Hello!

Our riverside cafe

It’s hard to believe our time here is nearing it’s end. Luckily, we have many more things to do before we head home at the end of this week. I’m taking in as much as I can these next few days!

Yesterday was a really beautiful day here in Geneva. Unfortunately, for much of our time, it’s been cool and rainy. (Not the best weather for all the walking we’ve done!) We haven’t let that deter us much, though! When the sun does shine, it is gorgeous here! Such clear skies, nice breezes, and you can get some really good views of the alps. 

On Monday, our schedule was pretty light - we met with our groups to finish up the presentations we’re doing later this week and then headed to the International AIDS Society (IAS) in the afternoon to meet again with Dr. Manoj Kurian. He is a very interesting person who has done a lot of global public health work. The IAS serves as an organizing body for global public health professionals who work among populations affected by HIV/AIDS. We had an interesting discussion with Dr. Kurian about how HIV/AIDS is addressed and managed across the globe and how social stigmas can impact how diseases are managed. I think we can easily say that we’ve each learned some new perspectives about global public health!

Red Cross/Red Crescent

Following our time at the IAS, we were free for the remainder of the day to enjoy the wonderful weather. During our time here, we’ve discovered a small outdoor coffee stand along the Rhone river near our dorm. There are tables and lounge chairs set out right along the river, so a few of us got some coffee (cafe au lait!) and just sat. It was so nice and relaxing! Being Memorial Day, it seemed appropriate! :) (I will say, though, that I did miss being home and enjoying a good American barbecue!)

In the evening, we went to dinner as a group - one of our fellow group members was celebrating a birthday, so we all made our way to a good restaurant we discovered earlier in our trip that serves some tasty pasta.

Today, our day began with a trip to the International Red Cross/Red Crescent museum. I really enjoyed today! The museum does an excellent job highlighting the work for the Red Cross across the world in addressing some of the most significant humanitarian crises. The museum includes interactive exhibits that lets you hear directly from survivors of numerous social, political, and environmental persecutions. It also includes exhibits of art work crafted by individuals during exile and imprisonment, descriptions of how the work of the Red Cross has evolved, as well as describing key missions of the organization. I felt inspired to volunteer with my own local Red Cross after I get back!

After the museum, we returned to the dorm for a short break before heading out again to visit Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) (Doctors Without Borders). This was probably another favorite of mine from this trip. We had the opportunity to hear from a nurse who works with MSF by going into areas of conflict, unrest, and environmental tragedy to deliver clinical care to the injured and sick. To hear their approach - to deliver clinical care, regardless of position in society, allegiance, and circumstances, in times of humanitarian crisis - was really inspiring to me. (http://www.msf.org/). To me, this is a vital component of global public health.

We’ve spent the remainder of our day putting the finishing touches on our presentations. It’ll also be early to bed for us, because we head to Paris tomorrow!  We are leaving here shortly after 6 am and will take a train for about 3 hours to get there. I can’t wait! I will definitely share an update about our time there :)

Au revoir!

Diana

Statues outside the Red Cross museum
Signify individuals impacted by global humanitarian crises - they are depicted as bound, not seeing, speaking, or hearing