Am I my brother's keeper? Human Rights Conference

We have the great opportunity to live about 10 minutes from the United Nations here in Geneva. Until this time I have only been to see the outside as a tourist. In September, I was invited by the Worldwide Organization for Women, known as W.O.W., to the Human Rights Conference, 2011.

Last week, I took the bus to the U.N. and arrived for the afternoon sessions. It was quite the experience to take my official letter and then proceed to answer questions, and get my picture taken, all for my United Nations/Human Rights Conference badge.
After I got in, I found my way to a seat in the huge circular conference room and got my translating device on. It was quite moving to hear the different countries reporting on Human Rights violations around the world. A few countries expressed their opinion, on the definition of Human Rights that the council was asking their country to follow; their concerns centered on the fact that they had different cultures, religions and traditions, and therefore could not be asked to conform to the standards as defined in the Human Rights Declaration. So, when I got home, I reread the Human Rights Universal Declaration. It is pretty long, but below is the very beginning of the declaration.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

Some of the things that these countries are condoning are contrary to the above statement and it was so utterly sad to hear the report of some of these violations and tragedies which many times caused disfiguration, imprisonment and death.

Today, I helped the Worldwide Organization for Women to prepare for panel discussions at the U.N. on gender issues. After several countries gave their statements, the W.O.W. organization made its plea to the Human Rights Council. This was offered by a young lady from BYU! It was a good day. What can I say?

I am really looking forward to the rest of the Human Rights Conference. I am grateful to hear experts speak, see the cultural difference of many, many countries close up and know that I can help, if only in a little way, because they are my brothers and sisters.

Oh the comfort of the familiar....

There are so many things that are different here, the languages, the streets, the roads, the buildings, TV, the signs, the bugs, the birds (fat), ferrets to see, sheep causing a traffic jam,trains to school, windows with rigged up screens in them, electrical plus, doors, washers and dryers, neighbors, Drs., dentist, laws...well about everything.

Two nights ago, I was looking out the window at about 11PM at night and saw my favorite constellation in the sky, Orion's Belt. It looked just like this picture, but it was turned on it's side. I was so excited. I called to Paul to look. I sat for a long time looking at the stars that make up this constellation. I felt like I was home. All of a sudden constancy and familiar things were there right in front of me.

I have never been so grateful to see Orion's Belt, as I am now. Thank you star friends for coming my way and appearing in full mastery in perfect view of my window. It was the perfect gift to this woman so far away from all she knew familiar.

A wonderful 2 weeks!

The last two weeks have been wonderful, as we have had my sister, Mary Lynne, her daughter, Caroline and grandson, Reed, here for a visit. They started off their vacation in Germany and then we welcomed them to Switzerland for two weeks.













We have seen so many wonderful castles, alpine fields, quaint villages and tasted our way through great cheeses and chocolate. We traveled by train a few of the days and enjoyed the transportation by boat taxi as well.

Hiking high up in the mountains and bicycling along the lake made great family memories for us. Our little family enjoyed every moment of having them visit and were very sorry to see them leave. We bid a farewell at the Gare (train station) as they left for their last week in Europe visiting Paris, Chantilly and Normandy. Oh how we miss them!!!!

Gelato Mania

Recently we have made the excuse to take the train to Geneva for quick walks to Paquis and Gelato Mania! Can we help it that every weekend or free evening it has been really hot here? YUM!

A Healthy Home?......NO PLEASE!

It seems to be a belief, here in Europe, that spiders and flying bugs in a home mean that the home is "Healthy." You could go months without seeing a screen on any window in the homes, leaving flies, mosquitoes and the dreaded spider to enter at their pleasure. In our pursuit for window screens, we got all sorts of stares and comments like: " If you have screens, how will the insects get back out?" to "..but the spider is good, it will eat all of the other bugs that come into your home and their web means your home is healthy." Is it so bad to want an unhealthy house then? I need to be able to open my windows at morning or night and not have company enter in through them. It was causing a little contention in the home anyway, as Paul would open a window to let the cool air in, and I would follow behind him closing it. I shouldn't have to carry a fly swatter as I travel from room to room nor be freaked by the over-sized spider that likes a certain corner of my living room. A kind friend heard our frustration over the lack of screens and got us hooked up. She helped us order them offline.

The screens are more like netting from the skirt of a ballet tutu, but they will do. We first have to put up Velcro strips and then stretch, attach and cut away the excess of the screening material. We have completed a few windows now and the cool air at night is delightful. So, to all of you who have a healthy house, enjoy! It makes me happy and proud to say...I live in an unhealthy home and I am loving it more!

Chocolate Tasting

This past week, we had our friends Curt and Allison over to play games and they offered to do a chocolate tasting test for us. It was so much fun!!! Curt, or as we call him, The Connoissuer of Chocolate, because he has tried all kinds of Suisse chocolate, brought various types of chocolate with him.

The test was done with our eyes closed. We smelled and tasted each type of chocolate, comparing pricey to cheap, milky to dark,(which we didn't know ahead of time) and then voted anonymously.Surprisingly enough, the men were 100% choosing the most expensive chocolate, while us women actually preferred a little of the better value chocolate.

Can we just say, we have a new goal to become chocolate connoissuers ourselves. :) We know it will take a lot of dedication of eating chocolate, but we are willing to try.

Noodle Olympics

We have started a new tradition here in Geneve. They are the Noodle Olympics. The entrants were, Paul, Laura and Susan (me). We have found several balancing, shooting and floating events to challenge even us Johnson's. Our first Noodle Olympics was celebrated this last Saturday afternoon. Though Paul and Laura competed with strong scores and courage; the winner was superior in balancing, which brought her scores up. :) Yep, I won.

Note: I also did the scoring :)

Fireworks Suisse Style at the Fete De Geneve

The last two weeks here have been the Geneva Festival or as it is called here, the Fete De Geneve. Merry-go-rounds were set up in the city and a ferriswheel by the lake. There were also international food vendors offering delicacies from their countries and all sorts of things to buy and see.

The last night of Fete, there was a huge fireworks show. People start lining the lake and sitting in bleacher seats hours before the Fireworks even begin. We enjoyed an excellent homemade mexican fiesta meal with friends and then headed to Paul's office, about 20 minutes before the fireworks began. Paul's office opens to the Mount Blanc Bridge and the mouth of Lake Leman,(Geneva) where they set off the fireworks. Making it a magnificent place to catch the show. We brought treats and went out on one of the balconies to see and hear the show. The fireworks were set to beautiful music and some of the colors and types of fireworks were something I had never seen before.

On a side note, my dear, sweet husband vacuumed every spider and web he could see in the dark on that balcony. This made it possible for me, a woman who is SOOOO afraid of spiders to view the show from the wonderful balcony. Is that not the best husband in the world?

After the hour show, we walked to the train station with the crowds still in a festival mood and took the train home to our village. It was a fun night and a great ending to the Fete De Geneve!

A Day at Chateau de Chillon

On Saturday, we drove about 45 minutes East to Chateau de Chillon. This Chateau (Castle) is absolutely my favorite so far. We donned Ipods that took us on an audio tour and we loved every minute of it. Viewing the chatueax brought back memories of reading Lord Byron's, The Prisoner of Chillon, back in college. We even got to see where Byron carved his name in one of the chateau's pillars. We ended the tour by enjoying a picnic with our friends and enjoying the views on the lake.

Hiking, Cows, the echos of Yodeling and Fireworks!

Yesterday, was August 1. If you live in Switzerland, that means it is Swiss National Day! This day celebrates the foundation of the Swiss Confederacy, in around 1889. In Geneve, it is the beginning of Fetes de Geneve, (Festival of Geneva). This means, nights of fireworks over the lake, bands playing in the streets and overall celebrating. As a family, we decided to celebrate the day in a very "SWISS" way.....

....Paul, Laura and I, along with friends, Kelsy, and Jordan Perry (Grad Students from BYU) hiked in the Jura Mountains. We took off from St. Cergue and hiked through lush mountain meadows. The meadows were full of cows ringing their bells as they ate their afternoon meals from the fields. It was quite the hike, but after what seemed to be unending switchbacks we arrived to the most splendid view of the whole lake, and valley! Might I say we all hiked, but Jordan ran up the whole thing and back to us and then ran part of the way down!! On our descent through the forest we heard an actual yodeler. His voice could be heard echoing through the forest, which gave us chills and was quite surreal. Laura and Jordan, who ran ahead got the chance to see the man yodeling!

In the evening, we all came home to eat a hearty dinner and then went down to the Lake to view the various cities firework displays, opting to do it from our own village of Genthod. It was heavenly down at the quiet little harbor, and it offered us fantastic views.

Could there be a better way to spend the National Swiss day? We think not! Bonne Fete Nationals a la Suisse!!!