Saturday, March 30, 2013

The United Nations and Nuclear Fission

Even though my crazy busy vacation was only 3 weeks ago, I have already done some neat things that I want to share.

On the first weekend back, I was able to spend all day Saturday in Geneva, Switzerland. It is only about 3 hours by train, so we were able to do a day trip. It is, by far, one of the most beautiful places that I have visited. Nestled up in the mountains and on the shore of a large lake with huge fountain (Jet d'Eau), the surroundings make even just being outside a pleasure. Plus we had nice, mostly sunny weather. It is also a relatively small city for its international importance, and did not feel like a big city at all. In fact, walking along the shore of lake, watching the sailboats with the mountains in the distance, was one of the most calm and tranquil afternoons that I have had in a long time.



Jet d'Eau with Mont Blanc hiding in the distance

We spent the day just walking around the city and there are 2 distinct sections: the Old Town, and the newer international area. The historic section of Geneva is like most old European cities: small cobblestone streets or a pedestrian zone, old buildings, churches, etc. The architectural details were a little different that some other places I've visited, but that's to be expected. One of the biggest differences is that the churches are protestant, not catholic (except for the 1 Russian Orthodox church we saw. We walked in accidentally in the middle of baptism!). Because the city as whole adopted and played an important role in the Protestant Reformation, the churches (including the former catholic cathedral) are protestant and there are multiple monuments to the Reformation. One of the neatest was the Reformation Wall, which is a long wall with statues of the some of the most prominent reformers, including John Calvin, John Knox, Roger Williams, Oliver Cromwell, and Theodore Beza. The city also offers homage to watchmaking. There are clocks everywhere in the city, including sun dials on the sides of buildings. There are also multiple high-end watch shops, each with their own clock hanging from the awning. And I can't forget the large flower clock!



The center of the Reformation Wall

The flower clock

The other part of Geneva is the newer, international area, called the Place of Nations. The Geneva headquarters of the UN are there, along with the Red Cross, and the Human Rights Commission. There was not anyone there because it was Saturday, but it was still neat to see the building, with all the flags out front. There is also the sculpture, Broken Chair, which was erected in 1997 as a symbol against the use of land mines. As a city that has a significant international presence, there was a large diversity in the other tourists* and the city inhabitants, which is always fun for me. It was like being Brussels all over again. But prettier. 



The United Nations!


On the other end of the spectrum, I was able to do something really cool right here near Roussillon. I accompanied a school trip to the nearby nuclear power plant! It was not really any different than visiting any other power plant because we only got to see the warehouse where the turbine and alternator are. It is a pressurized steam system, like what can be used with coal too (I think), but they use a nuclear fission reaction to heat the water. I wish I could explain better, but I don't know the English equivalents for all of the more technical words I learned. The visit as a whole was really awesome. The site is set-up for public visits, so there was an hour presentation before the tour, where they explained how electricity is made in general, nuclear energy in France, and then about this specific site. The guides did a wonderful job keeping the 15 year-olds engaged and they explained everything simply enough that even I was able to understand, despite the potential language barrier, because I don't know scientific words in French. 


The other cool thing was the amount of security. We had to register our party with the site ahead of time and provide photocopies of our ID cards/passports, bring our ID cards to the site, and then we were each assigned a badge and a personalized code to use. From the time we got the codes to when we actually entered the site, I had used the code 3 times and gotten searched. Then we used it another 3 or 4 times simply walking through the site. They take all kinds of other precautions, such as cameras everywhere, and strictly controlled access to the main control room. The 8 people that work there each shift are locked in the control room and are no one is allowed to enter or leave during the shift. It all makes sense because it is a nuclear site with uranium and a live fission reaction. Also, I was scanned to make sure I wasn't radioactive before I left. So no super powers, unfortunately, 

The most memorable part of the trip was really just being with the students outside of English class. I got to see first hand their studies in science and how interested some of them were. I don't know if this applies to other people, but I've discovered that since I teach only one subject, it becomes so easy to pigeon hole a student based on his or her performance in my class. When in reality, I have a lot students that either just don't like English or struggle in it, but do well and work hard in other subjects. It's nice to be reminded of that and see it first hand as they were asking questions and explaining what they already know. 


I also got into a debate with one of the girls on the bus ride back to the school. 3 girls were listening to music and they offered to let me hear what it was, and it was, sadly, My Heart Will Go On. They started telling my how much they liked Titanic, and I explained that I laughed at the end and was mad because there was totally room for Jack on the door. They agreed with me. Then one of the girls said that it was so sweet that it was a true story. I quickly told her that, of course the Titanic is real, but the story of Jack and Rose isn't. She didn't believe me. I tried to explain how it's just a story, and she kept saying, "But the old woman at the end is telling the story. It's her story." I finally got her to understand that it was just made up and she was kind of disappointed. It wasn't serious or mean  but since we were not in English class, I spoke French, and so we had this discussion back and forth in French. It was good to have an opportunity for a more personal connection with them outside of class.

From Switzerland with love.


*Although I suppose my group itself with an American, a German, and an Italian, is pretty diverse. 

And as a separate note, I wanted to share with you my struggles with English. Rather often, I can't think of the right English words, or I speak the way my students do. While writing this, I had to think for a long time how to explain my visit to le centre nuclĂ©aire. I finally settled on electric nuclear plant, but I knew that didn't sound right. It took googling it to discover and remember that I normally call a plant that generates electricity, a power plant. I can no longer speak English. 

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