Genève/IHEID
May it please the Court…
Grad school has been described as a place for the accumulation of learning. First-year students bring some in, while final-year students take none away. Hence, it accumulates.
By Jason Rudall
Participating in a moot court competition can ensure that you take something away. Whether that be an improved presentation style, understanding the merits of good legal argument or just stress-related hair loss, it provides fertile ground on which to cultivate valuable professional skills and offers an ultimately rewarding experience.
When the moot court team was formed last September, we were blissfully unaware of what lay ahead: the trials, tribulations and triumphs. Apparently chosen for our motivation, capacity for articulate expression and good looks (probably), we knew we had an able team and coaches with sound judgement. Despite this, never in our wildest imagination did we think that we would achieve what we did over the following six months. Overcoming numerous challenges and repeatedly putting your credibility on the line for ‘fun’ is the story of a moot court competition. The first challenge of a moot court is practical application of the law to a complex factual matrix. In an effort to push our sanity to its outermost bounds, the competition organisers instructed us to apply present day law to a 16th century problem. Involving as it did corrupt state officials and fat cat bankers, the hypothetical was obviously hard to reconcile with any modern day reality. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop Katarina from adopting what became her trademark ‘poetic approach’ to draw some (tenuous) analogies.
Another challenge is remaining composed while sitting in the shadow of the most revered arbitrators in the field. After all, they say that the legal profession is the only game where the best players get to sit on the bench! Never one for faltering in the presence of greatness, Janina mustered the audacity to argue against many of the cases which the arbitrators had themselves decided. In addition to this, she will also credit the moot court experience with the discovery of a newfound talent for theatrical nodding after every point uttered by her team members. The key to successful advocacy is to be both professional and personable. Always on the charm offensive, Nicolas managed to pull this off with ease most of the time. There were times, however, when he didn’t quite get the balance right. Asking an arbitrator to translate a well-known Latin phrase, “given that the language of the Tribunal
was English”, was positively frowned upon. Thankfully, as Bentham once said, ‘lawyers are the only persons in whom ignorance of the law is not punished!’
Perhaps the greatest challenge of all is masquerading that you are interested and engaged in what others are saying at all times. This was an act that I performed with varying degrees of success. You may find yourself, for example, having to respond to advocates who are unable to articulate any decipherable words, and rather just make a noise at you for 20 minutes. Or, alternatively, straining to stay awake through lengthy arbitrator monologues. To this end, drinking copious amounts of coffee helps but has the somewhat inevitable consequence that—in true kindergarten style—you are forced to
sheepishly raise your hand and ask if you can be excused from the courtroom to use the facilities.
Despite the public humiliation, however, winning the Pre-Moot competition in Warsaw and coming second at the World Finals in Frankfurt made the whole experience—the highs and the lows—truly worthwhile. This leaves me to say that, if you can bring creativity, enthusiasm and fresh faces to the next moot court team in September (and understand that you will lose all three of these virtues by Christmas), we would wholeheartedly encourage you to apply. Above all else, it is a lot of fun.
By Jason Rudall
Participating in a moot court competition can ensure that you take something away. Whether that be an improved presentation style, understanding the merits of good legal argument or just stress-related hair loss, it provides fertile ground on which to cultivate valuable professional skills and offers an ultimately rewarding experience.
When the moot court team was formed last September, we were blissfully unaware of what lay ahead: the trials, tribulations and triumphs. Apparently chosen for our motivation, capacity for articulate expression and good looks (probably), we knew we had an able team and coaches with sound judgement. Despite this, never in our wildest imagination did we think that we would achieve what we did over the following six months. Overcoming numerous challenges and repeatedly putting your credibility on the line for ‘fun’ is the story of a moot court competition. The first challenge of a moot court is practical application of the law to a complex factual matrix. In an effort to push our sanity to its outermost bounds, the competition organisers instructed us to apply present day law to a 16th century problem. Involving as it did corrupt state officials and fat cat bankers, the hypothetical was obviously hard to reconcile with any modern day reality. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop Katarina from adopting what became her trademark ‘poetic approach’ to draw some (tenuous) analogies.
Another challenge is remaining composed while sitting in the shadow of the most revered arbitrators in the field. After all, they say that the legal profession is the only game where the best players get to sit on the bench! Never one for faltering in the presence of greatness, Janina mustered the audacity to argue against many of the cases which the arbitrators had themselves decided. In addition to this, she will also credit the moot court experience with the discovery of a newfound talent for theatrical nodding after every point uttered by her team members. The key to successful advocacy is to be both professional and personable. Always on the charm offensive, Nicolas managed to pull this off with ease most of the time. There were times, however, when he didn’t quite get the balance right. Asking an arbitrator to translate a well-known Latin phrase, “given that the language of the Tribunal
was English”, was positively frowned upon. Thankfully, as Bentham once said, ‘lawyers are the only persons in whom ignorance of the law is not punished!’
Perhaps the greatest challenge of all is masquerading that you are interested and engaged in what others are saying at all times. This was an act that I performed with varying degrees of success. You may find yourself, for example, having to respond to advocates who are unable to articulate any decipherable words, and rather just make a noise at you for 20 minutes. Or, alternatively, straining to stay awake through lengthy arbitrator monologues. To this end, drinking copious amounts of coffee helps but has the somewhat inevitable consequence that—in true kindergarten style—you are forced to
sheepishly raise your hand and ask if you can be excused from the courtroom to use the facilities.
Despite the public humiliation, however, winning the Pre-Moot competition in Warsaw and coming second at the World Finals in Frankfurt made the whole experience—the highs and the lows—truly worthwhile. This leaves me to say that, if you can bring creativity, enthusiasm and fresh faces to the next moot court team in September (and understand that you will lose all three of these virtues by Christmas), we would wholeheartedly encourage you to apply. Above all else, it is a lot of fun.
Top outdoor drinking spots in Geneva
By Alexis Kalagas & Albert Mulli
La Barje
(Jonction)
Allegedly one of the most searched ‘hotspots’ for Google Maps bedroom voyeurs, La Barje is perhaps most identifiable as the jumble of colourful deck chairs you glimpse down by the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices once spring blooms in earnest. Thankfully, there’s not much more to it. A repurposed candy-striped caravan bar, regular live music, and the simple pleasure of drinking on an improvised urban island in the middle of the Rhône.
La Petite Reine
(Les Grottes)
Judging by the ever-present crowds congregating beneath the colossal penny-farthing behind Gare Cornavin, La Petite Reine has managed to tap a considerable market niche on the local bar scene… or it’s just the hipster hangout de jour. Either way, the combination of a sun-kissed, graffitied terrasse, a well-curated soundtrack and the ease with which a casual apéro can roll seamlessly into a night out at nearby squats Pachinko, 10bis or La Galerie makes for an unbeatable proposition.
Cafe Equinoxe
(Carouge)
A hop, skip and jump away from the Armes tram stop, by night Café Equinoxe is a typically priced Genèvois restaurant serving up French bistro-inspired food with a modern twist. On a lazy summer day, however, there is perhaps no better place in Carouge than its perfectly positioned corner terrasse to while away an afternoon in eerie village calm as the sun slowly sets over a glass or more of chilled vin blanc.
Le Phare
(St Gervais)
Strategically located next to the cut-price poultry purveyor Chez Ma Cousine, Le Phare is a straight-friendly gay bar that makes the most of the crumbling bohemian intimacy of Rue Lissignol. One for laidback nights rather than sunburnt summer days, the comfortable terrasse inevitably ends up in a creeping colonization of the laneway, while the local ‘colour’ extends to the clientele (felicita! Alberto).
Les 5 Portes
(Paquis)
While in Pâquis a drink is not hard to come by, that’s usually a reflection of quantity over quality– unless you have an in to the high-stakes corner mah-jonng game or your tastes extend to venues frequented by loyal customers of ‘Boutique Baby- Lady’. Luckily, that’s where Les 5 Portes steps into the breach with a reasonably priced wine list, tasty tapas, attractive clientele, and all centred on a comfortable terrasse exactly 500m from the door of Rothschild.
La Clemence
(Old Town)
A welcome relief from the incongruous Old Town juxtaposition of high-end boutiques and lousy Irish pubs (oh hey, Spring Bros), La Clémence satisfies those looking for a spot of people watching amidst the cobblestones of Place du Bourg-de-Four. Quintupling in size from its winter cocoon state once the warm weather hits – and still overflowing with customers – La Clémence is all about location, location, location (and sunflowers).
Les Enfants Terribles
(Plainpalais)
Design emporium-cum-concert space-cum-wine shop-cum café-cum tapas bar (and until recently a hairdresser too), Les Enfants Terribles is hard to pin down but easy to love. Filling an airy post-industrial space around the corner from Rue Jean-Violette, the light-dappled interior of Les Enfants Terribles is a welcoming clutter of design detritus and plant life. Come spring though, the wooden terrasse out front is a perfect destination for a post-class rendez-vous.
Saveurs et Couleurs
(Les Grottes)
A welcoming stalwart of the local scene, Saveurs et Couleurs feels every inch a lived-in neighbourhood meeting hub. Opening on to the tranquil Les Grottes rond-point a world away from the bustle of Gare Cornavin, come early evening the café-bar caters to everyone from nearby creative types, to babysitting grandparents, groups of students and nervous couples-in-the-making searching out a quiet al fresco drink.
L’Ethno Bar
(Jonction)
Perched on the banks of the Rhône beneath the Webster University residence, L’Ethno Bar is yet another establishment on this list that goes from the good to the sublime when Geneva evenings transition from frigid to balmy. With a huge terrasse, DJs from Thurs- Sat and an extensive cocktail selection, L’Ethno Bar offers the added attraction of a quick plunge off Pont des Sous-Terre should the mood strike.
La Barje
(Jonction)
Allegedly one of the most searched ‘hotspots’ for Google Maps bedroom voyeurs, La Barje is perhaps most identifiable as the jumble of colourful deck chairs you glimpse down by the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices once spring blooms in earnest. Thankfully, there’s not much more to it. A repurposed candy-striped caravan bar, regular live music, and the simple pleasure of drinking on an improvised urban island in the middle of the Rhône.
La Petite Reine
(Les Grottes)
Judging by the ever-present crowds congregating beneath the colossal penny-farthing behind Gare Cornavin, La Petite Reine has managed to tap a considerable market niche on the local bar scene… or it’s just the hipster hangout de jour. Either way, the combination of a sun-kissed, graffitied terrasse, a well-curated soundtrack and the ease with which a casual apéro can roll seamlessly into a night out at nearby squats Pachinko, 10bis or La Galerie makes for an unbeatable proposition.
Cafe Equinoxe
(Carouge)
A hop, skip and jump away from the Armes tram stop, by night Café Equinoxe is a typically priced Genèvois restaurant serving up French bistro-inspired food with a modern twist. On a lazy summer day, however, there is perhaps no better place in Carouge than its perfectly positioned corner terrasse to while away an afternoon in eerie village calm as the sun slowly sets over a glass or more of chilled vin blanc.
Le Phare
(St Gervais)
Strategically located next to the cut-price poultry purveyor Chez Ma Cousine, Le Phare is a straight-friendly gay bar that makes the most of the crumbling bohemian intimacy of Rue Lissignol. One for laidback nights rather than sunburnt summer days, the comfortable terrasse inevitably ends up in a creeping colonization of the laneway, while the local ‘colour’ extends to the clientele (felicita! Alberto).
Les 5 Portes
(Paquis)
While in Pâquis a drink is not hard to come by, that’s usually a reflection of quantity over quality– unless you have an in to the high-stakes corner mah-jonng game or your tastes extend to venues frequented by loyal customers of ‘Boutique Baby- Lady’. Luckily, that’s where Les 5 Portes steps into the breach with a reasonably priced wine list, tasty tapas, attractive clientele, and all centred on a comfortable terrasse exactly 500m from the door of Rothschild.
La Clemence
(Old Town)
A welcome relief from the incongruous Old Town juxtaposition of high-end boutiques and lousy Irish pubs (oh hey, Spring Bros), La Clémence satisfies those looking for a spot of people watching amidst the cobblestones of Place du Bourg-de-Four. Quintupling in size from its winter cocoon state once the warm weather hits – and still overflowing with customers – La Clémence is all about location, location, location (and sunflowers).
Les Enfants Terribles
(Plainpalais)
Design emporium-cum-concert space-cum-wine shop-cum café-cum tapas bar (and until recently a hairdresser too), Les Enfants Terribles is hard to pin down but easy to love. Filling an airy post-industrial space around the corner from Rue Jean-Violette, the light-dappled interior of Les Enfants Terribles is a welcoming clutter of design detritus and plant life. Come spring though, the wooden terrasse out front is a perfect destination for a post-class rendez-vous.
Saveurs et Couleurs
(Les Grottes)
A welcoming stalwart of the local scene, Saveurs et Couleurs feels every inch a lived-in neighbourhood meeting hub. Opening on to the tranquil Les Grottes rond-point a world away from the bustle of Gare Cornavin, come early evening the café-bar caters to everyone from nearby creative types, to babysitting grandparents, groups of students and nervous couples-in-the-making searching out a quiet al fresco drink.
L’Ethno Bar
(Jonction)
Perched on the banks of the Rhône beneath the Webster University residence, L’Ethno Bar is yet another establishment on this list that goes from the good to the sublime when Geneva evenings transition from frigid to balmy. With a huge terrasse, DJs from Thurs- Sat and an extensive cocktail selection, L’Ethno Bar offers the added attraction of a quick plunge off Pont des Sous-Terre should the mood strike.
Mini Quiz
Do you know Geneva people?
1. What is the majority party in Geneva municipal council?
a) Greens
b) Socialists
c) Christian Democrats
2. What famous person studied at the Graduate institute?
a) Kofi Annan
b) José Manuel Barroso
c) Herman van Rompuy
3. What city is comparable to Geneva by number of inhabitants?
a) Bratislava
b) Oslo
c) York
4. Which celebrity lives in Geneva?
a) Tina Turner
b) Michael Schumacher
c) Yoko Ono
Click here for the correct answers.
1. What is the majority party in Geneva municipal council?
a) Greens
b) Socialists
c) Christian Democrats
2. What famous person studied at the Graduate institute?
a) Kofi Annan
b) José Manuel Barroso
c) Herman van Rompuy
3. What city is comparable to Geneva by number of inhabitants?
a) Bratislava
b) Oslo
c) York
4. Which celebrity lives in Geneva?
a) Tina Turner
b) Michael Schumacher
c) Yoko Ono
Click here for the correct answers.
Same but different
An exchange semester at the Fletcher School starts differently than at the Graduate Institute. The first week reveals two distinct approaches to graduate school.
By Franziska Becher
When the IHEID library opens at 9am, night still hangs over Boston and when it closes at 10pm the students at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, a northern suburb of Boston where I spent the last semester as an exchange student might just come out of a lecture, be chatting in the school’s entrance, the Hall of Flags, or having coffee at the school’s Mugar Café.
Hors effectif
Yes, clocks are ticking somewhat differently at the Fletcher School the oldest American graduate school specializing in Foreign Affairs. This became apparent mainly during the orientation week which took place before the official start of the school’s fall semester. While my first day at IHEID in September 2009 started on the second level of Voie Creuse where I picked up my welcome package before immediately hurrying to the library to create a password for my user account and to sign up for the first classes, at the Fletcher School, 250-odd students aged between 21-48 and of all kinds of nationalities were welcomed with a big breakfast in the Hall of Flags. While I had spent the morning hours of my first day at IHEID signing up for as many courses as possible in order to avoid being hors effectif with my favorite classes, at Fletcher, I was- like all the other new students around me - busy glancing at the other students’ name tags and talking to the people standing next to me in line for coffee, bagels, doughnuts and fruit salad.
After breakfast we were received by the school’s Dean and President of Tufts University, a lot of administration staff and some second years from the so-called Fletcher mafia and exposed to numerous speeches and presentations. The first day which finished in the early evening and the welcome week in general left me somewhat exhausted – from the information overflow and from getting to know the new Fletchers – and yet extremely welcome. At the end of the welcome week and after several weeks into the semester, the words of the school’s Dean that ‘none of us was an admission mistake and that we were all meant to be here’ and that ‘Fletcher is a lot of work but also amazingly a lot of fun’ were sinking
in and starting to make sense.
When the IHEID library opens at 9am, night still hangs over Boston and when it closes at 10pm the students at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, a northern suburb of Boston where I spent the last semester as an exchange student might just come out of a lecture, be chatting in the school’s entrance, the Hall of Flags, or having coffee at the school’s Mugar Café.
Hors effectif
Yes, clocks are ticking somewhat differently at the Fletcher School the oldest American graduate school specializing in Foreign Affairs. This became apparent mainly during the orientation week which took place before the official start of the school’s fall semester. While my first day at IHEID in September 2009 started on the second level of Voie Creuse where I picked up my welcome package before immediately hurrying to the library to create a password for my user account and to sign up for the first classes, at the Fletcher School, 250-odd students aged between 21-48 and of all kinds of nationalities were welcomed with a big breakfast in the Hall of Flags. While I had spent the morning hours of my first day at IHEID signing up for as many courses as possible in order to avoid being hors effectif with my favorite classes, at Fletcher, I was- like all the other new students around me - busy glancing at the other students’ name tags and talking to the people standing next to me in line for coffee, bagels, doughnuts and fruit salad.
After breakfast we were received by the school’s Dean and President of Tufts University, a lot of administration staff and some second years from the so-called Fletcher mafia and exposed to numerous speeches and presentations. The first day which finished in the early evening and the welcome week in general left me somewhat exhausted – from the information overflow and from getting to know the new Fletchers – and yet extremely welcome. At the end of the welcome week and after several weeks into the semester, the words of the school’s Dean that ‘none of us was an admission mistake and that we were all meant to be here’ and that ‘Fletcher is a lot of work but also amazingly a lot of fun’ were sinking
in and starting to make sense.
GIMUN: Youth Perspectives
Depuis 1999, le GIMUN, association d’étudiants basée à l’IHEID, cherche à rapprocher les jeunes des valeurs des Nations Unies. Ce printemps, en exclusivité, GIMUN organise « Youth Perspectives : Education in the 21st Century ».
Le débat se divisera en 5 comités, traitant tous des problématiques actuelles et permettant à chacun s’exprimer un point de vue sur une problématique nous touchant tous en tant qu’étudiants. A l’issu de la conférence, chaque comité aura la tâche, de proposer à l’assemblée des participants des recommandations sur sa thématique. GIMUN, disposant du statut consultatif spécial auprès de l’ECOSOC, portera ces conclusions, légitimées par l’approbation de l’Assemblée des participants, à la Conférence ministérielle annuelle de l’ECOSOC qui traite en 2011 du thème de l’éducation.
Le débat se divisera en 5 comités, traitant tous des problématiques actuelles et permettant à chacun s’exprimer un point de vue sur une problématique nous touchant tous en tant qu’étudiants. A l’issu de la conférence, chaque comité aura la tâche, de proposer à l’assemblée des participants des recommandations sur sa thématique. GIMUN, disposant du statut consultatif spécial auprès de l’ECOSOC, portera ces conclusions, légitimées par l’approbation de l’Assemblée des participants, à la Conférence ministérielle annuelle de l’ECOSOC qui traite en 2011 du thème de l’éducation.
Student Impressions
Being president of GIMUN is an amazing experience, one that gives you possibilities beyond what you would have expected. The most incredible of these has been the concretisation of Youth Perspectives. During our first discussion Jannik, co-coordinator of the annual program, and I imagined a conference where young people would have the opportunity to give their opinions rather than listen to those of experts. In less than a year,what we had only dreamed was possible. Through hard work and motivation, bringing to life a project that seemed at first an idealistic concept is possible –that is what GIMUN is all about and that is what makes me so enthusiastic about it!
Caroline Renauld
Caroline Renauld
GIMUN is a wonderful human experience. It is an opportunity to meet interesting students and to learn from each other’s experience and knowledge. Being on the organizational team of Youth Perspectives, as public relations and recruitment manager, is extremely instructive. It enables me to develop my skills in organization, teamwork and networking, as well as substantively enriching my perspective on education, an issue that is particularly close to my heart as I volunteered in a school in Burkina Faso last year.I am discovering new things every day, through interacting with other NGOs, promoting a project and, last but
not least, learning how to make a project concrete: in a couple of months, we transformed an idea into a 4-day conference hosting more than 100 people! I guess I should say, “Yes, we can!”
Tiphaine Caulier
Participating in Youth Perspectives is an adventure that will allow you to take a stance on an issue that concerns you and will inspire you to
step up from behind your desk and make your voice heard. If you want to participate or have any questions, please contact us: [email protected]
The Screenplay of Library, Lecture, Coop: Rinse and Repeat
by Carina Strahl
Who likes the time of the year when it gets dark at 5pm and the only bright lights you see are the
neon tubes in the library? Or when the lake morphs into a monstrous ocean, a stirring of infinite
shades of grey that you never knew existed? These things make you realise that December has
arrived in Geneva. And as if the weather was not bad enough, IHEID students adopt the external
atmosphere and live – literally camp - in the library.
Students, standing in Coop in front of the sandwich and salad selection, desperately try to find
something that they haven’t already eaten in the past month. Or worse, they resort to a vending
machine dinner and toss back litres of the grey looking CHF 1 coffee of indeterminate consistency
which will sooner or later give you stomach cramps. Assignments, presentations and reams of
readings never seem to end. How are you supposed to finish all of that before Christmas, which is
somehow only a few weeks away?
When regimes, principal agent theories and STATA commands start to dominate not only your
daily life but also haunt your dreams, you know that it’s really time to step back and pause for a
moment. Imagine looking at these happenings through the eyes of a stranger, and you realise that
we are part of IHEID’s very own screenplay. Everyone buys into the idea that we have a role to
fulfil and must comply with some unknown rules and that falling out of line, like forgetting the
script, is just not acceptable.
Yet, after a while you realise that everyone, even the seemingly most perfect student in your
classes who has done everything “right”, carries around problems and worries. We are, after all,
not machines. So treat yourself like a human being and enjoy life in Geneva! Maybe you always
wanted to learn how to play rugby, to dance tango or even to parachute? Outside library, lectures
and Coop there is so much going on, especially at this time of the year with Christmas markets,
l’Escalade and the start of the skiing and ice skating season. Go for a nice hot chocolate or glass of
Glühwein, for a yummy fondue or for some crazy dancing in Lausanne. And if you really want to
stick to the books, try “library hopping” around the different bibliothèques in Geneva. The need
for relief and change is something which unites all of us more than our disciplines. Indeed, we are
all in the same boat, with concerns but also with happiness.
Life at IHEID is clearly not as hard as it seems to be in December. I wish I had known a second
year student to assure me of this last year. Don’t wait until the spring sun hits Geneva to cheer up.
Don’t despair, and most importantly, don’t compare yourself to others. We might be in the same
boat, but we are still individuals. And if IHEID is a screenplay, you are still in charge of writing
your own script.
neon tubes in the library? Or when the lake morphs into a monstrous ocean, a stirring of infinite
shades of grey that you never knew existed? These things make you realise that December has
arrived in Geneva. And as if the weather was not bad enough, IHEID students adopt the external
atmosphere and live – literally camp - in the library.
Students, standing in Coop in front of the sandwich and salad selection, desperately try to find
something that they haven’t already eaten in the past month. Or worse, they resort to a vending
machine dinner and toss back litres of the grey looking CHF 1 coffee of indeterminate consistency
which will sooner or later give you stomach cramps. Assignments, presentations and reams of
readings never seem to end. How are you supposed to finish all of that before Christmas, which is
somehow only a few weeks away?
When regimes, principal agent theories and STATA commands start to dominate not only your
daily life but also haunt your dreams, you know that it’s really time to step back and pause for a
moment. Imagine looking at these happenings through the eyes of a stranger, and you realise that
we are part of IHEID’s very own screenplay. Everyone buys into the idea that we have a role to
fulfil and must comply with some unknown rules and that falling out of line, like forgetting the
script, is just not acceptable.
Yet, after a while you realise that everyone, even the seemingly most perfect student in your
classes who has done everything “right”, carries around problems and worries. We are, after all,
not machines. So treat yourself like a human being and enjoy life in Geneva! Maybe you always
wanted to learn how to play rugby, to dance tango or even to parachute? Outside library, lectures
and Coop there is so much going on, especially at this time of the year with Christmas markets,
l’Escalade and the start of the skiing and ice skating season. Go for a nice hot chocolate or glass of
Glühwein, for a yummy fondue or for some crazy dancing in Lausanne. And if you really want to
stick to the books, try “library hopping” around the different bibliothèques in Geneva. The need
for relief and change is something which unites all of us more than our disciplines. Indeed, we are
all in the same boat, with concerns but also with happiness.
Life at IHEID is clearly not as hard as it seems to be in December. I wish I had known a second
year student to assure me of this last year. Don’t wait until the spring sun hits Geneva to cheer up.
Don’t despair, and most importantly, don’t compare yourself to others. We might be in the same
boat, but we are still individuals. And if IHEID is a screenplay, you are still in charge of writing
your own script.
Mini Quiz
Do you know the Geneva
founding myths?
1. When did Geneva become a part of Switzerland?
a) 1815
b) 1847
c) 1907
2. What is on the Geneva canton flag?
a) a bastion with a golden key
b) a yellow eagle and a water symbol
c) a black eagle and a golden key
3. What does the Escalade
commemorate?
a) unsuccessful attack on Geneva by Savoy troops
b) the Alabama arbitration
c) disarming an uprising of native Genevans against Calvinists
4. Why did Geneva become the UN headquarters?
a) Swiss neutrality = good
ground for a multilateral system
b) To incite Switzerland to become member
c) On Geneva authorities invitation
(donating the park)
Click here for answers.
founding myths?
1. When did Geneva become a part of Switzerland?
a) 1815
b) 1847
c) 1907
2. What is on the Geneva canton flag?
a) a bastion with a golden key
b) a yellow eagle and a water symbol
c) a black eagle and a golden key
3. What does the Escalade
commemorate?
a) unsuccessful attack on Geneva by Savoy troops
b) the Alabama arbitration
c) disarming an uprising of native Genevans against Calvinists
4. Why did Geneva become the UN headquarters?
a) Swiss neutrality = good
ground for a multilateral system
b) To incite Switzerland to become member
c) On Geneva authorities invitation
(donating the park)
Click here for answers.
Sun & Snow, ça te dit?
by Jana Bauerova
Are you one of those who, when coming to Switzerland, pictured themselves skiing down from snowy alpine mountain tops at a thrilling speed with a whirlwind of powder snow in the wake (kind of like those promo pictures for new ski gear) but, for whatever reason, have not made it to the slopes yet? Or , perhaps you tasted powder last season but barely went more times than to the theatre? Perhaps you don’t have the gear, don’t know where to go, or don’t know who to go with so you don’t end up lost in some French village in the valley? This article is meant to be a source of inspiration and a collection of a few simple “how to” tips.
Where to go for gear?
For start, you can rent skis or a snowboard from Penseyres Sport (Rue de Neuchâtel 7, near Cornavin). A student price for a complete ski set starts at 30 CHF, for a day and a snowboard set runs at 35CHF, or a little more at the Migros service Locaski in Carouge (Ave Vibert 34). Or, talk to friends who ski & snowboard and can lend you equipment for the day. If you don’t care about the latest carving model and don’t desire much more than one or two wooden planks to strap to your feet, sport shops occasionally put out old models (been spotted, without bindings, in front of Solds-Sport Carouge), or you can also try the Caritas bazaar (Rue de Carouge 51-53, Tue- Fri from 3pm) for affordable used gear.
How to get there?
A reasonable and stress-free way is to jump on ‘Samedis de ski’ offered by UNIGE from January 22, going in turn to four ski resorts. The two habitual destinations are Les Contamines, which can be windy and thus icy but nevertheless is quite big and nice for intermediate skiers, and Les Houches. While the latter is not Chamonix, it is in the same valley and, for a day, is more than satisfactory in size. And, you still might see Mt.Blanc! Other advantages include several nice places with terraces for lunch or a hot drink in the afternoon. The other two destinations are Avoriaz and Pointe de Nyon. In Avoriaz, you can do a round-trip traversing from one mountain face to another, stopping in the middle for lunch in a cute town, and even having your skis or board waxed in the meanwhile. You can choose which side of the mountain to stay on according to sunshine or price. A Saturday with UNIGE is 50CHF for students and you need to sign up directly in the Bureau de sport, located on the 3rd floor of Rue de Candolle 4, from the preceding Tuesday on and you need to sign up directly in the Bureau de sport, located on (and, as tickets may sell out, it’s better to get there Tuesday rather than Friday afternoon). Upon arrival to the ski destination, you can join a group of your level. UNIGE instructors will make sure you know how to stop and can offer individual tips, optionally in English
What more?
Carpooling with friends is obviously a great alternative. Besides bonding, it has the advantages of being somewhat cheaper and leaving it to you to choose the destination. But, above all, it allows you a more flexible schedule, so you can stay on the slope longer than 3 pm. Another forum for finding ski buddies is Glocals, the Geneva section. For a day, a ski pass is around 40-60 CHF, and as a rule, neighboring France is cheaper than Swiss options. For instance, Flaine is huge, great for being out in the snow all day after you’ve had some rest in a spectacular gondola, and trying different terrains and difficulties, including plenty of options for free riding (but, beware, don’t go off piste if avalanche risk is high or you are without friends, else you might find yourself stuck in a hole under a tree in the middle of the woods like me!). If you crave adrenaline and powder, you can rent freeride or telemark skis from Locaski, or alpinetouring skis from Cactus Sport, Carouge. UNIGE also organizes Saturday alpine touring with skins, with a progression throughout the season, including an avalanche primer, which is yet a different dimension of discovering the beauty of nearby mountains.
Final tips
Want to take it easy and stay in Geneva’s backyard? Go to Les Rousses in Jura, which has a casual atmosphere, is great for beginner – intermediate skiers and boarders, and won’t make you feel like a slob if you ski in jeans and a hoodie or grandpa’s old sweater. Pack a sandwich for lunch and chill in the lounge chairs to get a tan in the middle of the winter! Desire to not only learn to ski, but to experience the ski culture? An interconnected skiable domain between France and Switzerland Les Portes du Soleil, and prime Swiss resorts Verbier or Diablerets are huge and close to Geneva. They offer a nice range of choices both for slopes and restaurants. Verbier has a nice snow park and après ski options, so it’s worth it to stay for a weekend. And spending a few days in a ski town, where you can go to sauna or Jacuzzi at night, is even better! For that, two easy options we propose are St. Moritz Ski Camp (no need for promo, just see the illustrating shot) organized by UNIGE and Engelberg Camp for international students in Switzerland, with a bonus of a revolving gondola to Titlis glacier lookout with ice cave.
Dancing in ski boots during Happy Hour can surely make one of the unforgettable memories too. Instead of tea, order Schümli Pflümli to ‘melt’ after your last run. Lastly, hope to score extra points and get a hot chick’s or ski instructor’s attention, say, by using ski slang? There is no shame in being a wahoo’, but try to avoid ‘umpa-lumpas’ or causing a ‘domino’, and wait to use expressions like ‘spruce run’ or ‘white ribbon of death’ until you’re really ‘ripping’.
*To pick up ski slang, see the following sites:
http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/20829/ski-slang
http://www.zoozoo2.com/skiology.html
http://www.theskidiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1663
Remembering Sierra Leone: Phil Collins in the Tropics
by Liam Foran
One thing I realised in Sierra Leone is that junkies have it rough. Not only is it tough making money these days selling stolen DVD players, it is bloody hard to find a vein. This I found out the hard way. Being too scared to let any local nurses near me with a syringe but having convinced myself I’d contracted
malaria, I was mandated to get blood out of my own arm to confirm the reason I was feeling so crap was mosquito-borne parasites and not the heat, palm wine, nor eating with South Africans who consider chicken a vegetable.
Like many of us at IHEID, I chose to spend my summer break trying to help a small corner of the world, in my case the Tonkollili and Bombali districts, 200 km northwest of Freetown in the agricultural heartland of Sierra Leone.
If anywhere ever deserves a second chance, it is Sierra Leone.
Things got so bad here a couple of years ago that people cut each other’s limbs off and in a few, but well publicised cases, ate each other. This often unsettled me as I watched some of my Sierra Leonean colleagues roast the local monkeys, giggling and drawing parallels between the colour of their dinner’s ginger fur and my own red beard. There is poverty and lots of it in this part of the world. For the first time in Sierra Leone, I met people who worked harder and for less pay than my brother and I used to as landscape gardeners for our next door neighbour.
Just near my lodgings, young kids spent their school holidays warding off hunger by making gravel from large boulders using hand mallets. But for every bleak picture of desperation, there are many more people enamoured with life and the future. On the macro scale, there is little cynicism directed towards the UN (a refreshing change) who are seen as having ended the conflict, locked up the crims and are now helping Sierra Leoneans reconstruct
the country.
Out in Tonkollili, in a village called Woreh, the local blacksmith taught himself to read and write copying passages from the local paper with a stick in the dirt outside his house. These days, he not only runs a flourishing business making farming hoes but is back at school studying to become a teacher. He dreams not of a life in the States but of having his daughters return to Woreh as doctors (one in six women die here in child birth). He’s worth 100 UN bureaucrats and cooks a mean cassava leaf and rice. Plus, there is plenty of cheap ice-cold Star beer and somebody has remixed Phil Collins to make him sound African and imperceptibly cool.
One thing I realised in Sierra Leone is that junkies have it rough. Not only is it tough making money these days selling stolen DVD players, it is bloody hard to find a vein. This I found out the hard way. Being too scared to let any local nurses near me with a syringe but having convinced myself I’d contracted
malaria, I was mandated to get blood out of my own arm to confirm the reason I was feeling so crap was mosquito-borne parasites and not the heat, palm wine, nor eating with South Africans who consider chicken a vegetable.
Like many of us at IHEID, I chose to spend my summer break trying to help a small corner of the world, in my case the Tonkollili and Bombali districts, 200 km northwest of Freetown in the agricultural heartland of Sierra Leone.
If anywhere ever deserves a second chance, it is Sierra Leone.
Things got so bad here a couple of years ago that people cut each other’s limbs off and in a few, but well publicised cases, ate each other. This often unsettled me as I watched some of my Sierra Leonean colleagues roast the local monkeys, giggling and drawing parallels between the colour of their dinner’s ginger fur and my own red beard. There is poverty and lots of it in this part of the world. For the first time in Sierra Leone, I met people who worked harder and for less pay than my brother and I used to as landscape gardeners for our next door neighbour.
Just near my lodgings, young kids spent their school holidays warding off hunger by making gravel from large boulders using hand mallets. But for every bleak picture of desperation, there are many more people enamoured with life and the future. On the macro scale, there is little cynicism directed towards the UN (a refreshing change) who are seen as having ended the conflict, locked up the crims and are now helping Sierra Leoneans reconstruct
the country.
Out in Tonkollili, in a village called Woreh, the local blacksmith taught himself to read and write copying passages from the local paper with a stick in the dirt outside his house. These days, he not only runs a flourishing business making farming hoes but is back at school studying to become a teacher. He dreams not of a life in the States but of having his daughters return to Woreh as doctors (one in six women die here in child birth). He’s worth 100 UN bureaucrats and cooks a mean cassava leaf and rice. Plus, there is plenty of cheap ice-cold Star beer and somebody has remixed Phil Collins to make him sound African and imperceptibly cool.
Genève and all its Genf-ish-ness
We can all agree: life has its ups and its downs. Living life in Geneva, however, takes that to a completely new level.
by Melissa Hollendyke
Genf is no longer just the German word for Geneva. Genf (said in a deep, boorish and ogre-like voice) is now what you say when this city we live in, inevitably, ticks you off.
For example: It’s raining, I am sans umbrella, the bus is late (or the TPG website lied again), and when it finally arrives, its tires make a beeline for the enormous puddle next to the curb, dousing me in water before I have a chance to avoid it. Or, perhaps I’ve just spent four precious hours of my life waiting at the OCP while being serenaded by overtired toddlers whose lungs somehow produce shrieks and screams that are loud enough to dominate any iPod.
Or, I’ve opted to go out to a bar with my friends but am forced to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before deciding whether or not to fork over an inordinate amount of money for the smallest glass of wine EVER or spend my money elsewhere…like at the OCP. When in Geneva, it’s not just a bad day; it’s a GENF day.
However, living in Geneva is kind of like living in a toxic relationship.
Just when I’m ready to throw in the towel and call it quits, Geneva puts on its wonderful, amazing, thoughtful, Genève face. As I’m sitting on my inevitably late bus, fuming because my bike tire went flat, I’m late, my iPod just died 3 minutes into my commute and this bus really stinks (literally), the adorable old lady sitting next to me strikes up a friendly conversation and takes my mind off of the GENF-ish-ness of Geneva.
Or, perhaps the weather decides to be spectacular which leads to a day complete with picnics, friends, walks and lots of bottles of wine. Or, I decide head to the Plainpalais flea market and stumble upon some seriously awesome finds and refurnish my room for less than 40 CHF!
These are the times when Geneva seems awfully Genève-esque and my feelings of pure loathing toward this city melt away into feelings
that more closely resemble fondness. Or, at least, I’m willing to give it a second chance. We have, after all, been together for over a year now
If the word that best encapsulates Rome is ‘Sex’, what, then, is the word that best describes Geneva? Vivacious? Hardly. Comatose? That might be a bit of an exaggeration. Cute? No, Bruges laid claim to that one a while ago… A mon avis, it totally depends on the day. Today, the word is Genève.
For example: It’s raining, I am sans umbrella, the bus is late (or the TPG website lied again), and when it finally arrives, its tires make a beeline for the enormous puddle next to the curb, dousing me in water before I have a chance to avoid it. Or, perhaps I’ve just spent four precious hours of my life waiting at the OCP while being serenaded by overtired toddlers whose lungs somehow produce shrieks and screams that are loud enough to dominate any iPod.
Or, I’ve opted to go out to a bar with my friends but am forced to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before deciding whether or not to fork over an inordinate amount of money for the smallest glass of wine EVER or spend my money elsewhere…like at the OCP. When in Geneva, it’s not just a bad day; it’s a GENF day.
However, living in Geneva is kind of like living in a toxic relationship.
Just when I’m ready to throw in the towel and call it quits, Geneva puts on its wonderful, amazing, thoughtful, Genève face. As I’m sitting on my inevitably late bus, fuming because my bike tire went flat, I’m late, my iPod just died 3 minutes into my commute and this bus really stinks (literally), the adorable old lady sitting next to me strikes up a friendly conversation and takes my mind off of the GENF-ish-ness of Geneva.
Or, perhaps the weather decides to be spectacular which leads to a day complete with picnics, friends, walks and lots of bottles of wine. Or, I decide head to the Plainpalais flea market and stumble upon some seriously awesome finds and refurnish my room for less than 40 CHF!
These are the times when Geneva seems awfully Genève-esque and my feelings of pure loathing toward this city melt away into feelings
that more closely resemble fondness. Or, at least, I’m willing to give it a second chance. We have, after all, been together for over a year now
If the word that best encapsulates Rome is ‘Sex’, what, then, is the word that best describes Geneva? Vivacious? Hardly. Comatose? That might be a bit of an exaggeration. Cute? No, Bruges laid claim to that one a while ago… A mon avis, it totally depends on the day. Today, the word is Genève.
L’été à Genève
By Matt Hamilton
For those of you who skipped town or others who had not yet arrived, here’s a brief rundown of what you missed:
The heat
Mon Dieu! You wouldn’t believe how hot this place can get. I actually invested in a fan that was used non-stop for nearly a month. (It’s now collecting dust in the corner...c’est la vie)
Lac Leman
Summer is the time when you can finally give those oh-so-inviting waters a splash. Bains de Paquis, Baby Plage, Tropicana Beach are yours for the picking.
World Cup 2010
Despite Switzerland’s early defeat, Geneva was still wild with World Cup fever all the way to the final. With so many expats, the flags (and combination of flags) flying across the city were impressive. In just one night, it was possible to watch a Brazil match with Brazilians, Spain with Spaniards, and Switzerland with the Swiss. Beat that!
Lake Parade
Mardi Gras meets Ibiza. The calmness usually witnessed au bord du lac turned topsy-turvy. With the lake lined with make-shift bars and djs bumping techno into the wee hours, the night was a veritable frenzy of booty-shakin’, shot-takin’ madness. The next day, the streets were spotless and it was as if nothing had happened.
Fetes de Geneve
The crème de la crème...For nearly three weeks, both sides of the lake hosted a combination of carnival rides, bars, restaurants, and night clubs. Live music, open-air cinema, and dancing the night away just feet from the water were a few of the highlights. The whole thing went out with a bang (literally!) on August 1st , date of the actual Fête de Genève, with an hour-long fireworks show followed by more moonlit dancing and drinking.
The heat
Mon Dieu! You wouldn’t believe how hot this place can get. I actually invested in a fan that was used non-stop for nearly a month. (It’s now collecting dust in the corner...c’est la vie)
Lac Leman
Summer is the time when you can finally give those oh-so-inviting waters a splash. Bains de Paquis, Baby Plage, Tropicana Beach are yours for the picking.
World Cup 2010
Despite Switzerland’s early defeat, Geneva was still wild with World Cup fever all the way to the final. With so many expats, the flags (and combination of flags) flying across the city were impressive. In just one night, it was possible to watch a Brazil match with Brazilians, Spain with Spaniards, and Switzerland with the Swiss. Beat that!
Lake Parade
Mardi Gras meets Ibiza. The calmness usually witnessed au bord du lac turned topsy-turvy. With the lake lined with make-shift bars and djs bumping techno into the wee hours, the night was a veritable frenzy of booty-shakin’, shot-takin’ madness. The next day, the streets were spotless and it was as if nothing had happened.
Fetes de Geneve
The crème de la crème...For nearly three weeks, both sides of the lake hosted a combination of carnival rides, bars, restaurants, and night clubs. Live music, open-air cinema, and dancing the night away just feet from the water were a few of the highlights. The whole thing went out with a bang (literally!) on August 1st , date of the actual Fête de Genève, with an hour-long fireworks show followed by more moonlit dancing and drinking.
Mini Quiz
Do you know the Geneva landmarks?
1. How tall is the jet d’eau?
a) 60 m
b) 100m
c) 140 m
2. How many parks are there in Geneva?
a) 23
b) 39
c) 50
3. Which is the biggest park in Geneva?
a) Bastions
b) La Grange
c) Barton
4. What does CERN stand for?
a) Cosmic Energy Rocket Navigator
b) European Organization for Nuclear Research
c) Council for Experimental Research in Nuclear particles
Click here for answers.
1. How tall is the jet d’eau?
a) 60 m
b) 100m
c) 140 m
2. How many parks are there in Geneva?
a) 23
b) 39
c) 50
3. Which is the biggest park in Geneva?
a) Bastions
b) La Grange
c) Barton
4. What does CERN stand for?
a) Cosmic Energy Rocket Navigator
b) European Organization for Nuclear Research
c) Council for Experimental Research in Nuclear particles
Click here for answers.
I hope these lines find you well...
While some of us stayed in Geneva this summer, others were traveling or interning in various countries. Here are a few updates from our classmates abroad......
Jana, Katarina and Mariya in Belgium:
Not so exotic, but Mariya, Katja and I enjoyed waffles, Belgian beers, and salsa inBrussels this June. I did an internship at the communications unit of the Czech Permanent Representation by the EU, while Mariya was at the Bulgarian Mission and Katarina at the Slovak Mission. We went to the celebrations in front of the European Parliament of the Belgian EU Presidency, which is where the picture of Mariya comes from. The second picture is from the National Day of Belgium which was accompanied by a big cultural program and a military parade, which we missed because of the crowds.
Jenna in Afghanistan
This summer I worked as a "Governance Specialist" consultant with The Asia Foundation. That means that I have been working for the Performance Based Governor's Fund program, which is currently the only sub-national governance program in Afghanistan and is designed to improve the budgeting, accountability and transparency of provincial government. As part of the monitoring and evaluation team, I helped to monitor theprogram in all 34 of the country's provinces. These pictures allow a glimpse into the world Iwas able to explore. The first one shows me and my co-worker. On the second we are at Band-e-Amir in Bamyan province and enjoyed a little "playtime" during an evaluationmission. On the third I can be seen with Afghanistan's only female governor Surabi of Bamyan province.
Chiara in Cambodia
I spent the summer in Takeo, near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I worked with an Italian NGO there to ameliorate health conditions in rural areas. I was helping them mostly with their legal affairs and often also with work in the hospital itself. The villages we visited were in fact extremely remote and could sometimes only be accessed via boat. I also had a chance to spend some time at the ECCC in Phnom Penh around the time of Duch's verdict. Cambodia revealed itself to be an extremely interesting country still recovering from the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime which undoubtedly marked the fate of the country for years and continues to do so.
Annina in Southern Sudan
Juba is not really a popular tourist
destination or, more precisely, not even a tourist destination at all. Nevertheless,
I spent my summer vacation there. So, everyone’s
natural reaction has been: ‘What the hell are you, a young Swiss girl, doing in
Southern Sudan?’- that was probably your first
thought, too. The same question bothered all of the workers at the innumerable
NGOs and international organizations in Southern Sudan
as soon as they figured out that I did not belong to their aid community. To be
honest, I often felt like I had no plan, either. I just knew that I wanted to
get to know the country about which I planned to write my master thesis.
First of all, I was impressed by the friendliness and the helpfulness of the Southern Sudanese (men). And to my surprise – my expectations were influenced by my experiences in Latin-America – people were not pushy. When I arrived at the airport a man working for the ministry of transport offered to drive me to wherever I needed to go because he realized that I was a bit lost (the guy who should have picked me up did not show up). I gratefully accepted. After a while, I realized that he was not the only 60-year-old married man who was keen to help me. I was a potential candidate for marriage for them! It is normal in Southern Sudan that a man has many wives: 10 wives or even more are common. Every few years, he gets a new wife and as he gets older, he will marry a younger woman. As a result, an age difference of 35 years is nothing unusual, but clearly this wasn’t even a consideration for me.
Generally, advances in Southern Sudan work a bit differently than in the parts of the world I had visited before (the so-called West and Latin-America). Flirting usually does not start with ‘What’s your name?’, ‘You’re the most beautiful girl in the room’ or ‘Where are you from?’, but with ‘Do you want to marry me?’ And showing interest in someone means one spends time together and then, one directly talks about getting married. Tenderness is generally not that common in relationships and therefore, physical advances are also almost non-existent or just really timid (although foreign influences have already started to slightly change this attitude, especially concerning the dancing style of young, ‘urban’ and educated people who spent some time abroad). This led to a funny situation: After having gone out for dinner with a young Southern Sudanese (for once not a 60-year-old!), let’s call him Moses, I ended up in an interrogation by his best friend David. David wanted to know if I could tell to which tribe Moses belonged and if I could name his mother tongue. He wanted me to learn at least two local languages. Furthermore, he explained to me some important things about their culture and told me that he would test me on it the next day. First, I was confused, but soon I realized that David wanted to test if I could be a good wife for his friend. And Moses himself, he started to talk about marriage later that evening when he drove me home. He wanted to know at what age one gets usually married in Switzerland. At this point, my guess that David was evaluating my potential to be a good wife was confirmed.
Closely connected to the topic of marriage is the importance of cattle. Traditionally, you are rich if you have a lot of cattle and you need cattle to get married. The cost of a wife, which is paid in cattle, depends on the tribe and changes with time. Nowadays, some parents allow for part of the bride price to be paid in money or weapons. At the end of an interview with a rural county commissioner, he noted that I was from Switzerland and therefore he wanted to know: ‘You also have a lot of cattle in Switzerland, haven’t you?’ After confirming that fact, he asked: ‘So, you also marry with cattle?’ Of course I had to deny that, so he guessed: ‘What do you marry with then? Money?’ I shook my head and he looked at me in disbelief: ‘So what do you marry with then? Just love…?’
First of all, I was impressed by the friendliness and the helpfulness of the Southern Sudanese (men). And to my surprise – my expectations were influenced by my experiences in Latin-America – people were not pushy. When I arrived at the airport a man working for the ministry of transport offered to drive me to wherever I needed to go because he realized that I was a bit lost (the guy who should have picked me up did not show up). I gratefully accepted. After a while, I realized that he was not the only 60-year-old married man who was keen to help me. I was a potential candidate for marriage for them! It is normal in Southern Sudan that a man has many wives: 10 wives or even more are common. Every few years, he gets a new wife and as he gets older, he will marry a younger woman. As a result, an age difference of 35 years is nothing unusual, but clearly this wasn’t even a consideration for me.
Generally, advances in Southern Sudan work a bit differently than in the parts of the world I had visited before (the so-called West and Latin-America). Flirting usually does not start with ‘What’s your name?’, ‘You’re the most beautiful girl in the room’ or ‘Where are you from?’, but with ‘Do you want to marry me?’ And showing interest in someone means one spends time together and then, one directly talks about getting married. Tenderness is generally not that common in relationships and therefore, physical advances are also almost non-existent or just really timid (although foreign influences have already started to slightly change this attitude, especially concerning the dancing style of young, ‘urban’ and educated people who spent some time abroad). This led to a funny situation: After having gone out for dinner with a young Southern Sudanese (for once not a 60-year-old!), let’s call him Moses, I ended up in an interrogation by his best friend David. David wanted to know if I could tell to which tribe Moses belonged and if I could name his mother tongue. He wanted me to learn at least two local languages. Furthermore, he explained to me some important things about their culture and told me that he would test me on it the next day. First, I was confused, but soon I realized that David wanted to test if I could be a good wife for his friend. And Moses himself, he started to talk about marriage later that evening when he drove me home. He wanted to know at what age one gets usually married in Switzerland. At this point, my guess that David was evaluating my potential to be a good wife was confirmed.
Closely connected to the topic of marriage is the importance of cattle. Traditionally, you are rich if you have a lot of cattle and you need cattle to get married. The cost of a wife, which is paid in cattle, depends on the tribe and changes with time. Nowadays, some parents allow for part of the bride price to be paid in money or weapons. At the end of an interview with a rural county commissioner, he noted that I was from Switzerland and therefore he wanted to know: ‘You also have a lot of cattle in Switzerland, haven’t you?’ After confirming that fact, he asked: ‘So, you also marry with cattle?’ Of course I had to deny that, so he guessed: ‘What do you marry with then? Money?’ I shook my head and he looked at me in disbelief: ‘So what do you marry with then? Just love…?’
Perspectives from New Students
Over the summer, several new students were asked to write about why they chose IHEID and what they expect from the experience. Here is one of the submissions we received. Others will be included in our upcoming print issue.
Name: Aleksey M Martynyuk
Program: MIS-International Economics
To be frank, IHEID is not that well known in the United States, and most of my professors advised me to accept the offer of admission I got from SIPA, Columbia University. However, the voice inside my head told me that the mere name and supposed standing are not as important to me as the actual education. I compared syllabi, degree structure and the professors who taught those courses. In all the aspects I looked at, IHEID topped my list with a rigorous economic training, well-integrated mathematics component, small classes, and outstanding faculty who actually teach courses, not just being listed on a school’s website as "marquee professors", while doing research and spending zero time with students.
While other schools are transforming their curricula to become a cheaper version of an MBA for mid-career professionals, IHEID created programs that are very flexible but at the same time subject-intensive, that attract young students deeply interested in their fields. My long-term goal is a PhD in Economics and subsequent involvement in the international arena, and found the MIS program to fit my goals perfectly.
There is one small problem however: for the last 6 years I lived in the center of one of the craziest cities in the world – New York. How could I move from the city that never sleeps, to a city that closes down after 6 PM? My lifestyle will definitely need a makeover, at least a partial one. I do expect to spend more time in the library, and spend less money on entertainment. Considering the number of books in the syllabi and prices in Geneva both of my objectives seem to be very much feasible. At the same time I yearn for new friends, and the student body was a very important factor for me as well. IHEID has a very small student body that should make it easier for students to bond. Two years is not very long time, but it should be enough to create life-long friendships and learn something useful. Learning economics is fun, but learning about yourself and the world is better. Aren’t we all here just for that?
Over the summer, several new students were asked to write about why they chose IHEID and what they expect from the experience. Here is one of the submissions we received. Others will be included in our upcoming print issue.
Name: Aleksey M Martynyuk
Program: MIS-International Economics
To be frank, IHEID is not that well known in the United States, and most of my professors advised me to accept the offer of admission I got from SIPA, Columbia University. However, the voice inside my head told me that the mere name and supposed standing are not as important to me as the actual education. I compared syllabi, degree structure and the professors who taught those courses. In all the aspects I looked at, IHEID topped my list with a rigorous economic training, well-integrated mathematics component, small classes, and outstanding faculty who actually teach courses, not just being listed on a school’s website as "marquee professors", while doing research and spending zero time with students.
While other schools are transforming their curricula to become a cheaper version of an MBA for mid-career professionals, IHEID created programs that are very flexible but at the same time subject-intensive, that attract young students deeply interested in their fields. My long-term goal is a PhD in Economics and subsequent involvement in the international arena, and found the MIS program to fit my goals perfectly.
There is one small problem however: for the last 6 years I lived in the center of one of the craziest cities in the world – New York. How could I move from the city that never sleeps, to a city that closes down after 6 PM? My lifestyle will definitely need a makeover, at least a partial one. I do expect to spend more time in the library, and spend less money on entertainment. Considering the number of books in the syllabi and prices in Geneva both of my objectives seem to be very much feasible. At the same time I yearn for new friends, and the student body was a very important factor for me as well. IHEID has a very small student body that should make it easier for students to bond. Two years is not very long time, but it should be enough to create life-long friendships and learn something useful. Learning economics is fun, but learning about yourself and the world is better. Aren’t we all here just for that?
