I have been....

I just lost the translated version of the entry below.... what's happened to my mac? Why it doesn't auto-save documents?!..  

Anyway, I am going to write something a bit different then..  I haven't written an entry for a while. I think that was because I have hit the lowest point since I have come to the country. I got sick a couple of weeks ago. It was very nice that my colleagues and boss told me to take a day off and get a rest, offered some medication and called to check up on me etc. But, I still missed having a company at home when I was sick in bed. I was at the stage 1 of homesickness.  

It's been two months, and the initial excitement of being in a new city and being at the new job has slowly calmed down. I may be too tough on myself, but I don't feel I am progressing fast enough at work. 

In a way my happy bubble popped, but I am still well and happy. I am keeping busy, going to yoga, joined a choral group, still meeting new people every weekend, just went to a jazz concert etc. I took a colleague of mine out to belatedly celebrate her birth day to a Japanese restaurant where I both loved the food and decor! 

March started today. I wanted to set a new goal for the month, but I am not sure how much I achieved in the previous one. So, I will keep on the last month one and decided to create a sub-objective. That is to learn more about issues that my unit (gender) deals with other than GBV. 

The country just had an election last year, and they are rebuilding the nation based on the principles of the new democratic government. They are also in the midst of writing a new co

nstitution. My agency works on advocating for reflecting women's voices in this process. Other issues include reintegrating and rehabilitating the former anti-government army personnel (of course some of whom are women), and reconciliation for victims of the civil conflict. These seem similar yet have its distinct set of challenges. 

I am very interested in them, but do not have enough knowledge to work proactively. My colleague specifically works on these issues, but I am assigned as a focal point to work with local NGOs on all gender issues. I need to understand the topics well in order to work effectively.