A Typical Day in Egypt...

... is hard to find, at least for our group. One day, we're sitting in lectures from overwhelmingly intelligent AUC professors or impossibly chaotic "Survival Arabic" classes, and the next day, we're knocking several monuments off our to-see lists. Then, who knows? Maybe we'll hop on a plane for a couple days of intense touring in Luxor or intense relaxation by the Red Sea (even relaxation is an intense experience on Global).

To give you a better idea, here are a couple highlights and snapshots of what we've done in the last 16 days, in addition to regular class:

Survived some typical traffic jams and walking across streets in Cairo
crosswalks DO NOT exist here--your life is on the line at every crossing

Discussed the pollution problem in Cairo with Professor Swanson of AUC
any undeveloped/unused square inch is free space for trash dumping

Navigated the great Khan al-Khalili market in Medieval Cairo
Some of us (me) are better at bartering than others (Adam).
Lessons: always watch your belongings, say 'no' even when you really want it,
and NEVER try it on if you haven't already agreed on a price

Did all the great and necessary touristy things at the Pyramids, with a St. Olaf twist
Jumping and 'walk like an egyptian' pictures, singing Um Ya Ya inside the pyramid

Befriended camels-- for 50 L.E. apiece plus baksheesh (tip)
Camels aren't native to Egypt: the Persians brought them
when they first invaded around 600 BC 

Stood in awe of all the beautiful ancient Egyptian art that still survives in so many of the temples and tombs we visited.
The colors for their paints come from the various different colored sediments between the limestone blocks they quarried for their monuments - everything but blue and green (which came from precious stones)

Imitated monuments with strength and poise
The Step Pyramid of Saqqara is the first real pyramid we know of - the "builder" originally only had the first level or 'pylon' built, before adding on more layers to guide his soul back after death. Later rulers improved on the idea.

Kicked ourselves for not knowing how to read/interpret hieroglyphics--guess we've just gotta trust the tour guide!
Anything written inside an oval (called a 'cartouche') is usually the name of a king or queen

Visited both the Valley of the Kings (saw 4 tombs: Rameses I, III, IV, and V/VI - they share a tomb) and Hapshepsut's Temple before 9am so as to avoid burning alive in the desert
The head egyptologist in charge of the Valley of the Kings published a book with lots of pictures of the tombs, so naturally, he banned camera usage in KV because why would you want to take your own amateur pictures when you can buy a book of professional ones for $50? If you had x-ray vision and could see through the temple behind me in this picture, you would see the Valley of the Kings.

Witnessed the Luxor Temple by night
My pharaoh-crush is Rameses II-- isn't he just a hunk?

Watched the sun come up over Luxor from a hot air balloon (just hours after our group's 1st encounter with karaoke)
There are few things more magical or inspirational than flying 3000ft above a city (and it's ancient monuments) and still being able to hear the wafting tones of the Call to Prayer

Snorkeled in the Red Sea
Didn't find any Moses-era Egyptians still walking around... with all that coral, it would have really hurt to walk across that sea-bed, even with sandals on!

Took a day off to lounge in the sun (and shade, for those of us sunburned from snorkeling) of Hurghada

Every day brings a new adventure, whether it's at a café here on Zamalek (in Cairo) or in a completely different city! We're off to Alexandria this weekend -- stay tuned for more fun times ahead!

Have you been to Egypt or another country in the region? How were your experiences different/similar to what I've described? Leave a comment below!

First Impressions: Misr (Egypt)

It’s strange to realize that I’ve only been in Egypt for a week and a half, and even stranger to think that I’ve only been gone 3 weeks. Not only have our days been packed to the fullest, but every day’s experiences are newer than the previous ones and it just doesn’t seem possible that I’ve crammed this much in to less than a month’s travels. I am going to be completely exhausted after 5 months of this!

When I flew with my group to Egypt, it was, in my mind, the real start to our adventures—classes began in earnest, we were finally able to unpack our suitcases, and most importantly, we were entering a culture and a country that was unfamiliar to (almost—1 exception) all of us.

When I’ve spoken to friends here on the trip, or people “back home”, I’ve tried to explain my mental adjustment here in Egypt. I really hoped that my reading project this summer would have prepared me more for the difference in culture I experienced within minutes of exiting the plane at the Cairo Airport, but the truth is, I was not prepared.

I can’t believe that, even as someone who has studied Egypt on several occasions from the social science perspective, during my mental preparations I either forgot or ignored the fact that Egypt is still considered a third world country. I feel dumb admitting this, but I guess my mental picture of Cairo—a city you hear about on the news all the time (even pre-Revolution)—was more of an Arabic-speaking NYC, or Madrid, or even Rome (you know, because of all the ruins?). Ha. Riiiight.

Not even close. Cairo is complete chaos. For you statistics-oriented people: the population density within city limits is officially 44,521 people per square mile (7 million people total). Within the larger metro area there are nearly 20 million people. Why is it so packed? Because Cairo, like all major cities in Egypt, is in the fertile Nile Valley, dwarfed by high desert on both sides. Many of those 18 million people have cars, and they go out in such numbers that there are almost always traffic jams, which means all those cars are almost always running. Oh, and that bit about being surrounded by high deserts means that all that air pollution stays there in the valley, making Cairo the third most-polluted city in the world, after Mexico City and Calcutta. Yay!

I really don’t mind the crazy traffic (seriously, insane) or even having to cross streets between cars that only consider not hitting you (which they signal with a honk—how lovely), but what I do mind most and what I had the hardest time adjusting to is the TRASH piled up EVERYWHERE. We’re staying in the AUC dorms in one of the nicest areas of the city—Zamalek—and there’s still trash EVERYWHERE. We’re talking so much trash piled up on the sidewalks that we have to walk in the street half the time. And did I mention that the streets are a wee bit dangerous and crowded too?

It’s really sad, actually. I hoped to come to Egypt and just be blown away by the beauty and the history on a daily basis, but honestly, most of the time, I’m watching my feet to make sure I don’t step in something.

They do have a garbage system. That was one of the first and biggest questions we had for our guide during our tour of the city last week. For generations, Cairo has depended on the work of the Zebediin people, (literally, trash people) who live in the slums (with 2 million of their closest friends) and have individual or family contracts with buildings downtown to take their trash away daily or weekly. Now, where do they take it? To their homes, of course, where they sort through all of it and pick out anything of worth to sell for profit. Apparently, they’ve received international “green” awards for their excellent work in recycling, but I’m sure they won’t get hygiene awards any time soon.

Of course, another big culture shock factor we’ve had to deal with is the harassment we all (even the guys) get on an extremely regular basis. According to our program leader in Egypt, Sherif, even Egyptian women are harassed (regardless of whether they wear the veil or not) when they’re out in the city. The best analogy I can come up with to explain this phenomenon is that it’s like a bunch of sexually charged adolescent boys one-upping each other without hardly any social constraints or consequences. It’s absolutely abhorrent, and honestly, annoying.

So far, I’ve been impressed with my classmates in the modest-dress department, but it doesn’t really matter how much you cover up—you’re still going to get looks and honks and over-the-top comments. The best route is to ignore them. This is not so easy for many of my Minnesota-raised peers, who are used to at least looking everyone in the eye as they pass them on the street, if not greet them too.  It’s not that difficult for me. I just think of what my parents say about skiing in trees: look at the spaces between them, not the trees themselves. This is particularly useful to keep in mind when you go to a market, especially Khan al-Khalili: the biggest market in Cairo.

Going into my experience at Khal al-Khalili, I didn’t want to have the same overwhelming feeling of unpreparedness and discomfort that I felt the first few days in Cairo, so I planned for the worst. I was certain that it would be chaotic beyond anything I’d ever seen or experienced, that I would have to physically protect both my body and wallet at all times, that I would get separated from my group due to crowds, and that I would definitely get ripped off on everything I decided to buy.

The moral of this story is: always expect the worst. Then, when it’s not that bad, you are pleasantly surprised. That’s exactly what occurred for me at Khan al-Khalili, and I had a fabulous time. It was far less chaotic than the Expo center at the Wisconsin State Fair, which is definitely the most concentrated “shopping” experience I’ve had; I never felt physically threatened nor overly suspicious about pickpockets (I did keep my purse in front of me—that’s just smart); our little group of four stayed together, helping each other bargain or walk away from “deals”; and I was pretty damn good at bartering, if I do say so myself. Watch out. I’m going to come back from this program and all you’ll hear me talk about is, “You like these earrings? I talked him down from 45 Egyptian pounds to 15!” Hopefully I’ll remember not to barter at Starbucks or the mall…

Speaking of money, we’re gonna have a really hard time transitioning to the Chinese and Korean economies at the end of our trip, because we’re already used to the super low prices in Egypt after only 10 days. Just to give you an idea, 6 Egyptian Pounds (E.P.) = $1, and we regularly get full meals for 6 EP or less. (In Luxor, we got huge falafel-filled pitas for just 1 EP each). Even still, the Egyptian population is starving. The average annual income is $6000, but for people in the slums of Cairo (which is often better-off than those in the southern villages), $500 - 1000 is considered high.

I’ve always had a really difficult time trying to understand what living under the poverty line ($2/day now, according to the UN) actually means. In the U.S., finding one meal for that amount of money is hard, not accounting for multiple meals a day or several mouths to feed. In countries like Egypt, where the poverty line translates to 12 EP, there are still over 16 million people trying to survive on despicable salaries. Some crazy econ facts:

• Public schoolteachers in Egypt are on strike right now because their current wages earn them $125/month ($200 according to the gov’t, but they don’t follow through) if they’ve worked for 20 years or more and much less if they’re newer.
• Rent prices are ridiculously high if you’re new to an apartment. However, if your grandparents started renting an apartment in the 1950s, you can pay that 1950 amount as long as the property stays in the family, so people not only stay put, but they fight between relatives for small studio and 1-room apartments. 
• What resource does Egypt have in so much abundance that it doesn’t even know what to do with? Sand. What can you make with sand? Concrete and glass. Yet, because their sand is too finely ground for these industrial processes, Egypt imports $750 million-worth of Australian sand annually.   
•  Egypt tripled its agricultural production in the last 60 years, but it isn’t enough to keep up with its growing population, despite the low 2% growth rate. It also doesn’t help that with urbanization, people are building more on fertile land, which obviously limits the crops you can grow. Family planning isn’t the issue—fertility rate is 3 kids/woman—you just can’t get rid of the huge (Egyptian-style) baby boomer population born 1970-1990 before the growth rate slowed.

But there are several amazing things about Egypt, too. For one, my group makes this place great on a daily basis.

I'm sorry there aren't any photos in this post. I'll upload a ton soon!

My Pump-Up Happy Song

I've been pretty happy this whole trip so far, but when I need a little pick-me-up, or just want to dance or whistle to something, this is my jam:

It's called "Home" and it's by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Not only does the song sound happy, but the lyrics are nice for traveling: "Home is wherever I'm with you". As a super social person, this song helps me appreciate traveling with my group, but it also reminds me of all the "homes" I've had in my 20-something years: any and every place that has people I love. I've been lucky to recently have added Geneva to that list, but you can bet that if I've ever spent time with any of you reading this blog, you're one of the people I think of when I listen to "Home". I miss you, but I'm also very glad to have been at home with you at one time or another.

Now... how long until it's not stuck in your head? :) 

Bundesrepublik Deutschland ~ Bundl's republic?

WARNING: this is a long post and contains several bad puns!

I was still in Germany a week ago (hard for me to believe it was that recent), and while I have SO MUCH to say about my few days of "first" impressions of Egypt, I don't want to do any disservice to my great couple of days in Deutschland.

First, a brief outline of the Germany portion of our program:

Sept. 7-8 Munich and Dachau Concentration Camp (a very bi-polar two day period)

Sept. 9-13 Berlin and Leipzig (where I tried my hand at tour guidery)

The most important part of Munich/ München was that Christina and I dragged most of the group to the Hofbräuhaus München on the first night. Both Christina's and my mom had demanded this visit of us, and it was done. Not only did we enjoy HUGE steins of beer, but we also managed to sing the St. Olaf fight song, "Um Ya Ya" (watch this video at minute 1:55 to see my graduation class sing it) TWICE. Everyone in the place loved it and a British ex-pat asked us to sing it a second time in honor of his friend's birthday :)

Proud Oles at the Hofbräuhaus (the two guys in front just happened to be there--we never even talked to them)!
Author on the far left :) 

Our only full day in Munich started with a brisk run through the streets with Tess, followed by an excellent walking tour of the city with our tour guide, Ralph. The tour was focused on the acceleration of Hitler and the Nazi Party influence in the area leading up to and during WWII. We visited, among other places, the Nazi HQ building, which is not only still standing, but is currently in use as the music building of the Munich University. Standing in the foyer--which, despite the lack of recognizable swastikas, was still full of Nazi-age architecture--was weird. I don't consider myself a superstitious person, but I swear I could still feel Hitler's presence in the place... stomping around in his office... giving orders...plotting terrible awful things... Talk about creepy. I was definitely ready to leave when our tour moved on.

The Nazi-HQ-turned-Music-School....
See those nail pocks on the second floor between the windows? That's where the giant swastika was.
Behind those windows was Hitler's personal office.

It was both interesting yet also disturbing that, in such a beautiful city with such a rich history, the theme or topic that so many people go there to learn about is such a dark and evil one. I understand that, to some degree, it is important to learn more about how and why things got so bad, so as to (hopefully) prevent such disasters in the future, but I also think that Hitler and the Nazi party did enough damage to Munich and all of Europe while he was alive and the Party was thriving--can't we give poor Munich a break from all that already?

Our guide, Robert, explaining one of the Dachau CC memorials to us. 

That afternoon was even more dismal: we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp, which lies just 20 minutes outside Munich's city center, where we were staying. We really lucked out in the tour guide lottery though. Robert, an American ex-pat who has been in Germany for over 10 years now, was our extraordinary guide through the museum and memorial of Dachau CC. Now, I've toured a concentration camp before, and I've been to a few Holocaust museums (all of which are very well presented), but this was by far the most informative and impressive visit yet. He knew his stuff, but he wasn't above answering our many questions; even those of Finn, our 11-year-old "little brother" on the trip. I really can't express how good of a tour guide Robert was and unfortunately he doesn't officially work there anymore (St. Olaf just pulled some strings), so I can't even tell you to special-request him if you ever go there! Too bad. I can say with complete confidence that he was by far the best tour guide I've ever had anywhere. And I've had my fair share of really excellent tour guides. 

Unfortunately, our tour guide luck ran out for a while when we got to Berlin. I was so excited, especially after Ralph and Robert, to share my love and excitement for Berlin and her history with my classmates and hopefully learn some more myself, but my wish didn't come true. Not even close. 

::commence rant::

Let's just say that, for how great Robert was, our tour guide in Berlin was that bad. We're talking the complete other end of the spectrum. I was crushed. It took all my will-power to stay in my seat on the bus and not steal his microphone, or worse, just walk off the bus and start giving my own tour. It was bad. I tried my best though, to make it worth our while by asking lots of leading questions that I hoped would spark stories about the city's history or the significance of certain monuments (like the Holocaust Memorial, for instance, which the artist purposefully left ambiguous so people would read their own interpretation into the work. When I asked about that, I got an explanation that "ze Holocaust vas ven Hitler killed all ze Jews" wow, thanks. I didn't know that!), but all I got were condescending and concise answers that offered only the most basic information that you might find in a super-abridged version of a guide book of the city. He knew more about where all the stores were in the city "THERE! ON ZE LEFT! RALPH LAUREN AND COACH AND YVES SAINT LAURENT!" than he knew about basic structures. Now, I wish I did remember his name, just so I could tell you all to avoid him at all costs if you ever want a tour of Berlin, but I tend to block out bad memories, so I've already forgotten his name. 

Favorite photo I took at the
Mauerpark flea market.
There were LOTS of
clock-necklaces.

::end rant::

The rest of our time in Berlin was great! A few highlights were: 

- making our own chocolate at the Ritter Sport Schokowelt (not my video). Mine was dark chocolate with raspberries, cocoa nibs, and carmelized almond pieces... and I managed to savor it until yesterday--R.I.P. Best-Chocolate-Ever! 

- Mauer Park Sunday flea market! I didn't buy anything, but I had a great time taking pictures :)

-Stumbling on the outdoor Mauer (wall) memorial, which starts just next to the Nordbahnhof station just north of the city center

-taking some of the group to Potsdamerplatz for dinner the first night

Brandenburg Gate covered in "peace"

• - stumbling on a music-and-lights show on the Brandenburg Gate (Ode to Joy while "peace" in world languages was projected on the Gate, with "Japan thanks the world for all their help" after it finished). I teared up, for sure. 
• 
  
• 
  
• By far the biggest highlight of our time in Berlin was seeing Cabaret: The Musical at TIPI am Kanzleramt theater. When we were in Munich talking about the things we absolutely had to see in Germany, she told me she really wanted to go to a cabaret bar because she had been the lead in Cabaret when her high school staged the show, and it takes place in pre-WWII Berlin. Not two days later, we were out running and passed a billboard ad for Cabaret. We took down the website name and set our minds to going to that show. 

A few days later, 8 of us dressed up in our travelers' finest and walked over to the theater, which, did I mention, is called TIPI because it's literally IN A TENT (think circus). But the inside of this tent is like no other I've ever seen: velvet and gold and chandeliers and elaborate-ness. We made a night of it, showing up early enough to enjoy a bottle of wine together on the patio before processing in to our table for the show to start. I'd never seen it before, nor was I very familiar with the story, so Christina filled most of us in. This was particularly necessary because all the dialogue and about half the songs were in German.

Emelia and I at Cabaret in Berlin. See? Eleg-tent.

It was an absolutely amazing performance. It's been a while since I've been to a professional show, and we weren't really sure about the quality we should expect at TIPI, but whatever expectations any of us had, they were blown away. 

We were so moved to be there in Berlin, where we had been learning about the effects of the Nazi party on society, and watching such a relevant portrayal how a specific part of that society had responded. 

The actors were incredible too. Out of all the songs in the show, I found I was familiar with two of them: "Life is a Cabaret" and "Maybe This Time". I'm really sad we didn't get programs at the performance, because I know the leading actress is going to be famous someday and I want to be able to say "I saw her in Cabaret!". 

Let me show you what I mean. Watch this clip of Liza Minnelli playing Sally Bowles, the heroine of the show and then imagine what we saw: instead of a purely celebratory performance (which is the traditional way to play it), our Sally turned this song into the climax of her character's breakdown. At the beginning, she's loud and proud and convinced that leaving her lover (the "hero" of the show) for her career was a good decision, but then she starts to breakdown and question whether life--her life--really is a cabaret... by the end, she's a crying mess belting out the last few notes and the MC (the real hero of the show, in my opinion) has to help her off stage. WOW. 

The whole show was great, to be honest, and it was well-worth spending a little extra cash (thank god for student tickets!) to see such a spectacle (that also tied into our studies--double bonus!). 

On our last full day in Berlin, Tess and I went for a photo-run. Here are some highlights:

In front of the Bundes Reichstag (parliament building)

Crossing 17 juli St. (Brandenburg Gate in background)

Imitating Beethoven in Tiergarten

Gorgeous scenery in Tiergarten (I wish I'd had time to go back and paint this!)

The paths of Tiergarten

Looking out over the Spree River

I know this post is getting long, but bear with me...

Arielle, me, Julie F, and Tess with the Berlin Friendship Bears on Kufürstendamm

Wow. Terrible pun. Sorry, I couldn't resist. But really, I only have a little left to tell you!

Our last full day in Germany was spent in Leipzig, a city just an hour southwest of Berlin by train. We had two information sessions at the Universität Leipzig about famous psychology-related-specialists Wilhelm Wunt and Gustav Theodor Fechner, who both spent a lot of time at the Universität. 

We had the rest of the afternoon free, which I spent mostly with Emelia and SB (Sarah Beth). We shared lunch on the patio of the Bräuhaus am Thomaskirche... 

mmm... Pesto Gnocchi and Mushroom Risotto (yes, Mom, I liked it!)

...and while Emelia and SB caught up on their journaling, I sketched our view of the Thomaskirche:

Thomaskirche, where J.S. Bach worked and composed for 25 years

After a while, our side of the square we were sitting on got shady and cool, so we moved to another café in the platz (square) just down the street. We shared an ice cream sundae (lavender and raspberry ice cream with raspberry sauce... is your mouth watering yet?) and played cribbage all afternoon in the sunshine. 

Ice cream, cribbage (I won 3 of the 4 games
we played that afternoon!), and sunshine.
Not a bad way to spend a Monday afternoon.

Overall, a good time was had in Germany. Then it was time to GO... to Egypt!

Short Update

Hello all!


Short greetings to all. The internet at our hostel here in Berlin is shoddz. (and the kezboards have the z and y reversed... forgot that would be the case).

Germanz is great as alwazs and the weather is especiallz beautiful todaz (just in time for our free daz), so I'm going for a run now with a friend before the local flea market, the Topographz of Terror museum (about nayis and the wall), the Picasso museum (hopefullz), and later..... CABARET the musical!

We're especiallz excited about Cabaret because the theater is called Tipi and is literallz in a tent... but the most snazzy tent I've certainlz ever seen! We got student discounted tickets at 50% off!

We go to Leipzig tomorrow and Flz to Cairo on Tuesdaz, where I will have more reliable internet (we're stazing at the AUC dorm). I'll trz to update again with pictures once I'm there and settled in.

Bundl OUT.

Alp-abet Soup

water rushing down our hiking path

Buying cheese on the mountain

Top of Mt. Saléve

Chacos on the hike

One of several meeting rooms at the UN designed by Spaniards

Our Moroccan-inspired classroom at the UN

Enjoying Raclette at Chantal and David's house

First scooter ride ever with friend David!

Geneva night skyline with the Jet d'Eau (literally, Water jet)

Sewed my own patch on my bag!

 I write this as my group and I speed across the Swiss and German landscape to Munich for the next leg of the European part of our journey. I can hardly believe that we were only in Geneva for 4 days. The last 2 days especially seemed long, which were largely spent in back-to-back presentations from representatives of various UN organizations: OHCHR, WHO, UNDP, OCHA, UNCTAD, UNPK, and ITU, where we learned about other acronyms, namely: MGDs, YPP, MFIs, UNCDF, GDP, UNV, NCDs, UPR, ICC, BRIC, UNOG, and the SG.

Is your head spinning yet? I was never really a fan of alphabet soup, so instead of rehashing our hours of (really interesting, actually) presentations, let me tell you some stories of fun in Geneva.

So, last I wrote, our group had finished a whirlwind day of touring Geneva by bus and a bit of walking whilst we struggled to stay awake. Sunday, our second day, was our free day to explore the area. We had all heard rumors of the grand adventures several global groups before us had endeavored, and we wanted to explore like the best of ‘em. After much planning and map-looking, a group of about a dozen of us (all ladies) headed for the border and into France, determined to climb ourselves an alp.

We navigated the bus routes and used the very little French we had to buy bread, cheese, and wine for lunch á là backpacker. We crossed into France, but sadly no one cared to ask for our passports, so we didn’t get an extra stamp. L We had heard that there were hiking trails near the telephérique (gondola) station at the base of Mt. Saléve, and after confirming directions with a local English-speaking French shop owner, we were on our hiking adventure!

And then it started to rain.

We were prepared; the skies hadn’t exactly looked happy that morning. So we donned our rain jackets and I found myself thankful once again for my waterproof camera once everyone else’s digitals and fancy SLRs had to be stuffed away.

The hike was much steeper than anticipated. Our friend at the base had told us that it was steep for the first half and flat for the rest. I don’t know if we went a different way than he was familiar with, but our trail didn’t flatten out until we got to the top, 1097 meters later.

Despite the rain and mist, we had a great time, stopping at switchback turns to check out the views over the clouds and through them to the little towns and Geneva underneath. The mist made me feel like we were always just moments away from encountering magical creatures of the mountain.

Half way to the top, we found ourselves in a little village, where some of the residents were out selling produce at the tiniest cutest town square market I’d ever seen. Emelia bought some fresh French bread and amazing cheese for fewer than 3 euros total. An elderly woman who spoke some English helped us figure out where to pick up our path again and we were on our way once more.

After three hours of good cardio we reached the Telephérique at 1097m in the sky. We bought some postcards, uncorked our wine for a victory drink, took some pictures, poked around, and headed down on the Telephérique. The driver, Hakim, spoke some English and we found out that his band had toured some major cities in the U.S. last year, though unfortunately they didn’t have a gig scheduled in the area until after we left Geneva.

One of the big highlights for my time in Geneva was meeting up with family friends David and Chantal, who moved to the city from the Chicago area earlier this year. I got to have dinner with them on Monday and Tuesday night! On Monday night I came over to their house for a delicious Swiss meal called Raclette. It’s similar to fondue in that it consists of veggies and cheese, but instead of dipping the veggies into the cheese, you prepare a little plate of a veggie or two topped with a thick slice of gooood cheese and you melt it in the table-top grill/oven before you slather it over a little potato or mushroom or sundried tomato. Serve with local white wine. Yum!!!

Geneva surpassed my expectations, mostly because I had just associated the city with the UN and not with its own culture, which it has plenty of. I really want to go back!

This is Really Happening: Switzerland!

I made it! Switzerland is beautiful! I suppose I never expected it not to be beautiful, but whatever expectations I had have been totally exceeded. It helps that the weather for our first day was sublime: 70 fahrenheit and only slightly cloudy.

We arrived in Geneva, Switzerland at 7:30am on Saturday, September 3, even though it still felt like Sept. 2 to all of us (the benadryl I took on the plane didn't knock me out as thouroughly as I'd hoped). We promptly loaded a bus for our day bus/walking tour of Geneva with Ariel, our longwinded, Michael Caine (with shoulder-length white hair) doppelgänger, Swiss tour guide.

With the ease of a smart-car, our extremely skilled bus driver guided our behemoth of a bus around corners I'm not sure my little Honda prelude would easily navigate as we glided first through downtown Geneva, past all the IGO headquarters (Red Cross, UN, Int'l Telecom, UNHCR, etc), around the Bay of Geneva (complete with skyrocketing fountain), and through the bright green Genevese countryside where we were surrounded by vineyards overlooking the city.

Our bus breezing through the glorious Genevese wine-country

Roses and sailboats along the Bay of Geneva

In the middle of all that, Ariel guided our band of hungry and sleep-deprived zombies through the old city on a walking tour that highlighted various historical eras of importance for the city: as the Roman "door to the north", the Swiss Reformation, and as the peace-driven capitol of the world. I got really excited about photographing the very quintessential buildings and winding streets:

The group sitting on the longest wooden bench in the world (Old City)

After lunch in the countryside, we stopped in Carouge, Ariel's hometown, which was celebrating 225 years, even though they have records of the town dating back to the Romans. The festival was the classier, swiss/french-version of a county fair, complete with performing acts, jazz band, hundreds of artisan booths, and lots of families running about.

As lovely and fun as it was, we were all very ready to head to our hotel by 4pm, so our bus driver expertly guided us back across town to the John Knox Center (named for one of the area's Reformers). We ate dinner, had a group meeting, planned our next day's adventures, and took a short walk to get our bearings before heading to bed.

Author (green jacket) with new friends (L-R) Lindsay, Julie, Stacy, Arielle, and Sarah Beth on a drizzly evening walk

The view out our window at the John Knox Center

It was a full day of group bonding (what great people!), sight-seeing, and surviving exhaustion. I've only been here for 24 hours and I can already tell that 4 days in Geneva will not be enough... and I'm starting to realize that 5 months is pretty short too!

--jet lagged jaunter