Where did the last two months go?

I must admit - for a while there I was wondering if my entire time here at the UNDP would be spent translating documents and attending meetings where I had know idea what was going on. It is remarkable how quickly time passes when your days become quite regimented and the work never seems to stop piling up. I have gotten used to having piles of papers on my desk that keep me company for weeks. During those times where my sanity was wearing thin I began to give them names. Luckily, like with most things in life, you learn to cope.

Overwhelming is a word that I can safely use to describe the sudden burst of activity in my life - especially professionally. Not so much with the volume of work, but more so with the processes and procedures that accompany even the smallest task. I was well informed about the frustrations that are very common when working in very large institutions, so I am not really surprised. But the weight of dealing with it day after day can exhaust you physically and mentally. At first you deal with it through humour, but after awhile when it significantly affects your productivity and your ability to get things done the most common reaction is frustration.

Nonetheless, I am secretly happy about having a fuller schedule for the months to come. I am currently in charge of two projects; one medium/big sized project on police reform ending this year and a small one on legal empowerment for the poor. The last two months have involved me taking greater responsibility and ownership over these two projects including:

• drafting and translating project reports
• monitoring and reporting on activities
• consulting on budget revisions and drafting budget proposals
• organizing steering committee meetings, and drafting their related materials
• organizing all sorts of project meetings and selection panels
• drafting terms of reference for consultant positions and an evaluation mission
• consultations on the development of new assistance project for the police
• monitoring the activities of hired consultants, coordinating their contracting, travel and reporting

The list can go on and on. On top of that over the next few months I will be organizing a series of focus groups for the legal empowerment project followed by a national conference which will complete the consultation process designed by the project; coordinating and monitoring an evaluation mission for the police project; and formulating a new assistance program for the police with multi-level coordination and multi-year funding; along with all the other activities that go along with what I am doing.

That is the short of it. So needless to say I began to view keeping in contact with friends and family as more of a chore than therapy. But over the last couple months I have really began to feel the absence of the strong social network I had created for myself back home.

Luckily from as of the 15 of June, I have had the company of a very important person. Having Kat around has been quite the blessing. She has made apartment feel like home, and her much needed added touch and positive presence has made coming home from work the happiest part of most of my days.

As with any new living arrangement there is the adjustment that accompanies it. I admit, I may not be the easiest person to live with and Mozambique can be a frustrating place to adapt to, especially for one who does not know the language. Moreover, the uncertainty in terms of work, income and daily structure that a job provides can be very difficult to deal with. I really admire Kat for her strength and courage - and most of all for her devotion - in coming here to be with me.

I picked Kat up with her brother (Adrian) in Nelspruit (just outside the border) after they had just completed a road trip in South Africa. I brought them back to Maputo where I had the pleasure of witnessing and experiencing the unique sibling interaction that characterizes the Walraven clan. They are one wacky entertaining bunch. Adrian spent a few days with us, including two days at a very nice beach lodge before heading back to Afghanistan where he was on mission for CIDA.

Since then, Kat and I were invited to attend/ witness a Lobolo (a traditional ceremony, common in Mozambique and much of Africa, where the family of a groom comes to pay respect and a symbolic price to the family of the bride, similar in dowry traditions but with much attention ceremony, ritual and symbolism); gone on safari and a small weekend get away to South Africa; and will be visiting the Maputo Elephant Reserve this weekend. I will describe all these experiences with more detail in a coming post.

We have also had the good fortune of meeting some great people - some from Canada - who are also working here in Maputo through different programs (mostly through CUSO). It is a network of common friends that continues to provide much amusement for us both (as well as some female friendship for Kat). Where once we wondered what we would do with all our free evenings, we now actually take time to enjoy vegging on our spectacularly uncomfortable couch and watching some TV (we have a weekly Law and Order night on Wednesdays with 4 episodes), or reading in bed. It is hard to turn down invites from people either for dinner, to watch movies, go to parties, or picnics, so we end spending lots of time being social. But we have always been good at making time for ourselves.

Kat has been quite the sport in being the lead on planning and preparing dinners, as well as cleaning and laundry (as she is home most of the day). I sometimes worry that she is going to begin feeling too much like a house wife. So we have decided to perhaps hire an empregada (house worker) for a day or two a week, primarily to help with the laundry (which is amazingly difficult and time consuming to do for two people without a washer and drier) and some cleaning. Unemployment is widespread and the minimum wages very low here, so when we find someone we feel comfortable with I think it will be an arrangement that benefits both parties. Plus, Kat has also had the good fortune of being offered more contract work from the organization for which she interned in South Africa, and is able to do it online, remotely from Maputo. This means she will be just as busy as I will during the days to do much work.

So life goes on, and there is so much more to say. Where did the last two months go? I have been here 5 months already. Seven more to go...