On to 2010...

Many things have happened in the last 2 weeks, but the most exciting is that my contract was extended! I am now staying in Switzerland until January 24 to give me time to finish what I have started here. Somehow I have become involved in other side projects that have resulted in there being not enough hours in the day (and not only at work!), and it was really becoming apparent that 2 months was not long enough.

Most exciting news on the work front: I attended a meeting on environmental norms in military activities, which was organized in true UN style with representatives from militaries around the world sitting behind placards with their country names and interpreters translating between UN languages in the booths behind us. Best part was that I was able to meet with someone I had contacted for my research from the EU Forces about a detailed technical and economic feasibility analysis he had done for installing wind turbines at their base in Sarajevo.

And in other news: I ate some really delicious chocolate, finally did the official tour of the very impressive Palais des Nations, tried a new kind of chocolate, ate Ostrich for the first time and learned more about Paul Klee and Einstein when I travelled to Bern with the entire office for a team-building day, co-hosted a Christmas party complete with homemade vin chaud (mulled wine), nibbled on a bit more chocolate before watching Cirque du Soleil here in Geneva, went snowboarding in Chamonix and saw the Mont Blanc up close, ate some more chocolate, had an authentic Swiss raclette meal with my roommate’s family, and ate some tasty chocolate.

Zentrum Paul Klee

Bern Clocktower

I work until Wednesday, and then it is off to Germany! I have very graciously been invited to the family home of my first host when I arrived in Geneva. I will celebrate a traditional German Christmas with them and then hopefully head to Triberg to meet some of my mom’s relatives. I booked a one way train ticket, so who knows where I will end up between then and Jan. 4!

Joyeux Noel!

On y va! Allez Molleeeeee!

These were the shouts of the encouraging spectators that lined the cobbblestone streets of the old town of Geneva last Saturday for the Course de l'Escalade - an annual running race that attracts thousands of people of all ages to enjoy mulled wine and vegetable soup on the streets, and even dress up for the evening's costume parade. These people converge over two weekends for exercise and festivities to celebrate the eve of December 11th/12th, way back in 1602, when catholic invaders attempted to scale the walls of protestant Geneva, but were held at bay by none other than a marmite pot full of steaming vegetable soup dumped onto their heads! In almost every shop in the city for the past few weeks one could spend as much as $100 to have their own chocolate version of the pot (this is Switzerland), filled with marzipan vegetables:


Personally, I'm waiting until December 13th when all the leftovers are on for half-price to sample this Genevan delight!

I was feeling a bit sick from the drizzly weather we have been having (and also after a night of "Rocking the Palais" for the UN Christmas party Friday night!), and spending about 7 hours outside in the cold between running my race and watching others didn't really help the situation. Yes, I am now sick again and had to cancel my day trip to Lyon for the Festival of Lights as a result :( Sorry Megan, but thanks for all the insider tips about the city - I will definitely visit Lyon before I head home!

The run itself was great fun, and I was lucky that a friend spotted me in the crowd of nearly 1200 runners in my category and got a few photos of me in action! I have to say the race was really well organized, and other than the gender discrimination, a great event. Yes, that's right - the course is a loop, and you do 2 laps if you are female and 3 if you are male - no choice. Because girls can't run as far as guys...?! I guess this is what was decided in 1602 and hasn't been reviewed since. Oh well, I finished my ~5km race in ~ 24 min so I was happy.

On a Visit to the Magyar Land

For the occasion of Eid al-Adha, November 27 was an official UN holiday. I took the opportunity to find the cheapest easyjet flight to eastern Europe available, and found myself in Budapest for the long weekend! I've wanted to visit the city since passing down an opportunity to study there for grad school (well, also since watching Scarlett Johansson long to return to her homeland in An American Rhapsody). I felt as though I had stepped back in time when I hopped on the ancient subway train in the industrial outskirts of the city for the ride into the downtown core, with grey skies in the background and graffitti littering the foreground. My top 3 favourite things about Budapest:

1) The food - being able to afford a meal of anything at a restaurant was of course a nice treat from Geneva, but I really did love the goulash and sausages and chimney cakes and sour cream sauces and really anything available to be eaten from the lovely Vorosmarty ter Christmas market. Of course a steaming glass of Gluhwein is always nice on a cold winter day!

2) The history - a visit to the House of Terror museum provided a revealing look at the party headquarters of the Hungarian Nazis, succeeded by the communist regime after WWII, but it was the discussion we had with the owner of our hostel that proved to be the most interesting glimpse into everyday Hungarian life during the last 60 years. Hearing about how her grandfather was forced to turn his home over to the state, and then pay rent to live in only half of it, how rural farmers were relocated to manipulate the social dynamic of the cities, and how the concept of a mortgage was unknown to her before she studied it quite recently in university made the harshness of communist life that much more real to me.

Pictured: Our hostel courtyard. If you use a magnifying glass you'll notice bullet holes on the left from the 1956 revolution.

3) The baths of course! My new favourite pastime. Except instead of Switzerland's scenic mountains I now had the beautiful architecture of the Szchenyi baths to enjoy while resting my feet after a day of walking through the city. The metro line that we took to get here dates back to 1896 - ancient.

These things combined gave Budapest a very distinct charm. It was beautiful to leisurely walk through the central part of the city lining the Danube River, to enjoy having our quaint little hostel all to ourselves, and to experience a culture very different from that of North America and western Europe. After 4 days in Hungary, however, I am embarrassed to admit that I don't know more than a single word of Magyar: tojas = eggs (we were really craving an omlette when we arrived).

Speaking of breakfast, we returned home just in time to enjoy pastries and coffee and listen to the man himself, Achim Steiner (UNEP Executive Director), give an address to mark the 10th anniversary of the Geneva Environment Network!