Cell phones

Both my cell phone and the land line are up and running! It is quite ironic that this is the third cell phone I buy this year (first, LG one in Canada, which couldn’t be unlocked in Malawi, then the Motorola got eaten up by our doggies and another Motorola.) The thing is that this is the first year I ever own a cell phone in my life and I already went through two of them. I used to despise the culture of cell phones, but now I can clearly see how we grow dependent on them. In any case, it is a necessity in this country as there is no public phone.

Our dogs (Katie and Jazz) have a very expensive taste. If I add up everything (non food items I mean) they have eaten, it will be quite expensive. They have eaten my roommate’s fancy sunglasses, two new pairs of sandals and my cell phone. They have also stolen our precious chocolate!! I guess this is the life with dogs.

とらぶる

This week, my stress level was at the maximum saturation point.

On Tuesday when I got up in the morning, I found out that five guys intruded our property and tried to break into the house. According to our night guard, they came twice on a same night, around 11PM and 2AM. Our mighty guard managed to scare them away. My roommates and I were terrified, as you can imagine. There are not many violent crimes in Malawi, and these thieves normally just want to steal valuable items in the house such as TV, VCR and computers. They don’t intend to harm anyone, but surely it is not a nice thought. The following day, we spoke to our neighbors and learned that six houses in our area have been hit by these guys and they all had something stolen. One of guards even got injured. Apparently, they are a quite skilled group. To reinforce our security, we have decided to hire a professional guard who has a backup from the security company. Now, we feel more or less safe& secure and can have a good night sleep.

My work situation has been quite rocky, and there had been some frictions among my employer, the local office of the NGO (my sending agency) and myself. I can’t write details about it here, but I got into a serious conflict situation with the NGO. It was based on series of misunderstanding and miscommunication, but I honestly thought my contract could be terminated. I requested a meeting with them, and I managed to resolve the problem in a constructive way.

I kept asking myself “Is this worth it? Why am I putting myself through this??” Sometimes, I think it may take more courage to quit or give up. I am happy that I managed this conflict well this time, and it probably added another dimension on my “life-skills” as I never found myself in this sort of situation before. However, these questions still remain, but I will hang in a little longer. もうちょっと頑張ってみるよ。I keep getting into trouble this year for some reason….. 厄年じゃないはずなんだけど。

Out of reach

I am currently out of reach (other than via e-mail) because 1. Our dogs ate my mobile phone. 2. Someone has been stealing our finally-installed land line.

現在、メール以外では連絡不可能になっています。理由は１．家の犬に携帯電話を食べられてしまった。２．やっと繋いだ家の電話回線を誰かが盗んでいる。

こんな感じで暮らしています。

So nice to have finally some routine in my day-to-day life.

I normally wake up around 6 and leave home between 7:20 and 7:40. Our “official” work hour is from 7:30 to 5:00. It is rather long for a Canadian standard, but surely not for Japanese. So, I should be able to handle it unless I am too Canadianized! Come home around 5:30 depending on my luck in catching a ride or a minibus. My roommates and I cook together, eat, watch a bit of TV and find ourselves as early as 9:30 sometimes.

I have started aerobics classes in a dance studio nearby. I jog there for five minutes and take an hour class. Our night guard comes to pick up Helen and I, and we all walk back. Rachel cooks on our aerobics nights (twice a week.) It’s great to do exercise. The studio is a missionary type place and they play Christian music sometimes, but it is fine. They know I am Buddhist ;) I may take salsa dance class, too.

On weekends, we go grocery shopping and chill out in the house. I am taking a distance course on composition française. I am behind schedule, so I am trying to catch up mostly on weekends. On Sundays, we go to one of fancy hotels in Lilongwe to sit by a swimming pool and get on to their wireless internet. Doesn’t sound like a harsh life in a developing country, does it?? I use skype to call my family and friends.

This is how my week goes usually. やっと生活のリズムがついてきました。何かとイライラの溜まりがちな仕事以外にも楽しみを見つけるのは大事だなーと思います。

Working in the Public Sector

My work is seemingly slowly picking up (I hope.) We had the first departmental meeting on Friday last week. I am now in a proper office. I was able to review the gender and education file that the deceased person had. In the departmental meeting, my supervisor, the deputy director explained to me and a new education officer (she is sharing the office with me) the protocols and procedures in the Ministry. For example, for me to organize a meeting, first, I have to write something called “loose minute” to my supervisor. And then, my supervisor has to write to the Secretary for Education (higher up in the management) about my intention of holding this meeting. Approval will come down in a same manner. Then, I will write an official invitation letter to the participants of the meeting followed by the approval of the Secretary for Education. If I want to provide refreshment at the meeting, I need to make a list of items, such as ten packets of biscuits, tea, soft drinks etc. I will then proceed to ask the departmental secretary to go get quotes for these items from three different stores. She will come back with the lists, and then we will finalize what we buy from each store, cheapest it means. I then give money to her and she can go buy them. What a long process! But I guess that is bureaucracy. I am not used to working for a big organization or the public sector, so sure it is different.