School in Europe

      While living in Geneva, Switzerland I attended International School of Geneva. Normally children go to kindergarten at the age of 5, but at this school we started at the age of 4. We learned math, science, reading, french, art and music. The way the school was set up was very different to the schools in America. International School of Geneva taught me to appreciate different cultures.

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      While attending this school I learned a lot of different things to what I’ve learned in America. I acquired the math, science, french, art and music skill rapidly. I struggled at learning how to reading. I remember being able to read my first book in 1st grade, but I was a green sticker while everyone else in my class was either yellow or red. Green stickers meant it was a beginner book and very basic. Yellow stickers meant medium difficulty and red meant expert level. I was so far behind in reading that in 2nd grade I got pulled out of french class to go read boring books and spell words. When I came back to America I was so far behind in reading. In elementary school I had to go to reading class instead of recess which really upset me but I low key had fun in that class cause I had my best friend in reading class and we messed around instead of reading most of the time. Eventually reading clicked in my brain but I still had to take the class until 3th grade. French class was part of every students day. Even the little four-year-olds had french class. French was a very important part of the day because that was of course the language used in Switzerland. In the United States foreign language is not needed until high school, but foreign countries start kids off with various languages. In my opinion learning a foreign language is important and easier as a elementary grade student. We also had art class, which is a very important part of a child’s day. They can express their feelings through art work and being in Europe we actually painted many famous European artist's work.

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      Normally when you think of gym class you would think about dodgeball. Funny enough I didn’t know what dodgeball was until I came back to America for school. And American football was not a thing. We played soccer which was known as football there. International School of Geneva had the best gym class. We started out by all of us changing into your gym uniform in the same classroom, which looking back at this I’m surprised some parents didn’t call the school complaining. Once we all changed into your uniform we went to the gym which was in the basement, and it was huge. Some of the activities we did was gymnastics, rock and rope climbing, soccer, and so much more. The best activity were either gymnastics or rock climbing. On those days they actually had beams, trampolines, and ropes that came out from the ceiling that we would do flips and climb on.

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      When lunch time came in America your class would go to the cafeteria to eat. In Europe they brought the food to the classrooms on a cart and the teacher would then pass out the food to each kid. The school food wasn’t what you think it would be like, every meal they served us was a five star dish. My favorite lunch was fettuccine alfredo, but they served us anything from Asian food to American food. Every once in a while for dessert they gave us some bread and one of them had a toy inside. If you got the toy inside you would be crowned the winner, which everyone wanted. Sadly I never got the toy or was crowned the winner. Coming back to America, not eating lunch in the classroom but in a cafeteria was so bizarre and foreign to me. After lunch we had break which is recess. On break we would go to the huge playground, soccer field, or to the front of the school.

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      Like I said International School of Geneva had a basement. In this basement they had two gyms and a bomb shelter. Why would a school have a bomb shelter? In Switzerland everywhere had a bomb shelter. It was a requirement to have one. They have these bomb shelters for any fallout that might happen. Switzerland has always been ready for nuclear war and they are one step ahead. The school also was a three story building. The first story was for preschool and 1st grade. The second story was for 2nd and 3rd grade and the third story was for 4th and 5th grade. Along with the building being huge the outside was even bigger. The playground consisted of a huge blacktop, a swing set, slides, a rope spider web, and two soccer fields. Their layout of the building is completely differ to that of American schools.

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      School in Europe is very different by numerous ways which include, classes, the age when you start school, and the way the building is set up. By going to an international school in a different country, I was been able to learn about cultures I might never have experienced by living in the states. Going to an international school has really opened my eyes to all the distinct differences in our world from a young age. If I had  the chance again to go back to school in a foreign country I would go without hesitation.