David in Washington DC

Our class had to wake up extremely early Sunday because we were traveling to the French Alps. The drive to the Alps was amazing as I was able to see the snow-capped mountains and the beautiful landscape surrounding our bus.

After an hour we finally reached the Alps and the glacier that we would soon be able to explore. Each year portions of the glacier are carved out into an amazing ice cave. I was amazed at the size and the beauty of the glacier and the mountains.

I cannot wait to see what adventure is around the next corner!

Today I traveled to Lausanne, which is a forty-minute train ride from Geneva. This day was extremely relaxing as I was able to explore the local cathedral, open market and the beach. I was also able to try true French hot chocolate – rich creamy chocolate syrup that you have to eat with a spoon.

After flying/traveling for around 12 hours, we finally arrived in Geneva. The bus ride to our hotel was around 20 minutes, and I was dying to change clothes and take a shower (since I had been up for over 24 hours).

Once everyone had moved into our rooms (the beds are extremely small!!!) we decided to explore Geneva. I wouldn’t describe Geneva as one of those amazing European towns; however, the lake Geneva rests on is gorgeous.

Eventually we all got hungry, and our walk around Geneva turned into a quest to find cheap food. This was a disaster! I will never attempt to find food with this group again. It took us 30 minutes to find a place to eat, and the food wasn’t even that great. We found some small pizza place that also served Ethiopian food. The cook/owner spoke no English (or decided not to speak it). He kept asking us questions in French and we just nodded our heads and said oui.

Finally the pizza arrived, and we all had a great time laughing and joking about our quest for food.

As most people around the United States know, two weeks ago the Northeast and the rest of the United States was hit with a large snowstorm. Our class was supposed to travel to New York on Sunday, but the entire D.C. area shut down the Friday before we left. With two feet of snow on the ground, everything was covered. By some luck our bus got out late Sunday night. It took us an hour to get out of the D.C. area, and we arrived in New York late that night.

The next day we woke up early to walk to the United Nations. I had never been in New York before so I was excited to see the city. Arriving at the United Nations, I was amazed at the size and how majestic the compound is.

Our class was able to explore the UN and had a chance to look at the General Assembly Room (in photo). Looking into the room I realized how special this opportunity was for a college student. I had the chance to stand and look into a room where great leaders of this world stood and made important policy decisions.

After touring the UN our class listened to two speakers who have dealt with issues of International Law in their profession. The first speaker spoke about the difference between humanitarian law and human rights law. Hearing from an expert of this field, I was able to realize the challenges countries face when in season of war. We addressed issues from Guantanamo to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Each of these topics has forced policymakers and state leaders to make drastic decisions about human life and how their country would treat certain groups.

However, our trip to New York was quickly cut short. Monday night we found out that the entire Northeast was going to be hit with another snowstorm. The weather stations were calling for near blizzard conditions, and our supervisors were worried we would be stuck in NY if we stayed. Our professors decided to attempt to beat the storm and drive back early Tuesday.

Even though we were in New York only for 36 hours, this was a trip I will never forget. We were able to visit Times Square, the United Nations, and see the Big Apple. Yes, it was a little disappointing to leave early and not be able to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Ground Zero, but at least we were able to be in New York for a short time.

When we arrived back in D.C., the snow quickly began. Wednesday the entire city shut down again, and the city decided to stop all snow removal services. Most American students were forced to stay indoors because of the blizzard conditions. Slowly, however, most of AU was catching a mild version of cabin fever and needed to get out of the dorms.