Clarifications

Just a few clarifications. ICRC stands for the International Committee of the Red Cross which is a different organization than the Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. I have been told that the latter is more of a national movement. There are multiple national Red Crosses, like American Red Cross, British Red Cross, etc. Those are all part of the Federation. BUT the museum that I went to encompassed both the ICRC and the FRCRC. My fault.

Also, the people who live in Switzerland are Swiss. Not Switz. It's funny because in French it's not Switzerland, but Suisse. And the people that live here are Suisse regardless of gender. Kinda nice.

This morning we were briefed on Medecins du Monde and the different role of American and French NGO's. He was a little hard to understand (as in he didn't speak English very well), but hopefully, after reviewing with the rest of the class, it will become more clear. I really like the way that the briefings are set up. I'm learning A LOT. It's hard to express exactly what and to what extent I am learning, but maybe when I don't have a million and one things to do, I can write a more in depth entry.

I am currently writing a paper on the effects that the Muhammad cartoons have had on human security in Europe for both Muslims and non-Muslims. Very interesting. Especially, because I get to read the newspaper everyday and it forces me to learn more and more French. It's a funny juxtaposition. In the media, there have been a lot of people claiming to be atheists and then not understanding why Muslims were so offended. Ummmm....Does anyone else see the ridiculousness here? I would not expect someone who doesn't believe in a God to understand anything about how the Muslims are feeling after their Prophet was insulted. That's why I'm writing about it. It helps me to understand the situation better.

On a happier note, here are some pictures!!! The one of the church is in Lausanne.

p.s. The bird flu is all around Suisse. By that I mean it's in France, Italy Turkey etc. Not so worried, but maybe I'll hold off on touching any dead birds like my French teacher suggested.