Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Last night, Richard called me! I had hoped he would, but I got sleepy around 9pm and kind of drifted off. The phone tried to ring twice, and at one point, it was a wrong number. Richard finally got through, and he said it took about 20 minutes of trying before he got through. The phone system here sucks big time. It’s a roll of the dice whether or not it will work at all. Apparently, my mom was trying to call too, but she could never get through. Unfortunately, she didn’t deal with it well. She’s very unhappy with her life right now, and not being able to reach me kind of pushed her over the edge. I had to write her a harsh email back to hopefully snap her out of it. I hope she won’t give up trying to reach me. It takes patience, but eventually you do get through. People forget I’m in a 3rd world country. Well, low 2nd maybe, but quickly becoming 3rd world. Things don’t work here the way they are supposed to. Email here is slow as molasses, but I just suffer through it. There is nothing I can do about it, so why worry?
Anyway, talking to Richard was wonderful. I really do miss him, but it helped to talk to him last night. I slept well, and got up with my alarm at 7am. Showering at night is the thing to do here. Too much competition for water in the morning. I can have a nice, hot shower at night, no problem. It also saves time in the morning getting ready. Today I was a bit rushed b/c my breakfast was at 7:30am and Eddie came at 7:45am. I had to choke down part of my breakfast. So I’ve asked for my breakfast at 7:20am so I can eat it without rushing.
While eating breakfast, I watched the local news. These newscasts trip me out. They are SO unprofessional, but so serious about it. It reminds me of a middle or high school production. They obviously don’t have teleprompters b/c the anchors read the news looking down. Today, they talked about the Zimbabwe football (soccer) team losing “gallantly” to Kenya, who are by far the best team in the South African regional. But while talking about this game, they showed a rugby match. I’m not sure if I missed something or not. Does Rugby have a world cup? Then they went into this lifestyle discussion of what to do about aggressive drivers. All these tips, including, “Please do remember to put away your ego” were designed to make driving safe in Zimbabwe! It was quite funny.
Today was a rather long day. Followed Casey about some more, went to the US Embassy for my security briefing, and then spent the afternoon on email. The US Embassy was a huge disappointment. It’s in downtown Harare in this ugly building. I thought it would be something like the estates you see for other Embassies, like the one for the Netherlands. Talk about a nice embassy! But no, the US has this crappy building from the early 70s in downtown Harare. It was difficult to get in, and the briefing was nothing I didn’t already know. The deputy security chief who talked to me was abrupt and kind of rude. He relaxed as the talk went on, but Casey told me that he’s just miserable here. All he’s ever done since he arrived is complain that Harare sucks, nothing to do, etc. I’d wonder why he was in the foreign service with that attitude.
Saw some Marines, and Casey is right…they’re BABIES. These guys are barely old enough to drink, if they’re that old. I felt like such a troll. Still, even in the tan uniforms, they were a sight It looks like they might cancel the BBQ at the Marine House this Saturday since not enough people have RSVPed. I hope it’s not cancelled, but if it is, I’m doubly glad that the Ambassador invited me to the official party on Friday. I got my embossed invite today at the embassy. Very cool! I know Casey says it’s boring, but I’m looking forward to it.
We ate lunch at a Thai restaurant. Very good. Casey showed me a shop that sells little knick knacks. The Zimbabwean people have a real artistic bent, and sculpture is their specialty. They have little items really cheap that people back home (some reading this journal, I’m sure) would love. I’ll wait a bit before I buy anything. I’d like to know if I can ship stuff back to the USA or not before I go buying a bunch of stuff.
In the afternoon, Casey had some major projects to work on, so she sent me to an empty office to do email. I was in the section chief’s empty office, and he eventually came in. He went on and on about doing more than just administrative stuff. He talked about surveillance, monitoring, microplanning, campaigns, etc. He then kind of dogged Casey and said she’d missed the boat on all this, and refused to be anything other than an administrative officer. For me, this was a golden opportunity to learn it all and really affect the program, etc. I have no idea what he wants me to get into, but I’m pretty easy-going. He just needs to understand I’m not an epidemiologist or a physician and I don’t have any desire to be those things! If he asks me to act in ways that I’m not trained, he’ll not be happy with the results. I’ll try, but I doubt he’ll be pleased. Anyway, I thought it was odd that he’d complain about Casey behind her back to me. I’m not sure what to think about it. There was also a comment that whatever I see/hear about WHO while on assignment, I’m to keep here and not report to CDC. I can play that game, but I’m the one who’s going to decide how it ends. My allegiance is to the American taxpayer and the CDC, not Bush or WHO.
I got a huge dent in my email, and I was able to upload the pictures I took of the cottage online. I provided a link in the journal for anyone to see. Mike commented that my place wasn’t bad, but it was too small, and I needed to take over Casey’s massive home. I think I’m going to stay. He has a point, but Pet and her family depend on this income for their family’s well being. What they will make off me during my stay (paid for by the government) will have them set for the year. They are also very good to me, and so I don’t think I’ll back out. If it was my personal money, I might do otherwise, but as Leo told me, part of going overseas is a responsibility to add to the local economy. Same with my driver, Eddie. What I’ll pay him over my time here will help support his young family for a while. So, small or not, I’ll stay. It’s still bigger than a hotel room would be.
I met Pet’s brother this afternoon when I came home. At first, I thought it was her husband, Morris, because they do kind of look alike. But then her son called him “uncle”, so I put it together. I had tea and biscuits with him. Pet came home and had more tea. Then she asked me to eat with the family. They had Chicken curry with rice, vegetables, and salad. The veggies were sautéed snow peas and broccoli. I think she put garlic in them, but they were good! It was a very nice dinner, and I got to know the family better. They are really neat people. I explained the Electoral College to them and how Bush is President despite the fact that Gore got more votes in 2000. They think it’s bizarre, and I don’t blame them. I told them about my political involvement at home, and they thought it was interesting. They don’t know too much about the US and asked many questions. They also explained a bit about Zimbabwe, the education system (which Richard would have LOVED to talk about), and the troubles they’ve had. Apparently, the government came down with a new decree today that any (white) person caught without valid ID and passport can be jailed for up to a month, no questions asked. I put “white” in quotations because apparently, this edict will only be used against white Zimbabweans. Mugabe’s goal, apparently, is to drive away all the whites from Zimbabwe so that the nation can be “pure”. So sad….
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
The Work Begins
Monday, June 28, 2004
First day of work. I fell asleep around 8:30pm last night, and then woke up at 12:30pm. It took another two hours to fall back asleep. No reason to wake up; I just did, thinking it couldn’t be long until time to get up. Wrong! I saw the end of this horrible western starring Woody Harrelson before I could fall asleep. Got up at 7am and tried to take a shower. I say “tried” because I only managed to wash my hair before the water ran out. I wonder if showering in the morning is the reason. I may try showering tonight to see if I can at least get 10 minutes in before the water runs out. Between that and the toilet not flushing EVERYTHING, the bathroom situation could be better.
I had a huge breakfast. They made me scrambled eggs, ham (which they called bacon), banana yogurt, toast, and this orange drink. It’s made from concentrated OJ, but it’s mixed with water and tastes like Kool-aid. Apparently, Zimbabwe is famous for this drink, and it’s very good. I was full when I went to work. I gave some scraps to Smiley, the guard dog. He’s so funny, and acts just like Emma and Jackson at the dinner table.
Shock of shocks, I wore a white shirt for work. I still detest white dress shirts, but I looked OK, and I figured it would make the best impression. The WHO complex is neat. It’s a bunch of brick buildings that have French doors everywhere. Casey shares an office with two other people, but they travel a lot, so it’s not bad. I basically sat with her today while she showed me all these different spreadsheets, etc. I think the job will be OK, but she sure does have a lot of information to juggle. It sounds like I’ll be sorting through information a lot and sending it to various people who need it. Kind of like what I do in Atlanta in many ways.
I got an email account set up for my visit. The IT people even came by in the afternoon to set up my connection. What speed! My goodness, the WHO-AFRO help desk puts ours at CDC to shame. They were my first encounter with body odor. It was pretty rank, but didn’t quite take my breath away like the poor staff workers at the cottage do. I’m noticing that the higher the class, the more likely they are to wear deodorant. I understand it’s not high on the priority list, especially when you’re struggling to eat enough. This poor country is really having problems. Last night, I heard part of a very funny newscast (funny in that it was so unprofessional) where they were talking about the Zimbabwe equivalent of the Fed doing things to bring inflation down to 200%. I cannot imagine inflation hitting the 600% or so it is here in the USA. The President would be thrown out of office either by an election or by impeachment. It would not be pretty.
Many seem to think that Mugabe will evict all the NGOs who are here to provide aide to the people. That would include the US Embassy, since all we really do here is provide humanitarian aide. Speaking of which, the ambassador himself said I could come to the 4th of July party. Apparently, my insistence on wanting to go got his attention, so he said I could come. I don’t think I’ll have to work either Casey did say the embassy could give me grief for having a personal passport rather than the brown official one. I’ll have to be sure I have an official passport in the future. Makes things easier, and it gives me diplomatic status. Zimbabwe used to be such a well run country, but it’s declining quickly. Scary thing is that the South African president wants to strip whites of land just as Mugabe is doing. Sad situation overall.
My driver Eddie is a nice guy. Pretty young. He’s got a baby and is building is house. It will cost Zim$70,000/day for driving me. That comes down to about $12/day, which isn’t too bad, I guess. I’ll pay him in USD since that is worth more than Zim$. I’ll be paying him once a week, which is fine. I’ll also be paying Pet in USD for my room/board. Sad when foreign money is better than local. I got a money changer to give me money for $300. That translated to over Zim$1.5 MILLION! For the first time in my life, I’m a millionaire Truly bizarre considering the sums of money things cost here. Not bad when you translate it, but it’s shocking to spend Zim$70,000 on a meal, even though that’s just $10 US.
Richard called me at work. It was great to hear from him, but I hope he’ll call me at the cottage now that he has the number. I got to check my hotmail, and answer some emails. It was a bit slow, but I think my WHO email will be much quicker. Still, it is nice to be able to check my email and write back. Poor Richard thought something was wrong since I wrote back, but he forgot I don’t have access except at work. Even this journal is written at night and then copied/pasted in Live Journal while at work. Takes just 3 minutes, so it’s not like I’m just journaling all day. Still a little tired, but only at weird times. I get sleepy mid-morning and just after dinner. Hopefully my body rhythms will settle down soon.
First day of work. I fell asleep around 8:30pm last night, and then woke up at 12:30pm. It took another two hours to fall back asleep. No reason to wake up; I just did, thinking it couldn’t be long until time to get up. Wrong! I saw the end of this horrible western starring Woody Harrelson before I could fall asleep. Got up at 7am and tried to take a shower. I say “tried” because I only managed to wash my hair before the water ran out. I wonder if showering in the morning is the reason. I may try showering tonight to see if I can at least get 10 minutes in before the water runs out. Between that and the toilet not flushing EVERYTHING, the bathroom situation could be better.
I had a huge breakfast. They made me scrambled eggs, ham (which they called bacon), banana yogurt, toast, and this orange drink. It’s made from concentrated OJ, but it’s mixed with water and tastes like Kool-aid. Apparently, Zimbabwe is famous for this drink, and it’s very good. I was full when I went to work. I gave some scraps to Smiley, the guard dog. He’s so funny, and acts just like Emma and Jackson at the dinner table.
Shock of shocks, I wore a white shirt for work. I still detest white dress shirts, but I looked OK, and I figured it would make the best impression. The WHO complex is neat. It’s a bunch of brick buildings that have French doors everywhere. Casey shares an office with two other people, but they travel a lot, so it’s not bad. I basically sat with her today while she showed me all these different spreadsheets, etc. I think the job will be OK, but she sure does have a lot of information to juggle. It sounds like I’ll be sorting through information a lot and sending it to various people who need it. Kind of like what I do in Atlanta in many ways.
I got an email account set up for my visit. The IT people even came by in the afternoon to set up my connection. What speed! My goodness, the WHO-AFRO help desk puts ours at CDC to shame. They were my first encounter with body odor. It was pretty rank, but didn’t quite take my breath away like the poor staff workers at the cottage do. I’m noticing that the higher the class, the more likely they are to wear deodorant. I understand it’s not high on the priority list, especially when you’re struggling to eat enough. This poor country is really having problems. Last night, I heard part of a very funny newscast (funny in that it was so unprofessional) where they were talking about the Zimbabwe equivalent of the Fed doing things to bring inflation down to 200%. I cannot imagine inflation hitting the 600% or so it is here in the USA. The President would be thrown out of office either by an election or by impeachment. It would not be pretty.
Many seem to think that Mugabe will evict all the NGOs who are here to provide aide to the people. That would include the US Embassy, since all we really do here is provide humanitarian aide. Speaking of which, the ambassador himself said I could come to the 4th of July party. Apparently, my insistence on wanting to go got his attention, so he said I could come. I don’t think I’ll have to work either Casey did say the embassy could give me grief for having a personal passport rather than the brown official one. I’ll have to be sure I have an official passport in the future. Makes things easier, and it gives me diplomatic status. Zimbabwe used to be such a well run country, but it’s declining quickly. Scary thing is that the South African president wants to strip whites of land just as Mugabe is doing. Sad situation overall.
My driver Eddie is a nice guy. Pretty young. He’s got a baby and is building is house. It will cost Zim$70,000/day for driving me. That comes down to about $12/day, which isn’t too bad, I guess. I’ll pay him in USD since that is worth more than Zim$. I’ll be paying him once a week, which is fine. I’ll also be paying Pet in USD for my room/board. Sad when foreign money is better than local. I got a money changer to give me money for $300. That translated to over Zim$1.5 MILLION! For the first time in my life, I’m a millionaire Truly bizarre considering the sums of money things cost here. Not bad when you translate it, but it’s shocking to spend Zim$70,000 on a meal, even though that’s just $10 US.
Richard called me at work. It was great to hear from him, but I hope he’ll call me at the cottage now that he has the number. I got to check my hotmail, and answer some emails. It was a bit slow, but I think my WHO email will be much quicker. Still, it is nice to be able to check my email and write back. Poor Richard thought something was wrong since I wrote back, but he forgot I don’t have access except at work. Even this journal is written at night and then copied/pasted in Live Journal while at work. Takes just 3 minutes, so it’s not like I’m just journaling all day. Still a little tired, but only at weird times. I get sleepy mid-morning and just after dinner. Hopefully my body rhythms will settle down soon.
Monday, June 28, 2004
First Weekend
Saturday, June 26, 2004
After a very long flight, I have finally settled a bit in the cottage that Casey set up. Man, I saw Casey’s house, and it’s friggin’ SWEET! The place is a huge, walled compound. Her dog reminds me of Emma, except he’s a black lab mix. Really nice dog, and it made me miss my own. Richard told me that Emma won’t go potty for him, and he gets frustrated with her. He thinks it’s b/c she misses me that she won’t go when she’s supposed to. He may be right, but I hope they both adapt. Anyway, Casey’s house is mostly tiled, not carpet. I might be able to stand it living with the cats. I may see about changing my mind about house sitting. Work is also really close to where she lives and I seem to live a bit further out.
Pet is the name of the lady who owns this place, and she lives next door. The cottage is small, but nicer than a hotel. She left me a bunch of drinks in the fridge as a welcome, and she seems super nice. When Casey left, though, and the door was closed to the cottage, I was hit with overwhelming sadness and loneliness. I’m really tired, though, so that could make my emotional reaction worse. I’m glad I brought toilet paper, though. The one here isn’t bad, but it’s not my Cottonelle. I can’t find any outlets either. Things are plugged in, but I can’t for the life of me determine where. I gotta find some outlets. Otherwise, my toothbrush will fail in a couple of days. We’ll see how I like it. I may end up at Casey’s, cat or no cat.
The plane ride was uneventful, but LONG. 22 hours of nonstop travel really blows. My feet hurt from the blood pooling no matter how much I moved around. I did sleep *some* but only a couple of hours. The neck pillow saved me. I did get some hassle at the airport, and got surprised by a $45 visa fee. It could be a problem that I’m on my personal passport. We’ll see. Then I had some lady hold me up and tell me I had to pay a deposit on my computer! Then I was forced to wait and wait for about 45 minutes until a supervisor noticed me and waived me through. All that drama for nothing. Luckily, the driver was waiting for me, and I got to Casey’s without problem. She took me to the grocery store, which was interesting.
Apparently, the water here is not safe anymore. The government ran out of money to pay for the chemicals to clean it. Someone needs to tell the CDC clinic this. I will have to live off bottled water. I’m exhausted, so I’ll stop here. I’m sure I’ll write more later.
Sunday, June 27, 2004
I went right to sleep after I shut off this computer last night. I slept until about 11am until Casey called to tell me that she’d pick me up for lunch in an hour. That forced me to get up, although I could have slept longer if allowed. The bed slept really well. It’s nice and firm, just like my mattress at home. Odd thing is that it is two twin beds shoved together. I have to sleep on or the other, or I’ll fall into a crack! Anyway, I slept well, which was nice.
The toilets down here don’t swirl the water as it goes down like at home. I’m so disappointed since I’d heard all about how water in the Southern Hemisphere swirls in the opposite direction. Here, the toilets just gush the water out; no swirling. Oh well. The flushing is OK, but it doesn’t get everything when you poop. I tried flushing three times before I just gave up. When I got back from lunch, though, the toilet was all clean. I’m not sure I want to know how the maid did it. I also discovered that I can’t dally in the shower. There’s a limited amount of water available, so in about 10-15 minutes, you better be done. Luckily, I was. The shower is nice and big, like mine at home as well. In fact, it may be a bit bigger.
Casey took me to this place called the Art Café for lunch. We ended up with 9 people at our table! It was a lot of fun, and I got to meet some folks. Eric Weisen was there, so I got to say hello to him. He just got a motorcycle while his car is trapped at some port in another part of Africa. He’s had a time of it logistically, but he seems to be fine. I gave him my appointed messages from AR. I think he’s about as tired of her as she is of him But this is his first long term assignment overseas, so I think they should cut him some slack. Maybe I’m a softie; who knows.
I had the chicken parmesan which was called Polo “Milan”. The cheese was mixed in with the bread crumbs. It was very good. I also had something called “ginger beer” which is ginger ale. I finished with a lemon cake with lime syrup and a café latte. All that for about $10.
Speaking of money, the situation here is hysterical. The inflation is about 600%, so prices are astronomical. Just getting a few things at the grocery, I spent Zim$246,000. Yes, Zim$246,000. Keep in mind, though, that 1US Dollar = 6000 Zim Dollars. Still, when you have tabs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, it really seems odd. I’ll also have to get used to Celsius rather than Fahrenheit. It’s very nice here. Sunny, dry, and in the 60s. Casey and the others had on jackets like it was cold. I’m in shorts and a T-shirt and it’s lovely.
I have unpacked, and that went well. I can lock up my wardrobe while I’m gone, so that is not a problem. I’ve also double locked my money. Poor Richard found out it would cost over $300 to send my little lockbox here, so I said forget it. With a key lock and a combo lock, it should discourage theft. I don’t think that Pet would have thieves on her staff, and the situation here is so bad with unemployment being about 80% that if you have a job, you do what you can to keep it. I feel secure, especially being behind a walled compound. I found out that is a relic of the colonist days when the black to white ratio led to hyper security measures. Everything here is walled, which isn’t bad. They have some very pretty walls. It’s the electric fence wiring or barbed wire that makes you look twice.
Harare is pretty high up in elevation too, which will prolong my jet lag. Casey said expect to be tired a lot the next few days. The elevation is just under 1 mile, so it’s like going to Denver. I don’t expect to get jet lagged past mid-week. 3-4 days is what it took when I went to Hawaii and London. They do have a movie theatre here, but I’d have to walk. It could be quite a hike too, so I’m not sure that will be happening. Eddie is the driver I’m likely to be hiring while I’m here. He’s picking me up at 8am tomorrow, which won’t be bad. Apparently, the secretary didn’t get my schedule ready, which annoyed Casey. So she is doing her best guestimate of when to get me there. Eddie is a driver she knows and he just had a baby, so she feels for him. That’s why she’s throwing my business his way It’s weird not having a car, especially since you really need one here. It’s not like Europe where the public transportation could take you anywhere and everywhere you’d want to go. I didn’t miss a car while I was there, but I think I might miss it here. Of course, all the cars are stick shift and British in style. They drive on the other side of the road too, so it’s probably just as well. Also, it will prevent me from having to worry about the gas shortages.
It’s nice and quiet here, except for the barking of dogs. Everyone has a guard dog, although many are more noise than anything. But Casey tells me most people train their dogs to attack, which is sad. The dog here is a little min-pin who will bark, growl, etc until you bend down to pet him. Then he loves you They are all outdoor dogs here too, another thing I hate to see. Apparently, Africans don’t like dogs that much, but they hate cats worse. It has something to do with superstition.
It’s still lonely here. I will have more time to myself than I thought. I miss Richard, and I miss my dogs. With all the dogs here, and with Casey’s dog being just like Emma in temperament, I especially miss my Jackson and Emma. I hope she is going to poop for Richard. I know how frustrating it can be when she refuses to go, but he really just has to be patient with her. If she thinks he’s angry for whatever reason, she won’t go. It took months for me to figure that out. Part of me is glad I don’t have a phone yet, b/c I’d be using it. Still, I wish I could hear a familiar voice. It’s so quiet here, and not having Richard to talk to makes is even quieter. That was what Richard was dreading about me being gone too. I understand now what he means.
After a very long flight, I have finally settled a bit in the cottage that Casey set up. Man, I saw Casey’s house, and it’s friggin’ SWEET! The place is a huge, walled compound. Her dog reminds me of Emma, except he’s a black lab mix. Really nice dog, and it made me miss my own. Richard told me that Emma won’t go potty for him, and he gets frustrated with her. He thinks it’s b/c she misses me that she won’t go when she’s supposed to. He may be right, but I hope they both adapt. Anyway, Casey’s house is mostly tiled, not carpet. I might be able to stand it living with the cats. I may see about changing my mind about house sitting. Work is also really close to where she lives and I seem to live a bit further out.
Pet is the name of the lady who owns this place, and she lives next door. The cottage is small, but nicer than a hotel. She left me a bunch of drinks in the fridge as a welcome, and she seems super nice. When Casey left, though, and the door was closed to the cottage, I was hit with overwhelming sadness and loneliness. I’m really tired, though, so that could make my emotional reaction worse. I’m glad I brought toilet paper, though. The one here isn’t bad, but it’s not my Cottonelle. I can’t find any outlets either. Things are plugged in, but I can’t for the life of me determine where. I gotta find some outlets. Otherwise, my toothbrush will fail in a couple of days. We’ll see how I like it. I may end up at Casey’s, cat or no cat.
The plane ride was uneventful, but LONG. 22 hours of nonstop travel really blows. My feet hurt from the blood pooling no matter how much I moved around. I did sleep *some* but only a couple of hours. The neck pillow saved me. I did get some hassle at the airport, and got surprised by a $45 visa fee. It could be a problem that I’m on my personal passport. We’ll see. Then I had some lady hold me up and tell me I had to pay a deposit on my computer! Then I was forced to wait and wait for about 45 minutes until a supervisor noticed me and waived me through. All that drama for nothing. Luckily, the driver was waiting for me, and I got to Casey’s without problem. She took me to the grocery store, which was interesting.
Apparently, the water here is not safe anymore. The government ran out of money to pay for the chemicals to clean it. Someone needs to tell the CDC clinic this. I will have to live off bottled water. I’m exhausted, so I’ll stop here. I’m sure I’ll write more later.
Sunday, June 27, 2004
I went right to sleep after I shut off this computer last night. I slept until about 11am until Casey called to tell me that she’d pick me up for lunch in an hour. That forced me to get up, although I could have slept longer if allowed. The bed slept really well. It’s nice and firm, just like my mattress at home. Odd thing is that it is two twin beds shoved together. I have to sleep on or the other, or I’ll fall into a crack! Anyway, I slept well, which was nice.
The toilets down here don’t swirl the water as it goes down like at home. I’m so disappointed since I’d heard all about how water in the Southern Hemisphere swirls in the opposite direction. Here, the toilets just gush the water out; no swirling. Oh well. The flushing is OK, but it doesn’t get everything when you poop. I tried flushing three times before I just gave up. When I got back from lunch, though, the toilet was all clean. I’m not sure I want to know how the maid did it. I also discovered that I can’t dally in the shower. There’s a limited amount of water available, so in about 10-15 minutes, you better be done. Luckily, I was. The shower is nice and big, like mine at home as well. In fact, it may be a bit bigger.
Casey took me to this place called the Art Café for lunch. We ended up with 9 people at our table! It was a lot of fun, and I got to meet some folks. Eric Weisen was there, so I got to say hello to him. He just got a motorcycle while his car is trapped at some port in another part of Africa. He’s had a time of it logistically, but he seems to be fine. I gave him my appointed messages from AR. I think he’s about as tired of her as she is of him But this is his first long term assignment overseas, so I think they should cut him some slack. Maybe I’m a softie; who knows.
I had the chicken parmesan which was called Polo “Milan”. The cheese was mixed in with the bread crumbs. It was very good. I also had something called “ginger beer” which is ginger ale. I finished with a lemon cake with lime syrup and a café latte. All that for about $10.
Speaking of money, the situation here is hysterical. The inflation is about 600%, so prices are astronomical. Just getting a few things at the grocery, I spent Zim$246,000. Yes, Zim$246,000. Keep in mind, though, that 1US Dollar = 6000 Zim Dollars. Still, when you have tabs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, it really seems odd. I’ll also have to get used to Celsius rather than Fahrenheit. It’s very nice here. Sunny, dry, and in the 60s. Casey and the others had on jackets like it was cold. I’m in shorts and a T-shirt and it’s lovely.
I have unpacked, and that went well. I can lock up my wardrobe while I’m gone, so that is not a problem. I’ve also double locked my money. Poor Richard found out it would cost over $300 to send my little lockbox here, so I said forget it. With a key lock and a combo lock, it should discourage theft. I don’t think that Pet would have thieves on her staff, and the situation here is so bad with unemployment being about 80% that if you have a job, you do what you can to keep it. I feel secure, especially being behind a walled compound. I found out that is a relic of the colonist days when the black to white ratio led to hyper security measures. Everything here is walled, which isn’t bad. They have some very pretty walls. It’s the electric fence wiring or barbed wire that makes you look twice.
Harare is pretty high up in elevation too, which will prolong my jet lag. Casey said expect to be tired a lot the next few days. The elevation is just under 1 mile, so it’s like going to Denver. I don’t expect to get jet lagged past mid-week. 3-4 days is what it took when I went to Hawaii and London. They do have a movie theatre here, but I’d have to walk. It could be quite a hike too, so I’m not sure that will be happening. Eddie is the driver I’m likely to be hiring while I’m here. He’s picking me up at 8am tomorrow, which won’t be bad. Apparently, the secretary didn’t get my schedule ready, which annoyed Casey. So she is doing her best guestimate of when to get me there. Eddie is a driver she knows and he just had a baby, so she feels for him. That’s why she’s throwing my business his way It’s weird not having a car, especially since you really need one here. It’s not like Europe where the public transportation could take you anywhere and everywhere you’d want to go. I didn’t miss a car while I was there, but I think I might miss it here. Of course, all the cars are stick shift and British in style. They drive on the other side of the road too, so it’s probably just as well. Also, it will prevent me from having to worry about the gas shortages.
It’s nice and quiet here, except for the barking of dogs. Everyone has a guard dog, although many are more noise than anything. But Casey tells me most people train their dogs to attack, which is sad. The dog here is a little min-pin who will bark, growl, etc until you bend down to pet him. Then he loves you They are all outdoor dogs here too, another thing I hate to see. Apparently, Africans don’t like dogs that much, but they hate cats worse. It has something to do with superstition.
It’s still lonely here. I will have more time to myself than I thought. I miss Richard, and I miss my dogs. With all the dogs here, and with Casey’s dog being just like Emma in temperament, I especially miss my Jackson and Emma. I hope she is going to poop for Richard. I know how frustrating it can be when she refuses to go, but he really just has to be patient with her. If she thinks he’s angry for whatever reason, she won’t go. It took months for me to figure that out. Part of me is glad I don’t have a phone yet, b/c I’d be using it. Still, I wish I could hear a familiar voice. It’s so quiet here, and not having Richard to talk to makes is even quieter. That was what Richard was dreading about me being gone too. I understand now what he means.
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Almost Ready to Leave
My suitcase is packed, and it's under the maximum weight allowed by the airline. I was worried about it being too heavy, even though I tried to pack lightly. There's a lot of "supplies" that I have to take with me, like medicines, preventatives, toiletries, toilet paper, etc. I still haven't completely finished packing, but all I lack are shoes and socks at this point. I've prepared my CDC-owned laptop, set up my email at work and home to forward to my new hotmail account, and I've left a list of things for Richard while I'm gone (he asked for the list).
I'm a bit nervous but excited at the same time. From everything I can tell, it is an interesting time in Zimbabwe. 75% unemployment, 2.3 million rural citizens on the verge of starvation according to the UN, and inflation at 600%. The economy is collapsing at such a rate that I will have to operate on a cash-only basis for two months! That will be strange, but I'll manage. My housing has been set up by Casey, the lady I'm filling in for during the next two months. A driver is picking me up at the airport and taking me to Casey who will take over from there.
I'm glad we planned for a week overlap between her arrival and my departure. It will also be good to have her there on the other end too before I leave. Being away from the American political scene will be strange for me, but it will be interesting to see the perspective of others who are not in this country. Hopefully it will be a smooth trip :)
Tonight, Richard and I have a musical to go to. I had gotten tickets to see the King and I before I knew about this trip. I had forgotten about it until the tickets arrived in my interoffice mail yesterday. It will be good to get away from the distractions of leaving. Still, it feels like I may not be ready. Not sure why. Paranoia of leaving the USA for a 3rd world country, I suppose :)
I bet the people here at work think I'm precious with the way I'm nervous and giddy at the same time. These people are used to just going from here to there without batting an eye. Couple of weeks in Togo, Nigeria, Niger, Ethiopia, a month in India or Nepal...all the same to my seasoned colleagues. I'll be fine, but it's weird to think that there won't be many of the comforts I'm used to, and if I forget something, too bad. I will just have to live without in that case. Still, I think I remembered everything, but how can you be absolutely sure? Even with a list, you can never be totally sure.
Work is slow today, which I suppose is expected when you're about to jet off the next day. I will try to be faithful with this journal as a recording of my trip and experiences, especially since I've told all my friends about it :) More later!
I'm a bit nervous but excited at the same time. From everything I can tell, it is an interesting time in Zimbabwe. 75% unemployment, 2.3 million rural citizens on the verge of starvation according to the UN, and inflation at 600%. The economy is collapsing at such a rate that I will have to operate on a cash-only basis for two months! That will be strange, but I'll manage. My housing has been set up by Casey, the lady I'm filling in for during the next two months. A driver is picking me up at the airport and taking me to Casey who will take over from there.
I'm glad we planned for a week overlap between her arrival and my departure. It will also be good to have her there on the other end too before I leave. Being away from the American political scene will be strange for me, but it will be interesting to see the perspective of others who are not in this country. Hopefully it will be a smooth trip :)
Tonight, Richard and I have a musical to go to. I had gotten tickets to see the King and I before I knew about this trip. I had forgotten about it until the tickets arrived in my interoffice mail yesterday. It will be good to get away from the distractions of leaving. Still, it feels like I may not be ready. Not sure why. Paranoia of leaving the USA for a 3rd world country, I suppose :)
I bet the people here at work think I'm precious with the way I'm nervous and giddy at the same time. These people are used to just going from here to there without batting an eye. Couple of weeks in Togo, Nigeria, Niger, Ethiopia, a month in India or Nepal...all the same to my seasoned colleagues. I'll be fine, but it's weird to think that there won't be many of the comforts I'm used to, and if I forget something, too bad. I will just have to live without in that case. Still, I think I remembered everything, but how can you be absolutely sure? Even with a list, you can never be totally sure.
Work is slow today, which I suppose is expected when you're about to jet off the next day. I will try to be faithful with this journal as a recording of my trip and experiences, especially since I've told all my friends about it :) More later!
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