Third Anniversay in Monaco!

Hello,

On the weekend of the 23rd of September, Paul and I went to Monaco to celebrate our third anniversary. We chose Monaco because we wanted to go to Nice and surprisingly the hotel we found in Monte Carlo was much cheaper and nicer than in Nice, and we ended up staying in Monaco most of the time. We had a great time, relaxed a lot and made a lot of new plans.

It was a good opportunity to get away from the routine, to take my mind away from problems and difficulties and dedicate time to Paul. We thought of all the things that have happened to us during the last three years: trips, new jobs, our church, new people we have met, our new apartment, studies, small things we have done and most importantly how much our love has grown since then.

I thank God for all the wonderful opportunities we have had, for the people around us and for our marriage. Thank you my love for your understanding, patience, unconditional love and for these three amazing years together.

Enjoy some pictures,

Hugs,

Malu

Masters in Austria

Hello,

For those who didn't know, I applied for a Masters Program on Peace and Conflict Studies at the European University Centre on Peace Studies (EPU) located in Stadtschlaining, Austria. I got a confirmation two weeks ago that I was accepted. I will start in February 2009 and the Masters will last one year. I will be back in Geneva in December 2009 and will work on writing my thesis for the next three months until March 2010.

The EPU is an international, non-governmental organisation with UNESCO status, and is affiliated to the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR), also located at Stadtschlaining. It was founded in 1988 by Gerald Mader in his capacity as president of the ASPR, with the support of European UNESCO commissions. The original curriculum of EPU was designed along the lines of Johan Galtung’s ”Plan for a Master of Peace and Conflict Resolution” which he developed for the University of Hawaii. For those who don't know, Johan Galtung is a world leading specialist in the field of peace studies and one of the founders of the academic discipline of peace research and frequent mediator in international conflicts. He will be one of my professors.

EPU puts it like this: "Studying with the founder of an academic discipline is a rare opportunity, like studying psychiatry with Sigmund Freud or relativity theory with Albert Einstein". Isn't it quite exciting?

The EPU has been offering postgraduate programs in Peace Studies since 1990. In 1995, EPU was co-winner of the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education. The EPU’s UNESCO Chair on Peace, Human Rights and Democracy was established in 1996.

I am really happy that I will go back to university again in a few months and that I will have time to do research, study topics I am interested in, get new perspectives and challenge my views about peace building and peace education. I am also excited to go to another country and experience a new culture. Although it will not be easy to be far from Paul, we are already planning to meet often and I am sure this time will strengthen our relationship even more.

Here are some photos of Vienna, where we stayed for a few hours on our way back to Geneva from Greece. It was good to get a glimpse of the country I will move to for almost one year and to see a bit of this beautiful city.

Peace,

Malu

Amazing Grace

Hello,

I guess some of you who are Christians and perhaps some non-Christians have heard before the song Amazing Grace composed by John Newton and that has served as a hymn in several occasions related to freedom and human rights.

John Newton was a slave trader who converted to Christianity and later supported the abolition of slavery. You can read his story at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Newton

It is just beautiful to listen to this song and to remind ourselves about the importance of unconditional love.

Listen to this version sung by Nana Mouskouri, a very famous Greek singer.

Love,

Malu

"Amazing Grace"

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!

Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis’d good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be forever mine.

John New­ton, Ol­ney Hymns (Lon­don: W. Ol­i­ver, 1779)

Holidays in Greece!

Hello,

I finally had some time and motivation to write my blog and update you about the last things happening around here during the last weeks.

We went to Greece for holidays. We had a great time in Athens and Tinos, one of the islands of the Cyclades archipelago, recognised because of the famous church of Panaggia Evangelistra, tranquil beaches and beautiful towns.

We spent a couple of days in Athens at Christos' and Ellie's place. Christos is an old friend of mine who I met in Poland and Ellie is his girlfriend. They were great hosts and made us enjoy Greece a lot. When we arrived in Athens, Christos took care of everything for us to make our stay unforgettable.

On our first day, we watched the sunset at Suonio, which is a site of the ruins of the ancient temple of Poseidon, south of Athens. According to legend, in this place Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea.

The second day we went to Delphi, revered in the Greek world as the centre of the earth and the universe. It was also the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god Apollo. His sacred precinct in Delphi was a Panhellenic sanctuary, where every four years athletes from all over the Greek world competed in the Pythian Games, the precursor to the Olympic Games.

We spent four days in Tinos, where we had great food, rested a lot and enjoyed just by being in front of the sea, walking on the streets of Tinos and being together. We rented a car and went around the island for one day and enjoyed visiting small beautiful towns, looking at awesome landscapes and having amazing food. We visited Mykonos, which was very beautiful, although we didn't stay there for much time.

On our last two days in Athens we visited the Acropolis, went to the National Archeological Museum and had a nice time with Chris and Ellie.

Thank you Chris and Ellie for your hospitality, for your time, for your delicious dishes and for showing and sharing with us a little bit of your culture and your country.

Hugs,

Malu

Last three weeks!

Hello,

Some of you have written to me wondering why I am not updating my blog or where I am. I am here in France. I came back from my holidays in Greece, which I will tell you more about later, and then I had to go to Colombia for a very short trip. I came back one week ago and this week has been quite intense and difficult for me. Many things have happened during the last weeks that are affecting me a lot and I feel I just need to get out of this world, get strength from where I don't have or just close my eyes and not think about anything.

Paul and I will go to Monaco and Nice tomorrow for a long weekend to celebrate our third anniversary. I hope I will be able to relax and just be with Paul without thinking too much about things.

Hugs,

Malu