Another Morning in Yemen

I think I’m doing better with jetlag this time, slowly but surely. I managed to (mostly) make it to a decent bedtime last night, and woke up around 5:30 this morning. Sure, that’s a lot earlier than I would voluntarily be up, but really – beats the heck out of sitting up, wide awake, at 3 am. And I’ve logged plenty of time doing just that. Not that it won’t happen in the days to come, since it can take up to a good week or two to get fully adjusted, but I’m happy to be on the semi-right track. (Plus, I've got Benadryl to knock me out if it gets to that.)

Since I’m feeling somewhat portly after the holidays, after not running for a while because of my knee problems, and because of generally not being able to regularly access a gym since September, I came to Yemen equipped with all kinds of exercise stuff, and a determination to get off my rear end – I mean, come on – it’s not like I have anything else to do with my free time, right? So I took advantage of my 5:30 wake up and had a brief workout before hopping in the shower (physical activity is also supposed to help with jetlag, BTW). I was actually running a bit ahead of schedule, which felt like a miracle of Biblical proportions (well, not quite, but close), and I went outside at the appropriate time to wait for my driver. Who was running late. (Although, I think my watch was really fast – I’ve since re-adjusted it a smidge.) So I called him, and he said that he was in town, and on his way. Then he calls me a few minutes later, to say he can’t make it up the road.

Let me back up for a second here – I don’t know if I mentioned it before, but part of the road leading up to the hotel, which is very steep, and very twisty-turn-y, is completely destroyed in one section. I think they’re building something nearby which may account for part of the destruction, but this one corner is seriously torn up. To the point where, on occasion, our car can’t make it up because he doesn’t have the clearance to do so. Furthermore, the road is kind of eroding/collapsing, and little seems to be done about it, at least little which actually has any lasting impact, which gives me pause. So this morning, L (the driver) couldn’t make it up. The hotel’s responsibility is to then find a way to get me down to him. They inform me, however, that the hotel van is out and about, so can I wait? I explain that, no, I can’t because I’m already late for work. So they then ask one of the drivers who is waiting around for a tour group if he’ll take me, which he does. (Although, I think it may still be considered inappropriate for them to chuck me in a car with a strange man – whatever, I got to my car.) We headed off for the office, with me trying to shake my supreme irritation at the morning’s events. Then I walk up to the office, very aware of being stared at by all the men I have to walk past and the conversations that stop dead so people can gape as I pass by, and just generally not feeling too thrilled with being here – and then I walk into the office, to find that no one, except the woman who cleans it, is here. So I may have to chat with TL about this, since we have a lot of work to do, and we need people to actually do their jobs, not just wander in and out as they choose. (I’m so not used to being a “crack the whip” type, but this is ridiculous.)

So, it’s been a frustrating morning. Although, since we *do* have work to do, perhaps I’d best get to it, instead of bitching about how other people aren’t doing their jobs, yes?

To be a little more positive, the weather here continues to be beautiful, and there are several tour groups at the hotel, so it’s a bit livelier. I’ve got some pictures of friends and family up in my hotel room so that it doesn’t feel quite so sterile and generic, and I am hoping to keep busy enough for the next two months to go somewhat quickly. And hopefully, I’ll have something more interesting to write about in those two months. If I wanted to bitch about commuting, I could write about that from home, now couldn’t I?

Anyway, only 49 days until I get to come home! (Is it healthy to start a countdown this far out? Hmm…too late, I suppose.)