Sitting on a train traveling through the countryside of Switzerland to Lucerne, I have come to discover much about the country since my arrival. Walking through the city feels like an escape to a different time. The part of Zurich I stayed in is referred to Old Town. However, walking through the entire city, one could say almost the entire city could be called Old Town. Almost every building looks like some prominent government structure, with sculptures of lions and fine architecture saturate each building in beauty.
However, when I took a daytrip from Zurich into the Alps, I learned more than I could have walking around the National Museum all day. The educational system is that more similar to Australia than the U.S. The children have twelve weeks off from school each year. While the schools take about four weeks off in the summer, the schools have sporadic breaks throughout the year. The most interesting of these breaks come in February. Because the Swiss Alps offer breathtaking opportunities, the children get either one or two weeks of a ski vacation. And if the child does not ski, fairs and carnivals fill the cities and towns during this time. While I did not learn a great deal about the actual education of the students, I did find their system very interesting.
Higher education was also a topic I asked about when traveling in the countryside. With the rising costs of college in the United States, I was curious to see how much it would cost to go to school in one of the most expensive countries in the world. When I received my answer, I was not surprised at all. It costs students about 3,000 Franc each year to attend university, plus textbook costs and living expenses. The government pays for most of university expenses of its students. This assures that the country will have more educated individuals, which directly impacts the success of the country in the future.
Although Switzerland has a lot of country, only about three percent of the citizens are farmers. Because there are twenty-six states in Switzerland, they all have different taxes and laws. There are some districts that attract many richer folks because they have extremely low taxes. It is rare to find very rich individuals living in the cities with the high taxes. Many of them move about thirty minutes away where the taxes are absurdly low, making the current tax system problematic for the entire country. And those who are living out in the country to farm are given significant government help. The government subsidizes their farms because they are believed to be maintaining the country land and protecting it from erosion.
I learned quite a few interesting facts about the country. First off, women did not have the right to vote until the late 1960s. I even visited a town where the women could not vote until 1991. Also, the country has been neutral since 1848. All men who finish school are required to enlist in the army. Each man is given a gun that he is required to keep at home. Men now have the option to go into civil service, but they have to work twice as long. Switzerland has an interesting history and culture. More shall present itself while hiking through the Alps near Lucerne.
However, when I took a daytrip from Zurich into the Alps, I learned more than I could have walking around the National Museum all day. The educational system is that more similar to Australia than the U.S. The children have twelve weeks off from school each year. While the schools take about four weeks off in the summer, the schools have sporadic breaks throughout the year. The most interesting of these breaks come in February. Because the Swiss Alps offer breathtaking opportunities, the children get either one or two weeks of a ski vacation. And if the child does not ski, fairs and carnivals fill the cities and towns during this time. While I did not learn a great deal about the actual education of the students, I did find their system very interesting.
Higher education was also a topic I asked about when traveling in the countryside. With the rising costs of college in the United States, I was curious to see how much it would cost to go to school in one of the most expensive countries in the world. When I received my answer, I was not surprised at all. It costs students about 3,000 Franc each year to attend university, plus textbook costs and living expenses. The government pays for most of university expenses of its students. This assures that the country will have more educated individuals, which directly impacts the success of the country in the future.
Although Switzerland has a lot of country, only about three percent of the citizens are farmers. Because there are twenty-six states in Switzerland, they all have different taxes and laws. There are some districts that attract many richer folks because they have extremely low taxes. It is rare to find very rich individuals living in the cities with the high taxes. Many of them move about thirty minutes away where the taxes are absurdly low, making the current tax system problematic for the entire country. And those who are living out in the country to farm are given significant government help. The government subsidizes their farms because they are believed to be maintaining the country land and protecting it from erosion.
I learned quite a few interesting facts about the country. First off, women did not have the right to vote until the late 1960s. I even visited a town where the women could not vote until 1991. Also, the country has been neutral since 1848. All men who finish school are required to enlist in the army. Each man is given a gun that he is required to keep at home. Men now have the option to go into civil service, but they have to work twice as long. Switzerland has an interesting history and culture. More shall present itself while hiking through the Alps near Lucerne.