Out With the Old, In With the New

Hi Everyone, It seems like it has been awhile since I blogged last. It is incredible how much is going on here at TASIS and I realize that if I don't stay on top of keeping this blog updated, the number of things to write about adds up extremely fast. The following is an overview of what has happened in the last few weeks. If it is a bit long for you I won't be offended if you want to skip some.

Currently the first session students have gone and the new second session students are here. The summer is split into two sessions: first a four week session, and then a three week session. Since I left off in the third or so week of the first session let me tell you about some of things that filled our days in the last week of the first session.

A Garden Party, which had live music and finger food on one of the terraces overlooking Lake Lugano. Don't the students look older when they get dolled up?

Ayoub - one of my favorite students

other counselors and teachers

My advisory group did a ropes course. Many of the students are being stretched to take healthy risks by the activities that we have been doing this summer - hiking, performing, meeting new friends, ropes courses, etc.   Carlotta, in red, kept yelling "Dio Mio!" (Oh my god!) at every part of the course, but she still did them. Nice!

We exposed these international students to what every real American summer camp entails - s'mores and campfires.

S'mores are a bit different in Swizterland than in the USA though. Notice the 3/4 inch thick piece of chocolate that Sam (counselor) is holding. Yum!

The last weekend trip of the first session was amazing. We headed to the high Alps (Lugano is located in the lower, more southern Alps) near a city called Andermatt.

Our group (eight students and two chaperones) visited the Rhone Glacier,

and got to walk on it.

We admired some great views,

while also watching our step.

Happy Explorers!

We learned to climb using our crampons under the guidance of our two professional mountain men,

and visited a man-made ice cave inside the glacier.

Then we the drove down the valley a bit and hiked up to a mountain hut where we spent the night.

Can you spot the hut in this picture? This was one of a 120-hut chain, each separated by a one-day's walk. This means you can walk across the entire Alp Range with a warm meal and cozy bed waiting for you every night.

the hut which housed about 50 people

around the hut looking east

looking west

before sunrise looking east; At night we had a real treat at dinner. After eating in the dining room, the table next to us began yodelling. They yodelled for a good 45 minutes. What a treat!

I finally realized where the word "Alpine" and "Alpinist" come from ... the Alps!

some of the views from the hut

It was a "peak" life experience.

On Sunday, the day we had to leave, we hiked in the morning,

and did some rock-climbing.

Besides the beautiful setting and awesome activites, the trip was truly great because of our wonderful students. Megan (the other chaperone) and I agreed that we had the best "children" one could ask for.

 Other things that we did at the end of the first session:

The Student Talent Show directed by Michael Brew

It had musical group performances,

dance numbers,

and solo performances.

Timur (a Russian whose first language, obviously, is not English) nailed Frank Sinatra's My Way.

We had a student play, which they wrote the script and music to (with the help of the performing arts staff) in four weeks.

And we finished the session with the Lake Lugano Boat Dance. Here is the counselor group while the students were in the back dancing.

So that wrapped up the first session. We were all very much in need of a break from our fast-paced routine and for the first time in a month campus was quiet. I actually got a little sad with no students around. We had a day and a half off before the second session started, so we counselors...

grouped up,

did some hiking,

got silly,

hung out with some very friendly Swiss cows,

and enjoyed the view.

We celebrated Lauren's birthday, who always gets a tattoo of the countries she has spent significant time in,

Swizterland = check!

 Then the second session students came.

Here is my new (and creative) advisory group.

This past weekend we traveled to Luzern, which is very pretty.

Among other things we visited a transportation museum, where they have exhibits on every type of mode of transportation: planes,

trains,

and more.

This is how they bore tunnels through the Alps. The Gotthard Tunnel, which I have had to take several times during our weekend trips, is the third longest tunnel in the world at just over 10 miles.

I highly recommend visiting Luzern if you're in the area.

Last but not least we visited Villa Balbionello yesterday, a beautiful villa on Lake Como. Several movies have had scenes filmed here including Stars Wars Episode II and the James Bond movie Casino Royal. 

And with driveways like this I can see why you'd film here.

The latest owner of this villa, Count Guido Monzino, had an interesting story. He was a modern day explorer.

He spent his life traveling the world.

He was the first Italian to reach the top of Everest. He made it to the North Pole on dog sled. In total he made 21 expeditions.

The villa was littered with objects from countries from all over the world. Oh, and his library, which was filled with books, atlases and maps, also had secret passages in the walls leading to other parts of the villa.

The incredible life and villa of Count Monzino were fascinating, but it also made me wonder if he was truly happy.

Is a lifetime spent traveling the world fulfilling?

So I went a bit deep there, but what comes, comes. There is only two weeks left 'til we all part ways and head home. The time here has been awesome and I am sad to leave it, but at the same time I am looking forward to getting back to seeing you all. 

Ciao da Lugano!

Ciao. This is Dan writing to you at the beginning of my 4th week here in Lugano. Having spent a little bit of time here now, I am pretty-well oriented to my surroundings and the weekly routine. This translates into a less chaotic and more enjoyable time. I have also started sitting in on some Italian classes with the students, and am getting better about taking time for solitude. 

The greatest need of our time is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish that clutters our minds. - Thomas Merton

  

Solitude is really important at a place like TASIS, where your day can easily be filled with activities, although wonderful, from dawn 'til dusk. But, what are some of these wonderful activities that I speak of?

Last week we put on a Casino Night for the students.

They all got dressed up,

tried their luck at games like Black Jack, Poker and Uno,

and bought prizes.

Here is the high rolling Saudi crew who did well enough to buy this large Swiss chocolate bar. Look for these guys in Forbes Magazine in 20 years. They needed to eat the chocolate quickly before their fasting for Ramadan started two days later.

Another night we had a Mystery Van evening - students got into a van driven by us counselors not knowing where they would be taken.They were thrilled when we arrived at the carnival.

Then the weekend came. On Saturday I got to chaperone the Milan trip, which I was very happy about.

The students did their Gucci and Prada shopping at the Victor Emmanuel II Mall,

we spun three time on the bull of Torino for good luck,

and marveled at the Duomo (cathedral) di Milano. This place took 500 years to build .... that's more than twice as long as the USA has been a country!!!

The entire Duomo is made out of marble. Its elaborate carving, from foundation to roof, were amazing,

as well as interesting.

We also got to see some of Da Vinci's work including the Last Supper (sorry no photos were allowed). It might have been the highlight of the trip.

But the sharing gelato with the other counselors was close second.

Life is about balance, so Sunday found us away from the cities enjoying Switzerland's great outdoors.

 It is hard to believe, but the first of the two summer sessions is almost over. This group of students goes home next week, which means my time is about half over here.

I guess all we can do is live in the moment. Arrivederci.

Hello again blog-followers! Thanks again for checking in. In my last entry I had just finished my first week in Lugano, the students had recently arrived and I was looking forward to getting to know them better. Well, I have been able to through all the awesome activities we do together each day. The picture above is the setting for these awesome activities - the picturesque Lake Lugano. I am not the only person in history to think this area is special. The author Herman Hesse made his home ten minutes from our school's campus. Anyways, here are some of the typical activities that fill my "work week:"

horseback riding

Here's one of my favorite advisees, Ayoub. He tells me about how he races horses when he is back home in Libya.

ice cream social/limbo competition

Advisory Group Olympics during which the students had to construct a boat out of cardboard, duck tape, and plastic bags. Our advisory team name was the Snoragnes. 

The boat races were a lot of fun.

On Thursday evenings we go down to the city of Lugano (our school is a few kilometers above it), to shop, eat gelato and basically get a sugar-high.

On Friday we windsurf

on Lago Maggiore.

Here's a student (and faculty) soccer tournament ... the Spaniards beat the Russians in the finals this week.

Here are all the students that I do these activities with. The are an awesome bunch.

Although I have no right to complain, doing all these activities tires you out, but the other counselors (above) are amazing. We keep each other going and have a great time together.

On the weekends we always head out of town - Saturday for a full day trip and Sunday for a half day trip. This past Saturday, we went to Switzerland's capital, Zurich. Although it was rainy, we had still got to know the old town around the River Limmat,

explored some cool churches (Grossmunster = big cathedral),

and wandered through the back streets in search of souvenirs and espresso.

Here's what the country side looks like between Lugano and Zurich...not a bad view to stare at during the three hour bus ride.

The students seemed to have a good time on the trip too.

And finally on Sunday, we got some sleep-in time, and an afternoon at the Ascona lido (a public, open-air swimming pool or bathing beach).

Hoping you're well from a happy camper in Swizterland.