Matti's Adventure Abroad: The Pünters (November 11th-December 7th)

My final host family (#18, can you believe it??!!), was located in the city of Hombrechtikon (population 7,800) in canton Zürich. My host dad Stefan runs an agricultural contracting business, and my host mom Regula is a very active stay at home mom to their two kids, ages 8 and 6 years old, and 2 "mini pigs", Frido & Alto (kept outdoors). Regula was an IFYE to Sweden in the 1990's, so she has an excellent idea of what IFYEs want/need to see and do. The children, Rico and Corina, have far more energy than I do at this point in my travels, but this makes for constant excitement! Having children in the family also helps to learn the language faster as they never give up on making sure you know what they want!
During my time in Hombrechtikon, I was able to have many Swiss experiences that I hadn't yet accomplished. I played the alp horn, attended a yodeling concert, visited the Matterhorn (the iconic Swiss mountain), witnessed Swiss wrestling (schwingen), brushed up on my Swiss-German skills, attended Christmas markets, went hiking, rode a bicycle in the open Swiss air, learned to knit (European-style), sewed my own traditional Swiss attire, made fresh cheese, expanded my zopf making skills, and ate Raclette and blood-sausage (blutwurst) among other Swiss foods. I even spent a day working in a winery and sampling wine from the Lake of Zürich.
With the Pünter family I mainly helped with household chores and errands, but lifted the occasional straw bale when a delivery was needed. The weather changed quite a bit during my 4 week stay, from cool Fall to heavy snow and rain by the end. Snow in Switzerland is simply wonderful. They don't have as much wind as Kansas, so snow stays where it first lands, leaving the white blanket on the trees very much intact. The sight of the snowy mountains isn't too bad either.
I also spent Thanksgiving away from my family for the first time ever, but it was a good day nonetheless. Regula and I prepared chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin soup, salad, and my homemade chocolate pie. It was more of a feast than they were used to, but it worked in bringing a little bit of home to me for my American holiday. I was also able to Skype with almost all of my family that day, giving me the strength to finish out my last 2 weeks in Europe very happily.