Geneva UNearthed

En route back to Vancouver

2010-01-30T20:53:00.000-08:00

After three memorable months, my time in Geneva has come to an end. I wrapped up a draft of my contribution to the policy paper and gave a presentation to the office about my work, passed everything over to the new intern from Sweden, enjoyed a wonderful Italian lunch with some colleagues, and shared drinks and snacks with the whole office to top off my last day. The goodbye party continued on Saturday, as my roommates and I (well, mostly my roommates - thanks ladies!) cooked up a feast of ceviche and tiramisu for all my Genevan friends, before we headed out for a night on the town complete with a stop at the bakery on our way home ;) What a great way to celebrate before an excruciating run-in with bad weather in Frankfurt and US homeland security that resulted in an unexpected overnight stopover in Portland :(

It is difficult to summarize this whole experience but I will say that it has given me a better idea of the direction I want to take in life. I have now committed myself wholeheartedly to pursuing international environmental work. I would love to come back to Geneva some day, or do a development placement abroad. To improve my chances I realize I really need to focus on improving my languages (French and/or Spanish) in the immediate future, so this is my priority now that I am back in Vancouver.

For the next month, however, I have the Olympics to look forward to in my own backyard! I was fortunate to be chosen to follow in my grandpa's footsteps and run with the Olympic torch in Kelowna. I'll be volunteering for the games and taking in a few of the events as well. Olympic fever is here and I am looking forward to welcoming the world before I continue to explore it more myself!

On Haiti

2010-01-17T15:31:00.000-08:00

The enormity of the situation facing Haiti right now is consuming me. Seeing as our branch targets post-conflict and disaster situations, many colleagues worked hard this week to put together a quick response program proposal for including environmental assessments as part of the reconstruction efforts. Typically, the mentality immediately following a disaster such as this is to focus only on 'saving lives'. It is hoped the recognition that environmental concerns (leaking oil and toxic substances from the collapsed port, potential landslides from unstable ground, etc.) also have consequences for human lives is taken into account by member states at the fundraising stage. Waiting to hear how much money will be available to turn this plan into action and mobilize a team from our branch... wishing I could do more to help...

Read "UNEP to lead environmental recovery efforts in Haiti" here.

On Touring the Homelands

2010-01-04T14:28:00.000-08:00

All I can say is that I had a wonderful Christmas! It started out with a very amusing train ride to Karlsruhe on what must be the busiest day of the year on the deutsche bahn, with bags and people lining the aisles of the train car (yes, if you didn't make a reservation, DB will still charge you the full ticket price to stand in the aisle for 4 hours... thankfully I made a reservation!) and a traditional German Christmas Eve complete with cello and carols and real candles on the tannenbaum. It ended with a hike up the hillside to watch the churchbells and fireworks ring in the new year above Zurich. In between there were some delicious knudels and linzer torte and an awesome interactive art museum in Karlsruhe, a fire show over the waterfall in Triberg, a pork sausage and glockenspiel show in Munich, and a new years eve dance party for four. Of course delicious food was a crosscutting theme of the holidays!

I was so lucky to be able to spend Christmas with my very generous hosts, who even had a stocking for me to open in Canadian style on Christmas morning! It was also very special for me to have the opportunity to visit my mom's family in the Black Forest for the very first time and get a taste of southern German life. I think those Bratwurst and potato salads will keep me coming back.

Only three more weeks in Geneva... better make them count!

On to 2010...

2009-12-22T15:01:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

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!

And Now for a Few Photos!

2009-11-24T11:51:00.001-08:00

Me in Geneva with the Jet d'eau in the background

Downtown Geneva from above

Castle in Montreux

Zurich

And this one is for Dad

On a Day at the Spa

2009-11-18T12:45:00.001-08:00

What does one do in Switzerland when it is too cold to sail on Lake Geneva but not cold enough to go skiing in the Alps?

You sit in the sauna of course!

I've recently discovered this wonderful Swiss pastime. It all started with a day trip to Lavey-les-bains last weekend, and continued with another outing to Bains des Paquis here in the city last night.

On our way to Lavey, my friend and I stopped over in Montreux (which is at the other end of Lake Geneva). After an hour-long walk along the lakeside we came to a beautiful little castle, where we ate a picnic lunch and enjoyed the calmness of the lake and fall colours on the hillside. We hopped back on the train to our final destination: the thermal baths. Although we had to wait for about half an hour to get in (I now know where all the Swiss people hang out on grey November weekends), it was well worth it! We spent a couple hours lounging in the pools, sauna, hammam, and my favourite: the relaxation room. Napping on a lounge chair in a warm room infused with eucalyptus while they play relaxing music that is coordinated with the lighting is definitely my idea of a good time. I slept almost the whole train ride home after all that exertion.

After work yesterday I went with two of my coworkers to a similar set-up here in town (minus the thermal baths). It is situated on a really neat little peninsula that juts out into the lake, and from the turkish bath you can look out and see the cathedral and skyline of Geneva. I am seriously considering getting the 11-visit pass... I regret not jumping in the lake after the sauna, so I have to go back at least once more anyway!

On The People I've Met

2009-11-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

I’m not going to lie: switching to a 9-5 office job after spending the last 8 months traipsing through the forest has been a bit of an adjustment. I’ve traded my hiking boots and MEC pants for heels and skirts and have already drank much more than my usual biweekly coffee (with lots of milk of course!). Aside from those technicalities, I can truly see how lucky I am to have been chosen for this position after only two short weeks.

Last Friday I attended a panel discussion on peacekeeping with my boss at the Palais des Nations (THE UN building here in Geneva). I felt a great sense of pride to be able to flash my blue badge and walk into that building as part of the UN community. As curious I was to explore, we weren’t able to stay long after the very engaging panel as we had to get back to work, but I hope to be able to return and do a proper tour in the next few weeks.

With the launch of a new report in the branch, we celebrated with drinks and appies at the end of the day and then continued the party to a co-worker’s housewarming. About 40 of us squeezed into his apartment in a beautiful heritage building, and enjoyed a smorgasbord of delicious Finnish food and drinks. What a great way to end the week!

Since then I have been invited out to a dinner party with people who work for the World Economic Forum and who are employed by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. I have eaten wonderfully expensive Lebanese food with a friend of a friend who was in Geneva for meetings with colleagues from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, including a landmine survivor. I have listened in utter disbelief to the stories of another UNEP employee who has recently joined us from Afghanistan, and who was one of many non-essential UN staff that were evacuated from Kabul after the deadly attacks on the guest house NEXT DOOR to his. I have gone to work every morning and sat amongst 4 other extremely intelligent and inquisitive females (yes, that’s right msoo ladies!), each of us representing a different nation (France, Czech Republic, South Africa, the US, and of course Canada). And on Monday and Tuesday I will sit in on a meeting of international experts who act as advisors to the work of our branch, as the abstract and outline for the piece I am working on will be presented among other items for their review.

Although I truly miss being within walking distance of everything the west end has to offer in Vancouver (my budget accommodation here doesn’t really allow for that), and of course the city’s natural beauty, I know that I could not have this experience back home. Although I’m just getting a taste of what international work is like, I think I am hooked...

On a Mission

2009-11-03T13:54:00.000-08:00

I’ve been in Geneva for exactly one week so I suppose it is time I posted on my first-ever blog. We’ll see how long I last with this, but I hope to update often enough for me to remember my time here, and for you to get a better picture of my experience over the next couple months.

What a whirlwind week it has been! I’ve come to this quaint little city in the heart of Europe, a Swiss peninsula surrounded by France, to see where it all happens. Geneva is home to something like 200 (!) international organizations - everything from the World Health Organization to the International Telecommunication Union... of course the one that I am most interested in is the United Nations Environment Programme. I was officially accepted for an internship with their Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch on October 8, and after frantically getting a visa, booking an international flight, tying up loose ends with work at the Seymour Watershed, and filling my stomach with delicious Vancouver sushi one last time, my two huge bags and I touched down on Swiss soil less than 3 weeks later.

My home away from home for the first 5 nights was with a friend of a friend who conveniently lives 15 minutes walking distance from where I am working. She made me a homemade soup the first night I arrived and I knew it was the right place for me! Starting work the day after I arrived and filling my free time in the evenings looking for a room to rent in a city that is notoriously 'challenging' on the accommodation front caught up with me at about 3 pm on Friday afternoon, which made for an eventful Halloween weekend in bed (or in the bath trying to warm up – apparently wool socks, long underwear, a duvet, a sleeping bag, and a down vest aren’t enough to keep a sick person warm). On Sunday I pulled myself together and mustered up enough strength to load all my stuff into a taxi that whisked me all 5 km away to my new home in Grand-Saconnex. I’m living with a multicultural group of 3 other students/interns... yes living... in Switzerland. Awesome.

I’ve dreamt about living in another country ever since I spent a summer in Scotland when I was 14, and suddenly it is reality! Although I’ve done some backpacking in South America and briefly in Europe this summer, it is a very different feeling to unpack my bags and come home to the same place every night in a foreign country. So far I am loving hearing a different language every day, figuring out how to bathe in a shower without a mounted showerhead, and navigating the produce section of the grocery store, where you have to weigh and sticker your mushrooms before you get to the cashier. I’m also still a bit overwhelmed by the fact that I am working under the same roof as all the other incredible organizations housed in the International Environment House.

I’ve aspired to be a part of the work that the UN does in some way for many years, and this is certainly a big step forwards for my career. Although I can’t share too many details, I will be working on a project with the broad goal of greening UN peacekeeping operations and minimizing their environmental footprint on surrounding communities. This is a great fit for me as it integrates my background in natural resource management with humanitarian work, which is an area I have much to learn about. I’ve already been exposed to the immense diversity that is the UN, with nearly everyone in my office coming from a different country and speaking 3 or more languages (this is a good incentive for me to keep up some sort of language training at all times when I return home to unilingual Vancouver). I know that this will be as much an opportunity for me to learn from my colleagues as it will be an opportunity for me to contribute to their work. Let the mission begin!