Due to circumstances beyond my control, I’ve been away fro some time. (Yeah, right, like anyone noticed). I thought I’d build on my earlier thread called “My new office is 200 yards from the Indian Ocean” and let the Doper community know a little about what I’m up to and what Sri Lanka is like.
The job is hectic, but I like it just fine. However,
the next time someone says “Oh, nothing happens in Sri
Lanka”, I’m going to pop them one. In the what, month
and a half I’ve been here, the following has happened:
- Tamil Tigers out of peace talks, then maybe back in,
then back out - Fifty killings that I know of (mainly political
figures and informants) - Our Admin officer and her husband indicted on what
may be the biggest case of visa fraud and embezzlement
in State Department history - VIP Assistant Secretary Rocca here next week, which
is a circus - My 26th birthday and first official promotion
All that in a month. We’ve hired a maid, a gardener
and will get a driver in a couple weeks when the car
gets handed over. Our combined staff salaries are just
over a hundred dollars a month.
I’m learning to cook Sri Lankan food, and have become
ruthless at bargaining for things. Even though part
of me doesn’t like the South Asian idea of “Rich
Americans get handed everything, yes, sir, please let
me carry the bag and open the door” after which you
hand the guy a buck (the equivalent of a day’s to
three day’s salary); I’m slowly getting used to the
fact that some things I just don’t want to do for
myself anymore. Like figuring out how to get the
paper delivered on time, or mopping the floors. One
just waves one’s arms and says “fix this” and it’s
fixed.
Since I’ve been working ten-hour days
(conservatively), home life is pretty low-key,
although we did have our first dinner party yesterday,
which went well.