On September 3rd (I know, I'm just a little late!) a group of students went to the Bellinzona Wine Festival.
Bellinzona is another city in the Canton of Ticino here in Switzerland (north of Lugano)
Fun fact about Ticino is that there is a lot of wine produced locally. I'm not a wine connoisseur, and don't have much to compare it to, but from what I understand the wine from the Ticino region is drier than wines from California and elsewhere.
The wine festival is a great place to sample some locally made wines and even buy a bottle if you so desire. (The wine that I liked best had already sold out -- so I guess I have good taste in wine, eh?)
First you have to buy a wine glass for 10 CHF (CHF = Swiss Francs)
After you purchase you glass, you're able to walk around the different stalls (and there were tones of them. I would guess around fifty or so?) and just sample the different types of wine.
I prefer white wine, really, but there were some very nice red and rosé wines!
I prefer white wine, really, but there were some very nice red and rosé wines!
Here you can see my friends (from left) Francesca, Kaitlin, (me), and Gloria enjoying the culture!
The week before the wine festival (since i'm so delayed in updating, I figured I'd jump around in time too!) on August 27, a group of us went on an excursion to Bellinzona to see the castles.
There are three castles in Bellinzona, and the (brief) history lesson that I got about the area was that the region of Ticino, specifically where Bellinzona is located, was rich with natural resources, and there were three Lords that all watched out for the land. It's interesting that there were three Lords over one area, but they knew it was a valuable area, and would be too difficult to defend single-handedly, so they all worked together to protect it.
Here are some views from the three castles that I have taken from my various trips to Bellinzona:
(Francesca and I)
On 7 September I went to get my Residency permit. I had to be up the hill for 6:50am (so I had to leave my dorm around 6:20!) It was worth it once I got to see the Swiss sunrise for the first time.. I only had my iPhone on me at the time, so the quality definitely doesn't do it justice.
I don't have a photo of my Residency permit anywhere, but I do have it so I am a legal Swiss Resident! It was interesting because they took a biometric photo of my face, as well as my fingerprints, and a handwriting analysis. While I felt like a felon at first, it was reassuring at the same time, because it shows that the Swiss are really on top of things here.
Here's a blueberry muffin that I got after having my picture taken because it was 8:30 and I was hungry!
(best blueberry muffin in the world, by the way)
Moving through September rather quickly....
On September 17th, I was back in Bellinzona (am I going to college in Lugano or Bellinzona... I forgot sometimes, to be honest!) to volunteer at the Babel Festival with my friends Lama (from Saudi Arabia), Kaitlyn (from Mississippi/Tennessee?), and Diego (from Mexico/SoCal).
The Babel festival was this lovely event where authors come from all over and read their work. Each year is a theme and this year was Palestinian literature. I had the opportunity to sit in on one of the presentations, and the woman was from Palestine, but moved to the US, so she spoke perfect English. Her story was moving, and it was great to her both her in English, and then have it translated into Italian.
In addition to sitting in on the speaker, I helped bus tables / serve wine and food to people, and talked some some locals. It was a really great experience, and one of the Deans here at the college said that the women were asking about "that boy with the glasses!" and how I "just got right into it and started helping out"
Guess I'm making a reputation for myself! They were so great, and I can't wait to go back next year! Rumor is it might be Scandinavian literature!
While we had down time, I had a kebab, which is by far the best food in the entire world.
A kebab is some type of meat (we think lamb, but Manny and Diego told me not to question it, just enjoy) with a bunch of vegetables and sauces. I had carrots and lettuce with picante (hot spices) and yogurt/chipotle sauce. It is so divine! I had two while working at the Babel Festival!
Here's a photo of the author presenting her work, and a kebab!
Alright, that's all for the Bellinzona adventures (for now!) I could talk about that place for days!
Next up is Milan!
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