One Week

It's Official. I've been in Switzerland exactly one week. One Week! It has been an enormous week. Things I've done this week (not in order of importance)

• Opened a Bank Account - I did that this morning, actually!


• Learned to type on a Swiss keyboard (The Y and Z are reversed, and various punctuation is different)


• Saw two possible housing situations, which I am not going to take


• Got a video card - I can rent videos now!


• Made Banana Bread


• Went grocery shopping


• Read some of the Book of Romans


• Started working with the WSCF


• Attended a meeting that United Nations European Headquarters


• Got a mobile phone with a Swiss number (I will email that out if anyone is interested)


• Got lost


• Had fondue


• Attended Emmanuel Episcopal Church for the first time


• Made some new friends


• Went to a meeting about the Millenium Development Goals


• Went to a party


• Ate a Kebab


• Baked a chocolate cake


• Continued Reading Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller


• Put in my application for my "permis de résidence"


• Learned what WCC, YWCA, UNDP, LWF, and ACT mean.

My week has been very eventful. I am very excited about the WSCF, the work we do and the work that I will be doing to make that happen. I am still in the process of figuring out exactly what my job will look like. I am very hopeful, though. I am praying for guidance in my work and personally as I set up a life here in Geneva.

Getting Lost

Getting Lost

I had one of those moments tonight that you have when you move to a new place, especially a foreign place. A moment of culture shock where nothing feels right and you feel like you can’t do anything about it. In those moments it is hard not to cry, and I’ll admit I did tear up as I was walking around the streets of Geneva tonight. The moments are brought on by seemingly simple, ordinary events. Then somehow, because you are in a foreign place, it doesn’t quite work. The small things that you take for granted are just not there.

Tonight the rector at the Episcopal Church here in Geneva was nice enough to invite me to dinner at a parishioner’s home. I gladly accepted the offer – thinking how nice it would be to meet people from Church and become part of the community. He emailed me the address and directions using public transit. I thought I could find the apartment, no problem. I left my apartment feeling very upbeat; excited as for my very first dinner party in Geneva. Then I got lost. When I got off the tram I spent about 10 minutes just staring at the map, trying to locate the streets I had written on the small sheet of paper in my hand. Trying to figure out where I was, exactly. I headed off. Confident that I could find the address.

A fifteen minute walk. That’s what Google maps said. Fifteen minutes. Uphill. Fine. I can do it. It’ll be up here. Just keep going uphill. Where is the street? Is that it? No. Is that it? No. This street’s not labeled. What street is that? Where is the street sign? Where am I going? Is it this way? How long have I been walking? Why do my feet hurt so much? Is there another map near here? Ok. I can find it. It’s just around the corner. Keep going uphill and it’ll be the next street. No. It’s not that one. It must be the next one. No not that one either. It must be this direction, let’s turn here. I can still make it. I’m probably only half an hour late now. Oh, no. I missed it. It must have been the last street that had no sign. Okay. It must be just up this way. I’ll take a right here. Right there. No. That’s not it? Is that is? No. Is this it? No. Where is this street? Okay. Good. Another map. I missed it? Where am I? Okay. Just a few blocks away. Let’s ask someone. “Excusez moi, vous savez ou est la rue que je cherche?” non. Merci quand meme.” That was useless. Oh look. Another map. It’s just right there. I can’t be more than three blocks away. I’m sure I’ll find it this time…..

My interior dialogue for more than an hour. I wandered the streets of Geneva looking for this a street that I’m not quite sure even exists. I was without a phone and without any way of telling time. I eventually gave up and headed back to my current home. While I was wandering I was also thinking about the metaphors of wandering that are in the Bible. There are many.

God says that we are lost sheep and he finds us. I HATE being lost. Perhaps I need to admit sometimes that I am lost. Then, I can be found. I have trouble, a lot of trouble, accepting God’s Grace. God gives us this Grace freely and we cannot earn it or lose it. As I’m beginning this new job, very unsure of what I’ll be doing or where it will take me, I am going to try and admit that I’m lost; I don’t know where I’m going. I am going to trust God to take me. God loves me no matter what I do. God loves me because of who God is, not because of who I am or what I do. I am trying to remember that as I literally get lost in Geneva.

Saturday

I think I am mostly over jet-lag. Of course saying that will mean that I will be hit by a very severe case of jet-lag tonight. I've never found jet lag to be too hard to overcome. That is because I can always sleep. Even when I get 8 or 9 hours of sleep at night I still want to take a nap the next day for at least an hour. I sleep a lot. I think it's good for me.

Saturday. Today is Saturday. I got all my shopping done this morning. I finally got a Swiss adaptor, so now I am using my computer. They only had European to Swiss at the store, so my US plug is plugged into an adaptor for Europe which is then plugged into the Swiss adaptor which is then plugged into the wall. Perhaps not ideal, but it works. I had taken some things for granted here in Switzerland and just assumed they would be like France. However, I am learning very quickly that this is NOT France.

I have nothing to do today until 6 pm. At 6 o'clock tonight I have my first party. Two of the World Council of Churches' Interns are hosting a party tonight. I am going to bake chocolate cake (or maybe cupcakes) for the party. Of course I will also bring a bottle of wine.

I survived two days of work. Yesterday was different. Both Charite and Christine were out sick. Henriette doesn't work on Fridays. So, it was just Monika and I. I also met with Laurent and talked about my salary. I have a retirement plan! When I turn 65 I can claim retirement from the Swiss Government. First time in my life that I've had a retirement plan.

Fundraising update:

I totalled all my donations and all donations given to the NY WSCF office and pledged donations. I have raised just over $6,000 USD. I am very happy with that amount of money. I wanted to have about $5,000 USD before I arrived here in Geneva. So I am over my goal! However, I found out that my fundraising does not influence the amount of money I will be paid. The WSCF will pay me a full month's salary every month. However, if I have not raised enough money to cover my expenses then perhaps I will leave early. In the past the WSCF has taken a loss on the interns. However, this year the WSCF is facing a financial crisis, like so many other organizations and the world, so they are not sure that they will have the excess capital that they used in the past to cover the interns' cost. This means two things for me, one positive and one more difficult. Firstly, it means that I do not have to worry about having enough money each month. The salary the WSCF is giving me will be adequate to live in Geneva. That is good - I will be able to afford a place to live and have food to eat. However, on the other hand it means that no matter how frugally I can live I will still have to raise the full amount for my salary, more than $20,000 USD. Although, the WSCF might be able to supplement my money depending on their fundraising. However, I have a very long way to go.

Yesterday I met with the woman who was offering the reduced cost housing. She is very nice, however I have decided to not accept her offer. I think that I want more freedom in my living situation. I am still looking for housing. I have free housing until the end of March and then I will have to find something else. We have lined up a temporary place for at least April, but I am still looking. I am also praying for guidance in my housing situation. I know that turning down such inexpensive housing is risky, but I feel that it is not the right situation for me.

First Impressions and First Days

In my last post I simply stated that I was here in Geneva and that I had made it to the offices of the World Student Christian Federation. I will tell you a little more about exactly what I've been doing in the past 48 hours. It has been an eventful 48 hours.
Noon Wednesday: I arrive at the Geneva International Airport. After a small luggage scare (I thought my bags did not arrive, but in reality I was just at the wrong turnstile..oops). Christine Housel meets me at customs. She is my direct supervisor. I had never met her before so she had a nice little sign that said "Maryann Philbrook". Christine is an American woman who has been living in Geneva for 7 years now. She is also an Episcopalian. (Although we are an ecumenical groups everyone that works here is Anglican).

13:00 Lunch with Christine at Cafe du soleil. We have traditional fondue. Very tasty! Hot melty cheese that we dip small pieces of bread into. Yum. We also have a side cured meats and a small salad. A perfect introduction to Geneva.

15:00 Meet people at the office. Charité, the Human Rights intern. She is amazing. I'm looking forward to working with her. Henriette, the accountant. She's in charge of money. I don't get to meet Monika or Marlin. They're both out of the office. I get to spend a little bit of time on the internet.

17:00 Get a ride to my temporary home. Michael, the director is out of town for the month of March. He and his wife and kids are at home, in New Zealand, visiting friends and family while he is getting ordained. So I am staying in his house and using his office. Pretty swank digs for someone just arriving. I was so worried about where I was going to stay, but God and the people here at WSCF took care of me. Thank You!

18:00 After my shower, I go to the local grocery store. I wander around in a jet-lagged daze and pick out a few items for dinner and breakfast the next morning.

19:00 zzzzz...zzzzz...

6:45 am. Woke up and can't go back to sleep. That could be because I went to bed at 7 o'clock last night... Christine had said she would pick me up at 9 am to take me to the Office to get my ID card. So I have some time. I make myself a leisurely breakfast and then I decide to read the Student World from 2007. The theme is migration; there are articles from students and clergy discussing different ideas.

9:15 No Christine. I decide to brave the Swiss phones and use the one in the house to call the number I had been given for Christine. An automated message in German. Oops. I try the number I had been given for Charité. No answer. I try the WSCF offices. No answer. What to do next?

9:45 Still no Christine. I try all the numbers again. Finally, when I call the number for Charité I hear an American accented voice. Christine? Apparently, she had not recovered from her jet lag yet - she got back from the States on Tuesday. So she had not slept at all the night before and then slept through her alarm. Change of plans. She gave me directions to the office on the Public Transit. Let's meet at the office for a 1pm meeting at the UN.

10:00 I take the tram into town. It is surprisingly easy. Michael lives about 45 minutes out from the office. I simply take the tram until the final stop. Then I transfer to a bus and get off and walk to the front doors of the Ecumenical Center. (The Ecumenical Center is where the World Council of Churches is headquartered). This is where it gets difficult. This building was clearly built in phases. Some of the stairs and elevators go up to the 3rd floor. However, I work on the 4th floor. I have the receptionist call the office so that someone can meet me to walk me up to the offices.

11:15 I arrive and Henriette guides me to the offices. She looks to see if Monika is there. No Monika. Let's meet Marlin next. Henriette knocks on a closed door and dumps me into a conference of some sort. I sit down next to Charité. Marlin, I assume, is talking about his advocacy work in Zimbabwe. It is fascinating to hear about the work that he has done and the real threats that he is facing and overcoming to help bring stability to his country. Very inspiring guy.

12.45 Charité and I discuss our upcoming visit to the UN. It is also her first time. Christine arrives and whisks us away to the UN. Since we are running late she drops us off the Security Entrance where we can get our badges. She runs off to the meeting. After waiting in line for about 10 minutes (only to discover that an agent was free the whole time but was not signalling us!) we finally talk to an agent. We give him our paperwork and he makes us fill out another form. Then we take a picture and get a badge. I have a badge for the UN. I can go anytime I want to any of the "public" events. I will have to find some in the next few weeks to take advantage of this privilege.

13:35 Wander the halls of the UN looking for the "NGO Room." No one seems to have heard of it or know where it is. The meeting started at 1, so we are running rather late and we're both desperately hungry. Finally, in a last ditch effort before giving up and going to the Cafeteria we ask a security guard. He DOES know where it is. It's actually next to the Cafeteria. We find it and interrupt the meeting, only 45 minutes late.

14:30 Meeting adjourned. We leave with Christine. She runs into a colleague, who's statement she has to sign. Charité goes back to the office for a 3 o'clock meeting. I hang out with Christine while we wait to sign the statements. (At the UN NGO's can create statements about upcoming resolutions. Other NGO's can then sign them, putting more weight behind the statement.) I chat with some other interns that work in this same building, but for a different organization.

16:25 Finally make it back to the office. Get a minute to check my email.

17:15 Christine calls to me from the hall. An impromptu celebration of my arrival. Complete with Chocolate Cake and Sparkling Apple Juice. So sweet!

18:00 Charité and I leave to run some errands. I get a monthly bus pass. She tries to get her phone fixed, only the store is closed. So we end up eating at Kebab place near the train station.

19:45 Head home.

20:10 I arrive at my temporary flat. Read some more the book Searching for God Knows What.

21:00 Get into bed to read.... I can't believe I've only been in this country for 40 hours or so.

Okay, well that's enough for now. I will post more later on my reflections on all these amazing things.

Relax in a hurry

I am safe and sound in Geneva!

I wrote this in the airport yesterday, but I didn't want to pay to get online so I am posting it now. I am currently at the WSCF (World Student Christian Federation) offices in Geneva.


I am sitting in the Houston Airport waiting for my second flight of the day. I have three more to go. I hate waiting in lines. I really HATE it. If there is a way for me to not wait in line I will take it. If there is a way that I can just not do the thing I’m waiting in line for, I’ll probably take that possibility. For example, I was at the grocery store last week with Kim. We had a few items to buy and there was an “express” line. We could have gone in that line; however there were two people in front of me. I wanted to go and see if there was another line that I could find where I wouldn’t have to wait at all. Kim called me out on it and we waited in line for all of five minutes. I am glad I have friends who call me out when I’m being a bit ridiculous. That being said, I am rather patient when I do not have to wait in line. I’ve never been bothered sitting for hours at an airport. Riding in a car for hours on end to get somewhere is fine with me. I just kill time, as long as I’m not waiting in a line.

Airports seem obsessed with “First Class” or “Elite” passengers. If you are an Elite Passenger please board now. Everyone else wait. If you are First Class please board first. There is a “Preferred Flier” lounge. There are the credit cards you can buy that give you extra points for spending money on flights. There are chairs you can pay to sit in “First Class Seats.” Under the lighted sign that tells you how wonderful you’ll feel if you pay to sit in these plush leather arm chairs are the words “Relax in a hurry.” Relax in a hurry. How do you do that? If you’re in a hurry you’re not relaxed. If you’re relaxed you’re not in a hurry. Quick, let me relax so that I can get back to my stressful life. Let me get back to my stressful life so that I can pay to be better than everyone else.

I also started reading a book by Donald Miller, Searching for God Knows What. I like it so far. It was a going away present from a very special friend. I am sure I will enjoy reading it more on the rest of my flights.

Road Trip!

Here is the Blog I wrote on the 14th:

I took a rather long road trip today. After a later than planned start, I finally got on the road at about noon today. I got a chance to drive in the rain. It takes about six hours to drive from Austin to my parents’ house. While I was driving I had a lot of time to think. I listened to some music. I listened to the rain. I talked to a good friend. I thought about all my amazing friends in Austin. I thought about what I’m about to begin. I thought about my fears of what I’m giving going to give up. I thought about the things I don’t know yet that I’ll learn in Geneva. Yesterday, when I met with the priest at St. James’ he asked me to spend some time every week reflecting on what I’d learned that week. He also asked me what I was most excited about and what I was most afraid of giving up over there. I am really excited about the work I’m going to be doing. Although I do not know exactly what I’ll be doing, I do know that I’ll be asked to write. I’ll be asked to write thoughtful articles about social justice and faith. I know that I’ll be asked to work with students to help them write. Hopefully, the writing that they do will help them to understand better their faith and their works, as well as how the two are interconnected. I told him the thing I’m most afraid of is being poor. That is a cop out answer. I am afraid of being poor, but I know I can deal with that. I have never had excessive amounts of money. I know how to live without many accessories and necessities. What I am really afraid of is my success. I am afraid of the power of what can happen when we work with God. I am afraid of where I will be called to go. In essence, I am afraid of what I will learn about myself and God. I couldn’t have put that into words yesterday when my priest asked me what I was afraid of.

I also have received a lot of money recently. Amazing how people are willing to support me and this mission. I am so grateful to them.

I also thought of a metaphor during my drive today. The metaphor may be a little trite, but I figured I could share it with you. Religion is like windshield wiper blades. We use them to help us see the road in front of us more clearly. Life is the rain that comes down on us. We can either use the blades to figure out where we’re going or we can just drive blindly down the road.

Almost leaving

I get on a plane in a little over 16 hours. I am not packed yet. (to be fair, I WAS packed when I left Austin, but I have to repack because of weight limitations). I am going to do that tonight. And everything else. Too much to do!

I wrote a post the night that I arrived here at my Parents' but I wrote it on my laptop. My laptop cannot connect to the Wireless here. So my post is sitting very nicely on my computer waiting to be uploaded. I'll probably do that tomorrow while I'm at the airport. I will spend a lot of time tomorrow in planes and at airports. In fact, I'll spend so much time it won't even be tomorrow when I finally arrive in Geneva, it will be the day after tomorrow!

I found out a housing possibility in Geneva. A woman is looking for help with her two kids a couple nights a week, in exchange I'd have a room in her house for less money. It is close to where I'll be working too! I am planning to meet with her either Wednesday or Thursday. I am hoping that this will work out for both of us. Saving money on my housing would be a huge help in the financial department. I am still very nervous about my money, but feeling less so in recent weeks because I've received quite a few donations. (I talk about this in the post I haven't yet posted).

I am glad I have a few days to spend here with my parents. Having a few days to decompress and figure out exactly what I'm doing in Geneva is good for me. I have a little pause before I start my next big adventure. My last week in Austin was very rushed. I felt like I was trying to squeeze as much in as possible. I am grateful for the rest that I can get here.