Going, going.

Hi All,
Hope all is well in Hamilton, Toronto, London, Market Lavington, Australia, etc.
Its been an interesting week so far. I’ve been spending a lot of time on this funding proposal, it will never end! I’m trying to organize/plan a budget, which is a bad thing since I am terrible at math! I’m terrified to see my boss’s reaction when I hand it in, hopefully by the end of today.
On Monday, I tackled the Immigration Office. After waiting in line, I was told that although I had collected the paperwork for a work permit, I needed a police check. I was not impressed. I told the officer that my visa was expiring and had done everything that the immigration officer had told me to do last time, so she sent me to this other guy. To make a long story short, I got shuffled around a bit and had to put up a fuss to get a visa. I emerged from the scene victorious, with the promise of official documentation of my work permit within the next 30 days. I was seriously proud of myself- there was no way I was leaving there without a permit. Kate had gone through hell and back to get me bank certified check, have it signed by my NGOs board members, get a letter from my boss, plus I had bought passport photos and photocopied my passport several times.
Yesterday, my boss’s laptop mysteriously disappeared from the office. All 5 of us employees walked around the property looking for it, but found nothing. Its hard to believe someone stole it because they would have had to come through a gate. I seriously hope it turns up, there’s a lot of important stuff on that laptop!
Last night, I went round to Vanessa’s for dinner again to say goodbye, as she’s heading off to Tanzania by train, then back to Canada next week. Her awesome Italian roommate, Christa (false name) is still living there, but the Americans had left and have been replaced with newbies. These guys work for a bicycle NGO. Vanessa also knew of a few U of T affiliates who are here, and so they dropped by as well. The 3 of them are here for 2 months and doing public health stuff with the University of Zambia (UNZA). We were also joined by Christa’s friend from Italy. It was quite an event. I made guacamole for the potluck, only to discover that Vanessa and Christa had made some as well (this was because there was a power outage. I tend to live on guacamole when the power goes out here because it requires no cooking…I’m also a terrible cook so there you have it…guacamole was a safe bet). Anyways, I ate some seriously good food (someone had power at their place and made an omelette and mashed potatoes). I got talking to the Americans about free trade, which got pretty heated. Its interesting to see what happens when you put free trade supporters in the same room as people who work in public health. For those of you who took GGRB28 with me, or have read Paul Farmer or Brooke Schoepf’s stuff, you will understand how I feel about this topic. Don’t worry; I was on my best academic behavior. On the whole, it was an evening well spent and it was good to talk to some Canadians…its had been a while and sometimes I miss the familiarity!
Today I begin volunteering at an HIV/AIDS awareness centre for youth in one of the nearby neighbourhoods. I got in touch with this organization through a friend of a friend, and they seem like they do some pretty interesting work. I’ll probably work for them in the evenings and on weekends. I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be doing, but probably running workshops and lending a hand wherever I’m needed.
I’m not entirely sure what’s on the agenda for this weekend. The Dutch Reform Church near my house hosts a famous market on the last Saturday of every month, so I may go with Christa to check it out. There’s also the possibility of a spin on Dan’s motorbike, a skype chat with mum or even an adventure to a discotheque.
Hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for the support and keep in touch!

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