Circus in Town and other stuff

I know some of you thought this Circus Apartment thing is a bit of romantic kitsch! No, it is real. The circus has been in town for the last few weeks and is parked outside my door. This is circus on a grand scale. At least two hundred or more trucks, vans and mobile homes to support the whole venture. They have two performances each day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. I now know all the circus tunes by heart. Thankfully, the show finishes at 9.30pm in the evening.

I have a day off today because of a public holiday unique to Geneva. By rights I should be fasting as the holiday is called Jeûne Genevois (Geneva Fast). It celebrates a famous Protestant victory over the Catholics during the Reformation that was supported by a massive public fast of biblical proportions. Nowadays I guess no one knows why there is a public holiday today. At least no one in the office knew. The information came to light from a Wikipedia search. Anyway I am glad of a day at home.

Michael Murray and John Burke arrive on Saturday. This morning I did more laundry to get ready. I now know that I need to purchase two duvets, can't find where the others have gone. I imagine the students must have taken them away. I have now three complete sets of bed linen which spares me the embarrassment of trying to explain to the guy in the department store why I want single bed sets rather than doubles. Try translating "fitted sheet" into French. If you want to know it's a "drap-housse" or in German, a "Fixleinrtuch". The learning curve is steep here.

Brian Bond has been in touch and we are exchanging emails. I'm full of tips and pieces of advice. But he's on the ball and is looking forward to coming. He will then be the replacement Aussie for Julie Morgan in the office. Incidentally, I have discovered that the Australians have exceeded their national quota for employees at the UN. I discovered that piece of trivia during the week. It puzzled me as I never even knew there was such a thing national quotas. Affirmative action gone haywire. That explains why there are so few Irish. Afraid we might take ove!

Food continues to be a problem. There is a mystery here that I am trying to solve. Why, I ask, is it cheaper to eat at McDonald's than to cook for oneself. I just don't get it. You can have a full Mega-Burger plus Chips meal in McDs for about 12 CHF but it costs at least one and half times that to purchase and cook the stuff yourself. Someone please explain.

Weather still cold. That wind from the north is still slicing across the Plainpalais. The vineyards up in Nyon and along the lakeshore will be worried.

Jim Donovan called on the house phone. I was delighted to hear his voice. He was lucky he caught me at home, though. Normally, I would be in the office.

Greetings to all of you out there in N17man land! And special greetings to MC in Lusaka!

Brian Bond and other Matters

Yesterday I received the news that the third person joining the Geneva team is Brian Bond. I am delighted. Brian is from Australia and is a Christian Brother of the current St. Patrick's Province in Melbourne. I stayed with Brian and Sean in their place in Sunshine in 2006 and have very happy memories of my visit with them. In fact Sunshine as a suburb of Melbourne is not unlike our proposed location in Gaillard, France, on the edge of an industrial area with a mix of long-established residents and incomers. Brian has been working in the social justice field for a long time and has been responsible for some interesting initiatives. He hopes to arrive here towards the end of October. I am gradually getting used to the people in the office here. It is so international. So many languages. Everyone uses English, of course, but it is nice to be able to converse with people in their own language. Sr. Madeleine who is a French-speaking Franciscan Sister keeps on reminding us that we are after all in French-speaking Switzerland. I have enormous sympathy for her point of view. It is always a challenge for international organisations not to get caught in the trap of the Anglophone culture. Diversity is all. The weather has turned much colder. The wind has definitely veered towards the North so something is coming down over Germany from Russia towards us. It is amazing what a difference this makes. Until last night I slept with the windows wide open to catch the fresh breezes. Now I am closing the windows. Soon it will be time for the famous "La Bise", the Alpine winds that seek to sever the legs from the body. But that's another story. I am in a listening and learning mood here. "So listen to wise people and be willing to accept every wise counsel", the Book of Tobit advises. I agree. When starting in a new venture it is essential to keep the head down and to spend a lot of time listening. There are so many nuances of culture and personality to come to terms with in such a short time. I was speaking of windows. I am in the process of getting simple curtains, ready-made, from the department store across the street. Not a simple matter. First, there is the issue of the size of the windows. That requires measurements. Which in turn spawns the purchase of a tape measure. Fine. So now we have curtains. But now they have to be hung. New problem. I can't reach the poles. So this requires a small set of steps. This is how my purchasing cycle goes. Need, assessment and purchase. And always keeping in mind the question will this purchase transfer to the new house when we get there. As if life were not complicated enough. Now some people would find all this fun. Not if you are trying to fit in housekeeping around the work and commute to the office.