June 27

Today was the day. The day that I headed out all by myself for the first time and boldly threw myself into the heart of Geneva where everything swirled by so fast. Here I am, a 16 year old high school student wandering around of what seemed like nowhere. I wasn’t completely lost because I could see the famous Jet d’Eau in the far distance, but I had to keep alert every minute. Half an hour had passed since I left Grange-Canal station and stepped out at Molard station from the tram. Then I had to transfer to a bus to get to the headquarters of the ILO (International Labor Organization). However, I could not find the bus station and I started to panic. Streams of sweat started to trickle down along my back and my bag felt as if it gained an extra pound every minute as I asked around for help.

“Excuse me, do you speak English?”

“non”

So, I tried to look around for directions in English and tried to postulate French traffic signs with my knowledge in English and Spanish and I finally found the bus station after randomly following people with carriers or backpacks. I assumed that those people were mostly travellers who were heading somewhere in the city. Then after getting on a random bus that was apparently headed to Nations station, I supposed that it would take me to the United Nations office. As I finally got on the bus, I kept wondering why it was so uncomfortable to travel within Geneva. Travelling alone in a foreign country was one thing, but in an international center such as Geneva, I supposed that it would be easier to travel around without knowing French. For example, in Korea where a lot of foreign travellers are coming in these days, public facilities are comfortably explained in multiple languages and even traffic signs are in both Chinese and English. As a result, it is less likely to get lost in Korea and very straightforward to get around. I thought it was very ironic how many international organizations are headquartered in Geneva and yet, English is not common as it should be.

I got off at the Nations station and as expected, the famous broken chair loomed over me and there was the UN office. (Information below) As usual, I walked wherever my feet took me and I arrived at a museum that seemed like a Victorian-style house. This Museum Ariana (see below) was built in the late 19^th century and it was quite amazing how everything was well preserved for over 100 years. ………………………………………

The ILO headquarter was bigger than I thought it would be. As an organization that protects labor rights and promotes equal employment opportunities all around the world, significant progress has been evident since its establishment in 1919. Although there are many incidences of excessive labor exploitation in third world and even developed countries today, I feel that continuous efforts organizations such as the ILO will gradually alleviate labor abuses. However, within the next century or so, I do not expect labor exploitation in mainly Africa or third world countries in Asia to magically disappear; in fact, as long as there is capitalism and free market, newer problems will arise and labor problems will not disappear completely. Since commodity prices are set by supply and demand, companies will pursue to seek its best interest and often times, such measures include labor exploitation. But, this does not mean that these organizations serve no purpose. The ILO has continuously promoted the best interests of laborers through international measures and countless meetings with many representatives from all around the world. Had it not been for such involvement by the ILO, labor conditions and abuse would not have gone through the tremendous improvement compared to the conditions in the last decades or so. Furthermore, I hope to be a small stepping-stone to pass on and give a deeper insight to which these organizations play a role in a globalized society today. The more we know, more will start supporting such causes in a global scale. Everyone shares the world we are currently living in; I feel that it is no longer about one country or one individual, but about how we belong and depend each other in a globalized coalition created by these organizations.