Thursday, July 31, 2008
favorite religion
This weekend I had the privilege of being the first Jew a girl has ever met in her entire life. Veronika is Austrian, and she almost died when she found out that I'm Jewish. Reaction: "YOU'RE JEWISH? But you're so lucky! That's so great! Judaism is my very favorite religion! You're the first Jewish person I've ever met before! I want to live in Israel!" She went on to say that she had always wanted to meet one, but never had the chance, in Austria. What a riot.
Lyon
Here, amongst all of these Europeans who have a language other than English as their mother tongue, who speak in lovely accents and sometimes fumble their cute Europeanized English words, I feel like an idiot speaking clean American English. I think I sound dumb! Yet I'm the one who speaks it fluently! Everyone sounds more worldly when they speak with an accent. Maybe I should pretend to have one. Unfortunately, the only one I can mimic almost perfectly is Russian - any attempts I make at other accents just sound...Russian.
Two weekends ago I went to Lyon, France with my flatmate, Nora, and her friend from work, Alberto, from Spain. It was only about 2 hours from Geneva! I loved Lyon. I fell in love with it immediately and couldn't stop talking about how much I liked it. I kept oohing and ahhing. What a perfect city! It has everything that's good about Paris without the big city craziness. I decided that it's like Paris in that it has great public transportation, is very youthful because it has a good university, and felt like it had a lot of potential in terms of museums, theaters, art, etc - lots of things to do. On the other hand, it has so much of what Paris doesn't - a more comfortable, walkable city center with warm, open people, a great old part of town, and overall, real character. I loved Paris but I always felt like wherever I took the subway in Paris, I would come out and the neighborhood would look almost the same. I love being able to find cute neighborhoods, hidden cafes, hole-in-the-wall shops, etc., and Paris just felt so uniform to me. But in Lyon, the city has so many contrasts. The new town had a giant ferris wheel and a large shopping center, giant fountains and theaters. On the other hand, the old town seemed almost like Italy, with its winding little ruelles (small roads) sprinkled with busy cafes and small shops. Also, Lyon is supposed to be the gastronomic capital of France. Mmm. Overall, I'm a big fan.
pretty buildings
cute street in the old town - beef street
And the cathedral - oh, the cathedral. From the outside it looks pretty boring, actually. It was built not long after Sacre Coeur, so it's pretty modern (mid to second half of the 19th century, I think). When I came in, though, I was taken aback. The inside of the cathedral is completely gilded and covered and gold-tinged mosaics. LOOK:
Lyon, what a charming place.
Two weekends ago I went to Lyon, France with my flatmate, Nora, and her friend from work, Alberto, from Spain. It was only about 2 hours from Geneva! I loved Lyon. I fell in love with it immediately and couldn't stop talking about how much I liked it. I kept oohing and ahhing. What a perfect city! It has everything that's good about Paris without the big city craziness. I decided that it's like Paris in that it has great public transportation, is very youthful because it has a good university, and felt like it had a lot of potential in terms of museums, theaters, art, etc - lots of things to do. On the other hand, it has so much of what Paris doesn't - a more comfortable, walkable city center with warm, open people, a great old part of town, and overall, real character. I loved Paris but I always felt like wherever I took the subway in Paris, I would come out and the neighborhood would look almost the same. I love being able to find cute neighborhoods, hidden cafes, hole-in-the-wall shops, etc., and Paris just felt so uniform to me. But in Lyon, the city has so many contrasts. The new town had a giant ferris wheel and a large shopping center, giant fountains and theaters. On the other hand, the old town seemed almost like Italy, with its winding little ruelles (small roads) sprinkled with busy cafes and small shops. Also, Lyon is supposed to be the gastronomic capital of France. Mmm. Overall, I'm a big fan.
pretty buildings
cute street in the old town - beef street
And the cathedral - oh, the cathedral. From the outside it looks pretty boring, actually. It was built not long after Sacre Coeur, so it's pretty modern (mid to second half of the 19th century, I think). When I came in, though, I was taken aback. The inside of the cathedral is completely gilded and covered and gold-tinged mosaics. LOOK:
Lyon, what a charming place.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
european accent
Tomorrow night I'm going to a night of Paleo, a week-long music festival in Nyon, Switzerland. It's only 20 minutes away, and I get to see Mika, Justice, Caribou, and I'm from Barcelona, among others. A friend of mine here is working there all week and he has a bunch of free tickets, and he offered me one! I was planning on doling out the one-day entry fee for the festival, but this is so much better.
The other night, chicken breasts were on sale at the grocery store. THIS NEVER HAPPENS. Meat is extremely expensive here. I didn't realize I had bought 4 chicken breasts, and so when I got home and saw that the expiration date was within the week I decided to just cook them all at once. I made two meals - chicken coconut curry (with rice) and marinated chicken with peanut satay chili sauce (with rice). Now I have enough food for an army aka my lunch and dinner for the whole week.
I've been having many conversations lately about what I want to do with myself after I graduate. The funny thing is, I'm having these conversations with people 5-10 years older than me, most of whom don't know, themselves, what their plans are. Everyone kind of just takes things as they come - a cool job here, an internship there, a 1-year Masters program, a year at the German mission, maybe law school, etc. These people are just as confused as I am. Their age makes no difference.
I think in blogging abroad, it's difficult to strike a balance between describing your cool travels/neat things you've done and writing about the mundane details of everyday working life in a foreign country. I'll do my best. This one's mundane.
In other news, someone told me that I don't have a Minnesotan accent, that I don't even have an American accent. They told me I have a "European accent" in my English - this, coming from an American. I was horrified. What does that even mean????
The other night, chicken breasts were on sale at the grocery store. THIS NEVER HAPPENS. Meat is extremely expensive here. I didn't realize I had bought 4 chicken breasts, and so when I got home and saw that the expiration date was within the week I decided to just cook them all at once. I made two meals - chicken coconut curry (with rice) and marinated chicken with peanut satay chili sauce (with rice). Now I have enough food for an army aka my lunch and dinner for the whole week.
I've been having many conversations lately about what I want to do with myself after I graduate. The funny thing is, I'm having these conversations with people 5-10 years older than me, most of whom don't know, themselves, what their plans are. Everyone kind of just takes things as they come - a cool job here, an internship there, a 1-year Masters program, a year at the German mission, maybe law school, etc. These people are just as confused as I am. Their age makes no difference.
I think in blogging abroad, it's difficult to strike a balance between describing your cool travels/neat things you've done and writing about the mundane details of everyday working life in a foreign country. I'll do my best. This one's mundane.
In other news, someone told me that I don't have a Minnesotan accent, that I don't even have an American accent. They told me I have a "European accent" in my English - this, coming from an American. I was horrified. What does that even mean????
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Swiss adventures
I HAVE TO RETURN TO THIS BLOG.
Geneva's a great place. It's ranked 3rd for best quality of life in the world - Switzerland, unsurprisingly, has 3 cities in the top ten! There are fountains on every streetcorner with, I swear, pristine Evian water flowing out. It's a nice, clean proper, quiet place. They say the summer here is a bit more lively, and it has been. So far, the European Cup in June definitely kept the city going. Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and of course Switzerland had massive contingents here, and the Portugese and Spanish fans in particular would honk their car horns and scream and holler until 2am when their team won. Thanks to the games there was always something to do, and having the screening center 3 blocks from my apartement was VERY convenient.
The Fete de la Musique was great too! I don't think I will ever again see that many people in Geneva in one place. There was great music - everything from blues to aretha to jefferson airplane to screamo - and delicious food.
I've gone on several Swiss day trips. First, Montreux.
I went to Montreux the first weekend I was in Geneva, with an intern from work and a friend of his. Montreux is also on Lake Geneva and the view of the mountains is INCREDIBLE. Look!
Actually, I may have taken this picture in Vevey, but that's only 20 minutes away from Montreux. Same diff.
We went to Chateau de Chillon, a beautiful castle right on the lake which was once the home of the Counts of Savoy. It had a neat moat, some funny medieval toiles (just holes in a bench above the water), and a dark dungeon, where a monk, François de Bonivard, was kept, and about whom Lord Byron wrote a poem - The Prisoner of Chillon.
Me and Daniel, an intern from my NGO who left 2 weeks after I arrived.
Montreux has a very famous jazz festival every mid-July, and so when my mom was in town, we took the train to see what it was all about. The free jazz was ok - I'm sure Quincy Jones' 75th Birthday Celebration would have been far more impressive but we were not willing to dole out the 250 francs per person required to get in. Also, it was raining, and the whole shore of Lake Geneva was covered in a sort of fair, or market, with lots of delicious food and cool trinkets but way too many people. So unfortunately, I didn't get the best impression of beautiful Montreux the second time around.
Other things in Montreux - a statue of Freddie Mercury (Queen owned a house here and they recorded a lot of their music there), and gorgeous shutters and house facades. Like this.
My mom and I also went to Neuchatel, though on a Sunday when, as everywhere else in Switzerland, everything is DEAD. CLOSED. SHUT DOWN. I think people just resign themselves to laundry and reading on Sundays. However, even despite the yucky weather (it rained all weekend) the town was extremely cute, with lots of cobblestone streets, bizarre colorful fountains, red rooftops and one really neat flat painted street. Here are some pictures:
that weird flat street
At the chateau up at the top of the hill, overlooking the city.
Mom, in the old town.
I'll be blogging more! I have pictures to post and everything! Now that my parents have visited, I will have lots to write about. I've been so bad at this blog, tsk tsk.
Geneva's a great place. It's ranked 3rd for best quality of life in the world - Switzerland, unsurprisingly, has 3 cities in the top ten! There are fountains on every streetcorner with, I swear, pristine Evian water flowing out. It's a nice, clean proper, quiet place. They say the summer here is a bit more lively, and it has been. So far, the European Cup in June definitely kept the city going. Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and of course Switzerland had massive contingents here, and the Portugese and Spanish fans in particular would honk their car horns and scream and holler until 2am when their team won. Thanks to the games there was always something to do, and having the screening center 3 blocks from my apartement was VERY convenient.
The Fete de la Musique was great too! I don't think I will ever again see that many people in Geneva in one place. There was great music - everything from blues to aretha to jefferson airplane to screamo - and delicious food.
I've gone on several Swiss day trips. First, Montreux.
I went to Montreux the first weekend I was in Geneva, with an intern from work and a friend of his. Montreux is also on Lake Geneva and the view of the mountains is INCREDIBLE. Look!
Actually, I may have taken this picture in Vevey, but that's only 20 minutes away from Montreux. Same diff.
We went to Chateau de Chillon, a beautiful castle right on the lake which was once the home of the Counts of Savoy. It had a neat moat, some funny medieval toiles (just holes in a bench above the water), and a dark dungeon, where a monk, François de Bonivard, was kept, and about whom Lord Byron wrote a poem - The Prisoner of Chillon.
Me and Daniel, an intern from my NGO who left 2 weeks after I arrived.
Montreux has a very famous jazz festival every mid-July, and so when my mom was in town, we took the train to see what it was all about. The free jazz was ok - I'm sure Quincy Jones' 75th Birthday Celebration would have been far more impressive but we were not willing to dole out the 250 francs per person required to get in. Also, it was raining, and the whole shore of Lake Geneva was covered in a sort of fair, or market, with lots of delicious food and cool trinkets but way too many people. So unfortunately, I didn't get the best impression of beautiful Montreux the second time around.
Other things in Montreux - a statue of Freddie Mercury (Queen owned a house here and they recorded a lot of their music there), and gorgeous shutters and house facades. Like this.
My mom and I also went to Neuchatel, though on a Sunday when, as everywhere else in Switzerland, everything is DEAD. CLOSED. SHUT DOWN. I think people just resign themselves to laundry and reading on Sundays. However, even despite the yucky weather (it rained all weekend) the town was extremely cute, with lots of cobblestone streets, bizarre colorful fountains, red rooftops and one really neat flat painted street. Here are some pictures:
that weird flat street
At the chateau up at the top of the hill, overlooking the city.
Mom, in the old town.
I'll be blogging more! I have pictures to post and everything! Now that my parents have visited, I will have lots to write about. I've been so bad at this blog, tsk tsk.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
the HRC
So I've been in Geneva for about 2 weeks and have just completed my first full week of work. I really like my job. Everyone in the office is so friendly and open and helpful. I never feel like an idiot for asking questions, since, of course, I just don't know how things work quite yet.
The 8th session of the Human Rights Council has been convening for the past 2 weeks, so what I've been doing is essentially attending all of the meetings, taking down, verbatim, what the delegates are saying, and reporting back to the organization with reviews of the day's discussions. It has been so interesting to observe the way that these diplomats speak to and about one another. There are so many careful subtleties that they use in order not to ruffle anyone's feathers. The delegate from Slovenia, who has been speaking on behalf of the European Union for this session, once said, in response to numerous interruptions by the delegate from Egypt during NGO speeches, "This is becoming a farce." A FARCE is extremely strong language when it comes to UN diplomacy. It's just interesting how careful the delegates have to be.
The languages used in the HRC are just as fascinating. The interpreters that work for the UN do simultaneous translating, which requires them to listen to what the delegates are saying and translate at the same time, while also listening to what the delegates say afterwards, while the interpreters are translating. It's incredible, to not only develop that kind of multi-tasking ability, but also to be able to have the kind of specific, technical, and also diplomatic vocabulary that the delegates use in their statements. The delegates themselves are so very articulate. Often, even when they are not reading their statements, it sounds as if they have already planned out what they have to say and are simply reciting it. No hesitations, no ums, no pauses, just perfect speeches. That's not to say that they always say something significant, but they can say nothing so beautifully.
I often listen to the French translation, or the Russian translation, just to hear the type of language that they are using. It's so technical. I find that I'm understanding more of the French than the Russian, simply because I never encounter that kind of sophisticated, technical, diplomatic language in Russian.
Here's a picture of one of the HRC sessions that I found online, which looks exactly like one of the rooms they have been convening in. I usually sit on the very far left, behind the divider.
I've also been working on several research projects, looking into human rights violations in Russia and analyzing the 2008-2009 members of the HRC in terms of their own human rights status. So many of them have terrible human rights records, so it's a shame they were voted in as members.
This weekend is the Fete de la Musique, a festival during which there is always some kind of band, orchestra, or group playing music all over the city. I'm actually going to leave soon to find some music to listen to! Maybe salsa? Or some blues. We'll see.
The 8th session of the Human Rights Council has been convening for the past 2 weeks, so what I've been doing is essentially attending all of the meetings, taking down, verbatim, what the delegates are saying, and reporting back to the organization with reviews of the day's discussions. It has been so interesting to observe the way that these diplomats speak to and about one another. There are so many careful subtleties that they use in order not to ruffle anyone's feathers. The delegate from Slovenia, who has been speaking on behalf of the European Union for this session, once said, in response to numerous interruptions by the delegate from Egypt during NGO speeches, "This is becoming a farce." A FARCE is extremely strong language when it comes to UN diplomacy. It's just interesting how careful the delegates have to be.
The languages used in the HRC are just as fascinating. The interpreters that work for the UN do simultaneous translating, which requires them to listen to what the delegates are saying and translate at the same time, while also listening to what the delegates say afterwards, while the interpreters are translating. It's incredible, to not only develop that kind of multi-tasking ability, but also to be able to have the kind of specific, technical, and also diplomatic vocabulary that the delegates use in their statements. The delegates themselves are so very articulate. Often, even when they are not reading their statements, it sounds as if they have already planned out what they have to say and are simply reciting it. No hesitations, no ums, no pauses, just perfect speeches. That's not to say that they always say something significant, but they can say nothing so beautifully.
I often listen to the French translation, or the Russian translation, just to hear the type of language that they are using. It's so technical. I find that I'm understanding more of the French than the Russian, simply because I never encounter that kind of sophisticated, technical, diplomatic language in Russian.
Here's a picture of one of the HRC sessions that I found online, which looks exactly like one of the rooms they have been convening in. I usually sit on the very far left, behind the divider.
I've also been working on several research projects, looking into human rights violations in Russia and analyzing the 2008-2009 members of the HRC in terms of their own human rights status. So many of them have terrible human rights records, so it's a shame they were voted in as members.
This weekend is the Fete de la Musique, a festival during which there is always some kind of band, orchestra, or group playing music all over the city. I'm actually going to leave soon to find some music to listen to! Maybe salsa? Or some blues. We'll see.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
LISBON
In other news, Sarah (my friend from high school who has been spending a year in Geneva) and I just returned from a fabulous weekend in Lisbon. It is a beautiful city - very hilly, with tons of winding side-streets covered in streamers. My favorite street is below (I don't even remember its name!).
It's so steep! There were old ladies just sitting on their stoops with their small dogs all up and down this street. Old men were barbecuing, more old ladies leaning out of their shuttered windows. And the entire time, music was playing from every corner! Here's a video of the street - listen to the music. I'm pretty sure it's Amalia, whose voice I heard all through the secondhand market and very frequently being played from inside people's homes.
We visited the Tower of Belem, built in the early 16th century as part of a defense system. It was absolutely beautiful. The architecture iss very Moroccan, and was influenced by Moorish design. The tower is quite small, only about 35 meters, so it was hard to picture it as useful for defense. It was used for other things later on - a customs post, a prison, etc. Really cool place, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We also visited the castle in the old city, a second-hand market, the beach, numerous statue-filled plazas, a beautiful church, and we walked along the port. And we ate a LOT of seafood. Check out these snails! We ate them with toothpicks!
Also, the last night we were in Lisbon, Portugal won against Turkey in one of the Eurocup games, actually held in Geneva. WOW. People go nuts. Sarah and I were sitting in one of the plazas and heard hundreds of cars honking, people running around with the Portuguese flag waving in the air, people leaning out of car windows, through sunroofs, yelling...it was quite an experience. That night, a bar played only traditional Portuguese music and I danced with a very happy 55 yr old man wearing the Portuguese team's jersey, who then returned to his balcony above the bar, where he danced alone for everybody down below. He's the one facing the camera, dancing with someone facing away from the camera.
It's so steep! There were old ladies just sitting on their stoops with their small dogs all up and down this street. Old men were barbecuing, more old ladies leaning out of their shuttered windows. And the entire time, music was playing from every corner! Here's a video of the street - listen to the music. I'm pretty sure it's Amalia, whose voice I heard all through the secondhand market and very frequently being played from inside people's homes.
We visited the Tower of Belem, built in the early 16th century as part of a defense system. It was absolutely beautiful. The architecture iss very Moroccan, and was influenced by Moorish design. The tower is quite small, only about 35 meters, so it was hard to picture it as useful for defense. It was used for other things later on - a customs post, a prison, etc. Really cool place, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We also visited the castle in the old city, a second-hand market, the beach, numerous statue-filled plazas, a beautiful church, and we walked along the port. And we ate a LOT of seafood. Check out these snails! We ate them with toothpicks!
Also, the last night we were in Lisbon, Portugal won against Turkey in one of the Eurocup games, actually held in Geneva. WOW. People go nuts. Sarah and I were sitting in one of the plazas and heard hundreds of cars honking, people running around with the Portuguese flag waving in the air, people leaning out of car windows, through sunroofs, yelling...it was quite an experience. That night, a bar played only traditional Portuguese music and I danced with a very happy 55 yr old man wearing the Portuguese team's jersey, who then returned to his balcony above the bar, where he danced alone for everybody down below. He's the one facing the camera, dancing with someone facing away from the camera.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
just got here
First impressions of Geneva plus things I forgot to check on:
1) Didn’t realize I wouldn’t be given towels here! Am going to have to air dry after showering until I find a towel tomorrow.
2) Didn’t realize I would need to buy my own laundry detergent! Must do this before doing laundry. Am in desperate need of doing laundry. Host family could not do laundry for past 3 weeks.
3) Geneva is a rather small, sleepy city that has been suddenly overtaken by football fans. Half of the Eurocup games are going to be held in Switzerland, and half in Austria. Two games were held in Geneva last night, when I was still in Lisbon. Everything is dead in Geneva on Sundays, and late at night, but this Eurocup has forced lots of places to remain open, which is great.
4) I swear, Europe has to complicate everything, even grocery stores. There are 3 different sizes of this one grocery store. The top level, the largest store, is located where? IN THE AIRPORT. The others are smaller and less cheap, apparently.
5) My roommates are nice but seem to be quite busy with their own stuff, and will likely be keeping to themselves for the most part, from how they’ve described their experience in the apartment.
6) Excellent designers, those Swiss. My room is very nice, simple, and sleek, as are the main rooms of the apartment. Here are some pictures of my room. I'll get pictures of the main rooms of the apartment up later.
I don’t currently have internet so I will probably post this tomorrow, when I will also hopefully have the following:
- Swiss SIM card
- Laundry card
- towel
- laundry detergent
- bus pass
Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a scary day. All I have on me (not online because I don’t have internet) when it comes to info about Geneva is a transportation map and a regular map. Where do I buy things? Where do I find bus passes? Where do I go grocery shopping in town? (I already bought some things at the airport grocery. THE AIRPORT. How bizarre).
The prices here are absolutely outrageous. A bottle of water at the airport was 6 Swiss Francs. A kebab in town was 12, and Sarah said that was one of the cheap places. Oyyyyy.
1) Didn’t realize I wouldn’t be given towels here! Am going to have to air dry after showering until I find a towel tomorrow.
2) Didn’t realize I would need to buy my own laundry detergent! Must do this before doing laundry. Am in desperate need of doing laundry. Host family could not do laundry for past 3 weeks.
3) Geneva is a rather small, sleepy city that has been suddenly overtaken by football fans. Half of the Eurocup games are going to be held in Switzerland, and half in Austria. Two games were held in Geneva last night, when I was still in Lisbon. Everything is dead in Geneva on Sundays, and late at night, but this Eurocup has forced lots of places to remain open, which is great.
4) I swear, Europe has to complicate everything, even grocery stores. There are 3 different sizes of this one grocery store. The top level, the largest store, is located where? IN THE AIRPORT. The others are smaller and less cheap, apparently.
5) My roommates are nice but seem to be quite busy with their own stuff, and will likely be keeping to themselves for the most part, from how they’ve described their experience in the apartment.
6) Excellent designers, those Swiss. My room is very nice, simple, and sleek, as are the main rooms of the apartment. Here are some pictures of my room. I'll get pictures of the main rooms of the apartment up later.
I don’t currently have internet so I will probably post this tomorrow, when I will also hopefully have the following:
- Swiss SIM card
- Laundry card
- towel
- laundry detergent
- bus pass
Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a scary day. All I have on me (not online because I don’t have internet) when it comes to info about Geneva is a transportation map and a regular map. Where do I buy things? Where do I find bus passes? Where do I go grocery shopping in town? (I already bought some things at the airport grocery. THE AIRPORT. How bizarre).
The prices here are absolutely outrageous. A bottle of water at the airport was 6 Swiss Francs. A kebab in town was 12, and Sarah said that was one of the cheap places. Oyyyyy.
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