Ginger Without Borders

When someone says ‘The Hague,’ the first thing anyone who studies International Relations (IR) will think is ‘international law’ or ‘the International Criminal Court (ICC).’ So naturally, as an IR nerd, I decided to come to the Hague to visit the ICC Headquarters.

Now, since I got epically lost again on my way to and from the ICC, I was going to write about that. But on my way to the Peace Palace from the ICC, I happened to sit right next to a woman I had seen in the ICC. And she happened to talk to me, and invite me to lunch.

It turns out she is from Korea, working at the Korean Embassy in the Netherlands, and was visiting the ICC as part of her job (since Korea is a member state).

For the next two hours, we had an absolutely brilliant conversation about politics and how we both have gotten to this point in our lives. And all I can think is – ‘Holycrap. If I had not gotten epically lost and had to turn around to take the train back the opposite direction, none of this would have ever happened.’ So the two comments I have for the day are:

1. Get lost. Get epically lost and find random things (or people!) Because inevitably those will be some of your favorite memories of your trip.
2. OMG IR FRIENDS – YOU HAVE TO VISIT THE HAGUE!!!! (Side note – how in the world have I made it through 13 years of Model UN and a degree in IR but never learn about the International Court of Arbitration past knowing it exists?

P.S. Dad – I’m still alive.