Eszter's Study Abroad Pages Smith College Junior Year Abroad Program in Geneva, Switzerland

The first words that come to mind:

A wonderfully marvelous, magnificantly awesome, incredibly exciting year. An experience of a lifetime! (That may be a cliché, but it's just true and that's all there is to it.)

For now, my description about junior year in Geneva is limited to this picture gallery. It is meant to give a sense of the many wonderful people I met including the American students I would not have otherwise met here, but definitely emphasizing the diversity of non-Americans whom I also got to form great friendships with. Moreover, it is also meant to give a tiny glimpse at the variety of places one can visit during a year abroad.

A note on friendships. My year abroad was during the 1994/95 academic year. This summer I went back to some places and saw seven of the people featured on this page. This is to show that the friendships you make are not temporary. I am not saying that you don't make great friendship while at home in school. But the people you meet abroad you would not have met at home and they constitute a pool of magnificient people.

The pictures below are not arranged systematically or chronologically. (Click on them for bigger versions.)

	This is in the gardens of the Cite Universitaire, the dorms where many of us lived during our year in Geneva. On this picture are Nicole, Alessandra, Stephanie, and Elizabeth. Oh, and in the back, the guy passing by is Nick (Cornell '96). (All people not identified according to class year on this page are Smith '96 graduates. Except those that are identified as being from other countries. They are not part of the American educational system.)
Here you can see me with my friend Madlaina from Zurich, and her friend Lorenz. Really nice people, both of them. (The one on the right is me.)
	Friends from my dorm in Geneva: Irene (from Zurich) and Danilo (from Brasilia).
Here is the most amazing Madame Rochat, the Director of the JYA Geneva program my year. The picture was taken at Rocher-de-Naye in the Swiss Alps.
	Here's a peak into what the Smith Center is like in Geneva. Whether wanting to study or just hang out, it offers a great environment for both. Here Stephanie, Gerry (Bowdoin '96) Ale
Welcome to my dormroom in Geneva. Here I had a dinner for some of my friends: Marjorie (Amherst '96), Britta , Ale and Stephanie.
	Same dinner, but this time Alessandra took the picture and so you can see me in the back.
Long story behind this one, I'll spare you the details. The point is, Britta and I ended up having a little picnic in my room. It was fun, even if the weather outside was yucky.
	This was a party my friend Wali and I had for some friends (left to right): Wali, Carolina, Sarah, Stephanie, Ale, Katherine, and Kyra.
This picture was taken during our trip to Dijon, France. All these people were part of the "Geneva Group", namely (from left to right): Leanne, Amy (Brown '96), Steph, Ale, Lada, Jen, me, and Katherine. Great bunch!
	Here I am with my friend Madlaina from Zurich. (We lived on the same hallway in our dorm (at the Cite) in Geneva, but she's originally from the German-speaking part of Switzerland.) The year abroad allowed for tons of time to travel. It was great!
Welcome to the world of Arcade 46. If you ever go to Geneva, make sure you miss it (even though it's in the travel guide Let's Go)... JUST KIDDING! Whether you enjoy it or not will depend on you and your luck with the people showing up that night. This is José and Willy, two people who worked at Arcade a lot when we were there and who got to be quite close with several people in our Smith Geneva group.

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