A Typical Day in Geneva
As this week marks the halfway point of my internship, I have been reflecting on how my experience compares with what I expected before arriving. Since it was natural for me to overlook the mundane parts of living abroad, I want to explain a typical day in hopes of painting a more accurate picture of my experience. Small routines make life what it is!
Although I enjoy getting up early, the 5:30 AM sunrise sometimes starts the day before I would choose to. In the mornings, I like to catch up on the second half of my friends' and family's days and on the US news. It is strange and sad to feel so removed, but the upside is that life feels more peaceful when I can choose to engage with information when I feel most ready to. I also journal, as it feels important to memorialize my days as they happen. After I am ready for work, I might do a couple DuoLingo lessons or read. I learned the hard way that Europeans do not care to get into the office early, so I have adjusted my mindset accordingly to ease into the workday.
The walk to work also seems to ease me into the day—our quiet residential neighborhood picks up traffic down a hill, leading to the train station and the bustle of the working city. Laura and I typically arrive at 9, and interns and staff continue trickling in once we are situated. There are now 16 interns, and most of us sit in the first room behind IBJ's door. This group makes the office feel lively, and the days go quickly. Interns can receive assignments in various ways. The internship coordinator, seated among us, has a running list of tasks for anyone in need of a new job. Other staff members might assign tasks in our Monday meetings or in individual meetings with interns who have a particularly relevant skill or interest. Although the proposal has kept me busy, I have done a number of miscellaneous jobs through that assignment's ebbs. This week, for example, I worked on creating a report for a Syrian lawyer training program held this May. I wrote background information, summarized paragraphs, converted data into charts, and selected pictures from the event to create a stylized product that captures the program's successes.
Interns often walk down the street to eat lunch together in the grass by Lake Geneva. The crystal-clear water throughout the city is a part of my days that I have to remind myself to appreciate the beauty of fully while it is in front of me. I usually pack a lunch, which feels like a luxury because the fruit is noticeably better here. To my surprise, you have to mind the birds while you are eating outside—I have seen a sparrow take a bite of a picnicker's sandwich mid-flight! In the afternoons, there is a flow of people walking through the office, running to get on a call in the meeting room or grabbing coffee or tea from the kitchen. Interns occasionally take a break to talk about weekend plans or some research finding that excites them. One major project in the office currently is the biannual report, which is a great opportunity for interns to learn a lot about each of the 13 country programs.
I stop at the grocery store a few nights a week on the walk home. It was disorienting at first to not be able to read any food labels, but I have since embraced the uncertainty. Since European stores are small and dependent on seasonal produce, it is difficult to stick to a grocery list anyway. My recent secret to countering Geneva's sky-high cost of living is the app Too Good to Go. (Past efforts included going to France to buy groceries, which was much more effort than it was worth.) Registered stores and restaurants can reduce food waste by cheaply reselling their surpluses at the end of the day! (Although it has caught on in fewer US cities, check to see if there are participating restaurants near you!) French is not necessary for daily interactions, but it still is enjoyable to utilize French phrases when I can. The grocery store staff never seem to mind my cowardly attempts.
An average evening is spent through some combination of chatting with loved ones, doing an Arabic lesson, researching jobs, and planning upcoming small trips. Geneva is not very hot compared to Virginia, but the lack of air conditioning makes it seem like it is. Since the sun shines directly on my AirBnB's balcony in the evening, I have to wait until it sets behind the Alps to be restored by the breeze and beautiful view.