That Coke A Cola costs HOW MUCH?!

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Hello all,



I hope everyone had a happy fourth. We celebrated by eating hot dogs and french fries for dinner...I missed the fireworks.

Funny story. The counselor staff had an afternoon off on Sunday so we decided to go to Valle Versasca. I don't know if I'm spelling it right, but it's a beautiful spot on a river that has a lot of rocks to jump off of. After spending a few minutes there, our head couneslor Tim decided we should go on a hike to a less crowded swimming hole. Many of us agreed to go and we were off! Well, after a long hike straight up a mountain, we never came across any pool, but it was BEAUTIFUL! We passed through this town where all the houses were made of stone (EVEN THE ROOF!) and I said it was the town where the 3rd little pig's relatives live. On our way down the mountain, I was talking to a fellow staff member about how I had never seen a snake in Switzerland, despite all the lizards that are everywhere. And I kid you not, within moments after finishing our conversation about never seeing snakes in switzerland, one slithers out of the bushes RIGHT BETWEEN MY FEET! If I had not jumped into the air, it would have gone right over my feet! I'm pretty sure it was listening to me, and thought it would have a good laugh.

Two days ago I went on a trip with 31 students to Milan. For those of you who are familiar, we were at the Duomo. Anyways, we gave the kids about an hour to shop in the square around the Duomo, and some fellow staff members and myself sat down at a cafe on the perimeter of the square. Little did we know that the cafe was trying to rip off foreigners, and we were no exception. When we ordered three cokes, he asked what size we wanted. All three of us said "Large" and he scampered off. When he returned, the cokes were not only large....they came in GIANT glass steins. I'm talking like, 2 pints. We knew right away we were being scammed, but we couldn't imagine the reality of just how badly we were being played. The cokes ended up being 18 Euros apiece. That is more than $20 for a coke!!!!! The final bill for three cokes and a cappucino was 63 euros. We couldn't believe it. We got to talking about how that kind of thing just doesn't happen in America, and we aren't used to having to watch out for it. In America, the only cheating and tricking and stealing that goes on is behind corporate doors, not at corner cafes. It's really irritating that so much of Europe makes a profit off of scamming tourists.

On a happier note, the kittens found their home! The kittens that I found in the street were claimed by someone living close by. She claimed she had put them outside that night but thought the garden gate would keep them inside. I'm glad they got back home safe and sound.

Love to all!

Andrea

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