GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA

As a red-blooded, homegrown American male, I've lived a life that has been exceptionally isolated from the rest of the world.

I watch baseball with an unhealthy passion, listen to Bruce Springsteen with a nearly religious devotion and would rather eat a greasy McDonald's double-cheeseburger with large fries for $3.24 than taste all of the finest foods in India.

It is very fair to say that I am someone who does not simply tolerate his own culture, but relishes in it. I used to be someone who would gaze in awe at National Geographic atlases, marveling in the beauty of foreign coastlines, cities and population breakdowns, but that was all that a foreign land was to me.

Europe was a long-forgotten fairy tale left behind on Ellis Island and Asia was nothing but a myth. Africa provided the zoo with the mighty ostrich and Australia gave us the majestic kangaroo.

For some time, I was convinced that there was nothing outside of these 50 states that could serve any purpose to me. For that reason, among many others, my alter ego, the devil's advocate, the contrarian within a contrarian, decided that the Swiss Exchange program was exactly the thing that I needed to relight the fire of personal globalism.

In Basel, Switzerland, I would hopefully find a spark.

My first step on European tarmac was both surreal and uncannily similar to American tarmac. For someone who until very recently has never been as far as 20 miles below the Mason-Dixon Line, looking up to the blue Swiss skies and basking in the unusual temperatures of 80 degrees Fahrenheit was a personal achievement as well as a stark reminder of how small my world really was. Those were commonly repeating themes throughout the duration of the trip.

My host, Jonas KÖrner, did not play into the role of the stereotypical, Ricola-sucking, Swiss-horn-blowing Swiss kid. No, he dressed in black, had long blonde hair and listened to Iron Maiden.

He liked to play Nintendo and did not enjoy my Led Zeppelin CDs because they were not hard enough for him. He was extremely down-to-earth and not much unlike anyone that one would expect to see in the United States.

Jonas and his family welcomed me with the highest level of care and respect and for that I am limitlessly thankful. Very fortunately for me, Jonas and most of the other people that I spoke to along the way spoke nearly impeccable English.

Thank you, British Empire; thank you, American media. It took me some time to get used to their dialects, large rolls of buttered bread and obscene amounts of chocolate, but by the end of the exchange, the people of Switzerland seemed indistinguishable from anyone that I would expect to see stateside.

The most impressive aspects of Basel were its architecture and its public transportation. From colorful houses in the residential districts to the massive cathedral on the Rhine River to the bustling streets and shopping areas, Basel made me resent how bland and gray my own homeland felt.

Coming from a community where it is easier to drill for oil on the sidewalk than to find a useful bus schedule, Basel's vast web of public trams left me with a strong desire to lay down the tracks here in Gloucester myself. In Gloucester it takes someone without a car approximately two hours to walk from City Hall to Wingaersheek, whereas in Basel any point in the town is easily reachable within 15 to 20 minutes, all thanks to their environmentally and economically sound focus and determination on public transportation.

Though its residents would play humility and tell you otherwise, Basel is one of the finest cities that anyone could possibly want to stay in, and it's unfortunate that Massachusetts lacks a town with even half of its charm.

Away from Basel, the group shared many once-in-a-lifetime experiences that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives, although there are some that we wish we could forget.

Thanks to Frau Moceri and the fleet feet and the big heart of the greatest man in Switzerland, Herr Doctor Inglin, we had the opportunity to indulge ourselves with things that many Swiss residents themselves have never had the opportunity to experience.

We had the chance to drink Coca-Cola at the top of the tallest building in Switzerland, spend an evening in a youth hostel overlooking the Rhine Pfalz, and above all others, we were able to ascend to the top of Europe at Jungfraujoch.

Even without one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever had the pleasure to reside in and the wonderful people that I met, these extra trips alone would have made the exchange worth the while and then some.

Switzerland opened my eyes to the world that exists beyond our borders. Maybe "life-changing" would be a good way to describe it, but no matter what you call it, the Swiss Exchange left me starving to see more of the world that we as Americans often take for granted.

In the end, the truth must still be told. Though Switzerland left me hungry for exploration and foreign travel, in some way it only helped to further secure myself as a full-time American. Through my undying respect for the Swiss culture, I found a new passion for my own. The only way that I can truly show respect for other cultures is to embrace and appreciate my own.

Tim Sharpe is a Gloucester High School student.

"My Neighborhood" is an occasional column that is open to Cape Ann residents who want to write about their neighborhoods - the people, the issues, the goals, the concerns. If you are interested in writing a column or have an idea for one, please contact Times Editor Dom Nicastro at dnicastro@ecnnews.com or 978-283-7000, Ext. 3438.