Promotion video

It seems like during my stays abroad, I always end up in some kind of public video somehow. Remember my appearance on TV in Taiwan? Yesterday I was asked to participate at a promotion video for the “Right to Development” organised by the Right to Development Section of the Research and Right to Development Division from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). So I went to the Palais des Nations (UN) building during lunch time, which is about 10 min by walk from ILO and found myself in a professional film-studio in the basement. They even flew in a filming director from London for this! So then I was standing in the spotlight, facing two cameras (one in the front and one from the side) looking at a huge amount of DinA4 papers lying on the floor right in front of me, each printed with a phrase. My task was to memorise each phrase and recite it freely in the camera. You cannot imagine how hard it is to memorise one single line!! You read the paper, memorise, look in the camera – and your brain is blank. Unbelievable! But somehow I managed to perform all phrases through and now I just have to wait and see, if they are going to cut me out completely, or if I will be seen in this video for a couple of seconds ;-). The concept is that each actor / actress gets to say one line. So, if I’m lucky, I get to say one, too. The video will be online sometime in September. I will keep you updated!

Nyon and UN drinks

I know, I know, I am kinda behind with my blog entries. But usually after work, I am sooo tired! Don't know really why I get so tired, since the only thing I do is stare at the computer screen all day long.

Last Thursday my college Julie spontaniously asked me during work, if I'd like to go to Nyon after work. And I spontaniously said "yes". So Julie, Rita (a girl from Lithuania) and me jumped into the train right after work and reached Nyon only 15 min. after. We bought some snacks at the supermarket and sat right beside the lake. Soooo nice!! That's life, I'm telling you! I wish, I could have an apartment here someday, with a nice balcony and a view on the lake. It is really nice to live right beside the water. It's such a pitty, you cannot capture the real beauty of the scenery with camera. But I tried...

way towards the lake...


you already can see it in the back...



and look, what we've found...


way to the castle...


there it is!


garden infront of the castle.

view from the castle.


going downhill from the castle.


getting ready for UN-drinks ;-)

After getting back to Geneva, we went straight to UN drinks. Its a weekly meeting of UN interns at some bar or restaurant in Geneva to get to know each other and have some drinks. It's quite fun.



On the way home, Anna showed me this amazing marketplace which has lit up pavement stones with phrases on them in all kinds of languages.




Anna found one in Russian...


I found one in Chinese... So, see you tomorrow! ;-)

Already 2nd week - getting used to the daily routine

So, already the 2nd week. I kind of have the feeling, I've been here forever, though. Is that a good sign? I have already submitted my first draft about companiy types in the UK to my supervisor and she seemed to be content.

Otherwise, I am slowly getting used to my daily routine. Getting up at 6 a.m., having breakfast at 7, getting on my bus at 7.30, starting work at 8.00. Having team coffee at 9 a.m. and working till lunch with friends at 12.30. Coffee again and working until 17.30 - heading back home, getting some groceries on the way and cook some dinner at 19.00. Having a shower, relaxing a bit, surfing in the internet and finally going to bed at 21.30. It's almost the same everyday. I cannot really decide, if this kind of life is just terribly boring or simply nice....

Yesterday, for example, I met with a fried from Germany, who is here for vacation right now, after work for dinner. It was very nice and I enjoyed the evening very much, but when I finally got to bed, it was already past midnight. It totally threw me off track. I was fine in the morning, but this afternoon - puhhh - I was a mess. There was no way I could concentrate on work... Fortunately I only had to do some more research, so my supervisor didn't notice my bad condition. Additionally it was raining the whole day... I am so not a rain person...

Well, since this article seems to have turned out really boring, here some nice pics from my working space:


View from my office. In the back, there is the airport an I can watch the planes fligh off almost every 10 minutes. It's kinda fun. ;-)

Curry in Machilly

On Thursday, after work, my indian friend Deepti invited me to her home. She's an intern at ILO, too, but she lives in Machilly, France. The rent is much cheeper there, but the downside of it is that you almost need an hour to get to work.

Machilly is really pretty, but it's really in the middle of nowhere also. If you like countrysides, it's the perfect place for you. But, as I said, here you get more space for less money. Deepti lives with a French family, who is subletting a room.

Look, how nice the place looks:

The view on the lake of Geneva from France.


living room


the garden



First, we had real indian chai-tea:



And Deepti cooked me some real indish tomato-curry with eggs.



Hmmmm.... sooooo yummy! I really really loved the taste of the spices, and the self made indian bread was delicious, too! I hope, she makes me some more curry during my time in Geneva and teaches me how to cook them. I really need this recipe!!

Impressions of Geneva

Here some pictures from Geneva:



View from my deck-terrace...



Views out of my window...



Parc des Eaux-Vives...


Lake promenade...


in the city...





a cute little stationary shop...





public beach of the Geneva Lake


The area around my accomondation (old city of Geneva):