So I'm published now

The other day I got published in the Human Rights Tribune based in Geneva. A publication of InfoSud (one of the best European news agencies) it examines American policy on human rights in the context of the upcoming (June 19) Human Rights council here in Geneva. I'm also working with them now, which is an amazing opportunity. The website to read the piece is http://www.humanrights-geneva.info/sommaire.php3?lang=en and I'm at either the bottom of the page or you can click on the megaphone picture on the right. It's my first publication since I've been here and hopefully it'll quell the frustration that's been in the air the past week or so. InfoSud's website is www.infosud.org but it's all in French. Hopefully I'll be published a lot more in the HRT and some papers in the states as well. I'm submitting another piece today so we'll have to wait and see.

I forgot to mention

I forgot to mention one of the most interesting aspects of my trip to France the other weekend. As Emma and I were waiting in the train station, thinking we could just stay the night there, we were approached by three or four French police with big, mean looking dogs. They told us the station was closing and we couldn't stay there overnight. Emma went up to buy a ticket for tomorrow morning so we wouldn't miss another train. As she was talking to me about which ticket to buy, the cops asked us where we were from. Being in France and all, we were a little hesitant to say we were from the states. Eventually we told them we were from the US, at which point one of the cops started taking off his clothes. Well, maybe not his clothes, but his jacket at least. Emma and I were a tad freaked out that a large policeman was removing his jacket and gesturing to something after finding out we were Americans but decided not to make any sudden movements. His friend started motioning to Emma that she should look at the officer's right shoulder. Cautiously Emma and I took a look at his shoulder to discover what was perhaps the last imaginable thing we could have seen. His entire left shoulder was covered with a red, white and blue tattoo of the American flag. In a half moon curve on the top was "9-11-2001 New York, New York" and the bottom read "We shall never forget". He was so pleased to show us his tattoo and how proud he was that he could show it off to Americans. It was such a funny thing to see how excited he was to show off his tattoo, and to see how much solidarity there was between law enforcement 'brothers' a world away even when the host governments weren't getting along at all. I'll find a picture and put it up later, that story was just too good not to share.

Experience #4,980,384 not to tell my mother about...

So there we are in Nice and Cannes, thinking we're awesome, (and we are) until we try to get home. Emma and I had managed to get from Geneva to the French Riviera, swim and get a sunburn just fine. When we arrived at the train station in Nice to pick up two tickets to Geneva, things went way wrong. First, the lady sold us two tickets to Genova, on the coast of Italy, then, once we had gotten that straightened out, she told us there were no spots left on the train to Geneva that night. Frantic to get back by Tuesday, Emma and I purchased two tickets to Lyon, hoping there would be a late night train home to Geneve. Once we got to Lyon, we quickly realized that we were going to be homeless for the night. As the cop who kicked us out of the train station said "It's Lyon, it's not Chicago". With that boost of confidence we picked up our backpacks and headed out into Lyon at midnight. The station opened again at five and we were bound and determined to be the first ones in. The first bright idea we had was to take shelter under a bus station enclosure. After we realized that this just happened to be a major drug dealing point, we quickly moved to a more secluded corner bench with a view of potential attackers from all sides. Armed with my trusty swiss army knife, we began the arduous task of trying to get some rest before the five o'clock reopening. Two gentlemen arguing in some angry language, dozens of bycyclists riding past and random sketchy people didn't help the getting some rest plan. All the while I'm thinking "Please God, don't ever let my mother find out about this." Once 4:30 rolled around, Em and I made our way back to the train station with bags under our eyes and nothing in our stomachs. The friendly cops (more on that in a later post) were gone and replaced with a power-hungry security guard with a chip on his shoulder. Once we got in to the station, we waited to secure transport to Geneva, this time by way of an autocar (bus). Two hours and twenty minutes later we arrive in Geneva weary, hungry and disheveled. My night of homelessness had come to an end and I was happy to have a bed to come back to. I'll post more in the next day or two all about the trip and the crazy things that went down, but for now, cursed be anyone who shows this to my mom...

The story so far...

Well, it's been about a week here in Geneva and it's beginning to feel kinda like home. I got my press accredidation badge today so I have 24 hour, unlimited access to the United Nations. Prior to today, we've met with OCHA, ICRC/CIRC, UNHCR, DDA, UNHCHR, UNEP, WFP and many other UN agencies. Next week we meet with NGO's.
On the traveling front, I've made it to Bern, Lyon, Zurich and Nyon. We're going to Monaco, Nice and Cannes this weekend via Marsielle. We're also attempting to get tickets for a preliminary game of the FIFA world cup in Germany. I was sitting at a cafe in downtown today and ended up having lunch with the New Zealand soccer team. We're going to Paris for five or six days sometime in the next few weeks and I'd really like to make it to Italy for a while. The summer-term class ends somewhere around June 25th so half of the group will go home. I'm staying until whenever, my badge is valid until September.
There are certainly some cultural and linguistic differences over here, as well as interpersonal differences with some of the people. I wasn't served in many cafes in France as soon as I asked if they spoke english. It took me a couple of hours to eat dinner and an hour and a half to find a place for lunch that would have me.
Things are going well, I'm making some excellent connections which will hopefully lead to some sort of job after this. I would love to be in the field somewhere with WFP, UNHCR or something like it. I'll try to post more regularly and about more interesting things.

Less than a week...

Welp, less than a week before I leave for Geneva, the UN and Europe. I'm flying British Airways (yeah dude) so it'll be a good time just getting over there. I leave on the 22nd so I'll have a few days before everyone else arrives. I think I might head down to Paris and hang out there for a while.