December at FUS
December is upon us, and the
festivities are well underway! The trees are lit, markets are open, and
snowfall has begun. While students are finishing up essays and exams, they are
also trying to fit in the last few days of winter exploration.
Side note: If you plan on
journeying to an Italian-speaking destination during the holidays, you should
know the word for Christmas – “Natale” – as it will pop up everywhere.
It all began on December 1st
with a series of tree lightings in Lugano. First, Franklin students decorated
the FUS Christmas tree on campus with lights, decorations, and – of course –
tinsel. There were cookies, candy canes, hot chocolate, and smiles so big that
they could only be caused by holiday cheer. After the tree was sufficiently
shiny, students wandered downtown to watch the city’s biggest Christmas tree
light up in the main square (the Piazza della Riforma). After the long-awaited
countdown, the packed crowd dispersed to explore the Christmas markets and warm
up with hot drinks.
After the festivities began, my
friends and I used our “After 7” train passes (see the previous blogpost about transportation)
and hopped on a train to Fribourg, a bilingual French/German speaking city in
the Western part of Switzerland. During our visit, we traipsed through the snow
and attended the city’s largest festival – The St.
Nicholas Day Parade. Thousands of excited viewers gathered to watch a
teenage boy dressed up as St Nicholas give his annual speech from the top of
the city’s 500-year-old Cathedral of St. Nicholas.
The holiday spirit continued on
December 3rd, when Franklin students ventured to the renowned Basel Christmas
Market. Every year a group of resident assistants plan a trip to Basel, a German-speaking
Swiss city that is just three hours away from Lugano by train. Basel is known
far and wide for being the most festive Swiss city during the Holidays. Not
only is the Christmas Market the largest in Switzerland, but the streets are
lined with incredible lights, and the museums and galleries are occupied with
special exhibitions. The group had the chance to buy gifts for friends and
family, drink hot wine, eat traditional Swiss food (including baguettes filled
with melted cheese), and enjoy each other’s company during this magical time of
year.
On the 10th day of
December, Franklin students were gifted with the first snowfall of the season.
On Monday morning, the first official day of Final’s week, the inhabitants of
Lugano arose to a completely white city surrounded by snowy mountains. Even
Lugano’s notorious palm trees were heavy with snow. The weather provided a perfect
environment for productive studying and essay writing. The library, cafeteria,
and other common spaces stayed open until the early hours of the morning to
accommodate for a deadline-filled week.
To recap, it has been a perfect
end to an eventful semester, and I am glad you have tuned into this blog to
read all about it! Check back in next semester for new posts about life here at
Franklin University Switzerland. From Carnevale to Holi, there should be a lot
of fun in store for this upcoming Spring semester.
Happy Holidays and Arrivederci,
Ember
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