Blues to Bop

This weekend there is a music festival in Lugano called Blues to Bop that draws musicians from all around the world, including many American groups. I went last night, and downtown Lugano was just filled with music and people spilling over from five different stages. There were some amazing jazz bands playing. Being at a concert also made obvious another cultural difference between the Americans and the Swiss. At every stage, all of the Franklin students were front and center dancing like the crazy college kids that they are. The Swiss don't dance. They sway, and tap their feet and appreciate the music, but they don't seem to really dance like we do and seemed to find our behavior amusing to say the least. We left the concert at one in the morning, and it still went on for another hour.

After the concert, a big group of students walked to a famous spot along the lake where there used to be an old rope swing. The police have long since cut it down, so Franklin made their own rope that they bring and attach to the old spot. Everyone was swinging and jumping into the water, which isn't very cold this time of year. It was amazing to swim in the lake at night and I couldn't imagine having a better view of the world at that moment; the shores of Italy were to one side of us and Lugano was to the other.

Food Per Favore?

Never in my life have I felt so incompetent, and I felt very incompetent when I was in Nepal and India. I just had the chance to finally go explore the downtown area by myself, with the goal of coming back with groceries for the week. It is so beautiful, just the way you might imagine an Italian city might look like. Lots of small shops and restaurants, people sitting outside in the sun eating and drinking wine. I was just surrounded by beautiful things. Because of my complexion, many people assume that I am also a Swiss Italian which helps me to blend in when I am alone. However, this facade ends the second I open my mouth. Grocery shopping without knowing any Italian was difficult. The shopkeepers treat me like a local until it becomes obvious that I am struggling with the most basic tasks, like weighing my fruits and vegetables myself, which is what is done in Switzerland. Also, grocery shopping is quite a time commitment; between walking there and back and visiting several shops to buy all the products I need, at least three hours have gone by. However, this seems to be perfectly normal and acceptable here, as if time has slowed in Lugano. The people here are very leisurely; there is no rushing around or unpleasant attitudes, which seems to give people all the more time to experience pleasure. In Lugano, life literally passes by at a much slower pace. Despite it all, I think I will look forward to some leisurely grocery shopping every week. I'm sure it will get easier as I learn more Italian.

While shopping, I realized that it will be more difficult to feed myself than I anticipated. All the food sold here is very fresh, and by law all stores must label where the food was produced and shipped from, making it very easy to choose local products. I would like to take this as an opportunity to eliminate processed foods from my diet and cut down on my carbon footprint by only buying local, fresh foods. It seems like the Swiss do it, and I really want to figure out how to do it too. I'm even thinking about eating local meat from a macelleria every now and then when I am really lacking in protein, because beans aren't very common here. Right now in my refrigerator and pantry I have tomatoes, carrots, plums, grapes, lettuce, blueberry jam, a homemade loaf of bread, cheese, yougurt, eggs, pasta, olive oil, and "italian beans" (whatever those are). All of these products were either local or imported from Italy.

Class Registration!

I just registered for classes! I am taking Conservation Biology, Environmental Discourses (a communications class centered on how environmental documentaries are framed) macroeconomics, intro to Italian, and a music history class called Mozart to Mahler. When I registered for this last class, my temporary adviser remarked, "How refreshing, an environmental studies person who likes Mahler!" My actual adviser will be the environmental studies department chair once I officially declare my major. I knew who he was right away; he was the only person I have seen in Switzerland wearing Chaco sandals. So far, he seems like a great teacher. For those of you who may be reading this from Lewis and Clark, he is definitely not a Jim Proctor.

I was also assigned what Franklin calls an academic travel class, which is basically a one credit class that all students take that takes place during two weeks of travel outside the classroom. My class is called Following the Rhine, which is basically just what is sounds like. My group will be traveling from where the Rhine starts in Switzerland up through Germany and France, ending in Amsterdam, studying the cultural, historical, and environmental impacts of the river. I can't wait!

Now I'm off to get groceries downtown for the first time, I wonder how much this will cost?

Pizza

I just ate my first Swiss Italian Pizza...it was amazing. The cheese was creamy and the crust was thin, it's like art! There is a pizzeria under one of the dorms. We had a group dinner and sang happy birthday to one of the freshman, much to the amusement of the Italian diners. Even though the student body is so small and obviously very close, everyone is very friendly and supportive to the new students.

My First Few Days

The first day I spent in Switzerland, I was awake for over 24 hours between traveling and orientation at my school. Some of the day is a complete blur, and some I will always remember very vividly. From the airport, it is a three hour bus ride to Lugano, Switzerland where I will be calling home for the next two years while I study at Franklin College. Lugano is in southern Switzerland very close to the border with Italy, and thus is an Italian speaking region. Lugano is absolutely beautiful, right in the middle of the Swiss alps bordering a lake that is as deep as the neighboring peak, San Sal, is high. It is rumored that the Swiss government keeps all of their national treasures hidden in the lake.

Our campus is located right in the middle of the neighborhood of Sorengo. Or rather, we don't have a designated campus; the building owned and used by Franklin College are scattered throughout the neighborhood, which is about a twenty minute walk to downtown Lugano and the Lake. It is very mountainous here; to go downtown, it is all downhill and there is even a tram that takes people up and down the slopes, which will come in handy when I have to go buy groceries from the farmers markets downtown.

I did not expect the Swiss culture to be so distinct and different, but my short amount of time here has made me realize that Americans stick out like a sore thumb among the Swiss. The Swiss in general place great value on respect and civil rights. There are many laws here that never would function in America, such as the police enforced national quiet hours starting at ten at night and ending at eight in the morning (the college regularly gets complaints about our failure to comply), or that it is illegal to walk barefoot or sleep in public. My personal favorite that I thought my Dad in particular might disagree with is that if you harm someone in any way, it is your legal responsibility to stay with them until an ambulance arrives. In other words, this means that if someone tries to rob me at night and I spray them with pepper spray and run away, THEY can sue ME for abuse for not staying with them. In general, the Swiss seem to be very pragmatic, respectful, and stylish people. They also have great cuisine, including chocolate and gelatto! Everything is very fresh and well prepared, if not expensive.

Even though I was homesick and exhausted after my first night, I love it here. I never felt this settled when I was at Lewis and Clark, and I am very excited to start my classes on Monday! I register for classes tomorrow and am planning on continuing my major in environmental studies.