Things are really warming up here--it must be at least 40 degrees, and the humidity, ugh! It's unbearably hot and steamy... can't wait till it breaks and the storms come. Having a top floor classroom is the pits!
Aside from that, things are going to be insanely busy in the next two months... I know I say that often, and then list off my crazy life activities, and I'm going to do that again. I just want you all to realise that I'm justifying why I haven't posted!
So, apart from the 5 assignments due in the next 6 weeks to uni in Oz, packing up and moving house, giving exams (and marking them), flying to the US, connecting to Colombia then travelling around, then starting a new summer job I have my normal social routine! Next week US visa interview---can you believe that of all possible US consulates around the world, they decided to require that foreign applicants to the one in Myanmar need to prove residency. I never have official residency and certainly not here, though it's not my fault, it's the school's (and the country, of course). Sorry, getting sidetracked: I was mantraing my to do list! There was the ANZAC dawn service this Wednesday (and if you don't know what ANZAC is, look it up, it's very important!) and the related Digger's ball on Saturday--I have impossibly high shoes to fall over in. Hopefully no repeat of last year when I woke up with my appartment door wide open, bag and everything sitting outside and an enormous rip in my dress with no memory... ooooppppsss! I don't think that's ever happened to me, it was really quite scary! I also threw red wine on an obnoxious man that I continue to see everywhere. Double oooppss! On Monday I pay my housing deposit, then there are all the farewell parties and graduation. Very exciting-I do like the life of an expat.
Phones are off here. The one at school is dead completely, so when I need to send a fax to the US embassy downtown they try for two days then I decide it's easier to put the documents in the car with the driver and send them that way! Everyone in town is moaning about being unable to get a line out to call home. What a black hole!
One teacher got a job in Lahore, Pakistan today. I'd love to go there! Perhaps I should aim that way instead of Europe, Africa, or Latin America! All the exciting possibilities.
Just got back from Dubai and Oman on Saturday. Will eventually get some fab pictures up on my new facebook page (such a better idea than flickr) to show the dolphins and off road 4WD in the desert.
Okay, need to go and do work instead of procrastinating!
Here's a smile: http://www.sibir.bg/index.php?page=videoAlbumPreview&albID=44382&VideoID=13453
Another: www.stuffonmycat.com
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Monday, April 02, 2007
Worldwide blogs
Have spent hours this evening having good surf. Blogs mostly. Not quite sure where it started, but managed to travel all over the world. Visited Morocco, Afghanistan, East Timor, a kiwi in Brussels, and other fabulous places. There really are so many amazing people of my generation (and others) in the world. We're all out there leading our lives quietly.
One blog in particular was amusing so I wanted to share it:
It's from a woman living in Afghanistan. Her blog address is http://ahmt.dk/
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The story about the generator
Sometimes this country trips me out! Well actually every day! Even after being here for 3 years there are things I just never learn to understand. Here is a great example;Thursday our generator at the house started acting weird… It shut down without any reason so we called the service people who came out and told us that the load was too much… We couldn’t understand it – We have been running it just fine with the same load for the last months, and then all of a sudden the load was too much!? We turned off heaters, and water heaters and different things – but it still kept acting weird… But it ran and it worked… Then Saturday morning the Generator just wouldn’t start again. We called the service people who came out and once again told us that the load was too much… Stu – one of my housemates – started a search all over the house and then finally found a wire going through the guard’s room through to the neighbour house. There was also a cable running across the street to another neighbour house… Stu of course yanked the cable out the wall and cut the line to the house across the street. Then he started the generator and went back to work.A few hours later the generator died again… We called the service people – they came – cleaned the fuel filter and it still ran like poo… So Stu went on another tour around the house, back to guard’s room and guess what! The cable to the neighbour house that he had yanked out earlier was now put in again!!! So naturally he cut the cable again…Told the guards that NOBODY could enter our house etc etc10 minutes later we had half the street knocking on the door COMPLAINING that they had no power!!! I am not kidding; they actually came to complain that we had cut them off our generator. … It turned out that one of the neighbours is actually the Landlord – (which also explains why the guards would let him in) so of course he felt EXTRA entitled to the free power – and told us that if we didn’t want to give him electricity we would have to move out!They all stood there complaining… telling us how they only had 1 lamp and 1 TV plugged in! Oh man, this was insane! They just could not see anything wrong with what they had been doing!In a normal world I would assume that anyone who had been steeling power from someone else and then got caught would think; “Ooops! It was nice as long at it lasted, but now it is over and I guess I will have to pay for my own power myself!”.But these people!!! These people really feel entitled to use our generator and get free power!!! They thought that WE where wrong for cutting them off! Maybe something went really wrong when I was brought up – maybe it is just me… I just do not understand how this can be a right they really feel they have…Maybe this explains last month’s $2000 fuel bill!
Here's another one:
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Kabul (international) Airport
Kabul Airport is such a trip! … A trip before your trip.Last time I left, I had to go through the usual search routine – which basically means that the search-lady grabs your boobs – and try to steal half the stuff you have in your purse. "Chocolate? Oh – you have 2 pieces – you are only allowed to have 1! Cigarettes… Give me Give me!" Last time I had a Tampax in my purse – so of course the search lady had to take my Tampax out… look at it for a VERY long time… not understanding at all what it was she had in her hand. She asked me what it was, and I tried to explain to her – but she didn’t really copy. After a while she wanted to peel the plastic off – and I started to get a little bit desperado… So I had no choice but to show her in a very graphic way where this weird cotton-thing was meant to go! She gave it back to me very quickly!
One blog in particular was amusing so I wanted to share it:
It's from a woman living in Afghanistan. Her blog address is http://ahmt.dk/
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The story about the generator
Sometimes this country trips me out! Well actually every day! Even after being here for 3 years there are things I just never learn to understand. Here is a great example;Thursday our generator at the house started acting weird… It shut down without any reason so we called the service people who came out and told us that the load was too much… We couldn’t understand it – We have been running it just fine with the same load for the last months, and then all of a sudden the load was too much!? We turned off heaters, and water heaters and different things – but it still kept acting weird… But it ran and it worked… Then Saturday morning the Generator just wouldn’t start again. We called the service people who came out and once again told us that the load was too much… Stu – one of my housemates – started a search all over the house and then finally found a wire going through the guard’s room through to the neighbour house. There was also a cable running across the street to another neighbour house… Stu of course yanked the cable out the wall and cut the line to the house across the street. Then he started the generator and went back to work.A few hours later the generator died again… We called the service people – they came – cleaned the fuel filter and it still ran like poo… So Stu went on another tour around the house, back to guard’s room and guess what! The cable to the neighbour house that he had yanked out earlier was now put in again!!! So naturally he cut the cable again…Told the guards that NOBODY could enter our house etc etc10 minutes later we had half the street knocking on the door COMPLAINING that they had no power!!! I am not kidding; they actually came to complain that we had cut them off our generator. … It turned out that one of the neighbours is actually the Landlord – (which also explains why the guards would let him in) so of course he felt EXTRA entitled to the free power – and told us that if we didn’t want to give him electricity we would have to move out!They all stood there complaining… telling us how they only had 1 lamp and 1 TV plugged in! Oh man, this was insane! They just could not see anything wrong with what they had been doing!In a normal world I would assume that anyone who had been steeling power from someone else and then got caught would think; “Ooops! It was nice as long at it lasted, but now it is over and I guess I will have to pay for my own power myself!”.But these people!!! These people really feel entitled to use our generator and get free power!!! They thought that WE where wrong for cutting them off! Maybe something went really wrong when I was brought up – maybe it is just me… I just do not understand how this can be a right they really feel they have…Maybe this explains last month’s $2000 fuel bill!
Here's another one:
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Kabul (international) Airport
Kabul Airport is such a trip! … A trip before your trip.Last time I left, I had to go through the usual search routine – which basically means that the search-lady grabs your boobs – and try to steal half the stuff you have in your purse. "Chocolate? Oh – you have 2 pieces – you are only allowed to have 1! Cigarettes… Give me Give me!" Last time I had a Tampax in my purse – so of course the search lady had to take my Tampax out… look at it for a VERY long time… not understanding at all what it was she had in her hand. She asked me what it was, and I tried to explain to her – but she didn’t really copy. After a while she wanted to peel the plastic off – and I started to get a little bit desperado… So I had no choice but to show her in a very graphic way where this weird cotton-thing was meant to go! She gave it back to me very quickly!
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