Tuesday, November 22 - Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Monday night, I had every intention of going back to my hotel to work on some of the charts that I've been putting together. But I didn't feel so hot, and the thought of eating made me feel kind of nauseated, so I just watched TV, and by 6:30pm, I was asleep. I slept all night until about 6:15am. So much for working on the charts! I'm still not sure why I haven't felt so hot at night the last few days, but hopefully it will pass once I get home.
I had a note from Julie slid under my door telling me she had gone into work early, so not to expect me at the WHO bus. I had ordered tea for 6:45am, but by 7:10am, it still had not arrived, so I went downstairs. As I got on the elevator, I saw a waiter come out of the service area with a tea tray, and I figure that was mine, but he was almost a half hour late.
The bus came early as usual, and Lisa (the lady from HIV that's going to fill in at the WHO-Kenya office for a couple of months) and I got on. She's a nice lady, but she's pretty naive about how WHO works or the realities of an "African" office environment. She honestly thought that everyone at WHO worked for CDC :) In a way, it's cute, and she's only done an international trip for GAP, so it's understandable. She was also spoiled in that trip, and thinks that things should always be a certain way. She's definitely not happy when the image in her head of how things should be doesn't match the reality. When you're in a developing country, you have to get over those expectations and just accept the world as it comes to you and deal with it. Especially when you wouldn't tolerate something back home. Because, HELLO, you're not home anymore!
The last day had me going through the final number crunching, and also looking at the contribution table. THe numbers didn't match, but I added them up several times, so I don't know what's wrong. Yinka can figure it out. We had to present to Deo at 4pm what all I had done. It seemed silly to me, but I let Yinka do the talking. He seemed pleased, and only asked that I combine two columns, which was easy enough to do. Hopefully, I've made it easy enough that Yinka can figure out what I did. She, Lisa, and I went to lunch at this new Chinese restaurant, which was really good! The hot/sour soup was a bit thick, with the consistency of snot, but it was still quite tasty once you got over that. I had what passed for chicken lo-mein :)
For dinner, Casey and Yinka took me to "Mama Mia's" which is an Italian place, surprise surprise. They were going to take me to a French joint, but it was closed. I changed out money with Yinka, who wrote me a check for the $11M Zim that I had left, which amounted to $125 US. Yinka bought my dinner to thank me for my help, which was nice.
After she dropped me off at the Meikles, I went upstairs and packed. It didn't take too long. It has taken 4 trips to Africa, but I think I've finally learned how to pack properly. I'm not overloaded, but I have plenty. I took my last good bath before going home and then went to bed. I had to get up at 4:45am this morning to check out of the hotel and catch the WHO bus to the airport. I've saved a ton on taxi fees by using the WHO shuttle system, but coming home from work, I'd just as soon have a taxi as go through that sardine experience of having people crammed into a van, most of whom don't wear deodorant. My total bill, which included room, taxes, laundry, and room service amounted to $1700 US, which isn't too bad. It does mean however, I will owe CDC a check to refund some of that money they fronted me to come here. The Wi-Fi I'm using now will be reimbursed, which is nice :)
The flight to Joburg from Harare was nice, as it was on South African Air. They've got nicer aircraft, I've found than traditional carriers like British Air or just about any major American airlines. I know financially, the US Airlines are in a mess, but they should take a clue from South African air as far as comfort goes. I had an exit row, which was nice. There was a guy there who knew me, and I was startled when he called me by name. I can't remember how I know him, but I wonder if he wasn't Amy's old boyfriend. Not the one who's impregnated her, but the one before that who was so young. I didn't engage in conversation, as I was little weirded out (thanks CDC Security Briefing!). We had a decent breakfast on the flight and landed.So now I find myself in the Joburg International Airport, on their Wi-Fi for at least an hour (my computer won't last two hours, or I would have bought 2 hours of access). It's 11:30am, and I have approximately 8 more hours before my flight to Atlanta takes off. I've already had a more substantial breakfast which should last me, and I've done some shopping. My shoelaces were on the verge of breaking, so I had to buy new ones. They don't exactly match my shoes (original laces were navy, and new ones are black) but they will do. I also bought some South African wine, which will be for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night when I get home and my mom arrives. And I got the requisite "treats" that we are all expected to bring to the office after an international trip.
I'm so glad to be getting back home. I was telling Lisa yesterday on the way home that I enjoy getting out, travelling, and getting to see and know other cultures. But my home is in the USA, and when I'm gone, I miss it. I have roots there, and I am always glad to go back. A lot of people don't seem to have that amoungst our gang that works overseas, and I find that sad.
I have no idea how I'll make it until I get to Atlanta without sleep, but I don't see many opportunities to nod off. I can never get comfortable in these cattle car class seats. And if do sleep, I end up horribly cramped. We'll see how it goes. Coming over here wasn't nearly as long as I had remembered it, so maybe the trip home will be similar.
That closes this chapter of my African treks. Until the next time I find myself in the developing world...ciao!
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Return to Zimbabwe III
Friday, November 18 - Sunday November 20, 2005
One thing that is nice about coming to WHO to work is the tradition of knocking off early on Fridays. The office shuts down at 2pm. I finally got through all the emails and crap from earlier in the week, and I did a few financial figures before I just got tired. The day was sunny, bright, and warm, and I was not in the mood to work. So I blogged some random thoughts on my friendster blog and killed time until it was the hour to pack up and leave.
I didn't do much when I got back to the hotel. I ate, and watched movies until pretty late. We did have a short blackout around 7pm but that lasted only 15 minutes or so before power was restored. I had ordered breakfast for 9:45am, and when I heard a beating on my door, I thought, "Is it 9:45am already?" I should have checked the clock. But I stumbled out of bed and opened the door. The breakfast was rolled in, and it was missing several items and had the wrong cereal. I didn't question though, and signed for it. I even ate most of it. THen I went back to bed to discover it was barely 7:30am. I had been given and just eaten someone else's breakfast! I went back to sleep to be awoken at 9:45am with my real breakfast. I pointed out that I had already been given breakfast, but that it missed a few items. They had me take those items off the cart, and wished me a good day. I still wondered whose breakfast I had eaten. I ate the remaining items, and was still tired, so I went back to sleep, not to be aroused until 1:30pm. I forced myself up then, not understanding why I was so tired. I still don't get it.
I went down and had a "traditional tea" while I waited for Julie to get back from shopping. She and I were going to ride together to my friend Amy's baby shower. At 3pm, we were off. The baby shower was lots of fun! PLenty to eat and drink, and I got to meet the latest gay couple of Zimbabwe. This South African guy and this white Zimbabwean are newly coupled, about two weeks. So they're still in the touchy-feely, let's do-it-all-the-time phase. The South African is named Eden and is mixed, and I think he's with the embassy, but I'm not sure. The Zimbabwean is 3rd generation and is named Vaughn. Vaughn was actually pretty cute, and I chatted with both of them. Vaughn said before he met Eden, it had been 4.5 yrs since he'd been in a relationship. Yet another reason not to take a job in Africa! Anyway, it was nice to find some of my brethern.
There was swimming and some games. I came in a close second to the baby's father in the beer chugging through a baby bottle contest. Not sure what it says of him that he can suck better than I can ;) Of course, I partially wonder about these Zimbabweans who are latching on to Americans. It seems to me that getting an AMerican to marry you would be the ultimate jackpot for someone from Zimbabwe. You get all these benefits of being an American spouse, not the least of which is expedited citizenship. Of course, this is all for naught if you are a same-sex couple, but the examples of Amy and Yinka are what I'm thinking about. She hadn't dated this guy for long before she got pregnant. I hope he's not using her. Same goes with Yinka, although I've known Everard, and I like him. I think his relationship with Yinka is pretty real, and they've been together over a year. Still, you have to wonder...how can you be sure that you're not being used as a single American overseas? Everard, for instance, not only gets a fast track to citizenship, but he gets all the spousal benefits (health insurance, life insurance, etc) that comes with marrying Yinka. His cataracts and broken hand can all be healed properly. And he escapes Zimbabwe for the USA, which is a pretty sweet deal. Also, wherever Yinka goes, the govt will pay for him to follow. It may be crass to be suspicious, and I hope that no one will be hurt or is being used. Still, you have to wonder....
I left with Julie about 8pm, and that was a good time. I ordered some dinner, after which I actually got sick. I'm not sure what was wrong. I didn't drink that much, and I only threw up a little before feeling better. I went to bed, and couldn't get comfortable. I felt hot, and was sweating a lot. I finally got up Sunday morning, read the "paper" here, and decided to lay out by the pool. The storms the night before had cooled the pool significantly, but that was OK. I read and dozed for a couple of hours, which sort of burned me, even though it was overcast. That didn't help my feeling hot in the room later that night.
I had a nice dinner at the restaurant, eating some ostrich. Ostrich tastes OK but it's entirely too tough. I went to bed at a decent hour, knowing I had to get up. I still felt a little nauseated at night, but I didn't vomit this time. I sure hope I'm not coming down with anything.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Auguste came back today, so I had to move to another desk. Luckily, Mr. MDicky was leaving for a trip, so I'm now at his desk. The woman from CDC who's going to Kenya to fill in for about 6 weeks arrived yesterday and was in our truck for the ride to WHO. She doesn't seem to precious for words, but I know how demanding she's been thus far. We'll have to see if it continues. We had to go to the CDC offices downtown where the Global AIDS Program is located. The CDC director of the office likes to meet everyone coming through and know what we're up to. It was a throwaway meeting, but we did learn that Zimbabwe is now the 2nd country after Uganda to actually lower its HIV prevelance rate. That's good news. We stopped to pick up some lunch, and then came back to the office. I've wasted my entire day catching up on emails and responding to various things. I will likely have to take some work home tonight. Oh well, it's my own fault. I'm so ready to come home.
One thing that is nice about coming to WHO to work is the tradition of knocking off early on Fridays. The office shuts down at 2pm. I finally got through all the emails and crap from earlier in the week, and I did a few financial figures before I just got tired. The day was sunny, bright, and warm, and I was not in the mood to work. So I blogged some random thoughts on my friendster blog and killed time until it was the hour to pack up and leave.
I didn't do much when I got back to the hotel. I ate, and watched movies until pretty late. We did have a short blackout around 7pm but that lasted only 15 minutes or so before power was restored. I had ordered breakfast for 9:45am, and when I heard a beating on my door, I thought, "Is it 9:45am already?" I should have checked the clock. But I stumbled out of bed and opened the door. The breakfast was rolled in, and it was missing several items and had the wrong cereal. I didn't question though, and signed for it. I even ate most of it. THen I went back to bed to discover it was barely 7:30am. I had been given and just eaten someone else's breakfast! I went back to sleep to be awoken at 9:45am with my real breakfast. I pointed out that I had already been given breakfast, but that it missed a few items. They had me take those items off the cart, and wished me a good day. I still wondered whose breakfast I had eaten. I ate the remaining items, and was still tired, so I went back to sleep, not to be aroused until 1:30pm. I forced myself up then, not understanding why I was so tired. I still don't get it.
I went down and had a "traditional tea" while I waited for Julie to get back from shopping. She and I were going to ride together to my friend Amy's baby shower. At 3pm, we were off. The baby shower was lots of fun! PLenty to eat and drink, and I got to meet the latest gay couple of Zimbabwe. This South African guy and this white Zimbabwean are newly coupled, about two weeks. So they're still in the touchy-feely, let's do-it-all-the-time phase. The South African is named Eden and is mixed, and I think he's with the embassy, but I'm not sure. The Zimbabwean is 3rd generation and is named Vaughn. Vaughn was actually pretty cute, and I chatted with both of them. Vaughn said before he met Eden, it had been 4.5 yrs since he'd been in a relationship. Yet another reason not to take a job in Africa! Anyway, it was nice to find some of my brethern.
There was swimming and some games. I came in a close second to the baby's father in the beer chugging through a baby bottle contest. Not sure what it says of him that he can suck better than I can ;) Of course, I partially wonder about these Zimbabweans who are latching on to Americans. It seems to me that getting an AMerican to marry you would be the ultimate jackpot for someone from Zimbabwe. You get all these benefits of being an American spouse, not the least of which is expedited citizenship. Of course, this is all for naught if you are a same-sex couple, but the examples of Amy and Yinka are what I'm thinking about. She hadn't dated this guy for long before she got pregnant. I hope he's not using her. Same goes with Yinka, although I've known Everard, and I like him. I think his relationship with Yinka is pretty real, and they've been together over a year. Still, you have to wonder...how can you be sure that you're not being used as a single American overseas? Everard, for instance, not only gets a fast track to citizenship, but he gets all the spousal benefits (health insurance, life insurance, etc) that comes with marrying Yinka. His cataracts and broken hand can all be healed properly. And he escapes Zimbabwe for the USA, which is a pretty sweet deal. Also, wherever Yinka goes, the govt will pay for him to follow. It may be crass to be suspicious, and I hope that no one will be hurt or is being used. Still, you have to wonder....
I left with Julie about 8pm, and that was a good time. I ordered some dinner, after which I actually got sick. I'm not sure what was wrong. I didn't drink that much, and I only threw up a little before feeling better. I went to bed, and couldn't get comfortable. I felt hot, and was sweating a lot. I finally got up Sunday morning, read the "paper" here, and decided to lay out by the pool. The storms the night before had cooled the pool significantly, but that was OK. I read and dozed for a couple of hours, which sort of burned me, even though it was overcast. That didn't help my feeling hot in the room later that night.
I had a nice dinner at the restaurant, eating some ostrich. Ostrich tastes OK but it's entirely too tough. I went to bed at a decent hour, knowing I had to get up. I still felt a little nauseated at night, but I didn't vomit this time. I sure hope I'm not coming down with anything.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Auguste came back today, so I had to move to another desk. Luckily, Mr. MDicky was leaving for a trip, so I'm now at his desk. The woman from CDC who's going to Kenya to fill in for about 6 weeks arrived yesterday and was in our truck for the ride to WHO. She doesn't seem to precious for words, but I know how demanding she's been thus far. We'll have to see if it continues. We had to go to the CDC offices downtown where the Global AIDS Program is located. The CDC director of the office likes to meet everyone coming through and know what we're up to. It was a throwaway meeting, but we did learn that Zimbabwe is now the 2nd country after Uganda to actually lower its HIV prevelance rate. That's good news. We stopped to pick up some lunch, and then came back to the office. I've wasted my entire day catching up on emails and responding to various things. I will likely have to take some work home tonight. Oh well, it's my own fault. I'm so ready to come home.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Return to Zimbabwe II
Thursday - November 17, 2005
Today went pretty well. Julie Jenks called me at 6:30am to see if I wanted to go get breakfast, so that served as my wake-up call. I passed on breakfast, as I've taken to just having coffee in my room while I dress, watch CNN International, and read through the "newspaper". The van came to pick us up on time, and we got into work. I fixed Julie's computer she could immediately get on the internet. I then pretty much spent the day catching up on my email,uploading my journals, etc. That's what happens when you spend half a week without any connectivity at all! Luckily, I think I'm mostly done with what I needed to do here. I probably could have worked on this from Atlanta, truth to be told. I am also pretty sure that I'm not doing these allotment reports right, but oh well. I leave on Wednesday! Julie will just have to figure it out.
Just as the day started coming to a close, storm clouds rolled in. As we waited for the vans to take us back to the hotel, it rained a bit, and thundered. Starting around 6pm, though, the storms commenced. Pretty powerful storms too. The lightning was ferocious, but awesome to see. Yinka arranged to pick me up at 7:15pm for the Korean dinner night. I napped a bit until then.
The dinner was pretty good! No dog was served, which I actually had been a bit concerned about. There was a couple from the Japanese embassy, Kim the Canadian and her Zim boyfriend, Thomas the Norweigan and his wife, and Matthew the American and his wife Diana. Matthew had an interesting accent, and I couldn't place it until I asked where he grew up. He hails from Milwaukee, WI it turns out, which is where I'd heard that accent before. He didn't know Uncle Marc from UW, but it was neat to meet someone from a place I know pretty well. He was also kinda cute in a bookish way. He and Diana have been together 11 yrs, but only recently married, b/c when he joined the foreign service, it was easier to get her here if they were married. But Diana keeps her own name and they don't wear wedding rings. And they say gays are a threat to "traditional marriage" :)
We had some excellent dishes, and my favorite was the honey garlic chicken! Very yummy. We also had wine with dinner. By the time we finished, and I got back to the hotel, it was just after 10pm. I took a bath, and then watched TV. Unfortunatley for me, I got hooked into this movie about managed care and a KY woman who fought against it. I didn't get to sleep until after 1:30am. Good thing that WHO closes early on Fridays :)
Today went pretty well. Julie Jenks called me at 6:30am to see if I wanted to go get breakfast, so that served as my wake-up call. I passed on breakfast, as I've taken to just having coffee in my room while I dress, watch CNN International, and read through the "newspaper". The van came to pick us up on time, and we got into work. I fixed Julie's computer she could immediately get on the internet. I then pretty much spent the day catching up on my email,uploading my journals, etc. That's what happens when you spend half a week without any connectivity at all! Luckily, I think I'm mostly done with what I needed to do here. I probably could have worked on this from Atlanta, truth to be told. I am also pretty sure that I'm not doing these allotment reports right, but oh well. I leave on Wednesday! Julie will just have to figure it out.
Just as the day started coming to a close, storm clouds rolled in. As we waited for the vans to take us back to the hotel, it rained a bit, and thundered. Starting around 6pm, though, the storms commenced. Pretty powerful storms too. The lightning was ferocious, but awesome to see. Yinka arranged to pick me up at 7:15pm for the Korean dinner night. I napped a bit until then.
The dinner was pretty good! No dog was served, which I actually had been a bit concerned about. There was a couple from the Japanese embassy, Kim the Canadian and her Zim boyfriend, Thomas the Norweigan and his wife, and Matthew the American and his wife Diana. Matthew had an interesting accent, and I couldn't place it until I asked where he grew up. He hails from Milwaukee, WI it turns out, which is where I'd heard that accent before. He didn't know Uncle Marc from UW, but it was neat to meet someone from a place I know pretty well. He was also kinda cute in a bookish way. He and Diana have been together 11 yrs, but only recently married, b/c when he joined the foreign service, it was easier to get her here if they were married. But Diana keeps her own name and they don't wear wedding rings. And they say gays are a threat to "traditional marriage" :)
We had some excellent dishes, and my favorite was the honey garlic chicken! Very yummy. We also had wine with dinner. By the time we finished, and I got back to the hotel, it was just after 10pm. I took a bath, and then watched TV. Unfortunatley for me, I got hooked into this movie about managed care and a KY woman who fought against it. I didn't get to sleep until after 1:30am. Good thing that WHO closes early on Fridays :)
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Return to Zimbabwe
Monday, 14 November 2005
The flight over was uneventful, and actually seemed to go faster than I remember it being last year. That’s my imagination going because the start and end times for the flight are unchanged. I was one row from the exit row, which would have given me much more foot room. But the guy I was crammed into cattle car class with was a NASA contractor from CA who was going to a conference in Cape Town, South Africa. He was nice enough, and we chatted a bit. This was his first trip to Africa, and they were there to celebrate the inaugural of a big, fancy telescope that South Africa has built. He worked on his presentation a little on the flight, and it was highly technical stuff full of mathematical values that I didn’t understand. Reminded me of all the epidemiological charts that you see on some CDC presentations. Personally, I don’t care how you got there, as long as your methodology was sound. Just give me the results
The food was terrible on the flight. They gave us this chicken dish that had no taste at all, and our “snack” consisted of a sandwich and cookies. Luckily, you could get drinks whenever you wanted. The little bottles of South African wine were pretty good. I didn’t drink too much though, and it didn’t put me to sleep. I can not get comfortable in those seats, crammed in there as you are. So I didn’t sleep at all until I got to Johannesburg (Joburg). My layover was only about an hour or so, but I went and had some lunch and checked email. Let everyone know I was in Joburg safe and sound. Also let them know to not expect to hear from me until Monday, and hopefully that will mollify my mom.
On the Joburg-Harare flight, I passed out and slept the whole way. Going through customs was uneventful, and my luggage came out without problems. My WHO driver was waiting for me, and he took me to the Meikles. The Meikles is a nice place, and I can see how it’s one of the nicest hotels in Africa. Of course, it’s not as nice as the Sheraton Addis, but I’m not sure many hotels in the world match that level of opulence But there many similarities. You have a grand foyer, and the bellmen are all over you like white on rice. They checked me in, and gave me room 654. The bellmen took me up, and it was nice. You could tell that like most things in Zimbabwe, it hasn’t been updated in about 20-30 years. Still, the Meikles has held up over time. The room is spacious, has a mini-fridge, a TV (you can hear the sound in the bathroom when it’s on through speakers in the bathroom), and has the full complement of amenities you’d expect from restaurants to shops to a pool, sauna and gym. I didn’t get to see the pool, sauna, or gym b/c I wasn’t awake during the operating hours
I had about 1.5 hours to nap before I had to be ready for this Marine Ball. I’d heard so much about these Marine Balls, which celebrate the founding of the US Marines in 1775. I was glad to buy a ticket and go this year. Plus, I knew I’d get to see Marines in dress uniforms which are always a delight for the eyes. Well, not so much this year. The marine contingent is completely changed from who was here last year. The change was not an improvement either. Only two of the marines could be classified as attractive, and word is that one of the attractive ones is about as smart as a box of rocks. The guys in last year’s group were all pretty attractive, friendly, outgoing, and could hold a conversation. This year’s bunch pretty much stuck to themselves the whole night with some interaction with the ladies who work at the embassy. Apparently, they aren’t as familiar with the CDC people assigned here. Not sure if it’s due to a lack of effort from both parties or what. The food was horrible, and the music was odd. They played all these REALLY old songs from the 60s and 70s. Then you had some Zimbabwean music which was OK, but not my cup of tea. The party broke up around midnight, and Casey dropped me off at the Meikles. I went up to my room and died, not waking up until 4:30pm on Sunday afternoon.
I read the Zimbabwean newspaper, which was entertaining. It’s run by the state, so the propaganda is thicker than what you get even from FOX News in the USA. Then I went downstairs for dinner. I had French onion soup, chicken with veggies, chocolate mousse, 3 servings of Coke, and an after dinner tea. All this cost me $870,000 Zim, and with tip, I shelled out $1 million Zim. I can now say I’ve had a million dollar meal Actually, the exchange rate is about $88,000 Zim = $1 US, so that dinner cost me about $11 US. The inflation rate is out of control here, and it’s only going to get worse from what I understand. I changed out $300 with the black market guy who works WHO, and got $26.4 MILLION Zim in return. Damn shame that I can’t magically turn this Zim$ into US cash $1Zim = $1US But once again, Africa has made me a millionaire. I did a little calculation of what my US salary would be in Zim$. Turns out I’d be a billionaire, and comfortably so. Of course, when dinner sets you back a cool mil, you need to be a billionaire.
I then went back to my room and read a while before going to sleep. I awoke at 4:30am unable to fall back asleep, so I got up and read some more. Then it was time to get up at 6:30pm, have my morning coffee, and dress for work. The WHO van came to pick me up at 7:30am, and drove me to the office. I’m sitting in the same office I had last November when I came to do this financial report stuff. If only I could connect to the internet, it would be fine.
It’s now 3pm, and still no internet. Of course, without it, I can’t access the files I’m supposed to be looking at and turning into a report. I actually got rid of everything I did last year, which in hindsight was stupid. But I know they have an electronic copy somewhere; I just have to find it. In the meantime, I’m not really able to DO anything. The internet help desk guy came in, and discovered that my user ID had been deleted from the system since I had not been here for a year. So they have to redo it. He ran off saying he had to print something. I presume he has what he needs. I sure hope so, b/c this being locked off the internet sucks.
Casey took me to lunch. We ate the fast food court that’s not too far from here. It has 4 stores: a bakery, a pizza inn, a burger king wannabe called Steers, and a spicy chicken place. I got a pizza, and three “Mr Juicy”. It’s kind of like Hi-C or Capri Sun. I was a lot thirstier than I realized. Casey took me to the grocery so that I could buy some water. I got 6 liters, which should get me through midweek. I also had to buy a toothbrush ($224,000 Zim) b/c dummy me ran off without packing the charger to my toothbrush, so it will die in a day or so. I can’t go a week without brushing my teeth. Luckily, they had some good old Oral B US toothbrushes that will do.
The late spring weather here is just as you’d expect: HOT. Actually, Atlanta about about this temperature last week when we had 80F weather. But in Atlanta, I have air-conditioning. Here, I don’t…at least when I’m not in the Meikles. So I’m nice and grimy by the end of the day, and I just feel gross. I hate being hot! I’m not a crazy fan of winter weather, but you can survive winter weather…this having to dress up with a coat and tie for work when it’s 80F and no air-conditioning sucks. I don’t even have a fan to circulate air.
Whine, whine, bitch, moan, complain. I know it seems that is all I do when I come to Africa. There are plenty of beautiful and interesting things in Africa. Where it not for the financial problems of Zimbabwe and its dictatorial, semi-communist government, this would be a fine place to live. Even Ethiopia was breathtakingly beautiful from the province I was assigned to monitor. Africa, however, is very far behind the rest of the world in development, and reminders of this are never far away. It’s probably good that you can’t help but see the suffering no matter where you go, b/c you shouldn’t forget it. It would do the US all sorts of good if the middle class and wealthy could not escape from the harsh realities of poverty. You can structure your life so that you rarely if ever see the worst that poverty has to offer. Here, when over 80% of the nation lives below the Zimbabwean poverty line, you can’t escape it.
I understand the allure of Foreign Service. When you are from the USA, you will be well paid in US dollars to work in less than ideal conditions. You get your housing and utilities paid for, as well as other rights that accrue as you stay overseas. To accept an overseas post, I would basically have to back into the closet, something I am not willing to do. I worked too long and too hard to “come out” to willingly go back into the closet, rebuild the door, and shut myself in. There are plenty of people who have done that. In the State Dept, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal if you’re gay. They will even move your partner over with you, although finding them a job could be difficult. Still, in most places that CDC works, being gay is illegal. You can be put into jail and/or expelled from the country if the “wrong” people found out. I’m not sure how others reconcile that. I know one guy with CDC who is stationed in Nigeria has a hankering for African men, which is good since he’s been in Africa for about 6 years and would like another African post. He basically meets closeted gay Africans, seduces them, and has a string of fuck buddies. It seems awfully dangerous considering the prevalence of highly virulent HIV in Africa. Even if this guy’s a top (which would surprise me), he has played Russian roulette for quite some time. Of course, that’s assuming he hasn’t caught HIV. I’m not sure that he could pass the State Dept health examination if he was HIV+. Other people, like the guy I know stationed in Egypt who is of Palestinian descent, just goes into the closet. Locks his door tightly, and waits for trips to foreign lands or the US to “play”. I can’t imagine a more lonely existence. I know we all make choices in life, but to consign myself to a life alone consciously because of a job doesn’t make sense to me. Others like the Nigeria assignee, are more open about whom they “date”, but even if you fall in love and set up housekeeping with someone while overseas, you’re SOL when it comes time to return to the USA thanks to our immigration laws. So no matter what you do, it always ends in heartache, and you being alone.
There is one other alternative. If I had someone who wanted to go on this international “adventure” with me, knowing that finding jobs would be difficult, then I’d consider it. Already having a spouse seems to be the secret of surviving. Lord knows in the places where I’d have to work, there’d NEVER be any worry of straying But while I’m still single, taking a job overseas is a non-starter for me. Plus, taking a job overseas means I’d be disconnected from one of my true loves: politics. I’d always vote, of course, but not being involved in the “good fight” would be disheartening.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Last night, I had to cram into a bus to get back to the Meikles. It was OK, except for the lack of deodorant among the other passengers. As soon as I got back to the hotel, I ran to my room, stripped off and put on my trunks, and went to the pool. The water was kind of cold, but it felt SO good. By the end of the day, I had felt so grimy and disgusting. After a little swim, I went back to my room, dressed, and went down to the lounge for a snack. I had this filet salad which was pretty good. I know I shouldn’t eat salad, but I did. I’ll probably end up with a parasite or two from this trip, but in Africa, what else is new? I also had tea. Then I went upstairs for a cocktail before having dinner. It was another $1 Million Zim dinner, but it was good. I had salmon, but was kind of dry and tough, but overall not bad. I read a book the whole time, which was nice. I’m sure others either think me rude or weird, but I don’t care. When I left the dining room, I passed by an apparent karaoke night where someone was singing John Denver’s “Country Roads”. They played that at the Marine Ball too, to great fanfare. I don’t know what it is about John Denver that is so popular here!
I slept pretty well last night, although I keep having weird dreams. The WHO truck that picked me up yesterday arrived again at 7:30pm. I discovered that to get home, I really should meet the vans at 4:45pm to get back to the Meikles. Otherwise, I have to make special arrangements. Fine by me. Especially if they don’t get me internet access SOON here. Yinka is bringing me last year’s report that I worked on, since I don’t have a copy. So maybe I’ll be able to get something done. Who knows? I hope it’s an electronic copy that I can just update. If I have to start from scratch, I’ll rebel. I’ll make Julie do it
I had my security briefing at the embassy today. Pretty much the same information that I’ve received in my previous trips. Turns out that while the Marines aren’t all that attractive this year, the embassy guys are HOT. The security officer who briefed me and two others was drop dead gorgeous. It was almost distracting. I wish I had seen him at the Marine Ball! He probably was there, but I don’t remember seeing him. Of course, after the Marine disappointment, I wasn’t really looking anymore. The embassy medical guy is also quite attractive. Either one could visit me in the Meikles anytime! LOL
I finally got the items that I needed to start my project. Luckily, Yinka had the documents we produced last year on disk, so I’m now just updating. It’s going a lot smoother than last year, but then again, I remember some of the lessons I learned. Lessons like, “Just because something says it’s for ‘ops cost’ doesn’t mean you should PUT it under ‘Ops Cost’.” Basically, it’s a way to make overhead look smaller than it might be in reality. Overhead is a tricky thing anyway. WHO takes 13% of any grant it gets as “overhead” which pays for secretaries, travel, communications, logistics, etc. These things don’t always touch an immunization day, but they are necessary to carry those days out. By US government standards, though, WHO still uses a lot of overhead. Poor Bush would swoon if he understood the numbers.
Discussed career options with Yinka and Casey today. It’s kind of a wait and see pattern. This is another reason I don’t want an overseas post. Once you no longer “fit” into the scheme of things, you are either forced into a bad situation or you have to return to the US and look for another job. Granted, GID will keep you employed while you look, but it’s kind of a shabby way to treat someone who’s given you some of the best years of their lives. We just don’t have the FTEs to welcome back field people to Atlanta-based positions with open arms.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Today, I finally got internet connectivity! They’ve totally revamped the system here, so there are more checks before you can log on. What a pain. The good side is that without any distractions, I’ve been able to finish a lot of my work, so I’ll have more time to be “leisurely” than I might have otherwise. Today was uneventful, until we had this mandatory security briefing for all WHO employees. Since I’m a consultant, I had to go too, and Yinka drove me over.
The WHO-Zimbabwe office is in this hospital complex that is quite nasty looking. They have this coal plant on the premises, that I can only imagine is used for power in the hospital. The morgue was right next to that, which is a juxtaposition I found disturbing, almost like a concentration camp. I can tell you one thing, if I was in Zimbabwe and got seriously ill, you wouldn’t find me in one of these hospitals. I’m not even sure they’re that sanitary. We passed by the “nuclear medicine” department on the way to this meeting, and I remarked that if I had cancer, I’d be demanding that CDC bring me home for treatment. No way would I rely on African medicine and hospitals with my life on the line.
The meeting on security was a waste of time. We all thought there was going to be special information shared about the upcoming elections, but they barely touched on that. The security officer for WHO-Zimbabwe has no public speaking skills, and apparently had no real plan for this “training”. He was also missing one of his front teeth, which I found terribly distracting. It is hard to take someone seriously when they present themselves like that. He started talking randomly about various topics, on of which was a “warden system” which is something to do with UN residential security. Turns out the wardens haven’t been doing their jobs, and this guy was stunned when the crowd turned on him over this issue. Other things came up, like access to the UN doctor and clinic. The funniest thing was seeing it turn into a virtual free-for-all with the security guy calling out the management people and other departments. I’ve never seen people be so insulting to each other at a management level in an open meeting like this before. One lady was hilarious when she said, “Since your meeting with the wardens is next week, perhaps you will remember what you have promised here, since it should still be fresh in your mind.” There was no “sister roll” or snaps, but the intent was certainly there Once that worthless meeting was over, I was able to get a couple of things done before heading back to the hotel. I had a “traditional tea” for my dinner, and then went back to room to watch movies before going to bed.
The flight over was uneventful, and actually seemed to go faster than I remember it being last year. That’s my imagination going because the start and end times for the flight are unchanged. I was one row from the exit row, which would have given me much more foot room. But the guy I was crammed into cattle car class with was a NASA contractor from CA who was going to a conference in Cape Town, South Africa. He was nice enough, and we chatted a bit. This was his first trip to Africa, and they were there to celebrate the inaugural of a big, fancy telescope that South Africa has built. He worked on his presentation a little on the flight, and it was highly technical stuff full of mathematical values that I didn’t understand. Reminded me of all the epidemiological charts that you see on some CDC presentations. Personally, I don’t care how you got there, as long as your methodology was sound. Just give me the results
The food was terrible on the flight. They gave us this chicken dish that had no taste at all, and our “snack” consisted of a sandwich and cookies. Luckily, you could get drinks whenever you wanted. The little bottles of South African wine were pretty good. I didn’t drink too much though, and it didn’t put me to sleep. I can not get comfortable in those seats, crammed in there as you are. So I didn’t sleep at all until I got to Johannesburg (Joburg). My layover was only about an hour or so, but I went and had some lunch and checked email. Let everyone know I was in Joburg safe and sound. Also let them know to not expect to hear from me until Monday, and hopefully that will mollify my mom.
On the Joburg-Harare flight, I passed out and slept the whole way. Going through customs was uneventful, and my luggage came out without problems. My WHO driver was waiting for me, and he took me to the Meikles. The Meikles is a nice place, and I can see how it’s one of the nicest hotels in Africa. Of course, it’s not as nice as the Sheraton Addis, but I’m not sure many hotels in the world match that level of opulence But there many similarities. You have a grand foyer, and the bellmen are all over you like white on rice. They checked me in, and gave me room 654. The bellmen took me up, and it was nice. You could tell that like most things in Zimbabwe, it hasn’t been updated in about 20-30 years. Still, the Meikles has held up over time. The room is spacious, has a mini-fridge, a TV (you can hear the sound in the bathroom when it’s on through speakers in the bathroom), and has the full complement of amenities you’d expect from restaurants to shops to a pool, sauna and gym. I didn’t get to see the pool, sauna, or gym b/c I wasn’t awake during the operating hours
I had about 1.5 hours to nap before I had to be ready for this Marine Ball. I’d heard so much about these Marine Balls, which celebrate the founding of the US Marines in 1775. I was glad to buy a ticket and go this year. Plus, I knew I’d get to see Marines in dress uniforms which are always a delight for the eyes. Well, not so much this year. The marine contingent is completely changed from who was here last year. The change was not an improvement either. Only two of the marines could be classified as attractive, and word is that one of the attractive ones is about as smart as a box of rocks. The guys in last year’s group were all pretty attractive, friendly, outgoing, and could hold a conversation. This year’s bunch pretty much stuck to themselves the whole night with some interaction with the ladies who work at the embassy. Apparently, they aren’t as familiar with the CDC people assigned here. Not sure if it’s due to a lack of effort from both parties or what. The food was horrible, and the music was odd. They played all these REALLY old songs from the 60s and 70s. Then you had some Zimbabwean music which was OK, but not my cup of tea. The party broke up around midnight, and Casey dropped me off at the Meikles. I went up to my room and died, not waking up until 4:30pm on Sunday afternoon.
I read the Zimbabwean newspaper, which was entertaining. It’s run by the state, so the propaganda is thicker than what you get even from FOX News in the USA. Then I went downstairs for dinner. I had French onion soup, chicken with veggies, chocolate mousse, 3 servings of Coke, and an after dinner tea. All this cost me $870,000 Zim, and with tip, I shelled out $1 million Zim. I can now say I’ve had a million dollar meal Actually, the exchange rate is about $88,000 Zim = $1 US, so that dinner cost me about $11 US. The inflation rate is out of control here, and it’s only going to get worse from what I understand. I changed out $300 with the black market guy who works WHO, and got $26.4 MILLION Zim in return. Damn shame that I can’t magically turn this Zim$ into US cash $1Zim = $1US But once again, Africa has made me a millionaire. I did a little calculation of what my US salary would be in Zim$. Turns out I’d be a billionaire, and comfortably so. Of course, when dinner sets you back a cool mil, you need to be a billionaire.
I then went back to my room and read a while before going to sleep. I awoke at 4:30am unable to fall back asleep, so I got up and read some more. Then it was time to get up at 6:30pm, have my morning coffee, and dress for work. The WHO van came to pick me up at 7:30am, and drove me to the office. I’m sitting in the same office I had last November when I came to do this financial report stuff. If only I could connect to the internet, it would be fine.
It’s now 3pm, and still no internet. Of course, without it, I can’t access the files I’m supposed to be looking at and turning into a report. I actually got rid of everything I did last year, which in hindsight was stupid. But I know they have an electronic copy somewhere; I just have to find it. In the meantime, I’m not really able to DO anything. The internet help desk guy came in, and discovered that my user ID had been deleted from the system since I had not been here for a year. So they have to redo it. He ran off saying he had to print something. I presume he has what he needs. I sure hope so, b/c this being locked off the internet sucks.
Casey took me to lunch. We ate the fast food court that’s not too far from here. It has 4 stores: a bakery, a pizza inn, a burger king wannabe called Steers, and a spicy chicken place. I got a pizza, and three “Mr Juicy”. It’s kind of like Hi-C or Capri Sun. I was a lot thirstier than I realized. Casey took me to the grocery so that I could buy some water. I got 6 liters, which should get me through midweek. I also had to buy a toothbrush ($224,000 Zim) b/c dummy me ran off without packing the charger to my toothbrush, so it will die in a day or so. I can’t go a week without brushing my teeth. Luckily, they had some good old Oral B US toothbrushes that will do.
The late spring weather here is just as you’d expect: HOT. Actually, Atlanta about about this temperature last week when we had 80F weather. But in Atlanta, I have air-conditioning. Here, I don’t…at least when I’m not in the Meikles. So I’m nice and grimy by the end of the day, and I just feel gross. I hate being hot! I’m not a crazy fan of winter weather, but you can survive winter weather…this having to dress up with a coat and tie for work when it’s 80F and no air-conditioning sucks. I don’t even have a fan to circulate air.
Whine, whine, bitch, moan, complain. I know it seems that is all I do when I come to Africa. There are plenty of beautiful and interesting things in Africa. Where it not for the financial problems of Zimbabwe and its dictatorial, semi-communist government, this would be a fine place to live. Even Ethiopia was breathtakingly beautiful from the province I was assigned to monitor. Africa, however, is very far behind the rest of the world in development, and reminders of this are never far away. It’s probably good that you can’t help but see the suffering no matter where you go, b/c you shouldn’t forget it. It would do the US all sorts of good if the middle class and wealthy could not escape from the harsh realities of poverty. You can structure your life so that you rarely if ever see the worst that poverty has to offer. Here, when over 80% of the nation lives below the Zimbabwean poverty line, you can’t escape it.
I understand the allure of Foreign Service. When you are from the USA, you will be well paid in US dollars to work in less than ideal conditions. You get your housing and utilities paid for, as well as other rights that accrue as you stay overseas. To accept an overseas post, I would basically have to back into the closet, something I am not willing to do. I worked too long and too hard to “come out” to willingly go back into the closet, rebuild the door, and shut myself in. There are plenty of people who have done that. In the State Dept, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal if you’re gay. They will even move your partner over with you, although finding them a job could be difficult. Still, in most places that CDC works, being gay is illegal. You can be put into jail and/or expelled from the country if the “wrong” people found out. I’m not sure how others reconcile that. I know one guy with CDC who is stationed in Nigeria has a hankering for African men, which is good since he’s been in Africa for about 6 years and would like another African post. He basically meets closeted gay Africans, seduces them, and has a string of fuck buddies. It seems awfully dangerous considering the prevalence of highly virulent HIV in Africa. Even if this guy’s a top (which would surprise me), he has played Russian roulette for quite some time. Of course, that’s assuming he hasn’t caught HIV. I’m not sure that he could pass the State Dept health examination if he was HIV+. Other people, like the guy I know stationed in Egypt who is of Palestinian descent, just goes into the closet. Locks his door tightly, and waits for trips to foreign lands or the US to “play”. I can’t imagine a more lonely existence. I know we all make choices in life, but to consign myself to a life alone consciously because of a job doesn’t make sense to me. Others like the Nigeria assignee, are more open about whom they “date”, but even if you fall in love and set up housekeeping with someone while overseas, you’re SOL when it comes time to return to the USA thanks to our immigration laws. So no matter what you do, it always ends in heartache, and you being alone.
There is one other alternative. If I had someone who wanted to go on this international “adventure” with me, knowing that finding jobs would be difficult, then I’d consider it. Already having a spouse seems to be the secret of surviving. Lord knows in the places where I’d have to work, there’d NEVER be any worry of straying But while I’m still single, taking a job overseas is a non-starter for me. Plus, taking a job overseas means I’d be disconnected from one of my true loves: politics. I’d always vote, of course, but not being involved in the “good fight” would be disheartening.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Last night, I had to cram into a bus to get back to the Meikles. It was OK, except for the lack of deodorant among the other passengers. As soon as I got back to the hotel, I ran to my room, stripped off and put on my trunks, and went to the pool. The water was kind of cold, but it felt SO good. By the end of the day, I had felt so grimy and disgusting. After a little swim, I went back to my room, dressed, and went down to the lounge for a snack. I had this filet salad which was pretty good. I know I shouldn’t eat salad, but I did. I’ll probably end up with a parasite or two from this trip, but in Africa, what else is new? I also had tea. Then I went upstairs for a cocktail before having dinner. It was another $1 Million Zim dinner, but it was good. I had salmon, but was kind of dry and tough, but overall not bad. I read a book the whole time, which was nice. I’m sure others either think me rude or weird, but I don’t care. When I left the dining room, I passed by an apparent karaoke night where someone was singing John Denver’s “Country Roads”. They played that at the Marine Ball too, to great fanfare. I don’t know what it is about John Denver that is so popular here!
I slept pretty well last night, although I keep having weird dreams. The WHO truck that picked me up yesterday arrived again at 7:30pm. I discovered that to get home, I really should meet the vans at 4:45pm to get back to the Meikles. Otherwise, I have to make special arrangements. Fine by me. Especially if they don’t get me internet access SOON here. Yinka is bringing me last year’s report that I worked on, since I don’t have a copy. So maybe I’ll be able to get something done. Who knows? I hope it’s an electronic copy that I can just update. If I have to start from scratch, I’ll rebel. I’ll make Julie do it
I had my security briefing at the embassy today. Pretty much the same information that I’ve received in my previous trips. Turns out that while the Marines aren’t all that attractive this year, the embassy guys are HOT. The security officer who briefed me and two others was drop dead gorgeous. It was almost distracting. I wish I had seen him at the Marine Ball! He probably was there, but I don’t remember seeing him. Of course, after the Marine disappointment, I wasn’t really looking anymore. The embassy medical guy is also quite attractive. Either one could visit me in the Meikles anytime! LOL
I finally got the items that I needed to start my project. Luckily, Yinka had the documents we produced last year on disk, so I’m now just updating. It’s going a lot smoother than last year, but then again, I remember some of the lessons I learned. Lessons like, “Just because something says it’s for ‘ops cost’ doesn’t mean you should PUT it under ‘Ops Cost’.” Basically, it’s a way to make overhead look smaller than it might be in reality. Overhead is a tricky thing anyway. WHO takes 13% of any grant it gets as “overhead” which pays for secretaries, travel, communications, logistics, etc. These things don’t always touch an immunization day, but they are necessary to carry those days out. By US government standards, though, WHO still uses a lot of overhead. Poor Bush would swoon if he understood the numbers.
Discussed career options with Yinka and Casey today. It’s kind of a wait and see pattern. This is another reason I don’t want an overseas post. Once you no longer “fit” into the scheme of things, you are either forced into a bad situation or you have to return to the US and look for another job. Granted, GID will keep you employed while you look, but it’s kind of a shabby way to treat someone who’s given you some of the best years of their lives. We just don’t have the FTEs to welcome back field people to Atlanta-based positions with open arms.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Today, I finally got internet connectivity! They’ve totally revamped the system here, so there are more checks before you can log on. What a pain. The good side is that without any distractions, I’ve been able to finish a lot of my work, so I’ll have more time to be “leisurely” than I might have otherwise. Today was uneventful, until we had this mandatory security briefing for all WHO employees. Since I’m a consultant, I had to go too, and Yinka drove me over.
The WHO-Zimbabwe office is in this hospital complex that is quite nasty looking. They have this coal plant on the premises, that I can only imagine is used for power in the hospital. The morgue was right next to that, which is a juxtaposition I found disturbing, almost like a concentration camp. I can tell you one thing, if I was in Zimbabwe and got seriously ill, you wouldn’t find me in one of these hospitals. I’m not even sure they’re that sanitary. We passed by the “nuclear medicine” department on the way to this meeting, and I remarked that if I had cancer, I’d be demanding that CDC bring me home for treatment. No way would I rely on African medicine and hospitals with my life on the line.
The meeting on security was a waste of time. We all thought there was going to be special information shared about the upcoming elections, but they barely touched on that. The security officer for WHO-Zimbabwe has no public speaking skills, and apparently had no real plan for this “training”. He was also missing one of his front teeth, which I found terribly distracting. It is hard to take someone seriously when they present themselves like that. He started talking randomly about various topics, on of which was a “warden system” which is something to do with UN residential security. Turns out the wardens haven’t been doing their jobs, and this guy was stunned when the crowd turned on him over this issue. Other things came up, like access to the UN doctor and clinic. The funniest thing was seeing it turn into a virtual free-for-all with the security guy calling out the management people and other departments. I’ve never seen people be so insulting to each other at a management level in an open meeting like this before. One lady was hilarious when she said, “Since your meeting with the wardens is next week, perhaps you will remember what you have promised here, since it should still be fresh in your mind.” There was no “sister roll” or snaps, but the intent was certainly there Once that worthless meeting was over, I was able to get a couple of things done before heading back to the hotel. I had a “traditional tea” for my dinner, and then went back to room to watch movies before going to bed.
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