Well i'm in London. I saw a lot of the big sights yesterday, and we did a spectacular pub crawl last night. They do pubs right here. I'll post some pictures soon. My computer is fixed! I will post some pictures and skype with you fine people monday.
So the plane here (which cost $40 by the way) was a choose your own seat. Of course, i chose the seat with the baby who screams and cries and kicks my seat the whole way. It doesn't matter so much, i slept for the middle chunk because this week beat me up pretty good, enjoyable as it was. As i hopped on the bus to southern London, which took just under an hour, i had originally picked a seat in front of a crying baby again. I got the hell up out of there and picked a kindly seat up neat the front.
London is incredibly easy to navigate to me. Maybe its that its conveniently set up, but i think a lot of it has to do with everything being in English. Its remarkable to me that i am able to read all signs that i desire, or ask people questions and get answers.
Also, an example of how brutally expensive Geneva is, i am actually in London, against the pound, and can't believe how much cheaper things are.
A comment about Big Ben, which reminds me to wish the Pistons a nice off-season. Anyway, Big Ben...not that big. I was expecting it to me much bigger. It really should be decently-sized Ben. Furthermore, IT DOESN'T REALLY MAKE THE SAME DONG SOUNDS THAT WE PISTONS FANS BELIEVED! This was a shock to me.
It was also just brought to my attention that while i will spend about $15 on a steak dinner in Israel, as opposed to the $38 i am not spending in Geneva. The New Israeli Shekel is at a 3.3 conversion rate with the dollar. You remember our 4.6 rate year coursers? Ain't that amazing. That's fine though. My busy still costs $6, when it would cost something like $20 in Geneva...and it's a BUSI, so my enthusiasm would not be diminished anyway.
Well, today we're going to see secondary London...basically all of the non essentials because i saw Buckingham Palace, got my picture with the cool guard dude, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, House of Parliament, etc.
Oh yeah, i'm in London, and so is The Boss (Bruce Springsteen for you ignorants)
Peace and Love. Go Wings, bring home Stanley.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Classy Guy
We got got our pictures back from the Gala Dinner celebrating 60 Years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Of all the pictures, the photographer took one of me, in black and white no less....i think its fantastically comical, but definitely one i could turn into a modeling career.
I'm wearing my favorite shirt (blue).
I'm wearing my favorite shirt (blue).
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Important People and Long Hours
Well folks, I’m getting mad good at tying a tie. This has been a long week, and its only Wednesday, but I think it will go a lot smoother here on in. I have worked 26 out of the last 48 hours. Damn b.
But its been very cool. I’m going to walk you through some of it. I have realized in this experience that I would really enjoy being a personal assistant in the future as long as its for really cool people.
I have been reporting on the preparatory sessions for the “Durban II Conference,” the review conference to be held next year to the original conference in South Africa in 2001, which displayed the most slanderous, racist, anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic hatred since the Holocaust. It was a disgusting sight.
I’m writing this in the Human Rights Council chambers at the U.N. It’s 10:18 a.m., so the distinguished representatives are moseying on it for the 10:00 session. But anyway…
Since its gotten down to crunch time for UN Watch’s conference on how to prepare for Durban II, I’ve done a lot of research about different countries policies, and their press coverage, and on different people. My task coolness has moved up a few degrees due to a couple members in the office being unavailable. The day before the conference Hillel, the executive director called me into his office to assign me a task. I was to find the former President of the American Jewish Committee, show him around, and accompany him in a meeting with a large Irishman who is running for President of the Human Rights Council in a couple weeks. I guess the men I was showing around was influential enough in the United States that if he really liked the guy, he would be able to get the U.S. vote for him.
I actually wasn’t very nervous at all. I was pretty blunt with him when he asked for my opinions. So I took him to the meeting, and got him an English breakfast tea as instructed, then settled in to watch these two men feel each other out. It was real fascinating to watch the politicking and smooth lobbying the Irishman tried to do. He noted his ties with the Jewish community, and even brought two copies of a book about Yad Vashem that he wrote the forward for, as well as a letter from the grandson of Eleanor Roosevelt who represented the USA in Israel in 1948 at an independence celebration. In the end I took him to the Human Rights Council chambers and asked him how he thought it went. In the end he gave me one of the copies of the book the Irishman had given him, as well as the letter from Mr. Roosevelt.
The day of the conference…okay we’re about to start. It just crossed my mind that it would be fantastically funny to go and sit in someone’s seat when they came in, and be like, “oh is that your seat?” I wouldn’t do it for Iran or Saudi Arabia, for they would cut my hands off. Maybe U.A.E, or Sudan. Hehehe
Anyway, the day of the conference my job was to chill near the podium with Hillel, the exec. and make sure he has all his notes, his bios, etc. I snapped some pictures, I held various microphones, set up the video camera, and welcomed some ambassadors. I was chilling outside getting some fresh air when the President of the Human Rights Council showed up. It is a huge deal for him to come and speak at our conference. There are 70 Islamic and African countries who will be pissed when they see our press release of the president in front of our wicked cool UN Watch wallpaper. I was really happy that I recognized him, though I think I called him Mr. High Commissioner, confusing his title.
I also met the American Ambassador who spoke, and the Israeli ambassador. The U.S. ambassador is such a Texan…this big former businessman. He loves American. A lot. And why not? We all should (why you ask? Ask me later…)
I had an interesting conversation in the afternoon with a rep from the State Dept. In sum, he said that Europe has gone soft. After 1,000 years of war and bloodshed, a WWI where a million men died in a battle, and world war II that ravaged everything and showed it how cruel and evil man could be, they have become pacifists. They have reverted back to the same mistakes that were made before they appeased Hitler and didn’t crush him in 1933 when they could have easily, and so have learned nothing. He also said that he disagree with Obama, who wants to talk to everyone. “If someone if walking down the street with a baseball bat, and wants to hit you in the face, will you try to reason with him? Now, if he has a stick, and you have a bat, that’s a different story.”
At night we had a Gala dinner. It. Was. Delicious. Good wine, good olives, several courses…I will not have another meal like that for some time. There were some amazing speeches as well.
After a dozen of us went for drinks. It was a very interesting mix of people. There were 3 UN Watch employees, a few members of the Council for Jewish Students, a couple locals, then you have a State Dept. employee, the US Special Envoy on the study of Anti-Semitism, and a Yale professor. Real funny group. I was taking career advice from the State Department guy. He said I should get all my education now, and not stop and work for a couple years, which I had planned. I also asked him how he got to where he is. He basically said it comes down to how much you want it. I plan on sending him an e-mail and asking him what he specifically means by that. I think I’m going to look into some grad schools in the fall…Any ideas?
Lastly, I’ve found myself hanging out with a group of 30 year old Israelis. I think that’s funny. I don’t see myself hanging out with 30 year olds at home ever…it’s a strange thing the social formations of temporary friendships.
I met the President of AJC, David Harris, which was very cool. He invited our entire office out to dinner tonight. I will enjoy that.
But its been very cool. I’m going to walk you through some of it. I have realized in this experience that I would really enjoy being a personal assistant in the future as long as its for really cool people.
I have been reporting on the preparatory sessions for the “Durban II Conference,” the review conference to be held next year to the original conference in South Africa in 2001, which displayed the most slanderous, racist, anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic hatred since the Holocaust. It was a disgusting sight.
I’m writing this in the Human Rights Council chambers at the U.N. It’s 10:18 a.m., so the distinguished representatives are moseying on it for the 10:00 session. But anyway…
Since its gotten down to crunch time for UN Watch’s conference on how to prepare for Durban II, I’ve done a lot of research about different countries policies, and their press coverage, and on different people. My task coolness has moved up a few degrees due to a couple members in the office being unavailable. The day before the conference Hillel, the executive director called me into his office to assign me a task. I was to find the former President of the American Jewish Committee, show him around, and accompany him in a meeting with a large Irishman who is running for President of the Human Rights Council in a couple weeks. I guess the men I was showing around was influential enough in the United States that if he really liked the guy, he would be able to get the U.S. vote for him.
I actually wasn’t very nervous at all. I was pretty blunt with him when he asked for my opinions. So I took him to the meeting, and got him an English breakfast tea as instructed, then settled in to watch these two men feel each other out. It was real fascinating to watch the politicking and smooth lobbying the Irishman tried to do. He noted his ties with the Jewish community, and even brought two copies of a book about Yad Vashem that he wrote the forward for, as well as a letter from the grandson of Eleanor Roosevelt who represented the USA in Israel in 1948 at an independence celebration. In the end I took him to the Human Rights Council chambers and asked him how he thought it went. In the end he gave me one of the copies of the book the Irishman had given him, as well as the letter from Mr. Roosevelt.
The day of the conference…okay we’re about to start. It just crossed my mind that it would be fantastically funny to go and sit in someone’s seat when they came in, and be like, “oh is that your seat?” I wouldn’t do it for Iran or Saudi Arabia, for they would cut my hands off. Maybe U.A.E, or Sudan. Hehehe
Anyway, the day of the conference my job was to chill near the podium with Hillel, the exec. and make sure he has all his notes, his bios, etc. I snapped some pictures, I held various microphones, set up the video camera, and welcomed some ambassadors. I was chilling outside getting some fresh air when the President of the Human Rights Council showed up. It is a huge deal for him to come and speak at our conference. There are 70 Islamic and African countries who will be pissed when they see our press release of the president in front of our wicked cool UN Watch wallpaper. I was really happy that I recognized him, though I think I called him Mr. High Commissioner, confusing his title.
I also met the American Ambassador who spoke, and the Israeli ambassador. The U.S. ambassador is such a Texan…this big former businessman. He loves American. A lot. And why not? We all should (why you ask? Ask me later…)
I had an interesting conversation in the afternoon with a rep from the State Dept. In sum, he said that Europe has gone soft. After 1,000 years of war and bloodshed, a WWI where a million men died in a battle, and world war II that ravaged everything and showed it how cruel and evil man could be, they have become pacifists. They have reverted back to the same mistakes that were made before they appeased Hitler and didn’t crush him in 1933 when they could have easily, and so have learned nothing. He also said that he disagree with Obama, who wants to talk to everyone. “If someone if walking down the street with a baseball bat, and wants to hit you in the face, will you try to reason with him? Now, if he has a stick, and you have a bat, that’s a different story.”
At night we had a Gala dinner. It. Was. Delicious. Good wine, good olives, several courses…I will not have another meal like that for some time. There were some amazing speeches as well.
After a dozen of us went for drinks. It was a very interesting mix of people. There were 3 UN Watch employees, a few members of the Council for Jewish Students, a couple locals, then you have a State Dept. employee, the US Special Envoy on the study of Anti-Semitism, and a Yale professor. Real funny group. I was taking career advice from the State Department guy. He said I should get all my education now, and not stop and work for a couple years, which I had planned. I also asked him how he got to where he is. He basically said it comes down to how much you want it. I plan on sending him an e-mail and asking him what he specifically means by that. I think I’m going to look into some grad schools in the fall…Any ideas?
Lastly, I’ve found myself hanging out with a group of 30 year old Israelis. I think that’s funny. I don’t see myself hanging out with 30 year olds at home ever…it’s a strange thing the social formations of temporary friendships.
I met the President of AJC, David Harris, which was very cool. He invited our entire office out to dinner tonight. I will enjoy that.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Some Friday thoughts…
Can a brother get some cheddar cheese? I find this same problem in Israel. In American you have all kinds of cheese…Grade A CHEESE! Cheddar, American, Muenster, Provolone, Mozzarella, Gouda, Smoked Gouda, Smoked Cheddar, Colby, Pepper jack, Colby-Jack…you get the idea. Here they have two. You can have mozzarella or you can have yellow, and you better like it. Damn. It would even take it as a grand gesture to package the same cheese but make it different color for crying out loud!
Tour de France flag: So I was doing my typical tourist shopping that I do every town I go to, that would be a postcard and a shot glass. It keeps costs down. Anyway, I was looking around Paris last weekend (which I will post about once I get my computer back to put pictures up) for something Tour de France, because I am quite the fan. If I was in Europe for the last stage of the tour I would be ALL OVER going to the Champps Elysee in Paris for the end. Anyway, I was hoping for a poster or post-card or something. I did find some cool shirts, but for the 20-30 Euro range (that’s 30-45 dollars). So I looked around and finally really found a gem. I got this wicked-cool Yellow tour de France flag that now adorns the wall of my room. 7 Euros. Not bad at all. I’ll post a picture of it later.
Basketball against Dirk [girls can probably skip this one, except Allison...i know becky won't want to read this one]: So every other day I’ve been playing street ball with these German guys on the court behind my place. The first couple days were a series of one on one games. I trashed him in the first game, he beat me in the second. It’s a weird game. He’s much longer and taller than I, but likes to take jumpshots, and I still can’t drive on him too much unless I fade away. For the basketball doctors out there, I think I know how to play him. He’s a crazy dibbler so its tempting to go for the steal and he takes advantage of me that way. I guess I just need to play him straight up though. I haven’t found anyone who can consistently handle me in the post though. Me and my German friend Max beat the other two Germans yesterday in a grueling two hour game. If I was going to camp after this, I might be a force to be reckoned with.
Picture Shopping: Now grocery shopping is always an experience. First of all, there are slightly different cultural foods, so when you look for what you want, its not always a sure thing that you’ll even find it. They have HUGE chocolate and wine sections by the way. Anyway, my food vocabulary is getting good. Fromage is cheese, champigons are mushrooms, you know. This knowledge takes you most of the way, but for many things you have to trust that the manufacturer chose appropriate pictures for the cover. I know i’m getting mushrooms, but with all the other words and the weird pictures, is it the cream of mushroom soup I desire? Is it mushroom paste? Mushroom casserole? Mushroom juice? You never know.
The Final Countdown: Okay, it’s on. I’m making a mean stir fry next week with pineapples as the top-chef special ingredient. It will be delicious. Here is what the countdown is though. Last time I bought a pineapple, but this time I bought canned. The clock starts now – 7 days to figure out how to open the can. I could buy a can opener. I say that because I know someone was going to suggest it. I WILL NOT. I won’t waste the money. I promise you it will cost $7-8. Ideas? Challenges?
I am keeping clippings from the French newspapers when they talk about the Wings in the Stanley Cup or about the Pistons. I’m sure somebody (A-ron) will find them fascinating. I’ll take this opportunity to remind folks that all must be watchful for A-ronisms this summer. I cannot keep up my duty, of course. I am nervous until I get my computer back because I don’t have this years saved anywhere else. I’ll not make that mistake next time. Much love.
Tour de France flag: So I was doing my typical tourist shopping that I do every town I go to, that would be a postcard and a shot glass. It keeps costs down. Anyway, I was looking around Paris last weekend (which I will post about once I get my computer back to put pictures up) for something Tour de France, because I am quite the fan. If I was in Europe for the last stage of the tour I would be ALL OVER going to the Champps Elysee in Paris for the end. Anyway, I was hoping for a poster or post-card or something. I did find some cool shirts, but for the 20-30 Euro range (that’s 30-45 dollars). So I looked around and finally really found a gem. I got this wicked-cool Yellow tour de France flag that now adorns the wall of my room. 7 Euros. Not bad at all. I’ll post a picture of it later.
Basketball against Dirk [girls can probably skip this one, except Allison...i know becky won't want to read this one]: So every other day I’ve been playing street ball with these German guys on the court behind my place. The first couple days were a series of one on one games. I trashed him in the first game, he beat me in the second. It’s a weird game. He’s much longer and taller than I, but likes to take jumpshots, and I still can’t drive on him too much unless I fade away. For the basketball doctors out there, I think I know how to play him. He’s a crazy dibbler so its tempting to go for the steal and he takes advantage of me that way. I guess I just need to play him straight up though. I haven’t found anyone who can consistently handle me in the post though. Me and my German friend Max beat the other two Germans yesterday in a grueling two hour game. If I was going to camp after this, I might be a force to be reckoned with.
Picture Shopping: Now grocery shopping is always an experience. First of all, there are slightly different cultural foods, so when you look for what you want, its not always a sure thing that you’ll even find it. They have HUGE chocolate and wine sections by the way. Anyway, my food vocabulary is getting good. Fromage is cheese, champigons are mushrooms, you know. This knowledge takes you most of the way, but for many things you have to trust that the manufacturer chose appropriate pictures for the cover. I know i’m getting mushrooms, but with all the other words and the weird pictures, is it the cream of mushroom soup I desire? Is it mushroom paste? Mushroom casserole? Mushroom juice? You never know.
The Final Countdown: Okay, it’s on. I’m making a mean stir fry next week with pineapples as the top-chef special ingredient. It will be delicious. Here is what the countdown is though. Last time I bought a pineapple, but this time I bought canned. The clock starts now – 7 days to figure out how to open the can. I could buy a can opener. I say that because I know someone was going to suggest it. I WILL NOT. I won’t waste the money. I promise you it will cost $7-8. Ideas? Challenges?
I am keeping clippings from the French newspapers when they talk about the Wings in the Stanley Cup or about the Pistons. I’m sure somebody (A-ron) will find them fascinating. I’ll take this opportunity to remind folks that all must be watchful for A-ronisms this summer. I cannot keep up my duty, of course. I am nervous until I get my computer back because I don’t have this years saved anywhere else. I’ll not make that mistake next time. Much love.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Music and Friends
Hey guys,
No social commentary here, just wanted to tell you how important music and friendship are. As the BOB himself, Mr. Marley said, music can cure all, when it hits you, you feel no pain. Well my iPod and computer are gone so i have none. I've been trying to sing and whistle more to get by, but the skies just don't feel as bright without music in your day. This doesn't mean you should have headphones in your ears 24/7, because then you lose touch with the world.
I miss my guitar. It's such a good companion. I think i might have decided on a name for it, but i'll let you know soon.
Lastly, the reality of who isn't here hit me hard yesterday. I have never in my life spent this amount of time, which will amount to 2 months, without you guys, without even one face that i knew before, my friends and partners in crime (i love that phrase). It's hard. You see my pictures and quickly become jealous because i'm seeing mountain peaks and ancient churches, and paying $5.50 for 3 red peppers at the grocery store. You should be jealous, but not of climbing those hundreds of steps to get to the top of these ancient structures. Bottom line, wish you were here. People in Europe can be cold.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Weekend trip to Bern, Interlaken
Hello everyone. First of all, I WANT TO KNOW WHO CHECKS THIS, so leave me some love. I'm going to talk about my weekend trip from last weekend, because i really haven't gotten a chance to blog about it.
The rest of the day we rode bikes. We took a horse path to the lake, past old castles and the sort, and got to a place where the path ended and we surrounded by lake. A Swiss guy told me, “its not swimming season, the water is still far too cold this time of year.” I had my doubts. If I could handle instructional swim at CYJ then I could deal. I stuck my hand in the river and it wasn’t that bad! But we get to the end point and walk in…after 3 or 4 seconds it is so bitterly cold…cold isn’t even the word. Needles. My friend was in for about 10 seconds straight and her foot turned purple.
V’yehi erev, v’yehi boker, weekend rishon.
May 10-11
This was a rough first trip to take, because I am not sure if it can be topped. We took a train east in Switzerland to Bern, the capital city and place of parliament, as well as the namesake of beloved musician Dan Bern. This train ride, I could not pick my jaw up off the floor. It was gorgeous…all the fields of yellow flowers and snow-covered peaks. They would get better when I got up to them, though. WOW, did it feel good to get out of French Switzerland and into the German part. Swiss-German never sounded so good. Notable notes of Bern are it’s known for bears, its city symbol, and who used to roam through the city. Also, we walked past the house where fellow M.O.T., Albert Einstein, developed the theory of relativity. The city is known for their clocktower and puts on a real show every hour. We heard we HAD to see it.
To kill time until the hour we walked around and it was just a beautiful city with a river going through it, lots of nature in it, too.
We walked past the house of parliament, which was a nice building, but they have a fountain out in front, like the kind they have at Epcot at Disney. It shoots up from the ground and builds a maze for you and you have to get out. It seemed there was a limited number of people over the age of 6 who were willing to strip down and join in on the fun. That guy was yours truly.
I really liked the fountains and statues they have in the middle of the streets there. I haven’t put a good one on facebook yet, but there was a ballin’ one of Moses carrying some commandments. I hadn’t seen more than a handful of Americans my entire trip thus far, so here I was crossing the river on the bridge, and I see a guy in a “Oldies 104.3 Woodward Dream Cruise” shirt, and I yell “YOU’RE FROM DETROIT!” and he’s like, “yeah man!” Funny thing, him and his friend also go to Michigan State, so we enjoyed a little “go green go white” action. About 10 minutes later when we were waiting for the clocktower to sing and dance for us a man with a hella-grizzly beard comes up to and asks in German if I speak German or English, to which I respond that I’m American. He says, in response to my MSU shirt that he lived on a farm outside of Lansing and graduated from MSU 30 years back. I ate this stuff up. The clocktower you ask? Cool, but somewhat anti-climactic.
Then we moved on to Interlaken. I have had several debates over whether it was the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. What are the most beautiful places you’ve ever seen? I’ll think of my list too. It might include Harbor Springs (MI), Yellowstone and the Rockies, Tel Aviv at sunset, I dunno. Interlaken means between the lakes so there are to huge lakes in the middle of this valley with snow covered peaks all around. Also, this hostel was AMAZING! You pay $27 for a night (keep in mind the awful exchange rate) and get a room, free breakfast, free internet, and my beloved relaxation room! It’s labeled as a hangover recovery room with a dozen hammocks on a covered porch, but its SOOOO relaxing.
So we did some extra-curricular activities that night, and around 2 a.m. I ran into a group of friends from Ohio. Summering in Europe is all about making the most of these 48 hours friendships. You have to accept them, enjoy them for what they are, and move on. There was a girl who spent a month in Ohio and met her hetero-sexual lifemate, an Israeli girl, who wrote her a letter in Hebrew before she left. She’s been looking for someone who speaks Hebrew and English for 6 months now! I believe in fate because I had enough extra-curricular activities at the precise time that they were sitting there and we struck up a conversation. Anyway, I translated the letter…it was real deep and poetic.
The next morning I stepped outside and tried to find a good place to take a picture of how pretty this place was. I couldn’t decide so I took a video of ranting about how a picture won’t do it justice and how beautiful it is, using profanity for emphasis.
We got up early and my South African colleague says that we better hurry up and get out of bed to make good on what we talked about yesterday. I didn’t think that she would actually hold us to our conversation about going paragliding. OH dear…I guess we’re doing this. You see, I have a fear of heights. I am not at all comfortable a good distance above the earth. I was terrified of skydiving, I even wasn’t comfortable in the cable car up to the Eifel Tower yesterday…I was a sport though. I was talking to my pilot as we swung in our parachute above the earth that it’s a tragedy to let fear prevent you from doing anything great. I’ll take that attitude, but this fear of heights is getting worse, not better with age. Better do more stupid while I still can.
So we sign our waivers and drive up to the top of one peak. WOW. It. Was. Breathtaking. We got all our gear on and took a running start and jumped off a cliff, simple as that. It was scary, but about halfway through I actually could enjoy it and enjoy types of views I may never seen again. Here are some pics of the view, then the flight. See facebook for more:
This was a rough first trip to take, because I am not sure if it can be topped. We took a train east in Switzerland to Bern, the capital city and place of parliament, as well as the namesake of beloved musician Dan Bern. This train ride, I could not pick my jaw up off the floor. It was gorgeous…all the fields of yellow flowers and snow-covered peaks. They would get better when I got up to them, though. WOW, did it feel good to get out of French Switzerland and into the German part. Swiss-German never sounded so good. Notable notes of Bern are it’s known for bears, its city symbol, and who used to roam through the city. Also, we walked past the house where fellow M.O.T., Albert Einstein, developed the theory of relativity. The city is known for their clocktower and puts on a real show every hour. We heard we HAD to see it.
To kill time until the hour we walked around and it was just a beautiful city with a river going through it, lots of nature in it, too.
We walked past the house of parliament, which was a nice building, but they have a fountain out in front, like the kind they have at Epcot at Disney. It shoots up from the ground and builds a maze for you and you have to get out. It seemed there was a limited number of people over the age of 6 who were willing to strip down and join in on the fun. That guy was yours truly.
I really liked the fountains and statues they have in the middle of the streets there. I haven’t put a good one on facebook yet, but there was a ballin’ one of Moses carrying some commandments. I hadn’t seen more than a handful of Americans my entire trip thus far, so here I was crossing the river on the bridge, and I see a guy in a “Oldies 104.3 Woodward Dream Cruise” shirt, and I yell “YOU’RE FROM DETROIT!” and he’s like, “yeah man!” Funny thing, him and his friend also go to Michigan State, so we enjoyed a little “go green go white” action. About 10 minutes later when we were waiting for the clocktower to sing and dance for us a man with a hella-grizzly beard comes up to and asks in German if I speak German or English, to which I respond that I’m American. He says, in response to my MSU shirt that he lived on a farm outside of Lansing and graduated from MSU 30 years back. I ate this stuff up. The clocktower you ask? Cool, but somewhat anti-climactic.
Then we moved on to Interlaken. I have had several debates over whether it was the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. What are the most beautiful places you’ve ever seen? I’ll think of my list too. It might include Harbor Springs (MI), Yellowstone and the Rockies, Tel Aviv at sunset, I dunno. Interlaken means between the lakes so there are to huge lakes in the middle of this valley with snow covered peaks all around. Also, this hostel was AMAZING! You pay $27 for a night (keep in mind the awful exchange rate) and get a room, free breakfast, free internet, and my beloved relaxation room! It’s labeled as a hangover recovery room with a dozen hammocks on a covered porch, but its SOOOO relaxing.
So we did some extra-curricular activities that night, and around 2 a.m. I ran into a group of friends from Ohio. Summering in Europe is all about making the most of these 48 hours friendships. You have to accept them, enjoy them for what they are, and move on. There was a girl who spent a month in Ohio and met her hetero-sexual lifemate, an Israeli girl, who wrote her a letter in Hebrew before she left. She’s been looking for someone who speaks Hebrew and English for 6 months now! I believe in fate because I had enough extra-curricular activities at the precise time that they were sitting there and we struck up a conversation. Anyway, I translated the letter…it was real deep and poetic.
The next morning I stepped outside and tried to find a good place to take a picture of how pretty this place was. I couldn’t decide so I took a video of ranting about how a picture won’t do it justice and how beautiful it is, using profanity for emphasis.
We got up early and my South African colleague says that we better hurry up and get out of bed to make good on what we talked about yesterday. I didn’t think that she would actually hold us to our conversation about going paragliding. OH dear…I guess we’re doing this. You see, I have a fear of heights. I am not at all comfortable a good distance above the earth. I was terrified of skydiving, I even wasn’t comfortable in the cable car up to the Eifel Tower yesterday…I was a sport though. I was talking to my pilot as we swung in our parachute above the earth that it’s a tragedy to let fear prevent you from doing anything great. I’ll take that attitude, but this fear of heights is getting worse, not better with age. Better do more stupid while I still can.
So we sign our waivers and drive up to the top of one peak. WOW. It. Was. Breathtaking. We got all our gear on and took a running start and jumped off a cliff, simple as that. It was scary, but about halfway through I actually could enjoy it and enjoy types of views I may never seen again. Here are some pics of the view, then the flight. See facebook for more:
The rest of the day we rode bikes. We took a horse path to the lake, past old castles and the sort, and got to a place where the path ended and we surrounded by lake. A Swiss guy told me, “its not swimming season, the water is still far too cold this time of year.” I had my doubts. If I could handle instructional swim at CYJ then I could deal. I stuck my hand in the river and it wasn’t that bad! But we get to the end point and walk in…after 3 or 4 seconds it is so bitterly cold…cold isn’t even the word. Needles. My friend was in for about 10 seconds straight and her foot turned purple.
V’yehi erev, v’yehi boker, weekend rishon.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Cost of living in Geneva
I’d like to share some of my thoughts with you lovely people because they have been in my head, and because I’m stalling talking about Bern or Interlaken until I am able to put pictures of them online.
One common theme in Geneva is national generalizations. Everyone represents their entire country. It doesn’t matter if you’re a minority in that country, if you are from there, you represent. If you’re loud, and American, Americans are loud. It’s a fun game.
Let’s touch on just how ridiculously expensive this city is, shall we? I’ve been cooking for myself (made a killer fried rice last night), but lets calculate the day for the average student in Geneva, who smokes cigarettes, eats at the UN cafeteria, and has a dinner in a pizzeria, and certainly not the upscale variety. You wake up in the morning, get dressed, to head downstairs and grab a coffee and a breakfast pastry, like a croissant [$3.30]. If you haven’t a bus pass, it will cost you about $6 to ride the bus to and from work for the day. Ahhh…you finally get to work where nothing costs you money. But oh no! It’s lunch time. You’re not starving, so you’re just going to have an average sized salad, a small fruit bowl, and a diet coke [$14]. You take the bus home, and don’t have any groceries, so you decide to go to a small pizzeria, because the menu has some nice variety and its certainly not upscale…so hard to decide! Should you get the cheese pizza, which you could finish with ease [$22] or the bowl of alfredo, which would be a nice filling meal [$24]. It seems you have run out of cigarettes, but as a good European, you stop off and get yourself a pack [$6.10]. Perhaps you go to the bar, and don’t stay for more than two rounds [$12].
You didn’t do anything recreational, or see any museums or wild sites today, you simply lived your everyday life, amounting to a grand total of…$64.40….so much for sending your kids to college. You don't even want to hear about the things i do to save money...or do you?
Supplemental Pictures
Still depending on Caylee (south africa) for pictures, but since she took some off her camera i will provide pictures for the post about my first day of work.
This is where i work almost everyday. Just walk through that gate...anytime i want...no questions asked.
Ooh....awkward....
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Good Morning; Welcome to Geneva!
5/9/08
“ “ everybody! That’s how you say good morning in French? (you may note the empty quotation) THERE IS NO WAY TO SAY GOOD MORNING IN FRENCH! There is hello, and good evening, but this is simply another thing to had to my list of major flaws in the French system. Another random note, I haven’t seen a flying insect since I got to Europe.
5/13/08
I’m sorry Mom. I couldn’t call you on Mother’s Day because technology got together said, “Let’s get Dan Kuhn today.” My computer crashed, and my iPod resetting (deleting all my music…this isn’t a big deal if my computer hadn’t crashed). Also my SIM card is faulty, but I already got my money back for that. My internet now happens only at work, and no skype or anything like that for a few days.
At this point I am blogging about what happened about 5 days before. I WILL NOT talk about my spectacular time in Interlochen and Bern in central Switzerland because those require those pictures…or you just won’t believe me. So I will sit here, my Babar mug at my side, and write about my first travel adventure day in Geneva.
I adventured with a friend, Marina I met through my good friend Jes Weiner (remember her Judaeans?), who I will see more of when she finishes her paper. Marina is from Moldova, who, she says, is famous for being the first country to return to communism after the Soviet Union fell.
We walked in the bustling Old Geneva, and stopped to listen to a really snazzy Jazz band covering Bob Marley hits. I will post a video in a future blog if you’d like.
After walking around Old Geneva for a while we went to the famous fountain, the tallest one in the world with massive jets underwater powering it. With the Euro Soccer Championships coming up in Geneva, which locals have complained will be one big party (as if this is a bad thing?), it adorns a giant soccer ball the size of the extra-terrestrial object Pluto.
I’m sorry Mom. I couldn’t call you on Mother’s Day because technology got together said, “Let’s get Dan Kuhn today.” My computer crashed, and my iPod resetting (deleting all my music…this isn’t a big deal if my computer hadn’t crashed). Also my SIM card is faulty, but I already got my money back for that. My internet now happens only at work, and no skype or anything like that for a few days.
At this point I am blogging about what happened about 5 days before. I WILL NOT talk about my spectacular time in Interlochen and Bern in central Switzerland because those require those pictures…or you just won’t believe me. So I will sit here, my Babar mug at my side, and write about my first travel adventure day in Geneva.
I adventured with a friend, Marina I met through my good friend Jes Weiner (remember her Judaeans?), who I will see more of when she finishes her paper. Marina is from Moldova, who, she says, is famous for being the first country to return to communism after the Soviet Union fell.
We walked in the bustling Old Geneva, and stopped to listen to a really snazzy Jazz band covering Bob Marley hits. I will post a video in a future blog if you’d like.
After walking around Old Geneva for a while we went to the famous fountain, the tallest one in the world with massive jets underwater powering it. With the Euro Soccer Championships coming up in Geneva, which locals have complained will be one big party (as if this is a bad thing?), it adorns a giant soccer ball the size of the extra-terrestrial object Pluto.
Next we walked to one of its million parks. Fans of K’far Hayarok may remember a giant chess set at it center. This park does not has one – it has 12, and two checkers sets. The most universal sight in the whole world is old men playing chess in the park. But in this one, these old men carry giant pieces around though. Also, when real phenoms play they get a huge crowd with little kids who look on with amazement, and old men who critique each move. I beat Marina in three moves (a trick my grandfather taught me) and has never worked once in my entire life…until now. 
I got a tip from someone at work that I need to take a bus outside the city to the mountains near France and take the gondola up. (a geography note, if you drive north or south out of Geneva, you will end up in France…its like a nightmare.) IT. WAS. GORGEOUS. You pass streams and massive fields of yellow lowers, and you see snow-capped mountain tops in the distance. We got off early to take some pictures, and decided we’d walk. In trying to trace the gondola to its landing zone, we couldn’t really find a direct road, so we found ourselves taking a scenic route and jumping more than one barbed wire fence. We got there and took the gondola to the top for the most breathtaking view I’ve seen in quite some time.
We sat near the edge and watched paragliders fly off into the distance over Lake Geneva.
In asking for directions back to the bus station, we asked a nice old man to point us in the right direction. He said, “oh! Back to Suisse?” (meaning Switzerland). This is how we found out that we spent much of the day in France. Welcome to France.
Friday, May 9, 2008
First day of work
The first day of work was a great blast. My co-intern is this young lady from South Africa. She walked me over to one part of the UN complex to get my badge. Its so bling bling.
It’s a pretty small office. They share the space with another Jewish NGO. It’s about 8 people in the UN Watch office normally, but all the higher ups are gone this week, so there is no one older than 24 in the place except for Channah, a 75 year old Swiss woman who has an uncanny resemblance to my late grandmother.
I learned how to take notes on the council. It’s really interesting to watch the whole thing unfold. People are too diplomatic (diplomats being diplomatic…imagine that?). I won’t talk about how the Human Rights Council is a failed system. I’ll save that for a day that I’m a pessimistic mess (and it’ll happen one of these days). Anyway, tomorrow is the first big dog I get to cover in the council because Pakistan is up for review. Today they covered Benin (who? It’s a country in west Africa), and all they have to say is that they hate gays. They discussed a number of ways to cure the disease, and plan to continue to have it criminalized. As for criminalizing child-slave trafficking…they’re working on it.
After the afternoon me and Caylee (the south African) took some sweet pictures in the UN complex on the way back to the office. We got pictures with the UN sign, and with in the seats of a bunch of cool countries in the assembly. It wasn’t unprofessional to go and take pictures in Israel or South Africa’s seat. It was questionably so when we took funny pictures with Iran and Iraq…hehe…I hope to post those soon.
It’s a pretty small office. They share the space with another Jewish NGO. It’s about 8 people in the UN Watch office normally, but all the higher ups are gone this week, so there is no one older than 24 in the place except for Channah, a 75 year old Swiss woman who has an uncanny resemblance to my late grandmother.
I learned how to take notes on the council. It’s really interesting to watch the whole thing unfold. People are too diplomatic (diplomats being diplomatic…imagine that?). I won’t talk about how the Human Rights Council is a failed system. I’ll save that for a day that I’m a pessimistic mess (and it’ll happen one of these days). Anyway, tomorrow is the first big dog I get to cover in the council because Pakistan is up for review. Today they covered Benin (who? It’s a country in west Africa), and all they have to say is that they hate gays. They discussed a number of ways to cure the disease, and plan to continue to have it criminalized. As for criminalizing child-slave trafficking…they’re working on it.
After the afternoon me and Caylee (the south African) took some sweet pictures in the UN complex on the way back to the office. We got pictures with the UN sign, and with in the seats of a bunch of cool countries in the assembly. It wasn’t unprofessional to go and take pictures in Israel or South Africa’s seat. It was questionably so when we took funny pictures with Iran and Iraq…hehe…I hope to post those soon.
What language do you speak?
I think its fascinating what languages countries choose to speak. Countries with a real stick up their ass speak their native tongue for the hell of it…like China, Russia, etc. Then there are countries that speak something that few other people do, and they’re damn proud of it, like Italy and some African countries. Most of these African countries speak French b/c its their native tongue. There are countries that are cool, and like the West, and want to be their friends, so countries like the Netherlands will speak English, along with a whole slew of Asian countries…basically everyone but China. Israel of course speaks English. Wow, that was a lot less interesting on paper…it was cool for me I suppose.
Another thing about languages. I hate French. I worry sometimes that these signs that are in the bathroom stalls, and streets signs, and warning signs aren’t important, because unlike the Jewish state that has every sign in a half dozen languages to make sure no one gets too confused, I haven’t seen a sign in English yet. Another thing, and this shocked me. I can safely say that more people speak English, and better English, in Tel Aviv than Geneva. This holds up as long as you exclude the native speakers. As far as the actual Swiss and French people here, its awful.
I play this little game where I try and identify how many languages I hear in each day. Its crazy how many you can get to.
Random Notes:
The representative of the Russian Federation went to speak, and he was wearing the same tie as me…akward. I keep meeting girls named Layla. Who new Clapton had such a following here. Lastly, there is a 60 foot three-legged chair in front of the UN…its cool
Another thing about languages. I hate French. I worry sometimes that these signs that are in the bathroom stalls, and streets signs, and warning signs aren’t important, because unlike the Jewish state that has every sign in a half dozen languages to make sure no one gets too confused, I haven’t seen a sign in English yet. Another thing, and this shocked me. I can safely say that more people speak English, and better English, in Tel Aviv than Geneva. This holds up as long as you exclude the native speakers. As far as the actual Swiss and French people here, its awful.
I play this little game where I try and identify how many languages I hear in each day. Its crazy how many you can get to.
Random Notes:
The representative of the Russian Federation went to speak, and he was wearing the same tie as me…akward. I keep meeting girls named Layla. Who new Clapton had such a following here. Lastly, there is a 60 foot three-legged chair in front of the UN…its cool
Acquaintences:
[from May 6th, 2008]
*Abubakar from Sierra Leone – we had a conversation in charades because we have no languages in common. That was really enjoyable. He lives 3 doors down. I think I see a blooming friendship on the horizon.
*William from Scotland – works for the WTO, interesting chap.
*The Crazy Moroccan Guy – he has a dog living with him. I struck up a conversation with him and his extremely broken English. He said he doesn’t like Americans. He followed to ask me what kinds of people I think are the best in world. I said that everything has something to offer. He asked who I was most familiar with, which I responded to with “the Jews and the Muslims,” because I’m studying them in University.
Should I continue this in dialogue form? Nah, I’ll continue with storybook style. “I don’t like the Jews,” he said promptly. “Yeah?” I responded, then calmly said, “well I’m a Jew.” “Oh, I don’t like Israelis.” “Why is that?” I asked him. “Because they are committing a Holocaust on the Palestinians. Gaza is a concentration camp.”
“Excuse me,” I said. “My grandfather was in Auschwitz.” “You should know then. Gaza is a gas chamber.” “Yeah, have you seen it?” From there I began to talk about irresponsible Hamas leadership, but since his English is far more broken than I make it out to look, I walked away.
The end of this story is I saw him walking around later. He was turned around, and I said “Masah Halcher” (a traditional Arabic greeting of good evening) to which he responded enthisiastically with a big smile. Is there a true friendship blooming here? To find out, you’ll have to tune in to next edition.
No, no true friendship…but I’m pretty sure that prevented me from being chopped up in my sleep.
By the way, i will supply you with pictures once i am able to get them off my camera. Got some good ones. I'll use topical ones in here and put the rest on facebook.
Detrot - Amsterdam - Geneva
I am several days behind, so i'm going to overwhelm you a little bit at first. I haven't really decided how censored this blog will be, but i suppose i will leave the option of public office open someday. If you want the jewcy details, e-mail me.
The flight went pretty smoothly. I was pretty damn tired but I still managed to watch Juno first, which I enjoyed, and then The Bucket List, which my fans know I’m a fan of. I love movies about death (awkward…anyway).
AMSTERDAM
I flew to Amsterdam first, and got there around 6 a.m. with about 7 hours to kill. I checked out if I could just take one of the 4 flights to Geneva that left before mine. Thank goodness the lady said no can do. That’s where the adventure began.
[edited for content]
After that I walked around for a while. Now, when me and josh spent an afternoon there in December, we didn’t really know where we were going, nor did we get that much out of it. Well, J, the joint looks a lot different when the sun is out (no pun intended). I walked around and took pictures of all the clocktowers and churches, and went to see the WWII memorial (it was the day after memorial day in Holland), and some nice art. It was such a beautiful day I found myself just wanting to sit down and dangle my legs in the river. I took my shoes and socks off and just chilled in front of the Anne Frank museum. After a minute, every few minutes someone would get out of line (and josh, the line was WAY longer than when we went) and snap a picture of me. I guess I did look very poetic the way I was sitting.
So I walking down the street heading north, and I could have sworn I heard Hebrew! (now since then, I heard thought I heard Hebrew but it was really just muffled French) So I yelled at these three girls in Hebrew and we talked for a while. They were of the dumb variety, paying $100 for a taxi to the city instead of the 7 euro train, but it was cool. I was talking about my summer and they were saying they were headed to Ecuador on an open ended ticket, not knowing when they’ll come back. In the next few hours I passed 11 more Israelis…crazy.
I got to Geneva around 5 pm, and lugged my 100 pounds of luggage around and got to my place of residence with relative ease. I could write a full entry about the crazy ho that works at the desk, and the hoops she made me jump through, but I’ll save you the pain.
The flight went pretty smoothly. I was pretty damn tired but I still managed to watch Juno first, which I enjoyed, and then The Bucket List, which my fans know I’m a fan of. I love movies about death (awkward…anyway).
AMSTERDAM
I flew to Amsterdam first, and got there around 6 a.m. with about 7 hours to kill. I checked out if I could just take one of the 4 flights to Geneva that left before mine. Thank goodness the lady said no can do. That’s where the adventure began.
[edited for content]
After that I walked around for a while. Now, when me and josh spent an afternoon there in December, we didn’t really know where we were going, nor did we get that much out of it. Well, J, the joint looks a lot different when the sun is out (no pun intended). I walked around and took pictures of all the clocktowers and churches, and went to see the WWII memorial (it was the day after memorial day in Holland), and some nice art. It was such a beautiful day I found myself just wanting to sit down and dangle my legs in the river. I took my shoes and socks off and just chilled in front of the Anne Frank museum. After a minute, every few minutes someone would get out of line (and josh, the line was WAY longer than when we went) and snap a picture of me. I guess I did look very poetic the way I was sitting.
So I walking down the street heading north, and I could have sworn I heard Hebrew! (now since then, I heard thought I heard Hebrew but it was really just muffled French) So I yelled at these three girls in Hebrew and we talked for a while. They were of the dumb variety, paying $100 for a taxi to the city instead of the 7 euro train, but it was cool. I was talking about my summer and they were saying they were headed to Ecuador on an open ended ticket, not knowing when they’ll come back. In the next few hours I passed 11 more Israelis…crazy.
I got to Geneva around 5 pm, and lugged my 100 pounds of luggage around and got to my place of residence with relative ease. I could write a full entry about the crazy ho that works at the desk, and the hoops she made me jump through, but I’ll save you the pain.
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