I just received confirmation for my next assignment with MSF. I am going to Nigeria. At first I will go to Port Harcourt to coach a new field administrator there. Afterwards, I will be going to the capital city of Abuja to be the finance and human resources coordinator. This should be a 1 year assignment.
Our operation in Nigeria is run by the New York office. The people from there are currently in France for some meetings, so I go to Paris Wednesday to have my briefings with them, returning to Lyon Friday evening. I will leave for Nigeria from Lyon on the 10th of November.
I have already received a ton of reports about our work in Nigeria. We have 3 projects – a surgical program in Port Harcourt, a women’s health program in Jahun, and a nutrition program in Kasaure. It is nearly the same size as our Congo operation. Like Congo, there are also emergency programs when the need arises, usually associated with an epidemic of some kind. I will be doing finance as well as human resources, so it will be pretty challenging. And the great thing is that this is an English-speaking program. That means my reports will be much easier and faster to write. My written French has greatly improved since starting with MSF, but English is still a lot easier.
It is a very good thing that I am leaving soon, because I have spent nearly everything I had saved up, and then some, during my 2 ½ months in France. It has been a good stay, but expensive. Also, I am happy to be leaving before winter really sets in. I haven’t had a winter in 5 years, and I am already freezing here.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
October
The details of my future are a bit in limbo for the moment. I do not yet know to which country I will be going with MSF, nor when I will be leaving. It will probably be SOMETIME in November, and the destination will probably be Nigeria, South Sudan or Haiti. I hope they let me know 2-3 weeks ahead of time. And I hope that the departure is not too far into the future, because I have been spending money out the wazoo and it won’t hold out too much longer than the end of November. (We are on short-term contracts. When not working – zero income.)
One
of my expenditures has been on a new chandelier for the apartment. The one here when I arrived was really horrible. So I found this one. Don’t worry – it is a fake. A real crystal chandelier like this one would costs thousands of dollars. This one is completely plastic.
I also spent quite a bit on the Lyon bi-annuel dance festival. I went to several dance shows – 2 from Brazil, 1 from Algeria, 2 from New York (same dance troup but different shows), plus the parade. Each show was mainly modern dance, of which I know very little. But they were all beautiful. There is a South African dance troup coming here in November, but I since I am not sure to be here, I am reluctant to buy the ticket now.
I am not sure when my Tanzanian friend Nende is coming to live in my place either, or whether his wife Alma is coming at the same time or later. Ndende is probably coming before the end of this month, but no date has been fixed yet.
Other than all of this, I am meeting some interesting people in Lyon. One day, on 2 different occasions the same day in the middle of Lyon, I ran into old customers from the bar in Aix-les-Bains! That was pretty strange. One of them lives here now, and he has introduced me to some really nice people.
Other than that, I am doing pretty well meeting people on my own. My sex life took a big jump a few weeks ago for about 10 days. After 2 years of abstinence in Congo, that helped clean out the pipes. Now we are pretty much back to normal. Alas
Yesterday morning, at the outdoor market on the banks of the Saone river in the middle of Lyon, I ran into the mother of my old friend and partner in the bar, Paul. She is looking great – she is over 70 – and in great form. I haven’t had any news from Paul for about 2 years, but she hasn’t had any news in 4 years! And I thought I was a bad correspondent!
Next weekend, I go to see a couple from the bar in Aix-les-Bains also. I really love these two people and their 2 children, so it will be nice to see them again.
I have also met a few people on the internet.
One is a Nigerian guy living in the Ukraine – yes, pretty strange. We spend quite a bit of time on Skype. And this afternoon, I got a call on Skype from a good friend and MSF colleague, a Japanese guy we call Toto, with whom I worked in Darfur and Congo. He is now in the north of France on a logistics training course. If I go to South Sudan, I might find him there.
I need to work a bit more, however. I need to organize my work from Congo for future missions, but I am waiting for bad weather. When it is beautiful outside, I don’t have the heart to stay inside in front of the computer, and we have had really good weather since I have returned. That should change this coming week, so I hope to get a bit more done. I must get organized before leaving again!
One
of my expenditures has been on a new chandelier for the apartment. The one here when I arrived was really horrible. So I found this one. Don’t worry – it is a fake. A real crystal chandelier like this one would costs thousands of dollars. This one is completely plastic.I also spent quite a bit on the Lyon bi-annuel dance festival. I went to several dance shows – 2 from Brazil, 1 from Algeria, 2 from New York (same dance troup but different shows), plus the parade. Each show was mainly modern dance, of which I know very little. But they were all beautiful. There is a South African dance troup coming here in November, but I since I am not sure to be here, I am reluctant to buy the ticket now.
I am not sure when my Tanzanian friend Nende is coming to live in my place either, or whether his wife Alma is coming at the same time or later. Ndende is probably coming before the end of this month, but no date has been fixed yet.
Other than all of this, I am meeting some interesting people in Lyon. One day, on 2 different occasions the same day in the middle of Lyon, I ran into old customers from the bar in Aix-les-Bains! That was pretty strange. One of them lives here now, and he has introduced me to some really nice people.
Other than that, I am doing pretty well meeting people on my own. My sex life took a big jump a few weeks ago for about 10 days. After 2 years of abstinence in Congo, that helped clean out the pipes. Now we are pretty much back to normal. Alas
Yesterday morning, at the outdoor market on the banks of the Saone river in the middle of Lyon, I ran into the mother of my old friend and partner in the bar, Paul. She is looking great – she is over 70 – and in great form. I haven’t had any news from Paul for about 2 years, but she hasn’t had any news in 4 years! And I thought I was a bad correspondent!
Next weekend, I go to see a couple from the bar in Aix-les-Bains also. I really love these two people and their 2 children, so it will be nice to see them again.
I have also met a few people on the internet.
One is a Nigerian guy living in the Ukraine – yes, pretty strange. We spend quite a bit of time on Skype. And this afternoon, I got a call on Skype from a good friend and MSF colleague, a Japanese guy we call Toto, with whom I worked in Darfur and Congo. He is now in the north of France on a logistics training course. If I go to South Sudan, I might find him there.I need to work a bit more, however. I need to organize my work from Congo for future missions, but I am waiting for bad weather. When it is beautiful outside, I don’t have the heart to stay inside in front of the computer, and we have had really good weather since I have returned. That should change this coming week, so I hope to get a bit more done. I must get organized before leaving again!
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