Boat Rides and Breweries

I got a little (okay, a lot) lost but found my way back!!  There is a communal kitchen at Le Cenacle and we all made dinner and chatted! We met some really nice kids from Michigan State University who have been living here for a few weeks.  They are also on a EUSA program and are essentially doing the same program we are.  We hung out together and then went to a Swiss brewery in the University district.  It was a great time!  16 of us went and got 2 tables!  We got a 3 liter spout of beer that was made right there in the pub!! We then walked backed home because the public transportation system stops running on the weeknights at mid night.  The city is walkable, so we trekked the 30 minutes back home, with a pit stop at a local bakery!  It was a great night, especially when it ended with me skyping with my family!!Yesterday, Thursday, September 24 was my first full day in Geneva!  We woke up and had an orientation about our next 10 weeks in Geneva! It was exciting and fun to get to know everyone a little better.  After our orientation we ate lunch and went on a boat ride on Lake Geneva!  It was a beautiful day for a boat ride on Lake Geneva…everyone said to enjoy it because the nice days will be few and far between once autumn hits! There is a large fountain in the middle of the lake that shots up 17 tons of water PER SECOND!  That’s a lot of water!!!  A walking tour of the Old Town was what followed!  It is an amazing city!  So many different parts of the city, it is so full of culture!  The Old Town is full of cobblestone streets and gorgeous old churches with a mix of nightclubs, fountains, pubs, and restaurants.  We visited the old Jewish corner and the botanical gardens, there are Buckeye trees everywhere!  I then went to get a Swiss phone number (it is in the about me section if you want the number) and then went to find my office so that I would know where I was going!  To get to work I have to take a walk to the tram stop, and then transfer to the bus stop.  

This morning I woke up very early to have a work orientation at DCI.  My office is next to the United Nations building and many other NGO and government buildings.  The director of DCI sat down with me and introduced me to the company and others in the office.  She explained the mission and some of the things that I will be working on.  She is very overwhelmed so told me that I will be having a lot of responsibility, which I am really looking forward to.  She told me that I would be doing a bit of everything including working on the conference in November, donor reports, research for grant proposals, and a lot of fundraising.  My title is “Fundraising intern and executive assistant”.  In my office there are many other small NGOs and Non-profits and everyone works together.  I will be working 9am-6pm with 1 hour for lunch; work is a 40-minute commute so I will be very busy and tired during the workweek!! On my way out I grabbed a cup of coffee at a local café and went back to Le Cenacle for another orientation about our internships.  My friend, Ami and I, stopped for lunch at a kabob restaurant and am now at the airport on my way to Munich to meet up with Kierstin and Poppy to celebrate our birthdays!!