Geneva. An international city. In fact, 40% of the population are not Swiss. Many international organizations are headquartered there. The UN, WHO, Red Cross and many others are based out of this city located in the westernmost corner of Switzerland along the banks of Lake Geneva. We were hosted by the Lucard family. Melissa knew Malcolm from the music scene in Colorado Springs. The Lucard family moved to Switzerland five years ago when Andrea got a job there. They packed up their house and two young boys and moved to a city an ocean away. The boys, Ulie and Gideon, 11 and 9 years old respectively, are intelligent, polite, hilarious, fantastic characters who have very bright futures ahead of them. Growing up in an international city has opened their minds and they are impressive young men. I was struck by how the Lucards are using their skills to make a unique difference in the world. Andrea works as a fundraiser for an organization that develops new malaria medication. Malcolm is the editor of the Red Cross Red Crescent. This lovely and dynamic family welcomed us graciously into their home and lives with incredible hospitality. After six weeks in hostels, it was absolutely wonderful to be in a real home, sitting on a real couch, taking a shower without flip flops, and being able to sleep in without hearing the snores of hostel roommates. Perhaps what I loved most was being part of a family and having a lively family swirl around me and being surrounded by love.
We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and enjoyed chilling in the Lucard home. Malcolm was joined by an extremely talented and kind Brazilian bass player, Eduardo. They had a jam session while the boys played with their toy guns. That evening, we went to a Peruvian restaurant. We were introduced to ceviche, a delicious fish marinated and cooked in lemon juice. Mmmm good. We went to a jazz club and were treated to a beautiful jazz show performed by Malcolm's friend, Amber. Again, I was touched by the power of music and its universal power of communication. I got chills listening to ''It's a Wonderful World'' while the blind piano accompanist's fingers danced over the keys, creating beauty no eye can see. On our walk home along Lake Geneva, we heard music originating from a dock so naturally, we checked it out. A tent was filled with young adults dancing to music as two DJs danced and smoked on stage. We joined in, linking arms and spinning around to Roma music. At one point the music became decidedly more Eastern and Hindi as two girls appeared on stage wearing saris and flaming head dresses, creating an exotic sense of mystery. The DJ danced behind them, weaving back and forth in her gold sequence dress and purple fez hat.
The following day, we slept in deliciously late and lounged around watching Jurassic Park III with the boys. Classic cinema. We toured the city on bikes. We peddled to a market for lunch and the family perused the vegetable, fruit, cheese and meat stalls for the coming week. We rode through a park with massive chess boards painted on the pavement with huge chess pieces. Old men circled around the boards, engaged in lively discussions over the moves made, jabbing the air with their umbrellas. Others were carefully studying the games. We stopped to play chess. An elderly gentleman stopped to watch our game develop. At one point, I had a really good move which earned a ''Bravo'' and the 'ok' symbol of congratulation and appreciation. As I contemplated my next move, he offered his advice. But since I do not speak French nor German, his second language, it was to no avail. So I made a move and it was actually quite stupid, which he told me so, in French and with much disgust. He walked away with his umbrella clicking on the sidewalk as he shook his head. After our cerebral exercise, we got back on the bikes to explore the Old Town. The boys acted as fantastic tour guides as they described defensive measures of the city (including a pot of boiling soup poured down on attacking pawns). It was getting quite chilly as the famous bise wind swept off of Lake Geneva so we returned home. For dinner, we were treated to a traditional Swiss fondue dinner on a neighborhood dock/sauna/beach on the lake. It was an international affair. A doctor from Canada working as a polio epidemiologist and knows Bill Gates, his wife, a doctor from Italy who is an epidemiologist working in cancer research and their trilingual son. There was an Irish Olympian in cycling and his Swiss wife, a Canadian grad student studying foreign affairs and then six Americans. Conversation was not dull as we sat on benches and dunked bread in pots of hot cheese, drank white wine and snacked on cured meats.
Monday morning, we bid adieu to our new friends and went to the Red Cross Museum (after paying the fine for riding the trams using an invalid ticket. Word of advice: just buy the ticket, it's about 40 times cheaper than the fine). I was prepared for a depressing experience full of human tragedy on account of wars and natural disasters. It was actually uplifting and encouraging. You could see people doing good, taking action, and responding. People making a positive difference in the face of tragedy. You could see ''respect and love eclipsing violence and hate'' throughout the exhibition. The museum also talked of nursing's role throughout its history and how the Red Cross has played a role in recognizing nursing as a profession. The Red Cross was born out of Henri Dunant's response to human suffering in the wounded on the battlefield of Solferino. I love how I too can respond to human suffering as a nurse. My time in Geneva definitely challenged me. It is a city that is global in scope and it made me think of how I want to respond. It is not a question of whether to respond or not. The question is how. Working in the developing world has been something that has been on my mind and heart. My time in Geneva and at the Red Cross museum pushed that to the forefront. We shall see. I am an extremely goal oriented person. Goals are great and can be fantastic tools to offer direction. But like all good things, goals can become idols. They can act as blinders. Traveling and cities like Geneva rip those blinders off. It's like it says, ''Look at the world. It is wonderful and beautiful, as are the people. Look outside yourself and your own desires and paths and ideas. Look at the world! See trees of green and red roses too. See friends shaking hands saying 'how do you do' but are really saying 'I love you' See babies crying and know that they are going to learn a whole lot more than you'll ever know.'' Yes we live in a wonderful world. Look at the World. Experience. Respond.
Things I Did Not Expect When I Woke Up
Geneva Edition
-Watch a guinea pig pee on Melissa
-Play a game of tickle tag in the streets
-Be told that I was an idiot in French (English I would expect but in French, it is a new experience)
-Watch what the blind man could not see, his fingers dance over the keys improvising beautiful music
-Pull up a weather map of Italy in search of sun fueled by our hunger for solar rays after too many overcast days in Switzerland
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