This joint-blog is such a great idea since I am failing miserably and keeping my own going. I hope you all are well, and my goodness I miss you guys! It seems like yesterday we were all running into each other in between classes at Vandy, or grabbing lunches in Rand or Commons. I still sometimes can't believe our time as undergraduate Vanderbilt students has come to an end. Those of you who are still living the life in Nashville, please continue to enjoy every moment! There is no place like Nashvegas :).
Anyway, so I guess I should tell you all a bit about my life here in Switzerland. My summer has been INCREDIBLE. I spent the days studying French and the University of Geneva, getting settled in my new home, traveling and making friends. I live in the Vielle-Ville (Old Town) of Geneva. My location is right in the center of the city, and is definitely the most beautiful part of Geneva (in my opinion :D ). I wake up to the sound of church bells from the grand Cathedral St. Pierre next door, and every morning walk through narrow cobble-stone streets filled with outdoor cafes, galleries, and antique book stores. It is perfect, really. Then in just these past few months I've gotten to visit Hanna Chapman in Paris, travel with my Mom to Zurich and Bern, travel with new friends to Lucerne and Interlaken, visit my Aunt and Uncle in the French Alps, visit friends at their beach house in the Netherlands, and then as a grand finale, I spent 3 weeks in Spain going to World Youth Day, and traveling through a number of different Spanish cities. Whew! Such a whirlwind!
Now, unfortunately, I'm realizing that although I may be in Switzerland, the reality of "life" is setting in. I am in my second week of masters classes at the Geneva School of Diplomacy (GSD), and they are NOTHING like a semester-study abroad type program....too bad really. I do enjoy all the topics, but...whew...it is going to be a LOT of work (as one should expect from a master's program, of course). The catch is, on top of my 18 hours of classes this trimester, I am also a part-time intern, and also am working at GSD's admissions office. Then of course, I do want to have a social life, and always have the itch to travel. I've decided though, I'm going to have to cut myself off on the traveling and limit myself to one travel excursion per month....still pretty good though, right? Switzerland just happens to be so close to everything, so it is VERY difficult to say no to leaving every weekend!
While I wish I could stay, "Oui, je peux parler parfaitement le français dès maintenant!" (translation: Yes, I can speak perfect French now), I can't really. The problem with Geneva is EVERYONE speaks English. My courses are taught in English, major businesses/UN organizations are run in English, so it is easy to be lazy. On top of that, my internship at the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the UN is conducted entirely in Spanish. So, perhaps I will become a more fluent Spanish speaker after things are all said and done here haha. I do love my internship though. Tomorrow I will be attending the UN Human Rights Council meetings all day at the UN. It is a really exciting place to be, and is a dream come true for me to get to be present at a conference of this magnitude and scope. One thing I've really come to realize while being surrounded by Ambassadors, and UN states people, is that they are all real people too. They joke, talk about normal things, and are all generally very approachable human beings. It is nice to see.
Well, on that note, I'd better run. I need to get to class soon. Geopolitics...here I come! Miss you all, and please feel free to email me or call me anytime!
Bonne Journée!
Kira
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