Lugano - Day 1

On Monday morning we loaded up a bus with 31 students, 6 adults, and lots of luggage and food. This was the beginning of Experiental Learning Week, a special time in the middle school when we forgo traditional classroom learning and spend a week doing outdoor activities. Sixth and seventh graders take day trips to places in the area like a ropes course in Loerrach and the zoo in Basel or Mulhouse, and the eighth graders actually spend the week a few hours away in Lugano, Switzerland. I was privileged to spend the week in Lugano with the eighth graders.

Lugano is located in the southeast corner of Switzerland, a few kilometers from the Italian border. It's close enough that many people in the area speak Italian, which I kind of understood because of the Spanish I know! The drive down was beautiful despite the rain that followed us all the way there.


We had a few hours to kill in Lugano because of some last minute itinerary changes, so the kids got to do a little exploring in the city before we boarded the ferry for Caprino. We seemed to make a scene no matter where we went, and loading up the ferry with all our luggage was no exception. I was amazed by how much this ride on the ferry reminded me of my trip to New Zealand with Women's Choir back in 2005!


Finally, we arrived at our cantine, a cute little self-service hostel that we would call home for the next four days. We unloaded, went over the "house rules," assigned chores for the week, then released the kids until dinner time. The view of the mountains overlooking the lake was spectacular, and even though the kids never turned their volume down, it was actually relaxing to be there.