Classes here are completely different from what I’m used to at Millikin. Webster Geneva is a bit of an oddity in itself. The university, an English speaking, American based one, is set in the middle of Geneva, more specifically, the French speaking part of a vastly German speaking Switzerland.

As it appears to me, what ends up happening is many wealthy parents (often diplomats of some kind) send their children to Webster Geneva. These children, unfortunately, have little interest in this further education.

This leads to some situations, which would never, ever, happen at Millikin, or really any American university, I’d like to think. For example, one girl, upon getting caught texting in class and being told to put her phone away said, “I’m sorry, I’m just so bored!” This would almost without a doubt get you kicked out of a classroom at Millikin. Here, the professor will just sigh, and continue the lesson.

I wish I could say that that kind of behavior is the minority, but the minority at this school are the people who do their homework, come to class on time, and in general act like people who are there to learn.

Here’s another example: only two people out of ten in a class turned in an assignment the day it was due- no one else “had time.” The teacher gave them an extension.

Although I had been looking forward to a bit of a more rigorous education here in Europe, this, uh, let’s say “relaxed” atmosphere gives me a lot of time to explore Geneva.

For being one of the most expensive cities in the world, Geneva does offer a lot of free things.

The Botanical Gardens are gorgeous, even in the winter, and the green houses full of cacti are a nice escape from the cold (although to be real, it’s not that cold here, another thing that was unexpected).

Recently I went to an odd zoo, it had ponies, rabbits, chickens, and a number of other animals that back home I would expect to find in a petting zoo. These animals were behind fencing or glass, not to be pet. The one thing that you could pet at this zoo, were the two cats which wander around, and amazingly do not attack the ducks as they cross from pond to pond.

It was especially nice to find some animal companionship. Although I see a number of dogs every day, my inability to ask “can I pet your dog?” in French prevents me from actually petting them. I have yet to meet a poorly behaved dog here, in order to own one in the city you’re required to take a dog training course. That’s another thing that’s extremely different from what I’m used to back home.

Different though is the key. That’s what I wanted to experience. Everything is different here, and that’s okay.