down time...

it's so anti-climactic... to have spent a year preparing for something, constantly talking about it and planning... and then when the time comes, time won't stop and before you know it, the wedding's over! feels so strange to not have to call my sister every day, asking about some little detail and making sure everything's on track (what time is the groom's cake being delivered to the restaurant? who's picking up the dove? is the soloist ready?!)...

i have to say, in my completely unbiased opinion, my sister's wedding was one of the classiest, most beautiful, and FUN weddings i've ever been to, complete with bar brawl at the end of the night! what could be more exciting than that?! seriously, it was a gorgeous day, perfect weather, short and sweet ceremony (not a dry eye in the house, not even mine!), delicious food (raw bar and chocolate dessert fountain), open bar, close family and friends... don't think she could've asked for anything better.

the weekend went by so quickly... started with mani/pedis for the bride and the bridesmaids, my first pedicure ever! for those of you who know how much i love my feet, my never having had a pedicure is pretty amazing! then it was off to the rehearsal at 4:30pm, followed by dinner at fortune palace for family and out-of-town guests. think we went to the airport every day last week to pick people up, flying in from all over the place! the 10-course chinese meal was fabulous, and the slideshow was definitely good for quite a few laughs, including at my expense (my sister insisted on putting in the most embarassing picture of me ever taken in my life). we finally got out of the restaurant near midnight and headed to downtown raleigh for some drinks, although most people -- including the bridal party -- turned in early because we had a big day ahead of us...

the wedding morning started out pretty leisurely... we ordered room service and sat around chatting, waiting for the hairdresser/makeup artist to get to the carolina inn. it was fun spending those last few hours with my sister and just cherishing that time together... don't know when we'll be hanging out just by ourselves again! once tracy got there to start doing our hair and makeup, it was pretty much non-stop for the next 6 hours... moms and aunts and cousins and friends running in and out, me speeding to the airport to pick up mark, the photographer snapping away... then all of a sudden all the guests have been seated and it's time to go downstairs!! being the unemotional person that i am, i didn't take along any tissues, although my mom and sister have already started tearing up...

let me just say right now, thank god for wedding coordinators because i'm not sure what we would've done without nancy! somehow she got us all down to the salon, handed us our bouquets, and readied us to walk down the aisle. it was very surreal, taking my place up front and realizing "wow, this is my sister's wedding..." and as soon as she came through the doors at the back of the courtyard, i couldn't help but start crying! apparently she had a hard time too and had to stop walking for almost a full minute in order to compose herself, during which time i got things under control too. the rest of the ceremony was a bit of a blur, between re-tying the flower girl's shoe and reading from elizabeth barrett browning and seeing familiar faces in the crowd and remembering my dad... lots of emotion and love in the air, of course!
the family!
after the formalities, time to party! the cocktail hour was in full swing by the time we finished up the photo session, and i parked myself in front of the raw seafood bar for shrimp, oysters, and mussels... yum! got to catch up with some old friends, people i hadn't seen in a long time, and got that long-awaited first drink too. after a little while, we were herded into the old well room for dinner and dancing, which lasted until midnight! in between, there was the first dance (scott and gloria danced to "when you say nothing at all" by allison krauss), the father-daughter/mother-son dance, the toasts, cake-cutting ceremony (after gloria changed into a gorgeous red chi pao), and song requests: gasolina, bon jovi, madonna, all the good stuff, plus some oldies for the parents!

all in all, i think most of the guests had a great time, and i couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate my sister's marriage! she was definitely the belle of the ball, and i can't remember her ever being happier than she was on that day. and although it feels like scott's been part of the family for ages, it's nice to have him officially as my brother-in-law now. still getting used to the fact that my sister is married, but for now, better her than me!

wedding woes...

no, not mine! my sister's wedding is coming up on october 15, and although i love her dearly, all this wedding planning has been quite an undertaking!! from addressing invitations to reserving hotels to planning the bridal shower, plus all the little details like arranging favors, figuring out seating charts, and drafting the wedding program...it's enough for me never to want a wedding of my own!! i'm dead serious... have already warned my parents they need to get their fill with my sister and stepbrothers because if/when i finally decide to tie the knot, i'm taking off and eloping...

since i got back from dc last week (can't believe it's only been 7 days, need another vacation so badly!), it's been non-stop wedding, since we had to get the invitations out asap. the bridal shower is during labor day weekend, so that's the next project...with games to research, supplies to buy, menus to be decided...the list goes on and on!! at least everything seems to be coming together okay, what with flowers, music, invites, and clothing issues pretty much taken care of.

so i'm starting to get that restless feeling again, like i need to get out of here for a little while... but i guess i have plenty to keep me busy here, between job-searching and running around for my sister. looking for work has so far been somewhat half-hearted, since i'm still not sure where i want to go or what i want to do. i've applied to positions with consulting companies, educational programs, and random trade associations, some of which sound like really interesting places to work...but guess you never really know until you get there! i'll have to think long and hard if things pan out at any of these places, since i think the next move i make will most likely be semi-permanent, like maybe it's time to settle down?!

i'll keep you all updated as to what i figure out, when i get a clue...

back home!

so i'm back now...and although jetlag wasn't that big of a deal this time around, think i'm experiencing a strange sort of reverse culture shock, having spent the past three months in france. everything here is so much bigger than i remember, from refrigerators to cars to malls... and i swear i didn't know what to do with my left foot when i got into the car to go run errands my first day back! being more used to driving a stick-shift car now, i put my foot on the brake before starting the automatic and then thought, "i don't think i need to do that with this car..." very strange!

anyways, the last three months were a lot of fun but tons of hard work too... spent most of may and june living in a town called annecy, on the border of switzerland and a short drive from geneva. those two months were relaxing but busy, checking out the music festival in town, preparing for the upcoming tour, traveling to see other bike races, working on the new pioneer cycling tours website (www.pioneercyclingtours.com), and practicing my french!



beginning in july, mark and i started following the tour de france, heading up to the northwest of the country to see the team presentations and the first few stages, and spending a few days with some friends in chateaubriant. we then went back to annecy to pack up our apartment and get ready to pick up the 14 americans who signed up for our tour de france trip this year...

so from july 11-20, it was non-stop work, from constantly assembling/disassembling bikes, loading/unloading onto the rental vans, cleaning, topping off water bottles, interacting with hotel staff, making sure the clients were happy and healthy, camping out at viewing spots along the tour de france race route, buying groceries, setting up tents and tables, the list goes on and on!! think the other guides, mark, and i averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep per night, and i don't think i've ever done so much physical labor in such a short amount of time, ever! but despite a few unfortunate incidents, the trip went off beautifully and we received a lot of positive feedback from the guests. for our first year, think we did pretty darn well! there's always room for improvement though, and we learned a lot about the tour business in general, what to expect, how to better prepare...so hopefully next year will turn out even better!

after dropping everyone off in geneva or toulouse, mark and i continued on to paris to watch the finish on the champs-elysees, meeting up with some friends and cheering on the riders. although the day started out cold and wet, as soon as the riders entered paris and made their way up towards the arc de triomphe, the sun came out! we watched them circle the route from the arc to the place de la concorde seven or eight times, plenty of time to get some decent pictures. of course, lance ended up in yellow once again, and i guess it's nice for him to go out on a high note. i can't wait for next year though, and the opportunity to watch a REAL race, in which the cyclists actually battle it out, as opposed to one guy dominating the entire scene...

with the end of this year's tour de france, mark and i decided to go up to the northeast and scout out strasbourg and the alsace area, in advance of tour de france 2006, which is departing from strasbourg. we spent a few days in wine country, driving around vineyards and small towns with a decidedly german influence (architecture, food, language), booking hotels, learning about the area, and then went back to his aunt's place in the alps to pack up and get ready to come home!

i've now been in nc for a week now, just relaxing and running errands... it's nice to have a home to come back to, since my parents spend most of the year in hong kong, and i can have this place to myself. still, guess i now have to figure out what most of you are probably asking yourselves: what next?! i'm not really sure, although i have applied to some random consulting jobs here in north carolina and elsewhere. i've also sent my resume in to unesco's young professionals program in paris, so we'll see whether that pans out. otherwise, i'm just hanging out down here until my sister's wedding in october, helping her out with the wedding preparations. other than some side trips to d.c. and austin in the next few months, think i'm staying put for a little while!

homebound!

definitely won't be missing this place once i leave on sunday! the political situation has been pretty interesting, especially since it turns out it'll only be a one-candidate election and everyone knows the president's going to win again. still, there's not much of anything here, nothing to do really, and no one to hang out with....very unlike addis.

still, it is right on the water, and i have some fabulous pictures of the beach. actually spent the entire day today (friday is their only day off during the week) on this island off the coast of djibouti, and aside from the heat and having taken my malaria pill on zero food (don't recommend it as i got kind of sick), was very relaxing, and the water was soooo nice, very warm and super-clear. i've heard this area and up north (red sea) is beautiful for scuba-diving and snorkeling, so maybe that's their claim to fame here....



wrapping up my stay, none too soon, and will be back in dc on monday night, just in time for the ncaa championship game!! will be holding my breath this weekend for carolina to pull through the semis, should be a great final four! can't wait to get back to the states, will see you all soon....

settling in...

well, even though it's only thurs night, it's the weekend! being as it's an islamic country, plus the weather makes it impossible to work entire 8-hour days here, people get fri off and work sat and sun...although i think in the american spirit we're going to take both fri and sat off... would you expect anything less from me?!

so it's much much quieter here than in addis, it's a smaller country, people aren't as visible in the streets, and everything pretty much clears out in the afternoon. very different from what i was expecting after being in a bustling, dirty, crowded african capital, but at least i get to breathe clean air here and am not having problems walking around due to the high elevation!

sometimes i forget where i am, since so many things here remind me of france, from the language (duh) to the architecture, to the food and supermarket products! i'm running out of moisturizer, but never fear since they carry my french brand here!



have no idea what to bring back for souvenirs, since there are no indigenous natural resources here really, no handiwork or craft-type things like in kenya, sudan, ethiopia, nigeria. better for me, although would be nice to bring something back to remember this little country by. maybe this weekend if i manage to get out of the city! otherwise i'll be lounging by the pool for like 15 minutes before i decide it's waaaay too hot to be outside. take care and will write again soon!

from djibouti!

hope everyone is doing well!! just wanted to send a quick note and let everyone know everything arrived in one piece this time, luggage and all! after almost 24 hours (plus a 12-hour layover in paris), got to djibouti sun morning, with the hot sun and humid air to greet us.

the first thing to hit me was how much stickier this place is than ethiopia, which sheds light on why people here only really work from 7:00am to 3:30pm, since it's just too hot to be active at all in the afternoon. once things close up, most people spend the rest of the day chewing qhat (sp?), the local drug of choice, a plant with hallucinogenic properties that you chew for hours....guess they get any amusement here they can! and for those of you wondering, no i'm not going to try it!!

i have to say, traveling with a former u.s. ambassador is definitely the way to go, as the ministry of foreign affairs was on-hand to meet us at the airport, shuttle us into a private, air-conditioned room, take care of customs matters, and collect our luggage for us! and saying we're with the u.s. embassy helped secure some pretty decent hotel rooms in an otherwise completely-booked hotel. so, all in all, a good day's work....with some long (and early!) days ahead of us. we'll be meeting with opposition and governing political parties, media reps, civil society organizations, other international organizations, and whoever else wants to give us their opinion of how the elections here will go.

so far this place has a very different feel than addis, much quieter and more low-key. djiboutiville is located right on the gulf of aden, so is surrounded by water, and its port is extremely busy, with thousands of containers coming through every day. there's also the presence of numerous military forces: u.s. camp, french camp, and german offices in our hotel! aside from the smoking, the germans haven't been too bad, and think we'll be bumping into them quite a lot. haven't seen many u.s. or french soldiers yet, since they keep on-base most of the time, but there are quite a number of expats in the city, probably how the french supermarket and the few higher-end restaurants stay in business!

anyways, will send more updates as i get settled in... am glad it's only for two weeks, as this weather is waaaay too hot for me!!

stateside for a weekend!

i'm back in the u.s. now, arrived in d.c. fri afternoon and then promptly spent about 6 hours in the car during rush hour on the drive down to nc... not so fun! but definitely good to be home, even if just for a few days....

yup, as most of you have come to expect, there's no such thing as stability in my life! here i was, having just gotten to rome on my way back from ethiopia, and the receptionist at the hotel told me i needed to call the office back in d.c. so the next thing i know i'm being asked whether i want to go to djibouti for two weeks, to help iri out with a pre-election assessment (election day is april 9). the temptation to continue making some sort of living, and the chance to practice my french, was too much for me to overcome, so i agreed!

so...after spending this weekend in nc doing laundry and running errands (bank, library, post office, etc.), i fly back to d.c. on monday morning and then leave for djibouti on thursday... craziness!! the current plan is to come home on april 2, so shouldn't be too bad!

had a fabulous day in rome, wandering around the city on foot (it's the best way to see a place!) and visiting st. peter's, vatican city, the coliseum, spanish steps, a few different piazzas (practically on every block), tons of fountains, eating delicious homemade tortellini and relaxing at an outdoor cafe with a cappucino. oh yeah, can't forget the yummy gelato either!!



as soon as i get my computer fixed up, i'll send pictures... can't wait to see some of you in d.c., and promise to respond to emails the next few days!! have a great weekend!

heading back...

this'll be my last post from ethiopia...since i'm leaving tomorrow! amazing how fast a month can fly by, although i have to say i'm ready to go home. maybe that's my limit in foreign places these days, around a month. for a variety of reasons, i've decided not to extend my stay here, and will be back in d.c. by friday!



it's been a whirlwind last week, but i finally got outside the city for a little bit! went hiking at mt. zuquallah -- an extinct volcano -- with a bunch of friends, about 45 km from addis...and let me tell you, the altitude kicked my butt! now i know i'm not the most in-shape person in the world, but it's not even that my legs were tired, just that i couldn't breathe!! had to stop about every five minutes to prevent myself from having a heart attack! our incentive to keep going was the pepsi stand at the top of the mountain, that and the monastery and crater lake. the view from the peak was beautiful and extends for miles...and it was nice to see a bit of greenery amidst the dry plains.

then the country director for iri got here on thursday, so it's been back-to-back meetings and administrative matters since then. have handed everything over to her so i'm breathing a big sigh of relief that it's all over and i'm no longer responsible for anything here! today will be spent packing and relaxing...maybe a chance to finally use the pool here, which i haven't yet done. apparently there is an abundance of natural hot springs in ethiopia, and the pool water here is hot spring water. hopefully it'll soak away all the stress of the past few weeks....

so it's off to rome for a few days, maybe i'll catch a glimpse of the pope from his hospital window....heehee. then landing at dulles fri afternoon, will probably spend the weekend in d.c. and then head back to north carolina on sun. i promise once i get home i'll send pictures and respond to emails individually! you'll also be able to reach me on my cell phone: 919-946-7777. can't wait to see people and catch up in person!!

home stretch?

Well, looks like I might be getting my wish of losing weight here, despite the bad start these first few weeks…. Think I had some bad Italian last night, and I’m hurting today! The food was excellent, but maybe I should pay more heed to the advice of not having too much salad or raw fish in Africa, since those kinds of foods might not always be the freshest…although I figured I was probably safe eating at one of the Sheraton restaurants. Oh well, there went my Sunday plans to get out of the city and take in some of the natural sights around here! At least Wednesday is a national holiday, so hopefully I’ll be feeling better then and can explore a little more!



It’s also been raining a lot the past two days, so probably couldn’t have done too much outdoors anyways. Started hailing like crazy yesterday afternoon and the storm cut off electricity a few times here…luckily the hotel has back-up generators on hand to make sure guests aren’t too uncomfortable… Plus staying inside just gives me more time to get work done in my hotel room/office, I guess…

Figure I must be doing something right since I’ve now had an offer from one of IRI’s partner organizations to stay in Ethiopia through the May 15 elections…. I’d be involved in long-term observation out in the boonies, probably in the southern regions, talking and interviewing local officials and residents, finding out what the conditions are like in advance of elections. Not sure I’m cut out for roughing it like that though….and for another two months! Part of me is definitely ready to go home, this whole working-all-the-time thing is starting to wear thin…but another part of me would love to stay on and at least see the outcome of the elections, see if all of this activity actually results in anything. And life in Addis can actually be pretty fun with all the expats around, and I’d look forward to getting to know the country better too. Then again, I didn’t come prepared to stay more than a month, and I’d need to file my taxes while I’m out here, among other things!! Perhaps the U.S. Embassy could come in handy here…

So once again, time to make a serious decision, something I really hate doing these days, especially when it concerns what I want to do with my life! In the grand scheme of things two months isn’t so much, but I really wonder if I have it in me, somewhat cut off from civilization as I know it. It’s strange because I never had these concerns when I spent those months in Kenya and Sudan, but I think it’s because I cared a lot more back then…. It’s somewhat harsh and perhaps a bit melodramatic, but I definitely feel much more disillusioned and jaded about development work now, which makes it difficult to sustain any sort of enthusiasm or excitement about what I’m doing.

Okay okay, enough introspective reflections!! I’ll let you all know whether I’m going back to the U.S. or sticking it out for another few months….ahhh!!

another long week!

Can’t believe another week is almost over… but continually making progress, so at least that’s something! Office is all set up, with supplies and furniture and equipment, just no phone lines or internet connection… welcome to Ethiopia!

The socialist-leaning government means almost everything is state-controlled, from property (government owns everything and leases to the people) to phone lines to cell phone sim cards (only available to people who are officially registered as ethiopian residents/citizens) to television stations and newspapers. Makes it that much harder to get things done here, but we get around….like registering things in our local staffs’ names and sub-leasing office and residence space. Just another layer of bureaucracy to get used to!!

Still in the midst of meeting different people and trying to figure out how we’re going to get everything we need to get done in the next few months!! Even though I’m not staying through the elections, a lot of the foundation has to be laid now…meeting with the electoral board, political parties, media groups, civil society organizations, and other government representatives/donors. For someone who’s not a fan of networking in general, keeping all these people straight and figuring out their “angles” is starting to become torturous!! Still, events do have their up-sides, like getting to meet the U.S. Ambassador and other high-level government officials at the Embassy National Day celebration this afternoon. Apparently the Embassy here doesn’t celebrate Independence Day on July 4 because the rains here are so heavy here during the summer, and most people leave town then anyways…so they hold their “National Day” in February….isn’t that hilarious?! I was looking forward to hot dogs and hamburgers (I know, I know….my all-organic diet has definitely gone out the window since I’ve been here, considering African diets are very meat and starch-heavy!)…but no such luck. Still, the food was excellent, catered by the best restaurant in town, and we had a mix of different ethnic foods, from Mediterranean to Tex-Mex to Italian (of course!), plus an array of drinks (I’m starting to become a gin-and-tonic girl…heehee) and delicious chocolate cake!! I could get used to this… Plus the U.S. Embassy compound is gorgeous, with huge eucalyptus trees (brought over from Australia) and an expansive lawn and tons of flowers. As lavish as the U.S. Embassy is, the Brits have it even better, complete with the best medical clinic and a private golf course on the grounds!! Think the Ethiopian government strategized and decided to grant these huge tracts of land to foreign countries to appease them and discourage them from colonization….just a theory though.

Anyways, it’s been a packed week, and think I’m going to have a quiet day of reporting and phone calls tomorrow. Plus I have yet to spend more than one hour on my exercise bike!! Need to stop eating so much and start exercising more…

getting used to it here!

Man, was I glad for the weekend last Friday….even though I’d only been in Ethiopia for less than a week, felt like forever! At least the arrival of my luggage made me feel much more myself, and I was ready to see some more of Addis, outside of the same areas I keep going for work purposes….

Began with dinner on Friday night, drinks first at a cozy little café called the Milkhouse (don’t ask me how they came up with that), with a kind of bonfire burning outside, which luckily was close to our table so I wasn’t too chilly. Since it’s so hot during the day, I keep forgetting to bring along a jacket or sweater for the evenings…can get pretty cold! The local beer here – Castel – isn’t too bad, and it’s super-cheap, like $1/bottle…. Could get used to the low cost of living here! then off to a Korean restaurant for dinner, complete with japchae and bulgogi, quite authentic and very good. Go figure, didn’t know there was actually a Korean community here, but the restaurant was packed with Asians, and aside from me, the other guys I was with were the only white people (faranji) around….interesting! we then headed to a pretty sophisticated bar/lounge called the black roses, apparently one of the places to be on the weekend, was full of Ethiopians and foreigners.

That’s something I still need to get used to, is that work colleagues are also my social circle, which can make for awkward situations at times. It’s a bit strange to see the political officer from the Irish embassy with his arms draped around various women, obviously quite tipsy…and then head into a serious meeting with him about Ethiopian elections. Think I need to get over it, but takes some disassociation and haven’t been able to completely sort it out. Talk about weird colliding worlds….

So Saturday was a bit of work in the morning, but then off to see what cultural activities I could discover. First was the Ethiopia national museum, with four floors of interesting artifacts, some of which are deteriorating due to poor conservation and facilities, pretty sad. Otherwise, some objects of note: lucy’s skeleton (she was only a bit over 1m tall!), royal robes and thrones, fossilized tools and animal remains, local instruments, and different types of jewelry worn by various ethnic groups. My driver then took me to Addis Ababa University and the institute of Ethiopian studies there – the former royal palace – where they’ve preserved emperor haile selassie’s bedroom and bathroom, pretty advanced and luxurious accommodations for the 1930s. some cool photos from all different eras, including the Italian occupation. Ethiopians are very proud that the country was never actually colonized, just occupied for a time before/during ww2.



Another thing that keeps throwing me off here is the Ethiopian flag and the country’s national colors: red, yellow, and green…yup, same colors as the Rastafarians (who believe Ethiopia is their homeland)!! Every time I see a flag or poster or sticker, I can’t help think of dreds and pot. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll get used to it…

So Sunday was truly a day off, as I moved from my first hotel to the Sheraton, one of the chain’s luxury resorts….and it’s an amazing place!! I admit I definitely have pangs of guilt as I walk through the marble lobby and lounge by the pool…but hey, work hard and play hard!! After a week of lugging around my shoulder bag full of documents and books, I decided I was overdue for a massage and booked an hour-long session, after which any sort of intellectual endeavor was totally a lost cause. luckily I didn’t have much else to do in the evening, other than head over to a friend’s place for dinner. I’m now totally set up in my room overlooking the fountain and courtyard, complete with French doors and my own personal exercise bike…heehee! Reason being the Sheraton doesn’t have a gym so you can request your own equipment free of charge…pretty sweet huh? Very necessary since I’m not getting much walking/running done and had to leave my bike back in the states. think this more than makes up for it though!!

Another hard day’s work in the bag, having bought some office furniture and caught up on paperwork. Lots of reading done too, so not bad considering it’s supposed to be a day off in the u.s.! plus had my first real Ethiopian meal here, complete with injera and eating with my hands…yummy. I’m finding it hard to get used to a meat-only diet, so must supplement with greens whenever possible! Think I’ll be having a salad tonight…

one week down...

well, i've survived the first week!! and the highlight of the day was that my luggage finally arrived!!! for those of you who have been worried about my personal hygiene, rest assured that we're back on track...

i think i'm on my way to finishing up a lot of the basics for the trip, so now it's on to the little details, like getting phone lines installed, buying office furniture, securing meeting space for iri's workshops...and then on to even more fun stuff like meeting the political parties and local civil society organizations that all want money, money, money!! of course we'll tell them we don't have any to give, but if they want training as election observers, then we're the ones to call!



i'm behaving horribly on this trip, and all these expat tendencies are coming out, but i can't seem to help it because it's apparently the only way things get done here. for example, i blew up at the poor customs officials who wanted to open my box of office supplies at the airport, after already putting through the x-ray machine and because i was pissed that it took 4 days to get here.... so i whipped out the whole "your government invited us here and i don't appreciate this kind of treatment," while handing over all these papers signed by the ethiopian electoral board, the u.s. government, etc. man, i never knew i could be so mean! well, at least it got the job done, and they left it alone after that....

security measures seem to be pretty ad-hoc around here, with some people getting checked and others not, tons of barbed wire at some houses, and others nothing. one funny thing i've seen is broken glass bottles being glued or cemented to the top of walls around people's houses, kind of serving as barbed wire....talk about creative deterrents!! i guess people here are pretty resourceful with what they have, which is pretty admirable....

okay, off to begin my weekend!! i'm sure i'll be working tomorrow, though i might take some time off to visit lucy at the national museum. nothing like millions-year-old fossils to keep things in perspective...