Just another ordinary day in Geneva
Heyyyyyy! I'm settling in here in Geneva. It's been pretty great. Work is quite chill these days. There's been a switch-up with my supervisors - I was originally assigned to Carmen, which is the HIV/AIDS expert, but now I am switched to Brian, who is working on another global health-related project. It is slightly disappointing because I hoped to focus on HIV and help write the landscapes. But Brian is super cool and chill so that's all right. I know the general gist of what I will be doing and I will be officially starting next week. So these days I've been taking my time, going through readings, joining lots of intern activities and meeting other interns/coworkers for lunch and coffees. Which is good too =)
Tonight I met my Mont Saleve friend Mialy for language exchange. She really is very friendly and patient! We had entire conversations in French. I can feel that my conversational French is improving. I definitely want to make learning French my goal while I am here in Geneva. The interns mostly speak English here (because they are international, like me) so I am glad to have met a friend like Mialy who I can practice French with. Right now she is working on publishing a children's book which she is having translated into many languages. We read through the French version once. She also showed me the Mandarin version as well. It is a cute story! I will try to set aside time to practice my French every day.
These past few days have been quite busy! Tuesday our work team got together for drinks after work to celebrate the beginning of our new project - our team is simply hilarious! We laughed until no end. Wednesday Grace (another girl on the UNITAID team) was leaving so we got together for drinks after work (see a pattern here?) then we grabbed falafels and ate by the lake.
Tomorrow I will be having a discussion with Anita and Brian in the afternoon regarding HIV/AIDS - I am responsible for preparing materials on the medical/pharmacy aspect of the disease. Also joining some new friends for lunch, grabbing coffees with colleagues, and meeting up with other interns for a beach party (aka. drinks after work).
As for this weekend - however much I'd like to travel, I think I will have to stay in Geneva. Planning for marathon training with the Geneva running team on Saturday, going to an international culture festival (which actually sounds pretty cool - I'd be interested in learning about the local city life here), and a Sunday hike. Of course - laundry =(
Very exciting news - my fam is coming to visit me in Geneva! I am super, super excited!! They are visiting for 12 days total in Switzerland, staying in Geneva for 2 days. I am excited to show them what I really love about Geneva. We are also planning to travel to Interlaken, Lucern, and possibly Zurich.
Aaaand that's all for now. Cheers!
