On Saturday, June 8, the Lugano Lakers senior team played the Zug bouncers. This was a make up game from April 20th, because there was too much snow on the field back then! The field was in a park area which didn't have any specific parking available. I rode with the team on the bus - a full size comfortable tour bus. He followed the GPS to the address, which brought us to a dead end street with a few wagons being pulled by horses to give families a ride. This was a narrow street, with cars parked on one side, and also periodic parts of the sidewalk jutting out into the street to slow down cars. There was no place to turn the bus around. Our poor bus driver had to back the bus up almost 2 blocks. The guys in the back of the bus watched out the window for obstacles. Success!
It was a warm, sunny day, so while the team was warming up before the game, I hopped on the train nearby for a couple of stops into downtown Zug. Rick and I were here earlier in the year. It wasn't the best day to walk around Zug. Not only was it hot, but it seemed like there was a children's triathlon going on which made for a quite a maze to get around. Back at the field I enjoyed a great game in which the Lakers won 33-21! The senior team took the bus home, and I chose to take the train. I would have been the only girl on the bus, no coaches, just the guys.
The juniors had a game today, June 9, in Geneva. Not exactly right down the street. After the Zug game Saturday evening, the coaches drove to Geneva where they met the junior team to spend the night. I got a message from Rick after the game that they won 23-13! Both teams are undefeated. Yeah!
So I am spending the day packing to go home. A real trick since Swiss International airlines only lets you bring an 8 kilo carry on and only 1 checked bag! Fortunately we are going to be able to leave some things here, as we will try to come back next year for the Laker team.
A couple last minute thoughts about life in Switzerland. Here in Pregassona (as it is in many towns in Switzerland), the church bells ring - not each hour, but they ring for about 20 gongs, at 6:30am. This is a tradition from earlier days when there were just farmers who didn't own a beautiful Swiss watch. The bells served to wake them up to work on their farms. I don't understand why this can't be changed, since there are no farmers left within earshot of the bells. Thankfully my earplugs kept me from waking up at 6:30 every day! Now, by contrast, the grammar school across the street, instead of having a typical school bell ring at 8:30, it is a very quiet and pleasant ding-dong-ding. But who cares that the school bell is soft and unobtrusive? Everyone has been awake since 6:30!
We have also noticed that people will still throw garbage on the ground. This is real sad, since this is such a beautiful country, and Swiss homes are traditionally spotless. But there are cigarette cartons (they totally smoke too much), cigarette butts, candy wrappers, bottles, newspaper, etc. scattered here and there in the city. I would love to see this mentality change - it's so uncalled for. This is typically just in the cities and not in the countryside.
So I am ready to go home. I can't wait to get back to: my family, microwave, garbage disposal, 24 hour grocery store, stores open on Sunday and holidays, my building's elevator, a CAR, our DVR (I keep wanting to rewind the live TV here), my bed, and as I think of anything else for final thoughts, I will surely add them!
Arrivederci Ticino! See you next year!
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