Goodbye & Hello

-

Happy New Year everyone! I can hardly believe it's 2015 and that I'm already finished with my 5th semester at Franklin! It was an incredible one, and I am grateful for all the opportunities I had, new friendships I made, and the knowledge I garnered. I especially savored my time in Lugano because, I will not be back at Franklin this January. I am off on a new adventure for the spring semester, but never fear I will be back for Fall 2015, and I'm looking forward to my senior year at Franklin! In the meantime though, I am leaving you all in very capable hands. A wonderful classmate of mine will be taking over this blog next semester and I am excited for her to give you her own perspective on life at Franklin! 

So everyone, meet Morgan! 

She is from Boston, Massachusetts and majoring in International Management with an emphasis in Finance. She will be a Junior at Franklin in the spring, but she has spent the last semester studying abroad in the land down under! 
(^^) This is a photo Morgan sent me of where she has been living and studying in Australia... count me jealous! 
Her passions include: hiking, skiing, photography, travel, reading and much more. This photo was taken by her on a ski trip to Interlaken, Switzerland last spring. 

We had so many amazing students apply for this blogger position, it was beyond difficult to narrow it down, but Morgan's application really stood out because of what she had to say about what it means to be a Franklin student. I loved it so much I'd like to share it with you all now: 

" Franklin to me represents six continents, and twenty nine countries. Franklin represents my home, not my second home, but my first. But not only does Franklin equate to travel in my mind, to me it's a family. It's Holi, the Indian Celebration of spring every April. It's Oktoberfest, and all of the adventures and stories that come with our annual pilgrimage to Munich. It's late-night hot chocolate dates with friends from all around the world, and having so many cultures and languages represented in our classrooms. Franklin is the alps, it is apres ski festivities with the Franklin Ski Club. Franklin means Blueberry Piecake (now fondly referred to as Apple McGoober.) Franklin is the intimidating checkout ladies at Manor, and the daily beautiful struggle which is the language barrier between English and Italian, though it ebbs over time. Franklin is knowing that there isn't much that a Valf sandwich can't cure, and knowing that the best spot in Switzerland to study is in our super cool library-turned-bunker, with goodies from Tamoil, of course. Franklin is knowing that family is only just a Skype call away, but it's also knowing that family is living right on Via Ponte Tresa, in the form of friends who will last a lifetime. Franklin is knowing that these pictures, these stories, these people we do life with -- these will stay with us, longer than any other state school or well known university could provide. The wanderlust and inspiration I have gathered from Franklin has led me to all different corners of the earth, and has led me back to Switzerland once more. The quote "look before you leap, but please leap" is what led me to Franklin in the first place, and has proven to me that it's better to take a chance, and go for the adventure, than it is to wonder what if." 

Doesn't she sound lovely?! You all are in great hands and I will be back soon enough! Thank you to everyone who made my fall semester great, "ciao for now", see you later, and of course best wishes for 2015!






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 comes t
Read more

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

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