hello everyone!
This is my last blog from Geneva! I am very excited because we are leaving tomorrow for India. I think the group is very ready to leave the cold and bad food and get into our homestays.
This week we began our classes. The topics have ranged from climate change to health determinants to the definition of community. I am very excited about the combination of experiential and academic learning and ready to start my case study in India.
On Friday night a large group of us went out to a english pub right near our hostel! It was nice to spend time with the group outside of class and we all danced to a live band that played 70s disco music! It was really fun and the singers reminded me of the Dream Girls and had such good dance moves! The only bad thing was the bar was very smoky and made it hard to breathe. On Saturday we woke up to snow! It was pretty wet but was still very beautiful. I went with a few other girls to explore Geneva and look at a contemporary art musuem. We found a great little cafe and had the best meal I have had in Switzerland (soup and quiche!) The art musuem featured works by Slyvie Flurry who is quite modern and a little crazy in my opinion! It was great to see a little more of the city though. On Sunday I had a typical college student Sunday of laundry and homework. We had a few small papers to write and a lot of reading.
Overall, I really appreciated the opportunities I was given in Geneva to visit not only the WHO and the UN but also local health groups as well. I am really looking forward to going to Bengaluru (which is the more appropriate way to say Bangalore)! We will be staying in a hostel for just 2 days and then we will be moving in with our homestay families. All our homestays are in pairs so I am a bit nervous to see who I will be living with!
Thank you so much for all the emails, comments and letters (thank you Sharon and Terry!) They are really helping me cope with homesickness and I love knowing what is going on in everyones lives.
Again, I must apologize for all the spelling and grammar mistakes. When I have more time on the internet I will try to come back and edit.
I miss you all and hope everything is well.
Love,
Barbara
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
more of Switzerland
hi!
I hope everyone is doing well. I am still in Switzerland at the Youth Hostel. It has been pretty chilly here with some rain (just like Providence!). I have been extremely busy here so Im sorry I have not been keeping up with e-mail (although i have read them and appreciate all the e-mails so much). I want to tell all of you about Switzerland. First, in Geneva everyone speaks French so I have had more difficulty communicating with people than I anticipated. Second, all people eat here is bread and cheese. For every meal. We have all been craving fruits and vegetables and finally found a super market where we could buy some. As you may know, Switzerland (and especially Geneva) is very liberal espeically in terms of services such as universal health care. Geneva brags that out of 190 ethnicites recognized by the UN, 188 are represented in the city. Yesterday, Monday, we had a group tour of the Old Town of Geneva. It is very quaint with narrow streets and little shops all around. We also saw the school that Calvin started and the church where he preached during the Refomation.
In the afternoon we took a tour of the Red Cross musuem. The Red Cross was founded by a French man named Henry Dumont but he lived in Switzerland so that is why it is here. The story of Dumont is sad because he was a terrible business man and went bankrupt and lived his adult life in poverty until he was recongnized for his work with the Nobel Peace Prize just 10 years before his death.
Today, we were able to visit the World Health Organization in Geneva. We had a guest lecturer who was a doctor that worked to prevent HIV/AIDS. He had quite a strong accent though so it was a little hard to understand.
In the afternoon, a spokesperson from a local organization that works with HIV and AIDS patients came to talk to us about her work. After that, we went to a little Irish pub to watch the Inauguration. It was so amazing to watch Obama take the oath (even when forgetting the words). I was also glad that in his speech he spoke of the enormous challenges that are in Americas future (as well as to hear about changing the health care system and public schools). Although I know it will take time, I have so much hope and faith in what he (and we) can achieve!
Our days here are extremely full. We have breakfast at the hostel (bread and yogurt) around 7 30 and then we usually do not get back to the hostel until around 6. After we eat dinner we usually just talk, email or go to bed. The conversation outside of class has also been extremely interesting. There are so many smart people here with different perspectives.
Tomorrow we go to the UN and on Thursday we finally begin real class. I am actually really looking forward to going to India to have more of a routine and to be in warmer weather.
I am sorry my typing and spelling has been so horrible. This computer does not have spell check and this is a French keyboard so it is a bit different than I am used to. Please e-mail with any questions you have or just to say hi. I will try to get back to you if I have the chance.
Love,
Barbara
I hope everyone is doing well. I am still in Switzerland at the Youth Hostel. It has been pretty chilly here with some rain (just like Providence!). I have been extremely busy here so Im sorry I have not been keeping up with e-mail (although i have read them and appreciate all the e-mails so much). I want to tell all of you about Switzerland. First, in Geneva everyone speaks French so I have had more difficulty communicating with people than I anticipated. Second, all people eat here is bread and cheese. For every meal. We have all been craving fruits and vegetables and finally found a super market where we could buy some. As you may know, Switzerland (and especially Geneva) is very liberal espeically in terms of services such as universal health care. Geneva brags that out of 190 ethnicites recognized by the UN, 188 are represented in the city. Yesterday, Monday, we had a group tour of the Old Town of Geneva. It is very quaint with narrow streets and little shops all around. We also saw the school that Calvin started and the church where he preached during the Refomation.
In the afternoon we took a tour of the Red Cross musuem. The Red Cross was founded by a French man named Henry Dumont but he lived in Switzerland so that is why it is here. The story of Dumont is sad because he was a terrible business man and went bankrupt and lived his adult life in poverty until he was recongnized for his work with the Nobel Peace Prize just 10 years before his death.
Today, we were able to visit the World Health Organization in Geneva. We had a guest lecturer who was a doctor that worked to prevent HIV/AIDS. He had quite a strong accent though so it was a little hard to understand.
In the afternoon, a spokesperson from a local organization that works with HIV and AIDS patients came to talk to us about her work. After that, we went to a little Irish pub to watch the Inauguration. It was so amazing to watch Obama take the oath (even when forgetting the words). I was also glad that in his speech he spoke of the enormous challenges that are in Americas future (as well as to hear about changing the health care system and public schools). Although I know it will take time, I have so much hope and faith in what he (and we) can achieve!
Our days here are extremely full. We have breakfast at the hostel (bread and yogurt) around 7 30 and then we usually do not get back to the hostel until around 6. After we eat dinner we usually just talk, email or go to bed. The conversation outside of class has also been extremely interesting. There are so many smart people here with different perspectives.
Tomorrow we go to the UN and on Thursday we finally begin real class. I am actually really looking forward to going to India to have more of a routine and to be in warmer weather.
I am sorry my typing and spelling has been so horrible. This computer does not have spell check and this is a French keyboard so it is a bit different than I am used to. Please e-mail with any questions you have or just to say hi. I will try to get back to you if I have the chance.
Love,
Barbara
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Geneva
Bonjour from Geneva,
I made it to Switzerland! I just wanted to let everyone know that I am safe and sound at the Geneva Youth Hostel. Everyone seems great so far although we are all very jet-lagged and tired. We flew from Washington D.C. to London, London to Geneva and then took a tram to our hostel. Tonight we ate dinner at a fondue place that only served cheese fondue and bread for dipping. It was really good but not that satisfying so I went to a drug store and bought some gummy worms!
IHP has many things planned for us while we are here so I will be very busy. I already met one of our profesors because I was in the airport and some girls started to walk the wrong way so I shouted, "Nora!" and then the profesor said to me, "In Geneva we never raise our voice. Never ever" It was so scary!
Sorry my thoughts are so scattered. I am quite tired. I will be writing more soon.
love,
Barbara
I made it to Switzerland! I just wanted to let everyone know that I am safe and sound at the Geneva Youth Hostel. Everyone seems great so far although we are all very jet-lagged and tired. We flew from Washington D.C. to London, London to Geneva and then took a tram to our hostel. Tonight we ate dinner at a fondue place that only served cheese fondue and bread for dipping. It was really good but not that satisfying so I went to a drug store and bought some gummy worms!
IHP has many things planned for us while we are here so I will be very busy. I already met one of our profesors because I was in the airport and some girls started to walk the wrong way so I shouted, "Nora!" and then the profesor said to me, "In Geneva we never raise our voice. Never ever" It was so scary!
Sorry my thoughts are so scattered. I am quite tired. I will be writing more soon.
love,
Barbara
Monday, January 12, 2009
the beginning
hello everyone!
I hope this post finds everyone well. As most of you know I am going abroad for a semester with the International Honors Program (IHP). This semester I will be visiting Switzerland, India, China and South Africa to learn about their health care systems. There are 34 students in the program from universities all over the United States. While we are abroad we will be staying in hostels, dorms and home stays. This program does not allow us to bring computers so all of my school work will be done by hand. In each country we get to do a case study which includes field work. Although I am very excited I am also very nervous. I have received all my visas, vaccinations and pills and am almost done packing my one suitcase I am allowed to bring.
I will try to post on this blog as much as I can throughout the semester however my internet access may be limited in some places. I would really love to hear from everyone throughout the semester. Please keep me updated on your life, even if it is just a short e-mail! I am going to start using my g-mail account so e-mails can be sent to barbarappetersen@gmail.com (note the extra "p" for my middle name and the sen!) or barbara_petersen@brown.edu.
I can also receive letters (but not packages) at the following addresses:
Switzerland - Saturday January 17th to Tuesday January 27th
I hope this post finds everyone well. As most of you know I am going abroad for a semester with the International Honors Program (IHP). This semester I will be visiting Switzerland, India, China and South Africa to learn about their health care systems. There are 34 students in the program from universities all over the United States. While we are abroad we will be staying in hostels, dorms and home stays. This program does not allow us to bring computers so all of my school work will be done by hand. In each country we get to do a case study which includes field work. Although I am very excited I am also very nervous. I have received all my visas, vaccinations and pills and am almost done packing my one suitcase I am allowed to bring.
I will try to post on this blog as much as I can throughout the semester however my internet access may be limited in some places. I would really love to hear from everyone throughout the semester. Please keep me updated on your life, even if it is just a short e-mail! I am going to start using my g-mail account so e-mails can be sent to barbarappetersen@gmail.com (note the extra "p" for my middle name and the sen!) or barbara_petersen@brown.edu.
I can also receive letters (but not packages) at the following addresses:
Switzerland - Saturday January 17th to Tuesday January 27th
Barbara Petersen
IHP c/o Geneva Youth Hostel
28-30, rue de Rotschild
1202 Geneva - Switzerland
India - Wednesday January 28th to Thursday March 5th
Barbara Petersen
IHP c/o Environmental Support Group
105 East End "B" Main Road
9th Block, Jayanagar
Bangalore, 560069 INDIA
China - Friday March 6th to Friday April 3rd
Barbara Petersen c/o Li Xinhua
International Exchange and Cooperation Office
Central South University
Changsha, Hunan 410083
People's Republic of China
South Africa - Saturday April 4th to Thursday May 7th
IHP c/o Chris Colvin and Natalie Leon
For: Barbara Petersen
7 Alfred Street
Observatory 7925
Cape Town, South Africa
Well, I guess that is all for now! I can't believe I am leaving in just 4 days!
love,
Barbara
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