Which continent, exactly?

This blog's title isn't in reference to actual continents (I've now been to four), but is rather drawn from "The Third and Final Continent," a stunning short story by Jhumpa Lahiri, from her collection, The Interpreter of Maladies. In particular, I'm inspired by the following quote that summarizes the attitude I try to carry with me through life and on my travels

I am not the only person to seek his fortune far from home, and certainly I am not the first. Still there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.

I love this. It calls on us to consider the tiny details of our experiences, both one-by-one, and in the aggregate, and to maintain a sense of wonder even about the seemingly mundane things that are the building blocks of our lives, and often, the glue that binds us to our traveling companions.

This blog began as a chronicle of my study abroad experience in Cairo in Spring 2008, and continued last year while volunteering in Geneva, and South Sudan with a wonderful organization, VIDES.

Now in graduate school, I'm returning to the Continent this summer while interning in New Delhi, India.

Please enjoy, inquire, and learn.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Ciao Geneva!

So tonight is my last night in Geneva.  I am heading from one of the oldest, richest nations in teh world to the newest, and one of the poorest, by way of Rome. I do not know what exacty awaits me.


I didn’t get to write everything I wanted to here. There’s plenty more to say, but the time was taken
Getting my nerd on at CERN!
up with other things.  All in all, this has been great. Exactly what I needed at exactly the right time.  I was able to experience some once-in-a-lifetime things at the UN Human Rights Council, work with and meet some incredible people, use my powers of English writing and editing for good, have the time and connectivity to plot my future upon my return to my continent of origin (starting a Master’s degree in Chicago), see Paris, Rome, Amsterdam and more.  Recently,  I saw where they found God (CERN).   At the end, I got to pass the baton to my VIDES USA replacement.   I wouldn’t go to Geneva again without good reason, but was happy to call it home for a while.

I’m also a bit more open as a person, and above all, ready for what comes next.  After listening to diplomats talk ad nauseum for several hours a day to often-dubious effects, over the course of several eeks, I’m so ready to get my hands dirty and make a substantial impact on someone’s life.  Even if I only teach one person one thing, it will suffice to be a welcome change, worthwhile step and much-needed challenge.   


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