Absence

Sorry I have been absent from blogging for so long. I will return on January 4th.

Timing

Timing is everything, or so they say. Sometimes I have to agree with them. Yesterday timing meant everything to me. A few minutes was the difference between me being on the flight I had booked and me standing in the airport cursing my luck.

I could have made the flight, but of course I made stupid mistakes that you make because you are rushing and then you make more mistakes that make you later and then I was so late the I could not check my bags. I could not get on my flight without my bags so I am still here in Chicago.

Missing a flight is not the end of the world, however it is very difficult for me. I DO NOT miss flights. I consider myself a pretty savvy traveler. I make many flights a year, yet I have never missed a flight. I can handle missing luggage or a plane being delayed or even perhaps running to catch a train - but I cannot miss a flight.

One reason that missing a flight is so hard for me is that there is no one else to blame. I'd like to say it was my cousin's fault since she was driving me. Or I would like to say it was my brother's fault for keeping me at his house until 3 am. But in reality the blame lies squarely on my shoulders. I have no one else to blame, even partly. I lie sometimes and say this person told me that or this person didn't do that. Yet, I have to reckon with my own failure.

You see this is the hard part for me. I do not like to look at my mistakes and where I mess up. (Which I'm assuming I'm not the only one in this category). I generally do things well. I am pretty successful in life and when I can't do things well, I generally don't do them or I accept that I can't do them. (like climbing trees, hiking or tying balloons) When I think that if I put out a reasonable amount of effort I should succeed and then I don't - that is when I'm the angriest. I'm angry at myself for missing my plane. There was no real harm done. (except to my credit card).

Chicago

I made it to Chicago. Chicago is a very special city. You may not know it, but I was born here in the Windy City. It is cold, though, now. Colder than Geneva. I almost feel misleading since this blog is at the address "Maryann in Geneva" and now that is no longer true. No longer will I be living in Geneva. Although my life is still an experiment - so perhaps that is okay. I am still trying to figure out how to live my life and be authentic.

Chicago is a great city - with lots of my family. Family is so important, although I often take them for granted. I just assume that they will always be there for me. Thank you family, for being here for me.

I am also reflecting on this year. It is the end of the calendar year and the end of a year long experiment for me. It is also a return. I'm returning to a city I know I love, to a church I love and a job I love. I've gone full circle in 2009.

It's over

Yesterday was my last day of work. This experiment that I started a little more than a year ago is done. Yet, I am a completely different person. I had my "exit interview" with my supervisor yesterday. I left a pile of papers for the next intern. I finished It's strange to think that I will never be back there. I feel good about it. I feel like I have achieved something.

With prayer and hard work I made this year happen. It was not guaranteed in any way that I would or could stay for this long here in Switzerland doing this job. Yet, it worked out. God has been so good to me this year! I talk about my faith on this blog and God some - but I really think I have learned a lot about my faith and about God this year.

I was recently asked what I thought of my office. I am amazed that the six of us that work there, now five without me, are able to do all the things that we do. My supervisor and my boss work harder than anyone I know. These six people are making sure that the students around the world's voice are being heard on global summits. From Copenhagen to The commission on the Status of Women - we are making sure Christian Student Voices are heard. The thing is we are very clear in our office that we are not the students or the voices - but instead are helping them to be heard. I am amazed at the work we do. I'm very grateful that I was part of it for a year.

Although I know this was only the beginning and I will be part of WSCF for a long time.

I'm heading back to the States in just a few days. I can't quite believe it. The photos are from my weekend away in the alps.

My first day of my last week

I spent the weekend in the Alps at a "chalet". I really did go to the Alps this weekend. A friend of mine's parents have a vacation apartment in this small town called St. Luc. It is the most picturesque place I've ever been. All those pictures of the snow covered mountains with the houses with the perfect snow on top of them all nicely lined up with the sloping roofs. Those pictures were probably taken in St. Luc. Although I had a wonderful time, I realized that I truly am a city girl. I mean, I loved the nature and the snow and everything - but I would much prefer sitting in the peace and quiet of a coffee shop in a big city knowing that there are a thousand people walking past the door of the coffee shop that will never come in, and may never even know it exists.

I think that my coffee shop experience and going away to "nature" serve the same purpose. At least they do for me. I am reminded of how insignificant I am and how blessed I am. When I'm staring at those huge mountains that God created I realize just how little I really am. How fragile my life is. I see for an instant that the World is so much bigger than what I'm doing or my problems or my life. I also see that in the bottom of my coffee cup. I hear that as I listen to people talk in coffee shops about their lives and their problems and their gods. I am reminded of how blessed I am and how insignificant my life is. But also how important it is - to me and to God.

Sorry I don't have any pictures yet. I haven't taken them off my camera. Today was the first day of my last week at work.

one week... (plus a few days)

I have just over one week of work left. This is strange. It feels like I just arrived yesterday. I can still remember setting up my blog when I was in Austin, TX and Geneva was just an idea of a far away place. Now, I have one week left to finish. One week left to do what I will do. Then I will be back in Austin. While I could continue to work for WSCF as a volunteer it will be much harder and I'm not going to lie to them or myself and say that I will do things that I might do, but probably will be too busy to do.

I have one week left. It is a little daunting. I am currently doing the mail out for Fed News. Which means that today was spent folding newsletters and stuffing envelopes and tomorrow will be more of the same. However, it will feel good to be done. Hopefully, if you're on my mailing list you'll get a copy (plus a personalized note) mailed out next week.

Also, I am still trying to finish Student World -WSCF's ecumenical journal - but my finishing it is a BIG question and there is also questions about what will happen after I leave. We will see, I suppose.

One week. I still can't believe it. It will happen, though, and I will be back in Texas very soon.

This picture was taken when I was in Edinburgh, Scotland (not to be confused with Edinburg, TX) by my friend I was visiting. It's one of my favorites.

Living in Switzerland

Sunday was an eventful day. Apart from being the Launch of the new Philip Potter Fund of the WSCF Centennial Fund. It was also the day of "votation". The Swiss went to the polls with two very important issues, among many others. First was a law that would insert a phrase into the constitution to ban building more minarets. The second was a law that would have outlawed the sales of arms to foreign countries. For a country that is supposedly neutral, they sell 6% of the world's weapons. The first passed and the second failed.

Switzerland, the land of chocolate, banks, cheese and neutrality, failed to live up to it's reputation on Sunday. Instead of choosing to be prophetic and reject the racism and xenophobia loosely clothed as "freedom from Islamic law" the majority, 57.5%, of Swiss chose the path of least resistance. The path of hatred. The poster here was all over Geneva. Although I only saw the French version - loosely translated it says "Stop" vote yes on the ban on minarets.

This very thinly veiled racism is unacceptable. We must not stand for this. I cannot believe that I live in a country that is supposed to be a land of freedom, but instead the people here have chosen to embrace hatred and fear rather than embracing those that are different and trying to learn from them.