My international family!

Enjoying Swedish Köttbullar with flatmates. Devendra Shintre

Exposure to new cultures was one of the main reasons why Devendra chose to study in Switzerland. 

“Making non-Indian friends is very difficult in Switzerland!” was a warning I received before coming to this Alpine nation. It was indeed supported by my initial experience. However, it got better with time. Socialising and making new friends becomes a lot easier if one lives in shared student accommodation. 

I share my apartment with six other students. Except for two Swiss, they are all foreign students. The benefit of living in an international flat-share is exotic food. Everyone brings a different culinary culture to the table. Some of us (including myself) are not even half-decent cooks, but there are enough good cooks in the flat to make up for the rest. I have been tasting a different cuisine almost every fortnight. The list ranges from Swedish Köttbullar to Italian lasagna, from raclette to cheesecake. Other treats include homemade cookies and crêpes, and the list goes on.  As all of us are students, we are often low on cash. But we try to get the most out of our tight budgets. 

Food is a great way to socialise as well. Even though almost everyone eats pasta and pesto for dinner most days, the conversations are usually interesting and long depending on the topic. We discuss a variety of themes ranging from politics, religion, philosophy to engineering marvels over dinner. Sometimes it is just a simple casual conversation about our day or Christmas plans. Often, we crib about the difficulty of the courses and teaching styles of our lecturers. Not everyone is always present, but since there are seven of us, someone is always there to chat. 

With independence comes responsibility as well. It is not always fun. Every semester we are required to clean our flat thoroughly (in accordance with Swiss cleaning standards of course). It took us almost eight hours this time. Apart from that, we have an informal weekly cleaning and recycling schedule.

Our flat’s cleaning constitution. Devendra Shintre

 From a personal perspective, it has been a great way to get myself acquainted with western culture, which was the reason I opted to study abroad. My flatmates introduced me to intricate details of European life, ranging from traditional Christmas celebrations to German and French swear words (They don’t teach those at the language schools). Thanks to student housing, I was blessed with interesting friends and an enriched student experience.

 For more blog posts and information on studying in Switzerland visit our dedicated page Education Swiss Made.