Month: August 2019

I’m writing this while I’m on a train to Cologne on the next day, early in the morning, around 6:45AM. That’s important, because it’s proof of the fact that I can wake up early when I really want to. How wild.

I was in Nuremberg all of today.

This trip has been planned to be an international law/history pilgrimage. I know there’s a lot I’m going to miss, and a lot I’m ignoring here – but I want to see Nurnberg, Koln, and Den Haag.

Nuremberg was absolutely beautiful. I had cats at my Airbnb: Gatto and Gatta, and after sleeping for 2 hours, I decided that the only way I wanted to explore the city was by foot. I mapped out my destinations, figured out that I could walk everywhere, and decided not to take public transport only because I wanted to see as much of the city as I could. Even while traveling. Best/Worst decision ever. I walked 22 kilometers I think.

But I saw so much. There’s so much different terrain here. That isn’t worth dwelling too much on, but it’s stunning! I ended up on a beaten forest path at one point, and another point I was in a beautiful park.

I spent time at the Imperial Castle, the Nazi Documentation Center, and I spent time at the Nuremberg Trial Memorial.

The weight of our history, as a species, dawned on me only then. We carry a lot of burden, and we don’t really realize it at all. What’s worse, is that we’ve sort of failed to learn from those mistakes.

Individuals perpetrated some really horrible things in the past, and we really, really need to prevent them from doing them in the forthcoming years. I don’t think we’ve done enough.

It’s very heartening to see people take time out to teach people. It restores faith in humanity for me. Why? Because knowledge transcends generations, and experience – especially experiences people aren’t fond of, are experiences that enable people to learn.

While over the entire month, I’ve interacted with enough people who have been kind enough to give me their time and offer me information about their own experiences in international law – and how they got to where they are, but today holds a special place in my memory, because my own boss spent time with us. He spent time with us over tea, answering any questions that we had, offering anecdotes, and suggesting ways to go about achieving what we wanted to achieve. It was a splendid afternoon, one I’m very pleased to have had.

On the whole though, today has been amazing. I managed to pick up UN memorabilia for everyone I wanted to, I left my suitcase with an acquaintance to look after, and I reached my bus stop on time. I got photos with Jaska and with my host, and I did meet my flatmate and spend time with her again. It’s strange, but this month appears to have gotten us closer than we were, something I’m grateful for – because we don’t speak much in college. She’s suggested we go out for meals sometimes so we continue being as close as we are right now, and I plan to take her up on it.

I’ve learnt so much. This month has burned several images into the fabric of my memory, and I can’t wait to talk to my parents about it. I’ve learnt a lot about myself – my own limitations, my passions, and what motivates me to get up and go to work everyday. I know now, more than ever, that while I’d like to spend time outside India some day, I want to go back. I know how important it is to me.

Off to Germany and the Netherlands. Time for my solo trip.

I’m packing up. It’s pretty ridiculous. I’ve done 3 countries over the weekends and I’ve seen so many things using a small suitcase. I managed to unpack completely and stay in this Airbnb like it was my own home.

Having to go through the place and check obscure places I may have left things like socks or even a shirt? It feels like I’m moving from my room in the hostel somewhere else.

The next couple of days promise some real adventure. I’m literally leaving this place tomorrow morning itself so there’s some pretty heartfelt thank you’s and bye-bye’s to be said. So many emotions.

How do you thank people who made your month away from home, and all of your homes, feel homely?

It’s Wednesday now. I need to put laundry and take a look at the stock in the fridge to figure out what to cook so we can finish off as many groceries as possible. I’m likely to end up cooking some form of channa + vegetables in the next two days. Going to be an exciting time!

There’s a really, really cute husky dog here. The first time I was introduced to the breed was through books and movies, but I understood more about the husky when my friend moved to Boston. He studies at Northeastern (Go Huskies!) and I ended up reading a lot about them.

I’m going to miss Jaska when I leave. She’s an ideal friend to come home to and relax with. Spending time with her in the garden and petting her when I went to hang clothes to try, patting her when I said goodbye for the day and having her poke her nose through the kitchen door to sniff what I was making? I’m going to miss that.

This last week is a week of relatively less work for us. At the Commission, it’s largely procedural matters which are on their way to completion – wrapping up another successful session. This means I’ve got more time on my hands, and while initially uncertain of how to spend it – I reached a pretty conclusive answer today.

I want to spend the rest of this week just appreciating and soaking in every bit of where I am at the moment, and where I’ve been for the last four weeks now. It’s honestly something I’m deeply grateful for, and I’m going to enjoy it.

For me, that means spending more time in the library, the cafe, and finding new places to set up with my laptop. Additionally, trying to meet everyone I wanted to meet, just once more (so my face and name is etched in their memory and they don’t forget me).

I’m going to miss the pizza in this cafeteria, so more of that too.

Hypothesis: People are happier on Mondays that have deadlines in the middle of the week or the end of the week as compared to Mondays that do not have deadlines in the upcoming week.

Observation: People were happier today than past weeks because the work at the Commission has reached its last phase and Friday is the last day they’ll spend here.

Sample Size: Everyone in Commission

Conclusion: Hence, proved.

Day Two in Lyon was even greater than Day One thanks to some fantastic egg bhurji (Scrambled eggs, for the foreigns). I never knew pimento chilis would add the kick that it did.

We spent the morning at Mini World Lyon – where they had set up miniature models of the entire city, a part of the French-Swiss Alps, and there was a special Star Wars Lego exhibit happening. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and the creative effort they put in made me more certain that my grandfather had to see the place. Or something similar that hopefully comes up soon in Bangalore. I’ll be on the lookout.

Traveling back from Lyon to Cessy was time I spent sleeping, and then talking to my parents. I’m so grateful to them for all the things they’ve sponsored on the trip (everything) and their encouragement in letting me explore everything I’ve been desirous of.

It’s my last week here, starting tomorrow.

I got to Lyon last night and walked a solid 2km to get to the Airbnb, which is honestly one of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever seen. The owner of this place has everything in her house colour coordinated to match with teal and white walls. It’s extremely pretty, and the way the light hits the apartment makes me want to spend the entire day on the sofa and never leave. Unfortunately, this is a trip for exploration and not a staycation.

We celebrated Aunty’s birthday (I’m here with very very close family friends, who are basically family to me) by cutting frozen pizza we had cooked off. Breakfast was boiled eggs. And brunch was the greatest combo: a galette and a crepe. Since I’ve gotten to Lyon I’ve been really impressed with the “chill” vibe that the city gives off. It’s in the air, I think. People seem to be alright relaxing and getting things done in their own time, and it forced me – as an Indian person used to quick-service delivery and with a sense of urgency to pause. I’m enjoying that. I’m also enjoying a lot of the French I’m speaking. People are willing to correct me where I make mistakes – largely in the form of tense corrections, and appreciate the effort, which is honestly all I can ask for as a non-native speaker.

We went to the Lumiere Brothers Museum. I’m always amazed at how these cities preserve elements of history that they believe deserve conservation. The museum itself is astounding and inspirational, and the entire time, I was thinking of my maternal grandfather. I know how enthralled he would’ve been by some of the installations, because he used to make similar installations and illusions for me to look at and marvel at when I was younger.

We also did a boat cruise on the Rhone river. As a friendly tip, I will tell you this. Ask someone how to get to the cruise. Google Maps is wildly unhelpful and walking two hours in the heat is not worth it (although the view is beautiful). The cruise was insane, and I’ve discovered that these kind of things are far better to get a birds’ eye view of the city.

Dinner was the best burger I’ve ever had in my life.

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds.

It’s Friday!

Genuinely a party-time. Today, I discovered the greatest chocolate snack I’ve discovered in a while (My top one is Meiji Hello Panda). Kinder Bueno. If you haven’t had it, you deserve one. Buy it for yourself. You will not regret it.

I’m off to Lyon for the weekend. More to follow. (From France, ooh la-la)

It’s always nice to receive holidays from the kind calendar Gods (who I assume are in charge of all these holiday scheduling activities). Especially on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I’d take holidays on any weekdays, to be honest, but when they come on Wednesday/Thursday, I feel more joy because it means there’s one lesser day to go to the weekend. If Thursday’s a holiday, all I need to do for the weekend to arrive is experience one more working day. That’s it. It’s fantastic.

There’s also an indescribable joy to receiving a holiday after an incredibly stressful deadline. Not actually stressful, but more along the lines of deeply important. The holiday allows you to get some time off to sleep and reflect on how things went along the two months. Oh well.

My mother really wanted me to cook pulao for myself when I came on trip. She told me it was simple and quick to make (it was), but I couldn’t get myself to ever cook it for dinner. Today provided the opportunity to cook lunch, and I grabbed the chance to attempt the adventurous. I succeeded. Pulao is really simple to cook, and tastes fabulous. The fact that you can cook your vegetables and your rice together, and get all the nutrients you need, and you can use fragrant items to heighten flavour is something I’ve fallen in love with. The fact that I could eat it with curd was even better.

After that I set off on a real adventure. To watch Switzerland National Day celebrations, where I was hopeful of getting to see European fireworks, given that I missed Bastille Day ones owing to rain. Today was no different. The rain foiled my plans – although my comfort using an umbrella (which I’ve always detested) grew manifold. And I got to hang out in a park.

I’m treasuring these moments. Every one of them.

I have a holiday tomorrow, which is all I’ve been able to think about through today.

That, and well, the fact that Jane the Virgin is coming to an end tonight.

I’ve had a lot of dreams since I’ve been a young adult. One of them was to study Law. One was to travel to America for the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. One of them was to apply for what I applied for today.

I feel so incredibly grateful and privileged to have the opportunity to apply. I honestly don’t know where the last two months, nay, the last four years went. I’m curious to see how things pan out over the course of this year, but today, I’m just feeling really lucky.

I’m so thankful for all the people who were willing to listen to me articulate all the things floating around in my head. All the people who were willing to ask me questions over the years about how I was feeling and what I was thinking. Everyone I’ve interacted with closely.

There’s so much you gain out of conversation. I guess its stuff you realize only upon reflection.