im sooo tired! watch out for tomorrow's update.

Christmas Activities

New pictures have been posted in my photoalbum. Texts to follow - I'd better go to sleep.

Flight details

Hello everyone,

Yes, I am just counting the last number of days here in Canada. I will be flying out to Switzerland New Year's eve. It will be my first time flying in this special time of the year. I hope the flight is not boring and that they bump all passengers into if not first class business class (how I wish!)

Flight details are as follows:

31 Dec - Winnipeg - Montreal Trudeau (departs 0845)

Then, I'll have a four-hour lay-over in Montreal. What do I do with this? I really wanted to take the opportunity to wander round Montreal centre-ville but apparently, the airport is way way far downtown. There's actually a shuttle bus that takes you to downtown central bus station, but oh well since Switzerland will be such an expensive destination, lets tighten our belts and save. Bah, I`ll just try to airport-watch then (and people-watch as well), possibly to get some inspiration to write my scientific paper :)

Although my flight number is AC, my flight will be operated by Swiss (in airline parlance: codeshare)

Then, here's the big flight. I'll be on my Swiss flight at 1700 arriving in Zurich 0625 New Year's day. So it will be somewhat interesting, spending the new year inside the plane. Will they be popping champagne at 35,000 ft? Will the pilot and stewardess get drunk as they party hard mid-Atlantic? We'll see:)

Feel free to (ahem) be one of my well-wisher(s) on my departure day..... (will there be or not?)

Counting days but no luck with rooms yet!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Yes, we got a couple more days to go before I depart Winnipeg and head off to Geneva, Switzerland. I am somewhat feeling a mix of fear, worry and excitement with my impending departure. Fear as I do not know a soul in Geneva and I could not converse in fluent French. Worry as after more than 2 weeks of searching, no room has been found yet. And of course excitement as this will be a new continent and country I'll be setting foot in, it's a fulfilment of a childhood ambition as I've always dreamt of setting foot in Europe when I was a kid.

Yes, as I've told you, it has been really tough finding a room in Geneva. Although my internship has been approved in principle way way back in September, I just got my contract on the 11th. Add to that my end-of-term requirements in the graduate school so I am just actually left with approximately 2 1/2 weeks for room searching.

Searching for a room in Geneva is in simple words, crazy! As one website puts it, it can 'reduce grown, intelligent adults to anger, kicking and screaming - even tears.' Well, I am taking it easy. I haven't set foot in Switzerland yet so this might be a big factor why I'm not having any luck at all with the tenants. Plus, je ne parle pas français couramment. Another factor might be the anticipated cultural barrier, considering that I am a foreigner and not Swiss or French or say European.

It's been a pretty interesting house-searching though. I've sent out a couple of emails to landlords and the response has been somewhat funny. I didn't know that sex, linguistic capabilities and/or nationality might actually make or break a deal with a potential landlord. There's Emma, who wrote me back saying that they only prefer female colocataires. Well, that's well-given, it's somewhat natural for some girls not to like roommates of the opposite sex especially strangers like me. Then there's Pierre, I sent an email to this guy and he responded back immediately, like in 2-3 hours after the email was sent. He asked questions wheter I speak English perfectly, if I do have an accent, and if I am a girl.... Well, the first two questions are understandable as he might want to perfect his English. But the last question? Your guess is good as mine :)

Another thing that worries me is the astronomically high rent prices. I can't imagine that a room, take note only a room - and not an apartment costs SFr 600 ($1 CAD ~ SFr 1) above! You even see students willing to pay SFr 1000 just for a single room! Having lived in Winnipeg for two winters, I apparently got spoiled with the 'mild' rent prices in this cold city. One Mexican exchange student friend of mine has the entire basement with cable TV, washer and drier, and internet for just $300 CAD! Well, oh well, that's why they say Switzerland is one if not the most expensive country in the world to live.

Don't get me wrong, I am not whining. I try to approach the situation open-mindedly. Perhaps we could get an affordable place to live once I do the searching inside of Geneva and not through electronic means with my PC and internet connection here in Winnipeg.

Avez-vous une chambre disponible/Do you have a room available?

Bonjour

Je m'appelle Mark, j'ai 23 ans et j'arrive à Genève début Janvier 2007 pour faire un stage à l'Organisation International du Travail. Pour l'instant je me trouve à Winnipeg (Canada) et je suis en train de faire mon diplom Master (<>).

Je recherche une chambre meublé dans les environs de Genève pour une durée de environ cinq à six mois (janvier à mai/juin 2007, mais un délais plus court serai aussi possible). Mon budget serait entre 400 et 550 francs par mois. Si possible avec accès Internet illimité.

Si vous avez une chambre disponible prière de bien vouloir me contacter. En cas d'accord je serai disponible à Genève le 2 ou le 3 Janvier 2007.

Avec mes sincère remerciements.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,


My name is Mark , I am 23 years old and I will be in Geneva beginning this coming January for my internship with the International Labour Organization. At present, I am a graduate student in Winnipeg, Canada doing my Masters degree.

I am looking for a room in Geneva and its surrounding areas starting this January until May (although a short delay is also possible) . If possible, with unlimited Internet access please.

Should you have the room available, kindly contact me. I will be in Geneva this 2-3 January, 2007. Thank you very much for your assistance and I do hope to hear from you soon.


Mark

17 days to departure

Today, I decided to open a blog to share my experiences with you on my upcoming internship in Geneva. For those of you who haven't guessed yet, I will be going to Switzerland to intern and of course, visit surrounding European countries as well. It will be an experience of a lifetime setting foot in a new continent, learning a new language, meeting new people and getting to know a new way of life. And at long last, I'm really anticipating to cut short the long, rude Winnipeg winters which is way way overdue!

Come January, 2007, I will be working as an intern in the International Social Security Association (ISSA) - International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva. Inasmuch as I look forward to being in Europe for the first time, I realized that moving yet again into a new country entails a lot of preparation and planning. You get to follow-up and send repeated emails to your internship sponsor to issue the contracts which fortunately is already here after more than 5 months of repeated representations. Next is to secure the documents needed to apply for a Swiss visa.... As a citizen of a third world country, we are required to sweat it out and gather all the necessary documents ranging from bank certificates, school enrolment certifications (which apparently costs $6.00), and other proofs of financial solvency. Then you need to book and buy your flights as well as purchase a travel and health insurance. Of course, moving to a new city requires that you have a place to live, and you need to find a 'chambre' in a foyer or a student residence. And of course, you need to settle home matters as well, such finishing all your school requirements, pay your outstanding dues (which reminds me that I still have outstanding tuition with the UofM), and other paperworks. I hope my first experience would make me way better in handling things this time around.

yes, Philippine passports are still in autograph form (handwritten), unfortunately.....

I am happy to receive my freshly-evidenced Swiss visa in my handwritten Philippines-passport (yes, unfortunately the primary identification of one's Philippine's citizenship is still in autograph form). Indeed, Swiss embassy staff are efficient as it only took half a day for my visa to be processed. And best of all, since I will be working with an international organization (I don't know if I will get a diplomatic acreditation as an intern... I wish!), they courteously returned my $50 mandat-poste whose part I used this afternoon to watch a movie. I hope all embassy visa section would work in such an efficient manner.

Swiss visa - I'm so happy, the $50-fee was unexpectedly waived for me

Anyhow, my post is getting longer and longer. There you have it folks, my first blog entry. I'm excited but somewhat nervous for my first time in Europe. I hope it would not be as bad as my adjustment phase when I moved to Canada. But first, work needs to be accomplished with my pile of graduate school requirements around the corner.

I'll update this blog whenever I get a chance, and as a motivation for me as well, feel free to write your comments, suggestions and/or violent reactions if there may be any :)

See you around!