Lots o' Posts

Since I don't have internet access at the hotel, and the weekend is Thursday and Friday, I just threw about three new posts up this morning. So if you're up for a little reading, just keep scrolling!

Nooooo!!!

My little heating coil stopped working!!! I realize that the ability to boil water might not seem like a big deal, but the only time we really go out to eat is lunch, therefore that’s my one substantive meal. The food at the hotel is both expensive and mediocre (it's okay to be one or the other - but not both), so the bazillion packets of soup and oatmeal that I have with me are my dinners. And the occasional snack. They don’t, however, work with cold water, and using hot tap water would be asking for another bout of dysentery, and once was enough. Therefore, the fact of my now-defunct heating coil is just…tragic. (Yes, I’m being a little melodramatic. But I’m still very, very bummed out. I’m also a little hacked that it really only worked for a week.) Although this is (allegedly) a five-star hotel, they don’t have any tea or coffee-making stuff in the room, so I have nothing else to use. I’m experimenting with alternate ways to make clean water hot enough to reconstitute my soup and oatmeal – especially since I know there’s an 11-pound box chock full o’ more soup and oatmeal winging its way toward me. The best alternative I have so far? Running scalding water in the bathtub and placing a plastic bottle of water in it, letting the scalding water heat up the clean water in the bottle. It never really gets *hot*, but it gets warm enough – although I haven’t tried to reconstitute any soups with noodles yet. I may need to see if room service will bring me a pot of boiling water – I wonder what they’ll charge for that? Here’s hoping they don’t use tap water.

Between heating water for soup and washing all of my clothes by hand in that same bathtub (with the scalding water), my hands are red, raw, and otherwise completely destroyed today. That’s okay, though – not like a lot of people everywhere, including here, don’t have to do this every day. I’m just used to…well, not having to do this every day.

It Had To Happen Sometime

It’s my first power outage at the hotel… Considering the major lack of capacity to meet the energy and water needs of the city, I’m actually quite surprised that this hasn’t come up before – I wonder how long it will last? Hmm…in any case, these things happen. It’s funny how you become accustomed to expecting things like clean water when you turn the tap and electricity when you flip the switch. After spending enough time in countries where those things aren’t a given, it’s amazing to think of how prevalent they are at home.

S is here, as I mentioned, and it’s really nice to have someone to talk to – it’s also nice to have another woman here who’s my age, or somewhere thereabouts. She’s very bright and very personable. We’re actually going to have “movie night” tonight – which means that we’ll hang out in my room, watch a DVD on my computer and drink some Cup-A-Soup. It’ll be good. (That’s the closest we’ll come to a night out…)

In addition to the tons of work that I have to do for this project, I also received a report to edit from Vietnam, as predicted. It’s late because they took three months to translate it, and they then told me to complete the editing as quickly as possible because it was already so late. Sure…because I don’t have anything else to do. Like write a master plan in under three weeks. I’m currently *still* editing an absolutely atrociously translated document that was translated from Chinese into English. Allegedly. I don’t think there’s a single sentence that I haven’t had to tinker with in some way. Odd thing, though – I’ve noticed this is true of Chinese-to-English and Vietnamese-to-English translations, things that should be singular are pluralized, and things that should be plural are singular, without fail. So even if a sentence is otherwise comprehensible, I always have to go fix that kind of stuff. They’re also not big on articles – I’ve had to insert the words “the” and “a” more times than I can count. “Etc.” is also tremendously popular, and sneaks its way into sentences and lists of all kinds, whether or not it should be there. Let me tell you, it makes for a LONG editing process. Especially when you come across the words “scientificalness” and “recommendatory”, among other gems.

Right.

I need to stop telling people I’m a good editor.

Gettin' *Fancy*!

I’ve noticed that the housekeeping in the hotel can be somewhat uneven. They always come and clean the room every day and leave fresh towels and all that stuff, but I came back to my room the other day to find some slippers, and a big, thirsty bathrobe hanging on my bathroom door, which I hadn’t had before. Okay…very much appreciated, but funny that it didn’t turn up until I’d been there for a week. Yesterday was the coup de grace, though – not only was I given a boatload more towels than normal, with three bathmats all spread out for me at different places in the bathroom, they actually left a towel sculpture on my bed. Seriously.

What is that?? A swan? A cobra? I have no idea. I mean – props to the sculptor, but I laughed…really hard. They also rearranged my shoes for me (unnecessary, but whatever), and rearranged my pictures on the mirror so they would actually stay in place. (Not too keen on that, but it was kindly meant, I’m assuming, so thanks.) I had brought a picture of me and a guy friend to put up – hoping that between that and the fake wedding ring, they’ll assume that it’s my husband. That picture was placed on top of all the others. Heh.

Anyway, back to work – just wanted to share.

Fun Little Discovery

So, when I was in Vietnam last time, I was hit by a major craving for macaroni and cheese. The fluorescent orange kind, where "cheese" should really be spelled “cheez”. I have now, quite inadvertently, discovered a quick fix for said craving – Cup-A-Soup broccoli and cheese soup. Before I left, Mom stocked me up with lots of soup and oatmeal for dinners and such, as well as the best invention ever – a dual-voltage heating coil for boiling water. So, today was my first time trying the broccoli and cheese, and I’ll be darned if it doesn’t replicate the artificial goodness of the real deal (by which I mean Kraft mac and cheese – it really is the definitive classic.). It’s probably got a better nutritional profile, too. I’m only guessing, but since I didn’t add four tablespoons of butter to the soup to make it, I’m pretty sure I’m right about this one.

Mmm…cheez.

And now for something completely different…I find that, although I’ve gotten older, and hopefully a little wiser, I still have absolutely lousy study habits. Just terrible. I have, with the best of intentions, come into the office before 8 am, leaving after 5 every day, occasionally busting out the computer in my hotel room, all with the goal of sitting down and pounding out a few chapters for this next report. What do I have written? A handful of pages. Is this because of all the extensive research I’ve been conducting that I just haven’t put down on paper yet? Oh, how I wish that were true. No, it’s been because, lately, I can’t concentrate for more than a few minutes on anything work-related. This happens more than I’d like, and unfortunately my M.O. tends to be this: read a little, write a little, check e-mail more than is advisable, realize the deadline is imminent, then work like a dog for two days to get all caught up and get everything done on time. Now, unfortunately, the quality of whatever I turn in tends to be good (not patting myself on the back – just going on grades and other feedback), so I never really learn my lesson.

TL arrives on Saturday, though. I have a feeling that might provoke my pseudo-crisis mode.

Yes, I’m pathetic. But at least I’m consistent.

S, our housing specialist, has arrived, and I’m very glad to see her. Not only do I find her to be a delightful and interesting person, it’s just nice to have some company! She stopped at the office briefly but then went straight to the hotel to collapse after a long and tiring trip. We’ve agreed to meet up for breakfast tomorrow morning at 7:30, although I have a feeling that we’ll both be up considerably earlier. (On a side note, I was able to stay up until 10 pm-ish last night, and slept until almost 4 am – yay progress!)

Since it’s Eid and most people are taking a good week or so off, I had expected that the road up to the hotel was going to get worse and worse over the course of the past week. What had been necessary for the past few days was for someone else to take me from the hotel to the construction zone, since L’s sedan can’t make it up when the road is really torn up. (I’ll have to get pictures of it some day.) This afternoon, though, it appeared to be in pretty good shape, which I remarked upon with pleasant surprise. Apparently the owner of the hotel came to visit, and his little sports car couldn’t make it up (the dirt road had collapsed away from the paved road, leaving a concrete overhang, if that makes any sense), so one irate phone call from the guy in charge seemed to get it fixed. The mental image of both his car trying to get up the hill, and the expression on his face at seeing the road, made me chuckle.

Ah, life in za tropics. (Yes, I realize I’m not in the tropics anymore. It’s become an all-purpose expression for me.)

As a p.s. – why do non-native English speakers insist on correcting my English? I do understand what you’re trying to communicate, my friend, I’m just saying that you’re communicating it in a way that will make it incomprehensible to any native English speaker. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE.

Apology...

I hereby apologize for being so…well, there’s no nice way to put it – I’ve just been pissy lately. I’m not usually one for New Year’s resolutions, in fact I can't remember the last time I made one. But I hereby resolve to be less…blah. Or, at least to really, really try to be.

Our housing specialist, S, comes back tomorrow, which is kind of an unexpected treat, because she wasn’t supposed to come back at all. TL still arrives on Saturday, and the office should be a little more peopled with staff by Sunday, therefore things should pick up a little. There have also been several people, including TL, Franz, and Mab, who have suggested weekend trips to see other parts of the country. While part of me knows that this is a unique opportunity (you could even say it’s very unique. Heh…no, no you couldn’t. Hope the grammar Nazis out there aren’t having aneurisms) to see more of a country that I’m not likely to get back to any time soon, if I’m being realistic, there’s also the part of me that knows that it’s not the safest country for someone like me to be traveling in, and that I need to be cautious. But I don’t want to be overly cautious, and miss some cool opportunities. I’ll think on it more later, as there’s really no one around here to discuss it with at the moment anyway. I know there are lots of interesting things to see here, and I can only take so many pictures of the scenery here in Taiz, beautiful as it is. (I’d like to get some good shots of people, but that’s a little harder.)

On a somewhat odd aside, someone was asking me about Yemen before I left to come back, and said that I should go to some of the cool historic sites here. I said something to the effect of “that would be great, but then there’s that kidnapping thing, so I want to be careful” and they said “oh, but kidnapping there isn’t like it is here. It’s really not a big deal.” I replied that, while they may be of that opinion, I would prefer to avoid it nonetheless, and they continued to tell me that I just didn’t understand, being kidnapped in Yemen wasn’t so bad.

Um…okay. You go first, then tell me what it’s like, m’kay?

I’m sure it was well-meant. But definitely a head-scratcher.

Address!

I finally remembered to stop at the front desk and ask if I could receive mail here. They said it would be no problem (yay!), so if you want to send me anything, go to town! Send it to my name at the following address:

Sofitel – Taiz
P.O. Box 4740 Taiz
REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

I have no idea how long things will take to get here, so if you could tell me when you send me something, I’ll know to look for it. If Pakistan is anything to go by, it’ll probably take a couple of weeks – possibly more. (Once I get the first package, I’ll be much better able to gauge.)

Not sure if the customs people here will be as...inquisitive here as they were in Karachi, but since I don't need anything particularly valuable, it's probably good if you don't try to send anything particularly valuable. After all, I don't want to have to pay anther repackaging fee...

Interesting

I noticed, when looking over the new work program here more carefully, that TL essentially doubled my workload without asking me, or even telling me directly. I’m pretty unhappy about that, to put it mildly. I have to write FIVE CHAPTERS of this plan by the end of the month. Tool. Actually, I have to write five chapters in 20 days. I should also mention, in case it wasn’t obvious, that he slashed his own writing workload. This is probably because he wants to “stay above the nitty gritty”. Meaning that he doesn’t want to do the in-depth studies, because he might find that distracting. I, however, am supposed to do five of them without finding that distracting.

This is the pickle on the crap sandwich of my week.

I promise, promise, promise that I will not always be this doom-and-gloom. I will find better things to write about – once the pace of things picks up a little more, that should be easier.

On to happier topics, our client came by for a meeting with me and Franz yesterday. He said that he wants me to feel free to call him any time if I need anything, and that if Franz is not around, he will be my “protector” here. Franz later said that I don’t seem as though I need protection, and while I would normally agree with that statement, it’s nice to have while I’m here. It’s also nice because our client is a very sharp guy who is involved in the project, and seems to genuinely want it to work out well. (This is not always the case. G-man, of Pakistan fame, is a perfect example.) In e-mails within the team, we refer to him by his initials, MAB, which always makes me think of “Romeo and Juliet”. Not necessarily expecting to find a natural Shakespeare reference in Yemen, but there you go. In any case, Mab seems to be a very good guy, and he, like a few others, has said that I should feel free to call during Eid if I need anything, so that I don’t feel alone. He kind of reminds me of one of the beavers from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, if you’ve seen it. He’s kind of short and stocky, with a very friendly and inquisitive face, close-cropped, salt-and-pepper hair, and little round, wire-rimmed glasses. (It would make more sense if you could see him.) He always wears a blazer that’s slightly too big for him, but he has a very big personality that makes him appear to take up more space than he actually does.

I’m a little bummed out that there are so few restaurants deemed “safe” in Taiz (well, deemed safe by TL), because I think that food is a big part of a country’s culture. Although we’ve been able to have a good sample of things there, and they often make something different that day that we’ll order, I still feel like maybe we’re missing something. But I do like Yemeni food – at least, what little I’ve had of it. That’s actually a fun thing about traveling – how often do you get to have Pakistani or Yemeni food when you live in the US? I think that “Middle Eastern cuisine” is often described with a broad brush, but there are significant variations from country to country. (Although Pakistan isn’t part of the Middle East anyway – it’s in South Asia, and its food is almost exactly like Indian food, but meatier.) Vietnamese food is more in vogue these days in the states – it went through a period of being trendy a few years ago. But finding authentic Vietnamese food is difficult – because the best Vietnamese food in Vietnam is generally found in a hole in the wall that doesn’t always look hygienically sound. Most places in the US try to fancy it up, which often falls flat. There’s a pho place (famous traditional Vietnamese noodle soup – best with beef, but you can also get it with pork) near my house, I’ll have to try it when I go home. I also want to take a few Vietnamese grilled pork recipes out for a spin when I get home. (Not so much pork to be found in Yemen, you know.)

Alright, that seems like enough for one evening.

Eid Mubarak!

I believe that means something like “Happy Eid” – although I’m not sure if that’s even the appropriate greeting. Or if I spelled it properly. In any case, it’s Eid, or at least the day of preparation for Eid, and the office is completely empty except for yours truly. I asked the driver yesterday when he had to be at prayers this morning so that he wouldn’t have to be driving me to work at that time, but he said “do not worry, what time do you need me here?” so we agreed on the regular time. I came out of the hotel this morning to see the car sitting there, with the driver’s side door open and swinging back and forth a little, but L nowhere to be seen. I called his name, and he popped up on the other side of the door. I think he may have been praying…? In which case I feel really bad for interrupting him.

I brought some soup and oatmeal (who doesn’t love food in an envelope??) with me to make lunch today. I was just so starving by the time I got back to the hotel yesterday, I think that it would be good for me to ensure some kind of a mid-day meal. When TL is here, I’m sure we’ll go back to our restaurant, which really is quite nice, so it won’t be a problem. However, since it’s Eid, I think that almost everything shop in town will be closed until next week, at least.

I was able to work out this morning (hurrah!), and actually may go for a run (I hope, I hope that my knees don’t give me stupid problems, they should have had *plenty* of time to recover by now) when I get back to the hotel this evening. It also helped that I had plenty of time to work out this morning, what with waking up at 2 am again – but it’s okay, I called my parents to say hi before trying to go back to sleep, it was nice. Well, I called them, we talked for about 10 minutes, then they called me back and we talked for another 10 minutes. I’m not sure how far my money goes here for international phone calls – I think it works out to…fifty cents a minute? Something like that. All I know is that the hotel is likely to be worse, so this is okay. Plus, when we split, it’s not too bad for anyone.

I had a bit of a panic this morning when it appeared that I had, somehow, nuked my computer. This resulted in an edgy phone call to my friend in the IT department of our DC office, begging him to call me back because I had no idea how to fix what was wrong (Windows wouldn’t start, therefore I couldn’t do…well, anything – the computer kept restarting itself, sometimes making a popping noise when it did so, that was VERY unsettling. It finally gave me the option to start in Safe Mode, but then I couldn’t log in because there was no domain field. It was great.) I finally fixed the problem, although I’m still not sure what the problem was, to tell you the truth, I just know that my computer is now working again. But I have so much work and personal stuff on my computer (not a good idea, really – since it’s not actually my computer), that I would really just lose it if my C: drive got wiped out. (I should probably back it up one of these days…)

So, I made this roasted chicken with mustard-rosemary sauce for Christmas Eve lunch with the family (roasted chicken is what made me fall off the vegetarian bandwagon after 15 years, by the way), and lately I have been craving it. Out of nowhere, but seriously - a normal person doesn't think about chicken this much, it's not healthy. This is unfortunate, since I have another 6 1/2 weeks here. Ah well - something to look forward to, yes?

Good Stuff

So this one guy here, Specs, who came in two hours late this morning, and had to be called yesterday, arriving three hours late by the time he finally got to the office, asked me if he could leave early today so that he could buy some gifts in preparation for the Eid holiday. I just stared at him for a second, amazed at the cajones this required, and then said “fine”, because although I would have been within my rights to make him stay and do his freaking job, if I’d made him stay later when he wanted to do the equivalent of last-minute Christmas shopping, the odds of me getting any work out of him would have been nil. It’s just so absurd. And then he went to go sit on his butt to eat lunch anyway. These last few days have made me have some very not nice thoughts about…well, about all of our local staff.

Gifty was here today, but sans gifts, which is good. Still brings me tea, though. I still don’t drink tea – but he never asks if I want it, he just brings it in. I still say "thank you".

They invited me to join them for lunch. Um…no. I was too freaking irritated with them to eat. How people can so blatantly just not give a crap about their jobs is beyond me.

After a curse-filled, venting e-mail to my mom, I calmed down. Plus, Specs did end up staying later to finish his work. I think it may have been because I told him he had to, but still – I appreciate that he stayed. (By which I mean “did what he gets paid to do”, so maybe I shouldn’t be falling all over myself with gratitude just yet.) But at this point, I’m so disappointed in how everyone has behaved this week that my standards are on the low side.

A Little Something Different

Okay, it’s not remotely different – I was up around 2:30 this morning. I think this would be getting better if I would stop falling asleep in the early evenings. Need to work on that – but at least I can still sleep during evening hours and it’s not a complete loss. I can also get some work done – it’s a little before 4 am, and I don’t have to worry about getting ready until 6:30 or thereabouts. I do, however, need to figure out whether or not to look a little fancier today, as our client is coming by for a meeting.

Much to my delight, my Foo Fighters CD works fine on my CD player. So, while that’s really annoying about not being able to play it on my computer, it’s still listenable. Happy Mandy. (It’s the little things.) And the reason it won’t work on my computer? BMG will only let me play it if I let them install files on my computer. There’s something inherently uncool about that, so…not so much. Funny, though – Real Player classifies their music as “grunge”. I didn’t realize that Real Player thought it was 1993.

I mentioned, not so subtly, to the staff that I was expecting to see them this morning when everyone left yesterday. We’ll see when people feel like showing up. I talked to Franz (the very nice German guy who works part-time on the project and lives here with his family) about it, and he agreed with my frustrations and said that he’d mentioned it to TL before.

(As a p.s., it’s 10:45, and hardly anyone is here. I could scream.)

(But on the plus side, my back doesn’t hurt nearly as much. I should be back in the proverbial saddle by tomorrow.)