Adventures at the United Nations

 ì've just came back from Vienna to my Erasmus life in Budapest.that trip to Vienna was amazing since its very origins.

when i was having my solo travel in Istanbul i overnight at Hush Hostel in Kadikoy district. i had several roommates, and i have to say that i was hanging out having a chicken kebab with a group of Italian guys since the first night i passed in Istanbul. i strongly advice to consider hostels in solo travels, because at some point of the night you really feel good exchanging experiences in front of a dish of local food, even if during the day you are the solo explorer you dreamt to be.

well, the second day two girls arrived at the hostel at night and were assigned to my room.P and C were both former International Businness students, currently having their internships. they met during P Erasmus in Munich. P is a French girl, working as an intern at the United Nations in Vienna. C is an Indonesian girl, working as an intern for a major German company in Munich.  they were visiting P's friend living in Istanbul, who was supposed to be their guide.we had immediately plenty of topics to talk about, having the three of us the same international backgroud studies, being the three of us tireless wanderlust travelers. we exchanged contacts in Fb, and each night we met either in the hostel lounge or in our room  and chatted until late.one night V seriously invited me to visit her in Vienna in May, as she invited C as well, for the CCPCJ at the United Nations. it's the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice meetings that was going to be held in Vienna this year. that was a terrific opportunity for an International Law student like me, besides Vienna is just two hours and a half by bus from Budapest, then i said i was most probably in.

i came back to Budapest, i went on with my studies, and eventually we kept in touch to exchange news about our travels, and the events in program during the CCPCJ. i was able to confirm my arrival just after all my exams dates were confirmed for the week before May 17th.i prepared my dear backpack. it will reveal itself as a rather comic feature of my personal appearance after, since the last day as Official Visitor at the UN i went around this international organisation seat dressed as if i were on a red carpet night with my backpack.

we met at Stephansplatz, then we went to P's flat and directly to the nearby Danube shores to see the twilight, the crazy Viennese windsurfers, the colorful boats and the magnificent swans sunbathing with their royal attitude, accepting food from the kids as if saying "You are such a lucky child that you can feed such an awesome bird like me. do you realize it?".

P has her own flat belonging to a fantastic couple, V and L, family friends of P's mother. V is a UN officer, with a long and bright carrier in Vienna. it's such a pleasure to meet women like these, smart and involved in international organizations and diplomacy. i want to be one of them, i'm preparing for it.   V lives with her family in the same building. Each morning she invited us for breackfast in her sunny flat with a fantastic view on the Danube.
in fact she was the person who made the entrance in the UN building possible for me and C, since there is a strict surveillance and very rigid admittance rules to enter in such an important place.V had to submit a written request, she had to accompany us to the registration office to obtain the Official Visitor badge, we had to show IDs,  and V had to take responsibility for us. i owe very much to this woman.

P had her work to do as an intern, although  the first morning she accompanied us to the Plenary Room at M building for the opening ceremony of the CCPCJ. even there you could find guards examining your level of pass. you could only be either a UN officer, an intern, a diplomat member of a delegation or an Official Visitor to be admitted. Private Visitors or Public Visitors were not allowed to attend CCPCJ

.it was speechless... i had the opportunity to see what i studied during my several International Law courses in action... i was happy like a child in a sweets shop!!I walked among the seats of the representatives of all countries in the world with the same expression on my face like Scrat in the Nut Heaven. i spoke with the Honduran representative, a coronel wearing a military suit with so much medals on he could seem either a Christmas tree or a military dictator in a parade. we remembered together my second home country, he showed the pictures of Roatan Island on his IPad to me and the girls. he did not spoke a word of English, and i noticed that he was not alone. we saw several representatives at UN wearing the translation earphones on while diplomats were speacking in English. it seemed incredible to me.
i went to the Italian delegation, to meet my representatives. they were three and they sat at the front table (some countries, the major contributors, don't sit in alphabetical order like the others but right in front of the bar). well, they asked what i was studying and what kind of specialization i was planning to follow. they gave me their cards and they told me to write in case i needed contacts for an internship, which i will definitely do.  we took pictures together.

when the ceremony started, i had the opportunity to see the procedures about which i read in my books in action... like the approval by acclamation, or the speeches of the Groups inside UN assembly. they are kinda diplomatic boilerplates speeches in which the head of the group expresses congratulations to the Chairman, and the position of the countries she/he represents against international crimes. after this ceremony we went to the various super interesting side events of CCPCJ, conferences about very present issues concerning international crimes, like human trafficking, slavery, cibercrimes... during lunch break P showed us the place of the UN restaurant. a very modern furnished canteen where you can have a superb meal for 3 euros. i felt like an Italian Parliament mamber. we used to eat together with the other interns, P's colleagues. i collected a lot of fresh materials about international criminal law and its implementation results, my poor bag was filled of booklets each and every day.

well, at night we had dinner in Vienna centre, where you can really find super good places to eat, even if they don't use to be as cheap as in Budapest.
i've always loved Vienna.
the last time i visited it was in February with my fresh Erasmus new girl friends. being the weather so freacking cold we focused on visiting museums, even if we had the chance to go for a beautiful free walking tour of the city centre. let me say that everything is better under a warmer weather!
people walking through Vienna seem to be quiet and happy most of the times... i can perfectly believe the statistics telling that Vienna is the first city for welfare in Europe to live.
i loved being with the girls as well, exchanging funny and tragic confidences on dates and boyfriends with two smart girls was worth the travel itself.

i lived all this trip as a privilege. i learnt a lot and i saw something that very few International Law students can see before graduating.  being an Official Visitor was possible because i met wonderful people on my path. i am so grateful for that.