Day 2 - Geneva

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I went to Geneva because while searching for internships a few months ago, I got an offer (after i had already confirmed in Ghana) at the International Coordinating Committee for National Human Rights institutions, who is situation in the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Place of Nations in Geneva. They allowed me to extend the internship offer till next year, and so I just went there to meet the staff. So right after I arrived, I went to visit Dad’s friend, John Fried (the Ambassador for Canada to the World Trade Organization) at the Canadian Permanent Mission to Geneva. John gave me some advice on Ghana, and then I asked where I could take a shower to clean up for the meeting. He advised there were showers at the airport, or if i wanted to just clean up I could go to the public washrooms in the Intercontinental hotel down the street. I went to the intercontinental (which was 5 star hotel and really beautiful) and found out they use something called the “honour system” and so I was able to just walk into a private changing room by the pool. For the next two hours I was walking around in a robe and slippers, going for jacuzzis and steams, and using their lockers (which had keys that i could just take out) to store my stuff while I was at the interview. I also took about 12 apples and probably a whole bag of Werther Candies that I was eating for days to come. At the Palace of Nations (where the UN is situated), the interview went incredibly! we talked for hours in the delegates lounge and they gave me a private tour of the place, including the General Assembly and the old League of Nations Library. They also mentioned that the best perk of working there is free access to all the major speeches, including ones given by people like Desmond Tutu! They then left alone in the place, and let me explore around on my own, so I sat in on a committee meeting and listen to different countries debate a UN General Assembly Resolution. After this I went to the International headquarters for the Red Cross, toured around and went to the museum.

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