Hello! Welcome to my yearly blog post where I reply to the same questions every year to give a glimpse into my experience of building a life in Switzerland and the adaptation process.
Enjoy reading!
What did I love the most about my life in Switzerland my third year?
Slowly getting closer to being more independent: starting a master’s degree, and thus having a clearer idea about how I can start my professional life in Switzerland.
The master’s in business management is valuable as a bridge to the professional world. Besides the practical reasons, I also enjoyed being a university student again and getting knowledge about fields I had no idea about before, in management and finance. As someone who did not especially enjoy math before, I was positively surprised to see my capacities in finance once I pushed myself hard enough. The classes I took made me question why I didn’t get informed about these subjects earlier; it feels like a must and is super helpful to survive in a modern, capitalistic world we live in—whether we like the capital system or not. Though my favorite field is marketing so far, a field that you have more space for creativity.
What was the most difficult?
Ironically, the same thing that I liked the most about my third year was also the most difficult experience: starting a master’s degree in a field (business management & finance) I had no clue about.
It was like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube for the first semester, but, I somehow managed to crack the code and gain confidence by the second semester.
Where I am in the process of learning the language(s)
French
The online exams I’ve been taking confirm that I have reached B2 level (last year was B1). I didn’t take any language courses this year, but French became partly a natural part of my daily life.
I got by far more comfortable and confident in handling daily interactions in French compared to last year. Even if I don’t speak with 100% correct grammar, I can get most of my things done.
German
In February 2024, I restarted learning German. I couldn’t study daily but spared 1–2 days of the week for it. Right now my level in German is around A1.2.
It is such a vast language! Sometimes I feel like drowning, but most of the time I have lots of fun learning it. For German, I take online group classes from Lingoda and occasional private classes from Preply. For me, it works best to take live classes in a language until I come to the end of B1 level at least.
What about cultural activities?
To be honest, I was initially hoping that university life would naturally involve me in cultural activities. However, living 1.5 hours away from the university made participating in social or cultural activities at university less convenient.
Nevertheless, I took part in a finance association and contributed to organizing events. My focus was mainly on my master’s program, but I also stayed busy with various commitments like doing a short internship and continuing to learn the local languages.
On weekends, I dedicated my time to either studying or exploring new cities. I couldn’t visit as many museums compared to the previous year when I had a museum card subscription, but I still had the chance to explore a handful of them.
How were the neighborhood relationships?
Nice and getting better. I wouldn’t complain about our neighbors; they are lovely, and I feel like when we take a step, they also do so.
Did I make new friends?
This year I made more acquaintances through university, socialized, and showed effort to build new relationships or strengthen the existing ones.
Last weekend we threw a late birthday party for me at our house, and my friends came over to our place from different cities in Switzerland. For me that was a reassuring little social event, and it was very lovely to spend time with them. Thanks again to the friends who were there on that day. ❤
How much did I explore in Switzerland?
13/26 cantons visited by June 2024, made it to the half. To be named, with cities I’ve visited in them:
- Basel (Basel-City)
- Bern (Bern, Thun, Interlaken)
- Geneva (Geneva)
- Fribourg (Murten, Gruyère)
- Jura (Delémont, Porrentruy, St.Ursanne)
- Lucerne (Lucerne)
- Neuchâtel (Neuchâtel)
- Schaffhausen (Schaffhausen)
- St. Gallen (St.Gallen)
- Ticino (Lugano)
- Valais (La Forclaz, St.Martin, Brig)
- Vaud (Lausanne, Montreux)
- Zürich (Zürich)
What about finding a job?
I’m on the way there, hopefully! I got my first internship experience at a Zürich-based start-up for a little while. Planning to start actively looking for more internship opportunities and entry-level management jobs soon.
Special to this year: How was the student experience in Switzerland?
My experience with Unine was satisfactory. I appreciated the human size of the university, which allowed for better student-professor interactions. I felt valued, we were pushed to use our capabilities. The content of the courses was mostly helpful, interactive, and we worked on plenty of projects to apply the theory that we learned.
Thank you for reading and for your interest! If you have any questions, I’ll happily answer them when I can. Just leave a comment or write to me from the contact page. Take care!
Note: If you like, you can read the fourth year’s reflections here.
Semiha Weber 
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