WTO Protest in Geneva

Today was the long awaited protest against the seventh ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization. I was at the library trying to finish my paper when I got a call from my friends to join them at Rue de Paquis where a huge crowd had accumulated to protest in the morning. I joined them and we were carried with the crowd, the aim was to attempt to get past the police to the WTO HQ. There were thousands of protesters with placards, people who just came to watch, people who didn't know what the hell was going on but joined the screaming for the fun of it, teenagers being foolish, parents dragging their little children away from the chaos... Not long after I joined my friends, the police began to shoot rubber bullets and rain tear gas on the crowd. It became like a cat and mouse game (I lost my friends at this point). I got pushed around while trying hard to escape the tear gas and bullets. At that moment, I was thinking, "Who sent you here?"... I did not come to this country to get arrested and beaten down by the police... my parents will probably have a fit if they find out about where I spent my Saturday :)

I have to say, the police was very well prepared, there were officers dressed like robocop with huge batons and weaponry (hehehe), an armored truck was around the corner, officers on power bikes zoomed past towards the front of the crowd where the rowdiness was high, police cars lined the streets and everything in the Geneva slowed down or stopped (i.e traffic, restaurants, stores etc), some streets where blockaded. This experience reminded me of some the protests I have witnessed elsewhere, the only difference was that the soldiers shot real bullets at the protesters not rubber bullets. I always seem to find myself in protests for some reason (hehehe)... that is another topic for another day!

Anyway, it was a very interesting experience, it is always great to see the masses organize for a cause. Whether or not the protest will change anything about the reality is a fruitless discussion, I think. It is good (sometimes, on rare occassions... hehehe) to get out of the safety that we so carefully surround ourselves with and stick it to the man... or woman. I got a bit tired of running around with the crowd and the police, my throat and eyes were beginning to hurt from the tear gas. It took me a while but I was able worm my way out of the chaos and carry myself to the safety of the nearby Gare Cornavin... phew!

A Thousand Words

I know this video has been on numerous blogs already but I couldn't help it! :)

A Thousand Words from Ted Chung on Vimeo.

Cesária Évora coming to GENEVE!!!!!

I LOVE this woman, I only got to hear her music on the radio (yes, I still use a radio hehe) or watch her via youtube and I have one of her CD's. I found out from a friend today that she is having a concert here in Geneva on Wednesday!!! While I have a paper due on Thursday morning, I cannot resist the urge to chuck school work down the toilet and spend a wonderful evening listening to her amazing voice!!! I bought the ticket with immediate alacrity (never mind that I was too broke a few moments ago... hehehe). It was surprisingly cheap even though I bought it late (45 CHF)... no matter what, I don't think I will ever regret choosing to go to her concert over working on my endless paper... yep.

One of those weeks.

I have been sooo broke recently, it has not been funny at all. All the money I saved this past summer was drained quicker than I thought... I am not allowed to work here until February so until then I have to hang on tight. I was looking for an informal job on the side like babysitting for quite a while and then I as lucky to find a temporary stint babysitting a 6 year old kid (I'll call him 'this kid'). This kid's parent's are VIP's. I was awestruck. They get only grad students to babysit their kid (interesting, right?). They wanted someone to help him with his english and french. This was my tryout session. The kid can understand 4 languages already (german, spanish, english and french). Can you believe that??? At the age of 6??? What the heck! How many is he going to know when he is grown??? Geez. Anyway, I was trying my best to keep up with this kid the whole time, he is very brilliant but rather bratty. He asked me why I am brown, like poop... I was like Obara Jesus!!! I would have knocked the hell out of his little head if it was not for the fact that I was getting paid a very fine sum to babysit him. I sweetly smiled back at him and asked, "well, if I am brown like poop, what are you??? The smart Alec said "I look just like my father." I couldn't say anything then because if I did, he would probably tell his parents when they got back. Na wa, the things a hungry student will go through for a little pocket money! I babysat for about 4 hours (very exhausting).

We spent the time playing language games and throwing legos all over the place. I think I burned more calories running around because of this kid than when I work out at the gym. When his mother got back, I was glad it was over. She asked me if I was exhausted (well of course!). She told me she will call again if they need a tutor for him... I don't think I can do this again. I think I am better as a happy but broke student. I went back home feeling as if I just ran a freaking marathon!!! (but it was nice to have some cash in hand... hehe). I won't be going back there, if all else fails, I will call my parents and beg for money (I know, I have no shame). It just sucks to be trying to live independently but having so many stinking bills to pay that independence remains a distant dream.

Speaking of languages, I thought I was good... it turns out not so much... (Well, to me, I am awesomely wonderful... haha). I go to a school that is so international, over 100 countries are represented. Almost everyone speaks a minimum of 5 languages (yes 5)... and not just "je m'appelle" levels oh, they are fluent in all. I have a very good friend who speaks 7. How in the hell can people be so awesome? I am going to work hard and speak 50... just wait and see! hehehehe

I thought I was a good student...sigh... apparently not. I have a crap load of work to do and I haven't done much, it is not even funny. I have never seen so much work in my life! It is as if there is a demon hanging over my head, multiplying the pages of my readings! I hope I can make it through. I have become the Queen of procrastination, I'd rather watch some k-drama than do any school work. The other day, my friend and I finished "An Autumn Tale" in one day!!! It wasn't even such a wonderful drama for that matter (well, it had Won Bin in it so that kind of made up for everything else...hehehe). Can you imagine watching 16 Episodes in one day? It was our drama marathon overindulgence, we had snacks and tissues (it was one of those extremely depressing shows that I despise, blame my cheesy ass friend) and made the occasional bathroom break. My whole weekend was wasted because of that stupid show! This whole week I have been paying the price for wasting last weekend... I am unrepentant though, still watching stuff here and there. This is someone who has a 50 page paper due in the next 2 weeks... I think I have outdone myself this time... or may be not...hehe

I will be good tonight and do some reading, if I can keep my eyes open... may God help me!

I think I need a slap or maybe a knock on the head to wake me up from this lethargy that is almost swallowing me... ahhh... Oh crap, I still have another 100 or so pages to read, I better get to work now... In the famous words of Black Adder, "Oh, God. Fortune vomits on my eiderdown once more."

Red Lights!!!

This past week, I was totally broke from having to pay for little things here and there but I needed to to buy some groceries. I decided to go to France to grocery shop (I know it sounds fancy but it really isn't, the french border is only 25 minutes from where I live... hehehe)... food is way cheaper in France than in Switzerland!!! I kept bragging to my family about traveling to another country just to buy groceries... hehehe :)

Okay, so something very interesting happened this weekend. Before now, I had only heard about 'special' neighborhoods with 'special' functions (hehehe, don't worry, I will decode soon)... I was invited to hangout with some other students at an english speaking bar (the Club House, I reckon). I didn't know where the bar was so it was a little adventure. It was about 10pm and I decided to walk there since I found from google maps that it was not too long a distance. However, I got the surprise of my life when I stepped on Rue de Monthoux... Prostitutes!!! So many prostitutes!!!

It was not the idea of prostitution that was shocking, for me, it was the fact that I had never been in such a close proximity to such an environment before. They were dressed so scantily (well, surprise, surprise hehe) and there were so many men hanging around. Another thing that caught my eye was that there were also police officers all around to protect the women from violence. I thought to myself, even though the government is treating this as a business venture at least the women are protected from rapists and psychos. It is different in other countries where prostitution is a taboo topic even though it is a thriving business. Women in such countries are abused in so many violent ways and society turns away as if it is a non existent issue.

I am not saying that prostitution is right but the women who find themselves in such situations probably wouldn't be there if they had a choice. Anyways, I was too scared to walk on that road alone so I called my friends to meet me at a better location to pick me up. It was quite an interesting experience, my friends laughed and told me that this was nothing compared to some other places in Europe where prostitution is legal.

What is the moral of the story? Emmmm... that it is better to be a prostitute in Geneva than in Lagos? hahahahaha....

I have long been away...

It's been quite a while since my last post... I am such a horrible blogger :(

I have a good excuse though, I finally moved to Switzerland!!! After a crap load of paper work, I have my residence permit!!! I moved completely in September and I'm still getting used to this place hence my long silence. It is such a beautiful city!!! I have an apartment that has a spectacular view of Lac Leman... even though I am paying too much money as rent and will have to find a cheaper place soon, it is worth it for the time being! Geneva is so diverse, I love it!!! I had packed all the natural hair products I could find when I was in the US but when I got here, there were so many hair shops and salons that can take care of my hair :)

This city is filled with Diplomats, Ambassadors, Top negotiators and other bigwigs in international relations... pretty cool!!!

Downside... well, more shitty paper work to do about insurance (health and something vague called "civil responsibility insurance"... wth??? It is compulsory and costs close to 300CHF... WTH... I am a responsible person, why do I need insurance to prove it civilly??? (hehehe... I know, I'm not making any sense). Trying to make new friends, getting used to the work in grad school, paying too much money every month (it is so freaking expensive to live in this place, I went to buy groceries the other day and decided to finally treat myself to some good meat for a change, I had to pay 9CHF for a measly looking piece of lamb)... sigh... I am also adjusting to switching between English and French and learning all my classes in French (I bought a tape recorder to record lectures... can' t seem to get everything the Professors say in class... too busy trying to stay awake...hehe...

Awww, I will stop babbling now, I will try to make posts more often... have to get back to my mountain of readings for tomorrows classes... Ciao ;)

I feel like rambling!

I always have moments when I am filled with doubt about every single decision I have made in life. This is one of such moments... I am at a very pivotal point in my life and I have only one plan of action. I have been really worried about what I will do if my plan fails. I feel trapped by the choices I have made this far in my life even though things have worked out well for me thus far. I am really questioning my career choice, my geographical location, my lifestyle, in fact, everything around me has become a question mark. I hope that I can regain the confidence in what I do and how I do it. I don't even know why I feel unsettled right now but I hope this feeling will go away soon because it is not a great one at all!

That said, I will move on to more positive ramblings! I have finished my visa application and I think I may have found the perfect apartment in Geneva :)

Also, this summer has been an experience. I usually over do my workout, for the past 3-4 years, I did anything from yoga, pilates, kick boxing, jiu jitsu, weight lifting, cycling and step 6 times a week for an hour or two. It was so much that my arms went from being just toned to muscular (and I mean reeeeaaly muscular!). You should have seen my parents faces when they saw their little girl becoming a little boy...hahaha... That to me was the sign that I was taking it over board. After looking at what I had done to my arms, I decided to reduce the workout intensity, since May, I have been working out for only 2-3 times a week. Hopefully my arms will stop looking like tubers of yam!!! hehe

Communication bites!

I have been making preparations to go to graduate school in Geneva... things have been working out... well, sort of. There have been so many instances of miscommunication, it is really getting on my nerves. I am going to be learning Master's degree level material in French. I can speak, read and write extensively in French but I still find it hard to understand different accents and to discern the language when it is spoken at a fast rate. I'm a little bit worried that I might be lost in translation the whole time... that I might be the student in class who is always apologizing and answering questions with "Répétez votre question s'il vous plaît"... there is certainly a difference between learning a language within the socio-cultural milieu and learning the language from a distance. I hope I am making the right decision to study in Geneva.

Sometimes, I wonder if I should just stay where I am, to take a somewhat easier way out. I have made up my mind about Geneva though so I am going to stick to the plan. It takes the Swiss embassy a minimum of eight weeks to process a permit... wth? Why? Upon that, the application requires more that 15 different supporting documents. These are the times when I wish we lived in a world without national boundaries and limitations. Okay, so I am whining like a lazy bum... hehe...

Another week... of moving...

I will be spending my summer in New York and I have had to move my stuff twice already, it really sucks! I will be in there in June, July and part of August before I move to Europe. Only God knows how things will play out, I am already tired of everything. Sometimes I regret the choice I made to move away from home... I just got a job for the summer, it starts on Monday and I am quite nervous, I feel so small and a bit inadequate for the job... okay, I have to stop whining now!

About the Switzerland wahala, its being sorted out right now... phew! I have already started to look for an apartment and to gather information on the getting my resident permit... I really hope everything works! I definitely have a wild and free spirit (I like to tell myself so...hehe) I can't seem to stay in one place for a long time... I think I got that from my mother, she is always traveling, exploring new places and making new experiences.

My daddy is really stubborn oh! He not only still eats meat and other unhealthy foods late at night, I caught him sipping some red wine yesterday night! I feel like shaking him to make him see the importance of his health over the instant gratification of food and drink! He promised to play "squash" 3 times a week and take the stairs for his health... I hope he really does, in fact, I will send spies to watch him closely : ) and of course my mummy with nag him endlessly until he gets back into shape!

blasted day : (

I am just getting accustomed to this whole blogging experience. This is like a diary for me, a place where I can leave my thoughts and revisit them later (and wonder what the hell I was thinking when I wrote them down!)... Anyway, I have been having quite the time reconciling the differences between three or four different places I live and school in. My family lives in Nigeria (we sort of live all over the place, I just finished four years of college in the US and in Canada (two years in the US and the other two in Quebec). I am currently heading to Switzerland (Geneva to be precise) to further my education. I have had an interesting experience so far, I wonder what awaits me in Geneva!

Currently, I am dealing with the difficulty in communication, lack of organization and laxity of things in Switzerland and poor customer service, it's really annoying! My application process to a school there went well but after that, things have been rather hectic and unclear! Apparently, they need original copies of my secondary school transcript (I went to secondary school in Nigeria), I only have photocopies of the transcript and my secondary school requires my personal collection of the original document. Why in the world aren't they satisfied with stamped photocopies??? It will cost me over $2000 to travel to Nigeria to get my transcript and that in my opinion is too much!!! They also asked for a bunch of other random things that I have no idea how to access before the deadline... this is poop!!! I wish communication was not so difficult...arrrrrghhhhhh!!!

Life!!!

I just heard that my father had a stroke back home in Nigeria... he is only 50 years old!!! I feel so scared!!! It was a mild stroke but still it made me think about the possibility that I might not hear his voice or see him again. I have already lost so many family members and I am not ready for another loss. I and my siblings are going to fight this as much as we can, no more red meat or alcohol for you Daddy!!! We are going to ensure that we do all we can to keep him healthy! I feel so bad because I am always away from home instead of being there for family... I prayed hard to God to preserve my family, we have been through a lot of bad times but we have weathered it all together, it is time to enjoy, sickness and death cannot come and mess things up!!! I am pray things will be fine with my baba's health and with everything!!!

21...

Today has a lot of firsts... my first blog-post, my 21st year on planet earth...I have heard that 21 marks the beginning of true independence and true life experiences in the real world... bleh!!! I don't know if I am ready for all of that! I honestly do hate growing older every year! I wish I could remain a carefree kid living with my siblings and friends and parents... now I have to make choices that are going to change the direction of my life! Oh well... okay this sucks, why the hell am I listening to corny and depressing music as I write this post? I have to stop!!! Anyways, happy birthday to me!!! :)

... I promise to post as much as I can (well, I probably should be working on my thesis but w'eva) heeheehee