France-Blog-PARIS
Paris is such a beautiful city with a noticeable quantity of quality architecture let over from its rich history. However, it was dark, raining, and cloudy and also expensive to eat or shop in grocery stores. Unexpectedly, I found the city to be dirty with a layer of soot over the city which means that I found the outdoor space such as streets and public areas to be poorly kept. Plus twice I felt extremely unsafe as did the other girls in our group. Admittedly, the little bit of food that I did get to eat was good and clearly if you are willing to pay the premium prices, in Euros, then there is truly wonderful food to be had.
When we first arrived we did a bus tour which showed us all the main tourist attractions but then on my spare time I visited the Ark of Triumph, Eiffel Tower, Luve, a Turkish Hamam and the botanical gardens.
I must commend France for being against GMO's. Which is decision based on the precautionary principle rather then on scientific opinion. I feel that this will allow a portion of the world to be left uncontaminated by modified foods, which may just give us the necessary genetic diversity in order to combat failed monocroppings with new immunities.
In closing, I would go back to Paris and other places in France but I would make sure that I was with someone who spoke French.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
EU Switzerland Blog
Switzerland Blog-
Thus far Switzerland is my favorite! Lake Geneva is so pure and clean looking! A huge land locked lake surrounded by beautiful natural wilderness and villages nestled amongst the rolling hills, peaks, and valley’s! Breathtaking is an accurate word to describe the glory of this land- as it truly looks as it does in the ‘Sound of Music!’ Wildflowers- fields of red poppies, meadows of sunshine yellows, powder blues, brilliant purples
On our one day off in Geneva, I organized a day hiking trip by speaking to a knowledgeable local whom as an aside speaks 12 languages and is a consulting teacher at the London school of business- since retiring as an engineer of oil pipelines and bridges. It is interesting that after living all over the world and holding legal passports to six countries including China and Russia- why would he live here? Well, the next day I found out why as 2 girls and myself traveled from Geneva to Nyon where we boarded a mountain train to St. Cergue which is just a train stop in the middle of the Jura Mountains which borders France. With his help I had a 12 mile hike picked out and we just loved it! The whole day was magical – we hiked to the top of the mountain – where we had lunch and rested as we looked out at Lake Geneva in the distance.
Due to steep inclines we noticed the amazing degree of fitness achieved by many there- sufficed to say I have never seen such well built legs as I saw there! We stopped at a mountain chalet to have a coffee (a muddy espresso shot) and found our way back to the train about 8 hours later. What a marvelous day!
Geneva (which is French speaking) is not considered by locals to truly be Switzerland so I am so grateful that I got to see La Gruyere and the Jura mountains. Next time, buy a Regional Pass for one week and travel throughout the country rather inexpensively. I plan to go to Interlaken and take the Golden Pass route where the train’s glass top allows a panoramic view of the highest point in all of Europe!
In Geneva, food is expensive due to inflation, where for example a decent meal is $25 franks; a small bowl of Wonton soup is approximately $8 franks and a hamburger is about 22. However, I did notice that outside of the City it is much more reasonable. Since, Geneva is home to the United Nations, Cern, and the World Health Organization the area is rich in both diversity and intrigue!
The UN is an organization made up of member states and goal is World Peace which means no one is hungry in the world. The WHO is under the UN mantle but has its own rules and mandates and is not part of the UN governmental structure. Like most else in today’s world you must pay to play which means that countries apply and pay yearly membership fees based on last years GNP.
We had several different lecturers that spoke about the structure and function of the agency, how risk assessment and response with global epidemics work, and my favorite is why bio-diversity is essential for global nutrition. The last speaker of the day heads up a taskforce on this topic and as she shared I cried happily because finally some one who understands that we can’t just have a world of monocropping. She said that her research team has found that each cultivar has a unique set of vitamins and minerals that create a synergistic effect in the human body. For example, since each type of eggplant varies in it’s nutrient profile this means that if we only have a few cultivars available we can’t receive the benefit that diversity adds to our diet. I had this burning question for her, and I got to ask her! I said, “do you think that conventional agriculture is sustainable in it’s current methods and practices?” Her response, “Absolutely not! And infact it is very very scary!” She is an expat who was educated in the US and then has lived abroad for 20 years and based on her status I took to heart what she had to say because it touched me deeply. I know we are heading in a unproductive path and I am glad that some people in positions of influence see that eliminating bio-diversity and expecting scientific innovation to always have an answer for what nature kept in balance is certainly risky business!
Thus far Switzerland is my favorite! Lake Geneva is so pure and clean looking! A huge land locked lake surrounded by beautiful natural wilderness and villages nestled amongst the rolling hills, peaks, and valley’s! Breathtaking is an accurate word to describe the glory of this land- as it truly looks as it does in the ‘Sound of Music!’ Wildflowers- fields of red poppies, meadows of sunshine yellows, powder blues, brilliant purples
On our one day off in Geneva, I organized a day hiking trip by speaking to a knowledgeable local whom as an aside speaks 12 languages and is a consulting teacher at the London school of business- since retiring as an engineer of oil pipelines and bridges. It is interesting that after living all over the world and holding legal passports to six countries including China and Russia- why would he live here? Well, the next day I found out why as 2 girls and myself traveled from Geneva to Nyon where we boarded a mountain train to St. Cergue which is just a train stop in the middle of the Jura Mountains which borders France. With his help I had a 12 mile hike picked out and we just loved it! The whole day was magical – we hiked to the top of the mountain – where we had lunch and rested as we looked out at Lake Geneva in the distance.
Due to steep inclines we noticed the amazing degree of fitness achieved by many there- sufficed to say I have never seen such well built legs as I saw there! We stopped at a mountain chalet to have a coffee (a muddy espresso shot) and found our way back to the train about 8 hours later. What a marvelous day!
Geneva (which is French speaking) is not considered by locals to truly be Switzerland so I am so grateful that I got to see La Gruyere and the Jura mountains. Next time, buy a Regional Pass for one week and travel throughout the country rather inexpensively. I plan to go to Interlaken and take the Golden Pass route where the train’s glass top allows a panoramic view of the highest point in all of Europe!
In Geneva, food is expensive due to inflation, where for example a decent meal is $25 franks; a small bowl of Wonton soup is approximately $8 franks and a hamburger is about 22. However, I did notice that outside of the City it is much more reasonable. Since, Geneva is home to the United Nations, Cern, and the World Health Organization the area is rich in both diversity and intrigue!
The UN is an organization made up of member states and goal is World Peace which means no one is hungry in the world. The WHO is under the UN mantle but has its own rules and mandates and is not part of the UN governmental structure. Like most else in today’s world you must pay to play which means that countries apply and pay yearly membership fees based on last years GNP.
We had several different lecturers that spoke about the structure and function of the agency, how risk assessment and response with global epidemics work, and my favorite is why bio-diversity is essential for global nutrition. The last speaker of the day heads up a taskforce on this topic and as she shared I cried happily because finally some one who understands that we can’t just have a world of monocropping. She said that her research team has found that each cultivar has a unique set of vitamins and minerals that create a synergistic effect in the human body. For example, since each type of eggplant varies in it’s nutrient profile this means that if we only have a few cultivars available we can’t receive the benefit that diversity adds to our diet. I had this burning question for her, and I got to ask her! I said, “do you think that conventional agriculture is sustainable in it’s current methods and practices?” Her response, “Absolutely not! And infact it is very very scary!” She is an expat who was educated in the US and then has lived abroad for 20 years and based on her status I took to heart what she had to say because it touched me deeply. I know we are heading in a unproductive path and I am glad that some people in positions of influence see that eliminating bio-diversity and expecting scientific innovation to always have an answer for what nature kept in balance is certainly risky business!
UK-Blog- LONDON
UK-Blog
I arrived at Heathrow, and waited 4 hours for the group from Michigan State to arrive as there flight was delayed. Once we all met up, we took a bus into London. Our hotel is really lovely because it is easily accessible to the underground and looks out over a large city park with 300 year old trees. London is a fast paced city much like NYC however the noticeable difference is that the numerous pubs are filled with people just off work. They are also filled throughout the day with people having meetings or just relaxing. The culture includes a form of social alcoholism.
I toured the city by foot, seeing many rich historical sites, like mass at Notradam, and the London Tower. I found a landmark place called The Anchor for fish and chips, visited Chinatown, and experienced Borough Market a fascinating place for produce, prepared food, raw meats and fish, flowers, chocolate, smoothies and Chai tea. Interestingly, a market has been in the same location since the time of the Roman's occupation.
During our classroom time, we were given a background on the governmental structure of the EU and the UK. A London professor and expert on the BRC or the British Retail Consortium gave us a solid understanding of Private Standards. Which is a non-governmental regulation that provides increased consumer confidence and quality assurance by making food manufactures and producers meet higher regulations then what is set forth by Codex Alimentarous (food laws). The issue with these standards is that because they are indeed private and non mandatory, yet are being used by all of the top food stores (UK) they tend to exclude many producers who can not pay to update their methods to meet these ever changing standards that effectively prohibit trade. As the rest of the world, especially the USA implements the use of these standards it will have to be decided if article 13 of the SPS (Sanitary & Phytosanitary) agreement under WTO (World Trade Organization) will be legally clarified to make the actions of private companies included in the Trade regulations which will ensure developing nations stop losing a large market share due to these higher then governmental standards. I mean food should be safe if it is offered for consumption to the public but in the UK citizens has lost faith in the governments ability to protect the people with scares like dioxins and BSE or what is more widely known as mad cow diseases.
I really have enjoyed my time in London, we share an almost common language, the people are friendly, I always felt safe, and the food is mostly inexpensive, that is if one were to work in the UK for the pound. The exchange rate wasn't great but they have great supermarkets with lots of ready to eat foods all without
GMO's or High Fructose Corn Syrup in the products. Most food just uses sugar - simple good old sugar and what a relief to have labels that actually properly inform the consumer!
I arrived at Heathrow, and waited 4 hours for the group from Michigan State to arrive as there flight was delayed. Once we all met up, we took a bus into London. Our hotel is really lovely because it is easily accessible to the underground and looks out over a large city park with 300 year old trees. London is a fast paced city much like NYC however the noticeable difference is that the numerous pubs are filled with people just off work. They are also filled throughout the day with people having meetings or just relaxing. The culture includes a form of social alcoholism.
I toured the city by foot, seeing many rich historical sites, like mass at Notradam, and the London Tower. I found a landmark place called The Anchor for fish and chips, visited Chinatown, and experienced Borough Market a fascinating place for produce, prepared food, raw meats and fish, flowers, chocolate, smoothies and Chai tea. Interestingly, a market has been in the same location since the time of the Roman's occupation.
During our classroom time, we were given a background on the governmental structure of the EU and the UK. A London professor and expert on the BRC or the British Retail Consortium gave us a solid understanding of Private Standards. Which is a non-governmental regulation that provides increased consumer confidence and quality assurance by making food manufactures and producers meet higher regulations then what is set forth by Codex Alimentarous (food laws). The issue with these standards is that because they are indeed private and non mandatory, yet are being used by all of the top food stores (UK) they tend to exclude many producers who can not pay to update their methods to meet these ever changing standards that effectively prohibit trade. As the rest of the world, especially the USA implements the use of these standards it will have to be decided if article 13 of the SPS (Sanitary & Phytosanitary) agreement under WTO (World Trade Organization) will be legally clarified to make the actions of private companies included in the Trade regulations which will ensure developing nations stop losing a large market share due to these higher then governmental standards. I mean food should be safe if it is offered for consumption to the public but in the UK citizens has lost faith in the governments ability to protect the people with scares like dioxins and BSE or what is more widely known as mad cow diseases.
I really have enjoyed my time in London, we share an almost common language, the people are friendly, I always felt safe, and the food is mostly inexpensive, that is if one were to work in the UK for the pound. The exchange rate wasn't great but they have great supermarkets with lots of ready to eat foods all without
GMO's or High Fructose Corn Syrup in the products. Most food just uses sugar - simple good old sugar and what a relief to have labels that actually properly inform the consumer!
Welcome!!!
Hi there! In this blog I will share an overview of my experiences in Europe during the summer of 2009. I feel wholeheartedly that experiencing other countries and their cultures is a valuable college experience.
Here is a few tips for traveling abroad:
1. Pack Lite- Really, really- because you have to carry it all around- and pack what you usually like to wear-with lots of layering capabilities!
2. Europeans are sharp dressers if you want to fit in and not be an obvious tourist then...Dress smart!
3. Learn common phrases before arriving in your destination city- In my experience all but French will be more helpful if you attempt to begin communication in the local language. Ok, some of French were helpful- but others were extremely rude when they figure out that I am American, but that may have to do with the 116 million dollars of product retaliation against the EU especially from France by US- because they didn't want beef with hormones!
4. There is so much more then the tourist attractions!!! Check out the local food markets ( if you like fabulous foods) go to indoor and outdoor farm markets where you can get a awesome look at how the locals live.
Here is a few tips for traveling abroad:
1. Pack Lite- Really, really- because you have to carry it all around- and pack what you usually like to wear-with lots of layering capabilities!
2. Europeans are sharp dressers if you want to fit in and not be an obvious tourist then...Dress smart!
3. Learn common phrases before arriving in your destination city- In my experience all but French will be more helpful if you attempt to begin communication in the local language. Ok, some of French were helpful- but others were extremely rude when they figure out that I am American, but that may have to do with the 116 million dollars of product retaliation against the EU especially from France by US- because they didn't want beef with hormones!
4. There is so much more then the tourist attractions!!! Check out the local food markets ( if you like fabulous foods) go to indoor and outdoor farm markets where you can get a awesome look at how the locals live.
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