Tutte Le Strade

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Welcome to another semester at Franklin! One of the best things about the Fall semester is that there is an incredible “Welcome to Franklin” program that lasts from Orientation Week until Academic Travel. It is called “Tutte Le Strade” meaning “All the Roads” in Italian - it is a take on the historical saying “All roads lead to Rome.” 

Two years ago, as an incoming student, I remember being overwhelmed with how many fun activities there were to do during TLS! It seemed like every other day there was some kind of presentation, trip downtown, movie night, pizza tour, gelato party or weekend trip. It is madness! But oh so fun. 

During my first semester there was not a single week before Academic Travel that I didn’t participate in some kind of fun TLS activity. It was a great way to meet new people, stay busy, learn more about Switzerland and have fun time! 

Here is a copy of the TLS 2014 schedule so you can see for yourself! 
My freshmen year I especially loved the Saturday excursion to a farmers market in Ponte Tresa, Italy and a trip to the nearby Alprose chocolate factory to stock up on some necessities! 

I have so many more photos and stories to share! But if I included photos from every activity, this post would be wayyy too long, so here are just a few highlights! 

BLUES TO BOP
This much loved Lugano music festival takes place every year right after the first week of classes. It is a wonderful 'Welcome Back' tradition for Franklin students to get dressed up and go downtown for an evening of great music and even greater friends. 

BABEL FESTIVAL
A 30min train ride away, Bellinzona is the capital of our canton (Ticino) and home to beautiful castles (also an UNESCO World Heritage Site), delicious kebabs, and the Babel Literature & Translation Festival. Students get to explore the market and mingled with authors, translators, and other readers. 
HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL
Franklin partnered with several local groups to host the kick off of a four-day film festival (Festival Diritti Umani Lugano) that promoted human rights awareness and encouraged lively discussion based on powerful, compelling film screenings. 


SWISS BUS TOUR
The Swiss Bus Tour requires a small fee, but it is nothing compared to the whirlwind experience of visiting 5+ cities in one weekend in French-speaking Switzerland. A few favorite stops on the Swiss Bus Tour include: the United Nations in Geneva, the cheese factory (La Maison de Gruyere) in Gruyere, the Callier chocolate factory, and the parliament building in Bern. Check out a recent post for more photos.

HIKING
To live in Switzerland and not take advantage of our ridiculously scenic natural surroundings would be a terrible tragedy. Switzerland has some of the best hiking paths in the whole world! Thankfully Franklin is fully aware of this fact and promotes a plethora of outdoor excursions including several Tutte Le Strade hikes to surrounding mountains. 

SOCCER GAMES
The men's soccer team at Franklin plays on Friday nights and it is always fun to go watch a game and cheer them on! Go FUS! 
And if all of that wasn't enough evidence for you, I conducted a 'scientific study' — aka I asked a few freshmen about their experience with TLS — and everyone had great things to say about a wide variety of programs! 

“ The Student Panel on Smart, Safe, and Cheap Ways to Travel was very informational.  I gained much needed information and websites on travel topics such as flights and hostels."
-- Ariana Satina ‘18

“ I really enjoyed Apple McGoober [Franklin’s Open Mic night] I didn't expect so many people to participate and a lot of the performances were really funny I especially liked Kloie's bit on Minnesota."
-- Alyssa Isabelle Viernes ‘18

 " I went to the Human Right Film Festival, and it was really interesting to see the professors in an academic setting outside of the classroom, and also to see that Franklin is a part of the larger community in Lugano."
-- Sean Solis ‘18

Local festivals, movie nights, morning hikes, sunset hikes, pizza tours - it just doesn’t get much better than this! Upcoming events that I am excited about? Lugano's Autumn Festival, paddle boating around Lake Lugano and the International Food Night. 

There are a lot of reasons why it is an exciting time to be a Franklinite! 
Did you participate in TLS? Let me know what your favorite activity was in the comments below! 

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