Geneva Study Tour - Part 1

I didn't think it was possible for Switzerland to have slower internet than Uganda, but alas it does (at least in the "basic" guest house).  Seriously, the John Knox Center is Peace Corps standards of living - simple rooms, bread/cheese/coffee for breakfast and slow internet.  But there's hot water and electricity, hooray!

 

If you don't already know, Switzerland is expensive!  I haven't gone out much yet (I'm saving my money for the weekend) but some of my classmates went out to dinner and spent about $30 per plate (at an average restaurant).  Too pricey for me.  Our instructor took us across the border to France to buy some foodstuffs at the [cheap] supermarket.  I picked up some trail mix, fruit and Ramen noodles for the week.

The border of Switzerland and France - gorgeous mountains!

 

The purpose of this trip is to visit the World Health Organization (WHO) and other NGOs.  Here's the list of lectures topics we're having:

• WHO overview
• Role of the hospital in the health system
• Violence against women
• International Federation of the Red Cross

• Traffic injuries
• NGOs in disaster relief
• Neglected tropical diseases
• Prevention of blindness
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

• WHO Library
• Communicable diseases and emergency preparedness
• Emergency and essential surgical care program
• Essential medicines
• Mental health disorders

• Injuries and violence prevention
• Human resources for health
• Onchocerciasis 

• Maternal and newborn health
• Global perspective of malaria
• Malnutrition in children
• Health financing

It's only been one day and I'm really enjoying the lectures.  It's such a great feeling to find something you're passionate about.  I can't wait to get a job in public health.  :) 

 

Me and my good friend Sibongile (aka Chiko)

Homework Update

A one-year masters program is pretty intense and there's not much downtime.  When we're not reading for class or working on assignments, we're supposed to be researching for our thesis because it's due in August.

So here's a quick rundown of my not-so-exciting life over the past few months:

• Wrote a literature review about determinants of household food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (related to my thesis)
• Got sick for 3 weeks with a head cold & cough
• Wrote a disease control intervention program for schistosomiasis in Uganda
• Wrote a qualitative research proposal to study beliefs and practices regarding schistosomiasis in Uganda
• Went ice skating with my classmates

 

• Wrote the framework and outline for my thesis
• Making my way through 6 seasons of Sons of Anarchy
• Working on an evaluation plan for a nutrition programme in Uganda
• Had class photos this week  :) 

 

This picture is from someone's iPhone - we also had a professional photo taken, which I'll get later.

You may notice a Ugandan theme for my assignments.  Being that this is an international public health course focused on developing countries, we are required to put all of our assignments in that context.  I could pick any country I want, but I have first-hand knowledge of Uganda so it's easiest for me.  However, my thesis will focus on Ethiopia because I wanted my topic to be about hunger and food aid - Ethiopia is the most relevant country for that topic.

I've got two weeks left to complete my monitoring & evaluation assignment and I have to write the first chapter of thesis.  Then it's spring break and the traveling begins!