The train ride to Lugano was fine, but a little hellish because we had to transfer four different times or something ridiculous. Kim was well prepared, however, and brought lots of yummy snacks for us to munch on (I was very impressed). As an omen of what was to come, Kim and I accidentally did not get off at Lugano because we didn't see a sign (and misread one that said orarios, which is actually 'timetable' in Italian) and had to find our way back from the next town over, Paradiso. In any case, we eventually ended up at the hostel after getting directions on how to board a bus by a guy in a lakeside stall ('go stand near the choo-choo'…we figured out what he meant when we DID see a choo-choo, or small tourist train that runs through the town on the normal streets). After checking in, we threw down our stuff on some bunks, and went off to explore Lugano. We could not find this funicular that Kim's guidebook was talking about (yes, we later discovered it the day we were leaving - it's in the middle of the train station) and so took the bus into town, walked along the waterfront, and devoured some spaghetti. Later on, we walked through a park, window shopped, and noted that besides really expensive brands, Lugano was also really into selling lingerie/swimwear (sometimes hard to discern which was which), with many sets starting around 200 USD. Following some aimless wandering, we ended up at a café/bar where people were really excited about the Italy vs USA game. We each ordered what turned out to be really strong drinks, people watched (I was impressed that a single American dude was able to integrate himself in with a European couple and other single girl), and wondered why our waitress was dressed like a porn star (dyed red hair, pigtails, italy cropped t-shirt, skirt). Although we tried to crash early, we both didn't sleep very well because of annoying ass people coming into the hostel loud, late, and drunk. I was annoyed with two German girls in the bunks above us because they kept whispering and giggling until 4 am. Some dudes also came in and slept with their girlfriends and were smelly.
town square in lugano
Day 2:
We ended up booking it in the morning to escape such smelly peoples and caught a ferry to a neighboring seaside village, Gandria.
kim noticed this pic on our ferry, informing you that if you brought your dog on the ferry and it was little, it was free. however, if you had a big dog, you had to pay 50% of a normal fare. quote from kim: "i think all dogs aspire to be gratis dogs."
Gandria was totally cute and built into the mountain, so all the streets were narrow, made of cobblestone, and kept winding upwards. There were also a lot of cute restaurants where you could sit on a terrace overlooking the water (we ended up eating lunch at one of these), some small local galleries (kim bought a painted platter for her mom here), and a paved trail along the mountain detailing the path of how olive oil was made. Although Kim and I originally had grand plans of checking out a cathedral and a park, we ended up running into a place kinda similar to Bains des Paquis in Geneva, but smaller. Essentially, it's a deck where you pay an entrance fee and can rent beach chairs or beds with a roped off swimming area in the lake, a café, etc. Because it was really hot, we decided to spend the remainder of our time laying out, swimming, and talking. Kim reminded me to mention that we were joined by two elderly ladies, one of whom had a tremendous amount of plastic surgery done on her face and was really very unattractive, and another, who was some kind of vip since her chair was 'reserved' and she acted like the lifeguard was her slave by having her move around her umbrella. This aforementioned lady was also unattractive but was even moreso because she insisted on sunbathing topless and in a bottom that was uncannily close to a G-string. Most unfortunately, she was lying directly behind us with her legs facing towards us, giving us a most unwanted view of her crotch area. Needless to say, we tried to turn around as little as possible throughout.
The afternoon overall was super relaxing, but we had to rush back to get to our train. We had stored our stuff in the hostel and Kim got super pissed off when these little girls (maybe high school age?) tried to block us from coming in to get our stuff and did not help us get out (they had locked this door that was supposed to always remain open). We made our train, but ended up missing a connection later on as we didn't realize that the next train we were supposed to get on was in a different station. I was stressed since I had to get back to Geneva for the beginning of my weeklong seminar (Health Policy in a Globalizing World), so rushed back to Lugano on the train to see if I could catch the last train to Zurich. I ended up missing it by 5 minutes, so crashed at the same hostel near the train station (but in a private room). I ended up leaving around 6 am the next morning, arrived in Geneva at 12:30, and rushed home to change quickly before meeting up with my fellow fellows at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. The site visit was okay, but it was cool to meet the new arrivals in our group. At night, a few of us girls ended up going to Café Arts, where I got a yummilicous salad, but was annoyed about being attacked by one girl who said, "Why do I get the feeling that you don't want to hang out with me?about acting like I didn't want to hang out with her because I wasn't all gungho about waiting around for everyone and just suggested meeting up later after I got dinner. Actually, I was trying to be considerate because I knew I was going to a pricier place and she always talks about saving money, so I threw it back in her face by saying that I didn't want to impose an expensive place on people who might not want to pay that much for a meal. Anyway, it ended up working out, and dinner was followed by some informal chattiness with invited guest Thiru at Bains des Paquis. I bounced early because I was exhausted from travelling, but it was good start to the week.
The past week was a little crazy. We had site visits almost everyday and visited WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization), the US mission to the UN, the World Trade Organization, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, UNAIDS, and others, while also being in class from around 8:30ish to 6ish everyday. Following class, we often had optional dinners, where invited speakers would informally talk to us about their careers, but this made for a very long day (we'd often get done around 9 or 10 pm). One session was held at the WHO, but most of our lectures were held at HEI, a local Geneva University that specializes in international affairs. In addition to the fellows, some WHO staff also joined us and I met a cool Swiss physician who worked in Cambodia for a number of years doing training and health systems work. It was interesting to be in class with older staff, but one woman ended up dominating a lot of the discussion and being very antagonistic to some of the presenters, which ate up a lot of time and wasn't that productive. Later on in the week, one of my classmates took me aside and said, "Tanya, I need to ask you a question." I was a little concerned that I might have done something, but she said, "Am I one of those people that asks too many questions? I'd trust you to give me an honest answer." I laughed and said she totally wasn’t, and she was relieved. It felt kinda good to know that people respect my opinion though, even on trivial matters.
My favorite parts of the course were the modules on trade and health. I realized that my knowledge on IP has increased markedly by just being here, reading stuff, and that I've had some good experiences (seeing the R&D treaty process at the World Health Assembly, for example) and met some fun, interesting, smart people. Even though I got off to a slow start, it's been nice to use other parts of my brain, share stories (mostly with Thiru and Kim), think about how different roles (scientists, policymakers, health care workers, public health practitioners) interact and work (for or against) each other, think about where I can fit in and contribute, and engage in discussion about issues that rarely, if ever, come up in medical school. More updates (on a weekend trip to Cinque Terre, with the director of the Fellows Program and two other fellows) to come.
me and kim (in geneva's old town)
Random postscript (added to interesting things about Geneva): The rage here is white pants…for both men and women. I see at least twenty people a day wearing all forms of white pants, some with their underwear showing. Also, nobody wraps their hoodies or sweaters around their waist here (everything is tied around the neck)…very preppy. I always feel like people are going to play tennis.
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