It begins. The second round of tests. The moment I arrived back to Madrid, I opened up my books and started studying immediately, mainly for Biomechanics, but also for my other two tests. Lets get this week on, cause once its over, I’m away to Switzerland!! So lets get started, cause Switzerland is such a beautiful country and is much more fun to talk about than my tests.

School

First test: Signals and Systems. This test was pretty straightforward, as we had only gone over Fourier Transforms and Sampling Theory, and we knew exactly what kind of problems were going to be on the test. So that test was easy. But the hard one was still to come, so directly after the test, I went home, chugged a coffee, and solved more problems for Biomechanics. The hell was yet to come.

So I get up, and on the train ride to school, I reviewed the Bioinstrumentation notes. That test was easy too, as we were told exactly what to study and had enough time to solve everything that needed to be solved. Some of the answer choices for the MC section were kind of ambiguous, but for every MC questions I also wrote a reason as to why I chose that answer, so hopefully even if I mark the incorrect choice, my description will be right and I will be fine. But after that test, we have 4 hours until Biomechanics. Of course, I didn’t want to go back to the house with just a 4 hour break, so Panth and I stayed in the library and studied, and by studied, I mean stress ourselves out over how much was unknown about this test. We had studied for 30+ hours and done all the exercises, and we were still stressed because from our experience with the last test, we wouldn’t have enough time to finish the problems. However, also from the last test, I knew I couldn’t psych myself out, so an hour before the test, I took a walk with my earbuds in and calmed myself down. Good thing I did too, cause we were right about the test. The first question was an exercise that should take an hour to solve, and then a theory question, and we only had 45 minutes to do it. So once time started, I took 1 minute to answer the theory question, and immediately went into the exercise, and I barely finished on time. And then right when I turned my test in, I forgot to add something at the beginning for my defining equations, and that still haunts my nightmares. But I was lucky and didn’t make any mistakes in my work, but still. There were a lot of letters we had to keep track of for everything, and the problem was weighted so unevenly, it just wasn’t fair to anyone. So I still hate that part with a burning passion, but thankfully I finished this time. At this point, I am giving up on getting an A in the class and am hoping for a C so that I can get the credits to transfer. So hopefully that happens. After the test, Im pretty sure I went home and immediately went to bed, cause anxiety sure does take a lot out of you.

After that, the week was pretty normal. Next week, we had all our lab reports due, so now that the tests are over, we can now focus on the reports. However, I do not have the weekend since I am traveling, So I promised that I would stay up and grind when I got back. So now that the week is over, lets go to Switzerland!!

Switzerland – Day 1

Like the past 4 weeks, I get up at some early hour, get into a taxi (whose driver is the same one I had when I was going to the airport for Lanzarote), and made my way to the airport. This one was a little later takeoff, at 8 am, but still to early to be able to use the metro to get there. I get there, find my gate, and get my normal orange juice, coffee, and croissant for breakfast. Then I board the plane to Switzerland! This time, I’m flying in luxury, flying with Air Europa versus Ryanair, so I was actually able to nap a little during the flight.

After a 2 hour flight, I find my way to the train station and wait for my train to come. So since I arrived at the airport a little early, I ate lunch, and was able to find an earlier train that allowed me to have one less transfer! So my trip in total was a 2 hour plane ride, 2 hour train ride, followed by a transfer to a 1 hour train ride. So before I even arrived at my destination, I had already spent 100 Euros. Also, everything in Switzerland is like way more expensive than in Spain or the States. I went to McDonald’s, the land of enchantment, and I spent 15 Euros for a chicken sandwich combo. I thought that since it was at an airport, it was more expensive, but apparently these prices are everywhere! I will continue with this story later though.

So on the train, I got a nice introduction to the Swiss landscape, which was breathtaking the moment we left Zurich.

I was blown away by the rolling hills, snowcapped mountains, and lakeside towns. They were so beautiful, and I wish I could have had an AirBnB like my one in Rome that was so perfectly stationed and have a wonderful view. But unlike that and Lanzarote, I was not greeted by a rainbow, so I knew it wasn’t going to be as fun as those trips. But its ok, I will be skiing, so nothing can stop me!!

I transfer trains at Visp, and get on the 1 hour train that would take me to my final destination: Zermatt. Zermatt is a vacation town located at the foot of the Matterhorn Glacier, the reason why it is a full-year ski resort. Cute little town, and with the ascent, everything slowly got more and more covered with snow.

Until everything was covered by at least a foot of snow. It was even snowing when I got there, which was amazing. So after I got to Zermatt, I was able to check into my hotel room immediately.

So I got my room key, signed into the WiFi, and made a list of things to do so that I would be ready to ski first thing tomorrow. I got my ski rentals, got my ski pass, and then went shopping for groceries. Thank God I did, cause everything was so expensive there!! I bought a bottle of wine (like I always do when I travel), a lemon pound cake to snack on, and some other things. However, when I was unpacking my stuff, I realized that I had forgotten my iPhone charging cord. Of my 10 excursions, which this is the 10th, this is the first time I had forgotten it, and of course it had to be in the place where everything’s price is 5x what it should be. So after spending $25 to get another cord, I get some food at a cafe. So what I got at the cafe, I would have spend around 8 Euros max in Spain. However, I paid 18 Euros for this meal, cause they think they are more important apparently. So after that, I spend 8 Euros on a magnet that should have been 1 Euro, but again, they think they are more important, so UGHHHH. I hate spending so much money like this and like not getting anything. So I knew then that I wouldn’t be coming home with a lot of souvenirs. So because of that and the fact that I don’t want to spend anymore money, I go to bed early to get some extra sleep for tomorrow.

I also continued coding MineSweeper throughout the day. I decided to make life easier by switching from purely procedural code to an object-oriented code, and oh my gosh I love object-oriented scheme. All my functions are less complex, the actual procedural part takes like 5 lines versus 300 to play the game, and its so much easier to read. I will be using this layout from now on cause it is just so much better!!

Switzerland – Day 2

Bright and Early!! The slopes opened at 9, and today was the first day that this particular section of slopes were going to be open. And I was also only going to be here for 2 days, so I wanted to get the most out of this time that I could. I showered, ate all the breakfast that I could since it was included in the price of the stay (and thank God for that too, cause I did not want to pay the crazy prices they had for a large meal), got on all my stuff, and made my way to the slopes. It felt good to be in ski gear again, and even though it has been more than 2 years since I have skied, my body was ready to remember and maybe fall a couple of times. So lets go!!

I get lost trying to find the tram to get to the slope, so I end up walking around the town for 45 minutes. By the time I found the tram, the first tram of the say was leaving, so I waited for the next one. That gave me time to air out my clothes since I was sweating like a race horse from all that walking. I am in the worst shape of my life, but I still don’t remember walking in ski gear being this hard. I was worried cause its smart to have dry clothes on cause wet clothes will freeze, so hopefully I don’t freeze to death. But anyway, I get on the tram, make it to the slopes, and start my first run down the hill.

I take it slow on purpose so that I can get my legs used to skiing again, and I find the easiest slope that day to start with. However, someone forgot to tell me that easy actually meant medium, cause there was this one hill there that was just extremely difficult, and I fell on this particular hill at least 6 times throughout this first day. Not only were my legs not used to skiing, they got tired really quickly, which made me fall even more. All in all, it took me about 4 hours to get the hang of skiing again until I felt confident enough to try a medium difficulty slope. Even then, I was still falling a whole lot, but after a while, I was able to do it. What they don’t tell you is that all the slopes they have are extremely long. So of the slopes that were open, you can go down three slopes at one time and then take 3 lifts to get all the way back to the top. But each run of that took 40 minutes of continuous skiing, so It definitely got tiring after a while. But I wasn’t going to let something like fatigue stop me!! I kept going until my legs gave out (which did happen)!! I think I ended up skiing for about 9 hours, until the slopes closed pretty much. My legs were dead, I was hungry and dehydrated, and in dire need of a nap. But my ability slowly improved throughout the day and I got some bomb videos. So I was ready to attack to side of the mountain where there were more slopes: the Matterhorn Glacier Park. They had easily twice the number of slopes, so I was ready to explore that mountain to the fullest. Anyway, here are some pictures I got from the slopes.

After I got home from the slopes, I took off all my clothes, and it looked like i went for a swim. Everything was drenched in sweat, which was sad since I had to use some of this stuff tomorrow. So of the clothes that I had to use tomorrow, I placed them on top of the radiator, put the rest in a corner, and got into the shower cause DAMN, I stank. After that, I took a NICE 2 hour nap, and then went to dinner. Super good, super expensive. So after that, since I heard there was a nice live music bar literally right across from my hotel, I decided to go there for a little while and enjoy a nice drink. It was super fun, but they only played covers, and it was a tired atmosphere anyway. It also isn’t as much fun when you’re there alone, so after some relaxing and some live covers, I made my way back to my room.

Now lets talk a second about prices of stuff in Zermatt. I said earlier that everything in Switzerland is automatically more expensive, but when you’re on the slopes, it gets even worse!! Tap water tastes amazing here, but that will cost 3 Euros for a glass of tap water. A bottle, which is pretty small, costs 6 Euros, which is outrageous!! So I still paid for it. The first day, I spent 20 Euros for water, another 30 for lunch, and another 40 for dinner. I broke the bank when it came to food, but I did it out of necessity!! There was no where else I could have eaten, and it was really depressing. But I rationalized it by saying that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and just dealt with it. But here is what 40 Euros can get you in Switzerland apparently.

I just want to pay normal prices for food, but apparently I can’t. So I’m going to try tomorrow, when I go skiing, I’m going to drink water from the bathroom faucet and pack snacks so that I don’t have to buy any lunch or water. Heres to hoping!!

Switzerland – Day 3

I wake up early just like I did yesterday, each a large breakfast, don my now-dry ski gear, and make my way to the slopes. Below is a map of the slopes I wanted to hit that day, but nature had other plans for me. I get to the slopes a little early, and so the lifts to the portion that I wanted to go to were not open yet. At the hour when there were open, they were still not moving. I asked a worker, and apparently there were 35 mph winds at the top of the mountain, so that side of the mountain will most likely not be open today. However, the slopes that I did yesterday were still open!! yay. At least I would be able to ski, but I already know those slopes and I wanted to explore the glacier. But I can’t control these things, so sadly I made my way back to the other mountain top.

So from the lift base camp, I made my way to the middle section in between the Rothorn (the mountain from yesterday) and the Matterhorn. I made my way to the top and go down the easy slope to warm up. On my way up, I noticed that there were very strong gusts the closer I got to the top, and thought to myself that this isn’t really safe. Apparently the lift operators thought the same thing, cause when I got back to where the lift started, the lift was closed. The only place to go was to a train that went to the top of the mountain, or go back down to the town. I was no quitter, so after a break in the lodge right there, I waited for the train that would take me to the top, and from there, I can get to the Rothorn.

Although I can see why they closed down the other slopes. When I got off the train that took me to the top of the mountain, I was almost literally blown off my feet. The gusts were so strong, no one should have been skiing down the slopes with those. I had to stop a couple times cause I could barely see that day (note: don’t wear tinted goggles on cloudy days). Thankfully, I made it down to the bottom of the mountain where the other set of lifts were, and continued my day of skiing. I explored some new places and tried new things that I didn’t try yesterday, but a lot of it was still the same. I was able to do one slope after another without a break, and I already got these sections on camera yesterday, so I just enjoyed the feeling of going fast. After a while, I did get bored doing the same slopes over and over again, slopes that I knew I could do. So, about 30 minuted before the slopes closed, I called it quits and went back to the hotel. After removing my soaked clothes and taking a shower, I reluctantly returned my ski gear. This trip was short but still super fun!! It reignited my love for skiing, and I will be looking for more opportunities to do this again in the future. But maybe not in Switzerland…

After my nap, I got dinner, which was really good too. Since this place was slightly cheaper than the other one, and I was proud of myself for not spending any money on the slopes (I did, I was able to skip lunch and solely rely on my snacks), I ordered desert. I really shouldn’t have, cause I got an ice cream sampler, and literally 6 scoops of ice cream the size of a grape were set in a line on a plate, and that was 10 Euros. Not worth it in the slightest. But I did it anyway. And the sad part about shopping in Zermatt is that all the shops close at 6, which is when I wake up from my nap. So all there is to do after 6 is eat dinner and go to the bar, which I didn’t want to since the alcohol I was drinking was messing with me and preventing me from sleeping and I wanted to get a good amount of sleep in before my long ass day tomorrow. However, that didn’t stop me from getting heartburn when I went back to bed. So I go back to my hotel room after a coffee at a diner and get ready to go to bed. I watch a movie then try to go to sleep.

Switzerland – Day 4

The days blended together, cause I could not sleep that night. After the movie I watched, I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn’t find a comfortable position, and so from midnight to 4 am, I could not sleep. So at 4 am, I got out of bed and got ready. I didn’t feel tired, but I knew that feeling wouldn’t stay. I got to the train at 5:10 and we departed from Zermatt at 5:37 am. my flight was at 9:50, so I needed to get to the airport at like 7:00 am, which I did. However, my flight was delayed an hour, so even though I planned to be in my Signals class that day, that didn’t end up happening. But according to Panth, that didn’t matter since it was super useless. But once we got on the plane, I found out that I had an entire row to myself!! So I could stretch out and try to catch up on the sleep that I lost the night before. However, even though I was able to sleep, the feeling of falling jerked me awake 4 different times. I rarely get this feeling, yet I feel it 4 times within a single day. Oof.

After an hour metro ride, I got back to the house, and when I tried to nap some more, I AGAIN felt that feeling of falling that jerked me awake twice more!! So all in all, I felt that feeling 6 times in one day when I usually feel it once every 2 months or so. Someone didn’t want me to sleep, which was frustrating, but ok.

Also that night, we had a birthday to celebrate!! So we met up with some other people in our program and went to the club that night!! Super fun, almost won beer pong though. We got the the quarterfinals, but lost after Muscles kept getting them in (CURSE YOU MUSCLES!!). But it was super fun, getting to dance every once in a while. I forgot what it was like just to forget everything and dance like there is no tomorrow (even though I dance like a dad). Also, they played All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey, and I was geeked that they played that in a club. After a group of us were done, it was about 4 am. For some reason, I though that the metros were going to be open, yet I never realized that they weren’t. So, because I didn’t want to pay for a taxi, I walked home!! All I had was a very-summer short-sleeved button down and no undershirt, and the temperature was below freezing and I had a 30 minute walk. So good thing I was buzzed, I just just hyper focused on walking and was able to get home without frostbite or stopping. Was it my best decision, no, did everything turn out ok, yes, did I get a really funny story from it, hell yea, so I regret nothing.

All in all…

The tests were fine (except for you Biomechanics), Switzerland was super fun yet super expensive, having my flight delayed kind of sucked but the row to myself was nice, and the club decision on Monday was questionable yet worth it. It was a great last week of November, but now I have to get into finals mode and finish this semester strong, cause if I fail one of my classes, I will be screwed mega style. So these next 3 weeks (I ONLY HAVE THREE WEEKS LEFT IN SPAIN AND I AM REALLY SCARED AHHH) will be filled with me studying, working, and catching up on sleep, cause that will not be over until I get back to the States.

After my last excursion in Spain and looking back at them all, I’m glad I emptied my bank account to do that. I got to see a ton of cities in Spain, crossed off Rome and the Vatican from my bucket list, skied in the Swiss Alps, went shopping in Morocco, and surfed and scuba dived. It was a fulfilling set of excursion, most of them alone, and as I soak up Madrid for the next three weeks and host my parents for a week next week, I will continue to live to the fullest. I may be drained of funds and energy, but in the wise words of Jerry Smith, “Life is effort and I’ll stop when I’m dead,” and I cannot think of anything more fitting to describe these next three weeks.

So next week my parents are coming, I have 3 lab reports due, and then a final I need to study for that is the following week. So here is to living life to the fullest!!

• Uncategorized