Last Day!

I cannot believe the last full day of our adventure has come to a close. Today, we found ourselves again in the company of our wonderful tour guide Maggie who collected us from the hotel at 8:30am. Our first stop today was Lausanne. It took us a while to find our way into the city as many of the streets were blocked so that a marathon could take place. Our first stop in Lausanne was the cathedral. We enjoyed its beautiful architecture and the scenic overlook of the city. Then we saw the lead group of marathoners run by and our group cheered them on. As we continued walking through the city we cheered for more of the runners. Some of our group got some very fun pictures of themselves running in the marathon route. Our next stop was the Olympic Museum. We entered through the artists entrance, since the way to the main entrance was closed for the race. We did still go to see the main entrance however, and the view was breathtaking. The museum overlooks the lake and there are gardens with statues of athletes. The Olympic flame burns day and night in a cauldron to the right of the main walkway. The museum itself held many mementos from various champions and athletes. There were many exhibits showing the history of the Olympics in both Roman and modern times. They also has an exhibit showing all of the Olympic medals that have been created for the modern games. From there we boarded a ferry on the lake which took us to Montreaux. Although it was cloudy and windy the view of the alps from the water was lovely. In Montreaux, many of us visited the statue of Freddie Mercury who had recorded music there. We then split off into small groups to explore the city. It was cold and windy so many of us spent our time inside the shops that were open. 

We again boarded the ferry and continued to our next stop, Château de Chillon. We approached this ancient fortress from the water and enjoyed taking many pictures. We received a guided tour of the castle and learned the history of its defenses, decor and some of the prisoners that had been held there. After the tour and a trip to the gift shop we boarded our tour bus again. Maggie then told us that she had a surprise for us. We took a detour on the way home to the village of Chexbres. We stopped in the vineyards where there was a park with an overview of the lake and a breathtaking view of the alps. Maggie brought wine, chips and nuts for us to have a picnic together as this was the last time we would have her as a tour guide. We enjoyed our picnic together and the scenic view before continuing to the hotel. We finished the night with packing and a pizza party. Tomorrow the journey home begins! 

 Sarah Ertl, Nursing student

May 4th, 2019 Free Day

Lake Geneva
Today was our free day in Switzerland, and our second to last full day in country. Initially, I had planned to hike, but decided a more relaxed day was needed. My roommate, Scarlett, and I spent the day walking and talking at a leisurely pace. We explored a mall near the hotel, and I found a girolle- a specialty tool that shaves Tête de Moine cheese into rosettes- to bring home. Afterwards, we took the tram into Geneva and walked to the Marche de Plainpalais, a large, open market. We saw many interesting items, including artwork, antiques, and jewelry. Here we also ran into Holly, who gave us custody of Rudy for the day. Initially, we grumbled about having to be responsible for showing Rudy a good time, but almost immediately we saw a photo op and then that turned into an international tour of Geneva (for Rudy). The weather was beautiful and we wandered around until lunchtime, when we stopped into a small Turkish restaurant for lunch. We ate until we were full, then ate some more, and finally finished our meal with a lovely Turkish coffee. Then we checked off the rest of our gift list and headed back to the hotel. It was a much-needed day of decompression after so many days of being on the go.
This trip has been an incredible experience (once again- I’m a second time Study Abroad participant) and we have been so fortunate to have a wonderful group. I feel very privileged to have had the chance to get to know them better over these last 9 days. Tomorrow we head to Lausanne and Montreux for one last excursion before heading home. The trip goes by so fast, but I know the memories will be for a lifetime.
Frankenstein statue

 

P.S. We saved Rudy from Frankenstein’s monster.

Rudy at the farmers market

Trip to Bern May 3rd 2019

The overlook of Bern

May 3, 2019 the day starts at 5:00am, we have a train to catch to Bern the capital of Switzerland. The trajectory of the train in on our way there allowed us to enjoy a breathtaking scenery of the spectacular topography that can only be found here in this country. After two hours in the train, we arrived to our destination and begun exploring the streets of Bern right way. The architecture of the 1800’s in this city, is truly an invitation to travel back in time and imagine how life was in this era.

Albert Einstein bench with part of our group in Bern,

Here in Bern, we had the opportunity to visit the museum of Albert Einstein as well as his apartment. This was very educational and interesting. My group and I had the opportunity to learn a few facts about Einstein. After visiting the museum, we had lunch as a group and got the opportunity to eat German food. After lunch, we decided to explore the city a little more and take pictures of the incredible view. We visited the cathedral and did a bit of shopping as well, but every beginning must have an end so, we headed back to Geneva round 6:00pm. Once back at the hotel we gathered as a group to celebrated one of our member’s birthday. We sang happy birthday and ate cake in her honor. Today we all enjoyed ourselves in the city Bern and we are ready for more adventures!

HUG Hospital Visit

HUG Hospital in Genevea Switzerland
Today we went to the the university hospitals in Geneva. We visited the simulation training center and surgical training center.
We had a brief lesson on the education, healthcare system, and simulation. We learned there at 5 university hospitals  in Switzerland. People living in France have the option to choice Swiss health insurance or french health insurance. Switzerland covers things like abortions, birth control and lots more.
There was a campaign going one as well. The campaign was to show people washing hands saves lives. Before we went outside, people from worldwide health organization did a speech. Nurses, doctors, and visitors stood in circle holding hands. While in circles, we moved left or right. After the circle, we lined up and the campaign song started playing again. After the hospital all students had free time.
Mary Hellwig
Our visit at HUG hospital included a visit to Swiss Foundation of Innovation and Training in Surgery (SFITS)

May 1st, 2019 Day 5

 

May 1st-

 What a delight to have Maggie as our tour guide. We traveled a little over an hour by a personal bus to the canton of Gruyere. We had the pleasure of Maggie giving us great descriptions of history and geography of the areas we traveled through. As our destination arrives, we were greeted by the Swiss Alps. Words can’t describe how beautiful the scene was, not even a picture can do it justice. 

 Our first destination of the day finally came. Le Gruyere, a cheese factory of a world wide known Switzerland cheese- Gruyere. We were able to see the steps to cheese making. The cheese was turned to perfection in huge mixing barrels. Once perfected, they were aged. Of course after our tour we were able to do a little gift shopping, but our adventure didn’t end there.

 On to our next destination, which was right down the road. Passing through pastures of cows, we made our way through the canton of La Gruyere to the castle of Chateau de Gruyere. Gruyere is a historic town which only people may pass. Vehicles are to be parked at the main entrance. Pastures of cows, chickens, and goats greeted us. We were able to explore the castle at our own pace. The castle was extraordinary. A garden overlooking the mountains, rooms filled with exquisite artwork, and the ceilings carefully painted with delicate patterns. From there we would be able to take some time to meet at Hotel de Vile for a classic Swiss meal. Joey and Alejandra spent their time at the HR Bar Giger and observed the intricate sculptures. Others went through the little gift shops. We all meet at 1315 to eat raclette, which is potatoes, pickles, onions all topped with gruyere cheese. It was all so good. Even though we were all so stuffed we had desert and of course we had our chocolate tour next. 

 The chocolate tour had a very authentic beginning. We learned how chocolate started, had samples, and of course gift shopped. Did I mention it was their 200 year anniversary! We definitely didn’t go hungry today. 

 Today was perfect. It was filled with culture, shopping, and of course food! 

Holly Jacobson

Cheese Factory

Rouclette in Greyure

 

April 30th, 2019 Day 4

Today we were the first group of nursing students to meet the first ever Chief Nursing Officer at the World Health Organization

As we started our fourth day in Geneva, Switzerland in the World Health Organization, we were welcomed by our tour guide Doreen. She gave us the rundown of the organization’s history and functions. She emphasized that the 194 member states have a lot of decision making power and that the WHO serves as an advisory to each state’s ministry of health. WHO cannot force member states to do anything, rather it relies on its reputation and credibility to influence action. WHO sets normative standards on things including water quality, vaccinations, precautions for travelers, international classification of diseases.

After showing us the executive office and highlighting some of the art, Doreen led us to a conference room where we were honored to meet Chief Nursing Officer, Elizabeth Iro. Although her time with us was brief, it was highly valued.  Fran McConville then spoke to us about her experiences in midwifery and how the WHO relies on evidence based research and practices to combat infant and maternal mortality. She gave us many reading suggestions to follow up on.

After being able to share a meal with all of WHO’s highly reputable staff, we were headed on to the United Nations. An organization full of history on how humans have made efforts to keep the world in peace. Our tour guide Elena, explained to us that although the UN located in Geneva is the second largest in the world, it was where the United Nations was initially founded. We were extremely amazed to see the elaborate building composed of a gift from every country. The most beautiful peace we were able to see was the Sistine Chapel by Barceló given by Spain. This beautiful sculpture full of magnificent colors and different elaborate shapes represents how every single one of us have different colors and different ideas, which means our perception of life is distinct depending on which side of the world we stand.

Afterwards, we had the opportunity to listen to a Human Rights Conference, where they talked about religion and equality. This was the great remark of the day. As we walked along the hallways of the UN we were able to notice the remaining pieces of history of the League of Nations engraved in the doors represented by a an LNS symbol. In room XX we saw were civilian alliance discussions were made and our dear president Lincoln being part of its picture walls.

As we kept talking with our tour guide she emphasized the great importance of being globalized to work in the UN in order to provide an adequate representation of every country’s language. She presumed to us that living in Europe has given her the opportunity to be exposed to multiple languages and now she speaks English, Spanish, French and Italian.

Nevertheless, after being immersed in this pool of knowledge we have become more globalized citizens of this world and we can’t wait to keep learning, so we encourage our fellow gateway students to keep following us on this journey.

Joey and Mireya

April 29th, 2019 Day 3

Today, we arrived 0855 for a 0900 meeting at the International Geneva University, and most of us were surprised to see our receiver’s shock because to him, our timing was very premature! During the course, led by Professor Goran Jovanivic, we talked about the different international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland (UN, WHO, Red Cross, etc). Professor Jovanic focused his lecture on the UN and explained the variety of branches and how the UN came to be a world organization and how it functions today with all its participating states which are all the countries involved. We also talked about the UN’s mission, what they actually do, the benefits of being a member, the risks of not being a member, and more. Most of the class was engaged and happy to learn more about the global organizations and how they affect us and the individual causes we believe in.

 

After visiting the University, our group had an hour lunch break and then boarded a tram to CERN for a lecture about the Particle Collider and the World Wide Web. Our professor, Mario, started us off with a fifteen minute video giving a general overview of CERN. He then used a presentation to teach us about the basic anatomy of atoms, the different particles, and the functionality of the collider. Then we had the honor of touring the Antimatter Factory which included Elena (antiproton production), GBAR (measuring free-fall acceleration of antihydrogen atoms in specific gravitational setting and decelerates antiprotons), and AD Ring (separates antiprotons). Afterwards, we had a lecture on the WWW and were explained to how data is converted from the collider and into eligible readings for scientists to analyzed. Overall, it was a spectacular and honorable experience to have!

 

At the end of our day, we separated to have dinner. At 2000, we met for discussion about our day, and we concluded that even if all the information we had learned wasn’t particularly part of our careers, it was still interesting to absorb and still valuable to our everyday lives.

 

Alejandra and Abigail

April 28th, 2019 Day 2- International Red Cross and Mount Saleve

 

 

“The Petrified Ones”, located outside the International Red Cross/Crescent. These faceless sculptures were created to denounce the violation of human rights.

Today we started our day at the National Red Cross in Geneva. When we had our classes leading into this trip we did some research on the facility and its origins, but did not fully comprehend what it was truly about. Emotion of shock, awe, grief, and disbelief about stories of individuals the Red Cross has touched were had by everyone in the group. Students were able to interact with video stories of individuals who were a part of wars that seem so long ago and some that seem like yesterday. These stories invoked the thoughts of what is truly happening in our current world and how little we see or hear about.

The Red Cross also showed us hope and how much they do as a corporation to help individuals, countries, prisoners, and those affected by disaster. One particular exhibit that touched many students was the hall of records that showed how the Red Cross kept track of so many individuals during different times of war. With these records they were able to help families come back together. I personally was able to find my own families last name in these records. I can’t know for sure if they were a part of my family tree, but it brings to my thoughts to want to know more about my family tree.

The second half of our day we spent traveling via bus to Mount Saleve where we took a cable car up the mountain. This is where we were able to experience a very beautiful snow globe effect from the SNOW that was falling! After many beautiful mountain view pictures many of us hiked to the summit while passing a Buddhist temple. Two students were able to join in on a Buddhist service with one of the monks. The hike in the mud was worth the sweat, palpitations, mud, and snow. Everyone made it safely down the trail and into the cable car.

For dinner we were encouraged to venture off to find our own dinner and see parts of Geneva that we haven’t been able to explore. Individuals went as smaller groups to find different things and some went to Mass at one of the local Catholic church’s and it was in English! We all met back at the hotel for our post day meeting were many got to express deep feelings on the day. Tomorrow is yet another big adventure!

 

Liz Holtz

April 27, 2019 Day 1 Travel Day

Day 1 in Old Town Geneva
Yumi Skow relaxing in the Amsterdam Airport. They know how to relax here. The airport had a library, piano visitors could play, and reclining chairs to stretch out.

Today was day 1 and our marathon travel day. We departed Gateway Technical College at 1130 to fly out of Ohare. Our flight took off on time at 400pm. We had a short lay-over in Amsterdam and just like that after 13 hour of flight time it we arrived in Geneva Switzerland at 11:00am the next day. Switzerland is 7 hours ahead of us for time. Our 11 travelers have spent the last 10 weeks getting to know each other and learning about Switzerland and planning this trip. Rudy the Redhawk has joined us on our Global Scholars trip. See if you can find him in our pictures.

Today we arrived, dropped our bags at the hotel and explored downtown Geneva and Old Town. The students were able to use their Geneva Passes to explore museums for the day. By the end of the day we were all ready to get some sleep and energize for our adventures tomorrow.

 

Vicki Hulback and Aracely Mouradian

Hello world!

Hello World! On April 26th, 2019 Gateway Technical College students will set out on an adventure to explore Geneva Switzerland. During their trip they will be sharing their adventures and learning experiences here. Please feel free to follow them and comment here.