To counteract a bit of the gloom from my last post, I was going to write this whole entry about things that have made me happy this week. While I know it’s important to realize that things aren’t all good or all bad, I think it’s just as ill-advised to swing my focus one direction as the other, so I’m not going to write the chipper force-myself-out-of-the-doldrums blather I’d had in mind. It’s been another hard week, though with some bright spots here and there.
Despite the good company of a few great people from work, it’s still painfully lonely here. I can’t tell how much is the new life-status, how much is the being in a new place generally, and how much is being here specifically. Thanks to the wonders of a friend’s good internet connection, I’ve been able to have some longish chats with people online this week. It’s nice to get stuff off my chest and I appreciate feeling connected and the energy that other people are willing to put into me even when they’re struggling with stuff themselves. Thanks everyone…
I’ve been trying to fill my free time in vaguely productive ways, this week with two yoga classes and three running sessions. Trying to squeeze the running in before work or before sunset makes the trips pretty short, but at this point I think it’s the principle of the thing rather than the actual cardio impact. I’ve decided to judge my progress based on which ministries I run past – yesterday I made it to Foreign Affairs before it got too dark; this morning I made it past the Capitol and the Temple of Justice to the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy. I’ll be really impressed if I can make it to the Ministry of Gender in a few weeks.
The other (temporary) highlight of the week was driving. A co-worker was out of the country so I got to use her Ministry car, giving me an unbelievably relieving sense of freedom as I managed to ply the very busy, very poorly maintained streets of Monrovia. Driving here is somewhat challenging in general, but when combined with the fact that I’ve never driven standard on my own, it was a whole new kind of adventure. I had the most trouble trying to drive in stop and go rush hour traffic (remarkably easy to stall in those circumstances), but have more or less got the hang of it now. Sadly, I have to hand the key back over on Monday and I’ll be back to bumming rides and calling taxis, clipping my wings once again.
Other things I’m grateful for this week:
· * BBC World Service – my constant morning companion and the only connection to the outside world in my internet-less apartment. If David Cameron takes aim at their budget with his new cuts, I may have to take serious action.
· * The random phone I bought from Amazon before I left – I bought it for its dual-SIM capacity, I love it for the fact that it has an amazing radio tuner and even lets me schedule a time to record a radio program. I can now listen to BBC all around town, a nice bonus while running and while waiting for people to show up or meetings to start.
· * Comfort – the wonderful woman who cleans my house and generally looks after me. I didn’t actually even see her this week since she came while I was working, but it’s awfully nice to get home and know that someone has been there trying to make my life a little easier.
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