Namaste India

The Gurdwara Shri Banla Sahib (Sikh temple).

I’m in India! Actually I’ve been here just under three weeks now. But because I didn’t have internet at my accommodations for the first two weeks I wasn’t able to blog or otherwise keep in touch with family and friends.  So this blog post and a post about my overall impressions of the ICTY (to come at a later date) are long overdue.  

India is….an interesting country. Generally I’m enjoying my time here and I’m definitely glad I came, but I find myself constantly oscillating between loving it and hating it.  There are things here that are wonderful and things here that are terrible and difficult.  I’ll highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly as I retell the tales of my first two weeks here.

I departed Amsterdam on Saturday morning, June 4^th. There was a brief layover at London Heathrow and then I was on my way to Delhi. When I boarded the flight to Delhi, I realized there was no seat cushion on my assigned seat.  I turned to the flight attendant and he responded, “So you’ve noticed there is no seat cushion?”. My thought was, “How on earth could I not have noticed something like that?”.  The flight attendant then explained that the seat cushions had been removed for cleaning and that he didn’t think they would make it back in time for take-off. Luckily, however, this meant that I got an upgrade to business class! I’m not sure how I’ll ever be able to go back to riding in coach on long international flights….

I arrived in Delhi at about 11 p.m. and by the time I made it through immigration and collected my bags it was almost midnight.  The Dean at Lewis and Clark was kind enough to offer to pay for ground transportation from the airport to our hotel so there was a driver with a sign waiting to whisk me off to my hotel in Noida (a suburb of Delhi). When we walked outside, the first thing I noticed was how despite being nearly midnight it was HOT. 

Me with Mrs. Saint and her mother, Nani G at the Sikh temple.

After a brief sleep and delightful breakfast, I was driven to my temporary accommodations. While I was in The Hague, I had the good fortune to become friends with a woman named Nimisha, from the UK. Nimisha is of Indian origin and she helpfully connected me with her cousin Sneha, who coincidentally is a lawyer in Noida. Sneha was on a European vacation so she kindly allowed me to sublet her PG (Paying Guest - which is usually a room or a studio type accommodation that is attached to a family's home). Having a place to stay was a huge relief and in my case it came with the added bonus of an incredible landlady and her wonderful family. The landlady, Mrs. Saint (which is a fitting name), and her son, Ankit, and daughter-in-law, Mallika, whisked me around to purchase a sim card for my phone and run other errands. We ended up ordering Dominos Pizza for lunch on that first day, and I was surprised to see that Dominos has incorporated Indian spices and paneer (an Indian cottage cheese) into their menu. The Saints were also gracious enough to invite me to dinner every night, show me some sights and help me figure out the easiest way to commute to and from work with the metro and rickshaws. Although I'd like to think I would have managed without their assistance, I'm quite certain that my first weeks here would not have been so easy and enjoyable. I truly value the friendship I've developed with them. I'm placing the hospitality and kindness in "the good" category.

After one day to settle in, it was time to begin work at Fox Mandal Little & Co. Mrs. Saint drove me there in the morning so that I would have one less thing to worry about. I arrived at about 9 am, which was much earlier than anybody else in the office. The security guards showed me in and I sat in the lobby until the office manager arrived. Then the office manager introduced me to the HR manager who showed me to my desk and introduced me to my supervising attorney. After that I was introduced to a few people and I began reviewing some documents related to a joint venture I will be working on.  The first day was very different from the first day at the ICTY. The few attorneys I did meet were nice and I'm happy to know that I'll primarily be working with them. At the end of the day, one of my new colleagues assisted me in calling a taxi to transport me home. Unfortunately the taxi charged 475 Rupees (about $10) to drive me only a few kilometers. Upon arrival at home, Mrs. Saint asked the taxi how much he was charging me and proceeded to tell him that was too much.  She then decided that I would need to find another, less expensive method of transport.

Thali - South Indian Cuisine

In order to try out a different form of transport, Mallika accompanied me via metro and rickshaw. The metro in the Delhi area is rightfully considered the "pride of Delhi" (and is another one of the things I would classify as "the good").  The metro is clean, comfortable (ie. air conditioned), quick (one runs at least every 5 minutes), and safe.  Not only is there a security check when you enter the metro station (metal detectors and bag x-ray) but there is also a car on the metro reserved exclusively for women. When traveling alone, the women only car is a benefit because it is usually less crowded and I tend not to attract too many uncomfortable stares from India women. After departing the metro station close to my office, Mallika helped me arrange a rickshaw. Although the office is only a few kilometers from the metro station, the heat, lack of sidewalks, chaotic traffic, noise, and dirt make walking less than desirable. I would classify the noise, dirt, chaotic traffic (although there are lines painted on the roads, nobody uses them or adheres to any other type of traffic signal), and lack of sidewalks as both "the bad" and "the ugly".  Both Mallika and Ankit had taught me a few Hindi phrases so I could explain where I was going and ask how much it would cost, but it was a relief not to have to deal with this on the first day. After riding in the rickshaw to the office, Mallika spoke with one of the security guards and arranged for him to flag a rickshaw for me at the end of the day (again, the security guard is one of the people who have been very kind and made my life easier). 

The rest of the week I continued in the routine of going to work, working, coming home, and then eating with the Saints before either reading or walking (in a park, where it is safe from crazy traffic). I particularly enjoyed trying all the different Indian dishes between the meals served at work and the meals served by Mrs. Saint. In case your keeping score, Indian food goes in "the good" column. 

Me standing in front of the Red Fort

The first weekend, I met up with a guy, Dustin, from Lewis and Clark who is also completing an internship in Delhi. Dustin and I had not met prior to arriving in India, but we did speak a few times via Skype. Luckily he arrived just a few days after me, so Saturday we arranged to meet up and explore. I rode the metro into Old Delhi and we ventured off to the Red Fort. The Red Fort was built by the Mughals and I think my Lonely Planet Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra (Regional Travel Guide) described it well: "The sandstone Red Fort once represented everything glorious about the peak of the Mughal empire; today, it seems a rather forlorn shadow of its former grand self." I couldn't agree more with that statement. First, the admission fee for foreigners is 25 times what it is for Indians (and this trend of fleecing foreigners appears at all tourist sights and is a common theme I encounter when dealing with locals - fleecing falls into "the bad" category). The only benefit for paying more and being a foreigner is that you get to skip ahead to the beginning of the security line. Once inside you are greeted with former chambers, a bath house, and mosque of the emperors. There are not many signs of explanation around so you are mostly left to wander (Note: there were people offering to be tour guides inside, however, once after being fleeced a few times we were reluctant to trust their offers). Dustin and I wandered around for a bit, toured the Indian War Memorial Museum, and were asked to take photos with numerous Indians (I felt like such a celebrity - I should start charging for the privilege of a photo with me). 

Me in front of the Jama Masjid.

 After tiring of the Red Fort, we headed back out of the fort and down the road where we stumbled upon the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. At the Jama Masjid I had to wear a giant smock over my clothes and remove my shoes. This made the whole adventure HOT (too many layers and hot ground).

The Cycle Rickshaw ride through a very congested street.

From the Jama Masjid, we caught a cycle rickshaw back to the metro station.  I had agreed to help Dustin search for a place to live (with the assistance of Mallika's sister) and so we needed to move quickly. On our rickshaw ride, we encountered a very busy street. Good thing the rickshaw driver was adept at navigating through the congestion. Apartment hunting, or PG hunting, was not such a fun experience because, again, the greed/desire to fleece foreigners was apparent. The highlight of the housing search adventure was finding a sign that makes the threat of towing a car seem like child's play (see picture to the right).

On Sunday I went with the Saints to New Delhi.  First we went to the Gurdwara Shri Bangla Sahib, which is a Sikh temple. The temple was packed because it was a Sunday morning and because it was a Sikh holiday of some sort. The temple was lovely and it was interesting to experience the Sikh religious customs (including eating holy food and dipping my feet in a holy pool). After the Sikh temple we drove to Connaught Place, which is a major shopping area in India. There we went to a South Indian restaurant where I tried a thali (a platter with small amounts of a variety of dishes) which was delicious but too much food. Ankit and Mrs. Saint pulled out coupon books for the meal. Apparently, in India, companies give their employees coupon books which are basically certificates that allow them to eat out or to buy groceries at certain places. This is done so that the employees do not have to pay taxes on that portion of their salary! After gorging ourselves on South Indian food, we headed to Cottage Emporium. Cottage Emporium is a place run by the government and geared towards tourists. You can find crafts from all across India at a steep price. We went just to look around so I would know what types of crafts look for at the cheaper markets. Next we headed across the street to Jhanpat (sp?) which is a cheaper market. There I purchased some harem pants for about 3 dollars. The harem pants are incredible to wear in the heat. Finally, Mallika and I were dropped off at the Great India Place (a mall) where Mallika helped me select some fabric so I could have my own Salwar Kamezs made (typical Indian clothing - I promise to post pictures once I take them).
There's so much more to write, but this has become quite a lengthy post. So I'll save the week 2 adventures for the next post (which will hopefully be completed soon so I don't get behind!).

Why to Always Use Either UPS or FedEx

This is a story about a passport. A passport may seem completely innocuous, but when it is missing or out of your personal control it is a destroyer of plans and can induce anxiety.
After learning that I would be heading to India for a two month internship, it became apparent that I would need to mail my passport from my current location, The Netherlands, to San Francisco, California. Unlike many other countries across the globe, India does not allow non-Dutch citizens to apply for the requisite visa via The Netherlands but instead requires you to apply via your country and even region of origin. The idea of sending my passport thousands of miles through the mail made me nervous, but because it was required in order to make my trip to India I acquiesced. Luckily I have been issued a Dutch ID card for the duration of my time here so I knew I would not be completely without ID and could still safely travel by train within the Schengen zone.
My passport departed The Netherlands at the end of March. I had sent it with the Dutch mail system TNT Post, but I paid the extra money to send it with tracking. Tracking with TNT Post is a joke. You are able to track a given package within The Netherlands, but as soon as it leaves The Netherlands the status on the website reads something like, "Your package has left The Netherlands and is in the destination country." The website never updates beyond this status and so you are left to wonder whether it is actually going to arrive. The package will also take much longer than the 3 - 5 business days that they promise you.
But despite not knowing where my passport was, my passport finally arrived at Travisa, the Indian Consulate's visa outsourcing service (yes, Indian Embassies and Consulates have outsourced their visa processing and this company happens to be American.). It was processed in about two weeks and mailed off to my parents (as a US address was required for the return). Travisa was smart enough to send the passport using FedEx. During the entire two days it was in transit from California to Montana I knew exactly where it was.
After its arrival to Montana, my Dad placed it in the mail. Unfortunately, despite my request that it be sent with tracking, it was sent via regular post. On the same day that my Dad sent the passport, he also placed a different package to me in the mail. One package arrived exactly one week after it was mailed, but it was not the package with the passport.
At that point I was still calm. The passport had only been in transit for one week and I knew that the different envelopes were probably sorted differently. Days passed. And more days passed. Each afternoon I would walk to the mailbox and each afternoon my heart would sink a bit at the realization that my passport was not there.
At exactly the three week point I broke down. At that point I felt the passport would never arrive. I was still willing to wait another week but I began to implement a contingency plan. I made an appointment at the American Consulate to obtain a replacement passport. I contacted the law firm in India that I will be interning for and asked to postpone my internship while I worked to obtain a replacement passport and a replacement visa. I also learned during this time that the only way to obtain a replacement visa would be to fly to San Francisco and have a new visa processed. Even though the visa had already been issued, the Indian Embassy in The Netherlands was not capable of contacting San Francisco and providing a replacement.
Things were looking a bit grim for about two days, but then I started to come to terms with the fact that I would be making a brief return to the US. The process of replacing the passport and visa was never appealing, but there were other things to look forward to. I could extend my internship at the ICTY while I waited for the new passport, I was offered an interview in the US (for a job to commence after I graduate in 2012) that I otherwise could not attend, and I would have the chance to see some friends that I have not seen for 5 months. It was a happy sad time. Flash forward to Thursday, May 26th. This is the date that I had set as a cutoff for when the passport could arrive (my appointment at the Consulate was scheduled for May 27th). At about 2:30 p.m. I ran home to check the mail. I wanted to be able to let my team of supervisors at the ICTY know whether I would be extending my internship or not. The mailbox was empty. I returned to the ICTY and committed to staying an additional week. Things were looking good. General Mladic (the most-wanted alleged war criminal from the Bosnian war) was captured and it appeared he may be making an initial appearance within the next few days (which translates to a lot of excitement at work as a new trial will be beginning).
I finished the day and headed home. I arrived home just after 6 p.m. and decided to head across the street to the police station to file a police report on my missing passport (it is recommended that you file a police report because of the risk of identity theft). Since I pass the mailboxes on the way out the door, I decided to look one more time. I opened the mailbox and what should appear but a small padded envelope with a passport inside. My passport had arrived! At the very last possible minute it arrived - better late than never I guess.
Although the passport finally arrived, I think the moral of this story is to use FedEx or UPS. The package or envelope stays in control of one entity the entire time, it arrives quickly, and it can be tracked!

Nearly Over

It's May 21 and my time here in The Hague is nearly over. I'm supposed to finish work at the ICTY this coming Friday, May 27th and then head to Delhi, India for a two month internship on Monday, May 30th. I say "supposed to finish" because my plans might be changing ever so slightly. Due to some current passport troubles (for those of you who don't know, my passport with requisite visa for India is currently lost in the mail) I might end up spending a few more weeks in The Hague. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my passport arrives by Thursday!

While I've been dealing with my missing passport and saying goodbye to many of the good friends I've made (people have been leaving slowly - one-by-one) I have not updated my blog. So here is the long overdue report of my life over the past (gulp!) two months! This report will only be about my life outside of work as I plan on writing a reflection on my whole time at the ICTY upon completion of my internship.

Bike Trip to Leiden:
One Saturday I set off for an approximately 40 km round trip bike ride with two of my friends. We left The Hague and biked through the dunes (see picture below) to Leiden. Leiden is a cute little university town with picturesque canals and a windmill. It is also the sight of some of the best Dutch pancakes. After riding the nearly 25 km to Leiden, we rewarded ourselves with some delicious Dutch pancakes. There were 3 of us so we purchased three different pancakes and shared. The pancakes arrive on large Delft pottery platters and they did not disappoint. We ordered a veggie pancake, an apple/bacon/gouda pancake, and an "apple strudel" pancake.
After feasting on pancakes we toured around the city of Leiden and then biked home (although this time we took the shorter route and omitted the journey through the dunes.

Weekend Visit to Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and Köln:
I wrote a lot about Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and Köln on this blog when I lived in the area in 2007 - 2008. So to avoid redundancy I won't write much more here. It was pleasant to go back and see the familiar places and spend time with my German family. Plus this time around I took my roommate, Becky, along.

Weekend Road Trip to Salzburg, Austria:
Over Easter Weekend I took a road trip with my friend Henry to Salzburg, Austria (where we had studied abroad in 2004 - 2005). Henry drove over from England in his mini cooper and the two of us headed off to Austria. We stopped briefly in Köln and in Herzogenerauch (where Adidas is headquartered). This was my first time back to Salzburg since leaving in May 2005 and it was as beautiful as I remember it. On Saturday, Henry and I hiked the Untersberg. It was basically a climb straight up the mountain...Austria apparently does not really believe in switchbacks. During the climb I was battling a bit of allergies and the change in altitude so it was a big challenge. Luckily I was not sore the next day. Henry hiked back up the Untersberg the next day with his sister, but I opted not to participate. Instead I finished reading a book and then went and toured the Stiegl Museum (Stiegl is an Austrian beer). By the time I finished with the museum, Henry had returned so we enjoyed some burgers at Stiegl. Then we headed back into the city for a visit to the Augustinerbrau and a walk around the city. Sadly my favorite apple strudel place is now closed, but we went to a different cafe and I was able to try rhubarb strudel.

Tulip-mania:
The Netherlands are famous for tulips. In fact the Dutch are responsible for 70% of the world's flower market. My friend Terra and I set off for a day adventure at the Keukenhof - a famous garden where you can see TONS of tulips. The Keukenhof is one of the most photographed places on earth and it is well-deserved because it is truly gorgeous. Each year they have a theme and this year the theme was "Germany" so many of the flower displays were made to honor Germany and there were random statues of German composers and blurbs about famous Germans. The downside to the Keukenhof is that it is incredibly touristy and quite busy. When you first enter the park you are greeted by a pipe organ playing unusual renditions of the "Macarena" and Queen songs. But despite the pipe organ and the crowds it is a truly wonderful sight to behold.

Queen's Day:
April 30th is the day that the Dutch take to the streets dressed in orange. The purpose is to celebrate their Queen. Queen's Day starts on the evening of the 29th and The Hague is the best place to be as there is an open air festival and music stages are interspersed throughout the city. On the 30th, the best places to be are either Amsterdam or the random town the Queen happens to be visiting that year. In Amsterdam, it seems that everyone is outside in the streets either listening to live music or selling stuff - the whole city becomes a giant flea market. A large group of us decided to properly celebrate Queen's Day so we went out in The Hague on the 29th and then headed to Amsterdam on the 30th.
Having celebrated Karneval in Germany, I was expecting Amsterdam (and the trains going there) to be mass chaos. Surprisingly it was not as bad as I had anticipated. We arrived in Amsterdam and immediately set off to wander the city - first stop Vondelpark and then some random neighborhoods. You are greeted by a sea of orange, people everywhere are dressed in the color. Wanting to blend in, I decided to purchase an orange hat and an orange boa. We spent an enjoyable day in the sunshine wandering around, listening to music, eating, drinking and being merry.

Delft in Pictures

Ah, Delft. A small little town just south of The Hague with charming canals. It is home to the painter - Vermeer, the father of international law - Hugo Grotius, William Prince of Orange (who later became King William III of England and married Mary Stuart), and Delft pottery (which was a painting style that blended the styles painted on porcelain from China with European styles and became popular when the Chinese porcelain became unavailable after the death of Chinese emperor Wanli in the 17th Century).

The town is only 10 km from The Hague and makes for a great little day trip.

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"Istanbul Was Constantinople, Now It's Istanbul Not Constantinople"

March has been a busy month! Life in The Hague has continued along at about the same pace. I've noticed that the biggest demand on my time here (aside from working M-F) is socializing. And I definitely do not regret all the socializing because I've met incredible people from all around the world and formed some great friendships.

Unfortunately, while I've been socializing I've been neglecting my blog updates. So this posting will be less detail and more summary of the month of March so far.

The first weekend in March my friend Rob and I took two days off from work at the Tribunal to head to Istanbul for an extended weekend. This was my second time visiting the city. I first visited the city with my friend Lena three years ago, while on my Fulbright. I was dazzled by the city and was anxious to go back. This second definitely did not disappoint and there were many improvements that I noticed (perhaps coinciding with Istanbul being named Europe's Culture Capital in 2010?!?!).

It was much different traveling with a guy than with another girl. We still experienced heckling, but instead of being leered at by Turkish men we were frequently met with greetings like "Nice couple, want a Turkish rug?" or "I can help you spend your money" or "Nice honeymoon couple, come inside for delicious dinner." Traveling with a guy also made it much easier to experience a flavor of the city's night life.

Over the course of four days we walked a lot, saw numerous sights, and ate a lot of delicious Turkish cuisine. I had seen some of the sights before, but the addition of new audio guide tours assisted me in learning much more than I had before. We visited the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, The Spice Market, Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque, and Basillica Cistern to name a few (some pictures are posted above).

We also paid a visit to a Turkish Hamam (a Turkish bath) for some much needed relaxation. A Turkish bath is a much different than any other "spa" experience. The himam experience this time was also slightly different than my previous himam. Typically the baths are segregated. You are given a towel (which looks a bit more like a picnic blanket than a towel) and taken to a changing room. There you strip down to nothing but the towel and are led to a room with a hot stone slab in the middle. You lay on the hot stone slab for a spell. In this instance I was then directed to the sauna where I steamed for about 30 minutes before a bath attendant (read: large Turkish woman in a bikini) fetched me and guided me back to the stone slab. Once I was comfortably laying on the stone slab she sloughed my top layer of skin off and proceeded to give me an incredible soap massage. I had purchased the deluxe treatment so after being exfoliated, suds-ed and rinsed, a different attendant came over and gave me a massage with honey. I think the honey was probably mixed with some type of oil because it was not sticky. After the honey massage I was led to a water spigot so I could wash the honey off and from there I was taken to a cold pool where I was able to swim for awhile. Finally, after feeling properly relaxed and rejuvenated I was taken back to the changing room to put on my clothes and head out for a night on the town.

The week after returning from Turkey was crazy. My friend and roommate, Marion, had a birthday and so my other friend and roommate, Becky, and I decided to throw her a surprise party. Miraculously we managed to keep the whole event a surprise. There was one moment where I almost cracked and confessed the surprise to Marion because she was so sad. To her it seemed like nobody wanted to celebrate her birthday. Other plans had been made for the weekend and when she tried to invite everybody to meet her for drinks after work nobody RSVPd or showed up (because immediately after she sent an email invite we sent an email around reminding people of the surprise party). I feigned fatigue and passed on going to drinks saying that I needed to go home and nap but set the stage for luring her back to our apartment by explaining that maybe after my nap we could go to dinner. Becky bailed on drinks with an excuse that she had to work late. So while Marion was at our favorite after-work watering hole with just a few people, all of the rest of our friends were gathering at our place to prepare for the surprise. When Marion finally arrived and everyone yelled surprise, she was INCREDIBLY surprised and happy!

That same week was a sad week in that a few of the close friends I've made here left to return to their homes. My roommate and friend Anna Clara and my friends and office mates Rob and Rabea both completed their internships and headed back to Brazil, DC, and Germany respectively. It was sad to see them go and their presence will be deeply missed here in The Hague. In order to provide a proper sendoff, however, the week was filled with delicious dinners, after-work drinks and a Crazy Hat/Silly Hair party. In my opinion, you couldn't ask for a better sendoff.

Last week it was business as usual and life was a bit calmer. The weather is finally taking a turn for the better and it is enjoyable to bike in the sunshine on the way to work. I had one minor bike fiasco on Thursday when I was biking along and my pedal suddenly flew off my bike. Luckily it was an easy and fairly inexpensive (17.50 Euro) fix and I was enjoying my bike again by Saturday.

Saturday I biked to the train station and then Marion and I took the tram to Delft. Delft is a quaint town about 10 km south of The Hague. It is famous for its pottery and also was home to Vermeer (painter who painted "Girl With The Pearl Earring"), Hugo Grotius (father of International law), and William of Orange (Dutch Monarch). Marion and I spent the afternoon wandering through the tiny canal filled town. We took in the sights and sounds of the market and ultimately camped out at a table in the sun for a late lunch and some delicious Belgian beer. I'll post some pictures of Delft soon.

Today was another vitamin-D filled day. I biked around The Hague with Becky in order to run a few errands. Then when Becky and Marion headed to work (yes, on a Sunday) I ran a few more errands and then took a nice run in the sunshine. It was a wonderful start to Spring!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I can't believe it is already February and that I've been here in The Netherlands a full month. Where does time go? At least I can report that the time has not been wasted and that there has hardly been a dull moment.

Work at the Tribunal continues to go well. It seems that almost every day I learn something new whether it is because of the work I'm doing, a conversation that I have with somebody at the Tribunal, or a presentation I attend. This past week I attended a talk by one of the Defense attorneys, Peter Robinson. Robinson is the Defense attorney for Radovan Karadzic and he spoke about the development of the right of self-representation....well I should say he spoke a little about the right of self-representation and then the rest of the time he spoke about himself, his "legal thriller," The Tribunal, and how great he thinks Karadzic is. Karadzic was the Bosnian Serb President during the Balkan war conflict and he is an accused war criminal currently on trial at the Tribunal. Peter Robinson gives the impression that he is the greatest man who ever walked this earth. I'm paraphrasing but here's the gist of what he said about Karadzic: "He's a psychiatrist and a poet. He's very intelligent and warm and charming and interesting to talk to. He's very grateful for all the defense interns and he cannot believe so many people will work for him for free." I must say I've never heard a criminal defense attorney sing the praises of a client to this extent.

The portion of the talk that was devoted to the development of the issue of self-representation was, however, interesting. Robinson contrasted the self-representation issues that have occurred in various cases including Slobodan Milosevic, Vojislav Seselj, and Radovan Karadzic. Milosevic's style of self-representation was to barely participate in the trial at all and ultimately standby counsel (basically an attorney who will step in and represent the individual and conduct cross-examination if the Accused is unable to) had to be appointed due to his health and the need to keep the trial progressing. Seselj, on the other hand, sought to be as disruptive to the proceedings as possible and when standby counsel was appointed he commenced a hunger strike in protest. Finally, Karadzic differs from the others in that he has legal counsel (Robinson) to assist him with all the legal pleadings but he conducts all of the cross-examination of witnesses himself.

The defense talks will apparently occur about once a month and will feature a different attorney. It will be interesting to see what topics the other speakers choose and to note whether they also think so highly of their client.

Enough about the law, here's what else has been going on here:

* I've done a bit more exploring around The Hague and have a good idea of where many things are. I took some more photos (posted below) of the city. Unfortunately, the weekend days have been overcast so the photos are not the greatest.

* Last weekend I traveled to Hamburg, Germany to attend the wedding of one of my best friends. The wedding was a lot of fun and I was happy that I was able to make it. The venue was incredible. It was an old building that used to be used for storing ice that was collected from the Elbe river and used for refrigeration in the days of old. All the brick work and the addition of candles and flowers made for a very romantic and cozy ambiance. While I was in Hamburg I also went to the Kunsthalle, which is an art museum. At the Kunsthalle there was a great exhibit which featured art that was made by cutting paper into shapes (ala Henri Matisse). It was a very unique exhibit. I've posted some pictures of the art exhibit and the wedding below.

* This weekend has been low key. I was going to go to Amsterdam with some friends but between the wind (30 mph with 54 mph gusts) and numerous people fighting colds and other ailments we decided to stay at home. It's probably a good thing that I've been home because I've been able to catch up on my "to-do" list. Scholarship applications are due at Lewis and Clark next Friday so I've been working on those, doing laundry, and making arrangements for my trip to India (for those of you that don't know: at the end of May, I'll be heading directly from The Hague to Delhi, India where I'll be interning for 2 months at an Indian law firm!).

Well, that's all for now....hopefully I'll have a chance to write more soon.
Stroopwaffels - these are delicious! I had discovered these before (and I think they sell them at supermarkets or Cost Plus World Market in the US) but the fresh warm ones are divine!

Some Dutch food. I am not sure what the names are of most items, but some are bitterballen which is a fried outside with an unidentified but delicious filling. They have both meat and vegetarian options.

The Peace Palace (Vredespaleis), which houses the International Court of Justice.
The Grotemaarkt. This is a little area of town and the site of numerous bars that we've visited for Thursday night drinks, 80s/90s dancing, etc.

The bride, Maya, and I at her wedding in Hamburg, Germany.

An example of the artwork at the Kunsthalle exhibit that was made entirely by cutting paper into shapes. I only took a few pictures as examples because there were so many neat cut paper / shadow exhibit.


This was not made of cut paper, but was an art exhibit in the lobby of the building. I liked the colors in contrast to the white walls and white flooring.

Whirlwind Week

Wow! What a week it has been here in The Hague. I could probably have written a lengthy post each day this week with all of my experiences and impressions of the past week. But instead I'll try to post just some interesting highlights.

Last weekend I was in Germany, visiting my "German family" in Cologne. I returned to The Hague late on Saturday night and was greeted by a new roommate named Marion (who is from France). On Sunday, Marion and I ventured to Scheveningen (the beach in The Hague). We were incredibly lucky in that the weather was sunny and, while not exactly warm, it was warm for January. We walked around the beach a bit and then stopped off at one of the beach front restaurants for some fish and chips. The Dutch version of fish and chips is different than how we think of fish and chips in the states (not deep fried, and a bit bland). After relaxing at the restaurant for a bit we caught the tram back towards our apartment but made a quick stop at the ICTY so that we could make sure we knew where we had to go on Monday morning. I've included some pictures of the beach below.






Interning at the ICTY

Originally I was to begin at 9 am on Monday morning, however, I had received an email a few days prior to the start asking me to arrive at 8 am instead. There were 26 new interns that were scheduled to begin and apparently there were also numerous new interns for the Defense that also needed ID badges to be processed. We spent about the first hour handing in paperwork and getting a brief orientation and then we were taken to our individual placements. I was placed in Trial Chambers and have been assigned to work on a really interesting case. Before I attend the required security briefing I can't say much else about the case I'm working on or my assignments (other than to speak in general terms) because there is a high degree of confidentiality with everything I'm working on. I can, however, direct you to the ICTY website where you can read about the alleged war criminals that are currently on trial. Trials at the tribunal last quite awhile, but you have to remember that the amount of evidence that has to be combed through and presented is voluminous. There are also constantly new legal issues emerging and new challenges being made from everything to the jurisdiction of the tribunal to whether an accused should be limited in the time allowed for establishing the defense. You can read the indictment, the trial briefs, and many of the other legal documents (basically anything that is public record and not filed under seal) as well as watch the trial proceedings live here: http://www.icty.org/. The trial proceedings are available to be streamed except when there is a closed session because a witness has been afforded special protections or a matter that is being discussed is confidential.

There will be days when I will be in the courtroom because of certain tasks that I have to complete and it is possible that you would see me on the live feed (not speaking, but sitting at a desk). At some point in the next two weeks (and probably numerous times through the rest of my internship) you might be able to see me on the live video feed. Of course I will not be presenting, but I'll be observing and working on an assignment for the Chambers.

Anyway, I am enjoying the work and the atmosphere at the ICTY tremendously. I was immediately introduced to the legal team (of about 10 people, including myself) that I will be working with and they are all wonderful. They have all been incredibly welcoming and helpful in bringing me up to speed on what I need to know as well as any legal issues that are emerging may be of interest (even if it is not something we will be working on directly). They are also great about keeping me busy with a variety of challenging work but not overwhelming me with too many assignments and responsibilities. Once assignments have been completed they provide prompt positive feedback suggesting any necessary corrections.

The ICTY atmosphere is great in general. It's such an incredible experience to work with people around the world. I think that being in this environment is also unique in the sense that everybody is an expat so they are welcoming and interested in getting to know you and share their culture and learn about yours. I share office space with a bunch of other Chambers interns and it is fun to get to interact and work with people of similar age and with similar interests. Lunch is never boring because there are also people to go to the cafeteria and chat with. The ICTY interns are also a fun group to go out with and explore The Hague. The interns from the ICTY, the ICC (International Criminal Court), and the STL (Special Tribunal for Lebanon) get together for drinks and dancing or other events every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening. There are social coordinators at the various institution who are responsible for publishing a social newsletter each week that also announces various events of interest that will be occurring in The Hague.

Well, that's all I'll write for now. This weekend should be fun - tomorrow a few of the other interns and my roommates will be venturing to a market and to the city center for some shopping. I'm also going to look at an inexpensive bike that I might purchase and investigate joining a gym.