Ch-ch-ch-changes...

So, big news! But I'll warn you, it's exciting, sad, AND terrifying (though maybe more to me than you). Anyway, after 18 months of application process ups and downs, I’ve been offered and accepted a position as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development. More specifically, I'll be a Program Analysis and Project Development Officer (PDO) in the Development Leadership Initiative (DLI) program, which seeks to replenish the aging foreign service ranks with young, promising new leaders. Yes, you heard that correctly, I'm young and promising. Sort of. :)

Anyway, I’ll start training in Washington DC on June 7, 2010. I’m incredibly sad to leave my current job with Water For People after such a short period of time, but I’m convinced that this is the right career move for me at this time. When I complete my training, I'll have the opportunity to gain tenure in the foreign service, which trust me, is a pretty sweet gig. It allows me to give into my wanderlust and development-sector ADD, but with much more stability. I'm also incredibly disappointed to miss the World Cup in South Africa, which I was planning to attend with my dear friend Danielle, but I guess there will be more World Cups. Though not in SA. BOO! But careers are more important. Sort of. :)

And then there is the sadness associated with leaving Uganda, a place that has become my home for the last year and a half. And the place where some of best friends live. My eyes start watering even thinking about it, so that'll have to be a subject I'll need to tackle later. But it's sad. REALLY sad.

Anyway, as you might expect, this move opens a lot of doors and even more questions. Here’s what I DO know:

1) I’ll move back to DC sometime in early June and start training on June 7, 2010.

And here’s what I DON'T know (and now you’ll see where the terrifying descriptor comes in):

1) How long I’ll be in DC—as far as I can tell it could be between 2 months and 2 years. I suspect it will be on the longer side as I’ll have to do language training, but I really don’t know, nor do I know WHEN I’ll know.

2) Where I will be posted following my training. Basically I have no choice in the matter. I could be sent to Uganda or Pakistan or Guatemala, or really anywhere in between. My first post is decided by higher ups and I have little to no say over it. I think I will find out my post at the end of training, but I’ve heard that not everyone gets a post right away, so again… unclear. However, you can visit here (http://www.usaid.gov/locations/) to see all the possibilities. Your guess is as good as mine!

3) I don’t know what language I’ll be learning. As part as my training, and a requirement for tenure in the agency, I’ll be required to learn a language and pass a competency test. I’m going to push for French (it makes sense given my regional interest in sub-Saharan Africa), but I’m not sure I’ll have any say. So if they say “you’re learning Farsi,” Farsi it is. Again, your guess is as good as mine.

4) Where I will be living in DC. I’ll have to figure this out upon arrival, but my hope is that it’s cheap (ish), near the metro, and in the district. DC-ites, any advice or ideas are MORE THAN WELCOME!

So as you can see, there are many unanswered questions, which is terrifying. But the truth is it is also incredibly exciting, and just another contribution to this adventure we call life. So I'm trying to focus on that and not the unknowns. But no worries, I'll keep you all updated!

Easter in Zanzibar!

So as I have stated MANY times, my life is really not that different from yours. I work, I play, I read, I run annoying errands, I consistently set goals for myself that I ignore three hours later (Eat better! Work out more! Watch less TV! Get more sleep!) I just do these things in deepest darkest Africa. However, the one aspect of my life that clearly stands apart from most is my ability to go on exotic vacations. You may spend the weekend at the Jersey Shore (and hey, that’s exotic in its own right!), but I get to go for a weekend to ZANZIBAR! I’m not trying to brag, I’m just for once admitting that my life does have its perks. And Zanzibar is DEFINITELY one of them…

So to set the stage, in East Africa, Easter is a four day weekend, which seemed like a perfect opportunity to get away. So several of my friends and I decided to jet over to the Swahili Coast of Tanzania and visit the tropical and exotic island of Zanzibar. For those of you history buffs (Dad), Zanzibar is an semi-autonomous archipelago that for centuries has been a stopping-over point for traders from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. The traders from all over the world have left their marks, and it has resulted in a hodgepodge of culture, food, religion, and language. The island also happens to have the whitest sand and bluest water I’ve ever seen. Oh, and delicious spicy seafood, which is a treat when you live in Uganda, the land of no flavor and tilapia.

So in planning our tropical getaway, my friend Becca, who is far more adventurous than me, somehow convinced me that scuba diving was a good idea. And it WAS a good idea—until I found myself 12 meters down (40 feet Mer-cans) unable to see because my goggles were as foggy as San Francisco in summer, unable to control my buoyancy, and completely unsure of why I had thought this was a good idea. But it got better. And better. And next thing you know I was actually enjoying myself amongst the sea turtles and nudibranch (look that up, you won’t be sorry!) and dolphins and tropical fish of every shape and color and size. And yes, I did find Nemo. And I became a certified PADI diver in the process, in spite of my best efforts to completely panic and resign myself to snorkeling for the rest of my life.

Outside of the scuba training, I greatly enjoyed lying on the beach, enjoying my friends, eating as much seafood as possible, reading, sleeping, kayaking, and generally chillaxing. And while I was sad to tear myself away from the tropical paradise that was Kendwa, the time came to see some of the rest of the island, and I wasn’t disappointed. We spent a day exploring Stone Town, a labyrinth of winding alleyways, mosques, intricately carved wooden doorways, colorful markets, and extravagant coral buildings built with detailed Swahili touches. We also gave in to our inner tourists and took a spice tour, which while informative and fun, was pretty much a tourist trap. We also filled ourselves to the gills with delicious Swahili food at Foradhani Gardens in Stone Town and shopped for kangas (brightly colored raps favored by Tanzanian women) until we dropped.

Overall it was a fantastic holiday and I can’t wait to go back! But in the meantime, I have fond memories and many great pictures…

Mood Lighting

I spend a lot of time trying to explain to friends and family in the states that my life isn’t so different from theirs. I wake up in the morning, take a shower, make some coffee, go to work, try to make myself engage in some sort of physical activity (often unsuccessfully), go home, go to bed. On the weekends I go out with my friends—have dinner, drinks, see live music, dance, etc. None of this is all that different from my life in the states. But then there are times when I’m reminded just how different my life can be—like tonight when I was forced to get ready for a dinner out with friends in the dark due to load shedding, or scheduled power outages because the country simply doesn’t create enough power to keep everyone lit all the time. The candlelit shower was sort of relaxing, but the make-up by headlamp left a little to be desired, and it’s entirely possible I went out looking like Tammy Faye Bakker.

36 Hours in Kenya

So back in December en route to Malawi, I made a quick stop in Nairobi to attend grad school friend Jackie's wedding! See some pics below (some from me, others from the fantastic Arlene as I stupidly forgot my camera for parts of the ceremony)...

Jackie's parents walk her down the aisle

Great to catch up with grad school friends, including

Jason who came with Arlene all the way from NYC!

Jackie and Fred arrive at the reception

Jackie and Fred break it down at the post party!

Updates!

Once again, I have been totally and completely unreliable as a blogger. And the truth is, I don’t really have an excuse. But here’s my attempt to start again, and to catch you up on life since my last post. My trip to Malawi was fairly uneventful and to be completely honest, I left the country knowing only a bit more than I came with. I spent my whole time in Blantyre working, sleeping, or transporting between work and my hotel. However, I did manage to develop a taste for Nali, the BEST hot sauce I’ve ever had (and I’m a Texan who has lived in Africa for years, so this is HIGH PRAISE), and get my hands on an “Adopt Me” t-shirt in my size, which may be my new favorite possession.

The view from my hotel in Blantyre Malawi

After returning to Kampala from Malawi, I had a lovely holiday season—I traveled with some friends to Lake Bunyonyi, easily one of my favorite spots in East Africa and something out of a Tolkien novel. While it is always hard to be away from family, its nice to know that no matter where you end up, a little festiveness can be found.

Christmas comes to the Equator

Dave, falling or flying (?) at Lake Bunyonyi

Lake Bunyonyi

Other than that, life has been pretty uneventful, and I mean that in the best possible way. I’m enjoying my job and life and everything really, so I guess I’m one of those boring content people. However, I really am committed to spending some time on this blog in the future, so please bother me endlessly if you don’t see new posts coming from me. That is if you haven’t completely given up on me and are still reading…

Malawi

Note: This post was written on an incredibly small plane (no Dad, I have no idea what kind, but it did have propellers. No, I don’t know how many.) somewhere over Southern Malawi. In celebrity news, a man who very much resembles Oliver Mtukudzi is sitting across the aisle from me and I really think it might be him. My conviction is based on the fact that it vaguely looks like him and the flight ends in Harare. So it is clearly him, or at least that’s what I tell myself as I unabashedly stare which I think is making him uncomfortable. Sorry Tuku (or random man if that is the case)…

I’ve just arrived in Malawi after a lovely 36 hour jaunt in Kenya, where I attended my friend Jackie’s wedding, caught up with SLU friend John in Nairobi, and successfully navigated the Thika nightlife with NYU friend Mike. More to come on those adventures…

Anyway, this is my first visit to Malawi, and to be honest, I know very little about it. While flying today I’ve compiled a list of the things I DO know for your reading pleasure:

• 99.9% of my friends/family have never heard of Malawi and it is the only place in the world my Dad can’t pick out on a map, in spite of the fact that I’ve shown him 16 times. So for all of your sakes, Malawi is a long, narrow country in southeastern Africa, bordered by Tanzania in the Northeast, Zambia in the northwest, and Mozambique everywhere else.
• Those who HAVE heard of Malawi have probably heard about it because of the association with Madonna. Yes, Malawi is the country where Madonna stole bought adopted two children who already had families orphans. However, the Malawians don’t seem too upset over the scandal as child-sized, brightly colored t-shirts with the words “Adopt Me!” and an arrow pointing to the wearer’s face are readily available in Lilongwe airport. I really wish they had one in my size.
• Others may have heard of Lake Malawi, an aptly named popular tourist destination which lines almost the entire Eastern border of the country.
• Blantyre, where I am headed for work, is incredibly complicated to get to from Kampala. My route was Entebbe -> Nairobi -> Lusaka -> Lilongwe -> Blantyre. This took approximately 16 hours despite its relative closeness.
• The people are incredibly nice! The customs people actually smiled, a woman working in a small grocery store in Lilongwe airport allowed me to charge my phone in her stand and was patient while I asked her how to say things in Chichewa (I’ve already forgotten it all which is why that is not included in this lesson), and a policeman proposed to me and was undeterred when I lied to him and told him I had a “very large husband in America.” But he was very friendly about it!
• Based on the view from the sky and Lilongwe Airport, it appears to be beautiful.

So as you can see, my information is limited. And while I will likely be quite busy with work, I hope to learn a tiny bit more about the country in the next week. And you know what that means—blog posts! I also plan to update about my visit to Nairobi and Thika, so WATCH THIS SPACE!

The Development Set

Written by Ross Coggins in 1976 and published in “Adult Education and Development”, this poem was first brought to my attention in a grad school class, Politics of International Development, at NYU Wagner (thanks Gersh!). At the time it already seemed spot on, but now after having lived abroad as an active part of the “development set” for over a year, it’s downright eerie. While I’m not feeling the need to defend or attack the piece in a public forum at the moment (though trust me, I could, BOTH ways), I think it is an interesting read, both for those who like me have lived the expat life and grapple with these issues daily, and those who don’t fully understand my personal conundrums about my life’s work. Perhaps later I’ll tackle some of my personal feelings on the issue, but at the moment, I’ll just share and allow you to form your own opinions. How very democratic of me. Enjoy!

The Development Set

Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet
I’m off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I’ve had all my shots
I have traveler’s checks and pills for the trots!

The Development Set is bright and noble
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes
Our thoughts are always with the masses.

In Sheraton Hotels in scattered nations
We damn multi-national corporations;
injustice seems easy to protest
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.

We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with open mouth.

We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution –
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.

The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like “epigenetic”
“Micro”, “macro”, and “logarithmetic”

It pleasures us to be esoteric –
It’s so intellectually atmospheric!
And although establishments may be unmoved,
Our vocabularies are much improved.

When the talk gets deep and you’re feeling numb,
You can keep your shame to a minimum:
To show that you, too, are intelligent
Smugly ask, “Is it really development?”

Or say, “That’s fine in practice, but don’t you see:
It doesn’t work out in theory!”
A few may find this incomprehensible,
But most will admire you as deep and sensible.

Development set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios, and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the great and the poor.

Enough of these verses – on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray god the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.