Trade School Opening and GIA drinks

Thursday was a pretty regular day of work.  I think I am finally getting out of my project rut and I'm starting to be able to get some actual writing done for the final paper.  It does feel kind of strange to be writing about a subject I knew little to nothing about only 10 weeks ago.

Spinning was quite intense after work.  It was Shannon and Marissa's last spin class of their internships, so Blair, the instructor gave us an extra "team sprint" at the end.  The team sprint consists of a 10 second sprint, then as soon as someone yells "Sprint", a 20 second sprint, and this repeats for the entire song.  Since we have some pretty competitive people in the group, the song ends up being pretty much four minutes of pure sprinting.  I got quite the sweat on, but now I have so much laundry to do!

They started decorating near the cafe with flags...

In the evening, I went to the launch of the Geneva Trade School.  When I first heard about the Trade School, I thought it was where people go to learn how to be pipefitters or plumbers or electricians, but that is not at all what the school is about.  The "trade" part refers to the fact that all courses are offered for free, or on a bartering basis.  An instructor offers to teach on a subject, and then makes requests for items or services from students.  The courses offered are incredibly varied, including: yoga, this history of Ukraine, active listening, Indian cooking, tango, project management and alternatives to banking.  The requests from students are often things like a home cooked meal, some tea, a poem, nothing too expensive. 

It's a really cool concept, and Trade Schools are starting up in cities around the world, including Toronto, Edmonton. Halifax and Vancouver.  Nicole, who I work closely with is on the organizing committee for the school.  I didn't know anyone else at the launch, but I spoke with some interesting course instructors and had some yummy snacks. 

After the launch, I went around the corner to GIA drinks for a while.  There is a German girl named Kristin who just started at WHO on Thursday and was at GIA drinks.  We had some entertainment introducing ourselves and Kristin and Kristin.  It was quite crowded at the bar, and I was sleepy so I headed home early to pack for Rome!