Settling In...

I left Saturday, September 22 and arrived in Milan, Italy on Sunday, September 23 at about 9:00 a.m. It was a long day of traveling, but completely worth it! The first couple of days in Switzerland were a bit rainy, but the sun eventually did come out and the scenery was incredible. Most of the days were actually pretty warm, but comfortable, because there was no humidity like in Minnesota!

I can’t believe how fast my time here has flown by! Between meetings, walking, orientation sessions, sightseeing, walking, going on adventures, walking, and learning about the Swiss culture – I have been kept busy here in Lugano! Did I mention walking? My apartment is in a village called Gentilino, which is about 1 km (0.62 mi) from the TASIS campus. Because of this location, my roommate and I have had to walk about 4 km (2.5ish mi) each day just to eat lunch and dinner! While initially inconvenient, I have grown to enjoy this walk because of the mountains, architecture, and animals I see each day (not to mention the benefit of the “forced” exercise). 

The top left picture is the front door into my apartment building. The top right picture is the alley directly outside the front door of the building. The bottom picture is my apartment building. I am on the very top floor!

The first week consisted mostly of orientation information for new faculty members at TASIS, as well as training in various areas. One of my favorite experiences from that week was when I was able to use two different fire extinguishers to put out a small, contained fire! I also experienced shopping in a Swiss IKEA store – it was crazy busy – and used a Swiss self-checkout at a grocery store. The staff and faculty at TASIS have been incredibly welcoming, friendly, and helpful. They each have a unique story as to how they got involved in international teaching and many are fluent in another language besides English.

My new friends! (Julie, Eva, Bernadette, and Camilla)

The second week I was able to spend more time with my cooperating teacher - she's amazing! We worked many hours in her classroom in order to get it ready for the open house the students and their parents would attend the Sunday before classes started. While smaller than an average classroom, it isn't a problem because we only have 11 students! Between unpacking boxes, organizing materials, putting together bulletin boards, making copies, laminating, labeling, and creating book baskets, we were busy!

Despite the craziness of the educational aspect of the first two weeks, I was able to do many fun and relaxing things as well! Below are some pictures showing the new experiences I had as well as the beauty of Switzerland.

This is the Church of Sant'Abbondio, which is near TASIS. I walk by this place every day on my way to dinner. There is also a geocache somewhere close to here - I'm still working on finding it!

One day, we went to Bellinzona - a city near Lugano. While we had hoped to see the castles there, it did not work out. Instead, we sat outside at a cafe (Gazzaniga) and drank cappuccinos. It was lovely!

Bernadette and I drinking cappuccinos in Bellinzona!

The TASIS campus has many stairs to climb to get to its various buildings and classrooms. One day I went exploring and went to this place which is above most of the campus. It was beautiful!

Apparently this is the best "selfie" location on campus - of course I had to take a pic! :)

I went rock climbing in Italy with a small group of people the first weekend I spent in Switzerland. It was very hot out that day, but totally worth the sweat and scrapes! While I am no Ethan Hunt, I had a ton of fun trying something new, in a new country, with new friends.

The view behind me as I climbed...not too shabby!

On my way up the rock!

     Ready to go!

We went to a jazz festival in downtown Lugano. There were a lot of people and the music was amazing! Look up the band Endurance - they are from the USA and were a talented, fun group to listen to and watch!

The second Sunday, the new faculty took a trip to Val Verzasca. It was about an hour trip by bus. While there, we hiked on a path through the woods and walked through an area with abandoned stone buildings. For lunch, we stopped at this somewhat hidden location down a bank. It was a beautiful area with a waterfall and large rocks where we were all able to sit to eat our lunch. The water was very chilly, so only a few people went swimming. I just waded in the water and enjoyed the view!

     Sign that was at the beginning of our hiking trail.

The water behind me was freezing cold! We hiked uphill and through the woods to get to this beautiful place. We ate lunch here and enjoyed the sunshine and water.

The beautiful scenery I saw as we hiked.

After the hike, we spent time here sitting
on the rocks and swimming in the chilly
water. I jumped off of the rock you see on
the left of the picture. It was so much fun!
Some people jumped off of the bridge - 
but it was a little too high for me.

On our way back to Lugano (after our trip to Val Verzasca), we stopped at the Contra Dam (a.k.a Verzasca Dam or Locarno Dam) to watch people bungee jump. This is the famous dam from the James Bond movie, Goldeneye. 

Behind me, you can see where people were bungee jumping - it was insane!

The Wednesday of the second week, TASIS had an opening banquet for all its staff and faculty. Formal attire was required. It was a very fun event with delicious food!

Appetizer: Salmon with toast.

Main course: Steak, baby potatoes, mixed veggies.

Dessert: Raspberry tart with mango sauce.

Me with my cooperating teacher.

The Saturday before classes started, I went to Bellinzona with Bernadette and her mom, sister, and cousin. The morning started out raining, but it cleared up by the time we got off of the train in Bellinzona. We had a tour guide tell us about the main castle - Castle Grande - (there were three castles total). After our tour of the main castle, we were able to enjoy the market taking place along the main street in Bellinzona. We bought bread and enjoyed the activity around us. Afterwards, some of us climbed up to the second castle. I enjoyed the second one more because its architecture was more stunning. As I walked among the castle, I came across a couple taking their wedding photos - what an amazing backdrop they had for their special day!

The main castle.

The second castle  - it was fantastic!

Behind me is the main castle. I am at the second castle taking this picture.

This is part of the second castle. The sky was beginning to cloud over as it was about to rain again.

These are all highlights of my first two weeks in Switzerland. I have already fallen in love with this beautiful place and its lifestyle, people, and history. This past week - my third week here - was my first week in the classroom so my next post will talk about that experience! 

Ciao!