In the UN library!

Bonjour tout le mond! Greetings from the United Nations library! I mostly just wanted to post something from here because I thought that would be pretty official. The hall where Iàm writing is hung with prints that depict various passages from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I am writing on a Swiss kezboard which is different enough that I apologize in advance if I type something incoherent!

I just received my official badge for entrance into the UN complex and the library. I feel verz much like an international woman of mystery. I realize that I didnàt share anything about academics in my first post! We will be coming to the UN for research and for two, two-day long conferences/information sessions with experts throughout the semester. Each morning we have lectures from specialists on a given international relations topic. This morning, for example, Doctor Lambert spoke with us about global security.

The lecture began as a broad introduction to international relations theories but quickly became much more complicated and interesting. I, for one, enjoyed hearing the European perspective first hand. He heavily criticized US military spending (which accounts for roughly forty cents out of every tax dollar we pay) and advocated for more spending on diplomacy (which is about one percent of US spending). I think he was intentionally trying to provoke us to defend our country, and we did on many fronts. He was quite receptive to our comments - he loved having us disagree. This seems like a great tone to set for the semester. Though he did soundly criticize the US, he was quick to point out that the only reason we act unilaterally is because we are able to. He even said that tiny Switzerland would certainly do so if it had the huge population and political and military power that the US is blessed with. Of course I have long known that the US is an incredibly powerful and influential country. Somehow, still, hearing a political scientist who has published half a dozen books and numerous articles that we, as citizens of the United States, wield unbelievable power, truly hit home.

And now....what to do with our power?

A return to homestay events... My homestay paretns continue to be absurdly welcoming. My only possible complaint is that they just canàt stop talking to me. Which is really fantastic complaint in the grand scheme of things. My mom in particular talks to me for hours every night about anything and everything. She is quite a precise woman. If she says a word in French that I donàt understand she sometimes spends several minutes explaining it (all in French) even after I offer some translation. Hey, it^s a fabulous way to learn the language. Tomorrow I will go with my homestay parents to a small restaurant in the Jura mountains which are just half an hour away from my village for a welcoming dinner with half the SIT students and their families. We are having fondue!

Random thought...

I finally racked and bought my first bar of chocolate yesterday.

Okay I am off to explore before our official tour begins.

A bien tot!
Alice
@1!(€