A Tsunami in Geneva?

Lake Geneva, 1.26.13

Yes, you read that right.

Anyone who knows me personally knows of my strong affection for the Economist.  I love it for a number of reasons, including that it addresses in detail, global events and issues I never would have known or even considered.

Such as this article, "Lake Monsters: Tsunamis on Lake Geneva," which I read a few months ago, and with my plane ticket already booked, I haven`t been able to get it out of my mind.

Apparently, a) lakes can get tsunamis and b) Lake Geneva has had a history of them, the latest of which was in 563 AD.  At that point the New World (as defined by Europe) wasn`t even a glimmer in anyone`s eye, but there was enough of Geneva there for bridges, windmills and nearby villages to be wiped out.   Conventional wisdom said it was a one-off caused by a rockslide, but recent research suggests it may have happened before, perhaps 5 times in the last 13,000 years.  Science is pretty cool, no?

So the odds are extremely good that I won`t experience a tsunami while I`m here.  But it's not impossible. I`ve used this article to help put my inexplicable love of the Middle East and next placement in Juba into perspective for those who simply think: "Africa/Middle East=scary and dangerous."  Yes, the news reminds us daily that these regions are dominated by developing countries at risk for instability. Still, what the news doesn't always get across is that these places are homes to millions and billions of people, including foreigners and expats, almost all of whom will get up tomorrow and go about their days in peace. We're wired to be awful at risk assessment, and media bias only makes it worse.  Of course, I'm absolutely taking risks with my choices of locale, and I will have to exercise a great deal of caution anywhere I go, monitor the social and political situations that affect me closely, and take measures like registering with the State Department.

But Juba, Cairo, and their neighbors are not the only place where bad things happen, and I try to keep that in perspective.  I could get hit by a car in St. Louis,  get struck by lightning, or, apparently, experience a tsunami in Geneva.  If I let scary unknowns put me in a permanent state of fear, if my life decisions perpetually overcount the potential dangers and undercount the incredible things I can do and experience, well that`s so much worse than facing a once-in-a-few-millennia tsunami striking a landlocked country and destroying one of the world`s wealthiest cities.

Where in the world is Laura . . . exactly?

It is 6pm on a Friday, and I am in the final stages of kicking jet lag, so rather than give details about what life is like here or what world-changing stuff I`m working on, it is easier to just throw a Google map up here to at least give you the where, and save the what, the why, and the how for later, especially because I am still figuring most of that out anyway, and will be for a while.  

Also, despite my best efforts, I haven`t acquired an adapter for my electronics, so I`m working on a laptop that appears to be set up for French, as the y and the z are reversed, along with a few other significant changes.  Which leaves me trzing to tzpe like this, and itàs driving me totallz crayz.   Absolutelz bonkers. 

So, anyway, back to where.   The Salesian school/residence and the IIMA office is located Veyrier, a small town/village outside Geneva, roughly 20-30 minutes by bus.  In practice, we`re closer to France than we are to Geneva, but it appears to stay pretty quiet over there.   The backdrop here at the office are these two pretty incredible mountains that the map tells me are in France.  They`re are probably small for Colorado or Nepal, perhaps, but for this Missouri girl, these are no molehills.   Waking up to snow-covered Alps every morning are just another aspect making this experience totally surreal. 

Then, I will be spending a good amount of time at the United Nations Human Rights building, which is a bus ride away. I just got my badge today, so I can get in with ease on Monday.  Again, surreal.  More on the actual work next week once that starts and the reality hits a little more soundly.  

You can't get away from rhythm: Pre-departure musings

Oh you can’t get away from rhythm.   You just can’t get away from it.   The left hand shakes with the right hand, the inhale follows the exhale and systole talks back to the diastole, the hands play patty-cake and the feet dance with each other.  And the seasons.  And the stars, and all of that.  And the tides, and all that junk.  You’ve got to live at peace with it, because if it’s going to worry you, you’ll lose.     It keeps on and on and on.  Hell, we’ll never get away from rhythm
                 Saul Bellow, Henderson the Rain King

Those of you who have been to DC any time in the past couple years probably remember that I had this quote  hanging above my bed (see right). It’s one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books.  The novel is about a middle aged man who goes to Africa with vague ambitions to find the meaning of life, and manages to, in my opinion, turn both Heart of Darkness and the “middle class white male who finds his life unsatisfying” genre on their respective heads. I recommend it for the story and language alike. 

I bring up because it’s another quote, like the one that provided the name for this blog, that presents an attitude I try to carry with me through life, and particularly when traveling.  During undergrad I shared it to help a friend who was adjusting to Uganda, telling her that the developing world has its own unique rhythm, that one absolutely has to learn to live at peace with, because if it worries you, you will absolutely lose. . . you will not change the ambient rhythm with your dischordant way of being, and you’ll possibly lose your own sense of order in the process. Rhythm is beautiful, if you’re in the right frame of mind to hear it

Whenever anyone asks about Cairo, I tell them that I loved it.  She was messy, chaotic, and challenging, but if you let her be whatever it is that she is (embracing her underlying rhythm of life), she will teach you each and every day. You could probably say the same for most cities.. 

Bringing it back to the present, I’m getting ready to pick up several new beats.  I’m off to Geneva, and then Juba.  Which means I have to adjust to two places, each with their own rhythms, and two different communities of Salesian sisters, both of which are a little more in tune with each other than with their host communities, but probably a few beats off nonetheless.

My goal for these months, then, is to embrace and adopt the new rhythms, not let them worry me, because the worrying and the losing will get in the way of what I am trying to do in these next few months. . . to serve, and to learn, and to grow.  I won’t have time to waste in either place, so my goal is to submit to the order and rhythm of things, resist the urge to push against it, and save my energy for fully embracing the experiences the next few months bring and being as useful as I can to the two communities and the work they do.

I’ve told many of my friends this, but there’s another reason why I’m looking forward to learning to play in tune with my new homes. . . I will probably feel differently about this in a few weeks, but towards the end of my time in DC, I got tired of and increasingly bad at the little choices you have to make to get through the day. . . what to get for lunch, which brand of rice to pick up from Safeway, whether to go home before I go to the gym, whether to go to the gym at all. I attribute it to my over-analytical tendencies gone awry, living on a tighter budget, and maybe one or two too many econ courses that had me thinking about maximum  utility for time and money.  Whatever the causes, it got exhausting, and made convent life in Texas for training a breath of fresh air.  Yes, at some point, I’ll want more of my autonomy back, but for a few months, freeing up my energy for more critical decisions, such as those I’ll need for my work in Geneva and the looming grad school decision, will be a blessing.  

Anyway, those are my pre-departure musings.  Now time to figure out how to pack for this. Eesh.

Laura

Return to the Continent. . .

After a 5-year hiatus, I am starting the blog up again, because my life is about to get a little bit less mundane, and a little more blog-worthy. I'm seizing a very unique window and going abroad again, this time to serve first, and learn second.   After 3 years in Washington DC, I am leaving for Geneva from January through July to serve for six months, three in Geneva, and an additional three in Juba, South Sudan, God willing.  After that, I plan to begin a full-time program in public policy in the fall. . . I've applied to a number of places, and will have to see how admissions and financial aid shakes out. 

DC was wonderful, but I am ready for a change of scene for a few years at least. I am taking the next several months to pursue something I've always wanted to: international service.  I spent most of high school and college dead-set on the Peace Corps, but when the time came after graduation, I wasn't quite ready to take that step. Now that I'm ready and able, I'll be volunteering instead with a small organization called VIDES (http://vides.us/) run by an order of Catholic nuns, called the Salesians who focus on tending to the young, especially young women,which is both important to me personally and smart international development.  In Geneva, I'll be supporting the work of the order's human rights office, advocating for the rights and protection of children and youth.  In Juba, it'll be a little more traditional service work.  The sisters are establishing a school there, so I'll have the opportunity to help with organizational work, as well as teaching English and computers. 

So far, the organization has been wonderful.  I trained with them for 2 weeks in Texas in January and am now fully formed and ready for anything.  VIDES provides logistical support, health insurance, room and board, while I am responsible for my flights and personal expenses.   I've done some fundraising, and will be relying on the savings I've built up, in part with this kind of experience in mind. 

I welcome your thoughts, comments and questions. For those of you who know me, I do want to express my gratitude to all of you.   These past few years have been really wonderful, and in spite of tough times, I've been continually surprised by the support, advice, and time that my friends and family continue to give, even when there's not a lot of time or energy to go around.   In a roundabout way, these next months are a way to give back a little and remind myself not to take anything for granted.

In peace,

Laura