Welcome to the World!

Liebster neuer Weltbürger!
Du bist ein Wunder und ein Geschenk für alle die dich schon kennen und alle die dich noch kennenlernen werden. Ich wünsche dir Geborgenheit bei deinen liebevollen Eltern, dass du die Welt und alle ihre Wunder entdeckst und viel Spass mit dem Leben!
Nimms mir Humor und wenn mal was is: einfach Schreien!
Die Tante Heidiiii

Heidi in New York

Well, now already some weeks have passed since coming back, so I can finally see myself on this little island again *gg*. New Yorkians are nice and friendly, they walk a lot, which made me buy 4 pars of shoes besides of the nice exchange rate at the moment. People once you start shopping in Soho you will get crazy *hach*...
But, yes, remember the reason I was there was uni, and solving the worlds issues. Everyday we had a group therapy in Beirut, our tutor's room, with complains and constructive comments and lots of beer. Was necessary to get ot heads back to normal in order to not in a Jean-Paul Sartre existentialism way divide people in fellow or opponent countries being over or under your power. In the end we did well, were distinguished delegation and won a position paper award, and it was the greatest feeling ever to stand up with my team in GA Hall and have the whole room applauding. My heard was swallowing with pride and I had lump in my throat *blush*.
Thw rest was tourism program, seing Empire state building, freedom statute with my nice friends from Utrecht, ship tour around Mantattan, chilling at John Lennons Strawberry fields in Central Park, visiting marvellous MoMa and being disappointed by Guggenheim, going out to NY 'In'Clubs and having peanut butter with jelly jam.



E.g. asking a woman on the street where to go in Brooklyn, Williamsburg. And she’s like (that’s what all the Americans say all the time *g*) ‘Oh do you wanna see th jews?!? They’r all standing in rows to shop ‘cause it’s a celebration day! They’r over thee, you see them, the Jews!!!’ She points with her index at two passing Jews who pretend very well not to notice us. ‘And if u wanna see the odd artsy people just pass over there’. We went to the odd people. Brooklyn is really charming, like the houses in ‘King of Queens’ but poorer and more industry. Wonderful fashion stores to shop, while strolling around was just disturbed by ‘watch your step a blood puddle’. Our happiness on that day was sealed by yingling for just two bucks. Yingling is the eldest beer brewed in the US, about 200 years, of course as Austrian I have to smile at that, our breweries are from about the 14th century. It was delicious and we even could smoke behind a fence, so while sunset the orange light turned everything cosy I felt far far away from busy NY and fell in love with Brooklyn.
Another Day, when I went to the financial district a surprise waited. Stepping out the scarped stairs of the subway we heard a crowd screaming. Directly in front of the stock market exchange, that’s built as neo-classicist temple and is covered with the biggest stars and stripes flag I have ever seen, people held signs and walked in circles. They screamed: ‘No more bull, health care for all!’ and me with them, of course ;-).
New York is great, not for living, but for making career, watch out I intend to come back!

NMUN catchup

2 weeks in NY. First week was the busy and amazing reason why I went on this whole trip: The NMUN, a role game of university students playing the UN in different bodies. I was with my beloved wonderful partner N. in the World Tourism Organisation representing Lebanon. Already at the opening ceremony in the General Assembly hall at UN headquarters everybody started lobbying and running around getting to known as many people as possible, passing out cards with names and hotel room numbers to identify allies. As everyone was living in the ****Marriott directly located at Times square we called each other at impossible times concerning strategies and amendments of articles and sentences in our reports and resolutions for the following 5 intensive days. These can be called our targets, reports, for which we voted and argued, in seemingly endless sessions. Imagine a proper conference room full with students all nicely dressed in line with business dress code, all with placards saying their country name representing, being role called and standing up stating present and/or voting. Lebanon is just present. Does certainly not want to be bind to any kind of behaviour. Following the strict rules of UN we set speakers times, argued for them, voted, set caucus times, wrote and all fought hardest to be put on the speakers list! It’s partly scary how frightful people can become just wanting attention and their certain point made known, and that was the point of this whole game for me: that’s politics.


Thats GA Plan with manymany sudents

We voted on topics to be set on the speakers list, our favourite was privacy rights, because it’s the hardest discussed one. The intention was to discuss legal complicated issues as privacy as human right versus security – means states policies versus the benefits of tourists moving and spreading money, important issue, specially for Lebanon whose tourism infrastructure was completely destroyed by the Israeli attacks in summer 2006. But the people were coward! Not realising about their great possibility and power to discuss such matters as students, free in spirit but bound to rules of behaviour of international policy. Well, sad but the body ruled on eco tourism as primary topic. After some hours of listening to funny, bad, populist or in character speeches we also once had mine where I think to got the importance of basic infrastructure across. Where is the need for more institutions and bureaucrats evaluating on importance and possibilities, on schemes and premises? There is need to get good ideas and get them going. Everyone together. International politics is like kids playing in the sand, power relationship issues but if the kids don’t get them over they wont have fun playing. And all of us want to have fun also kids in Africa. We succeeded then with our report but couldn’t drop other ones (Syria sucks), sorry China and Nepal. What else did I learn? Much about myself, I am very able to work under stress, can be productive but need other players to not have the ball all the time. Leadership skills c Anke. One telling incident: We were again at GA Hall caucusing with countries. I felt frightened and insecure because of so many people screaming and could not just walk around saying ‘hi’. When my partner was with me 5 min later I felt perfectly alright and it was fun to do so, like ‘Hey that’s Lebanon, what your point at…’ meeting allies and opponents. I was confident and calm, although N. was just there to just be there because I wouldn’t let her say a word in my state of enthusiasm. *nice smile*.
Besides the bunch of 20 people enjoyed beer and run from the cops, but that’s another story…