My day at the UN

So I just spent my day today at the UN in meetings and editing a 20 page formal document synthesizing the member states comments on a UNECE Sustainable Housing Treaty, that I will aid Johannah in finishing editing tonight, no big deal. 

Are you kidding me? This internship is ridiculous. A good, amazing kind of ridiculous though. The UN was... not what I expected and exactly what I expected all at the same time. A UN culture develops among the thousands of people working there, who all become a tiny cog in this giant bureaucratic machine. Long hallways of closed identical doors and bar codes. Many cafés and bars spread out on many different floors and many buildings of the UN Palais des Nations grounds. Each filled with delegates, representatives and staff discussing various bits and pieces of what eventually become international treaties, projects and missions.

It's all painstakingly boring and dull, but interesting and exciting all at the same time. As for Geneva, I didn't really get to see much of it on our 20 minute trip from the train station to the Palais des Nations, and from the Palais des Nations back to the train station, as is the life of business travel. However, from what I saw, very Swiss. To Canadians, this might not mean much, but to Europeans or anyone familiar with Swiss culture, that is all the description needed. Also outrageously expensive. 2 half baguettes and a bottle of water and coke cost Jo and I 17 francs. Seventeen.... The bathroom Jo used at the mall/train station cost 1,50 francs just to get in. However, it was the most luxurious and cleanest public bathroom we had ever seen, as would be expected of the Swiss.

The entrance to the bathroom, Jo getting change.

I'm loving it:)

Life here.... is simple, easy, peaceful. Even though we put in some 15 hour work days, and did work of some kind every day of the week. So, why is it so relaxing? Well I think I've narrowed it down to a few key reasons:

A) The small town environment. I rarely ever check my cell phone, let alone carry it on me. Because everyone I would want to get a hold of, I always know where to find them or when I will see them next. And if they are not with me, chances are they are within 200m or a 2 minute walk.

B) No TV. It is extremely rare for the TV to get turned on. If it does, it is usually one of the boys watching TV late at night, or us working late on a Friday or Saturday night and put a movie on in the background while we work. But with no TV, AND no cell phone (or barely), there is no distractions or unnecessary chatter in the background of everything. It's blissful. This also makes for very peaceful relaxing mornings, quietly siting at the table in the sunlight, reading the news websites, sipping my Lady Gray tea and eating my Mango.

C) With this, it means there is MUCH more time for so many more activities, and much less time on FB and in front of the computer. In this last week alone we have gone on a 2h hike twice, gone swimming at Le Gouille twice, and done yoga twice. We have eaten every lunch and supper together, at the table. And amazing healthy food might I add. We have also had pedicure, Will & Grace, and girl talk nights, and a BBQ gathering of all of our collective friends here. This is all in one week might I add, on top of insane work schedules and ridiculous near impossible deadlines, that leave Jo, Nino and I locked up in a bedroom working like mad until the last possible moment where we have to emerge and join everyone else at the BBQ, that we were hosting.

D) Another reason, and quite possible the most important, on top of having music playing all the time (no radio + no TV = no adds, just fantastic international music), is Johannah. That woman is amazing. She is quite literally my new hero. And Jo, if you stumble across my blog and read this, I mean every word of what I'm about to say, or rather write. She is so energetic, enthusiastic, positive, caring, nurturing, accepting, flexible, inclusive, approachable and driven. At the age of 50, she has the spirit and the looks of someone decades younger, the crazy/silly-ness of someone even younger than that, but has accomplished things, particularly career-wise that most people can't even dream of. She started her own consulting practice, and today she drafts treaties to be signed at symposiums gathering the top brilliant minds in diverse fields around the world. She has projects ongoing with seven national governments. She does business, advising, proposals and more treaties for top international organisations including but not limited to the UN. All while being one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. For example, I had a hard time/bad moment the other day and ended up breaking down in my room, and she just knew that I was upset, and why I was upset, and came to my room and sat there with me, comforting me as I tried to pull myself together. There is literally like 3 people on this planet that have a) wanted to or been able to comfort me b) that I have been comfortable enough with to let them in the room. I just feel so privileged to have this opportunity to get to know her, to work with her, and live along side her.

All that being said, as you can imagine, life has been busy. Actually today, tonight, is probably one of the first FREE evening I've had, and I plan to spend probably an hour of it on the phone with Morgan, whom I haven't spoken to since 2010! The reason we have a free evening? Because we spent from 9:30am to 2:30pm, straight, packing, moving, and cleaning to move downstairs. Then when we finished, more cleaning. Because Sonja, our landlord, is a self titled Cleaning Gastapo. Then when we finally finished everything, we ate lunch, then unpacked and settled in. No more than 5 minutes after this was finished, since it was gorgeous and sunny out, and we were sweaty from the day, Juraj, Olivia and I went for a swim with Jo and the girls. After this was finished, we all went home, took a hot shower, and here we are now with me sitting on the couch writing this blog while Juraj and Olivia scrounge together enough food to make supper. Because obviously all grocery stores are closed on Sunday, and as we buy the food fresh that day to cook, we never ever remember to buy food in advance for Sunday. However, as Juraj, Olivia and Nino are such AMAZING fantastic cooks, even with no ingredients, we are still having a Tomato and Olive Torte. Olivia even makes fresh, ridiculously heathy and delicious muffins, or granola, or some other snack, every day. She rocks. For lunch we always have this huge fantastic salad, different ingredients daily, sometimes with some fresh smoked salmon on the side with a herb cream cheese spread and fresh dark bread from the bakery. I know I said this last blog, but I literally don't want to leave.

Side notes:
1) Here is a tour of our new place for the rest of the summer :)
2) The title is obviously inspired by the McDonalds slogan. The reasoning is that we have been coming up with these great quotes or slogans out of the blue this week, only to realize a few moments later that they are a Telus or Mastercard quote....Long live capitalism....

Insert Witty Title Here

So it has been exactly one week since we first arrived, after a bit of a rough weekend, and not the good kind of rough. The arriving stage of everything being shiny and pretty has passed, and the reality has sunk in. Perhaps a little too far.. I think it might need to rebound up a tad to get back to normal.

Things I miss:

Subway
Belgian sandwiches/subs
Cafés
PEOPLE (ie, friends, family, larger numbers of people, strangers, etc.)
Chocolate soy milk
Close and frequent markets
People
Bars and nightlife
Dancing
and have I mentioned people?

More specifically, the reality of being stuck in a house isolated in the mountains, with the same 3 people that you live, work, and play with, is getting to me. Especially when I have always had a wide variety of friends that I hang out with. I've lived with 3-6 people before, but I have always always had my separate friends. However, I have met a few other people here that seem pretty great.. so we'll see. One way or another, this experience here in the mountains is sure to be an 'experience'.

I may need assistance from someone with better coping skills or patience than I..

You know what drives me crazy? Don't answer that. I know the list is long.. Let me rephrase.. What is bothering me very much right now? Yes, that's better. Unappreciative people. Individuals who don't appreciate all the goodness they have in their life. I know that we are all human, and everyone, even the most selfless people at one point in time may take somethings for granted, but there is a limit. There is an extent to which it is acceptable to take certain things for granted, and when it borders on ignorant and selfish. My theory, is that these are people who don't have enough real problems in their life, have never been subject to any real hardship, or are incapable of empathy. They therefore can't handle the slightest little bump in their otherwise very good lives. However, I realize that this is also not their fault that they can't handle it, and isn't even a bad thing that they haven't had the experience in dealing with actual problems and situations. But it very much is their fault when they completely blow up and make a HUGE deal out of a very insignificant event. For example, having to share a room with one other person for 2 weeks. Having to sleep in bunk beds, in a room with a private bathroom, that normally costs 10x more, in one of the most beautiful places in Europe, while having this amazing experience and opportunity. For 2 weeks, while your normal suite of a room is occupied. No you're right, that is the end of the world. You should make a big deal about that. I mean, there are people every day and night that sleep on the street, go hungry day, that lose their fathers, mothers, siblings, or children to war and various tragedies, but no, you having to sleep in bunk beds, THAT is the real crisis. My bad. What was I thinking...

How do you take someone like that seriously? I'm literally asking. I know that this is particularly a touchy issue for me, so I am genuinely asking for some guidance anyone might have on this.

Smell that mountain air..

Life is already very settling here, and Johannah isn't even back from Canada yet, nor is the full team here. Juraj arrives here late tonight, and Olivia, the sister of a previous intern, Laura, who loved it here so much she ended up living here (is still here), is arriving sometime over the weekend I think. Meanwhile, Jo finally gets back Monday early afternoon from Montréal.

Life is just so beautiful and peaceful here. It is a small town, so there is no rush of the city, has that small town calmness, you can leisurely walk the 30 seconds to 2 minutes it takes to get anywhere. Plus its in the middle of the mountains, so you have this very natural, calming, serene atmosphere and scenery. I mean, right now, I'm sitting on our kitchen balcony basking in the morning sun writing this blog. That's another aspect of life here that I absolutely love, the routine.

The day and work day are very much adapted to life here. The morning is the most beautiful time of the day, as the afternoon gets windy with the mountain wind. So we all get up anywhere between 6 and 8, 9 if we sleep in, and take advantage of the morning. This includes downhill biking for Nino, swimming in the lake/pond for Aurora, hiking/swimming with the dogs for Jo, or yoga, daily groceries, working on our dissertation, having a very lengthy breakfast and catching up on the news, and anything else that comes to mind.

We then start work at 11, with Jo calling us at 4 to check in and give us new assignments and projects, and finishing at 7pm. As we often finish our previous assignments or are stuck on the current ones without Jo's aid before 4pm, we have often been taking an extended version of the normal lunch of cooking together and eating our healthy salad or sandwiches, and adding a hike to the lake/pond with the dogs, afternoon exploring, or helping Sonja (our Australian owner of the Chalet) with the packing and moving she has to do readying their new Chalet, as part of the 4 hours of work we help her with a month as part of our rental contract.

Then after work, we always all eat together, this rule is stipulated by Jo. If Nino isn't cooking, he tries to squeeze in another run down the mountain before supper, or Jo plays with her girls. Then after supper we all part ways again where some of us go for a drink or two at a local pub, some catch up on some reading, tv watching or alone time, and others just chill and hangout, or go to bed early... Something a little more relaxing after all the activity of the day. I mean, physical activity is so engrained in life here that you barely notice it, yet my legs and ass are perpetually stiff with everything and all the extreme uphill and downhill walking.

In many ways, it all reminds me of Canada and the Prairies.. Maybe this is why I feel so at home here? Or that I'm surrounded by Canadians? As Jo, Olivia, Laura, Aurora and I are all Canadian haha. Whatever the reason, I completely love it and am very glad I will be spending 3 months here. I even love the work. Some assignments, as with anything, maybe be a little on the tedious side, but in general its great. We each lead certain projects, cooperate on others, take on deadline projects, or just help Jo with some administrative style work. Some are for United Nations Environment Program, some are for the Swiss Development Cooperation, others are for cross-cutting government initiatives. All in all, I'm pretty sure I will never want to leave.