Merry Christmas from Arizona

Merry Christmas to Everyone from Sunny Arizona. Although so far this has been a very wet and cold winter so far! Terrill and I were going to go to Albuquerque, NM for Christmas this year but the winter storms would not give us a break with the snow and ice along I-40. We were able to spend Christmas with my nephew and his parents :) The last picture is of my Aunt and Uncle's place in Ferndale, WA-what a beautiful White Christmas for all my family in Washington!

Elisabeth & Terrill

Auntie Liz & Christian

Jennifer & Elisabeth

Aunt Patti & Uncle Ralph's

Place in Ferndale, WA

Santa's Helpers....

My Company had their annual Christmas party last night. Due to the economic slowdown, the party was put on with a limited budget. And since entertainment was not included in the budget our company's Toastmasters club put on a couple of skits and did Madlibs with the audience. There were three elves: Ho, HoHo, and HoNo. I was HoHo! Based on comments from the CEO, I dont think our club will be invited back as the entertainment for the next Christmas party :) Whew....

"HoHo" (Elisabeth)

"Ho" (Kathleen), Les (President), "HoHo"(Elisabeth)
Elisabeth & Terrill

Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue...

This picture was taken just for YOU! In front of our house we have 15 rose bushes. During this time of the year they are absolutely beautiful.

Every Cafe Needs A Mascot...

As many of you may know, there are many mascots at the Cafe. Here they are....

Smokie


Kitty

Abbi

Kodi

Goodbye Geneva!! -November 23, 2008

Goodbye Geneva, we'll miss you!

We all had a great time during the last week. If any of you ever get a chance to visit Switzerland I highly recommend it, you won't regret it! Our flight left Geneva around 9am (Swiss time, 1am Arizona time) and we got into Phoenix around 8pm (Arizona time). Again, I had never flown Continental Airlines, but would defiantly fly with them again! My next big trip is to Dubai, UAE in April 2009.

I now have 2 finals to work on and another online class where we have virtual teams working on a simulation project. I get a couple of weeks off from school until January 5, 2009 when I start one of two week long residential weeks for Spanish class.

Adoios Amigos!

Geneva (Bern) Day 8- November 22, 2008

Today was our last full day in Geneva. As I mentioned yesterday, we did not have class today! So a group of us got on the train and went to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. As you can see from the below pictures it SNOWED which made for an amazing train ride.






The Cathedral, although similar to the Cathedral in Geneva, was spectacular. We walked as the choir was rehearsing. It felt like we had just entered into something magical.

Anna is from Russia and taught me how to use my scarf to create this neat hat to keep my ears warm. It was rather chilly in Bern!

We also stopped in at Albert Einstein's house! Einstein lived in an apartment at the Kramgasse 49, the site of the Einsteinhaus, from 1903 to 1905, the year in which the Annus Mirabilis Papers were published.

For lunch we at a cute German cafe. I had a bratwurst, some had fish while a couple of brave souls had the Horse meat dish (which they said was the best meat they've ever had!)

Bern is a beautiful city with cobblestone streets! The official language is German. You definately need more than 6 hours to see this beautiful place!

Geneva Day 7-November 21, 2008

Today was the last day of class, we wrapped up CCC a couple of days ago and have been focusing on Global Political Economy. We were scheduled to have class tomorrow, Saturday, but they decided to give us the whole day as freetime. Late this afternoon we went to the Infiniti's European headquarters for a presentation by a T-Bird alumni. The drive there was lined with vineyards as you can see from the blury pictures. We also had our last group dinner while in Geneva tonight. There were several toasts to the class for exceeding everyone's epectations and for all the lifelong friendships that are developing as a result of being in this class.

Geneva Day 6-November 20, 2008

In addition to class, we went on a tour of the U.N. European Headquarters. The day before representatives from Russia and Georgia were at the UN having peace discussions.

"The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) is the representative office of the United Nations in Geneva. With more than 1,600 staff, we are the biggest United Nations duty station outside of headquarters in New York and provide critical support to the Organization’s efforts. We service over 8,000 meetings every year, making UNOG one of the busiest intergovernmental conference centres in the world and a focal point for multilateral diplomacy. Together, we strive to strengthen our contribution towards realizing the vision of the United Nations for a more stable, secure and prosperous world for all."

Geneva Day 5- November 19, 2008

Today we had class in the morning then went for a group lunch at the Red Cross Museum. Afterwards, we went the the U.S. Mission for a presentation. Unfortunately, security is very high at the U.S. Mission and you have to check your camera!

Tonight we had T-Bird Ladies night. Out of the 50 students in our class there are only 11 women! So we decided to have a night all to ourselves. We went to dinner at Cafe de Paris where they only serve steak and fries. We had a great time laughing and getting to know eachother better. We went for an after dinner drink at a very nice bar overlooking the lake.

Geneva Day 4-November 17, 2008

Today we had our third day of class at The Graduate Institute. Its a beautiful building with amazing views of a botanical garden! We have it rough!!!

We also had a reception tonight for the Thunderbird alumni in the Geneva area.

Geneva Day 3-November 16, 2008

Another full day of class at the Hotel today. This afternoon a group of us went back to the old part of Geneva to see the Cathedral! Its absolutely amazing and words and pictures alone cannot describe its beauty.

After the Cathedral, we wandered around trying to find a place to eat and came across the below statue. We ended up at a Kebab (gyro) place!