In Lyon

Our human relations policy changes went down very well. We succeeded to announce the changes to all the sites and the reactions were positive. Then we had about 10 days to get the new contracts prepared and signed, and everything else implemented into the rules and regulations, the personnel database, and the payroll calculations. It was speed, but it worked. We got everything entered, including a lot of changes for each employee in the data base as well as the general parameters. And the payroll was prepared and sent to their accounts on time. I had 1 error I had to correct in the payroll calculation, and this was done the weekend just before I left Nigeria. So I think I left everything complete for the guy who replaced me. I also prepared a 24 page handover report for his, since he was not arriving before I left.

My going away party was the Friday evening before my Tuesday departure. It was a lot of fun, and by chance, we had representatives from all of the projects there. They all had some presentations to make which were kind, funny and very sweet. I received an aquarelle portrait of myself as a going away gift! Not exactly the easiest thing to carry home – it is pretty big – but it worked. I arrived in Paris for debriefings on the evening of 1st of May – Labor Day in Europe. I really felt back in France arriving at Place Bastille just as all of the labor union manifestations were showing up there. Then on Tuesday, I had about 4 hours with the person replacing me in Nigeria to go over some things with him. And I got to see a lot of old friends, before taking the train back to Lyon the same evening. Since then, I am back in my own little nest. I knew that I was tired, but I have been sleeping about 10 hours a day. And that is almost all besides eating great food and drinking wonderful wines. I have renewed some ties with my bar buddies here, renewed my wardrobe a bit (I haven’t done this in a few years, and my clothes were a bit embarrassing), bought a new camera, done some reading, downloaded a new set of films, and filed my French and American tax returns. And most importantly, I renewed my French residence visa, which expired on 29 February. This was much easier than I thought. After waiting in line for 2 hours (a record – usually 3-4 hours), I was received by a young, polite civil servant who loves the United States. I had all the papers that she needed and more, and I was out of the office by 10:00am with my temporary visa. The permanent one, good for 10 years, will be ready by the end of July. I am no longer an illegal alien. I should return to Paris around 4 June to start my new contract with Emergencies. I am pretty excited about this. This is a core of mainly experienced people who are available to leave anywhere in the world on 24 hour notice to help victims of war, epidemics, or natural disasters. There are 3 of us on contract as Coordinators of Finance and Human Resources – I worked with one of them in Niger. I will go to Paris to learn about their specific way of working and the tools that they use. I really have no idea of when and where I will be going – it depends on the situation of the world and where I will be needed. The biggest change for me will be that these are usually 2-3 month missions, hopefully with a bit of time at home before going out again. Until now, my shortest mission has been 8 months. It will be interesting to see the difference. My contract is for 1 year, renewable. Afterwards, I would still like to move into a field coordinator position, being responsible for an entire project. We will see.