Cohort Love

When I first found out that my entire master's program was under 20 people, I was a bit scared. I'm used to big things. My high school class had close to 500 people. My college.... easily in the thousands. Many of the programs I applied to for grad school ranged from about 50-200 but under 20 was a lot less than I had ever experienced. When I showed up on the first day of orientation, I found out I was just one of 13!  I worried if we'd all get along with being such a small cohort. What if we were all so different we'd never agree on anything ?

 And yes, we don't. We seldomly all agree. But we always find consensus.

Though we all come from different backgrounds, nationalities, and expertise we've all grew close to one another in one way. As of now in our third academic semester, we have dwindled down to 10. But I feel that our bonds have just strengthened. Moreover, it really shows how efficient and effective we've become since we've worked so close with one another.

You really feel this when you interact with other graduate students from other masters. I've been taking class at the nearby Graduate Institute this semester; and though their establishment is high quality I find that the quality of the overall work done is nothing close to where we are (sorry!). The interaction, quality of work, and coordination that we've developed over the past year has been nothing but amazing.

In our last academic semester, we have less chances to see each other as we are all taking various electives. Nevertheless it's these rare moments we get together for a meal that I really feel the sense of belonging and real appreciation for the small size class we have. To a great cohort and good food (Persian!)

Made In...

日本とスイスって違うようでかなり似ていてその共通点の一つが「国産大好き」精神。
もちろんどの国でも外国産よりかはやっぱりどうしても国産応援しちゃいますよね。

でも日本人とスイス人として愛国心よりも更に高いのが自分の国の作るモノに対してのプライドと
圧倒的な信頼性。20分も電車で行けばフランスのスーパーでも同じ商品を半額で買えるのに「チーズなんて品質の悪いフランス産なんて買えない」（←チーズ大国フランスですよ　汗）、とか「やっぱりスイスのりんごは格別」と喜んで食べています。それを見ているとやはり少し高くても質のいい日本の電化製品とか「輸入米は考えられない」と豪語している日本人とよく似ているな～と思うです。

アメリカ人、中国人、ロシア人の人達と話すと逆に「自分の国の作った大抵のものは信頼できない」と言ってる位なので　汗　そう思うと、自分の国の製品に自信と信頼を持てるってすごいことだと思うし、誇りに持てることなのかも。　

もちろんコーラもスイス産！キャップ上でバッチリアピール　笑

Halloween Fun

Halloween may have started somewhere in the United Kindgom, then exploded with consumerism in the US, and then now it's everywhere in the world. I know that now that I'm over 21, Halloween is just another party excuse to drink. But why not? Afterall, it's probably my last time celebrating as a student ever.

Props and thanks to Adrian and Ava who helped put together a fantastic party with the best decorations!

Btw, what was my costume you ask? I tried my best to be a gothic lolita but I'm definitely lacking in the makeup area.... although I did watch quite a few YouTube videos. Hope everyone had a safe and fantastic Halloween!

Food for Thought

One of the perks of being in Geneva is of course, the UN European Headquarters are here, and so there's many VIPs coming in and out. I was privleged to attend one of the round table talks held at the Graduate Institute where I also take classes. The event features speakers like Kofi Annan, Gro Brundland (THE person who made the Brudtland report which you would instatnly recognize if you're studying sustainability) and the Commissioner of the UNHCR with the theme of Syrian Migration. Not only was I blown away by the passionate message of all the speakers but that there is a great lacking of global cooperation on this issue. I don't want to go into any details as there have already been too many debates on this already, but just that states really need to go deeper and do more than what is done now in order to really change the situation.

UN 70th Anniversary

Having spent about a month working on projects and attending conferences in the UN during the summer made me really jaded about the Palais des Nations, the UN European headquarters. But to the public, having the UN grounds open is quite a bit thing. For starters, security is very very strict on the campus grounds. And of course, being the UN many people are really interested to see what really goes on inside, especially when it's on the news a lot. So it's no surprise thousands and thousands showed up for the UN 70the anniversary event, where much of the grounds were open to the public.

I freaked out. Because on a normal day, you hardly see people outside or inside except maybe meeting areas, cafes, and cafeterias. Most of the time, people are in meetings or offices. I've never seen so many people in the Palais building in my life! I do have student access to the UN so I instantly regretted I should've come here on a normal day when things are actually peaceful and quiet. But it was quite interesting to see the various booths and events. I do advise you that if you plan to come to any open public event for the UN, make sure you come early and eat before you come because typically they don't sell any foods there.

Afterworks

People say that Geneva is terrible when it comes to the social scene and yes it is true. Bars are exorbitantly expensive and usually for bankers or after-work quick drinks. I long for the cheap and fantastic bar culture of Asia. It's about times things needs to be changed.

Recently there has been a montly event called "Afterworks". It's held at the art history museum (Musée d'art et d'histoire) and basically they turn the whole museum into a bar/social scene after hours. It's a great place for people to come together to join for a quick drink after work, plus you get to look around the museum. I've been to it twice already and I'm absolutely loving it. Dancing to a DJ in the hall where historical swords and arrows are displayed makes it much more interesting and change of scene. Plus how great is it to walk around the museum looking at art tipsy? I also love the fact that there's a different theme and various events going on the whole night. I am not sure how many more they are hosting but it's definitely worth a go for all of you who are sick and tired of the usual bland night life scene in Geneva.

A night in Italy themed night
 

Having a drink surrounded by armors and canons.. fantastic!

A theater group came to put on a parody show of the masterpieces, really funny

Why hello Rodin, we meet again in Geneva

One of my favorite paintings. Kinda looks like he's taking a selfie shot!

Halloween themed night 
 

Thriller flash mob dance!

They were passing out bone-shaped Halloween gummies

A fancy witch and Jason on a date

There's also a mini restaurant at the bottom of the museum