Straight into Winter

Column July 2018

Every end marks the beginning of something new – This is also the case for me: My name is Raphael Knecht. I’m a 16-year-old student from a village called Muri in Switzerland and I just finished my first year of high school at Kantonsschule Wohlen (Canton school). Soon I’m going to fly off to a place very far from home to spend a whole year studying abroad! I would like to take you on my adventure by regularly sharing my experiences with you. But where am I going, you ask?

Starting from mid-July, I will attend a high school in the “Land of the Long White Cloud”. This island nation has a lot to offer: snow-capped mountains, breathtaking beaches, incredible volcanoes, a unique flora and fauna, a fascinating cultural background and crystal-clear night skies. If you were to dig a hole almost 13,000 kilometres deep from Europe, you would end up in Aotearoa, as the country is called by its indigenous people, the Maori. Have you guessed what country it is?

New Zealand will be my new home for a whole year, more precisely Nelson, a town nestled between three national parks at the top of the South Island. Yet, I don’t want to write an entire novel raving about the “chocolate side” of New Zealand (Swiss way of saying the best side), as Kiwis definitely know how to advertise their little wonderland without my help. Speaking of chocolate; as a Swiss, I have obviously taken precautions and put an essential stock of “Schoggi” (Swiss German for chocolate) into my suitcase, for gifts of course, if it lasts that long! I also bought an illustrated book about Switzerland along with a Swiss flag before departing, so that I could show the Kiwis what my home country is like.

My preparations and packing will soon be finished. I am looking forward to discovering a new country with spectacular landscapes, to meeting my host family, to living by the sea with all its advantages and I’m also looking forward to attending school. Because unlike Swiss schools, in New Zealand students have a lot more freedom: There is a huge range of subjects for every student to choose from of which he gets to take five. Only English and Maths are compulsory to obtain a high school degree. In other words, you can set your own priorities. Being a “Jungwächtler” (sort of translates to boy scout) and amateur photographer I have signed up for subjects including Tourism, Photography and Outdoor Education, hoping that I’ll get to see as much of the natural beauty of my host country as possible and that I will get the chance to take a couple of great shots with my photography equipment.

I’ll soon be leaving, departing from Zurich via Dubai and Sydney into New Zealand’s winter. In the southern hemisphere the seasons are the other way around, meaning that I’m definitely going to feel the acclimatisation. Next time you hear from me I will be warming myself by a fire, drinking hot chocolate and I’ll be very, very far away.