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!