Thursday - July 28, 2004
Besides making a few updates to some of the databases that I keep track of here, today was a real snoozer. The Democratic convention continues to go well. John Edwards gave a fantastic speech to accept his nomination for the vice presidency. It struck me as having equal parts of compassion and toughness on terrorism. Just the right balance. I especially loved the part where he told the terrorist that they could not run, they could not hide and a Kerry Administration will destroy them.
It becomes less likely that I will be able to go anywhere while I’m here. I’ve pretty much given up on the notion and am trying to make peace with it. I know it’s shame to come here and see nothing: no safari, no Vic Falls, no Great Zimbabwe. Well, if this damn place had the ability to accept credit cards, we’d be fine. If there was a way to get the hell out of Harare, that would be fine too. But neither one is the case, and I did not come here prepared to pay CASH for my pleasure trips. Everyone is harping on me for not seeing anything while I’m here. I’ve TRIED, people! Tried and failed! Leo says why not just extend your trip, or re-route yourself through Vic Falls on the way home. Easier said than done. Also, psychologically, I’ve prepared myself for a return on Aug. 20. I did not think I would need to extend so that I actually GO somewhere while I’m here. Had that been the case, I’d do it. But I haven’t, and I will be ready to go home three weeks from today. It’s not like this is luxurious Western Europe with easy travel and wide acceptance of credit cards. I would love to see Vic Falls at the very least and go on a safari, but I don’t see how that is possible. It’s not safe to go into rural areas alone, and I can’t find a tour or a group to go with to save my life. I frankly don’t WANT to extend my time here, and I will be more than ready to go home when my time arrives.
Eddie came at 4:30pm to pick me up since he had to be at the doctor’s at 5pm. This was fine by me, especially since I’m supposed to get off at 4:30pm anyway. I stay until 5pm to make a good impression. The feedback so far has been good, so it must have worked. I had dinner with Morris (Pet was working late) and then went into my cabin. Pet came home and said to not leave her alone. She then said to get dressed (I was in my shorts and T shirt for the night) and come inside and we’d go for dessert. So I did. We went to a dessert shop/coffee bar. I had a nice piece of chocolate cake with hot chocolate to drink. I came home, called Richard around 10 pm to see how his exam went, but I think he was still taking it. I’m sure he did well, but I do feel nervous for him
Friday, July 30, 2004
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Date Night... With Me, Myself, and I
Wednesday - July 28, 2004
Another hump day as July rapidly draws to a close. The gathering of information for the measles partnership update is getting to get pretty routine. Our CDC folks who are assigned to the east and central blocks send me updates without even being asked first. It’s very nice. I managed to get some scattered country reports independent of the subregional reports, which was nice. Especially for the West Block, where Dr. Fall once again sent me his update about 15 minutes AFTER I’d already sent out the full update. What that forced me to do was give an oral report on the phone and then send a hard copy to Andy Gay at UNF, who was doing the minutes this week. Still, the call went well, and this was a quiet week. Not much happened except DR Congo was forced to postpone both of their campaign phases by a month thanks to delivery problems of cold chain equipment (measles vaccine has to be kept cold or it ruins, which is a real problem when your nation is at the equator!).
Otherwise, we sent out some money to Ethiopia and I mostly laid low. Once the call was over, the day was nearly done anyway. My poor mom got sideswiped in her parking lot at her apartment, so now she has a scrape to be fixed. It sounds like only a buff/paint job, but she can’t really afford it right now. Hopefully, if the body of the car was not punctured, she can wait until money is less tight. Richard and I found out that I can easily get email to him at work from both the hotmail and WHO accounts. My question is why can’t I get my CDC email to arrive in his mailbox, and vice versa? Neither one of us can email the other at work when we’re in Atlanta. Totally bizarre, especially when I’m told by my IT people and he’s told by school IT people that there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to email one another.
After work, I went to the gym and had another workout. I’m hoping that I’ve lost weight here. I think I have, but I can’t be sure. I know I can’t totally lose my entire belly at once, although that would be nice. It’s just hard to notice incremental change. After the gym, I went to eat at that St. Elmo’s place that we went to last Thursday. I ate alone, but that was fine. Between dinner and desert, I called Richard and chatted a few minutes with him. His final exam for his summer class is tomorrow, and he’s got a lot to do for it. I hope he does well, and doesn’t stay up all night studying. I think he will do fine on the exam, though. He seems to have really enjoyed this class. He’s all set for the fall and spring semesters too as far as student loans and having the classes he needs.
After dinner, I went to see Passion of the Christ again. It was questionable whether Trent would show up, and he didn’t. He messaged me about 10 minutes before the movie started to say the dinner wasn’t over, he hated the Marines, and he was very sorry. It’s just a movie, so I wasn’t phased. These things happen, and I knew it was going to be iffy that he could come. You'd have thought he was breaking a hot date or something :) The movie was every bit as powerful as I remembered it in the US. I was able to catch some things I missed the first time, which was cool. Still cried at the same parts. The movie is very meaningful if you are a Christian already. I don’t see it as a recruiting tool at all. It’s completely missing the back story and what happens after resurrection. If you know that back story coming in, it’s great. I think others would just be confused and horrified at the graphic violence.
Eddie picked me up and took me home around 11pm. In all, dinner, dessert, two beers, a movie ticket, popcorn, and soda cost me the equivalent of $20 US. Not bad!
Another hump day as July rapidly draws to a close. The gathering of information for the measles partnership update is getting to get pretty routine. Our CDC folks who are assigned to the east and central blocks send me updates without even being asked first. It’s very nice. I managed to get some scattered country reports independent of the subregional reports, which was nice. Especially for the West Block, where Dr. Fall once again sent me his update about 15 minutes AFTER I’d already sent out the full update. What that forced me to do was give an oral report on the phone and then send a hard copy to Andy Gay at UNF, who was doing the minutes this week. Still, the call went well, and this was a quiet week. Not much happened except DR Congo was forced to postpone both of their campaign phases by a month thanks to delivery problems of cold chain equipment (measles vaccine has to be kept cold or it ruins, which is a real problem when your nation is at the equator!).
Otherwise, we sent out some money to Ethiopia and I mostly laid low. Once the call was over, the day was nearly done anyway. My poor mom got sideswiped in her parking lot at her apartment, so now she has a scrape to be fixed. It sounds like only a buff/paint job, but she can’t really afford it right now. Hopefully, if the body of the car was not punctured, she can wait until money is less tight. Richard and I found out that I can easily get email to him at work from both the hotmail and WHO accounts. My question is why can’t I get my CDC email to arrive in his mailbox, and vice versa? Neither one of us can email the other at work when we’re in Atlanta. Totally bizarre, especially when I’m told by my IT people and he’s told by school IT people that there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to email one another.
After work, I went to the gym and had another workout. I’m hoping that I’ve lost weight here. I think I have, but I can’t be sure. I know I can’t totally lose my entire belly at once, although that would be nice. It’s just hard to notice incremental change. After the gym, I went to eat at that St. Elmo’s place that we went to last Thursday. I ate alone, but that was fine. Between dinner and desert, I called Richard and chatted a few minutes with him. His final exam for his summer class is tomorrow, and he’s got a lot to do for it. I hope he does well, and doesn’t stay up all night studying. I think he will do fine on the exam, though. He seems to have really enjoyed this class. He’s all set for the fall and spring semesters too as far as student loans and having the classes he needs.
After dinner, I went to see Passion of the Christ again. It was questionable whether Trent would show up, and he didn’t. He messaged me about 10 minutes before the movie started to say the dinner wasn’t over, he hated the Marines, and he was very sorry. It’s just a movie, so I wasn’t phased. These things happen, and I knew it was going to be iffy that he could come. You'd have thought he was breaking a hot date or something :) The movie was every bit as powerful as I remembered it in the US. I was able to catch some things I missed the first time, which was cool. Still cried at the same parts. The movie is very meaningful if you are a Christian already. I don’t see it as a recruiting tool at all. It’s completely missing the back story and what happens after resurrection. If you know that back story coming in, it’s great. I think others would just be confused and horrified at the graphic violence.
Eddie picked me up and took me home around 11pm. In all, dinner, dessert, two beers, a movie ticket, popcorn, and soda cost me the equivalent of $20 US. Not bad!
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Creeping Tuesday
Tuesday - July 27, 2004
Annick headed off to Senegal this afternoon, leaving me to have the office all to myself. It won’t be much different than when everyone is here since we really don’t chat with each other. Annick’s phone calls will be the only thing missing.
I had to make some confusing reconciliations with the changes Yinka made to sticker locations in the financial system. Some of them I couldn’t find to move them, even though she told me from where she moved them. Now we have the situation where some of our expiring funds are overdrawn, or will be at some point. I can’t make sense of it, and I am sure that I’m missing something, but we’ll see. When I get called on it, I can ask for more detailed help. It all made sense the other day when I suggested the moves, so I’m not sure why it’s not working out like I thought.
Amy’s quest to find us a way out of town for the Heroes Day holiday dosen’t seem to be going anywhere. There are absolutely NO seats available on any flight out of town, so we are stuck looking at buses. A bus to Vic Falls would take 10 hours or so, and there’s no way I’m doing that. I wouldn’t do that on Greyhound in the US, let alone on some rickety bus here in Africa. Lake Kariba may be a good alternative since it’s only 5 hours away. It’s supposed to be a really nice recreational area, kind of like Lake Lanier from the descriptions of it. I’m afraid we might be stuck with cash, which would suck. I may chance it. If I have to borrow money, I can do that. I could have Richard withdraw money from my bank account and give it to Denise who will be coming here right after I leave. Hopefully it won’t come to that. Next time I go overseas, I’m taking out the ENTIRE advance, especially if I’m coming to the land of no-credit-cards-no-ATMs.
It appears Trent is feeling down about his birthday which is on Thursday. He’s going to be all of 22, and he’s depressed about it! I told him I’d get him some viagra and a package of Depends for his birthday. He responded he’d need them! Silly boy. We had a text message marathon this evening about whether to try again to see Passion of the Christ. At first, he said yes, meet him outside the embassy at 8pm. Then he mentioned he has a dinner with the Gunney Sgt who heads the marines here since he is going away next week. The dinner starts at 6 and he didn’t know when it ended. He seemed upset by it from his messages, so I emailed him what I considered to be a jest. I said that he should tell his Gunney Sgt that he’d promised some homo that he’d see a religious movie with him and would need to cut out early. Then he texts back that he should do that, especially since one of the marines is scared of gays and would freak out. Then he texted that he was definitely going to do that and he’d see me tomorrow. I’m not sure if he’s serious or not. We’ll see.
Talked to Leo tonight. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve chatted, and mostly we talked about what things are like here. CDC is still going through its transition and no one is sure what will happen. Hamid has been having weekly meetings with the new Coordinating Center director, but nothing has come of it yet. I found out Danielle has been moved to polio, which is probably a good thing for her, especially if they could directly move her into an FTE, even if it meant leaving the PMF program.
I followed the start of the Democratic convention. So far, it seems to be playing well. I suppose the GOP is thanking its lucky stars that Bill Clinton is not eligible for another term as President. After just reading his speech to the convention, I know he’d easily get another term or two. Maybe if he could run again, he would have learned his lesson about keeping his dick in his pants. Jimmy Carter gave a fantastic speech too. I hope it all works, and that Kerry and bounce ahead to win.
Otherwise, kind of a slow day. Tomorrow is Wednesday, though, and that means another Measles Partnership call and the quick end of another week.
Annick headed off to Senegal this afternoon, leaving me to have the office all to myself. It won’t be much different than when everyone is here since we really don’t chat with each other. Annick’s phone calls will be the only thing missing.
I had to make some confusing reconciliations with the changes Yinka made to sticker locations in the financial system. Some of them I couldn’t find to move them, even though she told me from where she moved them. Now we have the situation where some of our expiring funds are overdrawn, or will be at some point. I can’t make sense of it, and I am sure that I’m missing something, but we’ll see. When I get called on it, I can ask for more detailed help. It all made sense the other day when I suggested the moves, so I’m not sure why it’s not working out like I thought.
Amy’s quest to find us a way out of town for the Heroes Day holiday dosen’t seem to be going anywhere. There are absolutely NO seats available on any flight out of town, so we are stuck looking at buses. A bus to Vic Falls would take 10 hours or so, and there’s no way I’m doing that. I wouldn’t do that on Greyhound in the US, let alone on some rickety bus here in Africa. Lake Kariba may be a good alternative since it’s only 5 hours away. It’s supposed to be a really nice recreational area, kind of like Lake Lanier from the descriptions of it. I’m afraid we might be stuck with cash, which would suck. I may chance it. If I have to borrow money, I can do that. I could have Richard withdraw money from my bank account and give it to Denise who will be coming here right after I leave. Hopefully it won’t come to that. Next time I go overseas, I’m taking out the ENTIRE advance, especially if I’m coming to the land of no-credit-cards-no-ATMs.
It appears Trent is feeling down about his birthday which is on Thursday. He’s going to be all of 22, and he’s depressed about it! I told him I’d get him some viagra and a package of Depends for his birthday. He responded he’d need them! Silly boy. We had a text message marathon this evening about whether to try again to see Passion of the Christ. At first, he said yes, meet him outside the embassy at 8pm. Then he mentioned he has a dinner with the Gunney Sgt who heads the marines here since he is going away next week. The dinner starts at 6 and he didn’t know when it ended. He seemed upset by it from his messages, so I emailed him what I considered to be a jest. I said that he should tell his Gunney Sgt that he’d promised some homo that he’d see a religious movie with him and would need to cut out early. Then he texts back that he should do that, especially since one of the marines is scared of gays and would freak out. Then he texted that he was definitely going to do that and he’d see me tomorrow. I’m not sure if he’s serious or not. We’ll see.
Talked to Leo tonight. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve chatted, and mostly we talked about what things are like here. CDC is still going through its transition and no one is sure what will happen. Hamid has been having weekly meetings with the new Coordinating Center director, but nothing has come of it yet. I found out Danielle has been moved to polio, which is probably a good thing for her, especially if they could directly move her into an FTE, even if it meant leaving the PMF program.
I followed the start of the Democratic convention. So far, it seems to be playing well. I suppose the GOP is thanking its lucky stars that Bill Clinton is not eligible for another term as President. After just reading his speech to the convention, I know he’d easily get another term or two. Maybe if he could run again, he would have learned his lesson about keeping his dick in his pants. Jimmy Carter gave a fantastic speech too. I hope it all works, and that Kerry and bounce ahead to win.
Otherwise, kind of a slow day. Tomorrow is Wednesday, though, and that means another Measles Partnership call and the quick end of another week.
Mondays Blow
Monday – July 26, 2004
Not much to report today. Work was kind of slow, but I got to catch up on emails from the weekend. The Democratic convention is starting in Boston, and I really wish I was there. Maybe in 4 years, I can be a delegate. I hope this is the beginning of the end for George W. Bush.
After work, I went to the gym, and it was good. I almost didn’t feel like going, but all I did was sit all day at the computer, so I knew I should go. I’m glad I did. I just hope I’m losing some weight while I’m here. I only eat 2 meals a day, so hopefully that is the case. I’m not sure what this eggs, ham, and baked beans for breakfast every day will do for me, though. I sure do miss my oatmeal and grits.
It looks like I’ll be alone in the office for a while this week, and maybe next week. Annick is heading to Dakar, Senegal to prepare for this big lab meeting they are having up there. She’s running around like a crazed lunatic, but I understand that is just her personality. She’ll have a heart attack before age 40 if she’s not careful. Of course, she may be close to 40 now; I can’t tell. The data guy who sits in front of me is already gone, and I guess it’s on business. I don’t remember him saying. It could be vacation too.
I had my tomato soup tonight, and it was really good! I know it’s silly to get excited over soup, but I can’t help it. My face is probably going to peel too, even though I’ve used that after sun gel that Yinka gave me. I finished my 3rd book tonight, so I only have one left to last me. I may need to make a trip to the bookstore before I leave for home.
I also decided to stop lugging around my computer and Casey’s computer when I only use hers. I’ve locked up my computer and secured it to the inside of the closet that I can lock. They’d really have to want it to get to it, so I think it will be fine. Amy from the state department is trying to get together a weekend trip to somewhere for the long weekend we have. I hope she’s successful. I would love to go somewhere, anywhere!
Not much to report today. Work was kind of slow, but I got to catch up on emails from the weekend. The Democratic convention is starting in Boston, and I really wish I was there. Maybe in 4 years, I can be a delegate. I hope this is the beginning of the end for George W. Bush.
After work, I went to the gym, and it was good. I almost didn’t feel like going, but all I did was sit all day at the computer, so I knew I should go. I’m glad I did. I just hope I’m losing some weight while I’m here. I only eat 2 meals a day, so hopefully that is the case. I’m not sure what this eggs, ham, and baked beans for breakfast every day will do for me, though. I sure do miss my oatmeal and grits.
It looks like I’ll be alone in the office for a while this week, and maybe next week. Annick is heading to Dakar, Senegal to prepare for this big lab meeting they are having up there. She’s running around like a crazed lunatic, but I understand that is just her personality. She’ll have a heart attack before age 40 if she’s not careful. Of course, she may be close to 40 now; I can’t tell. The data guy who sits in front of me is already gone, and I guess it’s on business. I don’t remember him saying. It could be vacation too.
I had my tomato soup tonight, and it was really good! I know it’s silly to get excited over soup, but I can’t help it. My face is probably going to peel too, even though I’ve used that after sun gel that Yinka gave me. I finished my 3rd book tonight, so I only have one left to last me. I may need to make a trip to the bookstore before I leave for home.
I also decided to stop lugging around my computer and Casey’s computer when I only use hers. I’ve locked up my computer and secured it to the inside of the closet that I can lock. They’d really have to want it to get to it, so I think it will be fine. Amy from the state department is trying to get together a weekend trip to somewhere for the long weekend we have. I hope she’s successful. I would love to go somewhere, anywhere!
Monday, July 26, 2004
Weekend Update
Friday – July 23, 2004 to Sunday – July 25, 2004
I didn’t pay as badly as I feared for my late night on Thursday. I was tired, certainly, but it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined. I think I psyched myself out so much that my brain helped me out with chemicals or whatever to make me more awake than 3 hours of sleep deserved.
Yinka and I had to spend most of the morning looking at the expiring measles money to see where we could shift things around so as not to lose anything. I think we found a way to move some charges from a newer allotment that will not expire for a while to the expiring ones so that money is used up. We also broke down the request for money to Madagascar for its campaign in September into more manageable chunks.
As soon as work was over, I headed home for a nap. Yinka had told me that I needed to show up to this good-bye party for the lab director of polio for the African region. That meant not going to the Marine House for their weekly cocktail party and movie night. I had messaged Trent to tell me where people were going afterward, but I never heard from him. Oh well, didn’t matter, b/c the dinner party was fun!
We had all kinds of food that came out in shifts. One of the office guys was the MC, and I’ve learned that these goodbye parties are as much a roast as anything. They spent a lot of time getting people to share memories of the lab director as well as another girl who’s leaving the office to join her husband in New Zealand. At one point, they told a poop joke on the lab director, who was called “Professor”. In polio, the only way to identify the virus is through a stool sample. That’s how it spreads. Anyway, apparently the Professor was in the WHO bathroom one day singing and grunting. He then said what a joy it was to take a shit in a bathroom after having grown up just dropping loads anywhere in the bush! African humor is interesting, and it often has sexual undertones to it. That’s not so different from American humor, but they say things at office parties that would get you in a HEAP of trouble in the US. Little sexist comments here and there, as well as off color statements, usually directed toward a female.
It turns out that “Professor” is a higher title in African culture than “Dr.” In the US, the two are interchangeable, with Professor merely showing that you teach, usually in a university. Here, a person earns the honorific of “Professor” through outstanding achievement. You usually do have an academic background, but you don’t need to be teaching in order to earn the title. This guy built the polio lab network from the ground, so he’s well earned his title of “Professor”.
In his speech to the group, the Professor talked about returning to Nigeria and getting involved in politics. He said that more scientists needed to stop being afraid and get involved in the politics of their home country. They ignore it at their peril, he said. He also went into a criticism of Africa relying on other nations to fix its own problems. He felt that for Africa to be truly independent, it must be able to take care of itself. The reason it can’t, he says, is due to a couple of things. First, political corruption where the powerful few line their pockets with the state treasury. Second is the African tendency to plan today for yesterday while every one else in the world is planning for 5-10 years in the future. He makes some good points.
They had some champagne there that was fantastic. It was from South Africa (and therefore shouldn’t be called champagne, but that’s just the French being uptight) and went down really smooth. I ended up drinking a whole bottle over the course of the night, in between being forced onto the dance floor to African music. Actually, African music is more easier to dance to than American “dance” music. The rhythms are more natural and it’s easier to get into sync with the music.
It was about 11 or so when we left, so Yinka and Everard took me home and I just went to bed.
On Saturday, I got up around 11am and was pretty lazy. I went out by the pool and finished one of my books. I then fell asleep in the sun, listening to my CD walkman. I woke up about 1pm, and was cooked! At least half of me was. The right side of my face burned while the left was mostly spared. My shoulders, arms, and legs were fried too. Whoops! They weren’t kidding about that Zimbabwean sun J Unfortunately, the water pressure was still very poor, so I had to bathe out of the kitchen sink again. By the time I was finishing, Yinka called to say she was having a braai in her backyard. I called Eddie who was picking someone up at the airport, and I told him I’d wait. Turns out he got confused, and thought I was at Yinka’s already and needed a ride home, not the other way around. He got there, and finally took me to Yinka’s house. The food was just done, so I arrived in good order.
We hung out, drank beer, ate, and just had a good time. People stopped by and left. Plans were made for the evening. I decided I’d like to go out too, so I hung out at Yinka’s and watched Moulin Rouge. We got Sasha out and she was given the leftovers to eat. That dog would eat bone and all! I would be afraid to let my dog eat chicken bones like that, since they can splinter on the inside, but Yinka seemed OK with it. Sasha certainly enjoyed chomping down on the bones and eating everything on them.
Yinka talked about how Sasha was supposed to be an indoor-outdoor dog, but as she got bigger, she wouldn’t obey and wouldn’t remain calm in the house. So now she lives in the garage. Poor girl gets lonely, but she is still very much a puppy, even at 2 yrs of age. All she really needs is training. I’ve used some of the techniques I’ve used on my dogs, and she responded. She knows not to jump on me or I’ll grab her paws and not let her down. She will sit when I ask her, and I use her love of being petted to enforce it. If she wants to be petted, she has to remain calm and sit pretty. If Yinka took time to train her, Sasha would be an excellent dog that could be indoors when Yinka is home.
I had to come back to the cottage to change my clothes for the club. Apparently, shorts are not allowed. We then went to the club, but it was closed! Mind you, this is a Saturday night, and a major dance club is closed. I couldn’t believe it! We ended up going to this place called Vogue. We texted Amy to come out with us, but she claimed exhaustion until I mentioned where we were going. By this time, we were at the club, so she had to come out on her own to join us.
I was feeling a bit queasy from the beer in the afternoon. My stomach was sour, which annoyed me. I tried drinking only Coke to quiet it, but nothing worked. I ended up just sitting down at a table and people watching the whole night. It cost $20,000 Zim to get into the club, which isn’t bad since that’s about $3 US. The club was on the top floor of this building, and really was a hole in the wall. It reminded me of the dance floor at Godfrey’s in Richmond or the Bar Complex’s upstairs dance room in Lexington. It really had the atmosphere of a gay joint, although it certainly was not. I was one of two white guys in the place.
The music wasn’t bad. It was a mix of older pop hits and some more modern hip hop, but not gangsta rap. What amazed me was despite the fact that a sign was posted saying no one under 18 admitted, it was obvious that high schoolers were present. Even more appalling were the pregnant high school girls out dancing, smoking, AND drinking! I was horrified. Here were these girls about 7 months or so pregnant out at a smoky club. Now, a pregnant lady who wants to go out dancing should have that right, but you should use some judgment about where you go dancing! The kicker was first seeing these very pregnant girls smoking. Then they bought a bottle of champagne and starting drinking that mixed with Coke! At one point, they asked if I’d watch their bottle while they danced. I agreed, and then could not believe I was watching a bottle of booze for some pregnant chicks. It was all I could do not to lecture them on the effects of alcohol and smoking on their unborn children. If you make the commitment to have a child, you should be responsible enough to not poison that child, unborn though it may be. Those kids will be lucky if they are only underweight from the smoking, let alone if they also have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. I felt like a fuddy-duddy, but what they were doing was just wrong! The sad thing was that you could tell these girls did not care.
Meanwhile, Amy and Anne Marie (girl who hosted a party last Saturday) were busying hooking up with friends of Everard who were 21 years old. Amy was just horny, God bless her. She had told me earlier in the evening that she was quite sexually frustrated, although I didn’t know she was also into black guys. I suppose being in to black guys would help if you’re a single person stationed in Africa. For me, there was absolutely no eye candy. Even if I were single, there would be no one here to tempt me. The white gays, it seems, have long since fled. Can’t say I blame them, but still…it would be a long, lonely haul if were here permanently and single to boot. Anyway, Amy and Anne Marie are more open to interracial lovin’ than I am, and they both had a good time. Amy even disappeared to the “bathroom” for about an hour, and we were ready to go, and she was still missing. We didn’t leave until we had hunted her down though. I don’t know why she lied; she could have easily told us she was going to hook up and we would not have worried. But just disappearing in Africa is not smart. We found them, and they had taken Amy’s car off to “see the sights”. See the sights, indeed. We know what they were doing, and nothing to do with sights outside of what was in the car! J
I called Richard again to share my horror of the pregnant girls, and then went to sleep. I spent Sunday being lazy again. It was nice. I just read, watched movies on TV, and relaxed. I called my grandma too since she had not heard from me in a while. The shower actually had water pressure, so I was able to take a REAL shower!!! I was so happy J I made the “Mince Mate” (Hamburger Helper equivalent) for dinner and it was really good! It tasted like chili, which is something else I miss from home. I’ll have to get that again.
I also noticed that I've been here in Harare for 4 weeks now! That means I'm halfway done with my time here, and it's all downhill until I head back to Atlanta on Friday, August 20.
I didn’t pay as badly as I feared for my late night on Thursday. I was tired, certainly, but it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined. I think I psyched myself out so much that my brain helped me out with chemicals or whatever to make me more awake than 3 hours of sleep deserved.
Yinka and I had to spend most of the morning looking at the expiring measles money to see where we could shift things around so as not to lose anything. I think we found a way to move some charges from a newer allotment that will not expire for a while to the expiring ones so that money is used up. We also broke down the request for money to Madagascar for its campaign in September into more manageable chunks.
As soon as work was over, I headed home for a nap. Yinka had told me that I needed to show up to this good-bye party for the lab director of polio for the African region. That meant not going to the Marine House for their weekly cocktail party and movie night. I had messaged Trent to tell me where people were going afterward, but I never heard from him. Oh well, didn’t matter, b/c the dinner party was fun!
We had all kinds of food that came out in shifts. One of the office guys was the MC, and I’ve learned that these goodbye parties are as much a roast as anything. They spent a lot of time getting people to share memories of the lab director as well as another girl who’s leaving the office to join her husband in New Zealand. At one point, they told a poop joke on the lab director, who was called “Professor”. In polio, the only way to identify the virus is through a stool sample. That’s how it spreads. Anyway, apparently the Professor was in the WHO bathroom one day singing and grunting. He then said what a joy it was to take a shit in a bathroom after having grown up just dropping loads anywhere in the bush! African humor is interesting, and it often has sexual undertones to it. That’s not so different from American humor, but they say things at office parties that would get you in a HEAP of trouble in the US. Little sexist comments here and there, as well as off color statements, usually directed toward a female.
It turns out that “Professor” is a higher title in African culture than “Dr.” In the US, the two are interchangeable, with Professor merely showing that you teach, usually in a university. Here, a person earns the honorific of “Professor” through outstanding achievement. You usually do have an academic background, but you don’t need to be teaching in order to earn the title. This guy built the polio lab network from the ground, so he’s well earned his title of “Professor”.
In his speech to the group, the Professor talked about returning to Nigeria and getting involved in politics. He said that more scientists needed to stop being afraid and get involved in the politics of their home country. They ignore it at their peril, he said. He also went into a criticism of Africa relying on other nations to fix its own problems. He felt that for Africa to be truly independent, it must be able to take care of itself. The reason it can’t, he says, is due to a couple of things. First, political corruption where the powerful few line their pockets with the state treasury. Second is the African tendency to plan today for yesterday while every one else in the world is planning for 5-10 years in the future. He makes some good points.
They had some champagne there that was fantastic. It was from South Africa (and therefore shouldn’t be called champagne, but that’s just the French being uptight) and went down really smooth. I ended up drinking a whole bottle over the course of the night, in between being forced onto the dance floor to African music. Actually, African music is more easier to dance to than American “dance” music. The rhythms are more natural and it’s easier to get into sync with the music.
It was about 11 or so when we left, so Yinka and Everard took me home and I just went to bed.
On Saturday, I got up around 11am and was pretty lazy. I went out by the pool and finished one of my books. I then fell asleep in the sun, listening to my CD walkman. I woke up about 1pm, and was cooked! At least half of me was. The right side of my face burned while the left was mostly spared. My shoulders, arms, and legs were fried too. Whoops! They weren’t kidding about that Zimbabwean sun J Unfortunately, the water pressure was still very poor, so I had to bathe out of the kitchen sink again. By the time I was finishing, Yinka called to say she was having a braai in her backyard. I called Eddie who was picking someone up at the airport, and I told him I’d wait. Turns out he got confused, and thought I was at Yinka’s already and needed a ride home, not the other way around. He got there, and finally took me to Yinka’s house. The food was just done, so I arrived in good order.
We hung out, drank beer, ate, and just had a good time. People stopped by and left. Plans were made for the evening. I decided I’d like to go out too, so I hung out at Yinka’s and watched Moulin Rouge. We got Sasha out and she was given the leftovers to eat. That dog would eat bone and all! I would be afraid to let my dog eat chicken bones like that, since they can splinter on the inside, but Yinka seemed OK with it. Sasha certainly enjoyed chomping down on the bones and eating everything on them.
Yinka talked about how Sasha was supposed to be an indoor-outdoor dog, but as she got bigger, she wouldn’t obey and wouldn’t remain calm in the house. So now she lives in the garage. Poor girl gets lonely, but she is still very much a puppy, even at 2 yrs of age. All she really needs is training. I’ve used some of the techniques I’ve used on my dogs, and she responded. She knows not to jump on me or I’ll grab her paws and not let her down. She will sit when I ask her, and I use her love of being petted to enforce it. If she wants to be petted, she has to remain calm and sit pretty. If Yinka took time to train her, Sasha would be an excellent dog that could be indoors when Yinka is home.
I had to come back to the cottage to change my clothes for the club. Apparently, shorts are not allowed. We then went to the club, but it was closed! Mind you, this is a Saturday night, and a major dance club is closed. I couldn’t believe it! We ended up going to this place called Vogue. We texted Amy to come out with us, but she claimed exhaustion until I mentioned where we were going. By this time, we were at the club, so she had to come out on her own to join us.
I was feeling a bit queasy from the beer in the afternoon. My stomach was sour, which annoyed me. I tried drinking only Coke to quiet it, but nothing worked. I ended up just sitting down at a table and people watching the whole night. It cost $20,000 Zim to get into the club, which isn’t bad since that’s about $3 US. The club was on the top floor of this building, and really was a hole in the wall. It reminded me of the dance floor at Godfrey’s in Richmond or the Bar Complex’s upstairs dance room in Lexington. It really had the atmosphere of a gay joint, although it certainly was not. I was one of two white guys in the place.
The music wasn’t bad. It was a mix of older pop hits and some more modern hip hop, but not gangsta rap. What amazed me was despite the fact that a sign was posted saying no one under 18 admitted, it was obvious that high schoolers were present. Even more appalling were the pregnant high school girls out dancing, smoking, AND drinking! I was horrified. Here were these girls about 7 months or so pregnant out at a smoky club. Now, a pregnant lady who wants to go out dancing should have that right, but you should use some judgment about where you go dancing! The kicker was first seeing these very pregnant girls smoking. Then they bought a bottle of champagne and starting drinking that mixed with Coke! At one point, they asked if I’d watch their bottle while they danced. I agreed, and then could not believe I was watching a bottle of booze for some pregnant chicks. It was all I could do not to lecture them on the effects of alcohol and smoking on their unborn children. If you make the commitment to have a child, you should be responsible enough to not poison that child, unborn though it may be. Those kids will be lucky if they are only underweight from the smoking, let alone if they also have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. I felt like a fuddy-duddy, but what they were doing was just wrong! The sad thing was that you could tell these girls did not care.
Meanwhile, Amy and Anne Marie (girl who hosted a party last Saturday) were busying hooking up with friends of Everard who were 21 years old. Amy was just horny, God bless her. She had told me earlier in the evening that she was quite sexually frustrated, although I didn’t know she was also into black guys. I suppose being in to black guys would help if you’re a single person stationed in Africa. For me, there was absolutely no eye candy. Even if I were single, there would be no one here to tempt me. The white gays, it seems, have long since fled. Can’t say I blame them, but still…it would be a long, lonely haul if were here permanently and single to boot. Anyway, Amy and Anne Marie are more open to interracial lovin’ than I am, and they both had a good time. Amy even disappeared to the “bathroom” for about an hour, and we were ready to go, and she was still missing. We didn’t leave until we had hunted her down though. I don’t know why she lied; she could have easily told us she was going to hook up and we would not have worried. But just disappearing in Africa is not smart. We found them, and they had taken Amy’s car off to “see the sights”. See the sights, indeed. We know what they were doing, and nothing to do with sights outside of what was in the car! J
I called Richard again to share my horror of the pregnant girls, and then went to sleep. I spent Sunday being lazy again. It was nice. I just read, watched movies on TV, and relaxed. I called my grandma too since she had not heard from me in a while. The shower actually had water pressure, so I was able to take a REAL shower!!! I was so happy J I made the “Mince Mate” (Hamburger Helper equivalent) for dinner and it was really good! It tasted like chili, which is something else I miss from home. I’ll have to get that again.
I also noticed that I've been here in Harare for 4 weeks now! That means I'm halfway done with my time here, and it's all downhill until I head back to Atlanta on Friday, August 20.
More on Zimbabwe's Political Situation
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe is mulling a law to bar foreign human rights groups and block foreign funding for local bodies working in political governance-related issues, including human rights, according to a draft seen by Reuters on Friday.
One aid worker said this would close many rights groups.
President Robert Mugabe, who accuses some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of working with Western countries to undermine his government, said this week Zimbabwe planned a law to "ensure rationalization of the macro-management of all NGOs."
"We cannot allow them to be conduits or instruments of foreign interference in our national affairs," he said.
The bill has not been officially published, but the draft said all NGOs would have to register with a state council and no foreign organization could operate "if its sole or principal objects involve or include issues of governance."
It defined these as "the promotion and protection of human rights and political governance issues."
"No local government organization shall receive any foreign funding or donation to carry out activities involving or including issues of governance," the draft said.
An official with a leading NGO who declined to be identified said the bill in its current form was likely to see the closure of many rights groups in the same way media laws enacted in 2002 had led to some publishing houses being forced to shut down.
"It would be impossible for any organization to operate without foreign funding," he told Reuters.
The bill can be amended before initial publication and would need to be approved by parliament, in which Mugabe's ZANU-PF party enjoys a comfortable majority, before passing into law.
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, accuses Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler of leading a Western campaign to oust him over his government's seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.
He denies the land seizures are responsible for food shortages which have plagued the country since 2001, and says some foreign aid agencies have used what he calls a drought-induced crisis to push a political agenda under the guise of food distribution.
One aid worker said this would close many rights groups.
President Robert Mugabe, who accuses some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of working with Western countries to undermine his government, said this week Zimbabwe planned a law to "ensure rationalization of the macro-management of all NGOs."
"We cannot allow them to be conduits or instruments of foreign interference in our national affairs," he said.
The bill has not been officially published, but the draft said all NGOs would have to register with a state council and no foreign organization could operate "if its sole or principal objects involve or include issues of governance."
It defined these as "the promotion and protection of human rights and political governance issues."
"No local government organization shall receive any foreign funding or donation to carry out activities involving or including issues of governance," the draft said.
An official with a leading NGO who declined to be identified said the bill in its current form was likely to see the closure of many rights groups in the same way media laws enacted in 2002 had led to some publishing houses being forced to shut down.
"It would be impossible for any organization to operate without foreign funding," he told Reuters.
The bill can be amended before initial publication and would need to be approved by parliament, in which Mugabe's ZANU-PF party enjoys a comfortable majority, before passing into law.
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, accuses Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler of leading a Western campaign to oust him over his government's seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.
He denies the land seizures are responsible for food shortages which have plagued the country since 2001, and says some foreign aid agencies have used what he calls a drought-induced crisis to push a political agenda under the guise of food distribution.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Too Damn Old for This!
Thursday - July 22, 2004
The day went by fairly quickly. We're mostly gearing up for some allotments to expire at the end of the month. This involves taking charges on non-expiring allotments (think money in a bank account) and moving them to the expiring allotments so that we use up the money. That's what I mean when I talk about how it has the appearance of money laundering when we move things around like this. It's perfectly legal though and quite accepted as a method of business.
After work, I had Eddie take me to Spar, so I could stock up on Tomato Soup! I also found the Zimbabwe equivalent of hamburger helper, which they call "mince mate" here. Mince is the term they use for ground beef. So I got one of those. I then went home and hung out with Pet for a while, waiting for Trent to come by and pick me up for the movie around 7pm.
Well, Trent was late. Really late. In fact, he sent some girl named Heather to pick me up. We met each other and she took me to the movie theatre. Problem was that the 8:30pm showing of The Passion of the Christ was replaced by the premier of "Cheaper by the Dozen". Whoops. Turns out a pretty big crowd showed up. It was myself, Trent, Amy, Heather, Skip (marine who looks like Joey from Friends), Pamela (black girl from states whose parents live/work in Zimbabwe while she attends Arizona State), and Pamela's roommate whose name escapes me but is an Argentine native.
We ate at this woodfire pizza place, which was really good. Then we decided to head out to this pub called Keg. It's apparently a local chain in Harare, and quite popular with the white crowd. We showed up and boom, another white majority. It's so funny how that happens here, especially with as few white people as there are. Anyway, another crowd was there, and we drank and socialized. They bought this HUGE beer funnel with a tap on it that provided drinks for about 2 hours.
At one point, Trent was going to lick his fingers and stick it in the head of his beer to make it go away. Well, he shoved his first two fingers all the way to the knuckle without a thought. We were quite shocked that he could do that without gagging. Then we remarked on how big Trent's mouth is. They asked if he could put his fist in his mouth, but he couldn't. However, Pamela went to the bathroom to wash her hands and see if her hands fit in his mouth! She ended up dipping her hand in beer, and sure enough, Trent was able to take Pamela's entire fist in his mouth. I was pretty impressed, but some of the girls made comments about that being a useless talent unless you were a girl. I countered that it actually showed a spirit of adventure that could be quite positive for any female sex partner of Trent's. This suggestion of it being gay came from Heather, who had some drama.
Apparently, Heather is 25 and divorcing her husband. Well, she wants alimony, and her soon-to-be-ex husband is refusing to sign the papers. They ahd a heated phone call, and she was sour the rest of the night. What I didn't know was that she and Trent hooked up when they first met. They fucked within a day or so of meeting, so for him, it was a trick. For a lady going through a divorce, it was more complicated. She wanted to have a relationship and be boyfriend/girlfriend. Trent won't go for that while he's on this rotation of embassies over the next few years. Heather was text messaging him most of the evening while we were at the Marine House after the pub, ranting about how he ignored her, what a jerk he was, etc. Also, he has a girl in Canada that he met over the Internet but has not met face-to-face. He thinks this Canadian girl could be his dream woman because she says all the right things, etc. I cautioned him about internet romances and how they are almost never based in reality. You have to spend time with a person to really know them. Lord knows I was lead down that merry path a few times when I first came out.
Anyway, after the pub, we all went back to the Marine House to watch a movie. It was pretty late, but I thought what the heck. It was 11, and I could be home around 1am. But when we go there, we played some cards, played some pool, and then watched the movie. During this time, Trent pulled me aside for a "heart to heart" and told me about the girl in Canada and also said he liked me for the person I am. Turns out he has a good friend from high school who is gay, so he totally clocked me. He thinks it's wicked cool, and fancies himself as a metrosexual. Not in the getup he had on last night, but that's another story :) I admitted it, and all was fine. At least I don't need to worry about his reaction or him thinking I'm trying to get into his pants.
Anyway, Trent, myself, the Argentine, and Pamela watched the movie Dawn of the Dead. The movie studios provide movies for free to the armed forces. Pretty cool! Pamela was tired, so she passed out. Trent and the Argentine behaved until the end of the movie, at which point, he just started making out with her. Now, they knew I was not only awake, but sitting on the same couch. I got up and moved around while the movie rewound. Next thing I know, Trent is on top of this Argentine girl (who I noticed earlier had brought CONDOMS with her!). Pamela was out like a light on the couch, but I was wide awake and just knew I was about to watch these two fuck right in front of me!!! But, the Argentine put the breaks on it after a while. Trent didn't understand how he could be turned down. He apparently doesn't get turned down normally. I said most girls usually didn't want to get fucked in front of other people. Just a guess, you know.
I admit that I lost a little respect for Trent because of this. It's just rude to try to score in front of other people, especially when you want to go all the way! I'm not sure if he considers me a gay novelty or what, but he's nice enough. He's turning 22 next week too, so he's just as young as the other marines. I was the troll of the group at 29. I got dropped off at 3am, and called Richard and then went to bed. I had to tell him the story and what I'd almost witnessed. Then I just went to sleep, knowing without a doubt that I'm too damn old to be going out like this on a work night!
The day went by fairly quickly. We're mostly gearing up for some allotments to expire at the end of the month. This involves taking charges on non-expiring allotments (think money in a bank account) and moving them to the expiring allotments so that we use up the money. That's what I mean when I talk about how it has the appearance of money laundering when we move things around like this. It's perfectly legal though and quite accepted as a method of business.
After work, I had Eddie take me to Spar, so I could stock up on Tomato Soup! I also found the Zimbabwe equivalent of hamburger helper, which they call "mince mate" here. Mince is the term they use for ground beef. So I got one of those. I then went home and hung out with Pet for a while, waiting for Trent to come by and pick me up for the movie around 7pm.
Well, Trent was late. Really late. In fact, he sent some girl named Heather to pick me up. We met each other and she took me to the movie theatre. Problem was that the 8:30pm showing of The Passion of the Christ was replaced by the premier of "Cheaper by the Dozen". Whoops. Turns out a pretty big crowd showed up. It was myself, Trent, Amy, Heather, Skip (marine who looks like Joey from Friends), Pamela (black girl from states whose parents live/work in Zimbabwe while she attends Arizona State), and Pamela's roommate whose name escapes me but is an Argentine native.
We ate at this woodfire pizza place, which was really good. Then we decided to head out to this pub called Keg. It's apparently a local chain in Harare, and quite popular with the white crowd. We showed up and boom, another white majority. It's so funny how that happens here, especially with as few white people as there are. Anyway, another crowd was there, and we drank and socialized. They bought this HUGE beer funnel with a tap on it that provided drinks for about 2 hours.
At one point, Trent was going to lick his fingers and stick it in the head of his beer to make it go away. Well, he shoved his first two fingers all the way to the knuckle without a thought. We were quite shocked that he could do that without gagging. Then we remarked on how big Trent's mouth is. They asked if he could put his fist in his mouth, but he couldn't. However, Pamela went to the bathroom to wash her hands and see if her hands fit in his mouth! She ended up dipping her hand in beer, and sure enough, Trent was able to take Pamela's entire fist in his mouth. I was pretty impressed, but some of the girls made comments about that being a useless talent unless you were a girl. I countered that it actually showed a spirit of adventure that could be quite positive for any female sex partner of Trent's. This suggestion of it being gay came from Heather, who had some drama.
Apparently, Heather is 25 and divorcing her husband. Well, she wants alimony, and her soon-to-be-ex husband is refusing to sign the papers. They ahd a heated phone call, and she was sour the rest of the night. What I didn't know was that she and Trent hooked up when they first met. They fucked within a day or so of meeting, so for him, it was a trick. For a lady going through a divorce, it was more complicated. She wanted to have a relationship and be boyfriend/girlfriend. Trent won't go for that while he's on this rotation of embassies over the next few years. Heather was text messaging him most of the evening while we were at the Marine House after the pub, ranting about how he ignored her, what a jerk he was, etc. Also, he has a girl in Canada that he met over the Internet but has not met face-to-face. He thinks this Canadian girl could be his dream woman because she says all the right things, etc. I cautioned him about internet romances and how they are almost never based in reality. You have to spend time with a person to really know them. Lord knows I was lead down that merry path a few times when I first came out.
Anyway, after the pub, we all went back to the Marine House to watch a movie. It was pretty late, but I thought what the heck. It was 11, and I could be home around 1am. But when we go there, we played some cards, played some pool, and then watched the movie. During this time, Trent pulled me aside for a "heart to heart" and told me about the girl in Canada and also said he liked me for the person I am. Turns out he has a good friend from high school who is gay, so he totally clocked me. He thinks it's wicked cool, and fancies himself as a metrosexual. Not in the getup he had on last night, but that's another story :) I admitted it, and all was fine. At least I don't need to worry about his reaction or him thinking I'm trying to get into his pants.
Anyway, Trent, myself, the Argentine, and Pamela watched the movie Dawn of the Dead. The movie studios provide movies for free to the armed forces. Pretty cool! Pamela was tired, so she passed out. Trent and the Argentine behaved until the end of the movie, at which point, he just started making out with her. Now, they knew I was not only awake, but sitting on the same couch. I got up and moved around while the movie rewound. Next thing I know, Trent is on top of this Argentine girl (who I noticed earlier had brought CONDOMS with her!). Pamela was out like a light on the couch, but I was wide awake and just knew I was about to watch these two fuck right in front of me!!! But, the Argentine put the breaks on it after a while. Trent didn't understand how he could be turned down. He apparently doesn't get turned down normally. I said most girls usually didn't want to get fucked in front of other people. Just a guess, you know.
I admit that I lost a little respect for Trent because of this. It's just rude to try to score in front of other people, especially when you want to go all the way! I'm not sure if he considers me a gay novelty or what, but he's nice enough. He's turning 22 next week too, so he's just as young as the other marines. I was the troll of the group at 29. I got dropped off at 3am, and called Richard and then went to bed. I had to tell him the story and what I'd almost witnessed. Then I just went to sleep, knowing without a doubt that I'm too damn old to be going out like this on a work night!
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Hump Day!
Wednesday - July 21, 2004
Most of today, I spent preparing for the Measles Partnership call. There was a minor drama concerning that, as well. Annick did not read the proper context into Steve Sosler’s report from Chad, and felt that the lab was being blamed for delays in the Chadian measles campaign. Far from it, Steve was only mentioning that no one knew how to work or install a new ELISA machine, and until they did, there was no way to know if the machine worked properly. Annick’s first language is French, and she does OK in English, but struggles with it. Especially when you get into subtle nuances of meaning and context. I warned Steve about it before the call, so he was ready. It’s kind of fun being a “spy” for CDC while here. I was the first one to notify CDC of the measles outbreak in Eritrea, even though a fellow CDCer was the one who told me. I suppose permanent assignees to WHO really do shed their CDC skin for the most part. Not me! My salary is paid by the people of the United States, and my loyalty remains with them. If I find useful information for CDC, I will pass it along. I may do it quietly, but I will do it. J
I had to prepare the 2005 proposal for immunization campaigns in Africa today as well. I managed to send it to a bunch of CDC assignees at different agencies. We really do control this initiative ultimately, it appears. I finished it on time, as Casey had done most of the preparation work. I had to rework the format from Robert’s instructions, but we are moving forward.
The measles partnership call went well. I had received a late update from West Africa (big surprise there), so I had to give it verbally. Otherwise, things went smoothly in the call, and it ended in 45 minutes, which was a record for brevity. I received an email from CDC telling me that I’d done a good job preparing for the call, and that they were hearing positive things about my work here. That makes me feel really good. I knew I was going what I was supposed to, but it’s nice to have some sort of feedback. My main goal coming here was to not embarrass myself or CDC. It looks like I’m on my way to accomplishing that goal and surpassing it.
Went to the gym after work for a quick workout and shower before Yinka and Moffat came over to Pet’s for dinner. I always feel better after having gone to the gym, especially getting a shower. I ended up talking with this British guy in the sauna who works with non-profits. Very interesting fellow. Apparently, his wife sent him to the gym to lose some weight and work out his frustrations from work. He said that they didn’t have water at all, so things could always be worse for me!
The dinner was fantastic. Pet went all out. We started with a soup that was just like what we had on Saturday for lunch. Very good soup. It reminds me of a thick Rahmen noodle soup. We then had spaghetti, meatballs, rice, ox tails (exactly what it sounds like), and a meat that I wasn’t sure what it is, but it was good so I ate it. I tried the ox tail, but I couldn’t stomach it. They literally chop the tail off an ox, and you just suck the meat and fat off the bone. At least that is what everyone did but myself. I tried the meat, and it reminded me of roast beef. There was so much fat and stuff that I couldn’t continue. Yinka and the others literally stripped their tail bones of all attachments. They all loved it. I like everything else though, and ate a couple of helpings. For dessert, Yinka had made these toffee brownies, which were DELICIOUS. By then it was 9:30pm, and it was time for everyone to depart.
I read a bit, and then watched the start of this soft porn movie that was on the TV. I couldn’t believe it. Obviously, Pet was not up watching TV! It was called “Bare Betrayal” or something like that. It was about this radio talk show host who sets up dates on the air. Well, her boyfriend/manager is meeting these girls, having sex with them, and killing them. All in an effort to boost ratings. Every 5 minutes, there would be this explicit sex scene with women who had fake boobs. It got to be too much, so I turned it off. Now I’m ready for sleep.
Most of today, I spent preparing for the Measles Partnership call. There was a minor drama concerning that, as well. Annick did not read the proper context into Steve Sosler’s report from Chad, and felt that the lab was being blamed for delays in the Chadian measles campaign. Far from it, Steve was only mentioning that no one knew how to work or install a new ELISA machine, and until they did, there was no way to know if the machine worked properly. Annick’s first language is French, and she does OK in English, but struggles with it. Especially when you get into subtle nuances of meaning and context. I warned Steve about it before the call, so he was ready. It’s kind of fun being a “spy” for CDC while here. I was the first one to notify CDC of the measles outbreak in Eritrea, even though a fellow CDCer was the one who told me. I suppose permanent assignees to WHO really do shed their CDC skin for the most part. Not me! My salary is paid by the people of the United States, and my loyalty remains with them. If I find useful information for CDC, I will pass it along. I may do it quietly, but I will do it. J
I had to prepare the 2005 proposal for immunization campaigns in Africa today as well. I managed to send it to a bunch of CDC assignees at different agencies. We really do control this initiative ultimately, it appears. I finished it on time, as Casey had done most of the preparation work. I had to rework the format from Robert’s instructions, but we are moving forward.
The measles partnership call went well. I had received a late update from West Africa (big surprise there), so I had to give it verbally. Otherwise, things went smoothly in the call, and it ended in 45 minutes, which was a record for brevity. I received an email from CDC telling me that I’d done a good job preparing for the call, and that they were hearing positive things about my work here. That makes me feel really good. I knew I was going what I was supposed to, but it’s nice to have some sort of feedback. My main goal coming here was to not embarrass myself or CDC. It looks like I’m on my way to accomplishing that goal and surpassing it.
Went to the gym after work for a quick workout and shower before Yinka and Moffat came over to Pet’s for dinner. I always feel better after having gone to the gym, especially getting a shower. I ended up talking with this British guy in the sauna who works with non-profits. Very interesting fellow. Apparently, his wife sent him to the gym to lose some weight and work out his frustrations from work. He said that they didn’t have water at all, so things could always be worse for me!
The dinner was fantastic. Pet went all out. We started with a soup that was just like what we had on Saturday for lunch. Very good soup. It reminds me of a thick Rahmen noodle soup. We then had spaghetti, meatballs, rice, ox tails (exactly what it sounds like), and a meat that I wasn’t sure what it is, but it was good so I ate it. I tried the ox tail, but I couldn’t stomach it. They literally chop the tail off an ox, and you just suck the meat and fat off the bone. At least that is what everyone did but myself. I tried the meat, and it reminded me of roast beef. There was so much fat and stuff that I couldn’t continue. Yinka and the others literally stripped their tail bones of all attachments. They all loved it. I like everything else though, and ate a couple of helpings. For dessert, Yinka had made these toffee brownies, which were DELICIOUS. By then it was 9:30pm, and it was time for everyone to depart.
I read a bit, and then watched the start of this soft porn movie that was on the TV. I couldn’t believe it. Obviously, Pet was not up watching TV! It was called “Bare Betrayal” or something like that. It was about this radio talk show host who sets up dates on the air. Well, her boyfriend/manager is meeting these girls, having sex with them, and killing them. All in an effort to boost ratings. Every 5 minutes, there would be this explicit sex scene with women who had fake boobs. It got to be too much, so I turned it off. Now I’m ready for sleep.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Primary Election Results in Georgia, USA
Wow, what an election in Georgia! First, I’m shocked and appalled that Cynthia McKinney slithered her way back into the winner’s circle. That racist bitch only campaigned in south DeKalb, and 10-1 we never see her above I-20 just like it was when she was in Congress before. I’m a little pissed that Majette opened the door to this comeback by jumping on the Senate race. However, I will vote for Majette in the runoff simply because I will not vote for a man who’s a known wife beater. I’m sorry, I just won’t do it, South Georgia roots or not. I think people underestimate Majette anyway, and she’ll be competitive in November. Don’t think she’ll win, but she’ll be competitive.
Another disappointment to me was the CEO race. Vernon Jones won it outright with 53% of the vote. Now he hasn’t been a bad CEO, but he’s a bully and an egomaniac. It’s also likely he’s a closet case, but that doesn’t matter to me. I don’t like arrogance in my public officials, and I at least wanted him to be taught a lesson by facing a run off. Like Cynthia McKinney, he only campaigned in South DeKalb. I know I’m a minority in my county, but please, at least show me the courtesy of showing up every now and again like you give a crap what I think.
That’s naïve, I know, but once again I’m stuck. I cannot and will not vote for Cynthia McKinney, just as I cannot vote for that right wing fanatic Catherine Davis the GOP is putting up. Cynthia McKinney is a racist of the worst sort. She doesn’t like white people, doesn’t like Jews, and won’t even talk to black folks whose skin tone is lighter than her own. Those dumbasses in South DeKalb have sent her back! I will likely do what I did in 2000; write my own name in for Congress. I refuse to just vote for the Democrat because they have the nomination, especially when that Democrat is as bad as Cynthia McKinney. It makes DeKalb look so STUPID!
Happily, Justice Leah Sears SPANKED the GOP lawyer trying to run her out of her Supreme Court seat. His campaign was fueled by the governor and by the Christian Taliban, headed by Sadie (Satan) Fields. This was going to be their big test vote for the gay marriage amendment in November. He ran against her saying she was “liberal” and an “activist” judge who favored gay marriage. But Justice Sears won with 66% of the vote. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it SADIE!
Another thing Sadie can smoke (and hopefully choke on) is the way incumbents who voted against the gay marriage amendment WON. Alicia Thomas Morgan, who moved me to literal tears when she spoke against the gay marriage ban not once but TWICE on the House floor, creamed her opponents and received 87% of the vote. Her opposition also ran against her based on the marriage amendment. But good won…decisively.
Oh, and the champions of the gay marriage amendment? Mike Crotts in the GA Senate went down to crushing defeat in his Congress race. He thought he’d ride gay marriage all the way to Congress. Wrong, pal. Lynn Westmoreland is also in a runoff for his Congressional race, and was the chief gay basher in the House.
My friend Mike Jacobs won 87% of the primary vote in his district. It’s not surprising considering all the effort her put into working the district. Now comes the tough part where he has run against the son (and namesake) of the former long time representative of the district.
For the first time, I’m really starting to think we could have a SHOT at beating this amendment in November. It may be a slim shot, but it’s a shot. I was terrified that the Sears race would be close or end up with her losing. That she creamed the anti-gay candidate despite the best attempts of Sadie Fields and the GOP establishment is stunning to me. I hope some of magic rubs off in the amendment fight.
Another disappointment to me was the CEO race. Vernon Jones won it outright with 53% of the vote. Now he hasn’t been a bad CEO, but he’s a bully and an egomaniac. It’s also likely he’s a closet case, but that doesn’t matter to me. I don’t like arrogance in my public officials, and I at least wanted him to be taught a lesson by facing a run off. Like Cynthia McKinney, he only campaigned in South DeKalb. I know I’m a minority in my county, but please, at least show me the courtesy of showing up every now and again like you give a crap what I think.
That’s naïve, I know, but once again I’m stuck. I cannot and will not vote for Cynthia McKinney, just as I cannot vote for that right wing fanatic Catherine Davis the GOP is putting up. Cynthia McKinney is a racist of the worst sort. She doesn’t like white people, doesn’t like Jews, and won’t even talk to black folks whose skin tone is lighter than her own. Those dumbasses in South DeKalb have sent her back! I will likely do what I did in 2000; write my own name in for Congress. I refuse to just vote for the Democrat because they have the nomination, especially when that Democrat is as bad as Cynthia McKinney. It makes DeKalb look so STUPID!
Happily, Justice Leah Sears SPANKED the GOP lawyer trying to run her out of her Supreme Court seat. His campaign was fueled by the governor and by the Christian Taliban, headed by Sadie (Satan) Fields. This was going to be their big test vote for the gay marriage amendment in November. He ran against her saying she was “liberal” and an “activist” judge who favored gay marriage. But Justice Sears won with 66% of the vote. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it SADIE!
Another thing Sadie can smoke (and hopefully choke on) is the way incumbents who voted against the gay marriage amendment WON. Alicia Thomas Morgan, who moved me to literal tears when she spoke against the gay marriage ban not once but TWICE on the House floor, creamed her opponents and received 87% of the vote. Her opposition also ran against her based on the marriage amendment. But good won…decisively.
Oh, and the champions of the gay marriage amendment? Mike Crotts in the GA Senate went down to crushing defeat in his Congress race. He thought he’d ride gay marriage all the way to Congress. Wrong, pal. Lynn Westmoreland is also in a runoff for his Congressional race, and was the chief gay basher in the House.
My friend Mike Jacobs won 87% of the primary vote in his district. It’s not surprising considering all the effort her put into working the district. Now comes the tough part where he has run against the son (and namesake) of the former long time representative of the district.
For the first time, I’m really starting to think we could have a SHOT at beating this amendment in November. It may be a slim shot, but it’s a shot. I was terrified that the Sears race would be close or end up with her losing. That she creamed the anti-gay candidate despite the best attempts of Sadie Fields and the GOP establishment is stunning to me. I hope some of magic rubs off in the amendment fight.
What a LOOOOOOOONG Day!
Tuesday – July 20, 2004
Primary Day in Georgia. I cast my vote before I left, but I still miss the excitement of election day. I had some trouble refilling the calling card that I bought Richard for use during my trip. Although I’d already successfully used the cards once, trying to refill encountered another round of “verification”. While I appreciate the security measures, they were a pain in my behind since they would only verify to US phone numbers. So I had to call Richard in the middle of the night to warn him that he might be called for verification. Luckily, he was able to go back to bed and verify my purchase when he got up. At least now there should be enough minutes to last the rest of my trip.
Today was pretty slow and boring. Yinka was out most of the day tending to Everard, her new boyfriend from Bulawayo. He had hand surgery. Apparently, he had to show up at 10am, although the surgery wasn’t until 4pm. They gave him drugs in the meantime. I’m not sure the purpose of that, and it seems like an awful waste. Yinka told me last night, he’s in severe pain from the pins they’ve put in his hand to straighten out the bones. They apparently don’t give pain meds here. No thank you. If I was stationed here and needed surgery, I’d get my butt back home to the good ol’ USA where they use lots of powerful drugs and where sanitary conditions are standard. I wouldn’t trust a hospital here, especially if I was going to be cut open. Talk about infection risk, and I’m not just talking about bacteria. With HIV being as rampant as it is, I’d need all sorts of assurances that proper procedures were used.
I heard from Trent today on my way home. He was making sure I was still up for seeing Passion of the Christ on Thursday. I said sure. It was almost funny when Yinka called to ask if it was OK for him to have my number. She said, “Trent would like to call you and stuff.” If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she believed Trent was asking me on a date or something. Puh-lease. Still, it was funny when she asked. At this point, I’m like tell whomever you want what my phone number is. The more calls and invitations out I get, the better off I’ll be.
Africans really don’t handle cold well. I can’t even say cold, because the weather here is NOT cold. It’s chilly, but it starts in the mid 50s and gets into the mid 60s at least every day. But people around here are all bundled up like it’s 30F outside. Some of the secretaries wear winter coats and scarves in the office. And the office I share with Annick and the data management guy is constantly kept around 80F, because they are both “cold”. Even with the room stuffy, Annick is constantly drinking coffee to “warm up”. I mean, please! At least I’m not sweating like I usually do. I think it has to do with the fact there is no humidity here. With as hot as they keep the office, though, I’m surprised I don’t soak my undershirt and shirt every day.
Had dinner with Pet and her family again. It was pretty good. They had some kind of mashed potato concoction that contained potatoes, cheese, and meat. I actually didn’t mind it. They had this chili-like gravy to go with it that I heaped on the potatoes and made it edible for me. We also had some vegetables and salad. They eat pretty well, and I’ve noticed that Pet and her family are likely to be in the upper echelon of Zimbabwean families. Definitely upper middle class.
Pet’s having a hell of a time getting a visa to visit South Africa. Luckily, Morris is from South Africa, so I believe he has a passport from there. But Pet and their son Kirk cannot get one to save their lives. They have to get the visa at the South African embassy in Harare and they must pay Rand for it. As an American, I can just fly into South Africa and automatically get my visa at entry. They have to fill out all this paperwork, pay money, and even then, they can be refused. I guess it’s a way to make sure Zimbabwean refugees don’t flood South Africa, but still. It’s very sad. I wonder if it’s as difficult to get into Zimbabwe’s other neighboring countries? If it is, the people here are trapped.
I called my grandparents too, since they were worried about me. My grandma was working at the nursing home so I got to talk to Papa. He sounded really glad to hear from me, so they really must have been worried. We had a nice chat, and he's busy bottling up this year's stock of blackberry wine. YUM! :) I'll need to call Grandma this weekend.
I got a call from Richard pretty late. I was glad he called even if he work me up. I was feeling a bit lonely, and it was good to hear his voice. He told me about his test scores for the End of Course Test (EOCT) which Georgia ties to the teacher to show results. So while Luella High only had a 69% passage rate for US History, Richard’s kids passed at a rate of 90%! I think we know who the star teacher in US History is, and he even had two sections of “regular” kids last year. This year, he’s got all honors and AP, so he’s shooting for 100% passage. Even kids who had him part of the year but moved to another class did much better on the subject matter that they had him for than after they left his classroom. We need more teachers like Richard.
Primary Day in Georgia. I cast my vote before I left, but I still miss the excitement of election day. I had some trouble refilling the calling card that I bought Richard for use during my trip. Although I’d already successfully used the cards once, trying to refill encountered another round of “verification”. While I appreciate the security measures, they were a pain in my behind since they would only verify to US phone numbers. So I had to call Richard in the middle of the night to warn him that he might be called for verification. Luckily, he was able to go back to bed and verify my purchase when he got up. At least now there should be enough minutes to last the rest of my trip.
Today was pretty slow and boring. Yinka was out most of the day tending to Everard, her new boyfriend from Bulawayo. He had hand surgery. Apparently, he had to show up at 10am, although the surgery wasn’t until 4pm. They gave him drugs in the meantime. I’m not sure the purpose of that, and it seems like an awful waste. Yinka told me last night, he’s in severe pain from the pins they’ve put in his hand to straighten out the bones. They apparently don’t give pain meds here. No thank you. If I was stationed here and needed surgery, I’d get my butt back home to the good ol’ USA where they use lots of powerful drugs and where sanitary conditions are standard. I wouldn’t trust a hospital here, especially if I was going to be cut open. Talk about infection risk, and I’m not just talking about bacteria. With HIV being as rampant as it is, I’d need all sorts of assurances that proper procedures were used.
I heard from Trent today on my way home. He was making sure I was still up for seeing Passion of the Christ on Thursday. I said sure. It was almost funny when Yinka called to ask if it was OK for him to have my number. She said, “Trent would like to call you and stuff.” If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she believed Trent was asking me on a date or something. Puh-lease. Still, it was funny when she asked. At this point, I’m like tell whomever you want what my phone number is. The more calls and invitations out I get, the better off I’ll be.
Africans really don’t handle cold well. I can’t even say cold, because the weather here is NOT cold. It’s chilly, but it starts in the mid 50s and gets into the mid 60s at least every day. But people around here are all bundled up like it’s 30F outside. Some of the secretaries wear winter coats and scarves in the office. And the office I share with Annick and the data management guy is constantly kept around 80F, because they are both “cold”. Even with the room stuffy, Annick is constantly drinking coffee to “warm up”. I mean, please! At least I’m not sweating like I usually do. I think it has to do with the fact there is no humidity here. With as hot as they keep the office, though, I’m surprised I don’t soak my undershirt and shirt every day.
Had dinner with Pet and her family again. It was pretty good. They had some kind of mashed potato concoction that contained potatoes, cheese, and meat. I actually didn’t mind it. They had this chili-like gravy to go with it that I heaped on the potatoes and made it edible for me. We also had some vegetables and salad. They eat pretty well, and I’ve noticed that Pet and her family are likely to be in the upper echelon of Zimbabwean families. Definitely upper middle class.
Pet’s having a hell of a time getting a visa to visit South Africa. Luckily, Morris is from South Africa, so I believe he has a passport from there. But Pet and their son Kirk cannot get one to save their lives. They have to get the visa at the South African embassy in Harare and they must pay Rand for it. As an American, I can just fly into South Africa and automatically get my visa at entry. They have to fill out all this paperwork, pay money, and even then, they can be refused. I guess it’s a way to make sure Zimbabwean refugees don’t flood South Africa, but still. It’s very sad. I wonder if it’s as difficult to get into Zimbabwe’s other neighboring countries? If it is, the people here are trapped.
I called my grandparents too, since they were worried about me. My grandma was working at the nursing home so I got to talk to Papa. He sounded really glad to hear from me, so they really must have been worried. We had a nice chat, and he's busy bottling up this year's stock of blackberry wine. YUM! :) I'll need to call Grandma this weekend.
I got a call from Richard pretty late. I was glad he called even if he work me up. I was feeling a bit lonely, and it was good to hear his voice. He told me about his test scores for the End of Course Test (EOCT) which Georgia ties to the teacher to show results. So while Luella High only had a 69% passage rate for US History, Richard’s kids passed at a rate of 90%! I think we know who the star teacher in US History is, and he even had two sections of “regular” kids last year. This year, he’s got all honors and AP, so he’s shooting for 100% passage. Even kids who had him part of the year but moved to another class did much better on the subject matter that they had him for than after they left his classroom. We need more teachers like Richard.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
A Key Difference Politically
Just had the opportunity to peruse the 2004 Democratic Platform. It is an excellent document and half of it is devoted to the war on terrorism and national security matters. At the end, it gets into social issues. On page 36 of the 2004 Democratic National Platform Committee Report, the following sentence appears:
"We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families."
I cannot more succinctly state what the ultimate goal of the "gay rights" movement is all about. Despite what the hysterics on the right claim, the end of western civilization is not the goal...it is merely to be included in it. Unfortunately, this sentence will likely NEVER appear in a GOP platform, and certainly not this year. Hell will freeze over first before the GOP recognizes that LGBT citizens have any dignity as human beings whatsoever.
"We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families."
I cannot more succinctly state what the ultimate goal of the "gay rights" movement is all about. Despite what the hysterics on the right claim, the end of western civilization is not the goal...it is merely to be included in it. Unfortunately, this sentence will likely NEVER appear in a GOP platform, and certainly not this year. Hell will freeze over first before the GOP recognizes that LGBT citizens have any dignity as human beings whatsoever.
Frustration
Monday, July 19, 2004
Bad news awaited me in my mailbox this morning. Emma, the lady I’ve been working with to get a trip scheduled for Victoria Falls wrote back with bad news. Apparently, the ONLY flight to Vic Falls leaves at 9am on Friday, meaning I would have to skip work on Friday to go. From my pre-trip briefing, that is an impossibility and would be frowned upon by the powers that be. The only way I could do that would be to get permission from Leo to do so, even if it made Robert unhappy. With me being here such a short time, I’m not sure that permission will be forthcoming. So I’m screwed there. If that weren’t bad enough, the travel agency wanted me to pay in CASH. No wire transfer, certainly no credit cards (Zimbabweans don’t know what those are, apparently.), but cold, hard US dollars.
Can I just make the observation that a “cash only” economy SUCKS ASS?!?!? Pardon my French! I didn’t withdraw my entire advance for the trip because I never though I’d need it, and besides, carrying around $7K in cash was not my idea of a smart move. Besides, I thought for sure that my credit would be accepted at major establishments. WRONG! So most of my money is spoken for to pay for my room, board, and driver. That still leaves me plenty of spending money, but only if I can use credit cards or a wire transfer of money to pay for any trips. I can’t just be paying cash to head to Vic Falls or anywhere else! It makes me so angry, and it makes me feel trapped here. I have come all this way, and I’m not going to see crap outside of Harare. It’s a rip off, if you ask me. I’ve written Leo for some advice, but I haven’t heard from him. I wonder if he’s in the office right now or not. So here I am, stuck in Harare with no way to get out, and a credit card with a nice, fat limit that is useless to me.
I went to the gym again today and worked out. It was good, and I got to take a real shower too, which is always a treat. I find myself also looking for ways to NOT take a dump in the cottage since I know it won’t ever flush for me properly. I know I seem to harp on this, but it’s just so disgusting, and there’s nothing I can do about it! I don’t know why other toilets seem to work OK and mine doesn’t. Let’s not even mention the lack of shower water or water pressure. I can wash off in the kitchen sink, but that just seems WRONG to me. I’m going to have a spa day when I get back. I’ve not had one since I first took the bar exam in Virginia. I think after this ordeal of not being able to get a regular bath, I deserve a nice spa day. I’ll have Richard set it up for me for my return. I plan on taking a couple of days off anyway to recuperate. No way will I travel on a plane for 26 hours only to head to work within 48 hours.
I had more of my soup, which was nice. I’m so happy I found soup. I just need to get Eddie to take me to a Spar instead of those damn “Bon Marche” stores. I got to read more last night. The book I’m reading now is called “The Dwelling” and it’s a bit difficult to get into, but I’m plowing through. It’s not like I have loads of alternative reading.
Good news today, though! I got an email from Casey telling me where to find her PUK code. Yinka and I went to her house at lunch and it worked!! I have a cell phone that works now!! Yippee! I can now give and receive calls…so very happy. Amazing how just having a cell phone can be such an uplifting thing.
I’m really not as unhappy as today’s entry probably reads. I’m just frustrated with my inability to travel around on weekends and see things that people tell me I have to see. Yet I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Having the prospect of travel ripped from me, I find myself feeling trapped and anxious to get home. At least there, I can use credit cards, and I can travel wherever the hell I want whenever the hell I want! It’s the helplessness that I feel right now that grates on me. I pray it will pass.
Bad news awaited me in my mailbox this morning. Emma, the lady I’ve been working with to get a trip scheduled for Victoria Falls wrote back with bad news. Apparently, the ONLY flight to Vic Falls leaves at 9am on Friday, meaning I would have to skip work on Friday to go. From my pre-trip briefing, that is an impossibility and would be frowned upon by the powers that be. The only way I could do that would be to get permission from Leo to do so, even if it made Robert unhappy. With me being here such a short time, I’m not sure that permission will be forthcoming. So I’m screwed there. If that weren’t bad enough, the travel agency wanted me to pay in CASH. No wire transfer, certainly no credit cards (Zimbabweans don’t know what those are, apparently.), but cold, hard US dollars.
Can I just make the observation that a “cash only” economy SUCKS ASS?!?!? Pardon my French! I didn’t withdraw my entire advance for the trip because I never though I’d need it, and besides, carrying around $7K in cash was not my idea of a smart move. Besides, I thought for sure that my credit would be accepted at major establishments. WRONG! So most of my money is spoken for to pay for my room, board, and driver. That still leaves me plenty of spending money, but only if I can use credit cards or a wire transfer of money to pay for any trips. I can’t just be paying cash to head to Vic Falls or anywhere else! It makes me so angry, and it makes me feel trapped here. I have come all this way, and I’m not going to see crap outside of Harare. It’s a rip off, if you ask me. I’ve written Leo for some advice, but I haven’t heard from him. I wonder if he’s in the office right now or not. So here I am, stuck in Harare with no way to get out, and a credit card with a nice, fat limit that is useless to me.
I went to the gym again today and worked out. It was good, and I got to take a real shower too, which is always a treat. I find myself also looking for ways to NOT take a dump in the cottage since I know it won’t ever flush for me properly. I know I seem to harp on this, but it’s just so disgusting, and there’s nothing I can do about it! I don’t know why other toilets seem to work OK and mine doesn’t. Let’s not even mention the lack of shower water or water pressure. I can wash off in the kitchen sink, but that just seems WRONG to me. I’m going to have a spa day when I get back. I’ve not had one since I first took the bar exam in Virginia. I think after this ordeal of not being able to get a regular bath, I deserve a nice spa day. I’ll have Richard set it up for me for my return. I plan on taking a couple of days off anyway to recuperate. No way will I travel on a plane for 26 hours only to head to work within 48 hours.
I had more of my soup, which was nice. I’m so happy I found soup. I just need to get Eddie to take me to a Spar instead of those damn “Bon Marche” stores. I got to read more last night. The book I’m reading now is called “The Dwelling” and it’s a bit difficult to get into, but I’m plowing through. It’s not like I have loads of alternative reading.
Good news today, though! I got an email from Casey telling me where to find her PUK code. Yinka and I went to her house at lunch and it worked!! I have a cell phone that works now!! Yippee! I can now give and receive calls…so very happy. Amazing how just having a cell phone can be such an uplifting thing.
I’m really not as unhappy as today’s entry probably reads. I’m just frustrated with my inability to travel around on weekends and see things that people tell me I have to see. Yet I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Having the prospect of travel ripped from me, I find myself feeling trapped and anxious to get home. At least there, I can use credit cards, and I can travel wherever the hell I want whenever the hell I want! It’s the helplessness that I feel right now that grates on me. I pray it will pass.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Decent Weekend
Friday, July 16, 2004 -- Sunday, July 18, 2004
I thought that I’d write weekend updates as a block rather than do a daily write up. I end up writing all them on a Sunday anyway, so why pretend otherwise? J Friday was a regular short day at work. Richard called me just after I got up which meant he was up at 1am Atlanta time. He was cleaning the house like mad so it would be clean when my mom got there.
I had some requests for money to be sent various places, and I also had to send a note to Khadija who runs the routine program for the AFRO region. She had been running this scheme to borrow money from one donor’s pot of money and use it to pay for routine immunization programs in Congo and Cameroon. When measles money became available, those expenditures would be “moved” the measles allotment. This sort of money management is common at WHO. Well, the money became available just as it was going out of the Cancida (Canada’s international aid agency) pot of money. Khadija decided she wanted to make the $400,000 US go further than it would if it repaid the $70K that was sent to the two countries. So even though it’s not in the budget, she wants to leave the charges in Cancida and use the extra $70k to partially fund Togo’s program. Robert is not keen on partially funding programs, so I’m playing interference. Yinka thought I should talk to her directly, but I don’t really know this woman well, and I knew it was going to make her mad, in which case, her non-native English was likely to deteriorate. Besides, there’s not much I can do other than report what Robert said to me. He also wanted me to tell her kindly that she can’t keep changing her mind about how the money is to be spent. So I wrote her an email. Who knows how that will go over, but this is between her and Robert anyway. Robert doesn’t like her, and the feeling seems to be mutual. Even Yinka finds this lady difficult to deal with. If it comes to it, I’ll just sic Robert on her, even though he’s warned me that he’ll be nasty to her. Gotta love office drama, especially when it has tribal and national undertones to it. So much in African offices is driven by tribe, not race. There’s some nationalism involved too, but that is secondary to who belongs to which tribe. I suppose the US’s race-based problems seem simplistic and silly to them as their tribalism does to me.
I spent the evening Friday with Pet and some of her friends. This was Jamie’s family, who is a friend of Kirk’s. Apparently, they were really close in elementary and middle school, but now they go to different high schools, and Kirk’s been kind of distancing himself. His parents think this is wrong, especially since Jamie really works to keep in touch, so they’ve been hanging out more in the last couple of weeks. Jamie’s a neat kid, albeit quiet. He’s white, like most of Kirk’s friends, and he’s just a couple of months shy of being 14. He apparently lost a lot of weight in the last couple of years from what he told me. There’s something about him that I can’t put my finger on, but it could be that he’s gay. If it’s true, it’s not something he’s going to be overtly aware of anytime soon. This is first time my gaydar has gone off with a young person, and being in Zimbabwe, I feel badly for him. Being gay here is not a good thing, and if he does turn out to be gay, he will be miserable unless he goes back to his mother’s native Britain.
Anyway, Jamie’s two sisters and his mom joined myself, Kirk, Pet, Morris, and their friend Moffat. He’s another colored guy who shaves his head and could pass for white in some areas. Interesting character, but very nice. We all had dinner, which was really good. I introduced them to fuzzy navels, which they’d never thought to mix. It was a huge hit. Jamie’s mother is interesting. She divorced his father a few years ago, and he has since remarried. I don’t think she’s remarried though. She’s British by background, but has lived in Zimbabwe for the last 16 years. With all the troubles here, she still likes it and doesn’t want to leave.
They gave me an interesting perspective on the political scene here. It is apparently illegal to mention Robert Mugabe by name in public since you are likely to be criticizing him. So people call him “Uncle Bob” or “Old Bob” when discussing him. His communist ideology lies with Mao from China. It explains a lot about how he runs the country. Even though many of Mao’s reforms, like the “Cultural Revolution” were horrible failures, Mugabe refuses to learn from the lessons of history. All those bodies that were found a couple of weeks ago in a mine shaft are likely the result of Mugabe’s massacre of the opposition in the early 1980s. He apparently killed thousands around the Bulawayo region because of tribal rivalry. In that part of Zimbabwe, the Ndbele are the primary tribe, with the rest of the country largely Shona. Mugabe is Shona, so he massacred the Ndbele in order to solidify power.
They also shared with me how Mugabe uses the voting system to intimidate and cheat elections. In the rural areas, they tell people that are hidden cameras in the voting booth that record how each person votes. This is not true, but anyone who tells the truth that the voting is by secret ballot gets beaten or killed. They also put in serious delays to drive people from the voting place. Morris told me it took him 16 hours to cast his vote in the last elections. They also “lose” registration, which is a common problem in the USA too. It just horrifying to me that people are forced to live like this, especially with all the economic problems and the coming starvation crisis.
I got to talk to Mom and Richard around midnight Friday when I returned from the cabin. We had a great connection, so we could hear each other well. She arrived safely and really liked the porch enclosure. She and Richard were going to have dinner and look for an egg crate cushion to put on the bed upstairs to soften up the mattress. The boards make it too hard, but she needs them for support. She also found out that her tires are almost bald, so she needed to get new ones. I told her where to buy them the next day.
I got to sleep in Saturday which was nice. I hung out with Pet and her family all day, and even went on a trip downtown with Pet, Kirk and Jamie. We went to the ghetto part of town to a Muslim butcher to get the Zimbabwe version of beef jerky. It wasn’t bad; very salty though. Just like beef jerky, except it’s not smoked, but dried. It especially tastes good when heated in the microwave. I refused to eat the chunks of fat on the end, though, even though Pet said it was the best part. I don’t think so. I don’t eat gristle at home, and I’m not about to start here.
It was surreal being in the middle of ghetto downtown Harare. We were locked in the truck, and people would come by and look in our windows to see if there was anything they wanted to steal. One lady hung out by the back tires of the truck, sorting her bags, and I caught her looking underneath the rear bumper. Kirk said she was looking for a spare tire. It was bizarre. No one tried to do anything. Still, it didn’t feel very safe. Pet apparently likes to go to these parts of town every now and then.
We went also to a near Spar, which is the upscale grocery here in Harare. It was very cool, and reminded me of a Ukrop’s back in Richmond. They had a very nice display of fresh food, butcher, baker, etc. Pet bought all these cream filled donuts. It’s no wonder she’s a large lady, even though she complains about it. We ate the donuts later at tea time. The best part was that I finally found some artificial sweetner. They had a brand that was selling for over $100,000 Zim, and that was ridiculous. Ended up with a brand costing $20K Zim. I also found SOUP!!!! For the first time, I found soup! They had creamy tomato soup too, so I bought several cans. As I’ve noted before, it can be the little things that excite you, like suddenly having water pressure for a shower.
I went over to Yinka’s around 7:30pm for the party that Anne Marie was holding at her house. They were waiting the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, which is a good movie. I had some wine, and we made smores. Yinka had her fireplace going, which was funny to me since it’s the middle of July, winter or not. Fires in July are funny to me. I was also wearing a long sleeved T-shirt and shorts. They thought I was crazy, but it wasn’t that cold.
Yinka’s new boyfriend was there, along with a younger cousin of his. The Canadian girl who’s working with an AIDS research company funded by Canada but run by Zimbabweans was there. We went to pick up another girl, and I had to lay down in the back of Yinka’s station wagon. It wasn’t bad, and I could see the stars. There are so many stars here. I try to find familiar sights from the Northern sky, but it’s hard, b/c there are so many stars. It struck me that I’m viewing a whole different part of the sky, being on the other side of the Earth. Apparently, more stars are visible here, and it’s not just because there are fewer city lights. On really clear nights, you can see the Milky Way in all its glory.
Anne Marie’s place is NICE. It’s relatively new and was built by an American. You can definitely tell. She lives there alone, but the place is huge. Being the personal assistant to the ambassador has its perks, I guess. She has this super bathroom one end of the house that has a sunken shower and a sit down bathtub big enough for two. There are candle holders all around it and it faces a fireplace. Talk about a romantic setting!
The marines eventually showed up, so there was eye candy. I ended up talking a lot with this guy name Trent who’s been here about 4 months. We talked about religion, of all things. He wants to see Passion of the Christ, but no one will go with him. I told him I would go with him later in the week. We’re supposed to go on Thursday. We also talked about the Left Behind series, which is he currently reading. We really hit it off, although he thinks I’m as straight as he is. At one point, we ended up discussing some past sexual experiences, and he apparently likes to fuck girls in the ass. I’ll never understand how a girl could possible enjoy that seeing as they don’t have prostates like men. But I was able to share some tips with him, conveniently leaving gender off. It so funny, b/c here I was being totally open, yet also conveniently leaving off any discussion of gender. Trent just assumed I was talking about girls. We also talked politics a bit, and he wasn’t scared off by my political involvement at home. Apparently, the Marines are forbidden from viewing Fahrenheit 911, which is interesting. Not surprising, but interesting nonetheless. I even told Trent about being called a commie, pinko, liberal tool by Pat Buchanan’s nephew in college. He thought was the ridiculous, and I told him I found it funny. I also let it slip that I believed in gay rights, which was probably the only hint he received that blatantly could lead to the conclusion that I’m gay. He wasn’t phased by that either. He told me later that he was glad to have met someone who was smart and shared his sense of humor.
Trent had the marine driver take me home, which was fine. The other two marines at the party were with some young girls from Zimbabwe, white girls. Both guys have girlfriends, but these ladies were not them. The women went up the Marines’ rooms at the end of the night for some hot sex, I’m sure. Trent was not pleased b y that, b/c he felt it was improper to have a girlfriend and screw around her, even if you wouldn’t get caught. He saw that it gives Marines a bad reputation, which it does. He was a very nice guy, and I hope we can hang out more while I’m here. I think we could be friends. Since he’s straight as a board too, it’s not like I’d be tempted or anything either. Even Richard would like this guy, especially since he’s Roman Catholic as well. I’m just not going to lay the gay thing on him until the appropriate time. I’d rather we become friends first. We’ll see; I may never hear from him again.
I slept the night through again, probably due to the wine and the screwdrivers I had at the party. I’ve been laying around all day in the cabin. Luckily, no one’s been by to bother me. They usually ask to come in and clean up, etc. I’m glad that it’s been OK to just hang out. Unfortunately, the water is acting up again, so I can’t take a shower, although I desperately need to. I will be SO glad to have access to water all the time, including hot water. We may be spoiled in the US with all we have, but I certainly appreciate it more than I ever did before. Not to mention having toilets that work properly! I hate being scared to poop in my own “home” but I am. It never goes down, and I don’t know why. It doesn’t matter how many times I flush, it never goes down. Very frustrating, not to mention gross. That and no shower water….grrrr!
I had my tomato soup today, and it was great. Hit the spot perfectly. Now it’s just time to watch TV, read, and basically relax. Mom is on the way to Myrtle Beach for a vacation (which I could use) and she should call me tonight when she gets there. Other than that, it’s time to get ready for another week.
I thought that I’d write weekend updates as a block rather than do a daily write up. I end up writing all them on a Sunday anyway, so why pretend otherwise? J Friday was a regular short day at work. Richard called me just after I got up which meant he was up at 1am Atlanta time. He was cleaning the house like mad so it would be clean when my mom got there.
I had some requests for money to be sent various places, and I also had to send a note to Khadija who runs the routine program for the AFRO region. She had been running this scheme to borrow money from one donor’s pot of money and use it to pay for routine immunization programs in Congo and Cameroon. When measles money became available, those expenditures would be “moved” the measles allotment. This sort of money management is common at WHO. Well, the money became available just as it was going out of the Cancida (Canada’s international aid agency) pot of money. Khadija decided she wanted to make the $400,000 US go further than it would if it repaid the $70K that was sent to the two countries. So even though it’s not in the budget, she wants to leave the charges in Cancida and use the extra $70k to partially fund Togo’s program. Robert is not keen on partially funding programs, so I’m playing interference. Yinka thought I should talk to her directly, but I don’t really know this woman well, and I knew it was going to make her mad, in which case, her non-native English was likely to deteriorate. Besides, there’s not much I can do other than report what Robert said to me. He also wanted me to tell her kindly that she can’t keep changing her mind about how the money is to be spent. So I wrote her an email. Who knows how that will go over, but this is between her and Robert anyway. Robert doesn’t like her, and the feeling seems to be mutual. Even Yinka finds this lady difficult to deal with. If it comes to it, I’ll just sic Robert on her, even though he’s warned me that he’ll be nasty to her. Gotta love office drama, especially when it has tribal and national undertones to it. So much in African offices is driven by tribe, not race. There’s some nationalism involved too, but that is secondary to who belongs to which tribe. I suppose the US’s race-based problems seem simplistic and silly to them as their tribalism does to me.
I spent the evening Friday with Pet and some of her friends. This was Jamie’s family, who is a friend of Kirk’s. Apparently, they were really close in elementary and middle school, but now they go to different high schools, and Kirk’s been kind of distancing himself. His parents think this is wrong, especially since Jamie really works to keep in touch, so they’ve been hanging out more in the last couple of weeks. Jamie’s a neat kid, albeit quiet. He’s white, like most of Kirk’s friends, and he’s just a couple of months shy of being 14. He apparently lost a lot of weight in the last couple of years from what he told me. There’s something about him that I can’t put my finger on, but it could be that he’s gay. If it’s true, it’s not something he’s going to be overtly aware of anytime soon. This is first time my gaydar has gone off with a young person, and being in Zimbabwe, I feel badly for him. Being gay here is not a good thing, and if he does turn out to be gay, he will be miserable unless he goes back to his mother’s native Britain.
Anyway, Jamie’s two sisters and his mom joined myself, Kirk, Pet, Morris, and their friend Moffat. He’s another colored guy who shaves his head and could pass for white in some areas. Interesting character, but very nice. We all had dinner, which was really good. I introduced them to fuzzy navels, which they’d never thought to mix. It was a huge hit. Jamie’s mother is interesting. She divorced his father a few years ago, and he has since remarried. I don’t think she’s remarried though. She’s British by background, but has lived in Zimbabwe for the last 16 years. With all the troubles here, she still likes it and doesn’t want to leave.
They gave me an interesting perspective on the political scene here. It is apparently illegal to mention Robert Mugabe by name in public since you are likely to be criticizing him. So people call him “Uncle Bob” or “Old Bob” when discussing him. His communist ideology lies with Mao from China. It explains a lot about how he runs the country. Even though many of Mao’s reforms, like the “Cultural Revolution” were horrible failures, Mugabe refuses to learn from the lessons of history. All those bodies that were found a couple of weeks ago in a mine shaft are likely the result of Mugabe’s massacre of the opposition in the early 1980s. He apparently killed thousands around the Bulawayo region because of tribal rivalry. In that part of Zimbabwe, the Ndbele are the primary tribe, with the rest of the country largely Shona. Mugabe is Shona, so he massacred the Ndbele in order to solidify power.
They also shared with me how Mugabe uses the voting system to intimidate and cheat elections. In the rural areas, they tell people that are hidden cameras in the voting booth that record how each person votes. This is not true, but anyone who tells the truth that the voting is by secret ballot gets beaten or killed. They also put in serious delays to drive people from the voting place. Morris told me it took him 16 hours to cast his vote in the last elections. They also “lose” registration, which is a common problem in the USA too. It just horrifying to me that people are forced to live like this, especially with all the economic problems and the coming starvation crisis.
I got to talk to Mom and Richard around midnight Friday when I returned from the cabin. We had a great connection, so we could hear each other well. She arrived safely and really liked the porch enclosure. She and Richard were going to have dinner and look for an egg crate cushion to put on the bed upstairs to soften up the mattress. The boards make it too hard, but she needs them for support. She also found out that her tires are almost bald, so she needed to get new ones. I told her where to buy them the next day.
I got to sleep in Saturday which was nice. I hung out with Pet and her family all day, and even went on a trip downtown with Pet, Kirk and Jamie. We went to the ghetto part of town to a Muslim butcher to get the Zimbabwe version of beef jerky. It wasn’t bad; very salty though. Just like beef jerky, except it’s not smoked, but dried. It especially tastes good when heated in the microwave. I refused to eat the chunks of fat on the end, though, even though Pet said it was the best part. I don’t think so. I don’t eat gristle at home, and I’m not about to start here.
It was surreal being in the middle of ghetto downtown Harare. We were locked in the truck, and people would come by and look in our windows to see if there was anything they wanted to steal. One lady hung out by the back tires of the truck, sorting her bags, and I caught her looking underneath the rear bumper. Kirk said she was looking for a spare tire. It was bizarre. No one tried to do anything. Still, it didn’t feel very safe. Pet apparently likes to go to these parts of town every now and then.
We went also to a near Spar, which is the upscale grocery here in Harare. It was very cool, and reminded me of a Ukrop’s back in Richmond. They had a very nice display of fresh food, butcher, baker, etc. Pet bought all these cream filled donuts. It’s no wonder she’s a large lady, even though she complains about it. We ate the donuts later at tea time. The best part was that I finally found some artificial sweetner. They had a brand that was selling for over $100,000 Zim, and that was ridiculous. Ended up with a brand costing $20K Zim. I also found SOUP!!!! For the first time, I found soup! They had creamy tomato soup too, so I bought several cans. As I’ve noted before, it can be the little things that excite you, like suddenly having water pressure for a shower.
I went over to Yinka’s around 7:30pm for the party that Anne Marie was holding at her house. They were waiting the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, which is a good movie. I had some wine, and we made smores. Yinka had her fireplace going, which was funny to me since it’s the middle of July, winter or not. Fires in July are funny to me. I was also wearing a long sleeved T-shirt and shorts. They thought I was crazy, but it wasn’t that cold.
Yinka’s new boyfriend was there, along with a younger cousin of his. The Canadian girl who’s working with an AIDS research company funded by Canada but run by Zimbabweans was there. We went to pick up another girl, and I had to lay down in the back of Yinka’s station wagon. It wasn’t bad, and I could see the stars. There are so many stars here. I try to find familiar sights from the Northern sky, but it’s hard, b/c there are so many stars. It struck me that I’m viewing a whole different part of the sky, being on the other side of the Earth. Apparently, more stars are visible here, and it’s not just because there are fewer city lights. On really clear nights, you can see the Milky Way in all its glory.
Anne Marie’s place is NICE. It’s relatively new and was built by an American. You can definitely tell. She lives there alone, but the place is huge. Being the personal assistant to the ambassador has its perks, I guess. She has this super bathroom one end of the house that has a sunken shower and a sit down bathtub big enough for two. There are candle holders all around it and it faces a fireplace. Talk about a romantic setting!
The marines eventually showed up, so there was eye candy. I ended up talking a lot with this guy name Trent who’s been here about 4 months. We talked about religion, of all things. He wants to see Passion of the Christ, but no one will go with him. I told him I would go with him later in the week. We’re supposed to go on Thursday. We also talked about the Left Behind series, which is he currently reading. We really hit it off, although he thinks I’m as straight as he is. At one point, we ended up discussing some past sexual experiences, and he apparently likes to fuck girls in the ass. I’ll never understand how a girl could possible enjoy that seeing as they don’t have prostates like men. But I was able to share some tips with him, conveniently leaving gender off. It so funny, b/c here I was being totally open, yet also conveniently leaving off any discussion of gender. Trent just assumed I was talking about girls. We also talked politics a bit, and he wasn’t scared off by my political involvement at home. Apparently, the Marines are forbidden from viewing Fahrenheit 911, which is interesting. Not surprising, but interesting nonetheless. I even told Trent about being called a commie, pinko, liberal tool by Pat Buchanan’s nephew in college. He thought was the ridiculous, and I told him I found it funny. I also let it slip that I believed in gay rights, which was probably the only hint he received that blatantly could lead to the conclusion that I’m gay. He wasn’t phased by that either. He told me later that he was glad to have met someone who was smart and shared his sense of humor.
Trent had the marine driver take me home, which was fine. The other two marines at the party were with some young girls from Zimbabwe, white girls. Both guys have girlfriends, but these ladies were not them. The women went up the Marines’ rooms at the end of the night for some hot sex, I’m sure. Trent was not pleased b y that, b/c he felt it was improper to have a girlfriend and screw around her, even if you wouldn’t get caught. He saw that it gives Marines a bad reputation, which it does. He was a very nice guy, and I hope we can hang out more while I’m here. I think we could be friends. Since he’s straight as a board too, it’s not like I’d be tempted or anything either. Even Richard would like this guy, especially since he’s Roman Catholic as well. I’m just not going to lay the gay thing on him until the appropriate time. I’d rather we become friends first. We’ll see; I may never hear from him again.
I slept the night through again, probably due to the wine and the screwdrivers I had at the party. I’ve been laying around all day in the cabin. Luckily, no one’s been by to bother me. They usually ask to come in and clean up, etc. I’m glad that it’s been OK to just hang out. Unfortunately, the water is acting up again, so I can’t take a shower, although I desperately need to. I will be SO glad to have access to water all the time, including hot water. We may be spoiled in the US with all we have, but I certainly appreciate it more than I ever did before. Not to mention having toilets that work properly! I hate being scared to poop in my own “home” but I am. It never goes down, and I don’t know why. It doesn’t matter how many times I flush, it never goes down. Very frustrating, not to mention gross. That and no shower water….grrrr!
I had my tomato soup today, and it was great. Hit the spot perfectly. Now it’s just time to watch TV, read, and basically relax. Mom is on the way to Myrtle Beach for a vacation (which I could use) and she should call me tonight when she gets there. Other than that, it’s time to get ready for another week.
Friday, July 16, 2004
The Truth About Zimbabwe (article)
This was sent to me by my friend and coworker Liz Bell in Atlanta who is currently expecting twin boys within the next month! The article certainly speaks the truth of what I've witnessed and experienced. J
Sunshine City goes dark
Ryan Truscott | Harare, Zimbabwe
15 July 2004 12:59
Living in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, is getting harder as weary
residents battle with frequent power cuts, water shortages and the
ever-rising prices of basic goods.
Harare once boasted the nickname "Sunshine City" but in the depths of a
Zimbabwean winter, it's looking less and less that way for all
residents, regardless of their income levels.
Last week the state-run power utility, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority (Zesa), announced it is introducing power cuts at peak periods
due to increased demand from the cold weather and Zimbabwe's inability
to find additional sources for power imports from outside the country.
Zimbabwe imports 30% of its power, much of it from neighbouring South
Africa, but has in the recent past reportedly had problems settling its
bills.
Coinciding with the power cuts, Zesa has started broadcasting
advertisements every half hour on state radio, proclaiming "Zesa: Power
to the people."
"While we sit in the dark with candles waiting for the power to come
back on and women stream out of the bush with firewood on their heads
because they can't afford electricity, the jingles go on and on and on,"
says Zimbabwe writer Cathy Buckle in her weekly commentary.
In several suburbs of the capital, streetlamps and house lights flicker
off at 6pm at night -- to be restored three hours later.
There are also cuts scheduled for three hours in the mornings.
"It's every night," moans one elderly resident of the relatively
well-heeled Avondale suburb, near Harare's main hospital.
"It was Thursday, Friday and then again at half-past six on Saturday,"
she complains. She adds that she keeps her bath "half full" to be ready
for water cuts -- usually advertised in the state-run Herald newspaper
and on public radio.
In June some suburbs had no water for almost three weeks. The
authorities blamed pump failures at the ageing Morton Jaffray water
plant, as well as a lack of crucial aluminium sulphate used to treat the
water.
A so-called "water demand management system" was brought in. This meant
cutting off supplies to other suburbs for 24-hour periods.
Harare's opposition-led city council says it does not have the funds to
maintain infrastructure. But efforts to hike rates have been blocked by
Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, who has also dismissed
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) mayor Elias Mudzuri.
A member of President Robert Mugabe's ruling party, Chombo last month
declared previously approved increases "unjustified" and ordered a
freeze.
The Harare city council has only held two meetings in the past six
months, says Jameson Gadzirai of the Combined Harare Residents'
Association, leaving residents concerned that civic governance is being
frustrated by party politics.
"What the residents are feeling now is that council decisions are not
being implemented because of a broader agenda being pushed by the [local
government] ministry," Gadzirai says.
There are other concerns. Public hospitals in the city are faring
badly. The privately owned Standard reported this month that corpses at
Harare's Central hospital are being rolled down the stairs from wards to
the mortuary because there is no money to repair the lifts.
Health delivery has been one of the biggest casualties of Zimbabwe's
four-year old economic downturn. Cases of kwashiorkor -- a sometimes
fatal illness usually associated with times of war and famine -- have
resurfaced.
At least 621 were treated last year in the city's clinics, according to
a report by the council's director of health, Lovemore Mbengeranwa.
Price hikes too are a worry. Although inflation rates have fallen, from
more than 600% at the end of last year to just less than 400%, prices of
foodstuffs and many basic goods continue to rise.
Faced with an outcry, the country's energetic Reserve Bank Governor
Gideon Gono last week said that "the thinking that prices ought to come
down because inflation is coming down is fallacious", the state-run
Ziana agency reported.
Gono told the conference that prices should still be going up by about
6%. But his figures do not square with prices on shop shelves: bread has
more than doubled in two months from about Z$1 200 a loaf to Z$2 900.
Meanwhile fuel queues resurfaced last week. A wearying fact of life for
many Zimbabwean drivers over the past three years, the queues seemed to
have disappeared after the authorities removed price controls.
State radio said last week's queues were due to "logistical" problems
in fuel distribution. -- Sapa-AFP
Sunshine City goes dark
Ryan Truscott | Harare, Zimbabwe
15 July 2004 12:59
Living in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, is getting harder as weary
residents battle with frequent power cuts, water shortages and the
ever-rising prices of basic goods.
Harare once boasted the nickname "Sunshine City" but in the depths of a
Zimbabwean winter, it's looking less and less that way for all
residents, regardless of their income levels.
Last week the state-run power utility, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority (Zesa), announced it is introducing power cuts at peak periods
due to increased demand from the cold weather and Zimbabwe's inability
to find additional sources for power imports from outside the country.
Zimbabwe imports 30% of its power, much of it from neighbouring South
Africa, but has in the recent past reportedly had problems settling its
bills.
Coinciding with the power cuts, Zesa has started broadcasting
advertisements every half hour on state radio, proclaiming "Zesa: Power
to the people."
"While we sit in the dark with candles waiting for the power to come
back on and women stream out of the bush with firewood on their heads
because they can't afford electricity, the jingles go on and on and on,"
says Zimbabwe writer Cathy Buckle in her weekly commentary.
In several suburbs of the capital, streetlamps and house lights flicker
off at 6pm at night -- to be restored three hours later.
There are also cuts scheduled for three hours in the mornings.
"It's every night," moans one elderly resident of the relatively
well-heeled Avondale suburb, near Harare's main hospital.
"It was Thursday, Friday and then again at half-past six on Saturday,"
she complains. She adds that she keeps her bath "half full" to be ready
for water cuts -- usually advertised in the state-run Herald newspaper
and on public radio.
In June some suburbs had no water for almost three weeks. The
authorities blamed pump failures at the ageing Morton Jaffray water
plant, as well as a lack of crucial aluminium sulphate used to treat the
water.
A so-called "water demand management system" was brought in. This meant
cutting off supplies to other suburbs for 24-hour periods.
Harare's opposition-led city council says it does not have the funds to
maintain infrastructure. But efforts to hike rates have been blocked by
Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, who has also dismissed
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) mayor Elias Mudzuri.
A member of President Robert Mugabe's ruling party, Chombo last month
declared previously approved increases "unjustified" and ordered a
freeze.
The Harare city council has only held two meetings in the past six
months, says Jameson Gadzirai of the Combined Harare Residents'
Association, leaving residents concerned that civic governance is being
frustrated by party politics.
"What the residents are feeling now is that council decisions are not
being implemented because of a broader agenda being pushed by the [local
government] ministry," Gadzirai says.
There are other concerns. Public hospitals in the city are faring
badly. The privately owned Standard reported this month that corpses at
Harare's Central hospital are being rolled down the stairs from wards to
the mortuary because there is no money to repair the lifts.
Health delivery has been one of the biggest casualties of Zimbabwe's
four-year old economic downturn. Cases of kwashiorkor -- a sometimes
fatal illness usually associated with times of war and famine -- have
resurfaced.
At least 621 were treated last year in the city's clinics, according to
a report by the council's director of health, Lovemore Mbengeranwa.
Price hikes too are a worry. Although inflation rates have fallen, from
more than 600% at the end of last year to just less than 400%, prices of
foodstuffs and many basic goods continue to rise.
Faced with an outcry, the country's energetic Reserve Bank Governor
Gideon Gono last week said that "the thinking that prices ought to come
down because inflation is coming down is fallacious", the state-run
Ziana agency reported.
Gono told the conference that prices should still be going up by about
6%. But his figures do not square with prices on shop shelves: bread has
more than doubled in two months from about Z$1 200 a loaf to Z$2 900.
Meanwhile fuel queues resurfaced last week. A wearying fact of life for
many Zimbabwean drivers over the past three years, the queues seemed to
have disappeared after the authorities removed price controls.
State radio said last week's queues were due to "logistical" problems
in fuel distribution. -- Sapa-AFP
Thursday Night Out
Thursday, July 15, 2004
July is half over! In many ways, time is flying by while I’m here, but at times it seems really slow. I’m not even halfway through my journey yet. The good news is that I may have found a way to get to Victoria Falls for a weekend! I’m awaiting word from the travel agent, especially on payment details. I think they prefer a wire transfer of some sort, which is fine, as long as I can initiate it from here.
I had to write Casey an email about the PUK code that is keeping her phone from working properly for me. I’m not sure she’ll even check her yahoo account while gone; we’ll see. I may just be phone-less. That sucks, but it’s my own fault for: a) dropping the old phone in water and breaking it and b) for entering the wrong code on the new phone until it locked up.
I forgot my card for gym, so I just went home and decided to chill out with Pet until it was time to go to Yinka’s for a dinner out. It’s very funny, b/c 18 people showed up at this restaurant. It was a very nice time though, and the dinner was really good. I enjoyed it immensely. I even got to eat dessert, which was a banana cut up and wrapped in a cinnamon pastry, deep fried, and served with ice cream. It tasted just like warm banana bread, which was awesome.
Came home, and discovered that we had water pressure!!! I was able to take a nice hot shower for 15 minutes! I got to scrub and get really clean, which made me so happy. I never thought I’d be so giddy over a shower, but I was! I hope the water is not cut off again this weekend. I hate feeling grimy. I’ve started packing a washcloth and shampoo for the gym since their showers work all the time, from what I can tell. They have soap there, so it will do in a pinch. Rather do that than have the sponge bath special which only takes care of any funk you might have, but not the general feeling of being grimy.
Richard called, and all is well. It was time for Emma and Jackson to get their heartworm pills and their anti-flea and tick solution. He didn’t know where it was, so I told him. Also, it turns out that Emma has a hormonal problem, which is causing her hair loss. They want to put her on melatonin for a few months and see if it helps. She may need to be on it the rest of her life. Nothing seriously wrong, though, which is good. I hope the melatonin is not outrageously expensive. If it is, we may have to forgo it. I’ll spend what I have to in order to save her life, but for something cosmetic, I have my limits J
It’s late, so I need to go to sleep or I’ll be dead for my ¾ day on Friday! Another week is almost finished!
July is half over! In many ways, time is flying by while I’m here, but at times it seems really slow. I’m not even halfway through my journey yet. The good news is that I may have found a way to get to Victoria Falls for a weekend! I’m awaiting word from the travel agent, especially on payment details. I think they prefer a wire transfer of some sort, which is fine, as long as I can initiate it from here.
I had to write Casey an email about the PUK code that is keeping her phone from working properly for me. I’m not sure she’ll even check her yahoo account while gone; we’ll see. I may just be phone-less. That sucks, but it’s my own fault for: a) dropping the old phone in water and breaking it and b) for entering the wrong code on the new phone until it locked up.
I forgot my card for gym, so I just went home and decided to chill out with Pet until it was time to go to Yinka’s for a dinner out. It’s very funny, b/c 18 people showed up at this restaurant. It was a very nice time though, and the dinner was really good. I enjoyed it immensely. I even got to eat dessert, which was a banana cut up and wrapped in a cinnamon pastry, deep fried, and served with ice cream. It tasted just like warm banana bread, which was awesome.
Came home, and discovered that we had water pressure!!! I was able to take a nice hot shower for 15 minutes! I got to scrub and get really clean, which made me so happy. I never thought I’d be so giddy over a shower, but I was! I hope the water is not cut off again this weekend. I hate feeling grimy. I’ve started packing a washcloth and shampoo for the gym since their showers work all the time, from what I can tell. They have soap there, so it will do in a pinch. Rather do that than have the sponge bath special which only takes care of any funk you might have, but not the general feeling of being grimy.
Richard called, and all is well. It was time for Emma and Jackson to get their heartworm pills and their anti-flea and tick solution. He didn’t know where it was, so I told him. Also, it turns out that Emma has a hormonal problem, which is causing her hair loss. They want to put her on melatonin for a few months and see if it helps. She may need to be on it the rest of her life. Nothing seriously wrong, though, which is good. I hope the melatonin is not outrageously expensive. If it is, we may have to forgo it. I’ll spend what I have to in order to save her life, but for something cosmetic, I have my limits J
It’s late, so I need to go to sleep or I’ll be dead for my ¾ day on Friday! Another week is almost finished!
Thursday, July 15, 2004
The Question of Outing
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
The week is half over now! Time does seem to be moving along at a nice pace, and the measles partnership call was pretty painless. This week the Internet was working quite fast, so my update made it within minutes of me pressing send. Not sure why it took over an hour last week.
More drama with the cell phone. I entered the wrong passcode into it when it started, and now it’s locked up. I need some code that Casey didn’t give me, so the phone’s basically useless except for emergency calls. Goodie. I may have to contact Casey and find out what she knows. Eventually the cell will work again, I hope!
Water troubles continue. I tried the shower again, to utter failure. First, there was a stream…of COLD water. Within seconds, though, that stream fizzled and died. Big surprise. That’s been typical in the last week or so. I may need to ask Pet and Morris if something can be done. If I know Pet, she is certainly taking a bath every night!
The next item on my mind is not Zimbabwe specific, and in fact relates to news back home. Upon perusing the Washington Post and the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC), I noticed a story that’s exploded recently in the DC scene. There are two men in DC who are gay activists and have conducted an outing campaign of influential staffers who are completely out on the DC social scene but are closeted at work and serve Senators or Congresspeople who are anti-gay and pushing the marriage amendment. The amendment failed on a 48-50 vote, which is good news. The controversy surrounds whether or not the outing campaign is proper.
Predictably, the gay rights organizations, congressional staffer associations, and the Log Cabin Republicans think the whole thing is nasty, fascist, and a discriminatory against the GOP. They also say it does no good, changes no one’s mind, and plays into the hands of the religious right by sowing dissention in our ranks. Also, people should have the right to decide how the personally come out and to what degree. You shouldn’t penalize people for their jobs.
The other side says that’s rubbish. The staffers they have outed are all very influential in their jobs, and they work for people who are pushing hard to amend the constitution to discriminate against gays and make us 2nd class citizens. Their efforts are critical to the success of their member and that member’s anti-gay agenda. These staffers are also not in the closet. They are active in the DC gay social scene. Many of them have long-term relationships and go out on the town with their partners. They are well known as both gay and Republican. They only go back in the closet to work for their anti-gay member of Congress. The list distributors say they are only exposing the hypocrisy of these gay men (and they have been all men so far, except for exposing the rumor that Sen. Mikulski of Maryland is a lesbian).
I’m conflicted about this. Emotionally, I think these gay Republicans are getting exactly what they deserve. But I agree that they have the right to work for whomever they choose, and to hold whatever political beliefs they want. I may not understand how anyone can belong to a party that hates them and wants them driven out of the party and the country, but that’s not my business. My personal belief is that gay Republicans care more about power, money, and influence with the country club crowd than they do about their own civil rights. It’s a crazy trade-off in my opinion, but it’s theirs to make.
I also think coming out is a very personal process. Each person is different, and you shouldn’t generally force people out of the closet. The exception I make to this rule is someone who is actively working against the interests of the LGBT community. If a closet case is working actively to enforce legal discrimination, ban adoption, prevent the recognition of our relationships, or otherwise harm MY civil rights, I say have no mercy on such a person. That closet case should be exposed for the hypocrite he/she is. It’s been commonly said that my rights end where yours begin. You start attacking my civil rights and my right to live as a fully free AND EQUAL American, you’ve crossed a line and I will do whatever I can to fight you, even attacking you on a personal level.
These “gay at night” staffers have very influential positions in the GOP Congress. I even know one of them from my days in Virginia, Jay Timmons who heads up a GOP Senatorial committee. Everyone in Virginia knew Jay was gay and worked that imbecile George Allen. But like most gay GOPers, he felt civil rights was a minor issue, and fags that “wore their sexuality on their sleeve” (which I take to mean that it’s generally known someone is gay) deserve the ridicule they got. What’s more, the GOP promises to cut taxes (government services be damned), and that’s the only thing that matters. So I see it as a trade off of civil rights for greed, which is legitimate if morally bankrupt.
These staffers spend their nights away from the job in gay DC with people they call friends and boyfriends while spending their days in influential positions with members of Congress whose primary goal is to make gays 2nd class citizens unwelcome in America. Laws can be undone, so that’s not as big of a deal as a Constitutional Amendment. Passing an amendment would make gays 2nd class for all time, and would write active discrimination into our founding document for the first time in its history. That’s beyond the pale. These people should be called to answer for their work in support of active, PERMANENT discrimination against their own people.
I don’t care much for the argument that this is “thought police” by gay rights activists. It’s not the thoughts that are being punished, it’s the hypocrisy of their actions. People make decisions every day, and they are held responsible for those decisions. That is what these guys doing the outing are doing. They’re not even exposing people who would be fired for being gay. Sen. Inhofe of Oklahoma has a policy of refusing to hire any homosexuals in his office. He will hire gays for his committee staff, and one of those staffers was exposed. But there is a member of that senator’s personal staff who is gay but will not be outed because it would result in that person’s firing.
My friend Mike says that using sexual orientation as a weapon in any instance is wrong and no better than sexual harassment. I can see his point, but I still think it’s circumstantial. It doesn’t matter if a gay person works for a homophobic company with discriminatory policies, unless that person is the CEO and could put in a non-discrimination clause and just won’t. I wouldn’t advocate outing anyone in the military, b/c the discrimination policy is set by Congress and the President. No matter what the rank, the military person is bound to enforce and obey what the President and Congress dictate. Only people who are in positions of power to do something to prevent discrimination and harm against LGBT people and refuse should be outed, if they are out everywhere but the job. If the person in power a closet case anyway who furtively looks for tricks on the Internet or in public parks, he’s too sad of a case to do anything about. And it’s likely such a person is so emotionally fragile anyway that suicide could result if there is a threat to out that person.
The GOP has decided to wage a war on LGBT citizens across the United States for the sake of electoral gain. Just as their decision to pander to segregationists in the South was bankrupt (albeit successful), their decision to wage war on the rights and privileges of American citizenship for LGBT citizens. If you help in this fight to make LGBT Americans 2nd class citizens, then I have no sympathy for you and will not feel bad when your collective shit hits the fan. These gay people who are active in the fight to discriminate against us all are no better than the Jewish Nazi-collaborators were during that dark period. There is plenty that these gays could do for conservative causes other than be the right hand person for anti-gay members of Congress. If they have that much self-loathing and hatred, fine, but as a community, we should not tolerate them using their self-loathing and hatred to attack the rest of us.
For me, this is personal. If Richard were a woman, and I a straight man, we would be well on our way to planning a wedding by now. That marriage would have over 1100 rights and privileges, along with numerous responsibilities at the state and federal level. We are currently denied the ability to obtain those rights, simply because we were born gay. We certainly did not choose this, and we wouldn’t wish it on our children. It’s not that being gay is bad, because it’s not. It’s having to deal with all the bigotry and crap that comes with it thanks to people like Sadie Fields of the Georgia “Christian” Taliban. Richard and I would like to adopt as well, and we’ve started the process. It won’t take off until I return, but if all goes well, we could have a child within the next 2 years. That is if this war against gays doesn’t result in a ban on recognition of our relationship and a ban on gay adoption in Georgia. That’s a very real threat in the next General Assembly session too because Georgia law does not prevent gays from adoption. The sole standard is what’s best for the child. Richard and I would be excellent parents, I think, but bigotry and discrimination of the sort supported by these powerful staffers in Congress could destroy the family I’m trying to build. I’m sorry if I can’t feel sorry for these staffers as their “night lives” meet their “day lives” in a public forum. These people are actively trying to destroy the family I want to build, and I think that should be fought by any legal means necessary. If that means exposing them as the Uncle Toms they are for the Religious Right, then so be it.
The week is half over now! Time does seem to be moving along at a nice pace, and the measles partnership call was pretty painless. This week the Internet was working quite fast, so my update made it within minutes of me pressing send. Not sure why it took over an hour last week.
More drama with the cell phone. I entered the wrong passcode into it when it started, and now it’s locked up. I need some code that Casey didn’t give me, so the phone’s basically useless except for emergency calls. Goodie. I may have to contact Casey and find out what she knows. Eventually the cell will work again, I hope!
Water troubles continue. I tried the shower again, to utter failure. First, there was a stream…of COLD water. Within seconds, though, that stream fizzled and died. Big surprise. That’s been typical in the last week or so. I may need to ask Pet and Morris if something can be done. If I know Pet, she is certainly taking a bath every night!
The next item on my mind is not Zimbabwe specific, and in fact relates to news back home. Upon perusing the Washington Post and the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC), I noticed a story that’s exploded recently in the DC scene. There are two men in DC who are gay activists and have conducted an outing campaign of influential staffers who are completely out on the DC social scene but are closeted at work and serve Senators or Congresspeople who are anti-gay and pushing the marriage amendment. The amendment failed on a 48-50 vote, which is good news. The controversy surrounds whether or not the outing campaign is proper.
Predictably, the gay rights organizations, congressional staffer associations, and the Log Cabin Republicans think the whole thing is nasty, fascist, and a discriminatory against the GOP. They also say it does no good, changes no one’s mind, and plays into the hands of the religious right by sowing dissention in our ranks. Also, people should have the right to decide how the personally come out and to what degree. You shouldn’t penalize people for their jobs.
The other side says that’s rubbish. The staffers they have outed are all very influential in their jobs, and they work for people who are pushing hard to amend the constitution to discriminate against gays and make us 2nd class citizens. Their efforts are critical to the success of their member and that member’s anti-gay agenda. These staffers are also not in the closet. They are active in the DC gay social scene. Many of them have long-term relationships and go out on the town with their partners. They are well known as both gay and Republican. They only go back in the closet to work for their anti-gay member of Congress. The list distributors say they are only exposing the hypocrisy of these gay men (and they have been all men so far, except for exposing the rumor that Sen. Mikulski of Maryland is a lesbian).
I’m conflicted about this. Emotionally, I think these gay Republicans are getting exactly what they deserve. But I agree that they have the right to work for whomever they choose, and to hold whatever political beliefs they want. I may not understand how anyone can belong to a party that hates them and wants them driven out of the party and the country, but that’s not my business. My personal belief is that gay Republicans care more about power, money, and influence with the country club crowd than they do about their own civil rights. It’s a crazy trade-off in my opinion, but it’s theirs to make.
I also think coming out is a very personal process. Each person is different, and you shouldn’t generally force people out of the closet. The exception I make to this rule is someone who is actively working against the interests of the LGBT community. If a closet case is working actively to enforce legal discrimination, ban adoption, prevent the recognition of our relationships, or otherwise harm MY civil rights, I say have no mercy on such a person. That closet case should be exposed for the hypocrite he/she is. It’s been commonly said that my rights end where yours begin. You start attacking my civil rights and my right to live as a fully free AND EQUAL American, you’ve crossed a line and I will do whatever I can to fight you, even attacking you on a personal level.
These “gay at night” staffers have very influential positions in the GOP Congress. I even know one of them from my days in Virginia, Jay Timmons who heads up a GOP Senatorial committee. Everyone in Virginia knew Jay was gay and worked that imbecile George Allen. But like most gay GOPers, he felt civil rights was a minor issue, and fags that “wore their sexuality on their sleeve” (which I take to mean that it’s generally known someone is gay) deserve the ridicule they got. What’s more, the GOP promises to cut taxes (government services be damned), and that’s the only thing that matters. So I see it as a trade off of civil rights for greed, which is legitimate if morally bankrupt.
These staffers spend their nights away from the job in gay DC with people they call friends and boyfriends while spending their days in influential positions with members of Congress whose primary goal is to make gays 2nd class citizens unwelcome in America. Laws can be undone, so that’s not as big of a deal as a Constitutional Amendment. Passing an amendment would make gays 2nd class for all time, and would write active discrimination into our founding document for the first time in its history. That’s beyond the pale. These people should be called to answer for their work in support of active, PERMANENT discrimination against their own people.
I don’t care much for the argument that this is “thought police” by gay rights activists. It’s not the thoughts that are being punished, it’s the hypocrisy of their actions. People make decisions every day, and they are held responsible for those decisions. That is what these guys doing the outing are doing. They’re not even exposing people who would be fired for being gay. Sen. Inhofe of Oklahoma has a policy of refusing to hire any homosexuals in his office. He will hire gays for his committee staff, and one of those staffers was exposed. But there is a member of that senator’s personal staff who is gay but will not be outed because it would result in that person’s firing.
My friend Mike says that using sexual orientation as a weapon in any instance is wrong and no better than sexual harassment. I can see his point, but I still think it’s circumstantial. It doesn’t matter if a gay person works for a homophobic company with discriminatory policies, unless that person is the CEO and could put in a non-discrimination clause and just won’t. I wouldn’t advocate outing anyone in the military, b/c the discrimination policy is set by Congress and the President. No matter what the rank, the military person is bound to enforce and obey what the President and Congress dictate. Only people who are in positions of power to do something to prevent discrimination and harm against LGBT people and refuse should be outed, if they are out everywhere but the job. If the person in power a closet case anyway who furtively looks for tricks on the Internet or in public parks, he’s too sad of a case to do anything about. And it’s likely such a person is so emotionally fragile anyway that suicide could result if there is a threat to out that person.
The GOP has decided to wage a war on LGBT citizens across the United States for the sake of electoral gain. Just as their decision to pander to segregationists in the South was bankrupt (albeit successful), their decision to wage war on the rights and privileges of American citizenship for LGBT citizens. If you help in this fight to make LGBT Americans 2nd class citizens, then I have no sympathy for you and will not feel bad when your collective shit hits the fan. These gay people who are active in the fight to discriminate against us all are no better than the Jewish Nazi-collaborators were during that dark period. There is plenty that these gays could do for conservative causes other than be the right hand person for anti-gay members of Congress. If they have that much self-loathing and hatred, fine, but as a community, we should not tolerate them using their self-loathing and hatred to attack the rest of us.
For me, this is personal. If Richard were a woman, and I a straight man, we would be well on our way to planning a wedding by now. That marriage would have over 1100 rights and privileges, along with numerous responsibilities at the state and federal level. We are currently denied the ability to obtain those rights, simply because we were born gay. We certainly did not choose this, and we wouldn’t wish it on our children. It’s not that being gay is bad, because it’s not. It’s having to deal with all the bigotry and crap that comes with it thanks to people like Sadie Fields of the Georgia “Christian” Taliban. Richard and I would like to adopt as well, and we’ve started the process. It won’t take off until I return, but if all goes well, we could have a child within the next 2 years. That is if this war against gays doesn’t result in a ban on recognition of our relationship and a ban on gay adoption in Georgia. That’s a very real threat in the next General Assembly session too because Georgia law does not prevent gays from adoption. The sole standard is what’s best for the child. Richard and I would be excellent parents, I think, but bigotry and discrimination of the sort supported by these powerful staffers in Congress could destroy the family I’m trying to build. I’m sorry if I can’t feel sorry for these staffers as their “night lives” meet their “day lives” in a public forum. These people are actively trying to destroy the family I want to build, and I think that should be fought by any legal means necessary. If that means exposing them as the Uncle Toms they are for the Religious Right, then so be it.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Why Doesn't Africa Work?
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
I finally got a real shower today, but I had to go to the gym to get it. There was WATER PRESSURE! There was plenty of hot water, soap, and I didn’t have to rush. I could enjoy actually washing myself and standing under a stream of pounding, hot water. It was glorious, even if it was in a gym.
This begs the question that has been eating at me as the problems with water and electricity have reared their ugly heads. Why doesn’t Africa WORK? I refuse to believe, as many try to imply, that the problems in Africa were inevitable with the end of white rule. The example of the USA proves that wrong. Black people are just as capable as anyone else of good government and bad government. What makes Africa different, though? What makes it different from the US, which was also colonized by Britain? Why didn’t Africa develop beyond tribalism like Europe did and form nations with governments and boundaries? Is there hope that Africa will pull itself together before it’s too late?
I don’t know why Africa stayed with tribal cultures that had no set boundaries or territory. The Native Americans didn’t have such things either, although there was a general respect for hunting grounds. I think the answer lies in what the native populations were not permitted to do. People who immigrated to America were allowed to participate in the government, although Native Americans were not. We simply moved them out of our way or destroyed him. But the colonial populations in America were allowed to participate in a British form of government. We had over a century of practice before we set out on our own in 1776.
The Africans were not allowed this luxury. Once the European powers came in and took over, looking for more resources to drive the industrial revolution, the blacks were segregated and systematically held down. Rule by a few replaced popular sovereignty, mostly due to racism. As the colonies were freed after WWII, they were just cut loose. I suppose after the devastation of the war, they couldn’t afford to do things properly, but that doesn’t make it right.
They needed to educate the population, allow them to participate in self-government and learn how its done. They needed to be introduced to democracy and shown its value. Instead, all they got from “democracy” was racism and segregation. Cutting the colonies loose abruptly just led to chaos. Why didn’t leaders like Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and other leaders who came out various civil rights movements? Why did Mugabe resort to a decade of terror and guerilla warfare rather than work within the system as King did? The first generation of black leaders weren’t corrupt dictators for the most part. I suppose they knew that white populations expected them to fail, so they worked extra hard to do a good job. I don’t know, but I find it odd that Africa did not produce the leaders that America did when the struggle for equality happened. Nelson Mandela is probably the only leader who is reminiscent of King.
Things here just don’t work, and no one seems to be able or willing to stand up and say enough. There’s no popular groundswell for something different, and that I do not understand. I know we are spoiled in the USA because we have things good. Even our poor can get clean water and electricity for the most part. You certainly don’t see capital cities were the water and electricity doesn’t work. Why don’t the populations here feel like they deserve better? I wish I knew.
Another thing that amazes me is that people willingly choose to leave the US and live in Africa permanently. I don't know how Leo spent the better part of 10 years in Cote D'Ivoire. I look around and I see people I work with who are either already married when they go overseas, or just stay single. There seems to be a small trend, at least in South Asia, of finding spouses overseas. But then what happens? Someone will have to give up the land they know and maybe love. The ex-pats we have overseas though don't seem to really like the US that much. I don't know if they never felt comfortable here, or if they just acclaimated so well to their assigned country that the US no longer seems like home.
I look at Yinka, whose parents have lived all over the globe while working with USAID, but she doesn't have a home. She's definitely not comfortable in the US. IT's almost like she doesn't fit in anywhere, while at the same time feeling comfortable anywhere but the US. She seems relatively happy though, so I'm glad for that. It's not a life for me. I miss my friends, my dogs, my home, Richard, my family, and the conveniences of home. Especially the conveniences. You know, things like running water that WORKS, consistent electrical power, drinkable tap water, the ability to travel wherever I want whenever I want, the availabilty of any kind of goods or service you can imagine. I know this is one of the stages of living overseas. I don't remember going through this when I was in Europe, but Europe is like America with a twist. Things are smaller, and more crowded, but they're both highly develped areas. Anyway, I know that I"m going through my "resentful" phrase where I believe everything home is better than here. Soon, I'll go into "acceptance" and it won't bother me that I can't take a shower whenever I feel like it.
Poor Richard called and he was quite frustrated. The new lock he bought for our mailbox is not working. He can't get the key in. I'm not sure what the problem is, but a new lock shouldn't act that way. I understand why he's pissed about that. Also, Emma has taken to pooping her crate again, even when she's gone out. It's happened three days in a row, and Richard's ready to hit the roof. He also didn't feel good, which I think is the ultimate reason he unraveled a bit. Lord knows I understand unraveling, as I've pitched a fit or two in my time. I'm glad he could vent with me, although I told him with my troubles finding a decent shower, I had limited sympathy :) I also said he needed to not let things he can't control get to him like that, or he won't survive grad school. You gotta let things roll off of you unless they are REALLY important.
Well, time for bed.
I finally got a real shower today, but I had to go to the gym to get it. There was WATER PRESSURE! There was plenty of hot water, soap, and I didn’t have to rush. I could enjoy actually washing myself and standing under a stream of pounding, hot water. It was glorious, even if it was in a gym.
This begs the question that has been eating at me as the problems with water and electricity have reared their ugly heads. Why doesn’t Africa WORK? I refuse to believe, as many try to imply, that the problems in Africa were inevitable with the end of white rule. The example of the USA proves that wrong. Black people are just as capable as anyone else of good government and bad government. What makes Africa different, though? What makes it different from the US, which was also colonized by Britain? Why didn’t Africa develop beyond tribalism like Europe did and form nations with governments and boundaries? Is there hope that Africa will pull itself together before it’s too late?
I don’t know why Africa stayed with tribal cultures that had no set boundaries or territory. The Native Americans didn’t have such things either, although there was a general respect for hunting grounds. I think the answer lies in what the native populations were not permitted to do. People who immigrated to America were allowed to participate in the government, although Native Americans were not. We simply moved them out of our way or destroyed him. But the colonial populations in America were allowed to participate in a British form of government. We had over a century of practice before we set out on our own in 1776.
The Africans were not allowed this luxury. Once the European powers came in and took over, looking for more resources to drive the industrial revolution, the blacks were segregated and systematically held down. Rule by a few replaced popular sovereignty, mostly due to racism. As the colonies were freed after WWII, they were just cut loose. I suppose after the devastation of the war, they couldn’t afford to do things properly, but that doesn’t make it right.
They needed to educate the population, allow them to participate in self-government and learn how its done. They needed to be introduced to democracy and shown its value. Instead, all they got from “democracy” was racism and segregation. Cutting the colonies loose abruptly just led to chaos. Why didn’t leaders like Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and other leaders who came out various civil rights movements? Why did Mugabe resort to a decade of terror and guerilla warfare rather than work within the system as King did? The first generation of black leaders weren’t corrupt dictators for the most part. I suppose they knew that white populations expected them to fail, so they worked extra hard to do a good job. I don’t know, but I find it odd that Africa did not produce the leaders that America did when the struggle for equality happened. Nelson Mandela is probably the only leader who is reminiscent of King.
Things here just don’t work, and no one seems to be able or willing to stand up and say enough. There’s no popular groundswell for something different, and that I do not understand. I know we are spoiled in the USA because we have things good. Even our poor can get clean water and electricity for the most part. You certainly don’t see capital cities were the water and electricity doesn’t work. Why don’t the populations here feel like they deserve better? I wish I knew.
Another thing that amazes me is that people willingly choose to leave the US and live in Africa permanently. I don't know how Leo spent the better part of 10 years in Cote D'Ivoire. I look around and I see people I work with who are either already married when they go overseas, or just stay single. There seems to be a small trend, at least in South Asia, of finding spouses overseas. But then what happens? Someone will have to give up the land they know and maybe love. The ex-pats we have overseas though don't seem to really like the US that much. I don't know if they never felt comfortable here, or if they just acclaimated so well to their assigned country that the US no longer seems like home.
I look at Yinka, whose parents have lived all over the globe while working with USAID, but she doesn't have a home. She's definitely not comfortable in the US. IT's almost like she doesn't fit in anywhere, while at the same time feeling comfortable anywhere but the US. She seems relatively happy though, so I'm glad for that. It's not a life for me. I miss my friends, my dogs, my home, Richard, my family, and the conveniences of home. Especially the conveniences. You know, things like running water that WORKS, consistent electrical power, drinkable tap water, the ability to travel wherever I want whenever I want, the availabilty of any kind of goods or service you can imagine. I know this is one of the stages of living overseas. I don't remember going through this when I was in Europe, but Europe is like America with a twist. Things are smaller, and more crowded, but they're both highly develped areas. Anyway, I know that I"m going through my "resentful" phrase where I believe everything home is better than here. Soon, I'll go into "acceptance" and it won't bother me that I can't take a shower whenever I feel like it.
Poor Richard called and he was quite frustrated. The new lock he bought for our mailbox is not working. He can't get the key in. I'm not sure what the problem is, but a new lock shouldn't act that way. I understand why he's pissed about that. Also, Emma has taken to pooping her crate again, even when she's gone out. It's happened three days in a row, and Richard's ready to hit the roof. He also didn't feel good, which I think is the ultimate reason he unraveled a bit. Lord knows I understand unraveling, as I've pitched a fit or two in my time. I'm glad he could vent with me, although I told him with my troubles finding a decent shower, I had limited sympathy :) I also said he needed to not let things he can't control get to him like that, or he won't survive grad school. You gotta let things roll off of you unless they are REALLY important.
Well, time for bed.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
More Water Troubles
Monday, July 12, 2004
I woke up this morning feel somewhat better, except now I’m sore around my chest and back. I don’t think it’s gym-related since I last went Thursday night, and was fine until this morning. I still feel kind of blah, but I’m toughing it out. I had some lunch at the kitchen they have here, and it wasn’t bad. Chicken and rice with some mild sauce and vegetables. Easy on the ol’ stomach.
Made it through the day and had Eddie take me to get pizza. Yes, I know it’s strange to crave pizza when you’ve had an upset stomach, but it’s what I wanted. I got a traditional magherita pizza which only has cheese, tomatoes and herb sauce. I also looked for sugar substitutes in the grocery along with getting more bottled water. No luck. Found plenty of regular sugar, but no artificial sweetener. I may need to beg Yinka to help me out. Otherwise, my instant coffee will be nasty.
The pizza actually hit the spot. I went right to bed after it though. I tried to take a shower, but no luck. The damn water was out again. Check that, the HOT water was out. No water pressure at all. This is getting ridiculous. You can’t shower in the morning, you can’t shower at night. When CAN I shower? I’ve not had a proper shower since Thursday night. Don’t worry, I’m not stinking. What I have to do is heat up cold tap water to boiling and then pour it in the sink. I then cool it with tap water, and wash.
You can imagine, I’m NOT a happy camper standing in the bathroom buck naked washing myself (and freezing) in the process. I pitched a small fit there in the bathroom when I discovered it was going to be another sink night. I don’t know how people stand it. I wouldn’t tolerate this “no water” situation. I don’t even have a bathtub to use. Yinka has said I can come over and use her guest bath anytime, but that feels so silly to ask to come over and take a bath. Plus, I’d have to get Eddie to pick me up, take me there, and pick me up. A lot of drama for a bath, if you ask me. But if I don’t get relief soon, I will. Luckily, the gym has working showers, so I will at least take advantage of that tomorrow night. Still, I like being clean, and not taking a proper shower is grating on my VERY LAST NERVE!!!!!
I woke up this morning feel somewhat better, except now I’m sore around my chest and back. I don’t think it’s gym-related since I last went Thursday night, and was fine until this morning. I still feel kind of blah, but I’m toughing it out. I had some lunch at the kitchen they have here, and it wasn’t bad. Chicken and rice with some mild sauce and vegetables. Easy on the ol’ stomach.
Made it through the day and had Eddie take me to get pizza. Yes, I know it’s strange to crave pizza when you’ve had an upset stomach, but it’s what I wanted. I got a traditional magherita pizza which only has cheese, tomatoes and herb sauce. I also looked for sugar substitutes in the grocery along with getting more bottled water. No luck. Found plenty of regular sugar, but no artificial sweetener. I may need to beg Yinka to help me out. Otherwise, my instant coffee will be nasty.
The pizza actually hit the spot. I went right to bed after it though. I tried to take a shower, but no luck. The damn water was out again. Check that, the HOT water was out. No water pressure at all. This is getting ridiculous. You can’t shower in the morning, you can’t shower at night. When CAN I shower? I’ve not had a proper shower since Thursday night. Don’t worry, I’m not stinking. What I have to do is heat up cold tap water to boiling and then pour it in the sink. I then cool it with tap water, and wash.
You can imagine, I’m NOT a happy camper standing in the bathroom buck naked washing myself (and freezing) in the process. I pitched a small fit there in the bathroom when I discovered it was going to be another sink night. I don’t know how people stand it. I wouldn’t tolerate this “no water” situation. I don’t even have a bathtub to use. Yinka has said I can come over and use her guest bath anytime, but that feels so silly to ask to come over and take a bath. Plus, I’d have to get Eddie to pick me up, take me there, and pick me up. A lot of drama for a bath, if you ask me. But if I don’t get relief soon, I will. Luckily, the gym has working showers, so I will at least take advantage of that tomorrow night. Still, I like being clean, and not taking a proper shower is grating on my VERY LAST NERVE!!!!!
Monday, July 12, 2004
Weekend Update
Friday, July 09, 2004
Another week has ended! This week actually went quicker than I expected. Once the measles partnership call happened, it seemed like the week sped up. Had a bit of a problem from Robert this morning. He checked the measles financial tracking spreadsheet and didn’t see entries he expected to see. So he shot off an email about how we need to update this monstrous spreadsheet each day, etc, etc. I had a list of things to add from the night before but had not had a chance. Luckily, I was able to figure out what it was I needed to do with Yinka’s help, and I updated the sheet. Robert dropped by the office to say he didn’t think I was updating, but then I showed him the sheet. He was satisfied, I think. I also told him where the spreadsheet was that I was using, b/c I honestly do not know which one he could be looking at. Apparently, Sophia (his secretary) also has a spreadsheet somewhere. It’s a complicated system, so I’m not convinced she really keeps up with it.
After updating that spreadsheet, the day was almost over since we get off at 2pm on Fridays. I was ready to go too. It was a beautiful day, and I like getting off early on Fridays. Earlier, Yves came over and changed some money for me, on the black market of course. Everything here is done on the black market. The official exchange rate yesterday was $1US = $5400Zim. The rate I got from Yves was $1US = $6500Zim. That’s an $1100Zim difference per dollar! No wonder no one uses the banks here anymore. It’s very funny when Yves comes in the office. He just appears, closes the door, and it’s very much like what I imagine a drug deal would be like. Except everyone at WHO uses him to exchange money.
I came back to the cottage after picking up a few items at the grocery, read some by the pool, talked with Kirk and his friend whose name I never caught, and then took a nap. I got ready for an evening out with Yinka and 10 others at what’s called a “Bangla”. It’s an Indian community dance based on the Bollywood scene. Basically you take American cinema and music and put an Eastern/Indian spin on it. It’s very interesting. I’m not sure if Bangla is right term. I heard several during the night, but can only remember Bangla.
There was a buffet of so-so food, and an apple pie/dumpling dessert. The drinks were outrageously expensive, so I didn’t have many. It took a while for me to want to dance, but once the disco started, I got up with the rest. It was pretty fun. There was some eye candy too. Three people met us at the Sheraton where the event took place. Two Dutch and one from Suriname. The Dutch girl’s name was Inga, which is the first time I’d heard that name since Shane’s wife. The second was named Olwen, which is pronounced Olvin. The Suriname guy’s name I don’t remember b/c I only heard it once. He also didn’t say much.
Olwen was cute; skinny but cute. I couldn’t decide if he was gay or not, as Europeans mess up American gaydar. He sat next to met at the table and we talked quite a bit. Even though I couldn’t decide if he was gay or not, it was nice to feel like I was being somewhat flirted with. With very few exceptions, there’s been absolutely no one here that I’ve found attractive. I like eye candy like any red blooded guy, but it’s been sorely lacking here in Zimbabwe. A big part of that is what I find attractive, and part of it is missing Richard, I think. When he’s around, it can be fun to cruise a crowd and pick out the cute ones, but it’s not the same when he’s not here. Anyway, I tried to figure out if Olwen and the Suriname guy were boyfriends. They do live together, and they went to grad school together in Amesterdam. The Suriname guy ended up dropping out of school for a while to come visit in January and has stayed while he takes “at least” a year off. Something about the story just doesn’t seem right. Most guy friends don’t drop out of school to follow another to Africa and live with him. Just part of the intrigue for me, so I had fun with it.
Amy from the Embassy turned out to be kindred (perverted) spirit as we made crass comments and altered song lyrics together. She looked at the DJ and lamented that he needed to be at least 10 yrs older. I thought he was 18 and told her if she wasn’t husband hunting, 18 was perfectly fine. Then she retorted, “Yeah, I figure if there’s grass on the field, it’s OK to play.” I loved it! I told her that was almost as bad as the saying, “Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed.” She thought that was very funny. I don’t know if she figured me out or not, but we danced some and had a nice time. It’s weird being sort of closeted here.
We stayed until about 1am. The all-Indian music started at 11pm where the ticket said “serious” partying would start. It wasn’t that serious, actually. Inga, Olwen, and the Suriname guy all left shortly after the all-Indian music started. Inga gave me her phone number and said they might be going to another jazz place. OF course, I had no way to get there, so it didn’t do me much good. When I told Richard about this, he figured that Inga was interested. I somehow doubt that, especially if Olwen was gay…he would have clocked me, no doubt. Around midnight, I started getting tired and sore from the dancing and the gym.
At one point in the dancing, it was me, Ian’s 5 month pregnant wife (dressed like Beyonce in Austin Power’s Goldfinger as Foxy Cleopatra…she looked FIERCE), the Suriname guy, and Olwen. Dutch, St. Lucia, Suriname, and the USA all dancing together. Not many times you can see a scene like that! It was very cool. Speaking of Ian’s wife (name escapes me), she was awesome. Here she is 5 and a half months pregnant, showing, dressed as a fierce disco diva complete with HUGE afro, and she danced the night away. When we left, she could have still been going. I thought it was very cool to see a pregnant lady getting her groove on like that. The baby may have wondered what was going on out there, but we all had a great time. She was the only person on the dance floor with rhythm, that’s for sure. Everyone else was doing the white man shuffle, except they were all Indian! J I thought a lot of Surabhi, and I wished she could have been there for the evening. I think she would have enjoyed it.
Yinka was wearing a summer Indian outfit of light yellow which went with her hair quite well. She did look good, and at one point this fat, short, bald Indian guy tried to put the moves on her! I laughed so hard and whispered to Amy, “Who’s your daddy?” She thought I was bad, but I told her that he was looking at Yinka like she was the Butterball turkey fresh out of the oven at Thanksgiving dinner! Turns out Yinka knew him from WHO, which is interesting. The men at WHO thinking nothing of hitting on women they find attractive. It’s very unprofessional, even if it’s part of the African culture. Casey has been sexually harassed by Mr. Bizimana to the point that she avoids working with him, although Robert often forces her since he thinks highly of Bizimana.
We spent some time at the table trashing President Bush, although we all fear he will ultimately win. I pray that the American people see him for the danger he truly is. If we reelect him with any margin at all, the world will turn against us as they have him. Pity that at least half the country is too stupid to see that, or if they do, to care.
I talked to Richard a few minutes ago, and it was a nice talk. I worry about running up the phone bill though. Luckily, I can pay it when I get back if I go over. I’m not worried about it. It’s worth it to me to keep in touch when I need to. Now it’s time to sleep, as it’s pushing 3am.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
I slept until about 11am or so. I only had cereal for breakfast along with toast, yogurt, and the orange crush drink. I’ve sat around all day watching movies on the satellite TV. This is NOT the way to spend your time in a foreign land on the weekends. I should be traveling! But how? I can’t exactly rent a car and just go off somewhere. Well, I probably could, but it wouldn’t be a very smart thing to do, especially since I’d have to drive into rural areas to get to places like the Great Zimbabwe. Still, I don’t want to just sit around idly, doing nothing.
There’s NO WATER!!! The sinks, shower, toilet…all have no water. The toilet won’t flush, which means what you think that would mean. No one seems to be too bothered by this. I had some water in my tea pot, so I heated it up and washed my hair and shaved, but that’s it. I need a real shower, but I don’t see it happening. It’s almost 5pm as I write, and there is still no water. It’s very, very annoying.
I can’t imagine anyone in the US putting up with having no water in the middle of a capital city, national or state. This is a common way of life here, with outages of water and electricity common. Why do Zimbabwean’s put up with it? The economy is a wreck, inflation is out of control, a food shortage is approaching, and basic needs remain poorly met. Roads, electricity, clean water….it’s all falling apart for them! No wonder Pet says that just about any place would be better than Zimbabwe right now. If her husband Morris finds a job somewhere else, finds a house to buy, and gets settled, she will gladly pick up and move.
I know the elections were rigged here with armed thugs at polling places, shenanigans with the paper ballots, etc. All Mugabe did was take a page from the GOP playbook in 2000. Disenfranchise portions of the population you know will not vote for you, and intimidate the rest. Bush is even considering having armed guards at polling places this November. That’s horrifying. What is the USA coming to that we have to have an armed presence at our polling places? I don’t care if John Ashcroft himself is standing over my should with an uzi when I vote, I will gladly vote against Bush. I won’t be intimidated where it comes to my right to vote. I wish Zimbabweans had the ability to rise up and take back their country. Surely, the notion of having “free land” that you don’t own and can barely farm isn’t worth having your entire country fall apart around you.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
I should NOT have drank as much as I did last night. I got invited to a house party given by one of the two gay guys I met at brunch my first Sunday here. The occasion was apparently a visit by some people who used to live in Zimbabwe, but now reside in Cape Town, which I am told is the San Francisco of Africa. Anyway, I went to this house party, and it was fun. The liquor flowed quite freely, and my glass never stayed empty for long. That was the problem. I just kept drinking my rum and cokes without nary a thought.
I am paying for it today. I don’t have a headache or anything, but I’m so nauseated right now I can hardly stand it. I went with Yinka her new boyfriend to Nastasha and Ian’s house. Natasha is the pregnant lady’s name. As is usual for me, about the third time I meet someone, I usually pick up their name finally. Anyway, I remained green around the gills, so I didn’t eat much. I wanted to, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of vomiting it all back up. Natasha made me some tea to help calm my stomach and it helped some.
Luckily, I’m home and will stay in bed the rest of the night. Mom and Richard called. I wasn’t very good at conversation, but it was nice to hear them nonetheless. If I weren’t so nauseated, this wouldn’t be bad. Reminds me why I don’t drink much anymore. I’m getting too old to party much.
I also ended up dropping my cell phone into the sink and busting it. I had to heat up water from my bottled supply and put it in the sink so I could at least clean essential areas. I had just called Eddie to pick me up for the party, and set the phone down on the edge of the sink. Mistake. It fell into the water, which I didn’t think was a huge deal except for the fact it needed to dry out. Well, it’s laid out and still not working. I may need to get Casey’s newer phone.
Luckily, I’ve got crackers to eat, so I can munch on them. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning.
Another week has ended! This week actually went quicker than I expected. Once the measles partnership call happened, it seemed like the week sped up. Had a bit of a problem from Robert this morning. He checked the measles financial tracking spreadsheet and didn’t see entries he expected to see. So he shot off an email about how we need to update this monstrous spreadsheet each day, etc, etc. I had a list of things to add from the night before but had not had a chance. Luckily, I was able to figure out what it was I needed to do with Yinka’s help, and I updated the sheet. Robert dropped by the office to say he didn’t think I was updating, but then I showed him the sheet. He was satisfied, I think. I also told him where the spreadsheet was that I was using, b/c I honestly do not know which one he could be looking at. Apparently, Sophia (his secretary) also has a spreadsheet somewhere. It’s a complicated system, so I’m not convinced she really keeps up with it.
After updating that spreadsheet, the day was almost over since we get off at 2pm on Fridays. I was ready to go too. It was a beautiful day, and I like getting off early on Fridays. Earlier, Yves came over and changed some money for me, on the black market of course. Everything here is done on the black market. The official exchange rate yesterday was $1US = $5400Zim. The rate I got from Yves was $1US = $6500Zim. That’s an $1100Zim difference per dollar! No wonder no one uses the banks here anymore. It’s very funny when Yves comes in the office. He just appears, closes the door, and it’s very much like what I imagine a drug deal would be like. Except everyone at WHO uses him to exchange money.
I came back to the cottage after picking up a few items at the grocery, read some by the pool, talked with Kirk and his friend whose name I never caught, and then took a nap. I got ready for an evening out with Yinka and 10 others at what’s called a “Bangla”. It’s an Indian community dance based on the Bollywood scene. Basically you take American cinema and music and put an Eastern/Indian spin on it. It’s very interesting. I’m not sure if Bangla is right term. I heard several during the night, but can only remember Bangla.
There was a buffet of so-so food, and an apple pie/dumpling dessert. The drinks were outrageously expensive, so I didn’t have many. It took a while for me to want to dance, but once the disco started, I got up with the rest. It was pretty fun. There was some eye candy too. Three people met us at the Sheraton where the event took place. Two Dutch and one from Suriname. The Dutch girl’s name was Inga, which is the first time I’d heard that name since Shane’s wife. The second was named Olwen, which is pronounced Olvin. The Suriname guy’s name I don’t remember b/c I only heard it once. He also didn’t say much.
Olwen was cute; skinny but cute. I couldn’t decide if he was gay or not, as Europeans mess up American gaydar. He sat next to met at the table and we talked quite a bit. Even though I couldn’t decide if he was gay or not, it was nice to feel like I was being somewhat flirted with. With very few exceptions, there’s been absolutely no one here that I’ve found attractive. I like eye candy like any red blooded guy, but it’s been sorely lacking here in Zimbabwe. A big part of that is what I find attractive, and part of it is missing Richard, I think. When he’s around, it can be fun to cruise a crowd and pick out the cute ones, but it’s not the same when he’s not here. Anyway, I tried to figure out if Olwen and the Suriname guy were boyfriends. They do live together, and they went to grad school together in Amesterdam. The Suriname guy ended up dropping out of school for a while to come visit in January and has stayed while he takes “at least” a year off. Something about the story just doesn’t seem right. Most guy friends don’t drop out of school to follow another to Africa and live with him. Just part of the intrigue for me, so I had fun with it.
Amy from the Embassy turned out to be kindred (perverted) spirit as we made crass comments and altered song lyrics together. She looked at the DJ and lamented that he needed to be at least 10 yrs older. I thought he was 18 and told her if she wasn’t husband hunting, 18 was perfectly fine. Then she retorted, “Yeah, I figure if there’s grass on the field, it’s OK to play.” I loved it! I told her that was almost as bad as the saying, “Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed.” She thought that was very funny. I don’t know if she figured me out or not, but we danced some and had a nice time. It’s weird being sort of closeted here.
We stayed until about 1am. The all-Indian music started at 11pm where the ticket said “serious” partying would start. It wasn’t that serious, actually. Inga, Olwen, and the Suriname guy all left shortly after the all-Indian music started. Inga gave me her phone number and said they might be going to another jazz place. OF course, I had no way to get there, so it didn’t do me much good. When I told Richard about this, he figured that Inga was interested. I somehow doubt that, especially if Olwen was gay…he would have clocked me, no doubt. Around midnight, I started getting tired and sore from the dancing and the gym.
At one point in the dancing, it was me, Ian’s 5 month pregnant wife (dressed like Beyonce in Austin Power’s Goldfinger as Foxy Cleopatra…she looked FIERCE), the Suriname guy, and Olwen. Dutch, St. Lucia, Suriname, and the USA all dancing together. Not many times you can see a scene like that! It was very cool. Speaking of Ian’s wife (name escapes me), she was awesome. Here she is 5 and a half months pregnant, showing, dressed as a fierce disco diva complete with HUGE afro, and she danced the night away. When we left, she could have still been going. I thought it was very cool to see a pregnant lady getting her groove on like that. The baby may have wondered what was going on out there, but we all had a great time. She was the only person on the dance floor with rhythm, that’s for sure. Everyone else was doing the white man shuffle, except they were all Indian! J I thought a lot of Surabhi, and I wished she could have been there for the evening. I think she would have enjoyed it.
Yinka was wearing a summer Indian outfit of light yellow which went with her hair quite well. She did look good, and at one point this fat, short, bald Indian guy tried to put the moves on her! I laughed so hard and whispered to Amy, “Who’s your daddy?” She thought I was bad, but I told her that he was looking at Yinka like she was the Butterball turkey fresh out of the oven at Thanksgiving dinner! Turns out Yinka knew him from WHO, which is interesting. The men at WHO thinking nothing of hitting on women they find attractive. It’s very unprofessional, even if it’s part of the African culture. Casey has been sexually harassed by Mr. Bizimana to the point that she avoids working with him, although Robert often forces her since he thinks highly of Bizimana.
We spent some time at the table trashing President Bush, although we all fear he will ultimately win. I pray that the American people see him for the danger he truly is. If we reelect him with any margin at all, the world will turn against us as they have him. Pity that at least half the country is too stupid to see that, or if they do, to care.
I talked to Richard a few minutes ago, and it was a nice talk. I worry about running up the phone bill though. Luckily, I can pay it when I get back if I go over. I’m not worried about it. It’s worth it to me to keep in touch when I need to. Now it’s time to sleep, as it’s pushing 3am.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
I slept until about 11am or so. I only had cereal for breakfast along with toast, yogurt, and the orange crush drink. I’ve sat around all day watching movies on the satellite TV. This is NOT the way to spend your time in a foreign land on the weekends. I should be traveling! But how? I can’t exactly rent a car and just go off somewhere. Well, I probably could, but it wouldn’t be a very smart thing to do, especially since I’d have to drive into rural areas to get to places like the Great Zimbabwe. Still, I don’t want to just sit around idly, doing nothing.
There’s NO WATER!!! The sinks, shower, toilet…all have no water. The toilet won’t flush, which means what you think that would mean. No one seems to be too bothered by this. I had some water in my tea pot, so I heated it up and washed my hair and shaved, but that’s it. I need a real shower, but I don’t see it happening. It’s almost 5pm as I write, and there is still no water. It’s very, very annoying.
I can’t imagine anyone in the US putting up with having no water in the middle of a capital city, national or state. This is a common way of life here, with outages of water and electricity common. Why do Zimbabwean’s put up with it? The economy is a wreck, inflation is out of control, a food shortage is approaching, and basic needs remain poorly met. Roads, electricity, clean water….it’s all falling apart for them! No wonder Pet says that just about any place would be better than Zimbabwe right now. If her husband Morris finds a job somewhere else, finds a house to buy, and gets settled, she will gladly pick up and move.
I know the elections were rigged here with armed thugs at polling places, shenanigans with the paper ballots, etc. All Mugabe did was take a page from the GOP playbook in 2000. Disenfranchise portions of the population you know will not vote for you, and intimidate the rest. Bush is even considering having armed guards at polling places this November. That’s horrifying. What is the USA coming to that we have to have an armed presence at our polling places? I don’t care if John Ashcroft himself is standing over my should with an uzi when I vote, I will gladly vote against Bush. I won’t be intimidated where it comes to my right to vote. I wish Zimbabweans had the ability to rise up and take back their country. Surely, the notion of having “free land” that you don’t own and can barely farm isn’t worth having your entire country fall apart around you.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
I should NOT have drank as much as I did last night. I got invited to a house party given by one of the two gay guys I met at brunch my first Sunday here. The occasion was apparently a visit by some people who used to live in Zimbabwe, but now reside in Cape Town, which I am told is the San Francisco of Africa. Anyway, I went to this house party, and it was fun. The liquor flowed quite freely, and my glass never stayed empty for long. That was the problem. I just kept drinking my rum and cokes without nary a thought.
I am paying for it today. I don’t have a headache or anything, but I’m so nauseated right now I can hardly stand it. I went with Yinka her new boyfriend to Nastasha and Ian’s house. Natasha is the pregnant lady’s name. As is usual for me, about the third time I meet someone, I usually pick up their name finally. Anyway, I remained green around the gills, so I didn’t eat much. I wanted to, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of vomiting it all back up. Natasha made me some tea to help calm my stomach and it helped some.
Luckily, I’m home and will stay in bed the rest of the night. Mom and Richard called. I wasn’t very good at conversation, but it was nice to hear them nonetheless. If I weren’t so nauseated, this wouldn’t be bad. Reminds me why I don’t drink much anymore. I’m getting too old to party much.
I also ended up dropping my cell phone into the sink and busting it. I had to heat up water from my bottled supply and put it in the sink so I could at least clean essential areas. I had just called Eddie to pick me up for the party, and set the phone down on the edge of the sink. Mistake. It fell into the water, which I didn’t think was a huge deal except for the fact it needed to dry out. Well, it’s laid out and still not working. I may need to get Casey’s newer phone.
Luckily, I’ve got crackers to eat, so I can munch on them. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning.
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