Settled in and Technical Difficulties

This is my third day in Switzerland, I suppose. At the very least it's the second day that I woke up in a nice fluffy IKEA bed in a Swiss villa built in 1750. Which, one would have to admit, is one of the better ways to wake up.

Yes, I did indeed arrive safely in London Heathrow, had a small delay before flying safely to Milan-Malpensa. Got all the luggage (except possibly a toothbrush I was certain had been packed), and a nice bus trip over the border to Switzerland and Riva-San Vitale. I couldn't tell you a thing about first impressions of the Alps or of Europe in general because of two things:

1: Rain. It rained at Dulles International as I arrived for my grand trip. It rained in London as I got off my flight and waited for the next. It rained in Milan as we wandered through Customs and onto the bus. And it only stopped raining in Riva late last night. Luckily, it was dry enough for the bars.

2: British Airways has really advanced their entertainment options. Lots of television and 100+ movie choices. Which meant I had Top Gear and Doctor Who and movies! Attempted "Withnail and I", as that has been on the Netflix list for awhile, but sacrificed that in favor of "Shrek 3". That was after the two hours of BBC programming. Which made sleep of any sort nearly impossible.

And because of those two things, I was unable to sleep until I got on the plane to Milan, whereupon I slept as much as possible before getting to Villa.

The Villa itself is gorgeous. Three levels with handmade tile floors (all of which are impossible to replace, so no bare feet anywhere), plaster walls (please do not touch or lean), and very high ceilings (with awesome acoustics. You can hear everything...everywhere). My room is just off from the Liberal Arts classroom, which means no slacking for me. Not that that was possible with such a small group. We have two Italians cooking for us, so I haven't had a boring meal since I arrived. Highlights? Tonight was veal and tiramisu. Yesterday we had chicken with mushroom sauce. The first night was had turkey. Everything has been delicious, beyond anything I've had. And so I will be a bit of a food snob when I return.

The town of Riva is very small, so to do more than take a short walk we have to take the train over to Lugano, which we probably will get to sometime this week. One of my roommates needs some things, and I can think of a few items that would make this experience a little easier.

Which brings us to a few recommendations: Skype is fine and dandy. It makes computer to computer calls for free. I don't have a calling card, and I'll probably only use the international cell to call restaurants or museums. I can have frequent chats with the home, and if my usb port doesn't get grumpy again, I'll see others, and they can see me. However, I have spent more than an hour tonight trying to make it work. I know everything little thing about the sound applications of my computer, and have more than once considered throwing it all away and hoping I could order another computer in time. And then the headset I have for the Skype is fiddling with my iTunes indirectly. Meaning? Simply that I will learn very quickly the joys of a technology free life over here. I have three-day weekends, so I should be off adventuring. While the Villa's library has few options, I think I'll be tackling James Joyce for lack of anything else. And walking will happen; lots of walking tours. Too much to see to be troubled by grumpy mechanics.

As for what I've done so far: I arrived, and slept. Woke up on Saturday, had many hours of orientation, with a luncheon intermission. Went with a group to the local mini-mart to discover that I had arrived in a land where Snickers are exotic foreign candy, while Lindt, Toblerone, and Haribo gummi bears are the norm. I have since decided that this is how things ought to be, and I may never come home. Got back from that, after a quick walk around town, for dinner. Afterwards, nearly the entire group came to the conclusion that it was high time we went to the bar. And so off to the bars! There are supposedly six in Riva/Capo Lago (the town that borders Riva, and really is part of Riva as far as I can tell). We managed twenty people in Bar Ticino for a bit, and after the locals came in, and a few of our group went out, we learned the secret to international relations.

Put simply, everyone love Bon Jovi. Or at least American music. I believe we were considered the obnoxious Americans for an hour, until "Living on a Prayer" began, and we lost all shame. Nothing compares to 12 American students belting, and matched by one Swiss woman who's clearly had a few more than us. Follow that up with Three Non-Blondes' "What's Going On" and you have got a night out on the town. We left once the music switched to Italian, and divided the groups. I followed some to the osteria across the street for locals who clearly weren't pleased by the addition of Americans, but the owners did give us a panetonne for one girl's birthday.

Today was a trip to Bellinzona, a medieval fortified town. So fortified, in fact, that it has three castles. Sweet little town, but covered in snow, and closed up for Sunday. As such, all we could manage was a brief walking tour, with a stop off at the blessedly open pastry shop.

All in all, I've had a great time so far. Classes begin tomorrow, as will serious planning of how to spend this semester. I'm thinking about going to Milan next weekend, it being so close. And Prague for spring break.
The bear has been named as well. He is to be called Randolph.