The Countdown Continues!

Yesterday marked four weeks to the day from my return home, so as much as I like it here, I’ve now got a little countdown going on in my head. 27 days left! One thing that I don’t know if I truly anticipated was just how sick I would become of the clothes that I’ve brought with me. I think that, when I get home, I won’t know what to do with all the sartorial possibilities – my poor little brain will melt. It’s funny, though – there are plenty of boutiques and such in the tourist areas that have Western sizes (as I’ve mentioned, the average Vietnamese woman is the size of my pinky), so there’s plenty of stuff I could buy and easily fit into, I just don’t know how much use I have for silk blouses at the moment. But I’ve seen a couple of boutiques in other parts of town that are trying a different approach. Written across the front windows beneath the shop name, in big letters, are the words “large sized and middle aged boutique”. I almost snorted the first time I saw one. I hope they don’t try to export that concept to the States, I don’t think it would really sell. I mean, I thought Dress Barn sounded frumpy…

The office is filling up, which is good. We’ve got more people here, and they look and sound busy. So, as long as they actually are busy, I’d say we’re in good shape. I’m still waiting on comments for the methodology that I’ve written, so I’m reading some more supporting material that I’ve been given. It’s not what I would call “riveting”. Or even “interesting”. But it is, at least, relevant, so I can justify reading it while I’m sitting here. There are still some communication issues with our local guys in the office (as a quick glance at the notes from our “all Vietnamese, all the time” meetings indicates – the subject of the memo was “Take Note”), but I think they’re workable for the most part. We still have no translator, so that’s going to become more of an issue as time goes by. I don’t know how big of a deal it’s going to be before I leave, but since I’d like to stay involved with the project, I hope it gets resolved soon, because not having a translator will make everything harder. And then there’s the PM’s Russian cautionary tale that I mentioned the other day.

I still love that story.

It’s really strange how traveling for long periods of time starts to affect you. As long as you aren’t living out of a suitcase, you can almost fool yourself into a feeling of permanence with wherever you are. I know I’ve talked about this before, and I’m likely to do it again, but it always seems strange to remind myself that this desk, with my view out over the park, this office, the drive-thru art gallery downstairs, and all the other things that have become familiar are really just a brief stopover for me.

Non-sequitur:

Apparently in Afghanistan, there’s an ethnic group with the name “Kuchi”. I never thought that one word would simultaneously make me think of Charo and Afghanistan. Curious.

Right now, my head is full of lists. Lists of things I want to do before I leave Vietnam, lists of people to see in Karachi, lists of things to do before I leave Karachi, lists of things I want to do when I’m home, lists of people I want to see when I’m home, etc. It’s a little crazy, to tell you the truth. I haven’t written all of these lists down because I don’t want to be too obsessive, but writing the lists and checking things off usually really helps me. Yes, I’m a type-A personality. Raise your hand if you’re surprised.

What…no one?

That’s what I thought.

There’s a bar/restaurant nearby that’s got a nice, pub-type atmosphere. There’s even a sign posted to tell you about their Happy Hour drink specials. Oh, and did I mention that Happy Hour runs from 10 am to 6 pm? They’re just so darn accommodating here in Vietnam that they even want to offer drink specials to the “hair of the dog” crowd trying to banish their mid-morning hangovers from the night before. Well done, my friends. That’s what I call customer service.

So far, the feedback I’ve received on what I’ve written has been positive, but it hasn’t been extensive. I’m going to interpret that as a good sign until I’m told otherwise. In fact, I got an e-mail from one of the higher-ups tell me that he’d heard that I was doing well, so that was good to hear. As I said, positive feedback isn’t all that common, so it’s a nice treat when you get it.

I’m going to show the new girl around town on Saturday. She came over for dinner last night and I showed her all the swag that I’ve picked up over the last few weeks. She agreed that I would most definitely need another suitcase, but wanted me to show her where I managed to find all of it. It’s funny, because people who work in the shops that I really like are starting to recognize me now. I would say that I’m a “regular” but there’s something a little weird about being a regular at a jewelry store or something. In any case, I’m glad to be able to share the wisdom of my experience with her (such as it is…), and it’ll be fun to have a day to hang out downtown with a girlfriend. I travel well by myself, and I like to do things by myself a lot. But there’s also something really nice about having a friend to laugh with and talk to as you’re seeing this stuff.

This week has gone by so quickly, it doesn’t feel like it should be Thursday. I don’t know what day it *should* be, maybe Tuesday? I guess since I found out that I’m not coming back for the long haul in the fall (I made a rhyme!), part of my recalibration involves me thinking “okay – of the stuff you wanted to do, what can you do in the next week and a half?” The answer? Depends on how creative I am.

I have mixed feelings about going back to Karachi. It’ll be nice to see Lois, and the other friends that I made there, and at least I can feel as though I really tried to wrap things up in good faith. But it wasn’t the easiest place to live, and finding out that the house staff were “reporting” on me really bugged me – I thought we had a positive and friendly relationship, and I wouldn’t have expected that. I actually haven’t thought about it all week, to be honest, but since it popped into my head again…I hate when you find out something about someone that makes you view your entire history with them in an entirely different, and substantially more negative, light. I never like to think the worst of people, and I don’t like it when I don’t feel as though I have any other option. Ah well – water under the bridge, right? I won’t have to deal with any of them for much longer.

But let’s end this on a happy note, shall we? Did I mention that I’ll be home in 27 days? Yay!