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sirenita1116
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Name: Shirley
Gender: Female
Interests: traveling, reading, writing, languages, dancing, music, diving, cooking, eating
Industry: International Development
Message: message me
Member Since:
11/5/2003
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| We spent last weekend in Bilene, a beach town a few hours outside Maputo. We camped on the beach, something we hadn't done for a while. The last time was a year ago when we got engaged.
Work is still busy and stressful but I'm getting used to it. I'm learning a lot about health systems and HIV, which is interesting, and about bureacratic procedures, which are annoying.
We are really getting into hobbies. Mick has started playing squash and petanque and I signed up for swim lessons. I know how to swim but I need to learn how to breathe efficiently and feel more confident in the water. I'm hoping to start yoga soon. | | |
| There don't seem to be enough hours in the day anymore. I changed jobs a few weeks ago - January 12th to be exact - and since then I have been plunged in the USAID whirlwind. The job, called Capacity Development Advisor for the HIV/AIDS program, is a huge challenge. I'm responsible for various projects that have to do with building the capacity of local organizations and the Mozambican government to manage HIV/AIDS work in the country, which now is mainly being done by international NGOs.
It's culture shock going from the NGO world to the institutional donor world, especially one like the US government, and on top of that, its tightly controlled HIV/AIDS program, called PEPFAR. It's a different universe. Everything is extremely high-speed and stressful. There are so many meetings that it is ridiculous: technical working group meetings, sub-group meetings, team staff meetings, sub-team staff meetings, partner meetings, task force meetings, etc. I am honing my time management skills. There is a lot of information to digest: rules and regulations, acronyms, inter-agency dynamics, donor and government politics...It will probably take me at least six months to "find my feet."
On the pro's side, I manage some very interesting partners/programs and have lots of responsibility and room to carve out my role. I'm learning lots every day even though it's exhausting. It's also interesting to be on the "inside" of such a big donor, with the influence and potential that come with that to change policy. Even though I've worked for NGOs that are also donors, they were very close to the ground, so to speak.
On the con's side, there is no orientation/induction process. You are thrown in and are expected to swim rather than sink. Everyone is nice and very competent but nobody has a lot of time to explain things. Being a government agency, things are bureaucratic - more than I had feared - but I'm getting used to it. Expectations for me are also probably too high. Just managing the projects I'm in charge of will be a big challenge, but I'm also expected to come up with a sustainability plan for PEPFAR in Mozambique. Daunting, huh?!
Working for the USG also changes your personal life here. We had to move from our very nice flat because the government is very careful about security. But we definitely can't complain because they found us a great two-story house with tons of space and all the modern appliances. It is strange to live in a big house when it's just the two of us. We have our car, which has changed the way we do our shopping and spend our weekends. No more chapas or taxis! My work hours are long, from 7:30 to 5:30, but I have half-day Fridays. That doesn't make up for the US vacation plan, but we are really trying to make the most of our weekends.
the Pajero
Last weekend for instance we went to Swaziland; we stayed at a B&B and did a whole day of white water rafting (both were a wedding gift from friends here). It was great - Swaziland is green and has lovely mountains, and just leaving the country seems like a vacation. I had never done white water rafting before, and it was intense. Mick and I were in a little two-person raft and some of those rapids knocked us over. It was scary - and we're still a bit sore and sunburnt - but fantastic.
Swazi hut
Lounging at Malandelas B&B
with its nice pool
Rafting trip. We don't have a waterproof case for our camera so the pictures on the river will be posted later after they're emailed to us!
Next week I'll be in Beira, a city in the center of the country, visiting some partners and seeing their work. The sooner and more often I visit the field in the beginning, the more I will understand my job, so I'm looking forward to it, even though these trips can be tiring.
Another change in our life - we have internet and cable TV at home!! So I am writing this post in our nice study, with lots of pictures of family in front of me on the wall, drinking a glass of white wine while Mick is downstairs cooking. Nice!
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| We spent a freezing ten days in New York. As always, I wasn't mentally prepared for the weather. We had a great time catching up with family and friends. We had a Chinese banquet to celebrate our wedding, a tea ceremony at home...and we ate (and drank) copiously! With all the sales, we did shopping wherever we were in the city, satisfying that retail itch that just can't be scratched in Mozambique and of course doing our bit for the economy.
Christmas was spent at home with the family. I got to see my nieces Zoe and Maya and my nephew Quinn who are growing more adorable by the day. We rang in the New Year with my friend Christiane from grad school at a party.
bowing to the ancestors
Mick really bowed low
Cutting the pig....it turns out it represents my virginity
It took three days of flights and connections to get home and I am still recovering. I never really experienced jet lag coming to Africa before, but I have it bad this week. I wake up in the middle of the night and stay up for hours. It's killing me!
This is my last week of work at Trocaire. I really need to rest this weekend because next week I start my new job with USAID and we move house. Yikes! | | |
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