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.