Interns, Music, Soccer, and Fun!

Hi Everyone!

       I realized that I have been updating you all on all of the work that I am doing but have not written very much about what I am doing for fun while in Geneva! I decided to share a few pictures of the city and my adventures so everyone can get a full perspective of my experience! 

       These pictures are from the Catacombs under Cathedral St. Pierre, the Cathedral that I am living directly across from. Seeing the history of the Cathedral was incredible and it was very interesting to learn about the various steps in the building process, eventually leading up to building the incredible Cathedral! 

I loved that you can see the different layers of rock! 

Creepy! 

John Calvin Preached here! 

BEAUTIFUL ORGAN!

        These next pictures are all taken out of the window of my room! I can't believe how lucky I am to have such an amazing view of the Cathedral! It is also impossible for me to get lost because I can see the Cathedral from everywhere in the city. If I ever don't know where I am, I find the top of the Cathedral and head in that direction!

       I took these pictures at the United Nations! The ceiling of the Human Rights Council meeting room is absolutely beautiful but we are not supposed to take pictures of it so I snuck this one!  

        This picture was taken on Lake Geneva. The little yellow boat is a transportation alternative to the bus! It takes a little bit longer but I have ridden it a few times because the views of the Lake are great! 

        These two pictures are from a music festival that was going on this weekend in Geneva. I went to the festival Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! It was taking place all over the city, I couldn't turn around without hearing music coming from somewhere! There were also many booths set up with different types of food from all over the world! It was very exciting to have something so fun to do over the weekend and I loved being able to see how many people from the city came to the concert! The weather was beautiful and I had a great time!

Mooey!

This band was great and the children were having so much fun in the fountain! 

        I have also been going to a number of soccer (football) games in the city because the Eurocup is going on right now! Since Geneva is such an international city, there are fans here from all over Europe and people are pretty excited about the games! The city set up a HUGE TV in a square where people have been going to watch. It is so interesting to see families, adults, children, and even some dogs who come to watch the game! I have not encountered anything like this in the USA so I love going there to watch the games and see how excited everyone is to support their home team! After the games they have different bands perform on the state too so it is always very fun!

I took this picture at the England-Italy Game! 

            I have been meeting a number of interns while in Geneva and have been thoroughly enjoying learning about the diverse backgrounds of everyone I am interacting with! There are interns here from all over the world who are working at numerous different delegations so it has been very interesting to learn about so many different cultures and organizations! I was slightly intimidated at first while meeting all of these other interns because many of them are older than I am. The majority of UN interns are pursuing either a Masters or PhD, or have already earned these degrees. As a student who does not even have a Bachelor’s degree yet, this made me nervous at first, but I think ultimately working with a more mature and educated group has only pushed me to work harder and learn absolutely as much as I can! This age difference has made me even more grateful for the experience of working with the UN through the Fr. Smith Fellowship Program because were it not for the program, I would have never been given this opportunity as an undergraduate student! I have been having an incredible time and learning a great deal that I am very excited to come back and share with the PC Community and can’t even imagine having to wait years before finally having the opportunity to work with the UN.

            I have met other interns who know about the Dominican Order but for the most part, people I have been interacting with have not heard about the Dominicans! I have really enjoyed my role as a spokesperson (or delegate!) for the Dominican Order because I have had the opportunity to explain the Order, its Mission, and its role at the Human Rights Council! I am so glad to have been given the chance to explain the order that I have come to value so much to others!  

            I am just finishing up my lunch break and am on my way to a side event in a little while! I will update later this week about my work during Week 2! 

I pass this sign everyday on my way to work :) I thought it
was very indicative of my Smith Fellowship Experience!