Geneva Today, Paris Tomorrow

I am leaving for Paris tomorrow. I will be going to the UNESCO Higher Education Conference. It should be a good experience for me. I have never been to a big UN event like this. My colleague and I are going together. We are going to spend 6 day there. I really like Paris, so I am quite excited about being there, although I am afraid that work will be very tiring. We will be working every day, all day and then I am sure that we will also be working in the evenings to prepare for the next day. I am bringing my computer with me, so hopefully, I will be able to post some updates from UNESCO.

My bosses are both back today, which means that our office is much more lively. Today was my direct supervisor's birthday. We had cake and "children's champagne". It was wonderful.

I also met with a member of Zimbabwe's civil society today. He is here for the CONGO Civil Society Development Forum going on right now. The Zimbabwe Advocacy Office is hosting him. Very interesting to hear him talk about the situation in Zimbabwe and how he is working on HIV/AIDS issues there. I feel very privileged to be a part of that conversation.

Friends

From Pictures from Office Camera March 2009

Here is a photo of me hanging the Zimbabwean flag in Marlon's office.

From Pictures from Office Camera March 2009

Here is the finished product.

From First Pictures in Geneva

Here is a picture of me reading our publication Student World. At the bottom of the page are links to the PDF files for the most recent copies. They are a good read. I highly recommend checking it out.

I haven't heard yet about my housing situation. I'm still searching. It's Friday today and I am planning to go to a Chocolate Festival tomorrow. So I will definitely put up pictures from there.

Housing Search

I have been here in Geneva just over a week. Luckly, the General Secretary of the WSCF has been on vacation. This is lucky because I am getting to use his office and live in his flat while he is gone. I did not know this when I arrived. I was worried about where I was going to sleep that night, but God provided for me. During this week I have been looking for housing. I did some searching before I came, and I read about the "housing crisis" that Geneva is facing. I thought I would still be able to find something rather reasonably. I have so far been to see three different living options. The first was by far the most reasonably priced, however, there were many drawbacks. A woman here would rent her attic room out for only 200francs in exchagne for babysitting two nights a week. Atlhough this seems reasonable at first, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was not a good idea. Firstly, her house was situated far from where I work. In addition to that, the room was small and the living situation would be difficult. I cannot imagine sharing one bathroom with two children and another adult. So, I politely said I would continue searching. I looked at another apartment a few days ago. For only 825 francs ($732)I could have a room in a small two room apartment. The kitchen was tiny. There was no shared space. (I imagine this was originally a one bedroom apartment that the current tenant was choosing to live in the living room and rent out the bedroom) I also have declined that apartment. I have been to see one other room. This room I am very excited about. Although I have not found out yet if I will get it. The room is in a house (!) in Carouge. This is an area of Geneva that is like an older smaller village. It is not very close to my work - but my work is easily accessible by tram and bus from this house. I would have my own room, but have 6 other housemates. The kitchen is HUGE! Which is important for me as I love to cook and spend time in the kitchen. They also have a very large living room and a smaller salon. I am hopeful that I will get this house. They interviewed a few people last night and they said they will decide over the weekend. I am hoping and praying that I can live in that house.


I just finished a meeting and lunch with a woman from Zimbabwe. We have in our office the Zimbabwe Geneva Advocacy Office. She came to meet with us and talk with us about her work with Youth Empowerment and Transformation in Zimbabwe. Although there are many, many problems right now with the government and the economy in Zimbabwe, I am hopeful because of the work I see people doing here. It is empowering to hear stories of success, and of failure, where people are really being transformed and are creating change. I think that the people I am meeting here are enacting the Gospel.

For the next issue of Federation News, I was asked to write a brief summation of why I am glad I am an intern here. I thought you might like to read it as well. (Federation News is the twice yearly report on what the Student Christian Movements around the Federation are doing.)