What a week here in Geneva! A couple of blogs ago I mentioned seeing paragliders above Mount Salève, and last weekend I finally the chance got to have a go myself. A friend flew out to visit for the weekend, and was very keen to join in with this form of extreme sightseeing, so we made the short trip across the border into France together. After a steep climb up a windy road, and a brief trek through a field full of cows wearing the traditional Swiss cowbells, we made it to the paragliding site and were given the simple instruction to ‘run towards the edge of the cliff’. Perhaps not the most reassuring of statements, but after two or three steps in that direction, we were in the air, and I can’t describe the view!  From one side of the mountain you could look across to Mont Blanc and the Alps, and from the other the French countryside stretched out in front, eventually turning into Geneva, the lake and beyond. My tandem partner Philippe was eager to pick out all of the landmarks we could see, whilst telling me that this was in fact his day job. In case my banking career doesn’t take off, it’s always good to have a Plan B.

With both feet firmly back on the ground, Saturday evening was the night the last few weeks have been building up to. Every year, the Geneva festival honours a different country, and this year it was India’s turn. This meant that when wandering through the English Gardens, you discovered a miniature version of the Taj Mahal surrounded by stalls offering traditional Indian crafts and cuisine. Back at home, my bonfire nights usually involve setting off a few boxes of fireworks, a couple of rockets and maybe a Catherine wheel. This display, on the other hand, is ranked one of the top ten in the world and went on for an hour. The first fireworks were set off to the sound of contemporary and traditional Indian music, followed by other songs from the opera. I’ve never been to a firework display that had an interval before. And I’ve certainly never watched one from a catamaran! You can get a glimpse of the scale from the photo below.

With six weeks down and only two to go, the pace at work is really picking up as I try to bring together everything I’ve done so far. The plan is to finish my main project by Friday, and start on something a bit different in my final week. In the meantime I’m trying to squeeze in lots of meetings with different departments, which hasn’t been easy. The markets have been incredibly volatile over the last few weeks, with effects felt throughout the banking sector. It’s great to see how all of the teams pull together with this added pressure, and I feel privileged to be getting such a fantastic inside perspective on everything as it's happening.  

Last week I was happy to be introduced to colleagues currently in their second year of the private banking graduate scheme. They’ve just arrived in Geneva, and will be working here for the next six months, and it was nice to feel like someone ‘in the know’ about places to go and things to see after being here for only six weeks myself. It’s funny that before coming to Switzerland, I’d never seriously considered the possibility of working abroad for any length of time. And yet now, I don’t think I could imagine spending my whole career in one place. Yes, I’m learning a lot in my placement, and I’ve met some great people that I’ll really hope to stay in touch with. But one of the main things I’ll take away from this experience is the feeling that maybe the world isn’t so big after all. Reading through other undergraduate blogs, it seems that lots of other interns are coming to the same conclusion, their horizons suitably broadened from internships spent working with inspiring people in extraordinary cities.

Til next week,

Bisous,

Anna