I am done

Yes, at 4:21 pm I turned in my final paper. I am done with the MBA. I expect it will hit me in about 2 days when they hand me that blank envelope and shake my hand. Much to my mom's disappointment, I will not have a diploma in hand because we technically have one last report due this fall. Minor detail.

And a random bit of funny: My mom is eager to have me back States side because they will begin testing the super collider in CERN in August. She's a believer that it might cause a black hole. That may be, but if it is the case does it matter if I'm in TX or Genevieve? I think not. I'm just hoping that the black hole doesn't happen this fall because I would really like to finish my thesis and officially be done, done, done.

Poor Germany

The Euro 2008 wrapped up and I'm sad to say Germany lost. Condolences to my German friends. This photo was clearly taken with them before the game. I hear there were tears after...

Geneva was host to some of the games so the streets of Geneva have been filled with men, women and children wearing flags as capes and honking horns for the last 2 weeks. I can tell you that the Portuguese are the loudest honkers ;) Or maybe it's just that we have a huge Portuguese community in Geneva (~10% I'm told).

Anyway, the "fanzone" is where all the games were shown on the jumbo screen, so that's where I was for the grand finale. Last night was packed with surprisingly lots of Spanish fans, not as many German fans. And as you all know, I'm not the biggest sports fan, so really all that I can say beyond this is that there was beer, German and Spanish cheering and lots of people watching some men chase a silver ball (a special ball evidently for the final game). Personally, I really enjoyed the bizarro waltz inspired, symbolic opening ceremony and the Super Bowl inspired half time show with Enrique Iglesias tyring to make a come back (thankfully with no Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunctions).

In other news, we had a little international picnic before the game. Lots of great food made by the crew. I'm hoping to get the recipes for some yummy Indian and Thai curries and Korean pancakes. Next on the list of Swiss fun: The Chocolate Train. Yes, I'm sure it will be as good as it sounds because just when you thought it couldn't get better, you find out that Gruyere is involved too.

What's next?

The Italian roommate headed out yesterday so we had our first sad goodbye. But what an exciting time for everyone. He is headed to Laos and everyone else will be spread all over the world working for different UN organizations, NGOs, private-public partnerships and some private firms. There are several headed to Nairobi, some to Rome, some in Geneva, Sydney and India, and others who are still figuring it all out.

So I'm sure you are all wondering what I have figured out and where I will land next...First, the next 6 months: I still have my thesis and a couple of classes to take at Georgetown, so while I'm done with the MBA, I have the fall to finish the MPP. I'm spending July in Texas to see family and friends. And I'll be working on my thesis as well as a feasibility study for a social enterprise that I'm very excited about. I'll officially be done in December and have plans to stay in DC. Which brings me to what I think I want to do...Broadly speaking, I'm looking at public affairs, CSR and strategic consulting jobs. And I'll just leave it at that for now for the purposes of the blog-ola, and promise to fill you all in more over a nice cold one in the hot TX sun or swampy DC!

10 days left...Wow

It's hard to believe, but I only have 10 short days left in Geneva. I've been working away, but also enjoying the last moments here and reflecting a bit on the last year. I'm going to make it a point to write more in the coming days on all of that to fill in some of the gaps from the year that I just didn't get around to blogging about...Technically, I'm a bit sleep deprived and swamped right now with exams, projects and papers and should not be blogging about, but oh well. You all deserve some good content after a year of few updates! And let's be honest, I like to procrastinate.

So the latest: I spent last weekend in the South of France with a friend from school who is from Aix-en Provence. It was a fantastic last trip! I enjoyed Aix, known for all of its gorgeous fountains and art (home to Cezanne, in fact). I also made it to Lourmarin, a party in the beautiful country side and enjoyed some time on the coast sailing between Cassis and Marseille. All in all, not too shabby.
And while I have certainly developed a love/hate relationship with good ol' Genevieve, she has charm as well. We were treated to a cruise on the lake last week, and I captured a great pic of Geneva with a little Euro 2008 flare. Evidently, that ball cost the city a fortune and hassle, but it's great for a photo :) And yes, the Euro is all about Geneva. As I'm not the biggest sports fan, I have yet to make it to the fan zone to watch a game but plan to for the finale on Sunday, so stay tuned...

Net Impact

I've been busy helping to plan the first Net Impact Europe Conference that the program is hosting with INSEAD and Nottingham Business School June 12-14th. It's going to be a great event for those interested in creating positive social, environmental and economic impact through business.

We'll have keynotes from Mel Young, President of Homeless World Cup and Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and President of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, as well as a keynote panel featuring CSR leaders from Toyota and KPMG. Their are over 20 panels on CSR and sustainable development with featured speakers like Simon Zadek, Chief Executive of AccountAbility, and Tamsin Smith, President of (PRODUCT) Red.

So come visit Geneva June 12-14th - you can check out the conference AND the Euro 2008 Cup. Woohoo.

Pangea Perspectives

Saturday we celebrated Pangea Day along with thousands of others around the world. It was 4 hours of film broadcasted via satellite, internet and mobile phones - with the intention of seeing the world from another person's viewpoint. It all came together thanks to a filmmaker with a little wish and a little grant from TED. Watch some excerpts if you get a chance. It's like when "We are the World" came out but way better. I joke (mainly because of the dramatic drum circle at the end), but in all seriousness there are some very moving and inspirational perspectives as well as some lighthearted laughs. In particular, for the DC crowd riding the metro everyday, check out this little number. I hope it takes off and becomes an annual event. Enjoy the perspective.

A strange little land

Back in the fall, elections were held in Switzerland and news was made with an ad campaign involving a little black sheep. Look closely below and you will see the little guy is getting kicked out of the land of cheese and chocolates. It doesn't take a translation to get the gist, but it says "to create security."



In recent weeks, a new version has appeared - perhaps a little more subtle, but still quite offensive. It's as if those hands are reaching into a candy jar of Swiss ID cards and are about to be slapped by the candy monitor. I have spotted at least 5 of these billboards in the area -- just blocks from the UN and what is suppose to be the heart of peace, neutrality and tolerance...Interesting.