Hello!

It’s nearly bedtime in Geneva, but I wanted to write a quick post to update you on what we’ve been doing the past few days!

Since I wrote last, we spent our last day at the World Health Assembly (Friday). While the assembly officially extends until May 28th, the sessions of interest that were open to non-delegates were completed on Friday. Before heading over to the UN for our last sessions, we spent the morning at the World Council of Churches, an interfaith organization that seeks to promote social equity among communities across the globe. We had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Fulata Moyo, the director of the “Women in Church and Society” program. She spoke quite a bit about her experiences growing up in Malawi and her work throughout the globe - some additional perspectives on how a society is organized can impact both physical and social health. 

Following our time at the WCC, we walked back down to the UN for the last time. This was sad to think! After spending so much time there this week and looking back on the huge amounts of information we’ve learned, it was like a home away from home. I enjoyed our time there so much. It really changed my perspective on how the World Health Organization works and about the global health challenges we are confronted with.

The session we went to Friday afternoon was called “Physical Activity, Sport, and Health” and was organized by the delegations of Costa Rica and Qatar, in partnership with the “Group of Friends on Sport for Development and Peace.” This was a fun session to attend to round out the week. The focus was on increasing levels of physical activity in communities across the globe, among children in particular. On the panel, we got to hear from the first gold Olympic medalist from Costa Rica (Sylvia Poll), a runner from Eritrea who completed a marathon with a 2:07 time, as well as a female triathlete who has won numerous competitions in her sport. It was really interesting to hear their perspectives on how they became involved with sports and how physical activity can be more effectively promoted among children. Included in the presentation was a live Judo demonstration provided by a local group from within Geneva. Included in the group were an 11 year old boy and girl who showed us some of their moves. It was really fun and interesting!

Following the sessions, a few of us were in some need of coffee, so we enjoyed our free afternoon strolling the streets of Geneva and enjoying a sparking, sunshiney afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather has been cool and overcast for most of our time here. It was great to soak up the sun and it really highlighted how beautiful of a city Geneva is! 

We found our way into a Starbucks (nothing like a small piece of home!) and while we were sitting, we got to talking with a gentleman sitting next to us. As we spoke, we came to learn he is the former deputy-mayor of Vancouver. It was really interesting getting to talk with him about his work in the field of emergency/disaster preparedness (right up our alley as public health students!) You never know who you’ll meet around here!

Annecy

We spent the rest of the evening enjoying a great dinner of falafel wraps, hummus, tabbouleh, and shwarma from a Lebanese restaurant right down the street. It was some of the best food we’ve had in Geneva - we already have plans to go back :) Our dinners have been a lot of fun - a small group of us have been getting together and we’ve had some great conversations!

Today, we took a bus ride into Annecy, France. Originally, we were going to travel to Nyon. Of the two cities, Annecy was considered a more historical and interesting option. And it did not disappoint!! The ride into France was only about an hour and a half. It was a really beautiful drive! The trip into France from Switzerland gives you an incredible view of the alps, along with miles and miles of rolling, hilly countryside. We passed through several small towns along the way, complete with quaint homes, pastures, and shops. It was really nice. 

While the weather didn’t cooperate fully with us (rain and low 40-degree weather - it snowed at one point!), Annecy was a really spectacular city to spend the day in. Here’s some information about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annecy. Being there, you really get the feeling of a medieval European town. Such great, old buildings and a really breathtaking view of the mountains. A river runs through the city, so as you’re walking through, the river passes in between the buildings on cobblestone streets. There were so many shops to walk through and historical buildings to check out. I loved it - and I’d love to travel back someday!  A funny thing that happened at lunch was when we requested mustard to go with some hamburgers we ordered (not very European, I know :) ). We couldn’t quite translate the word mustard and they weren’t sure what we were requesting. After we cleared things up, they brought us an enormous container of dijon mustard. It was really spicy, but so good! Not your average Grey Poupon :)

"Moutard", as the French say

Tomorrow, we are off to Chamonix, France to see the alps! It’s going to be another chilly one, but I am so looking forward to it!