Welcome!

-

Hello! My name is Jessica, I am so happy we could meet! :) I am currently a student at Franklin College in Switzerland and through this blog I am hoping to share with you a little bit about my experiences here!

The blog is composed of three categories: "Academic Travel" a super unique and awesome part of Franklin's academic curriculum. Each semester for two weeks the campus shuts down and professors lead small groups of students across Europe on different travels. Under this category you will find me posting about the basis of Academic Travel, my opinions on it, and of course updates during the actual two weeks I am traveling during the semester! "Adventures at Franklin" chronicles my involvement at Franklin as a student and in the community. Here you may find posts about living in the dorms, class sizes, class difficulty, and reports on different events which I attend over the course of the semester. "Independent Travel" is just what it sounds like! I take advantage of our ideal location of Europe and typically twice a semester plan an "independent trip" and have the opportunity to explore somewhere I have never been before.  Also included on the top menu bar are links back to this blogs home page and a link to the Franklin College Switzerland website in case anyone wants to do their own research. That was a lot of information in one little paragraph and I am sure it raised more than a few questions.


So lets begin with the big question: Why start this "Adventures at Franklin" blog?

Attending Franklin College Switzerland truly is an "adventure" in every sense of the word. Incredible travels in foreign lands, meeting tons of cool new people, exploring my own identity, all the while garnering valuable knowledge both in and out of the classroom. I love being here but of course it comes with a unique set of obstacles and challenges. Believe me when I say that I have had my fair share of cultural/linguistic/societal mishaps during my time here! But I am firm believer in laughing it off and learning from mistakes. Live, learn, and grow!

I know that when I was looking into attending Franklin I had dozens of questions and was desperate to find a current Franklin student who would answer them honestly. I just wanted to make sure that my chosen college would be the right fit for me! College decisions can be daunting – I was scared and didn't know where to turn. Flash forward a year and here I am. If anyone reading this is thinking about attending Franklin feel free to comment or shoot me an email and ask any questions you may have, I promise to be honest with you and I will do my best to get back to you asap!

Ciao! xoxo

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 28, 2013 at 9:42 AM

    Hi Jessica,
    I have applied and been accepted to Franklin as a freshman for the 2013-14 academic year and recently stumbled upon your blog. You said to shoot you off an email if I have any questions (which I do!), but I can't seem to find an address to email you at... I'd love to get some of my questions about Franklin answered if you are able to answer them!
    Please let me know where I can reach you.
    Thanks,
    Marina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousMarch 29, 2013 at 8:18 AM

      Hi Marina,
      First off, congratulations on your acceptance!! Secondly, my email is jessica.d.oglesby@gmail.com. And for anyone else reading this feel free to send me an email as well or post a question in the comments section and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
      much love, Jessica

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Switzerland: All About Cantons!

-
Image
This week on Adventures at Franklin, we're going to be talking about cantons - the geographic regions that make up Switzerland. If you're planning to live in Switzerland, it's important to know about the different cantons because  each one has varying laws, holidays and even languages . What even is a canton? You might ask. Well, a canton is similar to a state, like those found in countries like the United States and Mexico. However, each Swiss canton has its own constitution that has been federally approved. There are 26 cantons in total , among them several half cantons . Half cantons are cantons that split at some point. They mainly differ from other cantons in that they only send one member to the upper house of parliament, rather than two. Franklin University Switzerland is located in Ticino , the only canton in Switzerland where Italian is the only official language. Although Italian is spoken in neighboring Graubünden as well, it has four official languag...
Read more

Key Words and Phrases to Know in the Major Swiss Languages

-
Image
Something that many people unfamiliar with Switzerland do not know is that it is a multilingual country.  Switzerland has four national languages : German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Contrary to what some people believe, this does not mean that every Swiss person can speak all four languages. In fact, although many (if not most) people are multilingual, they tend to stick to the language of their region when it comes to communicating and consuming media. Every Franklin student knows the value of picking up a few words of the many languages they encounter — and when it comes to getting around in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, where Franklin is located, it's definitely useful to have some terms at hand.  By Marco Zanoli (sidonius 13:20, 18 June 2006 (UTC)) - Swiss Federal Statistical Office; census of 2000, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=875011 I thought I would use this post to provide some linguistic basics when it co...
Read more

Swiss Cities in Depth: Bern

-
Image
Welcome back to Swiss Cities in Depth , a series where I explore and share what Switzerland has to offer. In the last post , I wrote about Lugano, where Franklin is located. This time, I'll be talking about Bern, the capital of Switzerland! You may have seen it spelled "Berne," the French version of its name. Keep reading to find out about Bern's multilingualism, plus much more! Bern's Cathedral (tallest in Switzerland!) Brief History and Politics The city of Bern was founded in the late 12th century. It joined the Swiss Confederacy in the mid-1300's, soon conquering nearby territories and increasing steadily in population due to immigration from surrounding areas.  After its original wooden buildings were destroyed in a huge fire in 1405, Bern was rebuilt with sturdier materials in a style that remains characteristic of the city today.  In 1848, Switzerland was united as a federal state and Bern was made the seat of the federal government, ...
Read more