Blogs from Lugano, South-East, Switzerland, Europe

So....I really wish I were at home with all of my Harry Potter friends watching the midnight opening. I thought I would post a bunch of pictures to show myself that I'm somewhere more beautiful than the Ellensburg theater/church. ... read more

We had a really hilarious hike to Morcote with a group of students on Tuesday. It was originally called the Morcote hike (understandably so) but I have renamed it the Birds and the Bees hike. Halfway through the walk, all the boys gathered around a bush and started snickering. One of them grabs at the bush, turns around and reveals two butterflies....um....commingling. For the next mile this Italian boy is exclaiming ridiculous things at the top of his lungs about these butterflies. Picture it in an Italian accent...."They-uh are having sex-uh on my hand-uh!" and "Do you think-uh they are-uh doing it-uh because they like-uh it?!" Then, as we finally got him to put the two butterflies down, we round the next corner to be walking right next to one horse mounting another. We totally lost ... read more

So the students arrived yesterday and it was a crazy day. I'm almost intimidated by these 12 year old girls because their parents are very wealthy and you should see how fast they switch between two, three, sometimes four languages. It makes me feel like an incompetent fool in comparison. Just on my floor I have girls from Italy, Spain, Croatia, the US, Taiwan, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and Turkey. It's truly inspiring to watch them enjoy each other and connect through culture and language barriers and it just goes to show that we are really all the same on this planet. Last night we had two girls sitting with us experiencing homesickness, one being from the US and the other from Croatia. It just goes to show how to human experience knows no cultural ... read more

Today was the day that my group had to plan a trip outside of Lugano. It went well, except for the fact that we never found what we were looking for. The group had varying opinions on what we wanted to see which included a hike, a lake,and churches. We found this hike online called the Chestnut trail which included a lake and church along the way...which we thought was perfect! However, we never found the trail head, so we just hiked a random road. It was neat though because all the houses you come across up in the mountains are apparently self-sustaining with farms and solar panels for energy. We started in Aroso at a small church and just walked around. The buildings are probably older than the constitution and there is an ancient church ... read more

Hello friends and family! After 32 hours of travel time, we finally arrived in Lugano last night around 10pm. Our first beer was in Poland at 4am for our bodies but the clock said noon in Poland so Chris talked me into it. When we arrived Christopher gave me a quick tour of the campus, and it truly looks like a real version of Disneyland. The oldest building on campus was built in 1522...that is hard for Americans to comprehend...at least it is for this American! We have been in meetings all day, and our very first task is really throwing us in to deep water. Within 24 hours they are asking us to plan, budget, and take a trip somewhere within an hour of Lugano. Then we have to get ourselves there and back all ... read more

As we are so close to the Swiss border, we didnt want to miss the opportunity to take a trip over there for lunch. A 20 minute ferry, and an hour of bus and we were in the lakeside town of Lugano. We wandered around for an hour before settling ourselves down to lunch. We really wanted to try Swiss Fondue, and what a delicious treat it was. They bring the cheese sauce, set it on the flame. We dipped bread, boiled new potatoes, caramelized pickled onions and gherkins, all washed down with a beer for John and 2 glasses of white wine for me. The waiter then relieved us of the equivalent of £50 and an hour and a half later we were riding on the Noddy train around Lugano before a quick butchers around ... read more

On the road...again! She ducked and dodged, watchful, eyes alert, dark black. Studying, waiting, learning... Then, the light changed, the look was another. She knew. She was ready. Uh oh, time to get out of here! Too late. She weaved like a cobra, hypnotic She was coiled and poised to strike One, two, three, you were hit by a tree! Full speed, different angles, no chance! She is small, she is light, she is clear-faced and bright-eyed, fast and furious, sweet and shy. She is Sonia, from a small fishing village called Chapora, Goa. She is the World Boxing Champion. All this happens nightly in the simple gym, simple work, not simple results...Go Tigers! As I nurse my bruises, I relive the past year, a year of intense activity, no real time or inspiration to continue ... read more