Our Last Field Studies! Unbelievable! - Holocaust Memorial Center

       Today the JSBPer’s and I set out for our last field studies experience, which was not only unreal because we are going back to America SO SOON, but also very sad because we visited, what I think, as one of the most depressing places in Budapest we have seen. The place we visited today was the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Before going here I was not sure what to expect, but one thing’s for sure, I was blown away by what I saw. Since Mary, Courtney and I recently visited Auschwitz-Birkenau it was easy to relate the two, especially during the aspects of the museum that discussed this “hell on earth” directly. I was surprised that some parts of the Holocaust Memorial were more disturbing than what I saw in Auschwitz-Birkenau. The feeling of physically standing where the Jewish people marched was by far indescribable, don’t get me wrong, but some of the videos and pictures within this Budapest memorial are equally disgusting and seemingly inexpressible. 

This was at the beginning of the Museum. It was an interesting exhibition because it showed how the Jewish people has to assimilate with the other people of Hungary after the 1867 Compromise, when the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy was formed. There were three things, a prayer book, a small bag, and candle sticks which were set apart from the other part of the exhibition. This was to show that nothing was different about the Jewish people except their religion.

These are signs which Jewish people had to put in their shops after the anti-Jewish laws were established.

"The 8 meter tall wall surrounding the courtyard of the Memorial Center serves as a memento for the Hungarian victims of the Holocaust. The names of the victims are engraved onto the glass wall..." - This was on the Holocaust Memorial Website. We didn't see this part of the memorial unfortunately, but it is worth discussing and showing this picture. This is the website for the memorial

"The 8 meter tall wall surrounding the courtyard of the Memorial Center serves as a memento for the Hungarian victims of the Holocaust. The names of the victims are engraved onto the glass wall..." - This was on the Holocaust Memorial Website. We didn't see this part of the memorial unfortunately, but it is worth discussing and showing this picture.

This is the website for the memorial

            Our tour guide for today’s field studies was extremely knowledgeable, explaining at the very beginning that the government built the memorial in order to take responsibility for what happened to the Hungarian Jewish people. Since the Hungarians accounted for the most (430,000) of the Jewish population at Auschwitz-Birkenau, knowing that the government did such a great thing was this was very interesting to me and made me feel at ease. I remember learning that the Terror House, which we visited much earlier in the semester, was also built for this reason. It is nice to know that the government actually takes some responsibility for the horrible deprivation that was present within Hungary throughout the Holocaust and Stalinist regimes.

            Another impressive part of the Holocaust Memorial was how it was setup. It was interesting because rather than being in chronological order the museum showed the deprivation of the Jewish people from their belongings being taken to their human dignity being destroyed. Each room was a different experience for the Jews and the memorial ended in a beautiful synagogue. Since the museum was set up this way, it really allowed my mind to imagine what these people went through.

This is inside the beautiful synagogue - it is the second largest one in Budapest, next to the Great Synagogue we visited next week. There was only one picture of it left after the World War II but they restored everything as perfect as they could.

These are the original benches of the Synagogue.

This is part of the memorial - one top of these glass chairs are people's names who died in the Holocaust and a short description, as well as a picture of them. This was very depressing, especially because there were some of the little kids.

            The two best parts about this field studies for me were being able to connect the experience with my trip to Poland and also to associate all of the history and culture we have learned from Laszlo and Agnes, to the museum. Each time we saw a picture from Auschwitz-Birkenau today I was taken back to the day, about a month ago that I spent touring the grounds of the camp. It was a terrifying experience then but it was also eye-opening and interesting. Since I have now been living here for four months, learning more about the Hungarians experience has been what I have enjoyed the most. It is mind boggling to live in the streets where these people were kept in ghettos and the first anti-semantic laws were enacted. It makes me proud that I chose the Justice Studies Budapest Program. I really feel as though I understand the Hungarian people and can sympathize with their consistent fight for freedom. Even though I never leave with a smile on my face from places like Auschwitz-Birkenau or the Holocaust museum today, I am so thankful to have learned all I have from these experiences. Further, as discussed in past blog posts, being able to connect the dots with what Laszlo and Agnes have taught us is really a great feeling. Seeing a picture of Parliament or hearing Regent Horthy’s name and recognizing these things makes me feel very accomplished. I am so fortunate to have learned Hungarian history and physically see its colors through these amazing field studies.

            Overall, this was a wonderful last field experience with the JSBP program. I am more than sad that it is over but I am so grateful for everything we have done. The Holocaust Memorial Center is definitely a keeper, the only change I might make is allowing the students to walk around by themselves rather than a tour guide. Even though the tour guide extremely knowledgeable, kind and helpful, I could not help but want to wander and watch the films or read the descriptions on the wall. Besides this minor desire of mine it was a perfect last field studies trip!

This is the museum.

This is a video from Holocaust Memorial Day - January 27, 2011. Very sad and disturbing, but interesting.

THANK YOU JSBP FIELD STUDIES FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME!

As the trips are ending, they just keep getting better and better - Jewish Museum and the Great Synagogue

     Yesterday the JSBPer’s headed off to one of my favorite field excursions yet, The Jewish Museum and Great Synagogue at the Astoria stop, not too far from our University. The excursion was filled with sad memories that the Hungarian Jewish population experienced before and during World War II. It was interesting and an important field studies trip to further connect our encounters while we’ve been here in Budapest. Our group also enjoyed learning much more about the Judaism and the specific aspects of their synagogues and holidays. I really enjoyed the museum because it was very fascinating to learn about another religion, especially one that I don’t know much about besides that they celebrate Hanukah and have Bat Mitzvah’s.

Inside of the Great Synagogue

The beautiful and unchanged alter

The outside of the Synagogue - One of these towers was a radio station

            Our short tour of the Great Synagogue was extremely interesting especially because of how similar the building has remained over the years. Our tour guide explained how the Synagogue was built with steel pillars, which fortunately survived the bombings that occurred during the War. He also described to us that the building was not targeted because ironically the Hungarian Nazi party built a radio station in one of the Synagogue towers. This was probably another horrifying sadistic move by the Nazi’s but at least in the end the Synagogue was not destroyed. Judaism itself has changed though which was another interesting aspect to learn about during this tour. For example, the Great Synagogue has recently allowed women to sit on the first floor, which was not even possible a couple years ago. Men are still the only people allowed in the center sections of the Synagogue but our tour guide described that it is extremely helpful, especially for the older women of the synagogue because they are allowed on the first level of the religious center now. Another fascinating part of the tour was how the guide described to us something that I know we all recognized when we walked in - how similar the Synagogue looked in comparison to a traditional Basilica. I have never seen another Synagogue so I did not have anything to relate it too, but I could imagine from what the tour guide was describing to us that this Great Synagogue is very special.

            After the Great Synagogue the JSBPer’s went to the Jewish Museum right next door and had a brief tour of the different aspects of Judaism, the various holidays they celebrate, “a day in the life of a Jewish person” and lastly, a memorial to the thousands of Hungarian Jewish people who were killed during the 1940s. The entire museum was fascinating. It was really interesting to see the torahs and learn more about the Jewish holidays, but the best part in my opinion was the memorial at the end. I connected with this the most because recently Mary, Courtney and I traveled to Auschwitz-Birkenau where about 430,000 Jewish people were burned in the gas chambers. Even after seeing the execution camp in person within Poland, the pictures and descriptions were once again shocking to see in this memorial.

            Overall, I am more than happy that I got to experience this field studies with the JSBP group. It was really interesting to learn about Judaism, specifically with Hungary and even more so, during the horrendous war times. In addition, the discussion of the shoe memorial on the edge of the Danube was yet another connection with all of our experiences here in Budapest. Another GREAT field studies! Definitely a keeper! 

The Tree of Life - "aka the Weeping Willow" - many leaves of the tree have names of Jewish people killed during the 1930s and 40s

A Torah - I REALLY enjoyed the pointers that they use - they have miniature hands and index fingers on them to point to the Hebrew writings

Clothes used for the Jewish people - the Nazi's were mocking them and embarrassing them by making the Torah into drums and the prayer flags into clothing. Sadistic and disgusting

A great view of the Synagogue and Jewish Museum from the air

What a Beautiful World we Live In - Parliament

Picture by me - Parliament at nighttime is great!

   

Picture taken by me of Parliament!

Internet imagine - Beautiful!

  Today the JSBPer’s set out on a field studies experience, which we were all extremely ecstatic for, a visit to the Hungarian House of Parliament. This beautiful and vast building is situated on the Danube River and it is one of the most astounding buildings I have ever seen, inside and out. It is the largest building in Hungary, which is not a surprise when you see it in front of you. Parliament was constructed in 1885 and completed in 1902 and the architecture inside is unbelievable. There are gold structures, arches, statues, hand-made carpets specifically made for the bulding, and most importantly the Holy Crown.

I couldn't get a good picture since I couldn't use my flash during this part of the tour so I thought a picture from online would do it better justice! THE HOLY CROWN.

         

      The Crown is located in the Central Hall of Parliament under the dome, which I thought was the most breath-taking aspect of the building. It was extremely interesting in my opinion to finally see the Crown because we have learned about it a lot in both our Hungarian History and European Culture classes. The date the Crown was made is debated today but it is about 800 to 1,000 years old. Saint Stephan was the first King who was crowned with this magnificent “hat” which is also appealing because I have been into Saint Stephan’s Basilica, which is the second largest building in Hungary. This made me understand how great it is to connect all the dots while we have been living in Budapest. I think this is a large and important aspect of the Justice Studies Program. Between the two classes taught by our Hungarian Professors and the Field Studies class, we have learned and seen so much history within Budapest and throughout Hungary. It is fascinating to see it all and experience everything we have, especially when we can tie everything together and recognize facts discussed or statues of important people, such as Saint Stephan.

            We were also fortunate enough today to watch an “in session” day in Parliament. We witnessed members of Parliament and Ministers discuss different aspects of the Hungarian government. Since it was all in Magyar we of course could not understand, but Ildiko explained to us that they were discussing different duties and features of the current media within Budapest. The craziest part of watching the Hungarian Parliament members talk was that no one else in the room was paying attention to whoever was speaking! Everyone was either very uninterested or had a lot of other work to do because at least two people answered their phones, while most were reading the newspaper, looking and typing on their computer (probably checking their email or Facebook), and some older man was even sleeping! This reiterated to me that I do not want to be involved directly within politics. Of course there are a lot of exciting aspects of government, especially within Hungarian, which is a 20-year-old democratic state, but it seems so boring sometimes. I really would not like this, nor would I like being the speaker and realizing that no one is listening to me. I thought it was very rude that no one was paying attention but after thinking about it more I probably would have been doing the same as the other distracted members. I suppose that may not be a good thing, but I think that is reality. I also was too busy looking at the wonderful architecture around me during the discussion, therefore maybe some members possess this problem too!

Inside of the room where the Parliament members were ignoring each other! We couldn't take pictures in the room with them but this is the same exact room but on the opposite wing of the building. The only difference was some of the architecture and the chairs.

The dome in the building - The Holy Crown is in here.

This was another great connection of the field studies experience. Mary and I went to a museum earlier this year for our Hungarian History class, where the artist of all of the stained glass in the Parliament  building lived and we learned about his work. His name is Miklos Roth.

The first thing we see when we walk in - Beautiful Nellika in the picture too!

            Overall, this was a great field studies experience. This is definitely one that all groups should continue to see when they come abroad to Budapest. I also liked that it was at the end of our program because when our tour guide was discussing information about the Holy Crown and the different wings of Parliament it made sense because we are very knowledgeable in this topics from our classes here. Great connections were made! Wonderful day in Budapest!

This is a video of the dome, The Holy Crown, and the guards doing their changing march. This is something they do every hour. They were very still and great at their job of guarding the precious Crown.

Greece!

The best gyros I've ever had...

Temple of Zeus!!

This was UNREAL

This is where we ate lunch on Agistris :)

Had to do some jumps because of this great church is a blue roof!

bRuno :)

One of my favorite pictures of the trip - the water was SO BLUE

I haven't written a non-academic blog in a long time so I decided that talking about Greece and adding some pictures would be appropriate!

Basically, absolutely LOVED Greece! Every part of it was really great, especially Agistris a remote island we explored on the third day of being there. This trip really changed my abroad experience for the better. I have appreciated and enjoyed every single trip here but this one was definitely one of my favorites. It was relaxing, fun, beautiful, and spending time and getting closer with my two roommates Mary and Courtney was a really great time.

I also just cannot believe that I experienced and saw the Acropolis! This is where the most unique ancient ruins in the world are! It was an unreal and indescribable experience. Around are some pictures... Thanks Mary and Courtney for making it that much better. Also love goes out to bRuno the dog and Krystal the cat, these animals brought joy to our days! :)

One of my favorite parts of the Acropolis

In the Theatre of Dionysus! - This theatre was used for plays and entertainment in 100 and 200 BC. That is NUTS!

Us at the Acropolis :)

This wonderful man - Kostas was our couch surfer. We stayed at his place for free for all three nights. He gave us great advice, brought us to great places and housed us crazy kids! He was great!

A Wonderful Day on the Buda Side - ILEA

      Yesterday the JSBPer’s headed to the end of the red line metro accompanied by guest Professor Bobby Eckstein (one of my favorite professors at UNH) to the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA). It was an interesting, exciting and very informative field studies experience, especially because it was filled with a small tour of the academy, as well as an hour and a half lecture from four of the main representatives of ILEA. Since I am not specifically interested in law enforcement I didn’t know how much I would enjoy this fields studies, but I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining the day was and how enjoyable it was to hear about the training, work and specialties involved within ILEA. I think my favorite part of the whole morning was hearing the quirky and energetic director of ILEA Mr. John Teripenas speak.

This is the logo for ILEA - we were all fortunate enough to receive a pin just like this as a parting gift!

            The ILEA in Hungary was established in 1995 between the US and Hungary and since then has really made a name for itself, becoming one of the best Academy’s in the world. It was also the first international program that was developed across seas. There are three other ILEA’s throughout the world, the others are located in South America, Asia and Africa. ILEA was made to foster relationships between regional agencies and cooperation and relationships were continually a central part of the presentation and entire day at the academy. It was an important part of the day because patience, acceptance, and open-mindedness are aspects that each member of the academy must possess because of the many different cultures, races, nationalities, and genders present within ILEA. To help bring the students together the academy uses the idea that they all have one enemy, crime. With this focus the academy can present current ideas, training and topics rather than worrying about the problems of the past that countries such as Greece and Turkey may have. This must be seemingly ignored so that the students can all accomplish their common goal of their training leading to elimination of crime.

            I thought that these ideas were very interesting because it must be hard to always keep the students peaceful, especially because of some of their past hatred. John Teripenas told us that his father is Greek and he still hates the Turks to this day, but basically has no idea why. Also another speaker, “TB” told us of a couple crazy fights that happened when he first joined the academy about 8 years ago. He explained that one guy whipped his shoes with another member countrys flag and that during the night the guy who had his flag whipped on the other guys shoes went out and bought an ax and killed him! That is horrible! At first I couldn’t believe that, but then considering it more, it makes perfect sense. Killing was definitely extreme but from the European history we have learned, it isn’t far off. I know that if I was a Hungarian Jew whose family members were killed, burned, and destroyed by the Nazi’s, anytime I met or saw a Nazi I would be appalled and not want to have anything to do with them, especially work in a classroom with them. Overall, I can only imagine how tough this can be within the academy. The good news is that things like this have really calmed down because newer generations are not being directly effected by the past, therefore their hostility is decreased…hopefully. The academy also tries to pair countries together that won’t have problems while they are studying and training, for example, one group who works together Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Hopefully these three countries can be patient with each other and get along.

This is the outside of the ILEA building - shows the many different countries which study here. We learned there were 16 different languages among the students - fascinating.

One of the walls outside of the classroom we were in. Many plaques of accomplishments within the Academy - I didn't get to get a really close look but I thought it was still very great to see.

            Another interesting part of the experience, yet different than I expected was the tactical house on the campus. During the tour of the campus we entered a building where there were different scenes set up so that the ILEA students can practice real scenarios and staged arrests. I imagined something more realistic than what I saw but it was still interesting and must still be really helpful for the students. The police officers can improve their survival skills and conduct room searches, among other things in this tactical house. Stimulated practice must be really helpful.

            Overall, really great field experience, especially because it was great to get back out into Budapest and see some hands-on things in the justice studies field. It was also great to see Nellie’s interest and happiness in the subject since she wants to potentially be involved in the FBI!

Here is the website which has more information on the organization - http://www.ilea.hu/

This isn't a video of ILEA in Budapest but this is of FBI law enforcement training - the video gives a good idea of what the students at ILEA are doing, specifically at the tactical house.

The EU Comes Alive with Guest Speaker Andras Baneth

The member state flags of the European Union.

            Today the JSBPer’s headed back to the old building of Corvinus after a wonderful Hiatus break for our last guest speaker of the semester, a man named Andras Baneth. Andras is an author and lecturer on the European Union, specifically working with online communications and international affairs within the EU Commission. He currently lives in Brussels and works as a senior executive partner for strategy and online marketing at Arboreus Online Training Services. Here is a link to a useful website which provides more information about Mr. Baneth, http://be.linkedin.com/pub/andras-baneth/3/5a0/607. 

A picture of Mr. Baneth

            I personally loved Mr. Baneth, mostly because of how knowledgeable, engaged, relaxed, and funny he was throughout his presentation. Even though the internet was not working, Mr. Baneth quickly changed his game plan and provided us with a very detailed, yet brief description of the EU, it’s creation, goals, and everything else in between. He provided our group with many metaphors, which I thought was extremely helpful to paint pictures for us. For example, he described his Ipad as a way to think of trade policies within the EU. His Ipad had to come from somewhere else (potentially China) and this import of goods must have regulations and rules. He also discussed how a goal of the EU is to make countries interdependent with trade and tourism because then they are less likely to fight with each other. More importantly, Mr. Baneth made it clear that a large problem within the EU is that in the past 5 to 10 years one must wonder how far the coordination between the 27 member states can go? It was interesting to think about how the EU really operates and how difficult it must be to have the 27 member states with their own languages, own cultures, own ideas, own national interests, own foreign policies and everything else in between, get along and try to work together under a similar roof. Mr. Baneth was continually reiterating that the EU is not a federal government that is of course, completely opposite of our government within the United States. It is interesting to think which is the better option for the population? There will always be positives of the United States federal government, especially because President Obama makes the ultimate decisions, but there will also inevitably always be negatives. This is the same within the EU. Mr. Baneth was pointing out to us, that crises are not always solved quickly and efficiently because there is no one who is the ultimate leader. This to me is a major downfall of the EU. Overall, the presentation was wonderful and I learned many new things about the EU that I hadn’t known prior to meeting Mr. Baneth.

This recent music video is a catchy tune discussing what is going on right now with the Euro Crisis. Even though a tad ridiculous, thought it was worth showing since most of the things we discussed were gloomy. This will provide good information with a little chuckle.

            Continuing, I believe that the best part of the presentation was how relevant it was for us as student’s living in Europe with the current economic crisis of the Euro and specifically the problems within Greece. I am traveling to Greece on Friday for the weekend and I know that Nellie and Grace just returned from a week trip there, so it is really important, interesting, and terrifying to hear more about what is happening with Greece and the other member states within the EU. I was nervous when Mr. Baneth was explaining that he believes Greece will be completely bankrupt within the next couple of weeks. What will this do to the Euro, the EU, and Greece itself? It will be devastating and a major global issue. The only way to solve the problem is for Greece to finally play by the rules, agree to what’s happening and allow Germany to help them. I was extremely surprised that Greece lied about their statistics in order to enter the Eurozone. Why did they do this? Why would a country want to be on the Euro so badly that they would lie about their actual numbers and financial situation? If the corruption of this government was non-existent then this problem would most likely not be occurring. Mr. Baneth continually discussed how the biggest issue here is that this is a psychological problem. Specifically, the EU member states must be thinking of the psychological effects of letting one state fail. If and when Greece fails, major changes and decisions will need to be made. He is very skeptical of the future of the EU and said, “tension is growing and the ship is sinking”. This was an extremely gloomy part of the presentation but I enjoyed Mr. Baneth’s honesty and his ability to share his opinions with us. He also discussed that in the age of globalization, disintegration between the EU member states makes no sense, BUT politics almost never make sense, therefore he is very unaware of the future of the member states and the EU.

            A final part of the presentation worth mentioning is Mr. Baneth’s comparison of some unemployment benefits of EU member states compared to an average Hungarian salary. The numbers he provided were ridiculous! Some people can work for one year and after they are laid off, or whatever the reason may be for their unemployment, they are eligible for about 1,100 Euros per year. Compared to many of the Hungarians I have met, that is an obscene amount, sky rocketing above the average Hungarian salary. This is not only depressing, but eye opening. Hopefully this can change and some of the EU member states, specifically Greece can get their act together.

            Overall, a really great end to our guest speakers of the JSBP field studies class. Mr. Baneth was a wonderful presenter and I thoroughly enjoyed his stories, metaphors, honesty, and presence.

This is the book Andras has writeen - extremely impressive.

The video above is very interesting and informative of the last 50 years of the EU. I think that the end with all of the Euro's being shown and people happy and smiling everywhere is clearly not a great picture of what's happening right now, but it's still very interesting.

Geneva, Switzerland - The United Nations, chocolate, watches, neutrality, yodeling, and much more!

            The JSBPer’s just arrived back in Budapest not too long ago from a three-day adventure in Geneva, Switzerland. The reason for our excursion to this country was based upon a conference with UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program) representatives, as well as a similar experience at UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). These two encounters aligned well with our Law and Environment class taught by Professors Kurk Dorsey and Molly Girard Dorsey, who also accompanied us on the adventures to Geneva along with Luke and Nick, their wonderfully cute children!

            The JSBP crew set out early Tuesday morning for the UNEP conference and I was pleasantly surprised that the “conference” I was expecting was more like a group discussion, including our JSBP group, Professor Kurk Dorsey, and four UNEP representatives. I was also excited to find women, rather than men, when we stepped into the room because many of the past guest speakers and conferences we have attended as a group have been predominately men. I thought it would be interesting to hear a woman’s perspective, especially when discussing UNEP.

            After reading an article for our Law and Environment class the other day titled, “UNEP in Global Environmental Governance: Design, Leadership, Location” by Maria Ivanova, my impression of UNEP was that it was failing as an organization to accomplish the goals it once hoped for. The reason for this failure was quite complicated, but based upon UNEP’s location in Kenya, voluntary finances which were not continuing to be paid, overall functioning problems, and also a prevailing lack of leadership. I was excited to hear what the women sitting in front of us had to say about the future of UNEP. Angela Cropper and Barbara Ruis were the first women to discuss UNEP with us, and they were extremely helpful and informative throughout the presentation. Angela discussed that the current goals of UNEP are focusing on the upcoming Rio+20 convention happening next year. The Rio+20 Conference is a convention occurring 20 years after the 1992 Earth Summit. The goal is to discuss what has changed, succeeded, and failed, as well as the future directions for the program. She discussed that since 1972 when UNEP was first created at the Stockholm Conference, the objective was to bring together as many countries under a common global interest (the environment) as possible. Today, there are 193 member states and UNEP serves the agenda, but Angela made it clear that the nations themselves do the negotiating and policy making of the different environmental concerns, not UNEP. This was a great part of the conference for me because from reading the article in class the other day, the fact that UNEP was more of a umpire rather than a player, was not clear in my mind. Some statements Angela made, which I really enjoyed were “the government would rather keep people out than in”. She stated this after discussing how social objectives within societies have been ignored. I believe that this is a major problem within the ideas of UNEP, but bringing individuals and governments together is seemingly impossible, especially with 193 member states!

            Green Economy will be the main theme of the Rio+20 conference next year that includes sustainable development, as well as many other options to promote “green”. Again though, society must be involved. Sustainable development right now is much more a governmental issue rather than an individual issue. If more people understood what sustainable development is, what it would entail, and what the benefits might be, than many more people might be on board to try it.

            Barbara also made some wonderful points, but the main one I enjoyed was her discussion of how the UNEP environmental policies are voluntary because there is very little enforcement. She continued to call it “soft law” which I thought was a great term and really allowed me to picture what she was discussing. For example, if a certain country says that they will stop cutting down forests to help reduce carbon emissions, who is going to enforce this or regulate it? Certainly this law and idea is “soft”. It was also discussed that gross domestic product is the lens in which UNEP is looking through to see progress within each country, but this is not an accurate measure. Human development progress would be more efficient – maybe this will be changed at the Rio+20 conference? One of the last things Barbara discussed was how even the “UN has their own greening program”. I thought this was great! She told us an example of how she was supposed to be in Washington DC but that rather than taking a flight which creates an enormous amount of pollution, she forwarded her colleague a presentation and asked her to discuss it instead. Also she described how many conferences are becoming paperless and teleconferencing is used as well. It made me excited that the UN is taking these strides.

            Mijke Hertoghs and Eva Duer were the last two women to discuss their role within UNEP and their future goals. Mika’s presentation was also extremely interesting to me because she was discussing hazardous chemicals and wastes. This related perfectly to our Law and Environment class because of the Red Sludge incident, as well as many articles we have read concerning different hazardous waste issues, for example Britain dumping radioactive wastes into the Sea. Mijke also put her work into perspective by asking how many cell phones we all have had – (mom I know if you’re reading this you might laugh) because I HAVE HAD WAY TOO MANY! I have either broken them, lost them, or something in between, but it is never a good excuse to get a new phone. Chemicals are everywhere and scientists must step in to help lawyers create legal procedures to ban some of the chemicals being produced within our world. Eva’s presentation was also interesting, mainly because she showed us a useful website for research. Eva works with knowledge management within the UNEP and she described it as a struggle. From what we had heard from the other women, I can only imagine!

This is a pile of thousands of cell phones which are filled with chemicals like Mijke discusses. I'm sure one of my many cell phones is sadly in there! Hopefully this problem can somehow be stopped.

This is a link to the website Eva showed us

            Overall, the UNEP conference was very impressive and I really enjoyed it. I think it was by far my favorite guest speaker/convention we have been to so far.

I've been attempting to find a wonderful video I once saw on the 7 billion mark from my Environment and Society class I took last J-term but I unfortunately cannot find it! This video is really interesting though so I chose this instead - the reason why is that Angela discussed overpopulation as a large factor in our environmental problems and I think that most people cannot disagree.

            Next, we traveled to UNHCR where the UN works to help refugees all around the world. The presenter for this conference was not as interesting as the individuals in the UNEP office, but I still absorbed some useful information. I learned that a refugee is a person, who is outside of their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution due to their political opinion, religion, ethnic origin, race, or social class. We watched a couple videos that really showed me what these poor individuals go through everyday. I learned that there are about 43 million people on earth who are in trouble in 200 areas of the world. That is astonishing! UNHCR is a wonderful program that provides the necessary shelter, food, clothing, and other basic human needs to many of these refugees. Overall, I learned that this would be a great organization to be a part of. I think it would be a good experience for me to challenge myself and volunteer at a lower level organization and help others who are in need and maybe one day work up to this level. I would feel very vulnerable, selfish, and privileged around refugees, especially because I have never experienced anything like that, but I think it might be something I will look into, specifically to challenge myself.

This was outside of the building.

This was a cardboard cutout of a small girl who is carrying wood on her head to bring back to her family for light, heat, and to cook. It said that an average family needs about 28 kg of wood and that girls on average carry about 5 to 8 kg! That is crazy! Below is a picture of the 8kg wood pile.

            Besides the excursions within the United Nations I saw other beautiful parts of Geneva, and the JSBPer’s even went to a small town in France for about an hour! It was so close we figured why not go breathe in some French air? Below are some pictures from the other things I saw!

We're off to France!

Jet d'eau! aka...A HUGE WATER THING!

Flower clock with the largest second hand in the world.

The alps in the distance!

            Overall, this was a wonderful trip, and besides the rain and everyone being sick I think we all had a fairly good time and learned many things, especially from the UNEP representatives. Another great field studies!