Finals in October? It's Official, I'm a Junior.

There is no denying it anymore, I am a Junior in college.  This week completed the first part of my abroad experience, which is hard to believe in itself.  I cannot believe we have been in Geneva for nearly 6 weeks.  Time continues to soar which is absolutely terrifying.  At the same time, I have acclimated to the Genevois lifestyle so easily I think everything has passed more quickly than I had anticipated simply because of how comfortable I feel here.  

While this week was definitely the most stressful week so far here, I have so much to look forward to in the  weeks to come!  Monday was my last public health lecture which came to an end with an incredible lecturer who spoke to our class about TB.  Our professor had already covered half the lecture a couple of weeks ago so we were able to have more of an open discussion with her.  I have absolutely loved my health class and all the opportunities made available for discussion with important people in the public health world.  All our discussions, papers, etc. have made public health a lot more real and tangible future for me which has been an incredibly exciting feeling!  I am really looking forward to my "Controversies in International Health" course starting after break.  Art History has been a very "up and down" experience for me.  I have loved all the site visits and the knowledge I have gained about Geneva and Switzerland in general, but there have certainly been some speed bumps along the way.  Tuesday, we spent our final class at the Phillipe-Patek museum.  We had one of the sassiest people I have ever encountered as a tour guide, which was amusing, but all of us were on edge about the finals we had to study for after 5 hours of class.  Overall the museum was fascinating and I learned a lot more about watches and mechanisms than I ever thought possible.  I am overall happy that I decided to take this class because I will greatly attribute my level of comfort in Geneva to the multiple visits to the History of Art and History, Old Town, and various cities and chateaus across the country.  Nonetheless, I felt completely liberated as of 12:30 today when I proudly turned in my final exam.   

And now, off to Madrid and Marrakech!  Steph, Lauren, Mags, and I embark on our adventure tomorrow morning.  With a 6:30 wake-up call, I better call it a night!  Hoping Andrew "breaks some major leg" this weekend with his magic performance at the Broadway Center in Tacoma!  It was great seeing him on Skype, even if it was brief, and I cannot wait to hear about yet another successful performance!  

Sidenotes and Shoutouts:

An early birthday shootout to one of the sweetest girls I have ever met.  To my darling little one, Hilary Blackstone...welcome to your 20's babe!  I am so lucky to have met you and you mean the world to me. I hope you have the best birthday ever filled with celebrations galore and lots of love.  I am sending all my love and birthday wishes across the Atlantic directly to you on the 11th! Wish I could be there but I know you will live it up!! Miss you Hil!! xx

Also, my inner sorority girl is about to come out so bear with me...

I wanted to extend a warm welcome to the Epsilon Class!!  I cannot wait to meet all 59 of you klassy ladies in January!! L&L.

A Food Filled Weekend!

While several people in the program spent their Revision Weekend traveling to Madrid, Paris, or London, we chose to take a domestic day trip instead.  Maggie, Steph, Lauren, Emma, and I packed our bags (of course it looked like I was carrying a small child on my back) and made our way to Gare Cornivan.  Friday night, after 7 of course, we were on board the first of three trains for the night.  Long travel story short, we had 6 hours of train rides in between us and our hostel in Lugano.  While some of the girls slept, I somehow managed to stay awake the entire train ride there.  I was so eager to be visiting a place that Bekah had lived in and gone to school for 2 years, Andrew had visited 5 years ago, and Dad had been to several years ago as well!  For whatever reason I felt like I was making a pilgrimage and joining a group of people I love in an unexplored place.  We literally traversed the entirety of Switzerland in 24 hours, 6 trains, and a total of 12 hours on the train.  It would have been a straight shot to Lugano if it wasn't for the Alps but alas, we literally either had to climb mountains or circumnavigate them--clearly, the latter was what we chose.  Anyways, we ended up making it to our hostel Saturday morning around 1:30 am.  We entered our room and couldn't help but laugh.  It literally looked as if we were staying in a spaceship--thank goodness we had a private room!  There were 3 mattresses, a little wooden wall, and an additional 3 mattresses all lined up and more or less, that was our room!  Definitely clocked in some cuddle/bonding time with the girls.  While we thought this was absolutely hysterical (aka foot wrestling over the wall) we all slept like logs.  The mattresses conformed to your body shape and nestled you right into them.  Morning came to quickly and we had a long day ahead of us!  Our primary reason for coming to Lugano this particular weekend was for their Autumn Festival that was taking place this weekend.  We started our day off in this incredible bakery that, as most bakeries do, smelled divine.  There were the most gigantic, crumbly topped muffins I have ever seen that were so tempting but somehow we managed to avoid them.  We quickly began our navigation of the festival and quickly learned that chestnuts and polenta are two of the big Autumn festival delicacies.  We decided to pick up some roasted chestnuts (how American Christmas of us!) and were expecting to bite into the delicious sweet smelling nuts we had smelled upon approaching the stand.  However, instead we cracked open the roasted shells and bit into a soft nut that tasted and had the texture of a slightly cooked potato.  Not the sweet taste we were expecting so unusual facial expression ensued.  Now, not only did we feel like we were locals but we also felt as if we had experienced an American tradition 2 months early!  We quickly decided we wanted something sweet to wash down our "delicacy" so we tried a local Ticino canton white wine!  Yum!  We wandered down to the lake front and basked in the sun before we were hungry.  Theme of the day...it was nearing lunch time so we decided to go for the much anticipated gnocchi!  Two plate fulls of delicious potato pasta covered in the most divine red sauce and topped with parmesan cheese later, we could have been rolled out of the tent!  We enjoyed our gnocchi to the sounds of a local band and our sense of being locals continued to grow.  Once again, we found ourselves wandering down by the lake.  We plopped ourselves down on a bench and shared stories for an hour or so while taking in the incredible views of the hillside contrasted against the glistening, blue, blue water.  We continued to explore the festival and tasted some of the fried fish we had seen so many people eating.  They were yummy, a little fishy, and in the end we couldn't bring ourselves to eating the larger fish whose tails were quite prominent and it felt as if the fish had just been plucked from the water.  Like with the chestnuts, we were glad we had tried them but were looking forward to the main event, polenta!  Before this could occur however, we tried Limoncello, ate some of the most delicious gelato I think I have ever had (I got noisette--or hazelnut...SO good!), and watched the preparation of the vats upon vats of what would be one of the fastest meals of my life.  We knew we wanted to catch the 7:12 train to Luzern but polenta wasn't served again until 6...we waited in line, tried to be aggressive in holding our stance as two lines merged into one, and somehow Emma managed to be one of the first people served!  We shared polenta with the most delicious meat sauce along with a polenta dish with two huge chunks of gorgonzola plopped on top!  This was what we had been waiting for all day, and believe me, it was worth the wait.  After scarfing down these two dishes (and a complimentary glass of red wine I had received from a friend in line behind me!) we made a rapid trek back to our hostel to fetch our bags and make our way to the train station.  We were all winded by the time we got to our platform and we still had a 20 minute wait before our train arrived.  Better to be early than late!  We were all exhausted and this time I definitely passed out on the train.  We were all eager to get back and fall asleep so finally when we arrived home I took a quick shower and was passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The next morning I woke up and found myself back at the train station.  I took a 15 minute train ride to Nyon--the town I am presenting on for Art History.  I made a wrong turn out of the train station, ambled around the outskirts of town for 45 minutes before properly orienting myself and making it into the Old Town area.  I explored the Chateau de Nyon and la Musee Romain--entrance was free since it was the first Sunday of the month!  Nyon was one of the first town founded after Caesar's arrival in 52 BC so obviously there is a large Roman influence.  I visited the Roman columns and enjoyed After 8 and dark chocolate gelato as I strolled by Lac Leman on an incredibly clear, sunny day in October!  I loved having some time just to myself: exploring a new town, getting lost and having to find my way, and enjoying what will probably be our last week of gorgeous SUNNY weather.  I am sure this week is about to get incredibly hectic so a little downtime, even if it will turn into a presentation, was a rejuvenating way to start my week.  Good food, good company, exploring and experiencing new things--even if I am already 4 weeks in to my program, I don't think it will ever get old :)

Lugano

Mags, Lauren, Emma, Me, and Steph

Polenta, Polenta, Polenta!

View from Chateau de Nyon

Musée Romain, Nyon

Chocolate Coma and a bit of Envy

I feel like this is starting to become a regular feeling and my body may or may not begin to revolt shortly.  Tonight I crashed the French 1 dinner down in our basement.  All the French classes were invited so I just tagged along with Mags, Lauren, and Steph.  Apparently at the French 2/3 dinner everyone in the house jumped on the bandwagon, but I had been at soccer and had missed out on the festivities last week but there was NO way I was going to miss out this time around!  What a good choice that was:)  I am now pleasantly full with ratatouille, chicken in double cream sauce, chocolate mousse, crepes with jam, and loads of delicious fruit.  Needless to say, I wish I could eat this way every night but I know my body would absolutely HATE me if I did--one good thing about the expensive nature of Switz!  However, if you check out the exchange rate we are doing quite well and are definitely getting more "bang for our buck" these days.

On another note, my internship at the Child and Adolescent Health (CAH) department at the WHO has been confirmed!  I didn't even to have an internship, which obviously has its benefit in the sense of not having to stress out, but additional it's negatives in the sense that I miss out on a chance to practice my professional interview skills.  Not to mention I don't get to wow my supervisor in my pre-planned, super professional interview outfit.  Oh well, maybe first day get up instead:)  Needless to say I am quite pleased and very eager to start on October 17th!

The girls and I are off to Lugano for a quick trip.  Despite the 10 hours of train travel, there and back, we will spend 16 hours in the Ticino canton town, who is conveniently hosting a Harvest Festival this weekend!  I am sure I will have much to report after this weekend's adventure.  Unfortunately, I will be missing a soccer "Canadienne" or potluck tomorrow night as well as a day trip for a game in Grenoble on Sunday.  This is technically our "revision" weekend so I felt like I couldn't quite miss a full weekend of studying with finals coming up next Thursday and Friday. I am currently feeling quite envious but excited for all my Santa Clara friends who are meeting up in Munich for Oktoberfest tomorrow.  Wishing I could be there to tackle Jacqueline and Casey but I am looking forward to Madrid even more now.  We might even try to plan a weekend in Paris, so fingers crossed everything works out!  Anyways, have a blast and be safe to all my Broncos heading East this weekend!! xxx

"There's time enough, but none to spare!"--1 month updates

So 4 weeks have come and gone--can you believe it?!  I know I'm having a difficult time comprehending this awesome feat.  I month ago today, I was downstairs with my 47 travel companions too tired to comprehend what was going on, sipping my first coffee of the trip, and in awe that these people in front of me would be the ones I learned to love and call my friends.  Well 30 days later and while the awe is still a part of certain elements of this experience, I would have thought I had known these people for much longer than a month.  One of my beliefs that has been reaffirmed on this trip is that fact that people need other people to survive and keep their sanity.  We love to share stories about ourselves and in return reciprocate the time spent talking with time spent listening to other people's experiences.  Additionally, at the ripe old age of 20, I have had enough encounters with people to know who I get along with well.  This process is only accelerated through the frequent travel opportunities and condensed time spent with under 50 people.  However, I have been pleasantly surprised by some people, who I guess I pre-judged or something to that extent, early on.  I can now affirm the fact that I am a person who does like the feeling of "instability" and am quick to get comfortable with what I know.  This weekend, I spent some time with people who I am now incredibly excited to get to know better and spend more time with these next several months!  Like I learned in my Sociology class last quarter, only if pre-judging turns into prejudice is there a problem.  You have to give people some time to surprise you and I guess that's one of the many lessons I have learned here in Geneva these past 4 weeks.

Other qualities about myself that I have reaffirmed durning my time here...

1) I LOVE to travel.  Being on the go is something I really enjoy--new experiences, getting to know and love a new place and people you share these experiences with, and trying something different than I have ever done before.  Travel is the basis for these new insights and I love it!  Looking forward to this weekend's day trip to Lugano and especially FALL BREAK (t-minus 10 days!!) in Madrid and Marrakech!!

2) I LOVE food.  Even though things were expensive initially (the exchange rate has altered in our favor in the last week or so wahooo!) we still managed to eat food we enjoyed.  Even if that meant a loaf of French bread and a chunk of cheese.  Also, while I do love food I need to improve my cooking skills and repertoire.  Pasta gets old quickly (like within the first day) and your body really starts hating on you if you eat a chocolate bar every day of the week.  Also, my affinity towards wine has grown immensely! I am no wine-o but I do enjoy a nice glass of wine.  While it is hard for me to admit to this, because I feel old saying "I like wine," I recognize I am drinking cheap wine and am no connoisseur.  A 4CHF wine will do for me and of course the whole "wine experience" also includes who you are sharing your bottle with.  Good company overrides taste for me ANY day:)

"Les Flots Bleus" Yvoire, France

3) I LOVE new experiences.  "Keep new friends but make the old" definitely holds true on this trip for me.  I am missing everyone at home like crazy but have been able to suppress this sense of "missing" people due to the other amazing people who have come into my life.  Whether we are trying to navigate the Swiss train system, unknowingly paying 40CHF for water at a restaurant, or romping around the Alps, new experiences shared with new friends is an UNBEATABLE experience.  While I like the comfort of familiarity, pushing myself outside of that comfort zone is definitely something that builds character and a better sense of understanding myself.  I am an independent person but like being surrounded by people.  Going to soccer practice that first Wednesday two weeks ago really challenged me but now I LOVE going!  Doing things that may kind of scare you is an important part of life and trying things completely on your own is a completely different feat on its own.  However, when it's all said and done you feel good about yourself for trying something new--even if it doesn't meet your expectations, you have learned something new about yourself.  And who knows, maybe it has exceeded your expectations! :)

Happy hikers on Mt. Blanc

4) I am an emotional person.  While this is something I don't readily admit, after a misfortunate experience in class on Monday, I have only reaffirmed the fact that I am emotional.  While I feel like I take constructive criticism well, I recognize I also take it personally.  If something does not go how I expected it to, this is more with respects to school work, and I invested time in it and do not see the results I was expecting--I am not a happy camper.  Maybe I don't deal well feeling like I "failed" or "disappointed" someone but tears are often my response.  Something to work on perhaps, or maybe just something to embrace.  I knew walking into my professor's office I would likely well-up at some point, but maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.  I know myself well enough to know how I respond in situations and sometimes that's not such a bad thing.  Anyways, I am emotional when it comes down to it and I recognize and have embraced this quality about myself...or am on the way to doing so.

Highlights from this week so far?  Definitely our Sunday trip to Chamonix!  I have posted endless pictures on facebook but similarly to Interlaken, pictures just cannot do these mountains justice!  After having been sick at the end of last week and a lazy day on Saturday, the fresh Alpine air was incredible.  I have literally never been that high (altitude wise, don't worry M&D:)) in my entire life!  Standing at 3842 metres, or nearly 12,000 feet was mind-blowing and definitely a natural high in itself.  You could look out and be directly "face en face" with Mt Blanc!  Our hike and guides were hysterical and made the day even more enjoyable.  The day was definitely surreal and yet another confirmation of my ALPaholic tendencies.  My Monday morning visit to the Stettler Chocolate factory also has topped the charts.  Incredible.  Delicious.  Biggest sugar rush in a while.  We took the bus in the direction of the UN and got off in this industrial looking neighborhood.  Upon entering the back room where the chocolate production takes place, we suited up in "snappable garbage bags,"footies, and hair nets before entering the actual room.  As soon as we crossed through the doorway, my slightly stuffy nose was greeted by the delicious, warm scents of, you guessed it, chocolate! Stettler does not actually produce the cocoa bean but sells chocolate products of their chocolate brand across Switzerland, France, and Germany primarily.  During the first demonstrations, we were kept silent by a sample of the liquid chocolate that fills the molds and creates the products sold and distributed by chocolate.  With little spoons, so you don't just chug this liquid form of heaven, we meticulously scraped and re-scraped our glasses while Robert explained to us the tempering, molding, and producing procedures.  We were treated to demonstrations of how to make chocolate flower pots, marzipan flowers, and Stettler's famous pavés, or chocolate bricks, that are meant to represent the cobblestones and bricks of Old Town.  During these demonstrations we were treated to samples of these pavés, which literally started to melt as soon as you touched them!, and dark and milk chocolates (plain and with rice krispies inside).  Needless to say we were a quiet but satisfied audience.  We learned more about the history and process of chocolate production and had the opportunity to ask about Robert's training experience etc.  Lets just say, I'm ready to start my 3 years of training ASAP!  Probably one of the best Monday mornings I have ever had.  Pictures to follow:)

View from Aiguille de Midi (3842m)

Mountains beyond mountains

I am still happy as a clam here in Geneva and am looking forward to continuing my exploration of this country--as well as a few others along the way:)  Even with a minor bump in the road this week, I am still looking at things in a positive light and trying to re-vamp my motivation these finals days of Part 1 of the academic time here in Geneva.  I still cannot believe phase 1 is starting to wind up already.  I am definitely not a fan of the emails we have received indicating our "part 2" activities, which include our Farewell Cocktail party...but it's time to continue living in the present and continue enjoying every day I have here!

Things I am looking forward to?

1) Being done with Art History.  

2) FALL BREAK!  Madrid and Marrakech with the girls and exploring Switz with Danny!

3) Seeing Casey and Liz in Madrid!  Essentially ALL of SCU is meeting up in Munich for Oktoberfest this weekend (except for Liz and me) so getting a Santa Clara fix in a week and a half will be very exciting to say the least.  Refer to #4 of the "things I have learned" and I think that will sum up the reunion.  

4) This weekend's day trip to Lugano!  Bekah (friend from home, one of Andrew's best friends from high school) went to school there for 2 years and Andrew visited her his Sophomore year at Brown.  Cannot wait to finally see the town especially since they are hosting a Harvest Festival this weekend!  

5) Mom and Paula's visit at the end of October.  Perfect timing for another taste of home in Geneva:)  Who doesn't love seeing their Mom and getting to show family around a place you have grown to love so much?!

Much love from Geneva:) xx

Jungfrau Mountain: Outside of Interlaken

Le Jet d'Eau: Geneva, Switzerland

Chamonix, Je t'aime.

What an incredible way to end/start the week!  After an incredibly lazy, but much needed Saturday, Sunday morning came quickly.  We had a 7am alarm welcome us into what would become such a memorable day.  We should have guessed it was going to be an amazing day when it started with us in "club" seating on our charter bus.  Danny, Mags, Steph, Lauren, and I took up this whole back lounge are with a table in the center and felt very VIP as we made our way to Chamonix.  Pretty much the entire bus passed out and was greeted by Mont Blanc as we pulled into our destination.  Right off the bat we took two cable cars up to Aiguille du Midi, which stands at 3842 meters (the highest I have ever stood on ground!).  Everyone definitely felt the altitude as we stepped off the cable car that had essentially just shot vertically towards the sky and dropped us off at our first destination.  We climbed to a viewing point, where the clouds slightly obscured our views, but nonetheless I felt as if I was among the heavens.  We were at cloud level and staring straight out into the Mont Blanc and her neighboring peaks of the Jura and Pre-Alps.  Inclassable!!  One of my new favorite French words literally meaning "unclassifiable."  I felt completely humbled by these monstrous mountains and tried to take in the picturesque views we were given as the sun broke through the clouds.  Our group made its way into the lodge and sipped on hot chocolates before heading up yet another flight of stairs for yet another incredible view of the mountains.  Our guides told us the legend of how Mont Blanc was discovered and "les dents des geants" or the pointy ridges to the right of the 3 Mont Blanc peaks before making a quick pit stop before boarding another cable car down to our next destination.  From there, we hiked 10 minutes, ran into some wild mules, and made camp for lunch on a cliff overlooking Chamonix and of course, the mountains.  After lunch, we broke off into three groups of ten and began our day hike.  Phillip, our guide, was not super confident with his English skills--yet another prime opportunity to practice our French!  He pointed out wild blueberries and cranberries and encouraged us to try 1 or 2--after telling us that foxes pee all over them and if you eat too many you will get stomach worms.  Lovely.  We still tried one :)  Definitely tart, so don't know if that was the "natural" environment or if they weren't quite ripe.  He also passed around some wild leaf that smells and tastes like celery!  Our hike was primarily flat, but we had a slight climb which ended in some of the most amazing views of the glacier!  Apparently, due to global warming and other extraneous conditions, the glacier recedes 4 metres ever year...madness!!  While we were taking in these unbelievable sights we heard a rock fall somewhere in the distance.  Apparently, there are a TON of accidents and deaths from avalanches and rock falls anyone climbing Mont Blanc anytime soon, beware!  The waterfalls in the distance were a pleasant sight as we took in our final views before climbing onboard our alpine train back down to Chamnoix.  Once again I find it SO difficult to convey the beauty and impressiveness of these magnificent nature scenes and try to do them justice with the multitudes of pictures I take!  We all collapsed onto the train and ambled our way onto the bus where we reclaimed our "club" seating.  The entire bus was passed out within 15 minutes and of course I get a second wind and am super punchy--don't worry this only last another 20 minutes before my face hit the table and I was out like a light.

View from Aiguille du Midi

Inclassable

Friendly mountain mule

"Mer de Glace"

Sick in Switz

The last two days have been a bit of a drag.  I woke up on Thursday morning with a bit of a sore throat which progressed into congestion later in the day.  I wasn't feeling great but thought maybe just the colder weather was playing games with my allergies.  This hypothesis was denied the following day when I woke up, was only breathing out of my mouth, and felt awful.  A draggy day that was made even more so by the fact I had to make it through both Art History and Health, I thought my bed would never come soon enough!  A lot of people have friends visiting from other abroad programs so the house was a lively place Friday evening.  I quickly resolved to changing into pajamas, borrowing a friends DVD collection, and cuddling up in bed--where I stayed the rest of the night.  Coincidently enough, one of the girls, Sammy, visiting goes to Santa Clara!  We didn't really know each other that well but it was fun talking about our abroad experiences, living situations for when we're back on campus, and missing the first week on campus of our Junior year!  It was so great getting to interact with Sammy and I will be excited to see her around campus come January!  Anyways, my Friday night I had a date with a 1 litre bottle of 7Up, multiple episodes of Friends, and a little bit of Mean Girls!  Mags and I turned on the movie and turned off the lights and I was out in 15 minutes!  Sleeping for 10+ hours really helped and I felt a lot better today!  Still had a relatively lazy day--caught up on Grey's Anatomy and Glee season premieres, made Taco salads for mine and Mags' dinner, and watched 21 with Steph, Mags, Danny, Rob, and Lauren joined us once her Law paper was done!  Looking forward to feeling even better tomorrow and hoping the fresh Alpine air of Chamonix will supplement that as well :)

WHO, What, Where?!

So this week has, per usual, flown by way too quickly and has been jam packed with work and not so much play.  Monday night I finished my take-home portion of my Public Health quiz and had a lazy night. The next morning, my art history class visited the Museum of the Reformation, which is located next to the Cathedral de St. Pierre.  Inhabited by the Mallet Family in the mid 18th Century and was upgraded in a Neoclassical style to keep up with the times.  We saw a lot of original prints from some of the first printing presses in Geneva as well as a receipt for an "indulgence" or a Catholic vice to ensure entry into heaven from the 1520s.  There were a lot of interesting paintings depicting various historic events in Geneva and considering the context/severity of the Reformation, the museum was laid out in an original, engaging manner--definitely a contrast to the principles of the Reformation!  Later that day Dr. Philip Jenkins spoke to our health class about antibiotic resistance, a topic I did not think I would be very engaged in...that quickly changed.  Dr. Jenkins presented his material in an interesting way and showed a film that only further supplemented his point that the matter is not taken as seriously as it should be.  This class continues to surprise me and is reaffirming my interest in the field of Public Health!  I am always surprised by the level of interest I have in all these topics and I am excited to really figure out which field is most engaging for me!

With that being said...later that night I received an exciting email from our internship coordinator, Aline.  She indicated that I have been placed and will be going in for an interview with the WHO Child and Adolescent Health Department!!  I am so excited to finally have my prospective placement and am SO excited to further read up on the department and become more familiar with this incredible organization who plays such an integral role in the field of public health.  While this was exciting for multiple reasons, I couldn't help but be even more excited for our field trip and lecture AT the WHO on Wednesday!  Yesterday was an extremely early morning.  Mags and I couldn't bear to have our alarms go off in the 6 o'clock hour so we set them for a little after 7...we arrived at the WHO, or OMS (Organization Mondial de la Sante) as they call it here in Geneva, a little before 9--after a 40 minute tram ride--checked in and received our official visitor's badge, and met up with our professor.  Our lecturer met us in a room across the hall from the WHO library and presented on Primary Health Care reform with a focus on China's development.  He was so incredibly knowledgable on the subject and I was talking with my friend Rob afterwards and we both couldn't help but ask, "how are we supposed to get to that point on a subject?!"  I hope whatever experiences I have in the intern world here in Geneva are going to motivate me to achieve that level of depth and understanding and really kick me in to gear in terms of continuing my intensity of work throughout my schooling!  

Last night, I had my second night of soccer practice.  I was greeted by everyone with a warm, welcoming, "Salut!" and the customary three kisses on the cheek!  Doing this with almost everyone is time consuming so it is important to get there early!  Alex was there today, along with her daughter Natasha, so it was fun seeing her out practicing "sur le terrain."  We broke off into groups and played possession before finishing off the practice with shooting--or "frapper."  My first shot was rusty to say the least, but my next several shots made good connections with the ball.  There's nothing I love more than the sound that's made by a good, solid strike of ball and cleat ("crampon").  I am so happy I have decided to do this.  Definitely brings back some good memories from my childhood all the way through high school.  Not to mention, the team's official jerseys are green and white...I think it's a sign :)