Settling In

I made it safely to Geneva, and the trip was surprisingly smooth! I did NOT: arrive too late for my flight out of D.C., get sent home for swine flu symptoms (even though I've had a cold lately), lose my luggage, or get lost upon arrival. I was able to settle in at the Foyer de Carouge, meet some of the women who live here, and stumble through some conversations in French. I think I'm getting the hang of it after a few days, but it was certainly hard at first! Speaking of the Foyer, the others who live here are all very nice! The students and the directors are friendly and willing to help me out. We eat our meals together, and they've shown me around a bit. Everyone is very patient with me, and they help me with my language mix-ups. I'm learning a lot, too! For example, this evening at dinner, we were eating fruit, and I said that I didn't know the French word for "kiwi" - apparently, it's "kiwi." Oh well.

Most of the Swiss students are all studying for their exams, but there are a few of us here who aren't in classes. Karen is one resident who isn't studying right now because she's doing an internship at the World Health Organization. She graciously let me invite myself on a daytrip to Annecy, France, and so that's where I spent my first full day in Europe. We took the bus with two other interns Karen knows from the WHO, and spent the day touring an old castle (now an art and history museum) and a former jail (now a center for regional history and architecture), walking around Lake Annecy, and exploring the city's many shops, street vendors, and bridges. In fact, the bridges over the canals have given the city the nickname, "the Venice of France." I had a lovely time exploring, and I thought it was a great way to beat jetlag!

I start work on Tuesday, so I should have more to say about my internship then! A bientot!