ADVENTURES AT FRANKLIN

Two weeks ago I blogged about the languages of Switzerland  and I admitted that I didn't know a whole lot about Switzerland before coming to Franklin College.. As embarrassing as it is to say, I know that many of my fellow incoming freshmen were just as naive as I. So I thought a quick post about some basic Switzerland trivia just might ensure that future students will perhaps arrive at Franklin more informed than I was!   ⇡ A MAP OF SWITZERLAND BY CANTON Meaningful Facts:  -- Switzerland is comprised of 26 cantons which are kind of like a state in the US. But each of these cantons has their own constitution, legislature, governments, and court. (see above pic!) -- The country code abbreviation for Switzerland is CH, standing for Confederatio Helvetica, the latin name for Switzerland which honors the Helveticans who settled the country back in the day. (and incidentally it also was the inspiration for the Word font "helvetica")   -- S...

Class of 2017, I have some exciting news for you.. In less than one month you will arrive at Franklin College in Switzerland!!  + insert excited squeals  + I hope that everyone is looking forward to a new start, new friends, a new country and most of all.. NEW ADVENTURES. One year ago I had never been to Europe and I will admit, I was a little bit terrified to leave my friends and family back home.  But I am so grateful I took that leap of faith and ended up at school here! In my first year alone I have  had the opportunity to go on two great academic travels covering 6 countries. I spent most of those travels with my jaw dropped, in awe of the beauty + culture + history I was surrounded by. Yet somewhere along the way I inadvertently managed to capture a great many snippets of adventures through iphone videos. Full disclaimer: I am no video expert. But at the end of the year I decided to try my hand at editing, compiled all those amateur videos, and this was th...

I am writing this blog today to dispel myth #1 about Switzerland. For those of you who read my " 10 Signs That You Attend Franklin College " post, you know that an all too common question us Franklin students face from friends back home is: "do you speak swiss?" or even "do you speak swedish yet?" While neither of those questions are particularly intelligent I don't look down on my friends or anything. Because, honesty moment: I was not aware that anything but Swiss-German was spoken in Switzerland before I applied to Franklin. Fact: A large majority of Switzerland is Swiss-German speaking Fiction: Swiss-German is the only language spoken in Switzerland Fact: Swiss-German + French + Italian + Romansh are the four official national languages of Switzerland Fact: Lugano is located in Italian-speaking Switzerland.  At Franklin College completing at least a 300 level language course (9-15 credits) is required as part of our core curriculum (ex...