B2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 23,1980
Swiss IFYE treats Loganville 4-H to
BY JOYCE BUPP
Staff Correspondent
NEW FREEDOM - It’s a
long way from the moun
tains of Switzerland to the
rolling hills of southern York
County. But actually, the
terrain is very reminiscent
of his European home, says
Yves-Etienne Kahn,
American Field Service
exchange student living with
the William Thompson
family.
Dubbed “Steve” by his
host family and friends, the
18-year-cld Swiss native is
spending a year here at
tending Susquehaimock High
School as a member of the
senior class. A veritable
fountain of knowledge of his
heritage and government,
Steve recently shared bits of
Swiss life and culture-with
the Loganville 4-H Com
munity Club and is available
for educational and civic
dub meetings.
When his exchange year
ends in July, Steve will
return to bis hometown of
Marges, located in the ex
treme western part of
Switzerland, or the “French
part,” about 30 miles from
Geneva. His parents own a
carpet store in Marges, and
the family also includes
Steve’s two sisters.
Marges is almost as old as
the country of Switzerland,
and the town was founded in
1296. Like all Swiss, Steve
takes great pride in the
cleanliness of the coun
tryside, and the town’s
streets are cleaned daily.
There is an abundant out
door street market and
gardens of colorful flowers.
Grapes are a popular
agriculture crop and are
produced on the hillsides of
the lake near Steve’s home.
From their town, the Kahn’s
can look across the lake at
the spectacular scenery of
the French Alps nearby.
Although the countryside
is similar to that at home,
there is one part of the Swiss
climate that Steve has
missed so far this winter,
snow. Having learned to ski
at a very young age, he’s
homesick for the snow-
Swiss francs are printed on very special paper
and the money’s value can be determined by
touch, according to Swiss exchange student,
“Steve” Kahn.
covered peaks and is eager
to try out the Pennsylvania
ski resort hills v.lu-~h are
small by comparison to
those at home.
A second-year college
student at home, Steve
commutes daily by train to
Lusanne, ten miles from his
hometown of Marges. He’s a
journalism major, with a
special interest in sports and
plans to seek a job as a
newspaper sportswriter
following J college
graduation.
All students must attend
school until age 16, with the
option of them taking further
schooling of three years in
college or pursuing a
vocational trade course.
Most educational costs are
paid by the government,
with the average cost to
students about $2OO, which
indudes the price of books.
“Schools here are very
different,” Steve has ob
served. “I always have to
run from dass to class to get
there on time.” The pace in
Switzerland is less hectic;
and students have time to
relax, but disdpline is
stricter and studies more
difficult. Extracurricular
and dub activities are also
less common in Swiss
schools, with town activities
filling that need. Each
student is required to learn
the local language, which
might be either German,
French or Italian, and two
other foreign languages
besides.
Founded in 1291, the nation
of Switzerland was created
when three states joined
together for the common
good. Today, a total of 23
states comprise the
mountainous country. They
are ruled by a body of seven
men with collective powers
equal to an American
president. There are also
two legislative bodies, one
with 200 members and one
with 46.
“Our country is small
enough that we are all the
same land of people,” ex
plains Steve, noting that the
relatively small number of
citizens enable their
democratic type of govern
ment to be efficient and
responsive to the public. All
new government measures
must be voted on by the
populace, while unpopular
laws can be balloted for
change by submitting a
petition carrying 50,000
signatures. A law change in
1971 gave Swiss women the
right to vote for the first
time.
In a comparison of Swiss
‘and American culture and
productivity, Steve dted
statistics showing that his
countrymen are the
wealthiest in the world on a
per capita basis, with an
average income per person
of $13,833. Due to very high
costs, though, there are less,
items like automobiles, and
fTurn to Pace 831 JCHIie . JOWfl
LoganviHe 4-H’er Karrie Brenneman the
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glimpse of home
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,ier»v in friei as "Steve”, si
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