carnaval (hands down best holiday ever), the second weekend I was in Milan, the third I was in Ireland and last weekend I was in Amsterdam. and on top of that I got to spend a week in Switzerland with my sister who came over for a little visit! I was so happy to actually be doing something, because not gonna lie, it can get pretty dull over here.
Now that March is over, time is flying. I've received emails from AFS informing me on my flight info for July, and I'm receiving countless emails from Ohio University with endless lists of things I need to accomplish in order to enroll for the fall quarter.
I don't want to go back to reality. I'm so happy here in my little Swiss bubble. I don't have to deal with stupid american drama like who's dating who or what party got busted over the weekend. I've realized that in the past I stressed and cared about the stupidest things, and I find it hard to believe that everyone back home is still the same. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends back home, but there is always some sort of drama happening. People are always fighting and taking things for granted. They need to realize how fortunate they are. I would give anything to be able to pick up the phone and call my friends or family, but that's pretty hard to do when there's an ocean and 6 hour time difference between us. Friendships back home have fallen apart this year, and they claim it's because they don't get to see each other anymore. Phones were invented for a reason, and you should feel lucky that you are still in the same time zone as the ones you love. Make the effort and drive 4 hours over the weekend to visit your best friend, because you're so lucky to have them in your life.
In 100 days I have to go home. But it doesn't even feel like home anymore, this is my home. I feel like I've grown up so much this year and I've finally realized what's really important. and it kills me that I have to return to high school drama that should be long gone by now. But for now, I'm just going to live in this moment and enjoy the next 100 days, because I have everything I need right here.

Life's good.

Not really sure how to describe it, but I think I've finally reached that point where I'm just extremely content with my life in Switzerland. It took me a lot longer than other exchangies, but now that I'm there, I'm so happy! I've stopped missing the aspects of home that at one point made me horribly homesick. because the thing is, although those people and places are still missing from my life, I still have so much going for me. I've made amazing friends who have taught me so much, and they make up for the things from home that I'm lacking. Today I went over to Meredith's house (another exchangie from the US) and we messed around on her piano for literally 2 hours. I don't necessarily consider myself being talented on the piano, but it's something I've always fiddled with at home. For the past 7 months I've been trying to find a piano to play, and what do you know, it was right in front of me! It brought back memories of my life in Bay, playing songs that my mom taught me or ones my sister and I would try to play together. But it wasn't sad, if anything it made me happy to have those forgotten memories back in my mind. Afterwards, I went out to eat with my family at our favorite restaurant in town. The owner is a family friend and when I walked in he greeted me by singing Michelle Ma Belle and then said "it's good to be home, right?" because we seriously eat there every week and I've been 3 times in the past 5 days. I can greet the waitresses by name and can order without even glancing at a menu, because the truth is, it is home. Maybe not the restaurant specifically, but just Fribourg. I came over here completely alone and never imagined I was capable of creating a world I would love.

fasnacht

Ladies and gentlemen, I have discovered my new favorite holiday.

CARNAVAL!!!

and no, i'm not stupid, that is the french spelling of it. And in german it's called Fasnacht.

Carnaval is a catholic holiday that is celebrated right before lent. It's basically the same concept of mardi gras, just more hard core. It's a 5 day event where you party it up right before you have to stop drinking/partying/having fun during lent. It's europe's version of Halloween (if you recall, my halloween was rather uneventful and my family didn't even realize it was halloween.) This is the time of the year to dress up and party like crazy! Each town has their own carnaval for the most part, so I stayed in my town of Fribourg. I went into town friday night and saturday without a costume, and I literally felt like a freak. Sunday there was a parade during the day and then l'homme qui brûle (the burning man.) I'm still not exactly sure what the burning man symbolizes, but I'm gonna take a wild guess and say it represents the end of winter. Tuesday night was the last night of Carnaval, so I dressed up and danced the night away! Enjoy some marvelous pictures below!

The parade! Confetti was everywhere and covered my clothes/hair/purse, therefore covering my house once I got home.

Saturday night with Mylisha and Grace

Mario!

L'homme qui brûle

Every single swiss student has this brand of highlighters.

At the parade with Mylisha

Grace and some NASA guys

Banana and the bee!

Nothing too interesting to report. February has been a long and boring month, and it's only half way done. On thursday we had our Journée de Sportif, so instead of school we do an outdoor activity. I signed up for sledding, but sadly there is no snow, so instead I went on a 5 mile hike through Switzerland. Exhausting but fun!

About 2 hours into the hike

I finally got to meet some of the newbies who arrived from Australia and New Zealand! It's really weird to be sitting here giving advice to them when half the time I don't even know what I'm doing. They're asking if the french gets easier, if the homesickness goes away, if I'm happy here. and of course my answer is yes to all of those. but it's a hesitant yes. Of course the french gets easier, but I still don't expect to understand everything or be able to truly express everything I want to say. Homesickness never really goes away, you just get used to the feeling of missing someone or something. To say "i miss you'' in french you say 'tu me manques' which literally means "I lack you" which I think is very fitting. When you're missing someone you're lacking their presence in your everyday life, but after awhile it becomes normal to have that small hole in your life. and the main question they've been asking, "are you happy here?" Sometimes it can be frustrating here, when you sit at school all day with the teachers speaking rapid french and the students joking about something you don't understand. Those days, I get frustrated and angry at myself for coming here in the first place. But then all I have to do is step outside and see the mountains and I start to smile again. Because they still manage to amaze me after all this time. So of course the answer is yes. Yes, I'm happy I'm here. It's different and harder than I thought, but still amazing. I spend my days staring at snow covered mountains, taking trains and reading books in french. How can you be unhappy with a life like that?

Graffiti near my favorite bar

homes empty, prisons full

Randomness

-There is no such thing as over-dressing in Switzerland. It's literally impossible. You want to go to school in stripper heels and a tight black dress? Go for it!

-Contrary to popular belief, the Swiss drive on the right side of the road, not the left.

-In french they call the funny bone a petit juif, which means little jew.

-The smallest coin here is 5 cents. They don't have anything equivalent to a penny because all prices are in multiples of 5.

- The word cul-de-sac literally means 'ass of bag'. So when you say that you live on a cul-de-sac you're actually saying you live on an ass of bag. nice right?

- The traffic lights turn yellow before they turn green.

- When you get a drink at a restaurant it will always come in a glass bottle. Water, coke, rivella, sprite, you name it, it's in glass.

- The Swiss are intense about gym. For example, last week my teacher tried to get me to do a back flip.

- I no longer flinch when I have to pay 4.50 for a glass of diet coke. Which is terribly sad, because in the US nobody would stand for that nonsense.

- Today I saw a car that had a bumper stick that said "baby an board." Poor folks probably don't realize that it doesn't make any sense.

Same with when I saw a shirt that said "to feel like a queen is a simple as believing you are one" first of all, stupidest shirt ever. second of all, i think they meant to say 'as simple as' but hey, it's fine. no one will notice.

It's weird, because people here always have stuff in english, but I honestly don't think they know what it says half the time. Prime example: my host brother has a shirt that says "alcatraz psycho ward, outpatient." Last time I checked, the hospital on alcatraz didn't have a psycho ward, but that's beside the point. Because he didn't even know what it meant until I explained it to him. Why would you buy a shirt without knowing what it means, and then continue to wear it even though it is basically saying you're mental?

that's all i've got for now!

ciao!

Here, have some pictures!

It's been crazy warm here recently, in the mid 50's most days. So we've been doing our best to soak up the sunshine!

With Grace and Mylisha in Gruyère

Wearing dresses in January, it's madness!

Grace!

Failed attempt at rollerblading. It resulted in stained jeans and bruises.

I was deeply missing Lake Erie, so I took a little trip down to Geneva to visit the water.

and just a little side note, I love my host family! One of my friends is going through a rough time with her host family, so she came over to my house for a bit. She was in my room crying when my host sister Pauline walked by and noticed she was sad and said "don't rain your eyes!" (an attempt at saying "don't cry.") She then preceded to tackle her until she stopped crying. Then Guillaume came in and he and Pauline were juggling and throwing skittles into each others mouths and making fools of themselves until we were all laughing again. Love it :)