Everyone! Message me on Facebook or comment below on what you would like me to write about!! I promise I will make a post specifically dedicated to what each of you wants to hear about.

Swiss Medical Care

Wow! I am seriously impressed with Swiss health care. I had to go to the emergency room this evening due to extensive poor health over the last few weeks. I was in the waiting room less than ten minutes, was immediately seen by the doctor, given five prescriptions, and was out the door within the hour. Hopefully the medicine will be just a great and I'll be better in no time!

And It's Not Even 2 pm

Well, I've had quite the adventure of the day! After returning from the laundry room downstairs because my clothes weren't done washing in time, I looked up above my closet and noticed something out of the ordinary. Upon closer inspection I discovered that it was the largest spider I have ever encountered. Not wanting to let it out of my sight I decide to kill it with my shoe. Unfortunately, it was ABOVE my closet. I dragged my chair over to the closet, stacked some books on top of the chair (because I still wasn't tall enough), and smashed it with my shoe. Terrifying experience, but necessary to kill it because it was in our room!!! Then I returned to the laundry room to deal with the washing machine that never wants to give me my clothes. After banging on the machine, I got the laundry card scanner to finally work, and so I could get my clothes. What elese will the day bring? I have no idea. But I've already dealt with spiders and laundry machines, so bring it!

Valle Verzasca

Valle Verzasca is one of the most beautiful places on the earth. Here are some pictures from my day trip during orientation!

 

 The rock just below the bridge is what we jumped off of for initiation! It was very high, and we jumped into freezing cold water! The bridge can be seen in the upper left part of the Frankin College Switzerland logo.

A Busy Saturday

    
Good morning everyone! :)

The title of this post is sort of boring, but it most accurately describes the type of day I had yesterday. My roommate, Julia, and I woke up at 6:45 to catch a train to Ponte Tresa to go to the Saturday market. Unfortunately we could not find the market after walking around for a couple of hours so we took the next train to Lugano. However we did learn how to use the FLP train! In Lugano we purchased some necessary rain gear, and picked up Julia's friend who was visiting from Sion. I spent that evening having dinner with a couple of friends out on the lawn by their rooms. It was a gorgeous candlelit dinner where we watched the stars and sipped on some wine. After a day of constant walking it was refreshing to finally get to rest and enjoy the company of my friends.

Next Saturday I am going to the Ponte Tresa market with my Italian class, so at least I will finally be able to take advantage of the cheap prices in Italy! Have a good day everyone!

It's About Time

      Hey everyone! I've been in Switzerland for about three weeks now, so I figured it was time to start a blog. I absolutely love living in Lugano. The people at this college are truly wonderful, and I'm glad that I found a college where I fit in perfectly. Tomorrow I will experience a benefit of living five minutes from Italy, as I will be going to Ponte Tresa to buy groceries! I feel blessed to be given the opportunity to study at Franklin, and to live in Switzerland!
      Living so far away from home has been difficult, especially since the time change is nine hours. Skype and Facebook have been useful when the WiFi cooperates. It's nice to see my friends, family, and my dog!
      I've gotten a lot of requests to talk about the classes I'm taking so here I go:
      I start the week of with Art History 102 with a professor from France. This class is very interesting and speaks for itself, luckily there isn't too much homework! Next I have Spanish 300 which is a great class where we talk (in Spanish) about nearly everyt topic you could imagine. Then I have my freshman seminar class, Communications 199. This class deals with how technology is changing/ forming our relationships with other people, in positive and negative ways. These three classes are on Mondays and Thursdays. My other class schedule (Tuesday and Friday) consists of two classes: International Relations and Italian both at the 100 introductory level. Yes, I am crazy for taking Spanish and Italian, and yes they are very similar and confusing (especially when the two classes are in the same room!). International Relations is a fascinating subject with more homework than I could ever imagine having for one class, but it's worth it! Italian is great, and after three classes and some Rosetta Stone I am feeling slightly more confident about talking to local Swiss-Italians in their first language.


      If you have anything you would like me to specifically talk about, write me a message on Facebook and I'll do my best to write about it! Thank you!! :)