Back from Como

Now don’t get me wrong – I am loving life in paradise, but this week has been hard for me, knowing that all my buddies back at home in Irving have started school without me. As I sit down to write this blog, one of my favorite Cumbia songs has randomly played on my I-Tunes. I miss my kiddos!! ☹ I hope everyone had a great first few days – I’m anxiously awaiting some funny stories! My mom had a great first day back at LMS, which makes me so very proud of her. She is my inspiration!!

This weekend was Lake Como with birthday boy, Eason. To our surprise it didn’t rain all weekend, as predicted! Instead, the weather was GORGEOUS – about 85 degrees and sunny all weekend!! I was frolicking in the sun and babbling on and on about how it felt like Texas. Oh but it didn’t LOOK like Texas! I’ve never seen a scene so beautiful – mountains, lakes, beautiful houses…the whole nine yards! We drove down on Friday afternoon (only a 20 min drive), and immediately hit the town of Como for a good dinner. Saturday morning we hopped on a boat and headed to Bellagio and Varenna (small towns on Lake Como) to explore. WOW – beautiful! We had lunch and gelato in Bellagio and walked around the lovely town. It was pretty touristy, but still very nice. My favorite part was all of the steps that lead up to shops and tiny restaurants. It’s a quintessential part of an Italian small town! I really enjoyed Varenna, a much quieter/slower paced part of Lake Como (where all you do is also just eat and drink). We explored all over the little town and had some drinks while just taking in the view (see pics/video). Absolutely beautiful and totally romantic. I recommend it to all who come! That night back in Como we had Eason’s official birthday dinner at a yummy steak restaurant (where I got my Texas spicy food cravings fill with the jalapeno beans)!

On Sunday we headed up the funicular (train that takes you up the mountain) to have lunch in yet another small town. The view of Lake Como was fantastic from there – we were amazed at how much of the Alps you could see from that point. After that we had more gelato (!) and a cappuccino, and hit the Duormo. Can you tell that we did a lot of eating and drinking!? ☺ Then back to Lugano for dinner with my TASIS friends at a local Grotto where I tried RABBIT! Believe me, I was scared. I felt like I was eating my childhood pet rabbit…but it was actually pretty tasty! It’s still hard to get used to the food sometimes, but I haven’t had anything I don’t like yet! I’m sure the Mexican food withdrawals are on the way. Oh and speaking of Texas, I’m still looking for a friend to watch the first UT football game with me this Sunday (at one in the morning!). So far no takers, but I’m not giving up that soon! I’m so excited for Texas football to start!

The first week of training with teachers has gone great. I’m just really ready for the kids to get here (with cute Italian names like Fabio and Luigi, who wouldn’t be excited!). I’m really looking forward to seeing Eas again in September when we go to Germany, then again for OU weekend in October and Paris in November. I’m getting spoiled! It’s been really nice to spend time with him (finally!) for longer than just 5 days every 3 or so months. It’s especially nice having someone “close by” since I’m so far away from all my sweet loved ones in Texas! He treats me wonderfully. ☺ The travel plans are in progress…hoping to make it to Spain before Christmas with Morgan. Dad, Lisa and the rest of the Haglund/Jeffrey bunch are heading off to NYC today for the family trip (without me). ☹ I can’t wait to hear all about their trip! Dad/Lisa have been hard at work on the Kent House and deserve a bit of a break. As for me, hopefully the girls here will all get together to plan a trip soon. So far we’ve only made it to the local IKEA, but we’re making progress!

Arrivederci! Love you all!

Off to Como!

Hello everyone! This is going to be short/sweet, but I wanted to update you all. Eason is here (after getting hassled by border patrol about not having a Swiss driving tag -- they'll get you for anything if it makes them more money) and he only got lost once (that he told me about!). :) We're having lunch here at school, then off we go to Lake Como! I'm really excited about getting away for a little bit. Not that I need a vacation from this beautiful place, but it will be nice to see more of Italy and just relax with my boy. :) I have no real plans while we're there, other than eating a lot of pasta, drinking some good wine, and maybe taking some boat rides along the lakes (I hear Bellagio is really nice!). Then back here on Sunday to welcome all the new teachers! We have a tight schedule next week, but I'm really excited about it! Everyone seems SO smart and SO talented here...I'm having to step up my game!

Last night Blair stayed with me and found a little black kitty! She has decided to keep it and we named it Chianti! He's so sweet and cuddly. I'm happy to be an aunt over here to her kitty!! I'll post pictures of our little guy soon!!

I love getting everyone's posts and I thank you for keeping in touch with me this way! More soon, I promise! I love you all!

New Video from School

Here is a video I took of school, although I left out the really pretty buildings like the library and gym. I'll shoot those soon (don't want to be the big DORK on campus walking around with a camera all of the time!) Enjoy!

I have now spent 4 nights in my new home, and it has gotten increasingly easier to sleep. It’s ridiculously quiet where I live, which is a blessing in disguise I suppose. For me, it’s been too quiet. But that’s probably because I don’t have any friends, a TV in English, a phone, or Internet which tends to “noisy-up” our lives these days. I began to rectify this problem by watching 1-2 episodes of Friends on DVD every night. But when I started noticing technical errors that the crew was making, I figured I had watched that DVD one too many times.

So, imagine my joy last night when I heard firecrackers in the distance! Realizing I have no idea what holidays are celebrated here, I began to make up my own reasons why people would be shooting them off (Swiss Independence Day?, a small Swiss Disneyland resort?, a U2 concert?, George Clooney beckoning to me?). Despite my wandering mind (with a lot of “me” time these days, even I am annoyed by my psyche), I quite enjoyed sipping a glass of local Ticino wine on my porch with the beautiful view.

Today was supposed to be a day of hiking, until I realized at 7:15 a.m. that it looked like rain (it’s 3:00 now and still no rain in sight), plus I don’t exactly have “hiking” materials, such as a backpack to fit maps, money for buses, rain coats, water, and the like. So I opted instead to stay in and read and take several naps. That is the Hayley I was searching for!

One of my main goals in this adventure was to read for pleasure more. I have completed 2 pleasure-reading books this week (when during the school year it’s sometimes 2 a year, if I’m lucky!), and am already chomping at the bit to start the 3rd. Thank you, my sweet friends, for that book shower! **Sidenote: for those who care – The Glass Castle by Jeeannette Walls is a heart wrenching but excellent memoir of a child who grew up in poverty, but overcame great perils to become a successful (and talented) writer; and Shakespeare by Bill Bryson, one of my favorite writers these days, is a really great, succinct (as much as can be expected) historical account on the history of Shakespeare. It amazes me that as an English major (and one who took a whole course on Shakespeare), I could be so uneducated about the mysteries of his life.

Yesterday I walked (this Texas girl walked!) to the bottom of the mountain – a 45 minute excursion just to the edge of Lugano. I’m not sure I’ll do that again! But the weather was a perfect 82 degrees (see pictures!) and there were tons of tourists out. I walked alongside the lake for a while, taking pictures of all of the action on the lake. The sailboats remind me of being at the beach, so I was a happy girl. Then I popped in and out of stores (Lugano is quite possibly the most expensive place in Switzerland, thanks to the warm climate that attracts tourists), so buying my Prada purse today was out of the question. I stumbled upon an old Catholic church at the top of the hill, and lit a candle for my loved ones back home. From there I just wandered…in search for wine and wine glasses and other staple items (finally found at the Co-op – a MUCH smaller, Swiss version of Walmart). I had a pizza and beer in the main piazza and soaked in the European lifestyle. How lovely it is!

At dinner back at school, I met a bunch of the outgoing summer teachers at school who were very nice. Paul, the TASIS expert on hiking, rock-climbing, snowboarding, and anything else done outside, had prepared a map and a bus schedule for me (thank you, Paul!). He is originally from Britain, but has lived and worked here for more than 30 years, so he is definitely someone you want to be friends with. He very kindly explained to me which busses to take to the hike up San Salvatore Mountain, and even told me that there used to be a national weather center there. Apparently Lugano was once in the Guinness World Book for having the most thunderstorms! That scared me away from hiking today…although apparently meteorologists in Ticino are as good as Finfrock in Dallas, as the sun is brightly shining once again in Lugano!

First Blog in Switzerland!

Well I’ve finally made it! I arrived to Lugano (via London and Milan) this afternoon, and just barely made it to my shuttle to Lugano. I was extremely thankful that I had been here before in March, because that made the whole process of getting your bags, finding the right shuttle, begging the driver in Italian to take you, and having Swiss Francs to pay the shuttle a heck of a lot easier! We stopped in Como to go through the border of Italy and Switzerland (very easy, nothing like what we’re used to traveling to Mexico!) and I looked desperately for Mr. Clooney, but to no avail this time. I think Eas and I will go there next weekend for his birthday, so stay tuned for more celebrity sightings!

When I arrived at the train station, my boss, Nyman, and the school secretary, Jutta, were there to pick me up! They are so, so kind and made me feel very welcomed. It was good to see a familiar face, for sure! Then they drove me by school, and dropped me at my VERY nice “temporary” apartment. And when I say nice, I mean nice! Big bed, hardwood floors, big bathroom, leather couches, full kitchen and dining area, a FLAT SCREEN TV, and a fantastic view of Lake Lugano and the town. Check out the video! Thank you, Noni and John, for buying me the “Flip” handheld camera. Now I will be able to video all kinds of cool places I travel to!

I love the apartment, but will only be here until October. My next one may not be so lush (no cable TV – but when all of the stations are in Italian, it doesn’t really matter!). This particular apartment is super safe – on the second floor but you have to get inside one locked door before getting inside the next. This town is very safe, so it’s nice to just walk around everywhere and explore. I will have to share this one with a roommate (who doesn’t get here for a week or so) until my one bedroom is ready, and there is no phone or internet connection. ☹ I’m super bummed about that, because now I can’t email, Skype or Facebook stalk from home. I suppose I’ll just have to read and watch old episodes of Sex and the City and the Rose Bowl on my computer (oh you know I brought it!). But if I know me, I’ll be at work a lot, and will use the internet and phone there. A very nice British man who has taught here for forever says it only costs 10c/minute to call back to the States, so that was good to hear!

My apartment came stocked with a welcome basket – including a bottle of local Ticino wine, bread, fruit, butter, and some sort of latte milk-like carton that doesn’t have to be refrigerated. Not sure about that! I spent about an hour putting things away, then showered for dinner. Halfway thru the shower I realized I didn’t have a hairdryer that works over here, so it is al-natural for me for a few days! I will try to take a taxi or have a new friend drive me to the IKEA/mall like area outside of town to take care of that, and quicklike! I met my first Swiss spider in my bedroom, which I wasn’t too thrilled about, but I showed him who was boss and he met his doom with the toilet. Shout out to Kristin – one of the rooms has a GIGANTIC ceiling to floor mirrored closet space along the entire side wall, which reminds me of good ol’ Reflections at Valley Ranch. Talk about your primo dance space!

After the shower, I began my short hike up the mountain to the school (literally, it should have only taken me a few minutes, but I took the long, exploratory way – or “see people” way as we say in East Texas). I encountered several adorable Italian speaking bambinis (Italian for “kids”– don’t you LOVE that?!) and a couple of Italian cats as well. At one point I could have SWORN that I heard my name being shouted, and did a complete 360 looking up trying to figure out where it was coming from. Turns out, I was right below school, and the summer program is still going on at TASIS (with quite a few American kids here). The campus is LOVELY and the food was actually pretty tasty! I had french fries, lamb chops, and a stuffed pepper, then finished dinner off with gelato from the local gelato shop RIGHT underneath school (yes, this could be a problem). Our secretary’s daughter, a seven-year old gelato expert, helped me pick out my straccietella and black cherry combo. DELICIOUS!

The kids here for the summer program are just like any other kids, so that was a sense of comfort for me. No matter where you go or what language they speak, kids are kids. I had to bite my tongue from getting onto two that were playing around in the corner, and two more who cut me in line. If I knew how to cuss them out in Italian I would have (more because the 15 year old girl was showing off her new matching Guess purse and belt, not to mention the Gucci sunglasses – whatever!). My boss’s daughter (who’s been here all of a week) just had her birthday party tonight, and she received an I-Touch IPOD from 5 of her new closest friends who are descendants to a royal family in the Middle East. I’m looking forward to my birthday now!! ;)

I have hung put up pictures, Texas magnets, and am in the middle of finally unpacking my clothes. I’m so glad to finally be settled and not living out of boxes and suitcases! The pictures of friends/family are making it feel much more like home. Meanwhile, I’m sitting out on my awesome balcony with the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen (a lake, mountains, city lights, and even a full moon!). It’s raining out today, but it’s not getting me down. After all, it’s a Haglund tradition that the day you buy a new car it indefinitely will rain. It’s all part of a new and exciting start! Tomorrow is the first day at work and I couldn’t be more excited about the challenge ahead. I have met some great people here so far, and I look forward to meeting more next week when the teachers arrive! The new John Mayer Live soundtrack and I are getting along quite nicely out here on this porch with a lovely view. The roar of thunder that echoes in this “bowl” of a town in the Ticino Canton is soothing and has brought a nice temperature with it. I feel like I’m really going to love it here!

Finally Arrived!

The view from my apartment!  HELLO! :)

Ignore the goofy face!  Yes I'm goofy, but I am still learning about my new video camera that my gracious grandparents gave me! :)