ciao from Lugano, Switzerland...

i'm writing from a REAL computer from my friend Nat's office here at the american boarding school...
the setting is serenly, breathtakingly beautiful...
you see the swiss alps in the mountain (my train actually goes all the way to Zurich and we passed Lake Como on the way here, but I got off at the Lugano station) - and the water, mountains, little streets.... bella!

the first thing about 5 minutes on the train out of milano, i noticed - quiet. where was the noise? it was strangely, peacefully quiet here once we were out of the city.

I was at Stazione Centrale in Milano, it was crazy packed, full of people coming and going, pushing and shoving with all the luggages and maps. There is a big billboard which everyone stands around looking at to wait for the updates... I was there 40 minutes before my train's departure, but the gate number isn't updated until 15 minutes till departure. It's like a huge lottery board, you look anxiously until your number is called and you 'win'. it's a bit hectic and stressful, but once i settled into my seat, it was all good...

the countryside is beautiful here, the first stop was Lake Como, which is a popular tourist spot - one can see why - the lake, the mountains made for a surreal postcard setting... it's a lovely sunny day...

at the next stop, some officials came on board and selective checked for passports, i guess i looked trustworthy, since they didn't check mine.

i got to Lugano and it's beautiful here, even more so than Lake Como, because the backdrop of the Swiss Alps framing the lake and the mountains. Nat picked me up from the station, and we took a windy road up to her work place - a boarding school here. I can't imagine how lucky it would've been to be able to afford to come here for school - we're a top a pretty hill, not much traffic... i hear the kids outside, laughing and having a great time. the school reminds me of our high school - although Sacred Heart PALES in comparison - if Sacred Heart was a 5/10 this is a 10/10 star school (it also reminds me of the Magical Boarding School from the tv show Charmed). I told Nat the irony of us not having seen each other since high school and now walking into the school...

i can imagine what life would be like here.. so serene and peaceful. Nat fell in love with this place and through it, eventually met her husband and now this is her life... this place is sooo different from the valley, it's like day and night.

we get to come back for saturday morning detention, so i can update the blog tomorrow morning.