well, it's 3:11 in the morning, and I am in my final days of my winter break. it seems like it was only yesterday that my plane was landing in New York and now, before I can even blink, I'm going to be boarding that 6pm flight from New York to Lugano, with a connection in Zurich.
it's truly been a great month, and while there have been ups and downs (like all things in life) i can say that this month really put everything into perspective of what i have here, and how much family really means to me. these people mean so much to me, and the fact that they support me in what I've chosen to do with my life means the world to me.
I know I've said that multiple times, and I'm sure I'll say it another couple hundred times over the course of this journey, but don't for a second contemplate the idea that it means any less or becomes any less genuine over time.
I would not be able to do what I am, both literally and mentally, without the love and support of my family (both immediate and extended!) So again, thank you to everyone that has chosen to support me in my endeavors to set up what I hope will be an incredibly bright and prosperous future!
Now... back to Academic travel... in the middle of October...
I believe I left off with the scavenger hunt and the great experiences I had in Lausanne at the Château de Chillon and all of that. (for a refresher, click here!)
After Lausanne, our next major city would be Geneva, but before we headed to this French-speaking city, we stopped at the Coppet Castle, which has an incredible history.
Coppet Castle is the former home of Madame de Staël. This woman lived in the late 18th - early 19th century (1766-1817) and was incredibly controversial for the time!
Originally from Paris, de Staël was born to Jacques Necker, who (for all of you history buffs!) was the financial minister under the ruling of King Louis XVI! This little tidbit of information was really exciting for me because it reminded me of my Western Civilization course from Junior year of high school, where we studied the French Revolution rather extensively and I remembered learning about Necker.
To learn more about this family, and that he (Jacques) was not the sole member of the family to make the history books was very exciting for me!
*This famous portrait (oil on canvas) of King Louis XVI was actually in Coppet, done by Fançois Callet**
Madame de Staël was revolutionary for her time because she was incredibly educated for a woman in the times in which she lived. She hosted salons, which were a type of gathering in which the educated scholars of the time would meet and discuss whether was relevant at the time.
Now, being from France at the turn of the century and after the French Revolution, de Staël was not looked at very favorably. After Napoleon came into power following the Revolution in 1789, he viewed de Staël to be a threat. Being an educated woman, many people looked to her for her opinion on the issues of the day, and Napoleon did not want any opposition to his rule over France. Because of this conflict, de Staël was exiled from Paris. This led to her journey to Switzerland, and the beginning of her history at Coppet.
Due to her prominent status in the aristocratic circle, scholar were willing to travel to attend her salons, which has since become world-renowned. These salons, as I briefly noted before, consisted of literary and political scholars, as well as those that appreciated the arts. We had the opportunity to see de Staël's library, which was not very large (maybe the size of a small art gallery in today's standards?) but was able to fit approximately 300 guests in addition to a stage for performances (in which de Staël would often partake).
The history that fills the walls of the Coppet Castle are truly fascinating, and this is by no mistake. In fact, one reason that the castle has so much history preserved is the fact that it is not a museum, but rather a private home that is opened to the public. The castle still belongs to a member that can be traced back to the Necker/de Staël family (I want to say it is an 8th generation, but I could be wrong.)The current Count is a direct descendant of Madame de Staël, and resides on the premise for much of the year.
Unfortunately, since it is still his home, we were not allowed to take photographs inside the castle, as it is his home.
If you've managed to stick around after that history lesson (I promise, there are no quizzes at the end!!) I'm going to try to shorten things up a bit (now that it is 3:45am)...
After leaving Coppet, which happens to be a very quaint and cute little town that seems to consist of a single road that has everything you would ever need, we made our way to Geneva.
We arrived around 13.00 and had free time until our next event at 16.00.
I chose to go with SSB, my travel leader, and some friends to help set up for the event, which I was very excited for.
We met back up with Anne Deriaz, the writer that gave us a workshop in addition to telling us about her experiences with Ella Maillart, the travel writer who we studied before leaving for this trip, had organized an event in which the Kenchan Lama, one of the highest ranked Buddhist Lamas in Europe, and the highest in Switzerland, was speaking at. Both Anne and SSB were on the board of this committee, so we were invited to see him speak as well.
I had been looking forward to this experience since I first saw it on our syllabus, as Buddhism has always been interesting to me; namely because I know nothing about it!
I was hoping to learn all of these new things that would help expand my knowledge of religion.
It seems that a lot of conflict in the world today is centered around religion, and the ignorance we as a people have towards one another's religion. It was my hopes that attending this would add insight, while still contributing to my ambition of becoming a citizen of the world and gaining and understanding of a variety of cultures.
However, my expectations were not met as the Lama spoke very quiet, broken English that was barely picked up by the microphone. Dani, my friend and RA, was able to understand due to the fact that it was translated and spoken more clearly in French.
After the main event, where he explained the 35 main points of Buddhism, we were allowed to leave during the break for tea. I stayed with Dani and Kaitlin, and we served tea to the other guests that were attending.
After, there was a brief Q&A in which people asked questions regarding Buddhism. It was interesting because Anne specified, both in English and French, that the questions were only to focus on the ideologies of Buddhism, and not the Tibetan conflict that had been growing at the time.
Again, hearing was very difficult, and I did not take much from the message in which he spoke, but his presence was definitely felt in the room (which was, ironically, a Protestant-Lutheran church).
I had Dani give me a very brief summary of what he had said, and she said that the basic principles in which he spoke of were to treat one another the way you want to be treated, to respect and love one another, and to promote peace throughout the world.
It is hard to convey the feeling that I experienced after learning this, and has further fueled the fire within me to learn more about Buddhism (and religion in general.) I find it incredibly difficult to comprehend how so many people can be conflicted and jaded towards one another strictly based on the principles of religion when they all preach the same thing.
Maybe it's because of my Lutheran upbringing matched with having Catholicism burned into my brain for the past four years, on top of the overly secular view I've begun to develop over those four years... but I don't understand why religion is such a big deal.
Why should I tell you that your God or gods is/are wrong, or have one group of peopel threaten to wage war against another "in the name of God/Allah/__(insertgodhere)__" when, at the end of the day, that being, whoever he/she/it may be to you, is telling you to preach the same word and live your life the same way as the next?
Religion is complicated, and I do not claim to have all the answers or even understand all of the questions. But I know that the more that I find out, and the more I'm exposed to it, the more conflicted my mind becomes. While it may not be agreeable to all, I respect the opinions of my peers and those around me in hopes that they would respect mine; especially when I find myself in a stage of not know who or what I believe in. I believe that the best way to truly find an understanding or something is to experience it, and having another's view shoved down their throat, for lack of a more educated term, does nothing but hurts that intended discovery.
Am I running a blog or writing a dissertation here?
Sorry for the interjections of persona beliefs and deviations from travel.
I blame lack of sleep/caffeine and a lack of writing over the past weeks. It just hits hits me whenever I start and I don't want to stop! I think this is a good place to stop, though, as I've thrown way too much at you all for this hour. I'll update with my tour of Geneva soon, and hopefully catch up with the rest of travel and the Christmas market / exams before I head back on Thursday.
Hope all is well and that I didn't offend anyone with that random rant on religion.
I'm going to even make the mistake of not proofing this before I post it, so you can have a first-hand view of my unfiltered thought process... oh boy.Best,
Nick.
*image of King Louis taken from a Google image search
** information on the painter from this source: (here)
