A typical weekday for me starts with a run to the Co-op (small super market) next door to buy bread. The Swiss are very big into bread and there are always a lot of fresh bread options. I generally have bread and cheese for breakfast with a cup of tea. I catch the 61 bus and travel about 45 minutes to Oerlikon for my classes. I generally have classes starting either at 10am or 2pm going to 4 or 7pm depending on the day.
On days when my classes start before noon I eat at the Mensa for lunch (the school cafeteria). The Mensa gives students deals so that lunch costs 5-10CH depending on the item. They have a menu that varies daily, with several different options. They generally have a pasta dish, a meat dish, and a vegi dish at the Oerlikon cafeteria. I only have one day that I spend on the main campus and the food at the main mensa has far more options. The dishes tend to be gnocchi, chicken cutlet, eggplant parmesan or dishes of that nature; however, they have served steak and other higher end dishes, it just depends on the day. I have yet to figure out a pattern in the menu. I find the meals to be far superior to any sold at any NEU cafeteria. Especially since they always come as a complete meal, with a main dish, and either vegetables or salad on the side.
After class I generally do group work. When we’re done, I generally run any errands if I have time at the Oerlikon shops. Because of Zürich’s labor laws, very few places stay open late. Most shops and grocery stores close at 8pm. This is because people believe that workers should be home with their families at a reasonable hour and so working overtime happens very rarely. For the same reason, on Sundays all businesses are closed except at the train stations, including grocery stores and pharmacies. While some people find this inconvenient, I really like the practice. It helps me ensure that I’m keeping track of errands I need to run. It also doesn’t bother me so much because I prefer to shop at the pop-up markets on the weekend as opposed to the regular stores when possible.
I generally get back to my apartment around 7-8pm and cook dinner. Because there are 15 people living in my flat with only one kitchen, I tend to cook later closer to 8 or 9 when the kitchen is clearer. In the evening, I do work I need to do for people back in the states or relax. Because of the time change, I do co-op interviews and meeting calls in the evening closer to 10pm. I generally try to sleep by 2am. This is normal for me because I am a night owl.
When I need to go grocery shopping beyond bread and milk, I like to take trips to Germany where it is cheaper to buy things. I have a train pass that makes the trip free if I make it after 7pm. On Wednesdays, people from my building make the trip out together. On those days we leave the apartment complex around 6 to be at the central station at 7pm. It takes us an hour by train to get to a border town and we generally spend about an hour over there before coming back. On days we go we generally stop at the Burger King in Germany for dinner as it is cheap there to get a burger compared to Switzerland; however, it is still far worse prices than the states. A lot of locals also make this trip because of the cost of food being so much lower in other countries. On days I do this I generally get back around 11pm.
