First 2 Weeks in Geneva
I've been in Geneva for a couple weeks and I'm finally feeling settled in. It took a long time for me to find an apartment in the city, so I had to stay at my friend's house out in the countryside. I didn't have internet access out there and the commute was about an hour and a half each way. Luckily, I found a nice apartment in a great spot in the city, so now getting to work is much easier. Geneva is a beautiful and diverse city and I'm really enjoying exploring and seeing all the sites. So far, I've only gotten lost twice.
The International Bridges to Justice office is a great place to work. Each staff member and intern beings a unique background and skill set to the table. Also, everyone here is passionate about criminal defense and human rights. So far, the work has been quite interesting. I've been assigned to work on training modules about War Crimes and International Law Crimes. I've also been working on training materials for IBJ's Communities of Conscience program. Communities of Conscience builds training relationships between public defenders from developing countries (where very few lawyers practice in criminal defense) and public defender's offices in the U.S. (where criminal defense is common and established).
I'm really enjoying my time in Geneva and hope to continue to make the most of this experience.