Sorry to anyone who checks this every day (Mom and Dad), but I’ve never been known to be the most reliable with updating these kinds of things.
Last weekend my friend Phil from Camp Airy visited with two of his friends (he’s studying in Rome this semester). We had an awesome time; we went to the Heineken Experience and saw how they brew the beer. It’s a really cool place! You can walk around and see all the old equipment they used to (and still) use to make beer. They even give you two free drinks at the end. Totally worth it.
My classes have been going well. My Monday class, Public International Law, is spending the next two weeks taking us in groups (since no more than 15 are allowed at a time) to the Peace Palace in The Hague to sit in on part of a trial in the International Court of Justice. The case, Belgium v. Senegal, arose because Belgium claims that Senegal is obligated to either prosecute or extradite Hissene Habre, former dictator of Chad and perpetrator of many war crimes (he’s on “house arrest” in Senegal). If Senegal doesn’t prosecute, Belgium wants him extradited to them so that they may prosecute him for his crimes. This case is really interesting because the ICJ only deals with inter-state issues, and so what may seem like a case fit for the ICC is not about Habre himself, but rather about what is required to be done with him. My group is going on March 19, so it should be really cool.
My Tuesday class, Seminar on Law & Legal Practice in an International and Comparative Perspective, was spent discussing all the nuts and bolts of law school. I’m still the only student in the class (out of all 9 or 10 of us) who isn’t planning on going to law school, but my professor seems convinced that I will. We’ll see (I’m betting she’s gonna be wrong).
My Thursday class, Peacebuilding and International Development, is by far my favorite. We focus on studying the different generations of UN peacekeeping/peacebuilding; what characterizes them, what their pros and cons are, their philosophical underpinnings, and what to expect from them. We have an assignment due at the end of the semester where we are tasked with creating a project proposal for some organization (Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, etc.) to undertake which will accomplish objectives we set for ourselves in relation to the conflict in one of three areas—Libya, Haiti, or Bangladesh. For today, we had to review an existing project proposal, so we can know what to expect when we create ours. The project I reviewed was one for an oral history project between Palestinians and Jewish-Israelis (which you can read here). I’m really excited about how much I’m learning in this class, and I really feel like I’m preparing myself for something I’d like to involve myself with later in life.
Hopefully that wall of text makes up for my unreliability. I hope you’re all doing well!
P.S. I just realized I didn’t make enough jokes, so here’s one for you.
Q: What’s brown and sticky?
A: A stick! (but make sure you say it really enthusiastically, like it’s the best joke you’ve heard in your entire life…because it is)
