Beginning of Ramadan

ラマダンの月が先週の金曜日から始まりました。地元の人は、みんな日中は断食（水も飲めない）なので、職場も短縮時間勤務。お昼ご飯のお休みを取らない同僚は、３時には帰ってしまって、午後はガラガラ。もちろん、生産性は低いし、仕事はまったく進みません。レストランはもちろん開いてないし、人前では食事ができないので、オフィスのキッチンでこっそりお水を飲んだり、お昼は、辛うじて開いている近くのホテルまで行ったりしないといけない。昨日は、インド料理を注文して余ったので、持って帰りますと言うと、ホテルの人にラマダン中は、残り物を持ち出すのは禁止だと言われた！厳しい！

私はあいている時間を利用して、オンラインのクラスをやったり、今まで手を付けていなかった仕事の企画書を書いたり、地道にできることを探している。宗教的にとても大事なイベントなのはすごくよく分かるけど、仕事にならないという理由で、外国人スタッフはお休みを取る人もいる。

私はラマダン月が終わるぎりぎりくらいに、短い期間だけど日本に帰ります！

Decisions Decisions

Don't you think there are some similarities between quitting a job and breaking up with a guy? You know that it's not quite working out. You don't see a long term future. You have some good moments but most of the time you are not so happy or have some doubts. But, there is a sense of security in staying on, and the right thing to do in your mind is to keep working at it until it gets better.

I haven't been writing so much about the job. This is not because I don't enjoy it. I do enjoy most aspects of it, but being in a small country, I can be easily identified (especially if I write in English, like what happened when I was in Guyana). Things are very sensitive here and I can't really express myself publicly.  I also wrote only good parts of the life here, beautiful ocean, diving and holidays. But to be really honest, I often feel very isolated. I am not depressed like the first two months when I came here. I manage and given the situation I do pretty well, finding a good balance. I thought I was stronger mentally than this, which is rather disappointing. But, what is the point of enduring this? If I don't like it or not happy, then I should say no or do something about it. This has been a big "black cloud" over my head for the past two weeks.    

今のポストを始めてもう７ヶ月。今、来年の事業にも関わってくること、方向性や予算等を色々決めている。元々１年の契約で、２年目は未定ということになっていたのだけど、ここ最近になって、更新の話が出始めた。私が残ることを前提に、話が進んで行くようなかんじ。始めたからには責任もあるし、２年は腰を据えて、今の仕事をするのがキャリア的には一番良いとは分かっている。でもこの国の生活を、これから１年半することに対して、はっきり言って限界を感じるし、正直しんどい。我ながら甘いなーとも思う。ここの生活環境は思った以上に、精神的にきつくて、自分なりに努力して楽しめるようにしているけど、長期的には無理だと思う。自分では精神的にもうちょっとタフだと思っていたのに、何だか情けない。まだ半年ちょっとで、結果も出してないのに、もう止めますと今の段階で言うのにも抵抗がすごくあるのも事実。こんなことを考えて悶々としている日々。仕事自体は面白いし、とても勉強になるのだけどね。どうしよどうしよどうしよ。でももう気持ちは決まっているのだろうね。

London Miscellaneous

Please look after this bear thank you

I used to love the Paddington Bear stories. I think I still have the books in Japan in my parents home. The stories are just so cute. Paddington is always so curious about everything and he wants to try things out. He is a very hands-on (front paws-on, rather) kind of bear. He always somehow gets into a trouble, makes a mess, but at the end everything works out well. Stories that you can't read without smiling. I would say most of my early little knowledge of London (and not that I have a lot now anyway) was gained from reading these books. Happy to visit the station and Portobello Street where he frequents, visiting a friend who owns an antique shop.    

Two Sarah's

 My two lovely friends. They are both wonderful girls and I am so lucky to be their friend.

The bride was obviously so busy and I didn't get to talk much with her. She was so beautiful, and the wedding was very nice. I socialized with her and her husbands friends who are from all over the world and many of them work in a similar field.

I got to know her in this duty station when I first came. We overlapped only for 3 months, but I got to know her, her being so friendly and open. We spent a weekend in a resort in February.

On the other hand, I haven't seen this Sarah for over four years. We were both volunteers with VSO in Guyana. Since then, she has gone back to the UK and continued practicing as an occupational therapist. We spent a half day on Portobello Street visiting the antique market and catching up. She bought a bracelet, earring and an artichoke! And I bought some groceries, a pair of silver earring and a necklace (that I am waring with the dark blue dress above). We enjoyed mushroom risotto and a glass of wine in an organic restaurant. Then, we hopped on a double-decker bus and went to Picadelly Circus for green tea latte and dorayaki.

My crazy short London trip was so worth just to see them. 

ロンドン弾丸３泊４日の旅

初のロンドンに行ってきました。時差ボケがとれる前に帰国してしまうほどの短い旅行だったけど、大満足。友人の結婚式に参加して、ガイアナ時代の友達と４年ぶりに再会。ショッピング三昧（クレジットカードの請求を見るのが怖い。）と美術館も骨董市も行ったし、ダブルデッカーのバスも乗った。パブでフィッシュアンドチップとビールという私の中でいかにもイギリス！っていう感じの夕食を、一人で堪能しながら、ユーロサッカーを地元民と他の観光客？のなかに交じって観戦もした。テムズ川のほとりも散歩もできた。あと２日最低あればミュージカルかせめて映画くらいは見られただろうけど、残念ながらタイムアップ。ただ今ドーハでいつものラウンジでトランジット中。また写真載せます。

GBV会議

Busy busy week, I am organizing a big workshop tomorrow with the government counterpart on gender based violence issues. Fingers crossed.. So much work has gone into this, and we have some high level participation as well as two colleagues from other countries. I have a few days in the office and then off to London (first time in my life!) to attend my friend's wedding.

明日は政府と合同で女性への暴力関係の会議を開きます。どうか上手くいきますように．．．。水曜日の夜から友達の結婚式に出る為に、ロンドンへの３泊の弾丸旅行。初めてのイギリスなので楽しみ！でもその前に終わらせないといけない仕事が山積み。

Aerial View

From a seaplane

The shades of blue

Abstract painting on a huge canvas

Brighter than topaz

Deeper than sapphire

24 color crayons or a whole jewelry store are still not enough to describe it

水上飛行機なるものに初めて乗った。着陸はもちろん海の上で、シューッと水の上で止まるのが、気持ち良い。バスクリンでも入れているのか？と思う程の青い海。

Morning Ritual

1 carrot, 1 green apple, ginger and lime juice, my morning is made up of these ingredients.

最近ジューサーを初めて買って、毎朝これを飲んでいます。この組み合わせが美味しい！

資格取得！

  

So happy to get the PADI diver certification! My legs and arms are getting so tanned and I don't even recognize them myself.... I am religiously putting sunscreen but against the strong sun in this country there is a limit to what it can do. I should find a wetsuit that fully covers legs and arms. I am also getting scratched by corals. I realized this is the first ever certification that I receive other than my academic degrees. I am going to go for the advanced diver certification next!

I have become such an advocate for diving these days, and I catch myself talking to people how great and calming it is and that everyone should try at least once. It's so funny considering how scared I was before trying it out. I remember when going to Cuba six years ago, almost everyone else from my group went diving for the first time. It didn't even occur to me that this is something that I should consider. I am becoming more adventurous as I get older. I guess it is a good thing in a way to overcome a fear, which is often just in your mind. When you do try it, it is actually not as bad.       

Mask Face

スノーケリングやダイビングの後は、マスクの跡が悲しいかな、なかなか消えない。お肌の弾力がなくなってきてるけど、兎に角マスクはピタッと吸い付いているからね。

Under-Water Wonderland

Just been to a wonderful small island resort, 15 minutes away from the capital by a seaplane. You must be thinking that I hardly ever work, but I am also beginning to believe that I live and work for holidays now, and not the other way around. Anyhow, I took a few days off to go to one of the affordable resorts (if such a thing exists in this country..)

It is funny how this resort was selected. When my boyfriend and I were in the forest resort in Madagascar last year, we met a swiss couple who told us about this place. It is a simple bare-foot island mostly for diving and snorkeling in the house reef. It turned out to be a beautiful, unpretentious and calm island with an amazing beach. The best place in the country so far. What was also nice was that we did not have to count every penny that we spend and all inclusive buffet food was great. I sound like writing for Trip Advisor, don't I?

We have rented a underwater camera from their diving centre. These photos were taken during snorkeling around the island. It was so much difficult than I imagined. You are floating and obviously fish is swimming. These are some of decent ones from my attempts. They don't really do justice to show how beautiful these under water creatures are. It is really a wonderland with an explosion of colors and all kinds of shapes.

With watching countless hermit crabs, diving, playing chess, never missing the two-for-one cocktail-of-the-day "happy hour" and occasional dramatic storms, time passes rather too quickly. I hardly finished one third of my "destructive emotion" book I have brought.  

First water bungalow

 Water bungalow at the resort where my mother and I stayed. This is the view from our deck. Truly, beautiful!   You can take stairs down directly from the deck to swim. We mostly looked down into the water and watched many different kinds of fish swim by, including small sharks, mantas and other tiny and colorful ones. My mother tried snorkeling, for the first time (I basically bullied her into it).  

主都の喧噪を離れてリゾートに来ると、本当に異次元というか超現実的なほどの別世界。ビーチもすごくきれいなリゾートでした。

Impulsive shopping

Saw on a window of a store and bought it immediately. One of a few things that I actually bought for my apartment in this country. 

帽子

By the way, it's been a while since she has gone back, but my mother did complete the summer hat that she started knitting before she left. 早速、週末に出掛ける時は被っています。こんなにつばが広いのは持っていないので、重宝します。お母さんどうもありがとう。分かりにくいけど、紺色です、ちなみに。今週くらいから雨が降り始めたんだけどね。

ははきたる

My mother has come to visit me from Japan this week with a suitcase full of japanese food! We are off to a resort island tomorrow morning. I hope she enjoys it. So nice to have her around.  She brought some knitting yarns and says she will complete a hat by the end of her stay here.    

ジェンダーバイアスこんなところも

私の主な仕事は、ジェンダー主流化というもので、主流化なんて言っても一体何のことか一般の人には分からない。簡単に言えば、政策とか国のプログラムに女性の視点を取り入れて、女性も男性も同じように、恩恵を受けたりサービスを受けたりできるようにしよう。そのプロセスで、女性の地位が上がるようにしていこうというもの。

なので、普段は例えば、新しいプロジェクト文書を読んだり、会議に出たりして、”地域住民の視点が反映されているって言っているけど、参加者リストを見ても女性の名前が全然ないんですけど”なんてことを言ったりする仕事。ジェンダー専門官なんてたいそうな名前が付いているけど、実際は壊れたレコードのように、女性は弱者は？と繰り返し言うだけの誰にでもできる、コモンセンスさえあればできる仕事。正に言わばno rocket scienceである。

だけどこんな単純なことなのに、それがあきれるほど実行されていないから、私みたいな仕事が存在するわけでもある。

今度この国で、すべての島で地域行政にアドバイザリーの形で関わる、女性開発委員会の委員の選挙が行われることになっている。この選挙については言いたいことは、もちろんたくさんあるんだけど、（あえては言わないけども）その候補者に配布する、手引書みたいなのの原案を今日書いていた。私が書いていたのは２ページほどの選挙運動のやり方とか、人前で話す時の注意点、スピーチの書き方等。なるべく安価にする為に、デザイナーを雇うわけでもないので、ネットでいくつかのクリップアートを探していた。選挙関係のテーマに一致するものを。そこで気が付いたのがクリップアートは、ほとんどのイメージが男性で、女性のイラストがあまり見つからなかった。こんなところにもちょっとしたジェンダーバイアスがあるのかと正直少しむっとしてしまった。

Seminar, meetings and workshop

Finally getting over the withdrawal and becoming immersed in my job. This week, I am attending a two day seminar on anti-trafficking, then a colleague from my regional office comes on mission. I have to accompany her to a number of meetings with government partners, NGOs and political parties. Next week, I am organizing a four day workshop on gender and national budgeting issues where I am also a participant. The next two weeks will be a non-stop engagement, and in the meantime I also need to work (desk work) to plan activities for the next two months. I have recently taken over a chair position of one internal coordination mechanism/ committee, so I also have to plan for this. All of these things are, even though they are gender related issues, relatively new to me and provide great learning opportunities.       

バンコク観光その２

 Dinner at a very nice Thai restaurant. Sipping watermelon+ vodka cocktail

Street food in China town, everything absolutely deep fried!

The trip was just perfect with over-injection of fun, joy and great food.  I am suffering from a severe withdrawal symptom. sigh....  Now counting days till the next holiday when my mother comes for a visit! 

バンコク観光

 Getting on the long tail boat after visiting a floating market. The market itself was not what I expected. Nonetheless, it was nice to go through the water canal, looking at traditional houses and colorful temples.

Lumphini Park- I guess it is the equivalent of Central Park in NY. It is too hot to relax there during the day time, though....  I know now why shopping malls are so popular here. It is simply too hot to walk around and shop!  I am not a big fan of malls, but I understand the logic.