Geneva 101

by Jenny Knoester

Bonjour!

Je m'appelle Jenny, and that is the extent of my French language skills.

You can imagine how helpful those phrases were when I first arrived at the Geneva airport, keeping my bulging suitcase from falling over with my left hand and clutching a flimsy sheet of instructions to my apartment in the other while my whopping over-the-shoulder threatened to cut off the blood supply to my right arm.

Thankfully, *most* things in the airport were labeled in both French and Anglais (English), and I eventually made my way out of the airport.

Leçon numéro un (lesson number one): Get a pass, go up a floor, and THEN go out the door!

While the Program does a great job of prepping us for our arrival at the airport, here is my hassle-free distillation:

1. When you disembark, follow the signs to collect your luggage. If you're arriving for the very first time, snag a free, 1-hour public transportation pass from the machine next to the carousel (Only free when you get it from the airport, then you have to buy a bus pass).
2. When you pass through the glass doors - or "customs" - take the escalator UP one level instead of just walking out the door. This will put you on the same level as the tram stops.
3. Walk out of the airport and go to the left, toward the neighboring bus station. Just outside the bus station is a tram stop for the 10 (Aeroport --> Onex-Cite). I am particularly fond of this line because I take it to and from work every day, but there are other options to get to and from the airport.

4. The 10 (on its way to the airport after dropping me off at work in the photo on the left) takes you right to Cornavin Station, aka le Gare, at stop 22-Ganton. Once off the tram, facing the direction the tram was heading, the center of the station is to the left.

Sort of impossible to be anything but enamored with work when the view that greets you every single morning is this one, non?

Which brings us to Leçon numéro deux: Say Cheese!

• If you have a chance before arriving in Geneva, get a passport-sized photo of yourself ($15.00 from the US post office), because you'll need one for your bus pass.

Geneva has fantastic public transportation. I just heard over lunch yesterday that the Canton of Geneva (district) reliably keeps its bankroll in the black every year, and a lot of funds have gone to maintaining and extending public trans...AND, its website has kept up with it all.

Riding the busses and trams is on a semi-honor system: All citizens are expected to purchase bus tickets and passes, but no one routinely checks. If you do make the mistake of freeloading on that lucky day when a transportation officer comes aboard your tram, apparently there's a hefty fine. Incidentally, the same is true in Berlin (More on this later!).

Miraculously - and I am still not sure how I managed to get on the right tram with a driver who spoke just enough English to tell me when to jump off - I got to Cornavin. I followed the program's instructions to catch the 1, and, heaving my bags the entire way over to the Drake and back to get my key because reception is closed on Sunday, I arrived at RUI in one - albeit sweaty, exhausted, and hungry - piece.

Which brings us, finally, to Leçon numéro trois: Pack a Snack.

...because nothing* is open on Sundays!

And, if your internship hours are anything like mine (8 or 8:30 am to 6 or 7 pm), it'll behoove you to get to know the grocery store hours so you don't arrive home late to an empty cupboard. Stores are open from (plus/minus a half-hour):

• 8:30 am to 7 pm Monday-Wednesday
• 8:30 am to 9 pm Thursday (woo-hoo!)
• 8:30 am to 6:30 pm Friday
• 8:00 am to 6 pm Saturday
• Closed Sunday

* Ok, so this is obviously hyperbole, but it sure seems that way when you're wandering around trying to find a cute little grocery with all the swiss yogurt your heart desires.

...luckily my lovely flatmate at RUI had some food her mother sent with her, so we had our first meal in Geneva seated at our little table...and then I did a face-plant into bed.

Jenny just finished a grueling third year of medical school at the University of Michigan. She is a Global Health fellow in the Duke Program in Geneva on Global Policy and Governance, and she is delighted to be the Policy and Advocacy Intern at the International AIDS Society.