UN Visits, Midterms, and FREEDOM!

This is my first non-travel related post in quite a while. But I figured you all could use a little update on what I've been up to in Switzerland - remember, that place where I'm actually supposed to be living?

Our schedule following the Morocco trip has been a bit unconventional. We had two weeks of UN agency visits and guest lectures, all leading up to midterm exams yesterday. It was pretty much like having a field trip every day. We would take the train into Geneva as a group and visit places like:

• The International Labor Organization (ILO)
• The United Nations Development Group (UNDG)
• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• The World Health Organization (WHO)
• The International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• The headquarters for the International Committee of the the Red Cross (ICRC) 
• The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office

*Sorry for all the alphabet soup. If you think it's hard to keep track of in English, try doing it in English and French (the acronyms all change!)

World Health Organization

 UN building and Broken Chair (symbol for the effect of land mines) 

Every lecture we attended at these organizations was health-related, to fit the curriculum. We learned about so many fascinating topics, from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to the effects of climate change on health to treatments for PTSD in refugees. 

This field trip week was also perfectly timed with the weather - cloudy Geneva finally turned beautiful! I never thought I would say this, but I actually got sunburned quite a few times while eating lunch down by the lakefront and exploring the outdoor markets. 

Sunny days in Switzerland!

Lounging by the lake

I also had another surprise treat during these laid-back weeks - it turns out I have Swiss relatives! One of my aunts (through marriage) comes from an Austrian family and still has family living in Europe. She put me in touch with her cousin who lives just a few towns away and works at The Economist in Geneva. We grabbed a drink after she got out of work and swapped lots of family stories - plus she gave me plenty of great tips for things to do when in Switzerland!

Then, as a last hurrah before our midterms, all of us students took a French cooking class. Most of my family and friends know that the culinary arts are not my forte, but being in such a large group made it easy. The menu we prepared was: 

• Flan d'asperges et chips de jambon cru
• Magret de canard aux légumes printaniers
• Pommes de terre à la fleur de sel
• Mille-feuilles aux fruit frais

Or, in simpler terms, we made (and ate) asparagus flan with ham chips, duck with vegetables and potatoes, and fruit tarts. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Once cooking class ended, the party was finally over; the next two days were completely consumed by midterms. At 8am in the morning, we received nine essay prompts and were given until 6pm the next day to complete three. I basically shut myself up in my house for 36 hours - it was pretty grim.

This midterm period also coincided with all of the sad news coming out of Boston. I spent a good deal of time glued to my computer screen, trying to find news reports and checking in on friends back home.

However, by Friday afternoon, everything was better! My exams were turned in, the marathon bombers had been caught in Boston, and I had finished classes for good. The Independent Study Period has now begun - meaning I have no more early morning lectures or daily homework! Just free time to complete my research project.

Oh yeah, I do!

The students all decided to celebrate today by going to a wine-tasting festival together. It was a great time, and possibly the last occasion when we'll all be together as a group - it's hard to meet up when we don't have regular class time to force us all together.

Anyways, the next (and final!) five weeks should be quite an adventure. I hope to do some more traveling - that is, if I can get all my research done. I'll keep you updated on the exciting things in the meantime. À tout!