Tuesday – May 30, 2006
The morning was perfectly lovely with a light breakfast, and meeting the WHO van, which was running late. I had to sit at Debra’s desk because the guy who normally sits where I had been sitting returned yesterday. Of course, he did not show up today, but that’s fine. I like being able to face the door. It allows me to do work, and surf the Internet without being spied on.
Couple of interesting items in the newspaper today. First, the government is announcing the release of the 100,000 dollar “bearer’s cheque” to complement the 50,000 dollar “bearer’s cheque” released in January. With inflation at 1042%, they have to release ever larger denominations to handle the rising costs of items. How does a “bearer’s cheque” and legal tender cash differ? It doesn’t really, except the “bearer’s cheque” is not legal tender outside the borders of Zimbabwe. You cannot exchange them for local money in any country. The second you leave Zimbabwe, they aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. With legal tender cash, I can exchange Zim dollars for local currency in other nations. It’s a clever way to diffuse the charge that they are “printing money” which is exactly what they ARE doing.
The other interesting item was an article by none other than CYNTHIA MCKINNEY, the “pride of DeKalb County”. See the article here: http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=3814&cat=10. One of the most racist members of Congress is now writing opinion pieces for Mugabe’s state-owned rag. All to promote some kind of conspiracy theory that the US Government had MLK killed. Actually, I’m not clear what McKinney’s motivation in writing this article is. Other than to say that during the civil rights movement, the government did some really crappy things to Dr. King and others. All that was exposed a while ago, and the lesson is that the government failed to stop a righteous cause. Eventually, all righteous causes in a truly free society will prevail. Yet here Cynthia is, spreading her bile to Africa where any news of “bad white people” is sopped up with glee. DeKalb should be ashamed of itself for having such a “representative” in Congress. Thank God I was redistricted into John Lewis’s district. That’s the one thing the GOP General Assembly did that I’m thankful for. At least now, I can proudly tell people who my representative in Congress is! He votes the correct way, and he’s highly respected…what more could you want?
I spent most of the morning waiting for the big meeting with Balcha. Casey and I went over everything again. Balcha was delayed, so Casey and I went to get sandwiches for lunch. Balcha came in around 2:30pm for my report. We spent a half hour talking about the records as they exist and the problem of reconciling various files and extracting useful information. We eventually came up with a suggestion that I write a memo explaining my activities and observations, along with recommendations. Apparently, I will need to present this to Deo tomorrow. Oh boy…can’t wait. At least I can be sure that I won’t be yelled at since Deo doesn’t yell at “visitors”. He didn’t think I needed to come in the first place, and I’ve increasingly seen my role as verifying everything Casey has been trying to tell these people for a while. Maybe my status as an outsider will convince them. It seemed to work for Balcha.
I came home and had one last nice dinner at La Fontane. I also had to make another payment on my hotel bill. This making payments thing is vaguely insulting, but I guess that is their system. As of today, I had racked up a bill of $368 Million Zim. Thank God CDC will pay the bill.
After dinner, I came back to my room, and finished writing my memo for WHO. Hopefully it won’t need much tweaking tomorrow. I apparently will be required to stay late to fit into Deo’s schedule. It’s kind of like waiting around to be summoned by His Majesty. Other than that, I watched movies on TV and went to bed. Of course, I stayed up entirely too late. First, it was a hilarious show from England called “2DTV” which is a political and social satire from ITV (see http://www.2dtv.co.uk/itvindex.htm). The depictions of George Bush and Tony Blair are classic. Yet, it also bashes the conservatives in Britain. The cartoon skits with Geri Holliwell, formerly of the Spice Girls, are hilarious. Last night, they had a skit called the “Bushie and Saddamy Show” based on a Tom and Jerry skit. Very funny stuff. See this still of Bush talking to a sock puppet: http://www.2dtv.co.uk/picture/bush.jpg. Why can’t the Comedy Channel or something produce a show of this quality? Then I watched this cute Jennifer Aniston/Jay Mohr movie called “Picture Perfect” where the girl has to lie about having a fiancé in order to get a promotion at work. Of course, the guy (played by Jay Mohr) was absolutely perfect, thoughtful, etc. I had dinner in a booth behind Jay Mohr in Atlanta once. Not sure why he was in town, but I kept thinking I recognized him. Then it hit me. I didn’t accost him because I think that’s tacky. Still, there’s something about him that I find very attractive.
Only one more day to go, and I can go home!
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part N
Monday - May 29, 2006
Today was Memorial Day in the US, but I had to come in to work. It's OK, because I will earn credit hours for having worked a holiday. I forgot to bring my office key with me, so I was locked out of my office here. I had to sit in Yinka's office for the day. It was fine, because it was quiet. I finally finished linking and reconciling some of these spreadsheets in anticipation of meeting with Balcha at 3pm. That meeting didn't happen, which doesn't bother me.
One good thing about being in Yinka's office is that I could use Paola's computer (I was at her desk) to recharge my Ipod since recharging on my laptop is hit and miss. My cold is still lingering, and it's trying to go into my chest. I have a sporadic dry cough which is bothering me now. But I'm not as stuffed up, which is good. Man, I just want to get home where there are real medicines like cough suppressants. I don't think this is bacterial or I'd start the Cipro that CDC gave me for the trip.
I heard an interesting conversation in the WHO van between some of the local Zimbabwean workers. Luckily, they spoke in English and not Shona, which meant I could understand. One woman in the front seat of the van looked back at one time with a look of disapproval on her face as if such things shouldn't be talked about in front of non-Zimbabweans. The topic was a string of robberies and rapes that have been occuring here. The paper has a story every day of some poor woman or girl getting raped and her family beaten and robbed. The man who brought this up argued that it wasn't the fault of the rapists because the "Troubles" that Zimbabwe currently has cause people to feel less than human. Therefore, they can't control themselves because they have no self-worth. The women, thankfully, were having none of that. They argued that you can always control yourself, no matter how badly you might feel about yourself because of economic circumstances. They said it was one thing to rob and pillage due to poverty but quite another to rape. One woman seemed to take the man's side by saying that bad times can make people do things they normally would never do. She used the example of people who are not cannibals but become cannibals due to starvation. I suppose she felt that maybe rapists aren't really rapists but are driven to it by bad times? I hope that's not the case, but we arrived at the office at this point and the conversation ended.
The paper here also had a story yesterday about how the government was giving each member of Parliament (House and Senate) a vehicle. They were making $50,000 US available for each legislator to buy high end trucks and SUVs. Then today, they had an article about power cuts that are bedeviling Zimbabwe. The infrastructure has never been updated since Independence (way to take care of basic needs Mugabe...)and is crumbling. It also cannot meet the demand for electricity. So Zimbabwe has these rolling blackouts all day long. So far, WHO and the Meikles have been spared. WHO has its own generators, but I'm sure the Meikles is spared due to its value as an economic engine. Still, at a time that a basic need such as electricity and upgrading the infrastructure is being unmet, the government is wasting what little foreign currency it has in buying its legislators (over 2/3 of whom are Zanu-PF, Mugabe's party) expensive, brand new vehicles. Is it just me, or does it seem the priorities are a bit skewed?
I had a bit of an early dinner, watched some of BBC Food, and then watched the movie "A Separate Peace". I read this book in middle school, and it was quite moving then. The movie was pretty good, and it made me want to reread the book. I took a lukewarm shower to have pity on my poor burnt face and torso. I still had a hell of a time cooling off after the shower, although I did get the aloe lotion on. I could have used a nice fan, but all I had was a folder to fan myself. After the movie, I was sleepy enough that I just fell asleep.
Today was Memorial Day in the US, but I had to come in to work. It's OK, because I will earn credit hours for having worked a holiday. I forgot to bring my office key with me, so I was locked out of my office here. I had to sit in Yinka's office for the day. It was fine, because it was quiet. I finally finished linking and reconciling some of these spreadsheets in anticipation of meeting with Balcha at 3pm. That meeting didn't happen, which doesn't bother me.
One good thing about being in Yinka's office is that I could use Paola's computer (I was at her desk) to recharge my Ipod since recharging on my laptop is hit and miss. My cold is still lingering, and it's trying to go into my chest. I have a sporadic dry cough which is bothering me now. But I'm not as stuffed up, which is good. Man, I just want to get home where there are real medicines like cough suppressants. I don't think this is bacterial or I'd start the Cipro that CDC gave me for the trip.
I heard an interesting conversation in the WHO van between some of the local Zimbabwean workers. Luckily, they spoke in English and not Shona, which meant I could understand. One woman in the front seat of the van looked back at one time with a look of disapproval on her face as if such things shouldn't be talked about in front of non-Zimbabweans. The topic was a string of robberies and rapes that have been occuring here. The paper has a story every day of some poor woman or girl getting raped and her family beaten and robbed. The man who brought this up argued that it wasn't the fault of the rapists because the "Troubles" that Zimbabwe currently has cause people to feel less than human. Therefore, they can't control themselves because they have no self-worth. The women, thankfully, were having none of that. They argued that you can always control yourself, no matter how badly you might feel about yourself because of economic circumstances. They said it was one thing to rob and pillage due to poverty but quite another to rape. One woman seemed to take the man's side by saying that bad times can make people do things they normally would never do. She used the example of people who are not cannibals but become cannibals due to starvation. I suppose she felt that maybe rapists aren't really rapists but are driven to it by bad times? I hope that's not the case, but we arrived at the office at this point and the conversation ended.
The paper here also had a story yesterday about how the government was giving each member of Parliament (House and Senate) a vehicle. They were making $50,000 US available for each legislator to buy high end trucks and SUVs. Then today, they had an article about power cuts that are bedeviling Zimbabwe. The infrastructure has never been updated since Independence (way to take care of basic needs Mugabe...)and is crumbling. It also cannot meet the demand for electricity. So Zimbabwe has these rolling blackouts all day long. So far, WHO and the Meikles have been spared. WHO has its own generators, but I'm sure the Meikles is spared due to its value as an economic engine. Still, at a time that a basic need such as electricity and upgrading the infrastructure is being unmet, the government is wasting what little foreign currency it has in buying its legislators (over 2/3 of whom are Zanu-PF, Mugabe's party) expensive, brand new vehicles. Is it just me, or does it seem the priorities are a bit skewed?
I had a bit of an early dinner, watched some of BBC Food, and then watched the movie "A Separate Peace". I read this book in middle school, and it was quite moving then. The movie was pretty good, and it made me want to reread the book. I took a lukewarm shower to have pity on my poor burnt face and torso. I still had a hell of a time cooling off after the shower, although I did get the aloe lotion on. I could have used a nice fan, but all I had was a folder to fan myself. After the movie, I was sleepy enough that I just fell asleep.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part M
Sunday - May 28, 2006
I discovered that I could use the hotel's business center to access the internet, allowing me to post my Saturday blog entry. It was much more expensive than the shop just outside the hotel though. It did fine in a pinch though.
I proceeded to go up to the rooftop pool at the Meikles, change into my trunks, order some lunch (Greek Salad and water) and lay out. The air was rather chilly, but the sun was bright in a cloudless sky. I soon felt hot, and after I had eaten my salad and rested a bit, I jumped into the pool. The pool was like ice water. However, it did cool me down. I spent about 2 hours in the sun, which garnered me a deep red tone by the end of the day. I always have to remind myself that I'm only 15 degrees from the equator here, winter or no winter. Luckily, though, I do have after sun lotion, and that should help keep me from peeling too badly. At least I can do home with some sun.
My cold continues to linger. Besides a runny rose and sneezing at odd times, I now have a dry cough that pops up now and then. I'm staying on Sudafed to keep from developing a sinus infection, hopefully. I just hope that having a cold and flying back to Atlanta will not bring about vertigo like it did when I came back from Ethiopia last year with a cold.
I intended to work a little on my spreadsheets, but that didn't happen. I snoozed a bit, watched a few movies, and ordered room service for dinner. I did discover that the downside of opening the windows to let cool air into my room is that bugs come in and hover around the lights. I tried spraying my Jungle Juice (100% DEET) around the lights and at the windows to drive away the bugs, and it actually killed some of them. Unfortunately, I wasn't careful about moving things off the side table, and my alarm got drenched. When I tried to wash off the dried DEET, the clock stopped working all together. Luckily, I could program the hotel phone to call me at 6:30am. Otherwise, I would sleep in. No question about that!
My mom called, and she seems to be doing better. She's really not happy with her life or her job. I am out of advice for her. I don't know why she never gets a call back from her applications. I don't know why Georgia jobs won't even talk to her. I wish I had some insight. She's a secretary for crying out loud! I wish she could find a job in a school system again, because I think she happiest there.
I discovered that I could use the hotel's business center to access the internet, allowing me to post my Saturday blog entry. It was much more expensive than the shop just outside the hotel though. It did fine in a pinch though.
I proceeded to go up to the rooftop pool at the Meikles, change into my trunks, order some lunch (Greek Salad and water) and lay out. The air was rather chilly, but the sun was bright in a cloudless sky. I soon felt hot, and after I had eaten my salad and rested a bit, I jumped into the pool. The pool was like ice water. However, it did cool me down. I spent about 2 hours in the sun, which garnered me a deep red tone by the end of the day. I always have to remind myself that I'm only 15 degrees from the equator here, winter or no winter. Luckily, though, I do have after sun lotion, and that should help keep me from peeling too badly. At least I can do home with some sun.
My cold continues to linger. Besides a runny rose and sneezing at odd times, I now have a dry cough that pops up now and then. I'm staying on Sudafed to keep from developing a sinus infection, hopefully. I just hope that having a cold and flying back to Atlanta will not bring about vertigo like it did when I came back from Ethiopia last year with a cold.
I intended to work a little on my spreadsheets, but that didn't happen. I snoozed a bit, watched a few movies, and ordered room service for dinner. I did discover that the downside of opening the windows to let cool air into my room is that bugs come in and hover around the lights. I tried spraying my Jungle Juice (100% DEET) around the lights and at the windows to drive away the bugs, and it actually killed some of them. Unfortunately, I wasn't careful about moving things off the side table, and my alarm got drenched. When I tried to wash off the dried DEET, the clock stopped working all together. Luckily, I could program the hotel phone to call me at 6:30am. Otherwise, I would sleep in. No question about that!
My mom called, and she seems to be doing better. She's really not happy with her life or her job. I am out of advice for her. I don't know why she never gets a call back from her applications. I don't know why Georgia jobs won't even talk to her. I wish I had some insight. She's a secretary for crying out loud! I wish she could find a job in a school system again, because I think she happiest there.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part L
Saturday - May 27, 2006
Today was pretty low key. I got up around 10am, read the paper, and then went down to access the internet at the shop outside the Meikles. I wish that I had internet access in my hotel room, but I don't. Of course, if I did, I might not ever leave my room! LOL It's my only connection to the outside world and my friends.
It turns out that I have developed a cold. I don't know where I got it, but the most likely place would be on the WHO van to and from work. It's always cram full of people, and since it's winter, it is cold/flu season in Zimbabwe. I hope I can get it under control before I leave. Having a cold on a 24 hour journey home would suck. I also hope it wouldn't result in the vertigo that I had last year when I came home from Ethiopia with a cold. I definitely don't want vertigo again. So keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer that I make it home without incident and without developing vertigo.
After the internet session was over, I went to the little Africa shop across the way that was finally open. I found a couple of nice trinkets to give Daniel and Colleen. They were pretty inexpensive, and I think they will like them. Daniel should especially enjoy the humor of what I've bought him. We'll see! I've spent myself down to my last 2.5-3 Million Zim, so I will need to conserve money a bit. It won't be hard, as I don't eat out much, but that is probably good for one meal. I am counting down the days until I can go home!
Eric called to invite me to play frisbee with some friends of his, but I begged off. I took a nap instead. Casey called later to see if I wanted to go to dinner at Kim's house. Of course, I wouldn't turn down a dinner invitation, so I accepted. Casey was a little late, but she brought her dog, Tuku who is a sweetheart. I did find out that Yinka will be leaving Sasha, her gorgeous and incredibly sweet mastiff, behind when she leaves in August. Apparently she will give her to a farmer she knows. I feel bad for Sasha, because I love that dog! She reminds me so much of Emma and Jackson. But Yinka doesn't know where she will be going or living so she doesn't want to have to deal with Sasha too. I can understand that, but it's a disservice to that sweet dog she's had since puppyhood.
Casey's dog is friends with Kim's rottweiler mix, so they ran around and had fun while we ate. It was a small affair. Kim's boyfriend Taps wanted to cook dinner rather than go out. He prepared bruchetta which was delicious to start. I fixed myself a diet coke and absolut citron and joined the other Canadian girl and Bonn, her gay friend. It's bizarre to meet a white gay Zimbabwean, although I'd met Bonn in November when I came to Amy's baby shower at Kim's house. At the time, he and Eden (a gay biracial Zimbabwean/South African) were dating. I figured that finding somewhat out gay people in Zimbabwe was rare enough that if you found another one, you almost had to date. LOL But Eden and Bonn broke up in March around the same time that Yinka and Everard split. Anyway, Bonn's a cute guy, pretty funny, and has a fantastic accent that's somewhat rural British. I can't imagine what it would be like to be stuck in Zimbabwe as an out gay man. I would feel so trapped.
We went in for dinner and had a fabulous meal. Taps really went all out. We started with a lovely butternut squash soup which was delicious. We had red wine, and then out came the salad with basalmic dressing, meat roast with gravy, roasted new potatoes, bread, and a vegetable dish of string beans and carrots. The dessert was a cake with icecream that was really good, but I never caught the flavor. We finished off with conversation and coffee.
Our conversation got pretty raunchy at times. As my friends can attest, this seems to happen around me quite a bit, and I'm not exactly an innocent party in continuing the banter. We discussed strip clubs, strippers, sex pigs, and at one point, it delved into bestiality. The bestiality was not my fault, but the fault of the girl from Canada who works for CIDA, which is the Canadian equivalent of USAID. This girl, whose name escapes me, is an intersting character. I first met her in November, and she's got some chips on her shoulder. It's bizarre. Each time I interact with her, I invariably say something that provokes the remark, "Let's not go there." with an implied threat that I'll have my ass kicked by her if I press the issue. Last night it was how Canada is currently a much more free society that upholds supposedly American values than the US does. I said the word "supposedly" on purpose because I know the USA doesn't hold a monopoly on valuing freedom and liberty and the like. But that is what we're supposed to strive for and stand for. However, saying "American values" pissed her off, and she gave me the "Let's not go there" remark. I reminded her that I had said "allegedly" American values, but she still seemed pissed. My opinion is that she needs to calm the fuck down. She gets riled way too easily for someone who's been assigned to a foreign country as a representative of her own nation. Kim is the consular officer for Canada in Zimbabwe, and she wasn't all offended. We had a really nice discussion of the different ways of Canada and the US, and she wasn't offended at all by my statement because she knew what I meant.
Anyway, we had a nice time chatting and sharing stories from our college days. I probably shared way too much, but that's in my character. My life is an open book, so I openly talk about things. They are in my past and helped make me who I am today. I see nothing wrong with that. The evening ended around 11pm, and Casey took me back to the hotel. I watched this movie starring Robert Redford that was good but had an ending that SUCKED. It was called "The Clearing". I don't remember it in theatres, but having watched it, I bet it went straight to video. I then read a bit and went to sleep.
Today was pretty low key. I got up around 10am, read the paper, and then went down to access the internet at the shop outside the Meikles. I wish that I had internet access in my hotel room, but I don't. Of course, if I did, I might not ever leave my room! LOL It's my only connection to the outside world and my friends.
It turns out that I have developed a cold. I don't know where I got it, but the most likely place would be on the WHO van to and from work. It's always cram full of people, and since it's winter, it is cold/flu season in Zimbabwe. I hope I can get it under control before I leave. Having a cold on a 24 hour journey home would suck. I also hope it wouldn't result in the vertigo that I had last year when I came home from Ethiopia with a cold. I definitely don't want vertigo again. So keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer that I make it home without incident and without developing vertigo.
After the internet session was over, I went to the little Africa shop across the way that was finally open. I found a couple of nice trinkets to give Daniel and Colleen. They were pretty inexpensive, and I think they will like them. Daniel should especially enjoy the humor of what I've bought him. We'll see! I've spent myself down to my last 2.5-3 Million Zim, so I will need to conserve money a bit. It won't be hard, as I don't eat out much, but that is probably good for one meal. I am counting down the days until I can go home!
Eric called to invite me to play frisbee with some friends of his, but I begged off. I took a nap instead. Casey called later to see if I wanted to go to dinner at Kim's house. Of course, I wouldn't turn down a dinner invitation, so I accepted. Casey was a little late, but she brought her dog, Tuku who is a sweetheart. I did find out that Yinka will be leaving Sasha, her gorgeous and incredibly sweet mastiff, behind when she leaves in August. Apparently she will give her to a farmer she knows. I feel bad for Sasha, because I love that dog! She reminds me so much of Emma and Jackson. But Yinka doesn't know where she will be going or living so she doesn't want to have to deal with Sasha too. I can understand that, but it's a disservice to that sweet dog she's had since puppyhood.
Casey's dog is friends with Kim's rottweiler mix, so they ran around and had fun while we ate. It was a small affair. Kim's boyfriend Taps wanted to cook dinner rather than go out. He prepared bruchetta which was delicious to start. I fixed myself a diet coke and absolut citron and joined the other Canadian girl and Bonn, her gay friend. It's bizarre to meet a white gay Zimbabwean, although I'd met Bonn in November when I came to Amy's baby shower at Kim's house. At the time, he and Eden (a gay biracial Zimbabwean/South African) were dating. I figured that finding somewhat out gay people in Zimbabwe was rare enough that if you found another one, you almost had to date. LOL But Eden and Bonn broke up in March around the same time that Yinka and Everard split. Anyway, Bonn's a cute guy, pretty funny, and has a fantastic accent that's somewhat rural British. I can't imagine what it would be like to be stuck in Zimbabwe as an out gay man. I would feel so trapped.
We went in for dinner and had a fabulous meal. Taps really went all out. We started with a lovely butternut squash soup which was delicious. We had red wine, and then out came the salad with basalmic dressing, meat roast with gravy, roasted new potatoes, bread, and a vegetable dish of string beans and carrots. The dessert was a cake with icecream that was really good, but I never caught the flavor. We finished off with conversation and coffee.
Our conversation got pretty raunchy at times. As my friends can attest, this seems to happen around me quite a bit, and I'm not exactly an innocent party in continuing the banter. We discussed strip clubs, strippers, sex pigs, and at one point, it delved into bestiality. The bestiality was not my fault, but the fault of the girl from Canada who works for CIDA, which is the Canadian equivalent of USAID. This girl, whose name escapes me, is an intersting character. I first met her in November, and she's got some chips on her shoulder. It's bizarre. Each time I interact with her, I invariably say something that provokes the remark, "Let's not go there." with an implied threat that I'll have my ass kicked by her if I press the issue. Last night it was how Canada is currently a much more free society that upholds supposedly American values than the US does. I said the word "supposedly" on purpose because I know the USA doesn't hold a monopoly on valuing freedom and liberty and the like. But that is what we're supposed to strive for and stand for. However, saying "American values" pissed her off, and she gave me the "Let's not go there" remark. I reminded her that I had said "allegedly" American values, but she still seemed pissed. My opinion is that she needs to calm the fuck down. She gets riled way too easily for someone who's been assigned to a foreign country as a representative of her own nation. Kim is the consular officer for Canada in Zimbabwe, and she wasn't all offended. We had a really nice discussion of the different ways of Canada and the US, and she wasn't offended at all by my statement because she knew what I meant.
Anyway, we had a nice time chatting and sharing stories from our college days. I probably shared way too much, but that's in my character. My life is an open book, so I openly talk about things. They are in my past and helped make me who I am today. I see nothing wrong with that. The evening ended around 11pm, and Casey took me back to the hotel. I watched this movie starring Robert Redford that was good but had an ending that SUCKED. It was called "The Clearing". I don't remember it in theatres, but having watched it, I bet it went straight to video. I then read a bit and went to sleep.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part K
Friday - May 26, 2006
Today was a rather laid back day, all things considered. I showed Casey what I had done, and it turns out I made a bit of a mistake. I shouldn't have replaced all the values for stickers with what was in the AFI system. I should have had a separate column. This is because the sticker amount is what was originally put into the stickers by the measles program. The final amount in the AFI is what was "left" after all the money was moved about from here to there over a 2 year period. So having a separate AFI column shows how much WHO moved the money around to pay for other things. Whoops.
The rest of the work day went relatively quickly. Casey took me to get takeout Thai again. It's such a relief to have something different. There aren't many different places to eat in Harare. Well, those that do exist are in the suburbs, and I can't get to them. So a little Thai takeout is a nice change of pace.
I missed the regular bus. Turns out it left promptly at 2:15pm. Of course, all week the buses have been late, but I should have known they wouldn't be on Friday. Luckily, the smaller van was still there, so it took me back to the Meikles. I had a short nap in the hotel before both Mike and my mom called. Mike called to tell me to turn on CNN because there was some drama about shots being fired in the House office garage. Turned out that it was some hydraulic thing backfiring, because there was no evidence of a gunshot or of injury. Nevertheless, they shut down the House side of the Capitol. Better safe than sorry, though. Mom called to tell me she's been sick. Apparently, she's had a wicked illness that gives her severe diarrhea and vomiting. The doctor didn't do much for her on Thursday, so she didn't know if she should call back on Friday and say nothing was better. But she was at the point that she couldn't even keep down dry toast. The only thing she could keep down was Gatorade, which is lucky considering her diarrhea, which apparently is green. Oh, and her urine was blue. BLUE?? Good Lord. Anyway, she called the doctor and he gave her antibiotics for the weekend and said to call back on Tuesday since Monday is Memorial Day in the USA. I hope she'll be OK. Being sick like that when you're by yourself is never fun.
I ordered dinner in the room, watched some BBC Food, and then watched Alien vs. Predator on MNet. It was pretty good...independent of the two franchises, but at least the story was plausible. I then settled down to sleep. But I keep waking up to sneeze, so I hope I'm not catching a cold. That's all I need for my flight back on Thursday...a cold.
Today was a rather laid back day, all things considered. I showed Casey what I had done, and it turns out I made a bit of a mistake. I shouldn't have replaced all the values for stickers with what was in the AFI system. I should have had a separate column. This is because the sticker amount is what was originally put into the stickers by the measles program. The final amount in the AFI is what was "left" after all the money was moved about from here to there over a 2 year period. So having a separate AFI column shows how much WHO moved the money around to pay for other things. Whoops.
The rest of the work day went relatively quickly. Casey took me to get takeout Thai again. It's such a relief to have something different. There aren't many different places to eat in Harare. Well, those that do exist are in the suburbs, and I can't get to them. So a little Thai takeout is a nice change of pace.
I missed the regular bus. Turns out it left promptly at 2:15pm. Of course, all week the buses have been late, but I should have known they wouldn't be on Friday. Luckily, the smaller van was still there, so it took me back to the Meikles. I had a short nap in the hotel before both Mike and my mom called. Mike called to tell me to turn on CNN because there was some drama about shots being fired in the House office garage. Turned out that it was some hydraulic thing backfiring, because there was no evidence of a gunshot or of injury. Nevertheless, they shut down the House side of the Capitol. Better safe than sorry, though. Mom called to tell me she's been sick. Apparently, she's had a wicked illness that gives her severe diarrhea and vomiting. The doctor didn't do much for her on Thursday, so she didn't know if she should call back on Friday and say nothing was better. But she was at the point that she couldn't even keep down dry toast. The only thing she could keep down was Gatorade, which is lucky considering her diarrhea, which apparently is green. Oh, and her urine was blue. BLUE?? Good Lord. Anyway, she called the doctor and he gave her antibiotics for the weekend and said to call back on Tuesday since Monday is Memorial Day in the USA. I hope she'll be OK. Being sick like that when you're by yourself is never fun.
I ordered dinner in the room, watched some BBC Food, and then watched Alien vs. Predator on MNet. It was pretty good...independent of the two franchises, but at least the story was plausible. I then settled down to sleep. But I keep waking up to sneeze, so I hope I'm not catching a cold. That's all I need for my flight back on Thursday...a cold.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part J
Thursday- May 25, 2006
Africa Day was all I expected it to be. Harare was dead. The streets were empty and everything was closed. It’s ironic that the whole country shuts down on a holiday when in the US and other western countries, it’s a time for consumption and shopping. Not in Zimbabwe! The van was nearly empty today, but somehow the secretaries did show up, just late.
The state owned newspaper was full of articles about the evils of western capitalism, and how the West is horrible, keeping Africa in chains. The West is solely blamed for slavery and poverty. What I remember of history is that the West was definitely culpable in the slave trade. But who originally sold the slaves? The Africans sold EACH OTHER into slavery! The West is to blame for creating a demand for slavery, but the tribes of Western Africa especially were responsible for selling each other into slavery. The paper would have a point if European armies had invaded Western Africa and forcibly started the slave trade. That, however, was not the case. African tribes sold each other out to meet an evil demand by white people for cheap labor in the “New World”. This does nothing to exculpate the guilt of the Western nations, including the USA in the slave trade. But do white people in particular own 100% of the guilt? No. Everyone has guilt here.
There were more diatribes about how Africa must be afro-centric and unite to demand from the world its due. There is a point to be made there. A united Africa would make the continent stronger both politically and economically. But Africa is rife with tribal tension, ancient jealousies, and warfare. Of course, the paper blames this on white people creating tribal jealousies and tensions where there were none. Oh really? So tribal warfare never occurred until Africa was colonized in the late 1800s? Gee, I guess the history I’ve been taught was wrong. There was no tribal warfare anywhere. There are no tribal jealousies to this day.
But what about Rwanda, you ask? The Tutsi were randomly selected by the Belgians for advancement because they were tall. The Hutu were treated like shit, and this did create horrible jealousies between the two tribes. And in independence, this eventually boiled over with the Hutu trying to exterminate the Tutsi in 1994’s genocide. An argument can be made that whites lit the fuse that ended in the genocide of 1994. Lord knows the West did nothing to stop the massacre. But the idea of extermination did not come from white people, did it? The Hutu planned and executed that particular plan on their own.
Here in Zimbabwe, the two dominate tribes are Ndebele and Shona. The Shona are the majority, constituting 60% of the population. The Ndebele are the other 40%. This is because of the random borders drawn by colonial powers. The West is to blame for forcing disparate tribes into the same countries and expecting nothing to happen as a result. After Mugabe came to power, there was an opposition party until 1987 when ZANU-PF was formed. The parties were ZANU and ZAPU and both had fought the war against Rhodesia’s white government. One of the parties (not sure which) was mostly Ndebele and the other Shona. Of course, the Shona party won power in elections. To weaken the opposition, Mugabe systematically murdered the leaders of the Ndebele until they finally agreed to merge and form the Zanu-PF in 1987. Did white people for that kind of “cleansing”?
Until Africa can get past these petty jealousies and see everyone as Africans first and forget those old tribal differences, there’s no way Africa will unite. I can just imagine the fight that would occur in locating a federal capital. Would it be in Anglophone or Francophone Africa? What about the nations that speak Portguese?
Another irony is the paper’s call for strings-free aid from the West. They hate the West and openly want to punish white people and economically defeat the West…but in the meantime, just give Africa all your money and don’t ask for repayment or any accountability. Lord knows that Africa has a perfect record of no corruption, no stealing by government “leaders”, and no graft. Please note my sarcasm.
I’m not sure what’s responsible for my relatively foul mood today. Perhaps I am getting tired of reading articles about how horrible white people are, how we are responsible for everything bad in the world, etc. Perhaps I feel this mission has been a waste of time. There’s no way there will be a product that will satisfy anyone, and apparently Balcha had to fight really hard to “allow” me to come here. Well, if they didn’t want my help, why the fuck ask? I can answer that. This task has been tedious as HELL and requires the patience of a saint. It also requires someone trained in forensic accounting, which I am not.
Casey has done the best she can to keep up with all the different accounts and the flow of money. Over time, she has added innovation to the record keeping which has added the value of information available for partners. The early records are a mess. I worked with Casey a bit this afternoon, and I really need access to the online “sticker” system to reconcile these records. I’m over it. I think what Casey really wants from me to tell and show Balcha how difficult this process is, not to mention time consuming. Hopefully, he’ll back off on wanting old records to be reconciled. We’ll see.
I did find out that Leo had offered to have me stay longer. That’s nice. He didn’t mention that to me. Good thing too. I will not be staying here one minute longer than I’m scheduled to stay. I’m ready to go home now, let alone just extend my visit. I have a life, after all. I have places to be and people counting on me right after I get home. I can’t just “extend” like it’s nothing. If I have to, I will refuse to extend. I have the tickets in my hand, after all. I won’t change them. If Leo gets angry, so be it. Already, the PAHO people are yelling because they didn’t get to approve the cuts in the cooperative agreement we made. I’m pretty sure that I did inform them, but I couldn’t afford to wait for them to “approve” it before I submitted. We were under a tight time pressure, so I gave it to them, and then had to submit it shortly afterward if the money was to be released on time. I could do more in Atlanta than here. Here I feel like I’m largely wasting my time.
Went home, had an early dinner in my room. I then watched the live CNN report on the verdict in the Enron case. Skilling and “Kenny boy” Lay were found guilty and will be going to prison for many years. It was sweet vindication against the Bush way of doing business. I hope it extends to the elections this fall.
I’m worried about the fallout from the Cathy Cox situation on the marriage amendment. I think we’re still in emotional turmoil, but I also sense that our goals are still the same. The tactics on how to deal with Cathy will differ, but we still want to see GOP power lessen in this election. It’s another reason I wish I was home, so that I could be with my friends and help sort all this out.
I saw a great movie tonight called “Iron Jawed Angels” about the women who pushed through the Women’s Sufferage Amendment (19th Amendment) to the US Constitution. It was fantastic, and really showed how Wilson tried to squash the voting amendment and used his powers much as Bush has to abuse his authority and trample the rights of the women demanding their rights. Hilary Swank was fantastic in the lead role.
At least the week is coming to an end, and this time next week, I’ll be well on my way back home.
Africa Day was all I expected it to be. Harare was dead. The streets were empty and everything was closed. It’s ironic that the whole country shuts down on a holiday when in the US and other western countries, it’s a time for consumption and shopping. Not in Zimbabwe! The van was nearly empty today, but somehow the secretaries did show up, just late.
The state owned newspaper was full of articles about the evils of western capitalism, and how the West is horrible, keeping Africa in chains. The West is solely blamed for slavery and poverty. What I remember of history is that the West was definitely culpable in the slave trade. But who originally sold the slaves? The Africans sold EACH OTHER into slavery! The West is to blame for creating a demand for slavery, but the tribes of Western Africa especially were responsible for selling each other into slavery. The paper would have a point if European armies had invaded Western Africa and forcibly started the slave trade. That, however, was not the case. African tribes sold each other out to meet an evil demand by white people for cheap labor in the “New World”. This does nothing to exculpate the guilt of the Western nations, including the USA in the slave trade. But do white people in particular own 100% of the guilt? No. Everyone has guilt here.
There were more diatribes about how Africa must be afro-centric and unite to demand from the world its due. There is a point to be made there. A united Africa would make the continent stronger both politically and economically. But Africa is rife with tribal tension, ancient jealousies, and warfare. Of course, the paper blames this on white people creating tribal jealousies and tensions where there were none. Oh really? So tribal warfare never occurred until Africa was colonized in the late 1800s? Gee, I guess the history I’ve been taught was wrong. There was no tribal warfare anywhere. There are no tribal jealousies to this day.
But what about Rwanda, you ask? The Tutsi were randomly selected by the Belgians for advancement because they were tall. The Hutu were treated like shit, and this did create horrible jealousies between the two tribes. And in independence, this eventually boiled over with the Hutu trying to exterminate the Tutsi in 1994’s genocide. An argument can be made that whites lit the fuse that ended in the genocide of 1994. Lord knows the West did nothing to stop the massacre. But the idea of extermination did not come from white people, did it? The Hutu planned and executed that particular plan on their own.
Here in Zimbabwe, the two dominate tribes are Ndebele and Shona. The Shona are the majority, constituting 60% of the population. The Ndebele are the other 40%. This is because of the random borders drawn by colonial powers. The West is to blame for forcing disparate tribes into the same countries and expecting nothing to happen as a result. After Mugabe came to power, there was an opposition party until 1987 when ZANU-PF was formed. The parties were ZANU and ZAPU and both had fought the war against Rhodesia’s white government. One of the parties (not sure which) was mostly Ndebele and the other Shona. Of course, the Shona party won power in elections. To weaken the opposition, Mugabe systematically murdered the leaders of the Ndebele until they finally agreed to merge and form the Zanu-PF in 1987. Did white people for that kind of “cleansing”?
Until Africa can get past these petty jealousies and see everyone as Africans first and forget those old tribal differences, there’s no way Africa will unite. I can just imagine the fight that would occur in locating a federal capital. Would it be in Anglophone or Francophone Africa? What about the nations that speak Portguese?
Another irony is the paper’s call for strings-free aid from the West. They hate the West and openly want to punish white people and economically defeat the West…but in the meantime, just give Africa all your money and don’t ask for repayment or any accountability. Lord knows that Africa has a perfect record of no corruption, no stealing by government “leaders”, and no graft. Please note my sarcasm.
I’m not sure what’s responsible for my relatively foul mood today. Perhaps I am getting tired of reading articles about how horrible white people are, how we are responsible for everything bad in the world, etc. Perhaps I feel this mission has been a waste of time. There’s no way there will be a product that will satisfy anyone, and apparently Balcha had to fight really hard to “allow” me to come here. Well, if they didn’t want my help, why the fuck ask? I can answer that. This task has been tedious as HELL and requires the patience of a saint. It also requires someone trained in forensic accounting, which I am not.
Casey has done the best she can to keep up with all the different accounts and the flow of money. Over time, she has added innovation to the record keeping which has added the value of information available for partners. The early records are a mess. I worked with Casey a bit this afternoon, and I really need access to the online “sticker” system to reconcile these records. I’m over it. I think what Casey really wants from me to tell and show Balcha how difficult this process is, not to mention time consuming. Hopefully, he’ll back off on wanting old records to be reconciled. We’ll see.
I did find out that Leo had offered to have me stay longer. That’s nice. He didn’t mention that to me. Good thing too. I will not be staying here one minute longer than I’m scheduled to stay. I’m ready to go home now, let alone just extend my visit. I have a life, after all. I have places to be and people counting on me right after I get home. I can’t just “extend” like it’s nothing. If I have to, I will refuse to extend. I have the tickets in my hand, after all. I won’t change them. If Leo gets angry, so be it. Already, the PAHO people are yelling because they didn’t get to approve the cuts in the cooperative agreement we made. I’m pretty sure that I did inform them, but I couldn’t afford to wait for them to “approve” it before I submitted. We were under a tight time pressure, so I gave it to them, and then had to submit it shortly afterward if the money was to be released on time. I could do more in Atlanta than here. Here I feel like I’m largely wasting my time.
Went home, had an early dinner in my room. I then watched the live CNN report on the verdict in the Enron case. Skilling and “Kenny boy” Lay were found guilty and will be going to prison for many years. It was sweet vindication against the Bush way of doing business. I hope it extends to the elections this fall.
I’m worried about the fallout from the Cathy Cox situation on the marriage amendment. I think we’re still in emotional turmoil, but I also sense that our goals are still the same. The tactics on how to deal with Cathy will differ, but we still want to see GOP power lessen in this election. It’s another reason I wish I was home, so that I could be with my friends and help sort all this out.
I saw a great movie tonight called “Iron Jawed Angels” about the women who pushed through the Women’s Sufferage Amendment (19th Amendment) to the US Constitution. It was fantastic, and really showed how Wilson tried to squash the voting amendment and used his powers much as Bush has to abuse his authority and trample the rights of the women demanding their rights. Hilary Swank was fantastic in the lead role.
At least the week is coming to an end, and this time next week, I’ll be well on my way back home.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part I
Wednesday - May 24, 2006
Today it was quite cloudy which made it cooler than usual. I bet it didn't even reach 60 degrees. So for me, it was pretty nice weather. For everyone else around here, they are bundled up in sweaters and winter coats!
Talked with Casey about the futility of this assignment I'm on. She pretty much agreed, but said we'd need to present it to Balcha who has dreams of reports that cannot be made without way too much effort. You really would need a forensic account to work for about 2-3 months to make sense out of all this. So I'm just adapting what Casey started and will recommend we continue to work with that. Woo-hoo. Can I go home now? :)
I talked with Debra about the idea that racism is inherent at CDC. Apparently, while my division does well at not being racist and judging people on their credentials, other parts of CDC are not quite so open. Apparently, Debra is always questioned by people about how she's qualified for the jobs she has held. As if the fact that she made it through the hiring process to hold a job doesn't speak for itself! And in GAP, they apparently won't allow blacks to go to assignments in India or Asia on the grounds that the locals in those areas don't like black people. Well, that's news to me. It would be news to Anne Renee too, who has been working in India for YEARS as a black woman. They seem to only want black people to work in Africa, and those assignments tend to be the most difficult. The India and Asia assignments tend to be nicer, so the GAP powers want to save them for themselves. I've never heard anything so outrageous. Unless you have proof that blacks are not welcome, send them! I know WHO has rules about nationality in who can fill a job, but that's WHO. I would require a nation itself to tell me that if we send a black person to them, they will refuse to work with them. Even then, I'd be tempted to pull out of that country unless I was forced to stay from above. When Debra got here, she was questioned about her qualifications even though her CV had already been vetted and accepted. This is a subtle kind of racism that people should get rid of. It never occurred to me that people would do that, but I suppose that was naive.
I had a really good meat lasagne today for lunch from that Kenge place which has fabulous takeout. For dinner, it was a greek salad. I went to the internet cafe for an hour too to do some email. A friend of mine was frustrated about the fallout over the whole Cathy Cox thing, worried that we Dems were going to tear ourselves apart at the very time we need to be concentrating on beating the opposition which is Sonny Perdue and the Republicans. I agreed to an extent, but this issue is one of trust. If Cathy lied to us about her support, how can we trust any of the any other things she says about topics of importance from the elderly, Medicaid, education, etc? So it's a matter of conscience and principle. Hopefully it won't engender ill will in the Democratic community.
Otherwise, it was a quiet day. I finally got my room cool by having the windows open, although water leaked in the bathroom from the floor above me around 10:30pm. I didn't call the front desk because I didn't want them rushing up to keep me up when I was trying to go to sleep. We'll see if it happens again tomorrow night.
Tomorrow promises to be a quiet day too, as it's a national holiday in Zimbabwe. It's Africa Day, celebrating the founding of the African Union in 1963 and the idea of a United States of Africa (no joke) where a socialist workers (read communist) paradise will finally economically punish the West for its sins (this according to the state owned media here). Should be fun with everything closed except WHO.
Today it was quite cloudy which made it cooler than usual. I bet it didn't even reach 60 degrees. So for me, it was pretty nice weather. For everyone else around here, they are bundled up in sweaters and winter coats!
Talked with Casey about the futility of this assignment I'm on. She pretty much agreed, but said we'd need to present it to Balcha who has dreams of reports that cannot be made without way too much effort. You really would need a forensic account to work for about 2-3 months to make sense out of all this. So I'm just adapting what Casey started and will recommend we continue to work with that. Woo-hoo. Can I go home now? :)
I talked with Debra about the idea that racism is inherent at CDC. Apparently, while my division does well at not being racist and judging people on their credentials, other parts of CDC are not quite so open. Apparently, Debra is always questioned by people about how she's qualified for the jobs she has held. As if the fact that she made it through the hiring process to hold a job doesn't speak for itself! And in GAP, they apparently won't allow blacks to go to assignments in India or Asia on the grounds that the locals in those areas don't like black people. Well, that's news to me. It would be news to Anne Renee too, who has been working in India for YEARS as a black woman. They seem to only want black people to work in Africa, and those assignments tend to be the most difficult. The India and Asia assignments tend to be nicer, so the GAP powers want to save them for themselves. I've never heard anything so outrageous. Unless you have proof that blacks are not welcome, send them! I know WHO has rules about nationality in who can fill a job, but that's WHO. I would require a nation itself to tell me that if we send a black person to them, they will refuse to work with them. Even then, I'd be tempted to pull out of that country unless I was forced to stay from above. When Debra got here, she was questioned about her qualifications even though her CV had already been vetted and accepted. This is a subtle kind of racism that people should get rid of. It never occurred to me that people would do that, but I suppose that was naive.
I had a really good meat lasagne today for lunch from that Kenge place which has fabulous takeout. For dinner, it was a greek salad. I went to the internet cafe for an hour too to do some email. A friend of mine was frustrated about the fallout over the whole Cathy Cox thing, worried that we Dems were going to tear ourselves apart at the very time we need to be concentrating on beating the opposition which is Sonny Perdue and the Republicans. I agreed to an extent, but this issue is one of trust. If Cathy lied to us about her support, how can we trust any of the any other things she says about topics of importance from the elderly, Medicaid, education, etc? So it's a matter of conscience and principle. Hopefully it won't engender ill will in the Democratic community.
Otherwise, it was a quiet day. I finally got my room cool by having the windows open, although water leaked in the bathroom from the floor above me around 10:30pm. I didn't call the front desk because I didn't want them rushing up to keep me up when I was trying to go to sleep. We'll see if it happens again tomorrow night.
Tomorrow promises to be a quiet day too, as it's a national holiday in Zimbabwe. It's Africa Day, celebrating the founding of the African Union in 1963 and the idea of a United States of Africa (no joke) where a socialist workers (read communist) paradise will finally economically punish the West for its sins (this according to the state owned media here). Should be fun with everything closed except WHO.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part H
Tuesday - May 23, 2006
Good news is that the diarrhea seems to be gone. It has been replaced, however, with rock hard constipation. What gives? How do you go from 6 liquid explosions in one day to totally stopped up the next? I suppose I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I'd much rather have constipation than diarrhea any day.
On to brighter topics...sort of. Land reform has been a big topic in the media around here. It's not just Zimbabwe, but Southern Africa in particular. I saw a piece on South Africa's land reform on the continent's version of "60 Minutes" called "Carte Blanche". In yesterday's paper, it mentioned that Namibia's deputy land minister was in town to find out how Zimbabwe conducted its "successful" land reform. Namibia wants to have about 9 million hectacres taken away from white people and given to landless blacks. They've got a "willing seller, willing buyer" program, but so far, that's netted only 1/10 of the country's goal. So now, they are looking at land seizure a la Zimbabwe where they'd use armed gangs to threaten, beat, destroy, and even kill white people who won't abandon their land. In South Africa, it's going a little more slowly. They have a system where blacks make claims against certain properties, and if those properties had the blacks forced off them after 1913 (not sure why South Africa chose that date), then the land will be forfeit and given to the claimants. Allegedly, if the blacks were forced off the land prior to 1913, then too bad for them. Here's the kicker, though. One of the white families owns a farm whose title history clearly shows that the first deed was established in 1911, yet the government is trying to seize the property anyway. We'll see if the courts will intervene. Another black farmer bought his farm in 1999, but it turns out that originally, the farm was taken from the native blacks in 1923, which makes it eligible for forfeiture. In the process, though, this black farmer will lose everything. Doesn't seem right, does it?
I find the whole notion of land reform troubling. On the one hand, Europe did wrong Africa and rape it of its resources while keeping the native Africans poor and illiterate. There is no denying that the white settlers took the best land for themselves and relegated to crappy land not fit for agriculture. The question is how do you correct this historical wrong while being fair to everybody? After all, when you have a family who has been in Africa for over 100 years, they're pretty much native. That may be the American in me talking, but I don't think skin color can or should determine whether you're a "legitimate" citizen of a country. Yet in Africa, that precisely IS the test. Cynthia McKinney must be proud as she's well known to have skin color tests herself. Also, there is something wrong with the theory of "corruption of the blood" where you punish someone for what their ancestors did. It's very much a similiar theory to reparations in America. I have never owned slaves, nor advocated for owning slaves. My ancestors did live in slave states, but they were poor enough that I doubt they ever could afford slaves. Therefore, how can you punish me with a tax assessment just because I'm a white person? It's ridiculous. Plus, not all white people have ancestors who were in the US pre-1865, and even in the south, it was only the elite who had slaves. Poor whites liked slavery because it gave them a sense of superiority to someone, but that was just ignorance. Anyway, it's as ridiculous to charge all white people a "slavery assessment" for reparations to all black people (not all of whom had ancestors in bondage in America) in the USA as it is to seize the homes and property of white people in Africa because their ancestors were part of a system that abused the rights of black Africans.
In Zimbabwe, they've taken it a step further by nationalizing all land. No one owns any land in Zimbabwe anymore. They can only hold 99 year leases. In America, we know that people who don't own something are less likely to take care of it. Look at rental properties and public housing versus privately owned homes. People take care of something that is theirs. Also, what collateral is a farmer supposed to offer a bank for a loan to farm his land? He doesn't even own his farm! It's a stupid, stupid move...but they say it's the "African way" because Africans have always had collective ownership until the white man came along.
That may be the case; I don't know. But in today's world that doesn't make sense. The newspaper here also rails against "globalization", calling it some Western conspiracy of neo-colonialism to keep Africa poor. It seems that Africa wants it both ways. They want to have a protectionist regime where Western money flows in and creates some kind of utopia for its citizens while making the "West" (read white folks) pay for past sins. They want Western money, but no Western influence. They want to be isolated and wealthy. That boat has long sailed where such a system is possible. The world is getting smaller and more interconnected, and either Africa accepts that and moves forward or it doesn't, and ends up destroying its own economy like Zimbabwe has.
With regards to land reform, I'm at a loss for a fair solution. I feel strongly that people who currently own the land should not be punished for what their ancestors did. If the land has changed hands several times, I think it's lost. You can't just seize land from someone who bought it in good faith, whether they are black or white. What they could do is designate land as part of land reform, and grant them a life estate but make it clear that if they ever decide to sell, they must sell to the government at a pre-determined price. Failing a sale, upon death of the current owner, the property reverts to the government. At this point, land will be distributed in plots using a lottery system or something similar to the homesteading acts used to settle the western US. The key is that the lottery must be fair (and not given to croneys like in Zimbabwe) and have in its pool the decendants of the "rightful owners" of the land. Also, they must make use of the land within a set period of time. So many of the farms seized have laid in ruin, not only in Zimbabwe but also in South Africa where transfers of land have been completed. Land that was once fertile and productive becomes overgrown with weeds and producing nothing. That's a huge part of the problem here in Zimbabwe and why there are shortages of things like bread and sugar. If that means that you set up agricultural schools to teach blacks modern farming methods with internships on farms still owned by white people, so be it. There may be some resentment from the whites, but there should be ways around that. Perhaps the internships could be looked at as free labor for the farmer who will teach the interns how to properly run a farm. Most farms are run by a staff of people, and those staffs could be filled with agriculture college graduates. It would be slow, but the land reform would be accomplished without destroying the land or the people.
Anyway, it was another quiet day. I'm worried that my "product" here will disappoint, but if it does, so be it. I didn't create the mess that is record keeping here; I am just trying to make sense of it without going nuts. I only have a week left, thank God.
We had lunch at Doon Estates, which is this white-owned little shopping village that has some great food. Debra will be leaving on Thursday, and Casey is busy tomorrow, so this was her "adios" lunch. Debra will be back at the beginning of July, so they won't have to miss her too long.
The WHO bus came late again today, so I didn't get home until after 5pm. I found an envelope under my door with my bill-to-date from Meikles asking me to settle my charges even though I'm not checking out until June 1. I was kind of offended by the implication, but I went down and paid. The strange thing is that my bill was around $213 million Zim. But they only charged $100 M Zim on my credit card. Not sure what that is about. Luckily, they have the conversion rate on there, so if any funny business happens, I'll be ready. :) I then went to the internet cafe which was open until 8pm, and did some emailing and looking at MySpace. I wish I could have MySpace at WHO, but that would probably totally prevent me from getting any work done :) After that, I went to the steak place that Beth and I ate at last week and had a cheese burger. It was OK; I'm just getting sick of hotel food.
I have had more trouble getting to sleep. Even though I have both windows open, it's still kind of warm in the hotel room. I hope to get to sleep just after midnight when the Great British Menu goes off. The Welsh cook Bryn Williams is so friggin' HOT this week! He's as yummy as Marcus Wareing was last week. I did go to the BBC food site, and found out that we're getting the episodes a week after they air in Britain (Africa being behind the rest of the world...shocking, I know). So I already know that Bryn is going to beat the hot shot female chef they paired him with in the competition. I bet she will be PISSED when they judges choose Bryn over her. The way she's carried on about being a woman in a man's world (apparently female chefs are a novelty...it's always been women that I've known who could cook, not the men!), I wonder if she'll cry sexism. Ehh, it will be interesting to see the judges' reactions. Watching BBC Food all the time makes me wish I could live in England just for a few years. I don't see that happening though, but if an opportunity arose, I'd be tempted to take it.
Good news is that the diarrhea seems to be gone. It has been replaced, however, with rock hard constipation. What gives? How do you go from 6 liquid explosions in one day to totally stopped up the next? I suppose I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I'd much rather have constipation than diarrhea any day.
On to brighter topics...sort of. Land reform has been a big topic in the media around here. It's not just Zimbabwe, but Southern Africa in particular. I saw a piece on South Africa's land reform on the continent's version of "60 Minutes" called "Carte Blanche". In yesterday's paper, it mentioned that Namibia's deputy land minister was in town to find out how Zimbabwe conducted its "successful" land reform. Namibia wants to have about 9 million hectacres taken away from white people and given to landless blacks. They've got a "willing seller, willing buyer" program, but so far, that's netted only 1/10 of the country's goal. So now, they are looking at land seizure a la Zimbabwe where they'd use armed gangs to threaten, beat, destroy, and even kill white people who won't abandon their land. In South Africa, it's going a little more slowly. They have a system where blacks make claims against certain properties, and if those properties had the blacks forced off them after 1913 (not sure why South Africa chose that date), then the land will be forfeit and given to the claimants. Allegedly, if the blacks were forced off the land prior to 1913, then too bad for them. Here's the kicker, though. One of the white families owns a farm whose title history clearly shows that the first deed was established in 1911, yet the government is trying to seize the property anyway. We'll see if the courts will intervene. Another black farmer bought his farm in 1999, but it turns out that originally, the farm was taken from the native blacks in 1923, which makes it eligible for forfeiture. In the process, though, this black farmer will lose everything. Doesn't seem right, does it?
I find the whole notion of land reform troubling. On the one hand, Europe did wrong Africa and rape it of its resources while keeping the native Africans poor and illiterate. There is no denying that the white settlers took the best land for themselves and relegated to crappy land not fit for agriculture. The question is how do you correct this historical wrong while being fair to everybody? After all, when you have a family who has been in Africa for over 100 years, they're pretty much native. That may be the American in me talking, but I don't think skin color can or should determine whether you're a "legitimate" citizen of a country. Yet in Africa, that precisely IS the test. Cynthia McKinney must be proud as she's well known to have skin color tests herself. Also, there is something wrong with the theory of "corruption of the blood" where you punish someone for what their ancestors did. It's very much a similiar theory to reparations in America. I have never owned slaves, nor advocated for owning slaves. My ancestors did live in slave states, but they were poor enough that I doubt they ever could afford slaves. Therefore, how can you punish me with a tax assessment just because I'm a white person? It's ridiculous. Plus, not all white people have ancestors who were in the US pre-1865, and even in the south, it was only the elite who had slaves. Poor whites liked slavery because it gave them a sense of superiority to someone, but that was just ignorance. Anyway, it's as ridiculous to charge all white people a "slavery assessment" for reparations to all black people (not all of whom had ancestors in bondage in America) in the USA as it is to seize the homes and property of white people in Africa because their ancestors were part of a system that abused the rights of black Africans.
In Zimbabwe, they've taken it a step further by nationalizing all land. No one owns any land in Zimbabwe anymore. They can only hold 99 year leases. In America, we know that people who don't own something are less likely to take care of it. Look at rental properties and public housing versus privately owned homes. People take care of something that is theirs. Also, what collateral is a farmer supposed to offer a bank for a loan to farm his land? He doesn't even own his farm! It's a stupid, stupid move...but they say it's the "African way" because Africans have always had collective ownership until the white man came along.
That may be the case; I don't know. But in today's world that doesn't make sense. The newspaper here also rails against "globalization", calling it some Western conspiracy of neo-colonialism to keep Africa poor. It seems that Africa wants it both ways. They want to have a protectionist regime where Western money flows in and creates some kind of utopia for its citizens while making the "West" (read white folks) pay for past sins. They want Western money, but no Western influence. They want to be isolated and wealthy. That boat has long sailed where such a system is possible. The world is getting smaller and more interconnected, and either Africa accepts that and moves forward or it doesn't, and ends up destroying its own economy like Zimbabwe has.
With regards to land reform, I'm at a loss for a fair solution. I feel strongly that people who currently own the land should not be punished for what their ancestors did. If the land has changed hands several times, I think it's lost. You can't just seize land from someone who bought it in good faith, whether they are black or white. What they could do is designate land as part of land reform, and grant them a life estate but make it clear that if they ever decide to sell, they must sell to the government at a pre-determined price. Failing a sale, upon death of the current owner, the property reverts to the government. At this point, land will be distributed in plots using a lottery system or something similar to the homesteading acts used to settle the western US. The key is that the lottery must be fair (and not given to croneys like in Zimbabwe) and have in its pool the decendants of the "rightful owners" of the land. Also, they must make use of the land within a set period of time. So many of the farms seized have laid in ruin, not only in Zimbabwe but also in South Africa where transfers of land have been completed. Land that was once fertile and productive becomes overgrown with weeds and producing nothing. That's a huge part of the problem here in Zimbabwe and why there are shortages of things like bread and sugar. If that means that you set up agricultural schools to teach blacks modern farming methods with internships on farms still owned by white people, so be it. There may be some resentment from the whites, but there should be ways around that. Perhaps the internships could be looked at as free labor for the farmer who will teach the interns how to properly run a farm. Most farms are run by a staff of people, and those staffs could be filled with agriculture college graduates. It would be slow, but the land reform would be accomplished without destroying the land or the people.
Anyway, it was another quiet day. I'm worried that my "product" here will disappoint, but if it does, so be it. I didn't create the mess that is record keeping here; I am just trying to make sense of it without going nuts. I only have a week left, thank God.
We had lunch at Doon Estates, which is this white-owned little shopping village that has some great food. Debra will be leaving on Thursday, and Casey is busy tomorrow, so this was her "adios" lunch. Debra will be back at the beginning of July, so they won't have to miss her too long.
The WHO bus came late again today, so I didn't get home until after 5pm. I found an envelope under my door with my bill-to-date from Meikles asking me to settle my charges even though I'm not checking out until June 1. I was kind of offended by the implication, but I went down and paid. The strange thing is that my bill was around $213 million Zim. But they only charged $100 M Zim on my credit card. Not sure what that is about. Luckily, they have the conversion rate on there, so if any funny business happens, I'll be ready. :) I then went to the internet cafe which was open until 8pm, and did some emailing and looking at MySpace. I wish I could have MySpace at WHO, but that would probably totally prevent me from getting any work done :) After that, I went to the steak place that Beth and I ate at last week and had a cheese burger. It was OK; I'm just getting sick of hotel food.
I have had more trouble getting to sleep. Even though I have both windows open, it's still kind of warm in the hotel room. I hope to get to sleep just after midnight when the Great British Menu goes off. The Welsh cook Bryn Williams is so friggin' HOT this week! He's as yummy as Marcus Wareing was last week. I did go to the BBC food site, and found out that we're getting the episodes a week after they air in Britain (Africa being behind the rest of the world...shocking, I know). So I already know that Bryn is going to beat the hot shot female chef they paired him with in the competition. I bet she will be PISSED when they judges choose Bryn over her. The way she's carried on about being a woman in a man's world (apparently female chefs are a novelty...it's always been women that I've known who could cook, not the men!), I wonder if she'll cry sexism. Ehh, it will be interesting to see the judges' reactions. Watching BBC Food all the time makes me wish I could live in England just for a few years. I don't see that happening though, but if an opportunity arose, I'd be tempted to take it.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part G
Monday - May 22, 2006
What I felt last night *was* an earthquake. In fact, it was two earthquakes back to back, epicentered about 115 km from Harare. They measured 3.9 and 4.0 on the Richter Scale. There was a huge earthquake of 7.5 magnitude in February in Mozambique, so people are thinking it's a sign of something. Some think that it could mean Mugabe is about to die. Others are saying that it's a sign of trouble to come for those who ignore God's commandments. I'd scoff, but you would hear the same crap in the USA about God's commandments and warnings of heavenly vengeance. I'm just glad I wasn't dreaming it or imaging the shaking.
It was another somewhat wasted day in the office. I found out that my application for MY OWN JOB was denied. Apparently, the fact I've been doing this job for 3 years obviously shows HR that I cannot do it properly. Stupid bitches! I'm in a series right now that is considered administrative. We want to move me to a job series that is programmatic. This will protect me from job cuts as well as being sucked up into a "Strategic Business Unit" by the reogranization of CDC. I fail to see how my resume is lacking unless they're angry that I don't have full essays explaining my jobs...something NO OTHER employer would expect. It royally pisses me off. I don't know anyone in HR, so I don't see how I could be on someone's shit list where they would try to screw me. Maybe it's series-discrimination, where they don't want to let me qualify for a programmatic series when I'm currently in an administrative one. Who knows? I'm sure Lyn and Leo can figure it out. It just annoys me to no end.
Today, what I had been dreading started....diarrhea. I think I have gone to the bathroom 6 times today alone. It's awful! And it doesn't smell too nice either, but it's strange. It's more like sour milk than anything. I know, TMI. But this happens nearly every time I come to Africa! Some damn parasite enters my gut and I have diarrhea for days or weeks. THe bad thing is that I think I'm out of Immodium. Usually, I'd take Immodium tablets, but I think I'm out, which is not good. The only plus side is that I might lose some weight if I have the runs for the next 10 days until I can get home and take some Immodium.
On the way home today, the WHO bus was involved in a minor accident. One of the Omnibuses that roams around Harare tried to drive in a lane that didn't exist, and then tried to force its ways past our bus, causing the two to collide and scrape against each other. These Omnibuses are dangerous. They are vans that are very old, and stuffed with as many people as possible. They are involved in wrecks all the time, and last week alone, 43 people died in accidents in Harare. So the result of this little accident was that the Omnibus lost its passenger side mirror, and then a shouting match ensued. I have no idea what was said because it was in Shona, but there's nothing more discomfiting than witnessing a shouting match in a language you don't understand. I prayed that no one would have a gun, and they didn't. That's one nice thing about Zimbabwe...only the government has guns. The population isn't prone to carrying weapons of any kind. Things got scary as the driver took down the license plate info of the Omnibus and said he was calling the police to file a report. That's when the people from the bus (there were 3 that somehow were linked with the driver) tried to force their way onto the bus. Well, at that point, I figured I was a block from the entrance to the Meikles, so I could walk. I gathered my things and got the hell out and walked back to the hotel.
I wasn't feeling well, which may be related to my diarrhea. I ended up having some dinner and falling asleep until my mom called around 10pm. Then I stayed up to watch the next episode of Great British Menu, and now it's time to call it a night.
What I felt last night *was* an earthquake. In fact, it was two earthquakes back to back, epicentered about 115 km from Harare. They measured 3.9 and 4.0 on the Richter Scale. There was a huge earthquake of 7.5 magnitude in February in Mozambique, so people are thinking it's a sign of something. Some think that it could mean Mugabe is about to die. Others are saying that it's a sign of trouble to come for those who ignore God's commandments. I'd scoff, but you would hear the same crap in the USA about God's commandments and warnings of heavenly vengeance. I'm just glad I wasn't dreaming it or imaging the shaking.
It was another somewhat wasted day in the office. I found out that my application for MY OWN JOB was denied. Apparently, the fact I've been doing this job for 3 years obviously shows HR that I cannot do it properly. Stupid bitches! I'm in a series right now that is considered administrative. We want to move me to a job series that is programmatic. This will protect me from job cuts as well as being sucked up into a "Strategic Business Unit" by the reogranization of CDC. I fail to see how my resume is lacking unless they're angry that I don't have full essays explaining my jobs...something NO OTHER employer would expect. It royally pisses me off. I don't know anyone in HR, so I don't see how I could be on someone's shit list where they would try to screw me. Maybe it's series-discrimination, where they don't want to let me qualify for a programmatic series when I'm currently in an administrative one. Who knows? I'm sure Lyn and Leo can figure it out. It just annoys me to no end.
Today, what I had been dreading started....diarrhea. I think I have gone to the bathroom 6 times today alone. It's awful! And it doesn't smell too nice either, but it's strange. It's more like sour milk than anything. I know, TMI. But this happens nearly every time I come to Africa! Some damn parasite enters my gut and I have diarrhea for days or weeks. THe bad thing is that I think I'm out of Immodium. Usually, I'd take Immodium tablets, but I think I'm out, which is not good. The only plus side is that I might lose some weight if I have the runs for the next 10 days until I can get home and take some Immodium.
On the way home today, the WHO bus was involved in a minor accident. One of the Omnibuses that roams around Harare tried to drive in a lane that didn't exist, and then tried to force its ways past our bus, causing the two to collide and scrape against each other. These Omnibuses are dangerous. They are vans that are very old, and stuffed with as many people as possible. They are involved in wrecks all the time, and last week alone, 43 people died in accidents in Harare. So the result of this little accident was that the Omnibus lost its passenger side mirror, and then a shouting match ensued. I have no idea what was said because it was in Shona, but there's nothing more discomfiting than witnessing a shouting match in a language you don't understand. I prayed that no one would have a gun, and they didn't. That's one nice thing about Zimbabwe...only the government has guns. The population isn't prone to carrying weapons of any kind. Things got scary as the driver took down the license plate info of the Omnibus and said he was calling the police to file a report. That's when the people from the bus (there were 3 that somehow were linked with the driver) tried to force their way onto the bus. Well, at that point, I figured I was a block from the entrance to the Meikles, so I could walk. I gathered my things and got the hell out and walked back to the hotel.
I wasn't feeling well, which may be related to my diarrhea. I ended up having some dinner and falling asleep until my mom called around 10pm. Then I stayed up to watch the next episode of Great British Menu, and now it's time to call it a night.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part F
Friday, May 19 – Sunday May 21, 2006
One thing I love about working at WHO is the tradition of knocking off early on Fridays. The vans take off at 2:15pm, which makes the day seem that much faster, even though it’s only 2 hours early. I think it’s to give people a chance to do some errands since by the time you get home during the rest of the week, shops are getting ready to close. I didn’t get much done at all at work. I’m going to have to step it over the next week so that I have something to show for my time here.
After work, I went to the shopping mall next door to the Meikles, and discovered a little grocery where I was able to get fresh lemonade, biltong (kind of like beef jerky but much better tasting), and Sparletta which is a green crème soda that I love. I came back to my room and took a nice, long nap. I awoke in time to go downstairs for dinner where I proceeded to eat well, but spent entirely too much money. I then watched TV the rest of the night. I got hooked on two movies that kept me up entirely too late. The first was about this guy who invented the Gong Show, the Newlywed Game, and the Dating Game who also was a hit man for the CIA. Very weird show, but quite entertaining. I then watched Warm Springs, the movie about Roosevelt’s battle with polio which was filmed in Georgia. Having been to the real Warm Springs and the Little White House, it was fun to watch the film. Polio really almost defeated him, but it’s a good thing it didn’t, because I can’t imagine what would have happened during the depression and WWII without FDR to lead us through it.
Considering I went to bed around 3am, it shouldn’t be a shock that I slept until nearly 2pm. I called Eddie to make sure he’d pick me up at 8pm for the party. I then went to a little cybercafe that I had noticed on Friday just below the Meikles’ gardens. The price was really good (less than $1 US/hr) and I was able to do email, post my journal on MySpace, and make plans for a vacation in Miami.
I haven’t been to a beach for years, and neither has my mom, and so I had looked into a beach vacation over the week of July 4. The question was where to go. Mom doesn’t have a passport, that restricts us to the USA. One place I haven’t been on the East Coast is Miami. So I managed to book a trip to Miami, South Beach for July 1-7. Staying at a nice Marriott, which will help me knock out the nights I need to keep my silver status with them. The Marriott is on the beach itself in the heart of trendy South Beach. I wanted to use my SkyMiles to get my mom down to Miami, but the website wouldn’t let me. I had to get Daniel to impersonate me with Delta to finalize the deal, but I believe it was done. Mom had to call me to get my Delta pin number and she was talking to me and Daniel at the same time. It was kind of funny. At the end of the call, she thanked me for doing this because she hadn’t had anything to look forward to until now. I’m not sure what she meant by that, but it was a creepy depressive comment. I know she cycles up and down quite a bit…I just wish she could be consistently happy. Most of all, I hope she never kills herself like my dad did.
The party was pretty low key. I forgot how nice the suburbs are where all the diplomatic corps lives. The margaritas were great, and when those ran out, I switched to tequila sunrises. The finger food was great too. We had pixie sticks, sweet tarts, pop rocks, and other 80s candy. The music was classic 80s too. I got to hang out with the diplomatic community which is always nice. I talked politics with a Swede who had a creepy resemblance to Bill Clinton. Also met this guy who’s obviously from a wealthy family because even though he’s French and Swiss, he had a British nanny and talks like he was raised in the House of Windsor. Very hot looking guy, but also quite aware of that fact and seems a bit full of himself. I’m not sure what he’s doing with the International Committee of the Red Cross, but that’s his job. There was also a Norwegian couple who are here teaching on a cultural exchange. They probably had the best 80s outfit, and it was perfectly matched. The husband was hot, but alas, he was straight and married. Ran into folks I’ve met before from various embassies. Many of them are getting ready to leave over the next several months. It’s that time for people to go on to new assignments, as it’s been about 2 years since I first came to Zimbabwe. My Canadian friend is going to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Swedish Bill Clinton guy is moving to Berlin to take a university position and be with his fiancé. I am sure the new people will be just as lovely, but it’s sad that just about everyone I know will be gone should I return in November for the TFI report preparations.
Eddie came back at 11:30pm, which was fine by me. I came back to the hotel and went straight to bed, waking around 10am to read the paper for a bit before dozing off again. One strange thing happened when I was reading the paper. I heard chanting outside, which is never a good sign in Africa. I looked out my window toward Africa Unity square, and saw a small march taking place. I couldn’t tell what it was for, and it was pretty brief. It was odd though. Turns out it was part of an international “March for Hungry Kids” that was taking place across the world yesterday. The Harare turnout was pitiful though, especially considering how many hungry children there are in the country. I got up at 1pm, got some lunch, and went up to the pool. I was going to go by the internet café again, but it was closed because it was Sunday.
I went up to the roof where the pool is. I put on some sunscreen, got some water, and read my book by the pool. The pool water was a bit cold to swim in, and the breeze was enough to keep me from getting too hot. There was an interesting group of men waiting for someone to come by to pick them up and take them somewhere. Two were Albanian, and they were talking about the languages the knew, etc. One guy bragged that he’s involved with Cirque du Soleil somehow. The men were all beat with the ugly stick, and the way they went back and forth between 5 different languages was obnoxious. It was like they were showing off for my benefit.
I stayed there until 4:30pm when I came back down, took a bath, and relaxed a bit. I tried to do some work, but the plug by the desk is different from the plug adapter I have. I cannot seem to find my other adapters, and I went through everything. There’s no telling how I lost them. It kind of pisses me off, though. Now I’ll have to do double time at the office, because working from bed sucks, which is the only way I can use my computer and have it plugged in. The battery doesn’t last long enough to do serious work. I am now watching Ocean’s 12 which is interesting. I will go to bed after the movie is over. Another week begins.
I had to come back and write an addendum after a strange occurrence around midnight. I was trying to go to sleep in my too-warm room when I felt the building shake. It sounded like I was right next to the train tracks as a train was coming by. Neither is the case with the Meikles. My bed definitely shook for about 10 seconds before it abruptly stopped. A few minutes later, the power briefly went off. I wonder if we had an earthquake?
One thing I love about working at WHO is the tradition of knocking off early on Fridays. The vans take off at 2:15pm, which makes the day seem that much faster, even though it’s only 2 hours early. I think it’s to give people a chance to do some errands since by the time you get home during the rest of the week, shops are getting ready to close. I didn’t get much done at all at work. I’m going to have to step it over the next week so that I have something to show for my time here.
After work, I went to the shopping mall next door to the Meikles, and discovered a little grocery where I was able to get fresh lemonade, biltong (kind of like beef jerky but much better tasting), and Sparletta which is a green crème soda that I love. I came back to my room and took a nice, long nap. I awoke in time to go downstairs for dinner where I proceeded to eat well, but spent entirely too much money. I then watched TV the rest of the night. I got hooked on two movies that kept me up entirely too late. The first was about this guy who invented the Gong Show, the Newlywed Game, and the Dating Game who also was a hit man for the CIA. Very weird show, but quite entertaining. I then watched Warm Springs, the movie about Roosevelt’s battle with polio which was filmed in Georgia. Having been to the real Warm Springs and the Little White House, it was fun to watch the film. Polio really almost defeated him, but it’s a good thing it didn’t, because I can’t imagine what would have happened during the depression and WWII without FDR to lead us through it.
Considering I went to bed around 3am, it shouldn’t be a shock that I slept until nearly 2pm. I called Eddie to make sure he’d pick me up at 8pm for the party. I then went to a little cybercafe that I had noticed on Friday just below the Meikles’ gardens. The price was really good (less than $1 US/hr) and I was able to do email, post my journal on MySpace, and make plans for a vacation in Miami.
I haven’t been to a beach for years, and neither has my mom, and so I had looked into a beach vacation over the week of July 4. The question was where to go. Mom doesn’t have a passport, that restricts us to the USA. One place I haven’t been on the East Coast is Miami. So I managed to book a trip to Miami, South Beach for July 1-7. Staying at a nice Marriott, which will help me knock out the nights I need to keep my silver status with them. The Marriott is on the beach itself in the heart of trendy South Beach. I wanted to use my SkyMiles to get my mom down to Miami, but the website wouldn’t let me. I had to get Daniel to impersonate me with Delta to finalize the deal, but I believe it was done. Mom had to call me to get my Delta pin number and she was talking to me and Daniel at the same time. It was kind of funny. At the end of the call, she thanked me for doing this because she hadn’t had anything to look forward to until now. I’m not sure what she meant by that, but it was a creepy depressive comment. I know she cycles up and down quite a bit…I just wish she could be consistently happy. Most of all, I hope she never kills herself like my dad did.
The party was pretty low key. I forgot how nice the suburbs are where all the diplomatic corps lives. The margaritas were great, and when those ran out, I switched to tequila sunrises. The finger food was great too. We had pixie sticks, sweet tarts, pop rocks, and other 80s candy. The music was classic 80s too. I got to hang out with the diplomatic community which is always nice. I talked politics with a Swede who had a creepy resemblance to Bill Clinton. Also met this guy who’s obviously from a wealthy family because even though he’s French and Swiss, he had a British nanny and talks like he was raised in the House of Windsor. Very hot looking guy, but also quite aware of that fact and seems a bit full of himself. I’m not sure what he’s doing with the International Committee of the Red Cross, but that’s his job. There was also a Norwegian couple who are here teaching on a cultural exchange. They probably had the best 80s outfit, and it was perfectly matched. The husband was hot, but alas, he was straight and married. Ran into folks I’ve met before from various embassies. Many of them are getting ready to leave over the next several months. It’s that time for people to go on to new assignments, as it’s been about 2 years since I first came to Zimbabwe. My Canadian friend is going to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Swedish Bill Clinton guy is moving to Berlin to take a university position and be with his fiancé. I am sure the new people will be just as lovely, but it’s sad that just about everyone I know will be gone should I return in November for the TFI report preparations.
Eddie came back at 11:30pm, which was fine by me. I came back to the hotel and went straight to bed, waking around 10am to read the paper for a bit before dozing off again. One strange thing happened when I was reading the paper. I heard chanting outside, which is never a good sign in Africa. I looked out my window toward Africa Unity square, and saw a small march taking place. I couldn’t tell what it was for, and it was pretty brief. It was odd though. Turns out it was part of an international “March for Hungry Kids” that was taking place across the world yesterday. The Harare turnout was pitiful though, especially considering how many hungry children there are in the country. I got up at 1pm, got some lunch, and went up to the pool. I was going to go by the internet café again, but it was closed because it was Sunday.
I went up to the roof where the pool is. I put on some sunscreen, got some water, and read my book by the pool. The pool water was a bit cold to swim in, and the breeze was enough to keep me from getting too hot. There was an interesting group of men waiting for someone to come by to pick them up and take them somewhere. Two were Albanian, and they were talking about the languages the knew, etc. One guy bragged that he’s involved with Cirque du Soleil somehow. The men were all beat with the ugly stick, and the way they went back and forth between 5 different languages was obnoxious. It was like they were showing off for my benefit.
I stayed there until 4:30pm when I came back down, took a bath, and relaxed a bit. I tried to do some work, but the plug by the desk is different from the plug adapter I have. I cannot seem to find my other adapters, and I went through everything. There’s no telling how I lost them. It kind of pisses me off, though. Now I’ll have to do double time at the office, because working from bed sucks, which is the only way I can use my computer and have it plugged in. The battery doesn’t last long enough to do serious work. I am now watching Ocean’s 12 which is interesting. I will go to bed after the movie is over. Another week begins.
I had to come back and write an addendum after a strange occurrence around midnight. I was trying to go to sleep in my too-warm room when I felt the building shake. It sounded like I was right next to the train tracks as a train was coming by. Neither is the case with the Meikles. My bed definitely shook for about 10 seconds before it abruptly stopped. A few minutes later, the power briefly went off. I wonder if we had an earthquake?
Friday, May 19, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part E
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Very interesting day today. I have some clarity as to what I’m supposed to do with these Measles Partnership numbers. Basically, I can pick the number I like best, which means to me sticking as close to published numbers as possible. However, this report is not supposed to see the light of day outside of WHO. Good thing too, because the information they are seeking does nothing than expose shoddy record keeping and somewhat shady financial practices, at least when you consider the controls that are placed on how we spend money at CDC. Maybe the Defense Department comes close to what I see at WHO. We are getting results, which is what ultimately matters, but you need an army of people to keep track of this money properly. To have only one person doing the work of 10 is ridiculous. It also allows WHO to play its shell game with the money it’s given. Things get covered, but you never know whose money is covering it half the time.
I found out that the overturning of the gay marriage amendment has created a firestorm in Georgia. Just as I predicted, Sonny decided he’d call a special session if the decision wasn’t quickly overturned by the GA Supremes. Just so happens that 4 of the 7 justices are up for election this year…think that will weigh on their decision? We’ll see if they’re politicians or jurists. The fact remains that amendment was illegally drawn, and everyone knew it. But they wanted that precious part B in there to really send the message that gays need to leave Georgia and never return because they will always be second class citizens. What galls me is that the Democrats are all rah-rah about this move to call a special session! Dubose Porter, the leader in the House, thinks it’s grand. So does Cathy Cox and Mark Taylor. Cathy’s campaign went out of its way to say that she fully supported the amendment, and only thought in 2004 that it was drawn poorly legislatively. That’s not quite how I remember it, but Cathy’s leading the “Down with Fags!” cheers from the Democratic side. Mark Taylor stopped short of saying we need a special session, but said to wait for the GA Supreme Court to decide, adding he hoped they upheld the amendment.
This is exactly the kind of shit that people bring up to show that Democrats really don’t care about gays at all. The thing is, I know the party is very supportive. We’re at all levels of the party power structure, and no one cares we’re gay. Most of the time, they think it’s pretty cool. But when 76% of Georgia voted yes on the marriage amendment in 2004, that told politicians that gays were nuclear material in Georgia politics. We are lepers to be shunned in public, no matter what our conscience or our hearts tell us is right. Certainly, you shouldn’t lead on an issue such as gay rights in any form…the best thing to do is what Democrats did until blacks were forcibly given the vote in the 1960s…pander to the basest instincts of the public. And this means to sound the alarm bells, call a special session, and make sure no time passes where those damn queers don’t know their place…at the bottom of Sadie Field’s stiletto heel to be scrapped off on the curb like dog shit.
Well, I’m not letting this one go quietly. I was angry enough that I fired off a letter to the Editor in the AJC, and I also wrote Cathy Cox’s campaign a note which I copied to every YD leader I know and some others too. My friend Mike called her campaign from England and demanded his contribution (which I had urged him to make months ago) back. I frankly don’t blame him. I don’t know if she’ll even see this letter, but you can be assured that I will deliver the message in person should I get the opportunity:
Dear Cathy -
I find myself filled with profound disappoint and disgust at your decision yesterday to release a statement of support for Gov. Perdue's cynical call for a SPECIAL legislative session to make sure that both parts of the gay marriage amendment struck down for violating the single subject rule will be on November's ballot. I have met you several times, and I have even supported your bid for Governor. I have also heard you speak on LGBT issues, and I know you are more fair minded than your actions have shown. Yet, when it comes down to it, actions speak louder than words.
The AJC today (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/0518metgaymarriage.html) stated, "On Wednesday, Cox issued a statement supporting the governor's plan for a special session. So did her Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor. Cox's opponents from both parties pointed out that in 2004, Cox said the amendment was "unnecessary." Peter Jackson, her campaign spokesman, said in response, "Yesterday showed the circumstances have changed" since 2004."
I would like to know exactly what circumstances have changed? In 2004, you had it right when you said the amendment was unnecessary and a cynical political ploy. It can be argued that passing that amendment directly led to the loss of Democratic control of the House. The people who care most about putting LGBT Georgians in "our place" are never going to vote for you or any Democrat. The only way that would change is if some Democrat pulled a Zell Miller and became essentially a right wing Republican in his/her views. You gain nothing by supporting Perdue in this scheme to call a special session. Even if you are the nominee, this amendment will guarantee that the troops of Sadie Field and her ilk will turn out in droves to reward Sonny for acting swiftly to put the "queers" in our place.
I am a gay Georgian, one of many you already know. You know personally how hateful and painful that amendment fight was in 2004. That you are now supporting actions that would not only hurt Democrats, your own bid for Governor, along with delivering a double fisted bitch slap to every LGBT Georgian is disgusting. As a Christian, you know better than to think this is the right thing to do. I know this is a tricky issue to deal with, but wouldn't it have been better to allow the judicial process to play out in the GA Supreme Court and then decide to move forward later? What's the rush? The amendment would easily pass in January 2007 when the new legislature is in session, and everyone knows it. There is no emergency to warrant spending taxpayer dollars on a special session just to be sure that LGBT Georgians like myself can be reassured that yes, indeed, our state HATES us, considers us less than equal citizens, and wants to be sure I never enjoy anything approaching equality with straight Georgia.
I get that this state is light years from being gay friendly when you go outside of 285. By your actions yesterday, you have given sanction to creating an atmosphere of hate and hysteria around gay rights. LGBT teens are already 30% more likely to commit to suicide than their straight peers. My community is already rife with self-destructive behaviors whose origins lie in just the kind of hate campaign Sadie Fields led against us in 2004 and are promising to do again in 2006. I expected much more out of you than that. This is not leadership; it is pandering. To see you sink so low as to kick some of your most ardent supporters in the teeth for political gain breaks my heart. Yet I know that Mark Taylor and Sonny Perdue are no better.
I will no longer actively support your campaign. I may or may not vote for you in the Primary and General election. I feel betrayed by you, and I know I am not the only LGBT supporter of yours that feels this way this morning. I think we deserve and explanation and apology for being so hasty to play into the political tricks of the GOP. In the meantime, my time and treasure will no longer support someone who obviously no longer supports me.
Yours truly,
Jason A. Cecil
Am I being too harsh? No, I don’t think so. I’m not going to work against Cathy, and it’s likely I’ll vote for. When you think of Mark vs Cathy in the Democratic primary, I think Cathy has the best chance of unseating Sonny Perdue. I also love the idea of a smart woman governor. But that doesn’t mean I smile meekly, bend over, grab my ankles and say, “Do what you want. I’ll be the good little soldier. You’ll see no consequences from me.” For LGBT people to make real gains, we must demand respect, especially from our friends. We don’t have to abandon them (because they truly are light years better than Republicans) but we do need to let them know when they’ve done wrong. And Cathy fucked up big time on this. She may not think so now, but I hope I’m just the tip of the iceberg of LGBT supporters who will let their displeasure be known. That’s the only way we can be sure that she won’t pull this kind of shit again, and will be more sensitive to the people who have supported her most.
I came back to the hotel and relaxed a while until Eddie came by to pick me up at 6:45pm. Casey hosted a Mexican dinner at her place in honor of her birthday which is this Saturday. Yinka’s birthday is the end of next week, and Amy’s birthday is right after that. We had wine, appetizers, and soft tacos. The dessert was chocolate cake and ice cream. Very good stuff!
A funny thing happened during dinner. First, Amy told me the name of her baby, which is a Zimbabwean name in Shona. I listened to how she said it and repeated it. Amy was shocked I got it right the first time. Apparently, I’m the first American who has done so. Of course, right now, I couldn’t repeat the name because I don’t remember it. I do know they call her Chi for short, or Marie which is one of her middle names. Cute, cute baby, though. Later, at dessert, Amy’s husband (another name that escapes me…but he’s also Zimbabwean) had me attempt to pronounce the Shona name for the Operation Throw out the Trash that Mugabe did last year to clear impoverished supporters of the opposition out of the Harare. After listening to him pronounce it, I tried and he said there was no way that I was just a visitor to Zimbabwe if I could pronounce Shona words correctly on the first try. He asked how long I’d been in Zimbabwe, and I told him a total of 4 months by the time this trip was over. He then asked if I was a language specialist, and I responded “Not that I’m aware of.” LOL Anyway, I don’t know how I managed to pronounce these Shona words correctly, but when something foreign is being repeated to me, I tend to break it down into its consonant sounds which helps me repeat it. *shrug* It was kind of neat though to get those words right when apparently no one else does.
Yinka, Debra, Casey, Michelle (the Zimbabwean), Amy, her baby, her husband, Mathew from the embassy and his wife, and a girl from Canada. I should remember her name, but I don’t at the moment. She works for an agency called Je T’aime which deals with HIV. We had a nice time. It was cool to hang out with Americans, play with Amy’s baby, and get out of the hotel. It reminded me what I like about Zimbabwe. The social atmosphere around the embassy and the people you meet there are quite nice. They vacation together, party together, and have a real sense of camaraderie. When you’re just visiting for a short time, you kind of miss that. But Mathew and his wife are hosting an 80s party this weekend, and I’ll be going to it. It should be lots of fun.
I’m now stuffed and ready for bed. Thank goodness, the day tomorrow is short at WHO, and I should be home pretty early to start my weekend. I have no real plans other than to sit by the pool and tan. That and the party, of course.
Very interesting day today. I have some clarity as to what I’m supposed to do with these Measles Partnership numbers. Basically, I can pick the number I like best, which means to me sticking as close to published numbers as possible. However, this report is not supposed to see the light of day outside of WHO. Good thing too, because the information they are seeking does nothing than expose shoddy record keeping and somewhat shady financial practices, at least when you consider the controls that are placed on how we spend money at CDC. Maybe the Defense Department comes close to what I see at WHO. We are getting results, which is what ultimately matters, but you need an army of people to keep track of this money properly. To have only one person doing the work of 10 is ridiculous. It also allows WHO to play its shell game with the money it’s given. Things get covered, but you never know whose money is covering it half the time.
I found out that the overturning of the gay marriage amendment has created a firestorm in Georgia. Just as I predicted, Sonny decided he’d call a special session if the decision wasn’t quickly overturned by the GA Supremes. Just so happens that 4 of the 7 justices are up for election this year…think that will weigh on their decision? We’ll see if they’re politicians or jurists. The fact remains that amendment was illegally drawn, and everyone knew it. But they wanted that precious part B in there to really send the message that gays need to leave Georgia and never return because they will always be second class citizens. What galls me is that the Democrats are all rah-rah about this move to call a special session! Dubose Porter, the leader in the House, thinks it’s grand. So does Cathy Cox and Mark Taylor. Cathy’s campaign went out of its way to say that she fully supported the amendment, and only thought in 2004 that it was drawn poorly legislatively. That’s not quite how I remember it, but Cathy’s leading the “Down with Fags!” cheers from the Democratic side. Mark Taylor stopped short of saying we need a special session, but said to wait for the GA Supreme Court to decide, adding he hoped they upheld the amendment.
This is exactly the kind of shit that people bring up to show that Democrats really don’t care about gays at all. The thing is, I know the party is very supportive. We’re at all levels of the party power structure, and no one cares we’re gay. Most of the time, they think it’s pretty cool. But when 76% of Georgia voted yes on the marriage amendment in 2004, that told politicians that gays were nuclear material in Georgia politics. We are lepers to be shunned in public, no matter what our conscience or our hearts tell us is right. Certainly, you shouldn’t lead on an issue such as gay rights in any form…the best thing to do is what Democrats did until blacks were forcibly given the vote in the 1960s…pander to the basest instincts of the public. And this means to sound the alarm bells, call a special session, and make sure no time passes where those damn queers don’t know their place…at the bottom of Sadie Field’s stiletto heel to be scrapped off on the curb like dog shit.
Well, I’m not letting this one go quietly. I was angry enough that I fired off a letter to the Editor in the AJC, and I also wrote Cathy Cox’s campaign a note which I copied to every YD leader I know and some others too. My friend Mike called her campaign from England and demanded his contribution (which I had urged him to make months ago) back. I frankly don’t blame him. I don’t know if she’ll even see this letter, but you can be assured that I will deliver the message in person should I get the opportunity:
Dear Cathy -
I find myself filled with profound disappoint and disgust at your decision yesterday to release a statement of support for Gov. Perdue's cynical call for a SPECIAL legislative session to make sure that both parts of the gay marriage amendment struck down for violating the single subject rule will be on November's ballot. I have met you several times, and I have even supported your bid for Governor. I have also heard you speak on LGBT issues, and I know you are more fair minded than your actions have shown. Yet, when it comes down to it, actions speak louder than words.
The AJC today (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/0518metgaymarriage.html) stated, "On Wednesday, Cox issued a statement supporting the governor's plan for a special session. So did her Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor. Cox's opponents from both parties pointed out that in 2004, Cox said the amendment was "unnecessary." Peter Jackson, her campaign spokesman, said in response, "Yesterday showed the circumstances have changed" since 2004."
I would like to know exactly what circumstances have changed? In 2004, you had it right when you said the amendment was unnecessary and a cynical political ploy. It can be argued that passing that amendment directly led to the loss of Democratic control of the House. The people who care most about putting LGBT Georgians in "our place" are never going to vote for you or any Democrat. The only way that would change is if some Democrat pulled a Zell Miller and became essentially a right wing Republican in his/her views. You gain nothing by supporting Perdue in this scheme to call a special session. Even if you are the nominee, this amendment will guarantee that the troops of Sadie Field and her ilk will turn out in droves to reward Sonny for acting swiftly to put the "queers" in our place.
I am a gay Georgian, one of many you already know. You know personally how hateful and painful that amendment fight was in 2004. That you are now supporting actions that would not only hurt Democrats, your own bid for Governor, along with delivering a double fisted bitch slap to every LGBT Georgian is disgusting. As a Christian, you know better than to think this is the right thing to do. I know this is a tricky issue to deal with, but wouldn't it have been better to allow the judicial process to play out in the GA Supreme Court and then decide to move forward later? What's the rush? The amendment would easily pass in January 2007 when the new legislature is in session, and everyone knows it. There is no emergency to warrant spending taxpayer dollars on a special session just to be sure that LGBT Georgians like myself can be reassured that yes, indeed, our state HATES us, considers us less than equal citizens, and wants to be sure I never enjoy anything approaching equality with straight Georgia.
I get that this state is light years from being gay friendly when you go outside of 285. By your actions yesterday, you have given sanction to creating an atmosphere of hate and hysteria around gay rights. LGBT teens are already 30% more likely to commit to suicide than their straight peers. My community is already rife with self-destructive behaviors whose origins lie in just the kind of hate campaign Sadie Fields led against us in 2004 and are promising to do again in 2006. I expected much more out of you than that. This is not leadership; it is pandering. To see you sink so low as to kick some of your most ardent supporters in the teeth for political gain breaks my heart. Yet I know that Mark Taylor and Sonny Perdue are no better.
I will no longer actively support your campaign. I may or may not vote for you in the Primary and General election. I feel betrayed by you, and I know I am not the only LGBT supporter of yours that feels this way this morning. I think we deserve and explanation and apology for being so hasty to play into the political tricks of the GOP. In the meantime, my time and treasure will no longer support someone who obviously no longer supports me.
Yours truly,
Jason A. Cecil
Am I being too harsh? No, I don’t think so. I’m not going to work against Cathy, and it’s likely I’ll vote for. When you think of Mark vs Cathy in the Democratic primary, I think Cathy has the best chance of unseating Sonny Perdue. I also love the idea of a smart woman governor. But that doesn’t mean I smile meekly, bend over, grab my ankles and say, “Do what you want. I’ll be the good little soldier. You’ll see no consequences from me.” For LGBT people to make real gains, we must demand respect, especially from our friends. We don’t have to abandon them (because they truly are light years better than Republicans) but we do need to let them know when they’ve done wrong. And Cathy fucked up big time on this. She may not think so now, but I hope I’m just the tip of the iceberg of LGBT supporters who will let their displeasure be known. That’s the only way we can be sure that she won’t pull this kind of shit again, and will be more sensitive to the people who have supported her most.
I came back to the hotel and relaxed a while until Eddie came by to pick me up at 6:45pm. Casey hosted a Mexican dinner at her place in honor of her birthday which is this Saturday. Yinka’s birthday is the end of next week, and Amy’s birthday is right after that. We had wine, appetizers, and soft tacos. The dessert was chocolate cake and ice cream. Very good stuff!
A funny thing happened during dinner. First, Amy told me the name of her baby, which is a Zimbabwean name in Shona. I listened to how she said it and repeated it. Amy was shocked I got it right the first time. Apparently, I’m the first American who has done so. Of course, right now, I couldn’t repeat the name because I don’t remember it. I do know they call her Chi for short, or Marie which is one of her middle names. Cute, cute baby, though. Later, at dessert, Amy’s husband (another name that escapes me…but he’s also Zimbabwean) had me attempt to pronounce the Shona name for the Operation Throw out the Trash that Mugabe did last year to clear impoverished supporters of the opposition out of the Harare. After listening to him pronounce it, I tried and he said there was no way that I was just a visitor to Zimbabwe if I could pronounce Shona words correctly on the first try. He asked how long I’d been in Zimbabwe, and I told him a total of 4 months by the time this trip was over. He then asked if I was a language specialist, and I responded “Not that I’m aware of.” LOL Anyway, I don’t know how I managed to pronounce these Shona words correctly, but when something foreign is being repeated to me, I tend to break it down into its consonant sounds which helps me repeat it. *shrug* It was kind of neat though to get those words right when apparently no one else does.
Yinka, Debra, Casey, Michelle (the Zimbabwean), Amy, her baby, her husband, Mathew from the embassy and his wife, and a girl from Canada. I should remember her name, but I don’t at the moment. She works for an agency called Je T’aime which deals with HIV. We had a nice time. It was cool to hang out with Americans, play with Amy’s baby, and get out of the hotel. It reminded me what I like about Zimbabwe. The social atmosphere around the embassy and the people you meet there are quite nice. They vacation together, party together, and have a real sense of camaraderie. When you’re just visiting for a short time, you kind of miss that. But Mathew and his wife are hosting an 80s party this weekend, and I’ll be going to it. It should be lots of fun.
I’m now stuffed and ready for bed. Thank goodness, the day tomorrow is short at WHO, and I should be home pretty early to start my weekend. I have no real plans other than to sit by the pool and tan. That and the party, of course.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part D
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
I did crash last night! I slept from just before 8pm until the alarm went off at 6:30pm. I didn’t order breakfast, so I read a bit of the paper, and then showered. My hair actually did much better today having washed it in the morning. The only drawback is that my driver showed up early and called my room. I had to skip the tie today, which was fine. I was more comfortable, and no one said anything to me.
I was the first in the office once again. Being picked up at 7:30am usually results in me being at the office at 7:45am. Another drawback of not having your own transportation! I didn’t get much done today. The problems of conflicting numbers and poor labeling have pretty much stymied my progress. I’ll have to talk to Casey about that tomorrow to find out which of these figures she wants me to use. I could randomly choose, but that wouldn’t be defensible if anyone asked questions. When it comes down to it, this task is tedious and boring. No wonder Casey pawned it off on me. She does have enough to do without having to go through this noxious exercise. Yet, here I am…stuck doing it for another two weeks.
I’ve noticed something strange since I got here. White people seem to be popping up everywhere! When I’ve been in Zimbabwe before, I rarely saw white people except in unusual circumstances. This time, I see them all over the place. Waiting for a bus downtown, at lunch, all over the Meikles, and anywhere else I might go. It’s bizarre. Debra thought I was crazy, because she find that anywhere she’s gone in Africa is about 50/50 white/black except for Nigeria where she really didn’t see any white people. This is her first time in Zimbabwe, so I can’t speak to her experiences in other countries. Whenever I go to Africa, I take it for granted that I’ll see maybe a handful of white people while out and about. I wonder what’s behind this resurgence of white folks in Harare…
I heard some good news from home today. The Fulton county judge who heard the case against the gay marriage amendment in Georgia threw it out for violating the single topic rule. It was brilliant. In their haste to ram through a prohibition on gay marriage and gay relationships in general, they violated the rule that you can vote on only one question at a time. To make it even more obvious, the ballot question on the amendment asked only the first half of the amendment, the definition of marriage. The second part banned anything arising out of a same sex relationship that even remotely resembled heterosexual marriage rights. This could potentially mean that documents gay couples now use to protect one another like powers of attorney and the like could be null and void in Georgia. The celebration may be brief. I’m relatively confident that if asked, the Georgia Supreme Court will uphold the Fulton judge. I think the next thing will be for Sonny to call an “emergency” session of the General Assembly for the sole purpose of repassing the amendment as two separate questions in time to get it on the ballot for 2006 and secure GOP dominance of the legislature while re-electing Sonny Perdue. But for the moment, we are vindicated and Sadie is exposed as the hateful cunt she is.
Email tends to be pretty quiet when you’re 6 hours ahead of your friends. I get into work and it’s approaching 2am at home. By the time folks wake up and get to work and can email me back, it’s almost time for me to go home! I have to be ready to go by 4:30pm for the WHO bus, which is 10:30am at home. Oh well, it makes me focus on the task at hand rather than waste the day away on the internet, which I’m very tempted to do, especially when I have as unpleasant a task as I have here. Well, unpleasant may be too harsh…let’s just say boring.
I’ve become obsessed with BBC Food this week. The cooking shows are fascinating, and I wish I could cook like that. I wish I had a reason to cook like that. When you live alone, cooking for just yourself is underwhelming. Of course, there is that accent. LOL It’s funny what I’m a sucker for. Men in a US military uniform. Charming accents. It’s also funny who I end up having crushes on, especially when I’m pretty sure there’s no chance of anything really happening with that person. Some of my friends would know exactly whom I am referencing. Hint: He’s gay, and he’s not someone you’d automatically think I’d be interested in. Look at me; almost 31 years old and crushing like a high schooler.
Beth called this evening after I got back to the hotel from work. She wanted to know if I’d go next door to the shopping center to look for food and souvenirs for her family. Unfortunately, everything here closes at 5pm it seems. All the souvenir shops were closed, as were the restaurants. One restaurant that was open was a “steak house” that was set up like a cheesy Mexican joint. Beth had the “fillet” which should NOT be mistaken for filet mignon. She also ordered it rare and it came out well done. I had a cheeseburger which was good, even though the bun was half gone. The meal was pretty inexpensive at $1.6 M for cheeseburger, fries, and two mineral waters. It’s funny how $1.6 MILLION is considered cheap. Well, once you realize it’s less than $10 at a sit down restaurant, it isn’t bad! Beth is headed back tomorrow to Atlanta. I wish it was me, but oh well. I’m sure the rest of the trip will be fine. Casey is hosting a party tomorrow night at her house. Well, more of a dinner. But it will be Mexican fare, which should be nice. Hopefully, I’ll get to see Amy and her new baby. She’s the only friend from my first days in 2004 who is still here. I wish the Marines I knew were still around, along with Annie. But they aren’t and such is life. It’s fun to travel overseas to places you’d normally not go… but I don’t like the solitude. Some solitude is good, but this gets to be a bit much. I miss interacting and talking with people. I miss people who get my sense of humor. When you are not a native English speaker, it’s difficult to understand my humor which can use a lot of double entendres. I tried a little joke I read online today with Beth, and she didn’t really get it or think it was that funny. The joke went like this: “The correct answer to, ‘Is it in yet?’ is to say, ‘I think so because I just got pulled over for being in the HOV lane.’” Yes, it’s a gay joke about someone with a loose ass, but it could easily work for a well-used vagina too. Beth’s an American, but she’s also an Alpharetta mom, so maybe that was the problem.
Well, it’s getting late here, so I will sign off and go to bed.
I did crash last night! I slept from just before 8pm until the alarm went off at 6:30pm. I didn’t order breakfast, so I read a bit of the paper, and then showered. My hair actually did much better today having washed it in the morning. The only drawback is that my driver showed up early and called my room. I had to skip the tie today, which was fine. I was more comfortable, and no one said anything to me.
I was the first in the office once again. Being picked up at 7:30am usually results in me being at the office at 7:45am. Another drawback of not having your own transportation! I didn’t get much done today. The problems of conflicting numbers and poor labeling have pretty much stymied my progress. I’ll have to talk to Casey about that tomorrow to find out which of these figures she wants me to use. I could randomly choose, but that wouldn’t be defensible if anyone asked questions. When it comes down to it, this task is tedious and boring. No wonder Casey pawned it off on me. She does have enough to do without having to go through this noxious exercise. Yet, here I am…stuck doing it for another two weeks.
I’ve noticed something strange since I got here. White people seem to be popping up everywhere! When I’ve been in Zimbabwe before, I rarely saw white people except in unusual circumstances. This time, I see them all over the place. Waiting for a bus downtown, at lunch, all over the Meikles, and anywhere else I might go. It’s bizarre. Debra thought I was crazy, because she find that anywhere she’s gone in Africa is about 50/50 white/black except for Nigeria where she really didn’t see any white people. This is her first time in Zimbabwe, so I can’t speak to her experiences in other countries. Whenever I go to Africa, I take it for granted that I’ll see maybe a handful of white people while out and about. I wonder what’s behind this resurgence of white folks in Harare…
I heard some good news from home today. The Fulton county judge who heard the case against the gay marriage amendment in Georgia threw it out for violating the single topic rule. It was brilliant. In their haste to ram through a prohibition on gay marriage and gay relationships in general, they violated the rule that you can vote on only one question at a time. To make it even more obvious, the ballot question on the amendment asked only the first half of the amendment, the definition of marriage. The second part banned anything arising out of a same sex relationship that even remotely resembled heterosexual marriage rights. This could potentially mean that documents gay couples now use to protect one another like powers of attorney and the like could be null and void in Georgia. The celebration may be brief. I’m relatively confident that if asked, the Georgia Supreme Court will uphold the Fulton judge. I think the next thing will be for Sonny to call an “emergency” session of the General Assembly for the sole purpose of repassing the amendment as two separate questions in time to get it on the ballot for 2006 and secure GOP dominance of the legislature while re-electing Sonny Perdue. But for the moment, we are vindicated and Sadie is exposed as the hateful cunt she is.
Email tends to be pretty quiet when you’re 6 hours ahead of your friends. I get into work and it’s approaching 2am at home. By the time folks wake up and get to work and can email me back, it’s almost time for me to go home! I have to be ready to go by 4:30pm for the WHO bus, which is 10:30am at home. Oh well, it makes me focus on the task at hand rather than waste the day away on the internet, which I’m very tempted to do, especially when I have as unpleasant a task as I have here. Well, unpleasant may be too harsh…let’s just say boring.
I’ve become obsessed with BBC Food this week. The cooking shows are fascinating, and I wish I could cook like that. I wish I had a reason to cook like that. When you live alone, cooking for just yourself is underwhelming. Of course, there is that accent. LOL It’s funny what I’m a sucker for. Men in a US military uniform. Charming accents. It’s also funny who I end up having crushes on, especially when I’m pretty sure there’s no chance of anything really happening with that person. Some of my friends would know exactly whom I am referencing. Hint: He’s gay, and he’s not someone you’d automatically think I’d be interested in. Look at me; almost 31 years old and crushing like a high schooler.
Beth called this evening after I got back to the hotel from work. She wanted to know if I’d go next door to the shopping center to look for food and souvenirs for her family. Unfortunately, everything here closes at 5pm it seems. All the souvenir shops were closed, as were the restaurants. One restaurant that was open was a “steak house” that was set up like a cheesy Mexican joint. Beth had the “fillet” which should NOT be mistaken for filet mignon. She also ordered it rare and it came out well done. I had a cheeseburger which was good, even though the bun was half gone. The meal was pretty inexpensive at $1.6 M for cheeseburger, fries, and two mineral waters. It’s funny how $1.6 MILLION is considered cheap. Well, once you realize it’s less than $10 at a sit down restaurant, it isn’t bad! Beth is headed back tomorrow to Atlanta. I wish it was me, but oh well. I’m sure the rest of the trip will be fine. Casey is hosting a party tomorrow night at her house. Well, more of a dinner. But it will be Mexican fare, which should be nice. Hopefully, I’ll get to see Amy and her new baby. She’s the only friend from my first days in 2004 who is still here. I wish the Marines I knew were still around, along with Annie. But they aren’t and such is life. It’s fun to travel overseas to places you’d normally not go… but I don’t like the solitude. Some solitude is good, but this gets to be a bit much. I miss interacting and talking with people. I miss people who get my sense of humor. When you are not a native English speaker, it’s difficult to understand my humor which can use a lot of double entendres. I tried a little joke I read online today with Beth, and she didn’t really get it or think it was that funny. The joke went like this: “The correct answer to, ‘Is it in yet?’ is to say, ‘I think so because I just got pulled over for being in the HOV lane.’” Yes, it’s a gay joke about someone with a loose ass, but it could easily work for a well-used vagina too. Beth’s an American, but she’s also an Alpharetta mom, so maybe that was the problem.
Well, it’s getting late here, so I will sign off and go to bed.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part C
Tuesday - May 16, 2006More insomnia last night. At some point (probably tonight), my body is going to crash. It will be better than these nights of 5 hours of sleep, let me tell you. Work was OK today. I'm already bored with this "assignment" and am not sure at all what it is I'm supposed to be doing. Well, it's not that I don't know...but I don't know how to proceed. I have all these files, some with contradictory information. Not all of them are labeled so that you can make sense of it. And I get the feeling that they want more detail than the chart that Casey has put together to be filled out. For instance, while all money is funnelled through UNICEF and WHO, that money doesn't all come from those organizations. The Measles Partership has donors like CDC, American Red Cross, Gates, UNF that all funnel money into the UNICEF and WHO. There is no way I'll be able to untangle those financial relationships in the time I'm here. I'll be lucky to find out what WHO/UNICEF spent in each country for measles...b/c the amount alloted does NOT equal the amount spent most of the time. You can't just look at the accounts to see how much was alloted in them...you have to check to see what was SPENT. It's a mess. And I'm frankly not that interested in it. Oh well...it's what I'm being paid to do.
Got on the correct bus this time and was dropped off at the Meikles with no problem. I went upstairs, relaxed a bit, and then got some food from the lounge. I wish they had an in between restaurant from the uber-relaxed lounge (which is really set up as a tea/cake operation) to the very fancy La Fontane. I'd like a place to go, sit, and eat without a lot of fuss. But that's not available. I ended up having a chicken sandwich and tea for dinner. Another $3M Zim down the drain :) Anyway, I left the receipt and took the copy with me. Not 30 minutes later I get a call from some woman demanding I return the copy. I guess I don't get a copy. It was weird. It also kind of pissed me off, but I let it go. I did finally get a room service menu, so maybe I can get my more casual options for eating now. The sad thing is that there's nothing close to the hotel to walk to. Not that walking is safe around Harare, at least at night. And the sun is going down by 5:30-6pm. No way I'm going to be caught walking the streets of Harare after dark.
I figured out that the air conditioning must be centally controlled somehow,and since it's winter, they're keeping it slightly warm. TOO warm for me, though! The hallway is much cooler than my room, and I wish it was just the opposite. I figured out that I could open the window in my room and let in the cooler air from outside and make my room tolerable. So I slept with the windows open. Hopefully that won't pose a problem.
I have gotten sleepy pretty early..it's only 7:30pm and my eyes are heavy. Maybe I will get a good night's sleep tonight after all.
Got on the correct bus this time and was dropped off at the Meikles with no problem. I went upstairs, relaxed a bit, and then got some food from the lounge. I wish they had an in between restaurant from the uber-relaxed lounge (which is really set up as a tea/cake operation) to the very fancy La Fontane. I'd like a place to go, sit, and eat without a lot of fuss. But that's not available. I ended up having a chicken sandwich and tea for dinner. Another $3M Zim down the drain :) Anyway, I left the receipt and took the copy with me. Not 30 minutes later I get a call from some woman demanding I return the copy. I guess I don't get a copy. It was weird. It also kind of pissed me off, but I let it go. I did finally get a room service menu, so maybe I can get my more casual options for eating now. The sad thing is that there's nothing close to the hotel to walk to. Not that walking is safe around Harare, at least at night. And the sun is going down by 5:30-6pm. No way I'm going to be caught walking the streets of Harare after dark.
I figured out that the air conditioning must be centally controlled somehow,and since it's winter, they're keeping it slightly warm. TOO warm for me, though! The hallway is much cooler than my room, and I wish it was just the opposite. I figured out that I could open the window in my room and let in the cooler air from outside and make my room tolerable. So I slept with the windows open. Hopefully that won't pose a problem.
I have gotten sleepy pretty early..it's only 7:30pm and my eyes are heavy. Maybe I will get a good night's sleep tonight after all.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part B
Monday, May 15, 2006
And fascinating it was! I got up at 6:30am with the alarm, even though I couldn’t get to sleep until well past 1am last night. I got dressed, and then breakfast came. The paper had a headline talking about how the southern Africa countries were reaching an agreement to stop their citizens from fleeing to better countries with good pay if they are in the medical profession. That’s a great way to make sure that your citizens don’t stay in southern Africa, if doing so means they are forced to come back to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia or wherever. Apparently, the pay is much better in Botswana and South Africa, and Zimbabwe loses many medical personnel to these countries. They also lose a lot to Great Britain and Australia which are not part of the pact. Zimbabwe thinks this will bring back medical personnel to a failing country, but it won’t. All it will do is make sure that doctors from poor southern Africa countries will flee to countries outside of the region. Even the Bush Administration hasn’t suggested something so stupid. That all these countries in southern Africa have agreed to this pact shows how stupid they are, except perhaps South Africa and Botswana who don’t want a glut of foreign doctors bringing in competition to their native grown medical personnel.
I ran into Beth Luman in the lobby waiting for our rides. Beth is working on an HIV project with the CDC-GAP office. She went on safari this weekend about an hour outside of Harare, and managed to do work while there! For her, this was the perfect weekend. Considering she’s an epidemiologist, I just don’t get that kind of “fun”. Maybe that’s why I’m not an epidemiologist Anyway, she likes to do quirky things while in a country, which is fine. Without having a car, I don’t feel the wanderlust I would if I could just hop in a car and drive anywhere. I’d love to see the Great Zimbabwe for which the country is named. But I have no way to get there without paying out the nose. It’s also more than a day trip, and there’s not much around the structure in the way of accommodation.
I will be sitting in the office next to Casey’s this time, which is nice. Not quite as isolating as being down the hall like the last two times I’ve come down for TFI preparations. I’m sharing the office with Debra Townes, whom we selected to be Yinka’s replacement. She seems to be doing well, and there will be a big meeting with Deo on Wednesday to determine if everyone wants to go ahead with her appointment. I’m pretty sure it will go well. Debra is very funny, and I’m afraid I bring out the naughty in her by pointing out the obvious in certain situations, especially when it comes to the sexual peccadilloes you see in an African workplace, not to mention the diplomatic community.
I found out that Yinka’s wedding has been called off. Apparently, she and Everard broke up in March. She’s not taking it too well, either, but she’s soldiering on. I don’t know any of the details, but I’m guessing she caught him lying and/or cheating. Even when they first got together, some of the ladies at the Embassy reported that Everard would make sexual comments to them. Sadly, that’s an African trait. African men are raised to believe they are entitled to have as much sex with as many women as they want. It’s a key battle in the fight against AIDS. Women get HIV from their husbands even though they never cheat. The problem is, their husbands are. African men think nothing of having a wife at home, but several “pieces” on the side. I also wonder if he stole from her, but if Yinka wants to tell me, she will. I just feel bad for her, but I thank God she found out whatever it was before she married him. I also found out that Amy had her baby about 10 weeks ago, and she secretly married the baby’s father in December. Her next assignment will be in Brazil, but she’ll first go back to DC for language training and other training to prepare her for the assignment. It would be nice if CDC provided that kind of cultural training for assignees, but we generally tend to throw people into the pool and see if they can swim. It’s part of the reason why we like to have had people go on missions for us to see how they are in the field. Technical competency is relatively easy to come by, but it’s that intangible factor of a personality that will make or break you in a developing country.
I got my email turned back on relatively easily. I was surprised to find that I couldn’t post my journal outside of LiveJournal. I had wanted to cross post on MySpace, but it’s blocked at WHO on the grounds that it’s a “personals, dating” website. That’s a bit simplistic, but whatever.
I look at the files Casey has gathered for me. This will be an interesting task. The early years of the Measles Partnership did not have the best record keeping. They were trying to keep afloat, so they weren’t thinking of detailed records. So there will be some forensics involved. A bit out of my training, but I’m sure I can muster through somehow. I’m not sure what I’ll be able to accomplish, but hopefully my efforts will be of some use.
I managed to get on the wrong bus going home from WHO. Of course, they didn’t ask me where I was going, they only pointed to me and said I was a “hotel person”. Turns out, the driver thought that meant the former Sheraton. Whoops. So they had to back-track to let me off.
I noticed some interesting things at the Meikles. The number of items available for food is diminished from my last visit. There simply aren’t that many items available, which is interesting. Also sad.
I’m having trouble with my Ipod recharging via my laptop despite having done it in Atlanta before I left. I’m not sure what the problem is, but if it doesn’t start charging, my Ipod will lose all its juice in a day or two.
I’ve found myself watching BBC Food more than the other channels. Granted, I only get CNN International, BBC World, two movie channels, sports channels that show cricket and soccer, and BBC Food. It’s actually pretty interesting. Not to mention the men with British accents are pretty damn hot. :)
And fascinating it was! I got up at 6:30am with the alarm, even though I couldn’t get to sleep until well past 1am last night. I got dressed, and then breakfast came. The paper had a headline talking about how the southern Africa countries were reaching an agreement to stop their citizens from fleeing to better countries with good pay if they are in the medical profession. That’s a great way to make sure that your citizens don’t stay in southern Africa, if doing so means they are forced to come back to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia or wherever. Apparently, the pay is much better in Botswana and South Africa, and Zimbabwe loses many medical personnel to these countries. They also lose a lot to Great Britain and Australia which are not part of the pact. Zimbabwe thinks this will bring back medical personnel to a failing country, but it won’t. All it will do is make sure that doctors from poor southern Africa countries will flee to countries outside of the region. Even the Bush Administration hasn’t suggested something so stupid. That all these countries in southern Africa have agreed to this pact shows how stupid they are, except perhaps South Africa and Botswana who don’t want a glut of foreign doctors bringing in competition to their native grown medical personnel.
I ran into Beth Luman in the lobby waiting for our rides. Beth is working on an HIV project with the CDC-GAP office. She went on safari this weekend about an hour outside of Harare, and managed to do work while there! For her, this was the perfect weekend. Considering she’s an epidemiologist, I just don’t get that kind of “fun”. Maybe that’s why I’m not an epidemiologist Anyway, she likes to do quirky things while in a country, which is fine. Without having a car, I don’t feel the wanderlust I would if I could just hop in a car and drive anywhere. I’d love to see the Great Zimbabwe for which the country is named. But I have no way to get there without paying out the nose. It’s also more than a day trip, and there’s not much around the structure in the way of accommodation.
I will be sitting in the office next to Casey’s this time, which is nice. Not quite as isolating as being down the hall like the last two times I’ve come down for TFI preparations. I’m sharing the office with Debra Townes, whom we selected to be Yinka’s replacement. She seems to be doing well, and there will be a big meeting with Deo on Wednesday to determine if everyone wants to go ahead with her appointment. I’m pretty sure it will go well. Debra is very funny, and I’m afraid I bring out the naughty in her by pointing out the obvious in certain situations, especially when it comes to the sexual peccadilloes you see in an African workplace, not to mention the diplomatic community.
I found out that Yinka’s wedding has been called off. Apparently, she and Everard broke up in March. She’s not taking it too well, either, but she’s soldiering on. I don’t know any of the details, but I’m guessing she caught him lying and/or cheating. Even when they first got together, some of the ladies at the Embassy reported that Everard would make sexual comments to them. Sadly, that’s an African trait. African men are raised to believe they are entitled to have as much sex with as many women as they want. It’s a key battle in the fight against AIDS. Women get HIV from their husbands even though they never cheat. The problem is, their husbands are. African men think nothing of having a wife at home, but several “pieces” on the side. I also wonder if he stole from her, but if Yinka wants to tell me, she will. I just feel bad for her, but I thank God she found out whatever it was before she married him. I also found out that Amy had her baby about 10 weeks ago, and she secretly married the baby’s father in December. Her next assignment will be in Brazil, but she’ll first go back to DC for language training and other training to prepare her for the assignment. It would be nice if CDC provided that kind of cultural training for assignees, but we generally tend to throw people into the pool and see if they can swim. It’s part of the reason why we like to have had people go on missions for us to see how they are in the field. Technical competency is relatively easy to come by, but it’s that intangible factor of a personality that will make or break you in a developing country.
I got my email turned back on relatively easily. I was surprised to find that I couldn’t post my journal outside of LiveJournal. I had wanted to cross post on MySpace, but it’s blocked at WHO on the grounds that it’s a “personals, dating” website. That’s a bit simplistic, but whatever.
I look at the files Casey has gathered for me. This will be an interesting task. The early years of the Measles Partnership did not have the best record keeping. They were trying to keep afloat, so they weren’t thinking of detailed records. So there will be some forensics involved. A bit out of my training, but I’m sure I can muster through somehow. I’m not sure what I’ll be able to accomplish, but hopefully my efforts will be of some use.
I managed to get on the wrong bus going home from WHO. Of course, they didn’t ask me where I was going, they only pointed to me and said I was a “hotel person”. Turns out, the driver thought that meant the former Sheraton. Whoops. So they had to back-track to let me off.
I noticed some interesting things at the Meikles. The number of items available for food is diminished from my last visit. There simply aren’t that many items available, which is interesting. Also sad.
I’m having trouble with my Ipod recharging via my laptop despite having done it in Atlanta before I left. I’m not sure what the problem is, but if it doesn’t start charging, my Ipod will lose all its juice in a day or two.
I’ve found myself watching BBC Food more than the other channels. Granted, I only get CNN International, BBC World, two movie channels, sports channels that show cricket and soccer, and BBC Food. It’s actually pretty interesting. Not to mention the men with British accents are pretty damn hot. :)
Monday, May 15, 2006
Zimbabwe Trip 4 - Part A
Sunday, May 14, 2006I had a strange day before I left on Friday for my 5th trip to Africa and my 4th to Zimbabwe. First, my travel preparer had taken the day off. That’s not so unusual because our travel preparers tend to take “long weekends”, although disappearing on a Thursday for the weekend was unusual. What I didn’t quite appreciate was not having my tickets or final travel orders. Apparently, my amended cable to the US Embassy in Harare had not been answered yet, so they said I couldn’t go. Calling the folks at the Office of Global Health, I found out this wasn’t exactly true. I had permission to be in Zimbabwe from May 2-25 which were my original trip dates before the whole “oops, we didn’t apply for you to get a visa” fiasco. I still have permission to be in Zimbabwe until May 25 even though my travel dates changed. Extending my stay after I arrive is not a problem. So I had to rush over to get my tickets from OMEGA, and then I had to track down my official passport, which just arrived that afternoon. I had to speed to another CDC campus (thankfully, not Clifton!) and get my passport. By 4:30pm, I finally had everything I needed to fly out the next morning.
I had a nice steak dinner at Outback Steakhouse, and then went home a bit tired. I had gathered everything to pack, but had not physically put it in the suitcase yet. I decided I would do something unusual and just go to bed, and set my alarm for 2am. My taxi was scheduled to pick me up at 6:30am, so 4.5 hours should be plenty of time. That plan went well, and by just after 3am, I was all packed and ready to go. I watched my recordings of TV from the night before, and was ready to go by 6am. Good thing too, because my taxi arrived then…a full half hour early.
I got to the airport just after 7am, and luckily, the line for South Africa Airlines was small. I was 3.5 hours early, after all. There was no trouble getting through security, and I got a little breakfast in the international terminal. I simply read until it was time for the plane to load. I was afraid there wouldn’t be much room since the flight was full, but I did have space for my laptop and my backpack. I sat on the aisle next to this South African couple who were returning from holiday in the US and the Caribbean. There was this odd African lady who was wearing a faux leopard print jacket behind me. Next to her was a beautiful man (well, except for the raging zit on his chin line by his ear) with his perky, blonde fiancé. I think they were South African as well. Dark blue eyes, dark hair, strong jaw line, thick black eyelashes…simply stunning to look at. I never heard him speak though, so I have no idea if the voice would have ruined it or not. He also bought his fiancé a very nice rock, which she kept looking at, making me think this betrothal was relatively new.
We had a strong tail wind so even though we left at 11am (half hour late), we got to Cape Verde about an hour early. The second half of the trip to Johannesburg was longer but also got us there early. I did manage to nod off, but the cabin was so damn hot that I couldn’t get comfortable. Usually, they keep the cabin cold, but this time, they turned off the air conditioning and I was roasting. They turned it back on, but it took forever to get anywhere near comfortable.
The layover in Joburg wasn’t too bad. I got some food, and then headed down to wait for the bus to the small plane to Harare. The funniest thing I saw was this Muslim guy in the traditional garb and white hat with a big beard. But the beard had highlights, and so did the hair coming out from under the cap. I have no idea why this guy highlighted his beard and hair, but I found it incredibly funny. I didn’t sleep much on that flight, and I got through the customs of Harare pretty quickly. My luggage arrived, and I met the WHO driver. He had driven me last time I was here in November, so he seemed happy to see me. I got to the Meikles Hotel, checked in, and got led to my room.
I’m in a different tower than I was last time. I think this is the newer tower, but I can’t be sure. I’m on a non-smoking floor, which is nice, and I have air conditioning. I had been booked at Pet’s, but I cancelled that once I found out the charge was $100 US a night. That’s not bad, but I have to pay Pet in cash, and the CDC only gave me $2400 for my stay. The per diem is nearly $200/night for lodging in Harare, and the WHO rate at Meikles is $156/night. So staying at Pet’s for 20 days would be $2000 already spoken for. Eddie the taxi driver is charging $1 US per km, and I’m not sure that the rest of the $400 could cover that and food too. Eddie’s another you have to pay in cash. I didn’t want to worry about my cash flow, and with things deteriorating rapidly in Zimbabwe, I figured the Meikles was the safer option. I could use the government credit card, alleviating my cash worries, and Meikles is likely to be the last place to lose things like electricity and water. So, despite the fact that Pet’s is more “homey” than the Meikles, I decided to stay at Meikles for the convenience. Also, WHO will pick me up and drop me off which is another expense I don’t have to worry about at the Meikles.
I called Casey to let her know I was here safely, and then I went to bed. I slept until about midnight and awoke. It took me 3 hours to get back to sleep. I had breakfast around 9am, read the paper (always amusing), and went back to bed. I slept most of the afternoon, and then went downstairs for dinner. I had a sandwich with fries, tea, and a lemon cheesecake for dessert. That cost $3 Million Zim. Inflation here is out of control. Should be interesting when I change out money to see how many millions I get. I took a nice bath and wrote this journal entry. Tomorrow I start my mission at WHO to sift through all the financial data of the Measles Partnership for the last 5 yrs, which should be … fascinating.
I had a nice steak dinner at Outback Steakhouse, and then went home a bit tired. I had gathered everything to pack, but had not physically put it in the suitcase yet. I decided I would do something unusual and just go to bed, and set my alarm for 2am. My taxi was scheduled to pick me up at 6:30am, so 4.5 hours should be plenty of time. That plan went well, and by just after 3am, I was all packed and ready to go. I watched my recordings of TV from the night before, and was ready to go by 6am. Good thing too, because my taxi arrived then…a full half hour early.
I got to the airport just after 7am, and luckily, the line for South Africa Airlines was small. I was 3.5 hours early, after all. There was no trouble getting through security, and I got a little breakfast in the international terminal. I simply read until it was time for the plane to load. I was afraid there wouldn’t be much room since the flight was full, but I did have space for my laptop and my backpack. I sat on the aisle next to this South African couple who were returning from holiday in the US and the Caribbean. There was this odd African lady who was wearing a faux leopard print jacket behind me. Next to her was a beautiful man (well, except for the raging zit on his chin line by his ear) with his perky, blonde fiancé. I think they were South African as well. Dark blue eyes, dark hair, strong jaw line, thick black eyelashes…simply stunning to look at. I never heard him speak though, so I have no idea if the voice would have ruined it or not. He also bought his fiancé a very nice rock, which she kept looking at, making me think this betrothal was relatively new.
We had a strong tail wind so even though we left at 11am (half hour late), we got to Cape Verde about an hour early. The second half of the trip to Johannesburg was longer but also got us there early. I did manage to nod off, but the cabin was so damn hot that I couldn’t get comfortable. Usually, they keep the cabin cold, but this time, they turned off the air conditioning and I was roasting. They turned it back on, but it took forever to get anywhere near comfortable.
The layover in Joburg wasn’t too bad. I got some food, and then headed down to wait for the bus to the small plane to Harare. The funniest thing I saw was this Muslim guy in the traditional garb and white hat with a big beard. But the beard had highlights, and so did the hair coming out from under the cap. I have no idea why this guy highlighted his beard and hair, but I found it incredibly funny. I didn’t sleep much on that flight, and I got through the customs of Harare pretty quickly. My luggage arrived, and I met the WHO driver. He had driven me last time I was here in November, so he seemed happy to see me. I got to the Meikles Hotel, checked in, and got led to my room.
I’m in a different tower than I was last time. I think this is the newer tower, but I can’t be sure. I’m on a non-smoking floor, which is nice, and I have air conditioning. I had been booked at Pet’s, but I cancelled that once I found out the charge was $100 US a night. That’s not bad, but I have to pay Pet in cash, and the CDC only gave me $2400 for my stay. The per diem is nearly $200/night for lodging in Harare, and the WHO rate at Meikles is $156/night. So staying at Pet’s for 20 days would be $2000 already spoken for. Eddie the taxi driver is charging $1 US per km, and I’m not sure that the rest of the $400 could cover that and food too. Eddie’s another you have to pay in cash. I didn’t want to worry about my cash flow, and with things deteriorating rapidly in Zimbabwe, I figured the Meikles was the safer option. I could use the government credit card, alleviating my cash worries, and Meikles is likely to be the last place to lose things like electricity and water. So, despite the fact that Pet’s is more “homey” than the Meikles, I decided to stay at Meikles for the convenience. Also, WHO will pick me up and drop me off which is another expense I don’t have to worry about at the Meikles.
I called Casey to let her know I was here safely, and then I went to bed. I slept until about midnight and awoke. It took me 3 hours to get back to sleep. I had breakfast around 9am, read the paper (always amusing), and went back to bed. I slept most of the afternoon, and then went downstairs for dinner. I had a sandwich with fries, tea, and a lemon cheesecake for dessert. That cost $3 Million Zim. Inflation here is out of control. Should be interesting when I change out money to see how many millions I get. I took a nice bath and wrote this journal entry. Tomorrow I start my mission at WHO to sift through all the financial data of the Measles Partnership for the last 5 yrs, which should be … fascinating.
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