Départ, d'arrivée, Nations Unies, and the United States Mission to Genève

Bonsoir from Suisse!

This will be a quick post and I shall embellish it at a more dutiful time.

And that time is now!

To all those who wish to know, yes I am still alive. This was seemingly one of the most smooth trips I have been involved in to date. No delays, quick customs, and got all of my baggage in one piece. The flight was long enough to be tiring but not too long as to be completely uncomfortable. In fact for the first time in my traveling career I was actually moved to an earlier plane in O'hare instead of being delayed. As well, a bit of mid-western charm got me out of paying a baggage fee so that is a plus if I have every seen one.

When we arrived we went to Geneva's version of Union Station (some jibber-jabber name in French) to get our bus passes. If anyone thought the bureaucracy was bad in the United States try coming to Geneva. Here is a picture of a map on the wall:

We went to the United Nations today. Although it is not the headquarters of the UN (NU here) it is where most of the negotiations and actual work goes on. The UN is located in Palais des Nations where the failed League of Nations was once headquartered. It was quite a site to see and I hope you all one day get a chance to visit. Whereas in America a distinct stench of cynicism exists in respect to international cooperation, once could really sense the aura of hope within the building. We visited several large meeting rooms as well as political rooms where important treaties have been signed. Below is just a snippet of the pictures I took, many of which illustrate the hope, size, and importance of the Nations Unies within our existence as humans in a global community.

We then went to the US Mission within Geneva. A mission is quite different from an embassy or even a consulate. Matters like lost passports or imprisoned citizens although troubling they are not relevant to the mission. Instead the mission is concerned with negotiating US policy with the many IOs or International Organizations located within the Geneva canton. This mission was very secure (yet not as fortified as the Russian Mission) and the diplomats within were quite candid about US policy and the effectiveness therein. In fact many of the diplomats who spoke to us seemed to stray off of what would seem to be established 'talking points' and into what is the more practical and realistic policy positions of the United States.

Find the mountain:

A little bit on Geneva itself...The city is quite expensive. What is called a 'cheap' lunch ranges between 10 and 20 CHF or swiss franc which are currently exchanging at a one to one ratio with the American Dollar or USD. These cheap meals are found in cafeteria style restaurants many of which are either in grocery stores, department stores, or IOs. Everything here seems to be a bit lazy or slower than what we would see in American. Even the sirens for the ambulances seem to be a bit slower as if they are whining "We will get there when we are good and ready." The public transportation system is self serve meaning that you can just get on the buses or trams without having to pay a driver. However you still need a ticket or a pass and without one a hefty fine will be your burden. I have been told countless times that this is the most snow that Geneva has gotten in years and yet it is minuscule in comparison with the snow that has already fallen atop our big shoulders at home. Many people here do speak English or at least Fringlish so as long as one of us makes an attempt normally you can find your way or get what you want. As well, I have found that many people also speak Spanish including the owner of a bar in Grand Saconnex which has given me the opportunity to dust off a bit of archived knowledge. Una cerveza más grande por favor.

I hope all is well in the states and I will most likely post again come the weekend.

--JC