So I haven't updated in awhile but I have become (marginally) more productive in the past week. This has entailed not actually showing up to the WHO, where I have a ridiculously slow, old computer without a USB drive and little to no monitoring.
Instead of going to the WHO, I have been attending some parts of the World Health Assembly, which is usually less interesting than one might assume (or at least less interesting than I assumed it might be…it seems that there has to be a better, more efficient way to run things rather than having everyone who wants to speak/offer commentary/read a report) do so before voting or discussing resolutions. To give you all a little background on the WHA, it's basically an annual weeklong meeting held every year at the UN (the WHO is too small to hold all the delegates) where countries send delegates (generally ministers of public health; the US delegation head is the director of health and human services, Leavitt) to review current programming and discuss policy and priorities for the WHO. I think countries sit in alphabetical order according to their names in French, but haven't totally figured it out. The public is allowed in this seating gallery/balcony, which has two rows of maybe 20 seats or so. At each seat, there is an earpiece that covers your ear, and controls for volume and language. There is simultaneous translation available in Chinese, Spanish, French, English, Arabic, and Russian, and you just turn the dial to what language you want to listen to. This is also available at all the plenary sessions, so it's kinda interesting.
The most interesting and educational part of the WHA for me so far has been the technical briefings. These are generally 90 minute meetings with a panel of speakers organized by either a department at WHO or an NGO like Consumer Project on Technology (aka CP-Tech) or Medicins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders, or MSF). A big topic being debated right now is a resolution proposed by Kenya and Brazil to establish a global framework for essential health research and development (aka R&D), which would basically create an intergovernmental working group to address issues of how to fund and devote resources to diagnostics, treatment, and monitoring for 'neglected diseases' (TB, sleeping sickness, onchocerciasis, other infectious diseases). It would also make neglected diseases a priority. Interestingly, it has been shown that less than 1% of the pharmaceutical industry/new innovations registered in the US for the past 10-plus years have been related to neglected diseases, which make up 12% of the world's disease burden.
Some of the topics people have discussed during briefings I've attended include alternative R&D schemes that don't necessarily involve the current system of patents and intellectual property rights (example: the Medical Innovation Prize Fund, currently the subject of a House Resolution in the US), access to second-line antiretrovirals for HIV/AIDS, the breakdown of pricing on medicines in developing countries (from manufacture to retail to end patient price), open access/ data sharing mechanisms used during the Human Genome Project and how that can relate to the advancement of scientific knowledge in general, counterfeit drugs, and more. I've also met some people, but generally feel 'out of the loop' or unwelcome regarding the NGO crowd, even though I really respect and am interested in what they do. Some of the NGO's working on the R&D resolution include MSF, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DnDi - I got a cool offer to work with them this summer but decided I wanted the experience of working in a huge multinational organization instead…I sometimes wonder what my experience would be like there), Third World Network, CP-Tech, and others. Today I had a really awkward moment where I went to say hi to this woman who is an advocate and activist that my really good friend in Thailand had introduced me to over email. She was (unsurprisingly) standing in the area where the NGO community had set up camp in the coffee bar area of the WHA (basically a big area with tables, chairs, a coffee bar in the corner…mostly for people to meet). I said hi to her, thought she probably didn’t remember me, and she went to get coffee. I remained standing and the head of MSF came and started talking about the resolution that was still being worked on in the drafting group (originally there were two resolutions and I think they're merging them into one; there were also questions about all the 'brackets' or debatable language in the resolution). I hung out because I was kinda interested and she has insider info, but then felt awkward as I was standing outside this circle and they were huddling closer. I moved to the side and started looking at a document discussing the new language of the resolution and then looked up to see the head of the MSF Campaign for Access to Medicines giving me a semi-dirty look. I was really embarrassed and wanted to introduce myself but then thought, what if they didn't want anyone from the WHO here, or what if they think I'm some kind of weird spy, or whatever. I ended up leaving and feeling really crappy about the whole NGO scene. It's not like these people haven't seen me at every single briefing they hold or sat next to me in some meeting.
There is one NGO guy that has been very welcoming and nice though, and I really appreciate it. He says hi to me when he runs into me at the WHA and tries to keep me up-to-date re: what's going on or what I might be interested in. I am really grateful for anyone who opens up at all to give me direction as I don't feel like most people care about some random Asian American med student, including the person my friend introduced me to over email. This is disappointing to me because I'm one of the younger people around, and it seems like you would want to spark interest in the following generation.
In any case, I've also been enjoying my time in Geneva and been spending time with Kim, Columbia law and public policy student. We went to the medicine pricing briefing together Wed. night and then stopped by the Geneva Intern Network Pub Night at Mr. Pickwick's but didn't really meet a ton of other interns, but we did hang out with Govind, Iris, two roommates (Alpena and this white girl whose name we can't remember), and Laura, a new addition to the Global Health Fellow crew. During dinner, which we grabbed at Ali's, this döner kebab place, the white girl told hilarious stories about how she only ate organic food but used to drink like six espressos a day. Last night we also met up for dinner and drinks at Café Artes and had good times talking about random people we knew, how people made the decision to be super into materialistic goods as a definition of success, college, living abroad, and other fun topics. Our waitress, who was Chinese, later asked me if I spoke Chinese when I went inside to pay the bill and was impressed that I could speak (really horribly) considering that I learned it in college. I was kinda embarrassed since I felt that my Chinese TOTALLY sucked (esp compared to what it used to be) but she was really nice and said we would practice if I saw her again. That was fun (and random, like when the guy I bought my cell phone from spoke Thai to me) and makes me miss speaking other languages.
Last thought. I do miss college, but when I meet people here in college, I think, thank god I'm not premed anymore. Those people are crazy and I don't think most of them understand what going to med school is all about. Not that I know all the answers, but I'm happy that I took some time to see what it was I was trying to accomplish by going. OK, that's it for now. Chris is coming tomorrow!!! :)
Friday, May 26, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
more interesting things, continued
milk and eggs do not have to be refrigerated here...i think because of some kind of radiation they do on it (this holds true for some milk products in thailand and other parts of asia).
milk (and juice) comes in boxes rather than bottles. the boxes are not plastic..they're like made out of paper. you cut a hole into them for the milk to come out.
throughout the city, rather than drinking fountains, there are these things that come out of the ground that resemble faucets (they're often animal heads wrought out of metal, i think, though). like fountains with the spout being a lion, or tiger, or whatever. these are constantly running, like a faucet and provide walkers and dogs with drinking water (they are labeled as 'eaux potables').
in geneva, all restaurants are required to have a plat du jour, like a blue plate special. these are supposed to be yummy and more affordable entrees. i think it's funny that it's required.
people don't use traditional crutches here, which go into your armpits. they use these other devices that you would see people with polio used to use, like poles with braces that go around your arms and handles that you hold (picture a long stick with a handle in the middle). these are better than crutches and probably easier to get around with.
not only is there a floor zero, but at the UN, there are negative floors (instead of basements). Wouldnt it be weird if you had to tell someone your office was on floor negative 2? i wonder if that affects your self esteem
more to come...
milk (and juice) comes in boxes rather than bottles. the boxes are not plastic..they're like made out of paper. you cut a hole into them for the milk to come out.
throughout the city, rather than drinking fountains, there are these things that come out of the ground that resemble faucets (they're often animal heads wrought out of metal, i think, though). like fountains with the spout being a lion, or tiger, or whatever. these are constantly running, like a faucet and provide walkers and dogs with drinking water (they are labeled as 'eaux potables').
in geneva, all restaurants are required to have a plat du jour, like a blue plate special. these are supposed to be yummy and more affordable entrees. i think it's funny that it's required.
people don't use traditional crutches here, which go into your armpits. they use these other devices that you would see people with polio used to use, like poles with braces that go around your arms and handles that you hold (picture a long stick with a handle in the middle). these are better than crutches and probably easier to get around with.
not only is there a floor zero, but at the UN, there are negative floors (instead of basements). Wouldnt it be weird if you had to tell someone your office was on floor negative 2? i wonder if that affects your self esteem
more to come...
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Interesting things about Geneva (from an American perspective):
Old school elevators. For example, the elevator in the building I’m living in now consists of a small elevator with automatic doors; however, when the elevator gets to your floor and the automatic door opens, you have to push another black industrial like door open to get out. This door also doesn’t open if the elevator is not at your floor.
Instead of ground (or G) floor, the first floor when you enter a building is designated Floor Zero. I think this is a European phenomena.
The public transportation system is run on an honor system. There are people who go around and check your ticket randomly (green people taking trains by storm) but I have yet to be on a bus or tram that has had people check my ticket, and I ride the bus or tram at least three times a day, but usually more. Almost everyone buys tickets anyway and I heard it’s pretty embarrassing to be caught without a ticket. The fine is 80 swiss francs on the spot; if you don’t have that, you have to pay 100 sfr within two weeks or something.
Tax and tip are generally factored into the listed prices of things, like food or drinks at a restaurant or bar..when that’s taken into account, the prices aren’t sooo bad.
Everything is closed on Sunday. EVERYTHING. some restaurants and cafes are open though.
Grocery stores only stay open until approximately 6 or 7 pm. Thursday is ‘late’ shopping day, when selected places stay open until 9 pm.
I think I have seen one homeless person. Actually, I saw one person I thought was homeless and a gypsy mother and son begging for money. I wonder where the homeless people are…maybe I’m in the wrong part of town.
Most apts have balconies in the city. I like such little balconies.
Will add to the list as I think of more.
Instead of ground (or G) floor, the first floor when you enter a building is designated Floor Zero. I think this is a European phenomena.
The public transportation system is run on an honor system. There are people who go around and check your ticket randomly (green people taking trains by storm) but I have yet to be on a bus or tram that has had people check my ticket, and I ride the bus or tram at least three times a day, but usually more. Almost everyone buys tickets anyway and I heard it’s pretty embarrassing to be caught without a ticket. The fine is 80 swiss francs on the spot; if you don’t have that, you have to pay 100 sfr within two weeks or something.
Tax and tip are generally factored into the listed prices of things, like food or drinks at a restaurant or bar..when that’s taken into account, the prices aren’t sooo bad.
Everything is closed on Sunday. EVERYTHING. some restaurants and cafes are open though.
Grocery stores only stay open until approximately 6 or 7 pm. Thursday is ‘late’ shopping day, when selected places stay open until 9 pm.
I think I have seen one homeless person. Actually, I saw one person I thought was homeless and a gypsy mother and son begging for money. I wonder where the homeless people are…maybe I’m in the wrong part of town.
Most apts have balconies in the city. I like such little balconies.
Will add to the list as I think of more.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
good eats
Last night, unplanned, i had three dinners, with three different groups of people. It was good to be thrust into a social atmosphere again after spending lots of time alone, and I found myself easily adjusting to the different expectations according to the context of what we were doing at the time. It’s good to know that a little solitude doesn’t take away social knowledge. :)
My first dinner date was on account of Payal, a friend from college who just recently graduated from Columbia Law (congrats!). She had encouraged her friend Kim, who is also interning here for the summer, to email me and meet up. We decided on a dinner date at Manora restaurant, which is actually an affordable buffet on the top floor of this department store (advertised as the largest in Geneva, but really super small compared to American standards…it’s likely smaller than the first floor of any major department store in the US). When I first encountered it, I thought of Central Department stores in Bangkok (these are seriously the hugest dept stores I’ve ever seen, besides the really super mega block stores in NYC like Macy’s) and knew that Thai people would be disappointed with the selection. In any case, we both had pasta since most of the booths were closed (I still have no understanding of the rhyme or reason on when certain things are open or not open…like why is half the place closed at dinnertime?) and chatted about our frustrations with professional school, our previous experiences working in developing countries, our ideas of ‘vacations’, and why we had reservations about coming to Geneva for the summer. It was really awesome to be able to connect with someone and have a good conversation without feeling like we were going through all the motions of small talk and bs that I feel like I have to do when I go to ‘new intern lunches’ at the WHO. We’re going to have lunch tomorrow and I’m happy about having a new friend (and grateful to Payal for introducing us!)
Second dinner – I kept being concerned that Mel, Pan’s friend who had graciously offered to come pick me (and my huge suitcase) up from France, would get there before I got home, so I kinda ended dinner date number one a little early to catch the bus back to FV, where I was living for the past week. When I got home, Mike had a BBQ started and offered me a beer and some sausages, the latter of which I accepted with Mike’s own ‘special sauce’, consisting of European hamburger sauce (which is a mixture of mayo and ketchup, I think, but it looks like Thousand Island dressing), chopped onions, gherkins, hot sauce, and some other things. Two of my housemates’ friends, a couple from their master’s program, dropped by for the BBQ and left after consuming the rest of the meat the guys grilled. Mel came a little later, while Mike and I were watching another episode of the Colbert Report. I’ll definitely miss watching the Colbert Report and having tea and conversation with Mike, but I’m pretty sure we’ll keep in touch – we have the same birthday, in any case.
Third dinner – Mel was super nice and when she rang the doorbell, I opened it and was immediately shocked to see that my luggage had disappeared (I had left it outside as a signal to Mel in case she forgot the address). Luckily, Mel had been super nice and loaded her car up already, so I just had to grab a bag and get in. On the way to Pan’s place, we chatted and I rightly guessed that she was Canadian (after my first guess, American, failed). She informed me that the dinner at a friend’s place that Pan had previously invited me to had been pushed back, so I was welcome to come. I accepted the invitation (of course) and walked with Pan a few blocks to her friend’s Paola’s place. (Pan, Paola, and Mel are all fellows for the World Economic Forum). Paola’s place was really nice, candles were lit, and I felt like I was a special guest at a formal dinner. Paola had prepared a super delicious dinner (salmon tartar on bread as an appetizer, followed by salad and sea bass and rice, followed by cheese and crackers, and figs cooked in spiced wine). Throughout the evening, the three women made fun of each other, gossiped about work, people they knew, talked about the future (and the past), and kinda fell exhausted on the couch and floor when it was over (at 1 am). it was good to see that they were so close…in a way, I think it’s nice to see where people are and how people live that are five or ten years older than me.
This morning, Pan frantically packed to get ready for her holiday and I lounged around apathetically for most of the afternoon. I ran out to get a doner kebab for lunch after eating this ridiculously good chocolate tart for breakfast (Pan had forgot to take them to dinner the night before and left them for my consumption) but was lazy and didn’t go grocery shopping like I had originally planned. Instead, I returned to the apartment, lamented the fact that it was raining (again) for the whole day, read some of Snow, took a nap, awoke to a telephone call that I didn’t end up being awake enough to answer, and weh’d for awhile to chris. I finally got my act together and decided to go eat dinner at a café I had found when I was looking for les 5 portes, café des artes. I had some yummy veggie tortellini and café renverse, which is coffee but with a disproportionate amount of milk, I think. I also was somewhat productive and read the access newsletter msf had put out for the world health assembly coming up next week and part of the CIPIH (Committee on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation, and Public Health) Report. I’m trying to think of where physicians (or myself) fits in the debate around research and development, IPR, etc., and will dedicate myself more to studying and research tomorrow.
Thank god I have reliable internet access now. Such things make me happy.
My first dinner date was on account of Payal, a friend from college who just recently graduated from Columbia Law (congrats!). She had encouraged her friend Kim, who is also interning here for the summer, to email me and meet up. We decided on a dinner date at Manora restaurant, which is actually an affordable buffet on the top floor of this department store (advertised as the largest in Geneva, but really super small compared to American standards…it’s likely smaller than the first floor of any major department store in the US). When I first encountered it, I thought of Central Department stores in Bangkok (these are seriously the hugest dept stores I’ve ever seen, besides the really super mega block stores in NYC like Macy’s) and knew that Thai people would be disappointed with the selection. In any case, we both had pasta since most of the booths were closed (I still have no understanding of the rhyme or reason on when certain things are open or not open…like why is half the place closed at dinnertime?) and chatted about our frustrations with professional school, our previous experiences working in developing countries, our ideas of ‘vacations’, and why we had reservations about coming to Geneva for the summer. It was really awesome to be able to connect with someone and have a good conversation without feeling like we were going through all the motions of small talk and bs that I feel like I have to do when I go to ‘new intern lunches’ at the WHO. We’re going to have lunch tomorrow and I’m happy about having a new friend (and grateful to Payal for introducing us!)
Second dinner – I kept being concerned that Mel, Pan’s friend who had graciously offered to come pick me (and my huge suitcase) up from France, would get there before I got home, so I kinda ended dinner date number one a little early to catch the bus back to FV, where I was living for the past week. When I got home, Mike had a BBQ started and offered me a beer and some sausages, the latter of which I accepted with Mike’s own ‘special sauce’, consisting of European hamburger sauce (which is a mixture of mayo and ketchup, I think, but it looks like Thousand Island dressing), chopped onions, gherkins, hot sauce, and some other things. Two of my housemates’ friends, a couple from their master’s program, dropped by for the BBQ and left after consuming the rest of the meat the guys grilled. Mel came a little later, while Mike and I were watching another episode of the Colbert Report. I’ll definitely miss watching the Colbert Report and having tea and conversation with Mike, but I’m pretty sure we’ll keep in touch – we have the same birthday, in any case.
Third dinner – Mel was super nice and when she rang the doorbell, I opened it and was immediately shocked to see that my luggage had disappeared (I had left it outside as a signal to Mel in case she forgot the address). Luckily, Mel had been super nice and loaded her car up already, so I just had to grab a bag and get in. On the way to Pan’s place, we chatted and I rightly guessed that she was Canadian (after my first guess, American, failed). She informed me that the dinner at a friend’s place that Pan had previously invited me to had been pushed back, so I was welcome to come. I accepted the invitation (of course) and walked with Pan a few blocks to her friend’s Paola’s place. (Pan, Paola, and Mel are all fellows for the World Economic Forum). Paola’s place was really nice, candles were lit, and I felt like I was a special guest at a formal dinner. Paola had prepared a super delicious dinner (salmon tartar on bread as an appetizer, followed by salad and sea bass and rice, followed by cheese and crackers, and figs cooked in spiced wine). Throughout the evening, the three women made fun of each other, gossiped about work, people they knew, talked about the future (and the past), and kinda fell exhausted on the couch and floor when it was over (at 1 am). it was good to see that they were so close…in a way, I think it’s nice to see where people are and how people live that are five or ten years older than me.
This morning, Pan frantically packed to get ready for her holiday and I lounged around apathetically for most of the afternoon. I ran out to get a doner kebab for lunch after eating this ridiculously good chocolate tart for breakfast (Pan had forgot to take them to dinner the night before and left them for my consumption) but was lazy and didn’t go grocery shopping like I had originally planned. Instead, I returned to the apartment, lamented the fact that it was raining (again) for the whole day, read some of Snow, took a nap, awoke to a telephone call that I didn’t end up being awake enough to answer, and weh’d for awhile to chris. I finally got my act together and decided to go eat dinner at a café I had found when I was looking for les 5 portes, café des artes. I had some yummy veggie tortellini and café renverse, which is coffee but with a disproportionate amount of milk, I think. I also was somewhat productive and read the access newsletter msf had put out for the world health assembly coming up next week and part of the CIPIH (Committee on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation, and Public Health) Report. I’m trying to think of where physicians (or myself) fits in the debate around research and development, IPR, etc., and will dedicate myself more to studying and research tomorrow.
Thank god I have reliable internet access now. Such things make me happy.
Friday, May 19, 2006
after raining nonstop for at least six hours yesterday, i ran to the bus outside and went to meet up with some people from the Humanitarian and Trade Fellows Program which I think is loosely associated with the program I'm in this summer, the Global Health Fellows Program. we're run by the same administrator, anyway, who organized this happy hour/meet up of sorts.
as i've been increasingly not-with-it the longer i sit at this desk in this really drab office, i forgot the folder i had with the documents i wanted to review. unfortunately, the directions to the bar that i had hastily scribbled before running out the door were also in them. since i hadn't programmed anyone's cell phone number into my phone from the program (smart, i know), i had to use my powers of memory to try to reconstruct an address and a means to arrive at the address. all i really remembered were the two closest tram/bus stops (möle and navigation), so i got off at möle after going in the wrong direction one stop, walked around a bit, thankfully ran into rue de navigation, and then walked down it until i found the bus stop, which was at the end of it. i then wandered around because i thought i remembered a number 5 somewhere in the address, but 5 ended up not being a bar or restaurant. the area was really cool though and i had fun seeing all the cafés and restaurants around. i poked my head in a few of them to see if i could identify a group of people at happy hour, but was unsuccessful. after awhile, i seemed to remember rue de zurich as a possibility, and walked up it to find les 5 portes, which was the bar/restaurant where we were meeting up at. good work. good adventure.
the other people i met were nice but almost all of them were in the same master's program at Duke and were all living in the same dorm. i kinda felt like i was crashing a party and didn't know any of the people they were talking about or who was friends with whom. i made small talk with some people, had a glass of sangria, and decided to order dinner because i was hungry. i ended up liking this girl named maria cristina from venezuela and talked to the program administrators silja (who seems around our age) and matthew (from australia). i also got to hang out with two other duke students, beth (originally from kalamazoo...she could talk all the med school lingo as everyone in her fam is a doc) and eric. around 8ish i headed back to gare cornavin, the main bus station, but had missed the bus (only one runs to ferney, where im living now, per hour after 8 pm). although i really like public transportation, i hate being bound to it and having to organize my life around it. lesson: always carry stuff you actually want to read with you. it should be better after i move to the city tonight though because the trams run all the time, and i can actually walk home from a lot of places if it's not terrible weather outside.
im reading snow, by a turkish author whose name starts with an O. has anyone read it? it's supposed to be a great book but i can't really seem to get in to the writing style. when i was staying at evil girl's house (who hasn't emailed me back yet), i read the dogs of babel, which was interesting and fast. suicide seems to be a common theme these days though in the books i'm reading.
okay, should get back to work. please post comments on the previous post!!
as i've been increasingly not-with-it the longer i sit at this desk in this really drab office, i forgot the folder i had with the documents i wanted to review. unfortunately, the directions to the bar that i had hastily scribbled before running out the door were also in them. since i hadn't programmed anyone's cell phone number into my phone from the program (smart, i know), i had to use my powers of memory to try to reconstruct an address and a means to arrive at the address. all i really remembered were the two closest tram/bus stops (möle and navigation), so i got off at möle after going in the wrong direction one stop, walked around a bit, thankfully ran into rue de navigation, and then walked down it until i found the bus stop, which was at the end of it. i then wandered around because i thought i remembered a number 5 somewhere in the address, but 5 ended up not being a bar or restaurant. the area was really cool though and i had fun seeing all the cafés and restaurants around. i poked my head in a few of them to see if i could identify a group of people at happy hour, but was unsuccessful. after awhile, i seemed to remember rue de zurich as a possibility, and walked up it to find les 5 portes, which was the bar/restaurant where we were meeting up at. good work. good adventure.
the other people i met were nice but almost all of them were in the same master's program at Duke and were all living in the same dorm. i kinda felt like i was crashing a party and didn't know any of the people they were talking about or who was friends with whom. i made small talk with some people, had a glass of sangria, and decided to order dinner because i was hungry. i ended up liking this girl named maria cristina from venezuela and talked to the program administrators silja (who seems around our age) and matthew (from australia). i also got to hang out with two other duke students, beth (originally from kalamazoo...she could talk all the med school lingo as everyone in her fam is a doc) and eric. around 8ish i headed back to gare cornavin, the main bus station, but had missed the bus (only one runs to ferney, where im living now, per hour after 8 pm). although i really like public transportation, i hate being bound to it and having to organize my life around it. lesson: always carry stuff you actually want to read with you. it should be better after i move to the city tonight though because the trams run all the time, and i can actually walk home from a lot of places if it's not terrible weather outside.
im reading snow, by a turkish author whose name starts with an O. has anyone read it? it's supposed to be a great book but i can't really seem to get in to the writing style. when i was staying at evil girl's house (who hasn't emailed me back yet), i read the dogs of babel, which was interesting and fast. suicide seems to be a common theme these days though in the books i'm reading.
okay, should get back to work. please post comments on the previous post!!
readers, please comment - conversation with conservative reporter
so, i've been corresponding with this reporter from my local island newspaper (conservative haven for mostly rich, white people) and he asked me to send him some pics from my time in Thailand to print with a story he's writing about me regarding the fellowship I won to return to Thailand later this year. All good and fine, until I mentioned I had some pictures of me at protests against US policy/big pharma but didn't send them to him because I didn't think the people reading the Ile Camera would appreciate them. He responds with: (note the red-blue color scheme here)
I can't stand when people protest the U.S. when there are Americans like yourself giving up so much to help others. We are not a perfect nation, but we do care....you are a fine example of everything that is good about our country.
Fine, but I felt like I had to respond, so I did, with this long email:
Well, actually they are mostly pictures of me with (many) others protesting the US government and/or pharma...and im very happy that ppl are protesting since i disagree with a vast majority of what our administration is doing both at home as well as abroad. As the president's polls continue to fall, I think it becomes clear that he's not acting in the interest of people. Although I am very proud to be American and love my country, I feel that what I love most about it is that I am able to express my opinion and dissent against US domestic and foreign policy. I think most great change is about people speaking up and speaking out against what is happening ( e.g. civil rights, AIDS activism, environmental activism, etc.) and it's a shame that this administration tries to portray those who are protesting (including myself) about any issue - including immigration, now - as 'unpatriotic' and not caring about the country.
Although i don't really want to get started in a discussion about politics, i can say from a scientific and public health perspective that this administration has been terribly backwards (for example, the Global Gag Rule, prohibiting funding from going to organizations who even talk about family planning in the developing world, discounting the importance of condoms in controlling the AIDS epidemic, trying to shut down trials with gay, HIV-positive patients, abstinence-only education, bilateral free trade agreements that extend US patents to make essential medicines even less available for dying people in the developing world, etc.), and many great people have resigned from the FDA, CDC, and other organizations to protest US policy.
Why I do this...I can try to locate an essay I wrote about some stories and people/experiences I've had...why I do this is an interesting question and one I recently discussed with a fellow activist who was in Geneva lobbying at the WHO. For many of us, the answer is there isn't much of a choice - once you know the facts, including the fact that antiretroviral therapy for HIV is now available for less than one US dollar a day, and yet people don't have access to this and are dying, by the millions, because they can't afford it, I feel that you must be moved to do something. I mean, you can ignore it, and that's what many people do, but I feel that some people just see that (like Time's 2006 People of the Year, Bono, and Bill and Melinda Gates) and are moved to take action. Furthermore, I feel like, we as the US (and other developed countries) are essentially telling people in Africa and Asia and wherever that their lives are not worth one dollar a day to us, and frankly, according to us, they're not. That makes me terribly angry.
Another reason I do this is because, while I was a HIV testing counselor at Chulalongkorn Hospital, I gave positive results to many women my age who maybe had slept with one boyfriend or a few men, and because the prevalence for HIV is higher in Thailand, they were finding out that they were HIV positive. My age. Going to college in the US, many of my friends (and we're some of the most highly educated people here) had slept with many more people, done many more 'stupid' things in the moment, and I'm pretty sure none of them have been infected with HIV. Chlamydia and gonorrhea are increasing among college campuses today, but HIV is still not a big scare for young people in the US.
Furthermore, lots of people I knew in Thailand were infected by their husbands. This comes down to just being unlucky, or born into a country where there are many people infected with HIV, or just circumstance. If, for example, a few select people at University of Michigan undergrad were infected with HIV, there could be a raging epidemic there within months. Because the prevalence is so low, this is unlikely to happen, but I feel that it's just unfair that the highest risk factor for a woman getting HIV in Africa now is getting MARRIED. It's not as if 'those' people in Asia and Africa are much more promiscuous - indeed, I feel like they aren't. It's just that a certain number of people have HIV, and it's the luck of the draw who you end up sleeping with.
Re: grief, pain, and suffering. Humans are incredibly resilient people. I think I try to look at the positive side of things and just try to act in solidarity with the people I work for and with...it means an amazing amount to people to show that you simply care about them and their well-being, and they're not expecting you to change their lives, they just appreciate that you're there. i was originally concerned about people not taking me seriously (or just being unwelcoming) as i come from an extremely privileged background and dont know what it's like to be poor, or hungry, or addicted to drugs, or HIV positive. But everyone has generally been great, and excited that a young person is interested in helping them and their cause.
I think another factor in things is that my parents both grew up very poor in villages in Thailand. My father went to a village school but was able to come to the US and open a successful practice in Monroe. My mother was orphaned at age eight and has been through a tremendous amount and now lives on Grosse Ile, works as a nurse and office administrator with my dad. Their story is really amazing. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of racism in the Downriver area and I think that made me angry growing up, so I just worked really hard to leave and prove something to others. That's not a driving force in my life right now, but I think being second generation Asian American is and trying to help people that are less fortunate definitely comes from my parents, in many ways.
So I get up this morning and here is his response:
OK,
First things first. We better not get into a political conversation. I am a very conservative thinking person that expects people to take responsibility for their own lives. I don't believe in big govt. I believe in the govt. protecting us. And you can complain all day long about Bush and Iraq but the world changed on Sept. 9. We have to go on the offense and start killing these lunatics or it will happen again.
As far as our involvement in the fight against aids and poverty, well, where would the world be without the U.S. Please don't send me any pictures of people protesting the U.S. because me and many americans over the age of 25 are sick of it. Maybe we should take back all our money and our aid and all our efforts and tell the world to go to hell. Is that what people want. We remove a brutal dictator who murders thousands of his own people and we are protested. Sadam can kill thousands and torture millions and it's OK. But if we don't sign some BS global warming treaty, we are evil.
The U.S. bashing has become an insult. I am sick of it. I can see you over there helping people and ripping on your country at the same time. I hope they say thank you to you because they spit on me...and the money I give each year in taxes.
I respect your opinions and understand you have a different perspective. You see a young boy dieing of AIDS and you blame the U.S. You think it's our duty to cure the world and solve the world's problems. I'm telling you it's not. God forbid you blame the curropt governments that steal most of the money we donate in the first place.
OK, I am done. I just wanted to get my two cents in. I do not want this to be a political story in any way. I want this to be on a very special young lady who has done more in this world already than most do in a lifetime.
ps - I am a diehard Springsteen fan. I have seen in 42 times in concert and have over 500 bootlegs. But why people listen to his political views are beyond me. He is a junior college dropout, a billionare 10 times over and basically believes in socialism except when it comes to his money. And he blames Republicans for everything. Katrina was all Bush's fault. The incompetence of the mayor and governor (both democrats) never questioned. OK, now I am done.
pss- Now don't you respond to any of my comments. Because I don't want to get into a pissing match how much the U.S. sucks and everything is our fault. Just call me ignorant and move on. Trust me, I have been called worse.
psss - Now send me that essay. I can't wait to read it.
I respect (but obviously don't agree with) his opinions, but what I'm really offended over is what he says in his postscripts, especially the second one. The Springsteen thing refers to a link I sent him on an article in The Nation regarding protest music. The second thing that pisses me off is that he's a reporter and he misspells a ton of things in his email that are clearly not typos (for people who know me well, I am obsessed with spelling and was a former spelling bee champ :) )
I feel like it's totally unprofessional (we talk about professionalism all the time in a somewhat superficial way during medical school, but seriously) and I don't necessarily want to engage him in a political conversation but I do want to be like, you just don't talk to people like that, especially in a professional capacity. Like can you imagine if I, as a physician, told my patient to NOT RESPOND to any of my comments?
Also, I never said that everything was the US's fault, but we do a lot of things to make medicines more difficult to access in the developing world and by dying people even in our own country. Who doesn't agree that the health care system in the US is totally messed up?
So, what I'm asking you all who read my blog to do is to put in your two cents about how I should respond to this guy. I don't want to talk politics with him, but I do want to say something and I don't feel like he would be addressing me in this way if I wasn't 25 years old, which is ageist, but true. Also, keep in mind that he's writing an article about me in the Ile Camera, which my parents will buy and like 5 people they know on the island may read, so it's not like it matters.
Let the posting begin. If you actually read this, please post even if you only have two seconds - I have no idea who actually reads my blog and would love to get some feedback before I write my response.
I can't stand when people protest the U.S. when there are Americans like yourself giving up so much to help others. We are not a perfect nation, but we do care....you are a fine example of everything that is good about our country.
Fine, but I felt like I had to respond, so I did, with this long email:
Well, actually they are mostly pictures of me with (many) others protesting the US government and/or pharma...and im very happy that ppl are protesting since i disagree with a vast majority of what our administration is doing both at home as well as abroad. As the president's polls continue to fall, I think it becomes clear that he's not acting in the interest of people. Although I am very proud to be American and love my country, I feel that what I love most about it is that I am able to express my opinion and dissent against US domestic and foreign policy. I think most great change is about people speaking up and speaking out against what is happening ( e.g. civil rights, AIDS activism, environmental activism, etc.) and it's a shame that this administration tries to portray those who are protesting (including myself) about any issue - including immigration, now - as 'unpatriotic' and not caring about the country.
Although i don't really want to get started in a discussion about politics, i can say from a scientific and public health perspective that this administration has been terribly backwards (for example, the Global Gag Rule, prohibiting funding from going to organizations who even talk about family planning in the developing world, discounting the importance of condoms in controlling the AIDS epidemic, trying to shut down trials with gay, HIV-positive patients, abstinence-only education, bilateral free trade agreements that extend US patents to make essential medicines even less available for dying people in the developing world, etc.), and many great people have resigned from the FDA, CDC, and other organizations to protest US policy.
Why I do this...I can try to locate an essay I wrote about some stories and people/experiences I've had...why I do this is an interesting question and one I recently discussed with a fellow activist who was in Geneva lobbying at the WHO. For many of us, the answer is there isn't much of a choice - once you know the facts, including the fact that antiretroviral therapy for HIV is now available for less than one US dollar a day, and yet people don't have access to this and are dying, by the millions, because they can't afford it, I feel that you must be moved to do something. I mean, you can ignore it, and that's what many people do, but I feel that some people just see that (like Time's 2006 People of the Year, Bono, and Bill and Melinda Gates) and are moved to take action. Furthermore, I feel like, we as the US (and other developed countries) are essentially telling people in Africa and Asia and wherever that their lives are not worth one dollar a day to us, and frankly, according to us, they're not. That makes me terribly angry.
Another reason I do this is because, while I was a HIV testing counselor at Chulalongkorn Hospital, I gave positive results to many women my age who maybe had slept with one boyfriend or a few men, and because the prevalence for HIV is higher in Thailand, they were finding out that they were HIV positive. My age. Going to college in the US, many of my friends (and we're some of the most highly educated people here) had slept with many more people, done many more 'stupid' things in the moment, and I'm pretty sure none of them have been infected with HIV. Chlamydia and gonorrhea are increasing among college campuses today, but HIV is still not a big scare for young people in the US.
Furthermore, lots of people I knew in Thailand were infected by their husbands. This comes down to just being unlucky, or born into a country where there are many people infected with HIV, or just circumstance. If, for example, a few select people at University of Michigan undergrad were infected with HIV, there could be a raging epidemic there within months. Because the prevalence is so low, this is unlikely to happen, but I feel that it's just unfair that the highest risk factor for a woman getting HIV in Africa now is getting MARRIED. It's not as if 'those' people in Asia and Africa are much more promiscuous - indeed, I feel like they aren't. It's just that a certain number of people have HIV, and it's the luck of the draw who you end up sleeping with.
Re: grief, pain, and suffering. Humans are incredibly resilient people. I think I try to look at the positive side of things and just try to act in solidarity with the people I work for and with...it means an amazing amount to people to show that you simply care about them and their well-being, and they're not expecting you to change their lives, they just appreciate that you're there. i was originally concerned about people not taking me seriously (or just being unwelcoming) as i come from an extremely privileged background and dont know what it's like to be poor, or hungry, or addicted to drugs, or HIV positive. But everyone has generally been great, and excited that a young person is interested in helping them and their cause.
I think another factor in things is that my parents both grew up very poor in villages in Thailand. My father went to a village school but was able to come to the US and open a successful practice in Monroe. My mother was orphaned at age eight and has been through a tremendous amount and now lives on Grosse Ile, works as a nurse and office administrator with my dad. Their story is really amazing. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of racism in the Downriver area and I think that made me angry growing up, so I just worked really hard to leave and prove something to others. That's not a driving force in my life right now, but I think being second generation Asian American is and trying to help people that are less fortunate definitely comes from my parents, in many ways.
So I get up this morning and here is his response:
OK,
First things first. We better not get into a political conversation. I am a very conservative thinking person that expects people to take responsibility for their own lives. I don't believe in big govt. I believe in the govt. protecting us. And you can complain all day long about Bush and Iraq but the world changed on Sept. 9. We have to go on the offense and start killing these lunatics or it will happen again.
As far as our involvement in the fight against aids and poverty, well, where would the world be without the U.S. Please don't send me any pictures of people protesting the U.S. because me and many americans over the age of 25 are sick of it. Maybe we should take back all our money and our aid and all our efforts and tell the world to go to hell. Is that what people want. We remove a brutal dictator who murders thousands of his own people and we are protested. Sadam can kill thousands and torture millions and it's OK. But if we don't sign some BS global warming treaty, we are evil.
The U.S. bashing has become an insult. I am sick of it. I can see you over there helping people and ripping on your country at the same time. I hope they say thank you to you because they spit on me...and the money I give each year in taxes.
I respect your opinions and understand you have a different perspective. You see a young boy dieing of AIDS and you blame the U.S. You think it's our duty to cure the world and solve the world's problems. I'm telling you it's not. God forbid you blame the curropt governments that steal most of the money we donate in the first place.
OK, I am done. I just wanted to get my two cents in. I do not want this to be a political story in any way. I want this to be on a very special young lady who has done more in this world already than most do in a lifetime.
ps - I am a diehard Springsteen fan. I have seen in 42 times in concert and have over 500 bootlegs. But why people listen to his political views are beyond me. He is a junior college dropout, a billionare 10 times over and basically believes in socialism except when it comes to his money. And he blames Republicans for everything. Katrina was all Bush's fault. The incompetence of the mayor and governor (both democrats) never questioned. OK, now I am done.
pss- Now don't you respond to any of my comments. Because I don't want to get into a pissing match how much the U.S. sucks and everything is our fault. Just call me ignorant and move on. Trust me, I have been called worse.
psss - Now send me that essay. I can't wait to read it.
I respect (but obviously don't agree with) his opinions, but what I'm really offended over is what he says in his postscripts, especially the second one. The Springsteen thing refers to a link I sent him on an article in The Nation regarding protest music. The second thing that pisses me off is that he's a reporter and he misspells a ton of things in his email that are clearly not typos (for people who know me well, I am obsessed with spelling and was a former spelling bee champ :) )
I feel like it's totally unprofessional (we talk about professionalism all the time in a somewhat superficial way during medical school, but seriously) and I don't necessarily want to engage him in a political conversation but I do want to be like, you just don't talk to people like that, especially in a professional capacity. Like can you imagine if I, as a physician, told my patient to NOT RESPOND to any of my comments?
Also, I never said that everything was the US's fault, but we do a lot of things to make medicines more difficult to access in the developing world and by dying people even in our own country. Who doesn't agree that the health care system in the US is totally messed up?
So, what I'm asking you all who read my blog to do is to put in your two cents about how I should respond to this guy. I don't want to talk politics with him, but I do want to say something and I don't feel like he would be addressing me in this way if I wasn't 25 years old, which is ageist, but true. Also, keep in mind that he's writing an article about me in the Ile Camera, which my parents will buy and like 5 people they know on the island may read, so it's not like it matters.
Let the posting begin. If you actually read this, please post even if you only have two seconds - I have no idea who actually reads my blog and would love to get some feedback before I write my response.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
getting around
So after meeting some people through GOL (or genevaonline), I was able to find some leads on housing. After braving a torrential rain storm (which thankfully stopped), I stopped by Z-Cube on the river for a drink and some dinner with some ppl from GOL, met Lucy from the UK and some others (including a woman from Miami who was super nice, Romy), but spent most of the time by myself. I think one guy felt a little sorry for me and came to talk to me (super nice), but I really did feel a little stupid at going out by myself. Although I'm generally a sociable person, I find that I feel a little awkward at just putting myself out there because these people already have friends and I'm here for such a short time… I don't like being a burden on people and also, it's like many other cities where I'm generally one of the younger people out, and also I'm an anomaly in the fact that I'm engaged (and almost married). I feel like people don't know how to place me exactly, or perhaps I don't know exactly how to place myself.
In any case, I left Z cube 38 sfr poorer (hello, a mojito costs 28 fr - I had no idea and wouldn’t have ordered it if I had) and found a tram to meet Pan, a Chinese-American woman who also found me on GOL and offered a place for me to stay. We ended up having a friend in common (another Thai American from Northwestern, Pam…my parents just attended her wedding a few months ago!) and I stayed for tea and a long conversation about medicine, business, living in Europe, long distance relationships, and the like. Her flat was also very nice and accessible, so I've decided to move in on Friday. I'm excited to be in the city and also to have a friend with similar interests. Unfortunately, Pan is leaving the country for a week or so and I'll just be in the place by myself, but it will be good for me to explore a little on my own. The two guys I'm staying with, Mike and Ivor, are also super great, and I might join them for drinks at the lake and some football watching after work.
Europe is growing on me. I manage to always barely miss the bus to work (they actually follow timetables and will leave exactly on time) from where I'm living now, but when I do, I just walk around the city (er, more like a village) where there are cobblestone streets, cafes, banks, travel agencies, and renting agencies. I guess if you want to find a flat here you must go through an agency, but I'm happy I'm not in that position. This morning there was a little market with a fruit stand, fish stand, and butcher stand (like out of a large truck/trailer). I bought some fruit and stopped by the local bakery for a yummy chocolate croissant and then headed off to 'work', where I am now. I actually accomplished stuff yesterday where I read a few documents and worked on the patent project, but am still awaiting inspiration today. I kinda like staying at the office late and then going out for happy hour, but need to get a move on since we're supposed to have outlines of our papers/projects for our supervisor by next week. Right now I just want to write something that's meaningful and useful to people on the ground in-country and not just some document that's going to be put on the shelf somewhere. I'm trying to figure out what the best approach is (especially from a medicine perspective, as we're primarily working with the law and some pharma stuff) and hopefully will come up with something soon. Any suggestions welcome, for sure. :)
In any case, I left Z cube 38 sfr poorer (hello, a mojito costs 28 fr - I had no idea and wouldn’t have ordered it if I had) and found a tram to meet Pan, a Chinese-American woman who also found me on GOL and offered a place for me to stay. We ended up having a friend in common (another Thai American from Northwestern, Pam…my parents just attended her wedding a few months ago!) and I stayed for tea and a long conversation about medicine, business, living in Europe, long distance relationships, and the like. Her flat was also very nice and accessible, so I've decided to move in on Friday. I'm excited to be in the city and also to have a friend with similar interests. Unfortunately, Pan is leaving the country for a week or so and I'll just be in the place by myself, but it will be good for me to explore a little on my own. The two guys I'm staying with, Mike and Ivor, are also super great, and I might join them for drinks at the lake and some football watching after work.
Europe is growing on me. I manage to always barely miss the bus to work (they actually follow timetables and will leave exactly on time) from where I'm living now, but when I do, I just walk around the city (er, more like a village) where there are cobblestone streets, cafes, banks, travel agencies, and renting agencies. I guess if you want to find a flat here you must go through an agency, but I'm happy I'm not in that position. This morning there was a little market with a fruit stand, fish stand, and butcher stand (like out of a large truck/trailer). I bought some fruit and stopped by the local bakery for a yummy chocolate croissant and then headed off to 'work', where I am now. I actually accomplished stuff yesterday where I read a few documents and worked on the patent project, but am still awaiting inspiration today. I kinda like staying at the office late and then going out for happy hour, but need to get a move on since we're supposed to have outlines of our papers/projects for our supervisor by next week. Right now I just want to write something that's meaningful and useful to people on the ground in-country and not just some document that's going to be put on the shelf somewhere. I'm trying to figure out what the best approach is (especially from a medicine perspective, as we're primarily working with the law and some pharma stuff) and hopefully will come up with something soon. Any suggestions welcome, for sure. :)
Monday, May 15, 2006
Reflections on my first weekend in Geneva
Being too lazy to plan any travel, I hung out in Geneva for the weekend but had a good time. On Saturday morning, I left my digs early to meet up with a fellow intern, and we took the bus to France and found that they really do have way cheaper groceries…the store was pretty small but it was jam packed with people from Switzerland driving over. I didn't buy anything because I'm supposedly moving today (if I can sort out this girl's meubles business - I accidentally left the curtain out of the bathtub last week and got her bathroom cabinets wet and she wants me to replace them although I don't feel that they're totally ruined..we're supposed to have a chat today as I'm about to move out and she needs to tell me where I'm moving to). After the grocery store where the other intern bought an inordinate amount of groceries, we found that there was a large Saturday market going on and browsed around. The market was kinda like an Asian market with random stalls of clothing, shoes, food, etc, but nothing too crazy. After the market, we went by Caroline's dorm to drop off her food and then took the bus to Carouge where there was yet another outdoor market. Carouge was really cute and is a neighboring suburb that is modelled after Nice, France. Being marketed out, I met up with Paul and Maggie (a PHR'er) for dinner at a somewhat crappy overpriced Chinese restaurant and then Paul, Caroline, and I attended a 'hip hop show' at the Alhambra Theater.
The show ended up being mostly a dance recital for kids between thirteen and twenty with two or three groups headlining. One group made up of two guys was amazing and blended hip-hop, modern, and breakdancing (im sure there were more styles as well) to tunes like the background music for the March of the Penguins. There was also a group called Showtime, which did some show tuney stuff, and some original lockers. The experience overall was very cool and somewhat surreal, as many in the audience were parents and older peeps…plus the younger people didn’t cheer as much and it was pretty quiet. After the show, Paul and I went upstairs to the bar to have some drinks, people watch, and talk. I'm really happy I stayed out (and crashed in his hotel room at the John Knox center, where he had an extra bed) because we ended up having a great conversation about life in a monogamous relationship, the future, sticking it to the man, medicine, politics, and what I was doing (or wanted to do) in Geneva (and me trying to figure out why I really am here…I'm still working on it, even though I know I should have a gut feeling. My gut feeling didn't bring me to Geneva, although I felt that it was a place I should go to at the time I applied). Anyway, talking with Paul helped me think about direction and focus, and I'm hoping to have a more clearly defined vision after this week. He also gave me some good warm fuzzies and I'm happy to be friends (and on the same team as him advocacy/rabblerousing-wise) :)
We also ended up walking along the lake to the dam and staying out until 3 am attempting to find an ATM. Paul had to wake up early to catch a flight back to the US, and he pointed me in the direction of the Pregny Village bus stop. Unfortunately, the bus didn't stop for me and I refused to wait another hour for it, so I just got on a bus to Gare Cornavin (one of the central bus stations here) and decided to go to Mt Saleve, one of the highest points where you can see all of Geneva (and I guess it's in neighboring France, although I didn't realize that until I attempted to buy postcards and the price was in euros). On the way there, I met some English-speaking guys at Gare (Fernando and Nicolas) and chatted with them up to the mountain, they told me about genevaonline.ch (an English speaking online community in Geneva) that organizes trips and allows people to meet - awesome! I wasn't dressed at all for hiking so didn't climb the mountain but took the tram up, wandered around a bit, and then came back down. Paul had suggested taking a boat ride down the Rhone River, which I did and enjoyed the view. I did nap off a few times though because I hadn't gotten too much sleep the night before with Paul and because I felt a little sad that I was by myself and the cruise was filled with couples and families. After the 2.5 hr cruise, I walked down to the Paquis and had dinner at the Bains de Paquis, enjoyed the sun a bit, and then returned home after talking with Chris online. All in all, it was a good weekend and I had a lot of time by myself to think about things. I miss Chris and my friends and family at home a lot but also think it's good for me to get some time away to think about things and also a fresh perspective.
So, that's it for now. My supervisor is away this week at a meeting so I'll have a lot of time to figure out next steps and how I should make the most of my time here. Even though I am a bit lonely at times here, I know that taking a year off of med school was really necessary for me and I'm happy that I'm not subi'g my May away, although I really was jealous of my friends who are earlier this week.
I'll figure out how to post pics later and maybe will even open a flickr acct since I'm sure I'll be taking lots of pics through my travels. Hopefully my parents and Chris will decide to come as well and I'll be able to see more of Europe.
The show ended up being mostly a dance recital for kids between thirteen and twenty with two or three groups headlining. One group made up of two guys was amazing and blended hip-hop, modern, and breakdancing (im sure there were more styles as well) to tunes like the background music for the March of the Penguins. There was also a group called Showtime, which did some show tuney stuff, and some original lockers. The experience overall was very cool and somewhat surreal, as many in the audience were parents and older peeps…plus the younger people didn’t cheer as much and it was pretty quiet. After the show, Paul and I went upstairs to the bar to have some drinks, people watch, and talk. I'm really happy I stayed out (and crashed in his hotel room at the John Knox center, where he had an extra bed) because we ended up having a great conversation about life in a monogamous relationship, the future, sticking it to the man, medicine, politics, and what I was doing (or wanted to do) in Geneva (and me trying to figure out why I really am here…I'm still working on it, even though I know I should have a gut feeling. My gut feeling didn't bring me to Geneva, although I felt that it was a place I should go to at the time I applied). Anyway, talking with Paul helped me think about direction and focus, and I'm hoping to have a more clearly defined vision after this week. He also gave me some good warm fuzzies and I'm happy to be friends (and on the same team as him advocacy/rabblerousing-wise) :)
We also ended up walking along the lake to the dam and staying out until 3 am attempting to find an ATM. Paul had to wake up early to catch a flight back to the US, and he pointed me in the direction of the Pregny Village bus stop. Unfortunately, the bus didn't stop for me and I refused to wait another hour for it, so I just got on a bus to Gare Cornavin (one of the central bus stations here) and decided to go to Mt Saleve, one of the highest points where you can see all of Geneva (and I guess it's in neighboring France, although I didn't realize that until I attempted to buy postcards and the price was in euros). On the way there, I met some English-speaking guys at Gare (Fernando and Nicolas) and chatted with them up to the mountain, they told me about genevaonline.ch (an English speaking online community in Geneva) that organizes trips and allows people to meet - awesome! I wasn't dressed at all for hiking so didn't climb the mountain but took the tram up, wandered around a bit, and then came back down. Paul had suggested taking a boat ride down the Rhone River, which I did and enjoyed the view. I did nap off a few times though because I hadn't gotten too much sleep the night before with Paul and because I felt a little sad that I was by myself and the cruise was filled with couples and families. After the 2.5 hr cruise, I walked down to the Paquis and had dinner at the Bains de Paquis, enjoyed the sun a bit, and then returned home after talking with Chris online. All in all, it was a good weekend and I had a lot of time by myself to think about things. I miss Chris and my friends and family at home a lot but also think it's good for me to get some time away to think about things and also a fresh perspective.
So, that's it for now. My supervisor is away this week at a meeting so I'll have a lot of time to figure out next steps and how I should make the most of my time here. Even though I am a bit lonely at times here, I know that taking a year off of med school was really necessary for me and I'm happy that I'm not subi'g my May away, although I really was jealous of my friends who are earlier this week.
I'll figure out how to post pics later and maybe will even open a flickr acct since I'm sure I'll be taking lots of pics through my travels. Hopefully my parents and Chris will decide to come as well and I'll be able to see more of Europe.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Transitioning to blogspot
Since im abroad again, im starting this new blog. my old blog is at livejournal, but i think this might be easier to use (and allow me to post pictures). Hopefully people back home can read and post comments as well :)
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