tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60839356062950102942024-02-07T16:54:50.559-05:00Accomplice to the ResistanceMusings and hot takes of another white cishet dude just don't need to be clogging up more Twitter/FB space. But I still want to be able to tell my family and friends what I'm up to. So here we are.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-11245916522342406782018-02-19T09:36:00.000-05:002018-02-19T09:36:00.139-05:00Why I quit FaceBook<p>I posted the following to my FB a day before deleting it forever. I thought I would feel at least a twinge of regret over the lost connections. But I don't - the important friendships are stronger than FaceBook. And people managed to have fun random interactions with folks they'd lost contact with well before any social media came along. We'll all be fine.<hr>I've been thinking a lot about social media lately, especially Facebook and Twitter. Fake news. Russian meddling. My attempts to avoid their algorithms to just see posts chronologically, attempts that have been continually thwarted as they update their settings, telling me they know better than I do what I'm interested in. And how it always comes back to the same place: most of what I see is either stuff I really agree with, in which case I'm likely to chime in happily and will walk away without having learned much, or stuff I vehemently, viscerally disagree with, in which case I'm likely to bull in feeling angry and defensive and will walk away ... also without having learned much.</p>
<p>That's the platform working as intended. After all, what makes FB money? It isn't fostering human connection exactly. It's getting you to interact in SOME fashion, because those numbers of interactions are what they show advertisers. And those two things, increasing interaction vs increasing connection, they look the same enough that it fooled a lot of us for a while. But they aren't the same, they never will be the same, and the fact is that Zuck's public hand-wringing about fixing the platform will never amount to anything more than superficial changes, because the very financial model of the site depends on increasing interaction, and at the scale it's now at, that will always be an incentive at odds with the public good.</p>
<p>Facebook is a wholly unregulated, unsupervised curator of information. A news source with no accountability for the accuracy of its news. A messaging system with no accountability for the harassment inherent in the messages.</p>
<p>It worked ok when it was smaller. If you're linking memebers of communities who already have a lot of shared interests, the Venn diagram of increasing interaction and increasing connection is just about a circle. But as FB got bigger, as the communities who joined became more ideologically diverse, cracks formed. And now whenever I come onto this site, for every update I see that actually tells me about something important to my life, like say a family member's health, I see twenty more links designed to outrage me; the only variable there is whether they are designed to outrage me in the same way as the person who posted it or in the opposite way. But all that ends up just being value signaling, not community building.</p>
<p>Facebook is and will continue to be an irresponsible steward of the vast amounts of information for which so many people have come to rely on it. Every time I log in I'm implicitly supporting its irresponsibility, I'm telling it "Hey, even though I think you're doing a piss poor job, this account is too important to me to lose." And it isn't anymore. FB is no longer the way I want to interact with my friends. Not given what it's costing us.</p>
<p>Once I delete my account, this post along with everything else will disappear, so I'll leave it up for a bit. I'd take it as a kindness if a few people would even share it - it's set to be only visible to my friends, so you shouldn't be bothering anyone that doesn't know me (and advance apologies if that's another setting they've mucked with in the interests of increasing interaction at any cost), and given the aforementioned algorithms there's no reason to think more than a few of you will see this initially.</p>
<p>We'll be in touch. Drop me an email! I'd love to hear from you. And if not, well, all the best. It's been fun.</p>
<p>PS - if you're curious, my approach to Twitter is a bit different. There, after all, the expectation was never about connecting with friends, it was about being pithy and entertaining, so the blight is different. While FB will never cure itself of promoting fake news and fostering discord, Twitter will never not be a place where Nazis get to self-promote. So there, rather than disconnecting, I've refocused my account on amplifying voices of the oppressed.</p>
David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-30264784073334328942014-06-05T14:07:00.000-04:002014-06-05T14:11:54.829-04:00Adventures in useless customer service; or, why I use UPS now<div class="tr_bq">
A transcript of my recent emails with FedEx:</div>
<br />
<b>Me:</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I am very angry. I am going to try very hard not to be rude in this message, because I know that you, the person reading this, are not personally responsible for making me angry. But I am very angry.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Several days ago, I came home to a door tag saying a delivery had been attempted but no one was home. The signature line was voided. "Fine," I thought, "It says another attempt will be made, but since I'm not home during the day, I'll log on to the site and tell them to hold the package." The next day, I log on to the site and tell you to hold the package. Or at least I try to. Your doortag claims that the site will allow that, but in fact when I created an account and attempted to tell you to hold the package, that option was grayed out, and when I tried to save my changes the site just said "Thanks, delivery will be reattempted." So a couple days later I come home to a new door tag, because sure enough you tried to deliver the package again. Fair enough, not the delivery person's</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">fault. The doortag again says another attempt will be made.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">No further doortags. I waited, assuming there would be a last one, after which you would hold the shipment for some amount of time and I'd have a chance to find it and get it. Still no doortag. So now today I log on and find out that with NO FINAL ATTEMPT AT DELIVERY you have decided that the delivery has failed, and never having given me the option to pick up my package, you have no choice but to return to sender.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I am very angry.</span></span></blockquote>
<b>FedEx:</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Thank you for your email. We regret any inconvenience you experienced with this shipment.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #000000;">According to our records, the package is on a return-to-shipper status. As the package is already in transit back to the sender, please contact your shipper to make arrangements should you need the package re-shipped to you.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #000000;">We appreciate your patience on this matter, and thank you for shipping with FedEx.</span></span></blockquote>
<b>Me:</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #000000;">Yes, thank you, I am aware it is being returned, that is what I am upset about. I have been in touch with the sender and he will re-ship once the package returns to him. What reference number should I give him to ensure he is not charged a second time for shipping given that the failure to deliver was declared even though no final attempt was made?</span></span></blockquote>
<b>FedEx:</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #000000;">Thank you for contacting FedEx. We regret any inconvenience.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">According to our records, this shipment was returned to the sender on June 5, 2014, at 8:37 AM, and was signed for by</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> [redacted]</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">. With regard to your billing inquiry, kindly contact our Revenue Services department at </span><a href="tel:800-622-1147" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank" value="+18006221147">800-622-1147</a><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> for assistance. Their hours of operation are 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM Central Time, Monday to Friday, and from 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM Central Time on Saturday.</span></span></blockquote>
<b>Me:</b><br />
<blockquote style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #000000;">June 5th. 2pm. This will likely be my last communication.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #000000;">I tried. Oh, how I tried. I told them. I told them what was wrong. They said to call someone else. I told them again. Same non-response. WHY WON'T THEY LISTEN? Now it's getting closer. I may get this email out. There won't be time for more. No more emails. No more FedEx packages. Ever. May god save us all. If only they had listened. They could have fixed it. Ended this. But they didn't. And now...oh no, it heard me typing. It's comi[MESSAGE ENDS]</span></span></blockquote>
<hr />
I worked very hard on that first email. It went through several drafts, over the course of which the curse words and recriminations were mostly culled, though apparently I still couldn't restrain myself from a bit of caps lock.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The last email was much easier to write, knowing that the customer support agents are either incapable of providing helpful responses or are simply not allowed to.</div>
David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-43989017168220839802013-06-23T17:46:00.000-04:002013-06-23T17:46:39.740-04:00My cat is ridiculous … and allergic to onionsA couple nights ago, a coworker threw a party (at my boss's house, because that's how international development workers roll). We played the "Hat Game," which if you aren't familiar with, hit me up - best party game ever. But it's not the focus of this post.<br />
<br />
My task for the party was to bring sandwich fixings, guacamole, and bread.<br />
<br />
First off, shout out to my awesome girlfriend who gave me some ready-made green chili enchilada sauce that I thought would be awesome to add to guac. I actually hesitated to use it, because I thought she might be sad that I used it for a party rather than for myself (she gave it to me because she knows how rarely I cook when alone), but then I realized how silly I was being, and that any use that made me smile would make her glad she gave it to me - she's awesome like that. (Also, I now have a ton of guac for myself that didn't get eaten at the party. So, win-win. And here ends the part of the post where I make the reader sick with how cute we are.)<br />
<br />
But for sandwiches, I cut up tomatoes and onions. Now, onions in this country are FIERCE - cut up 2 onions and it's like you've watched "Turner and Hooch." Any more than that and you've gone full emo.<br />
<br />
So I'm in the kitchen screaming obscenities at my eyes trying to stop them from crying (not effective, FYI), and my cat comes in to see what all the commotion is about. She lasts about two minutes before she starts sneezing uncontrollably. After a few minutes of that, she leaves. Hence my assumption that she's allergic to onions.<br />
<br />
However, she's also ridiculous - she cannot STAND to know there is someone in the house but not in the same room. So about five minutes after fleeing the onions, she starts crying from the other room. "I know you're in there!!" And after three or four minutes of that, she recognized that just crying wasn't getting my attention - so she came *back* into the kitchen to make sure I knew she was there.<br />
<br />
Of course, she immediately started sneezing again. But that didn't stop her from plopping down at my feet for a few minutes to make sure I knew she was there - until she couldn't take the sneezing anymore, then she sauntered back into the other room. Where she commenced crying again. Until she couldn't take it anymore ….<br />
<br />
All in all, over the course of an hour, she came back into the kitchen seven or eight times. Sneezing the entire time she was in there. Crazy, lovable cat.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-3236198584067813082013-05-31T12:02:00.002-04:002013-05-31T14:20:51.506-04:00Oh, right, I still technically have a blog....As noted in my last post of a scant six months ago (!), I went on a trip. The trip was amazing! If you'd like to know all about it ... well, call me, I guess. If you'd like to know about half of it or so, you can check out the blog I linked to.<br />
<br />
A bit after New Year's, I decided to make a not-exactly-resolution-but-at-least-a-semi-firm commitment to posting to my <a href="https://www.twitter.com/DWinBF">Twitter feed</a> development or Burkina news at least once a day. In reality, I'm posting about once every three days, and usually about inane things like how much my car might sell for.<br />
<br />
Short version: I fail at social media.<br />
<br />
But oh well, because right now I have not one, but TWO inane stories to tell, and that's way too much for Twitter. So they go here instead!<br />
<hr />
<b>Plaisanterie</b><br />
<br />
In much of West Africa, Burkina <i>y compris</i>, the word <i>plaisanterie</i> refers not just to joking around in general, but to the particular phenomenon of paired ethnic groups calling each other "<i>esclaves</i>", "slaves." It takes a bit for someone from the southern US to get used to. But I did. It's actually a very interesting topic; I have a friend who wanted to do his PhD research on it. People from one ethnic group will only do it with people from certain other ethnic groups. It is an equalizer - a flat broke farm worker could make this kind of joke with a minister and get away with it (er, probably). I heard a story once (anecdote warning!) about a guy who was getting robbed at knife point, but recognized the other guy's ethnicity, and told the robber he couldn't rob him because he was his slave, and the guy laughed, agreed, and left. My girlfriend has a great <i>plaisanterie</i> story, that I'm not going to steal even though I want to....<br />
<br />
So today I'm in a meeting. One of my colleagues, who always gets a kick out of the family name I took in village, Dabilgou, insisted on calling me by it all morning. Another colleague, who was a bit newer and hadn't heard it before, looked at me very seriously and said, "'Dabilgou' isn't a Mossi name, is it? No, it must be Gourmantché." Colleague 1 assured him that it is Mossi. Colleague 2 looked at me again and said, "No, it's Gourmantché, it must be, right?" I said, no, it is in fact Mossi. He said "Oh, that's too bad. Because, you see, I'm Sané, so I wanted to give you the chance to say it was Gourmantché, so you wouldn't be my slave."<br />
<br />
FIVE YEARS it took to get one of those jokes aimed at me. Worth it.<br />
<br />
[EDIT: I forgot the end of the story. I held his hand to show my appreciation of his joke. Because that is what you do here. Also, stay tuned to see if I have to correct what might be a pretty embarrassing pronoun error!]<br />
<hr />
<b>Curses in Ouaga2000</b><br />
<br />
An expat I know who lives in Ouaga2000 is certain that she is being cursed. Weird objects appear in the road outside of her home. Chickens with their throats cut. <i>Canaris</i> (clay pots) filled with random objects. Right in the middle of the road.<b> </b>Curses seem a pretty good explanation. Especially when you are extremely rich by local standards.<br />
<br />
But of course, you can also actually ask people. Someone (not me) did. Turns out, those things are indeed related to wok magic, but they're not curses, they're GOOD luck. For the person doing it, it's not directed at anyone else. It's to do with when a car hits it, the good luck gets scattered into the world, or something like that. So why do it in the rich neighborhood? Because no one will steal it there.<br />
<br />
I don't think I'll tell my friend. This way's more fun.<br />
<br />David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-4600839127438572472012-11-01T21:10:00.002-04:002012-11-01T21:10:49.662-04:00Just in case you missed itI don't know if anyone is paying attention to this blog since I update so infrequently anyway, but just in case you're wondering what my latest excuse is for not doing so, it's that I'm kind of busy traveling around the globe with my girlfriend. To follow us, check out <a href="http://aroundtheworldin50days.blogspot.com">The Long Trail Home</a>.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-70938733501623316592012-05-30T08:50:00.000-04:002012-05-30T08:50:47.098-04:00An email exchange<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Saw this in my inbox this morning [reproduced with permission from Mom]:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Just saw on world news that your area is needing rain and children are dying
due to drought. Didn't you say the rains came early, often and hard just a few weeks
ago ? Can you direct where we should send funds? It was heart-breaking to watch.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> You're OK, right ? Film footage was not in B.F., but the map highlighted there.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Please reply asap. mom</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Thanks Mom! It's nice to know people are worried. The situation here IS bad. Here is my response [reproduced with permission from me]:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I need to preface this by saying that humanitarian aid is not my field. I
am at best tangentially aware of those kinds of activities happening
here, so my advice is based on a weird amalgam of rumor, second-hand
recommendations, and web research. All of which is to say that if you
hear of something you think may be better, don't discount it just
because I didn't mention it.<br /><br />The problem is not so much the drought this year as it is that there
were not enough rains LAST year, so not enough food was produced to
hold people over until the crops can be brought in this season (which
won't be until around late June for the first round of corn, late July
for the first rounds of millet and sorghum...so even if the rains
continue well this year, some people will be literally starving until
then). The problem is made much worse by the refugees from Mali, who are
an extra drain on production since obviously they can't feed
themselves. So yes, while the rains are so far ok here this year (though
unseasonably early, which is not an unmitigated positive), many
people's stores are empty, forcing them to buy, and food prices are up.
Not everyone can afford it. There is a popular movement here called "la
vie chère" that in situations like this hosts protest marches. In past
years, those marches have sometimes become violent. So far that hasn't
happened this year, but everyone knows it is a possibility.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />The good news is that a lot of aid is coming in for the refugees,
from the UN, from individual countries (including the US), and from
NGOs. The bad news is that there is so much focus on aid for the
refugees that less assistance is available for Burkinabé than would
normally be the case in such a famine. Besides being bad for obvious
reasons, that's also a source of potential conflict. Note that while I'm
speaking about Burkinabé because I live here, the same situation is
unfolding in Niger, Mali itself (though because of the ongoing conflict,
aid is mostly blocked), Mauritania, and Algeria. Chad is also suffering
from the famine, though I don't believe they have a Malian refugee
population exacerbating the problem.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><u>If you would like to help the refugee populations:</u></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is working in the camps in Niger (and maybe elsewhere):<br /><a href="http://crs.org/niger/sahel-crisis-helping-refugees-in-niger/" target="_blank">http://crs.org/niger/sahel-<wbr></wbr>crisis-helping-refugees-in-<wbr></wbr>niger/</a> (Donate link at top)<br />
They also have general food assistance programs in the region, though I
don't know whether they have anything in place specifically addressing
the current famine.<br /><br />The ICRC is working in camps in Burkina, Niger, and Mali:<br /><a href="http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/news-release/2012/mali-news-2012-04-03.htm" target="_blank">http://www.icrc.org/eng/<wbr></wbr>resources/documents/news-<wbr></wbr>release/2012/mali-news-2012-<wbr></wbr>04-03.htm</a></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />To donate: <a href="http://www.icrc.org/eng/donations/index.jsp" target="_blank">http://www.icrc.org/eng/<wbr></wbr>donations/index.jsp</a><br /><br />The UN hosts a site that collects refugee news. The Burkina page is found at:</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><a href="http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,4565c22535,4a8e57802,,0,,,BFA.html" target="_blank">http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/<wbr></wbr>topic,4565c22535,4a8e57802,,0,<wbr></wbr>,,BFA.html</a><br />
That is probably a good place to get more information than I can gather in this brief note.<br /><br /><u>To assist non-displaced populations who are suffering from the famine, the big hitters are:</u><br />Oxfam, with whom I have never worked but about whom I have never heard anything but very good things:<br /><a href="http://www.oxfam.org/en/node/4606" target="_blank">http://www.oxfam.org/en/node/<wbr></wbr>4606</a></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> (Donate link at top right)<br /><br />The
IFRC (and I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of the Red
Cross collaborations, so I don't really know how different this is from
the ICRC above. I just know that what we call here "the Red Cross" is
working both in the camps and with indigenous Burkinabé):<br /><a href="http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/news-stories/africa/burkina-faso/red-cross-scales-up-response-to-food-crisis-in-burkina-faso/" target="_blank">http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-<wbr></wbr>and-media/news-stories/africa/<wbr></wbr>burkina-faso/red-cross-scales-<wbr></wbr>up-response-to-food-crisis-in-<wbr></wbr>burkina-faso/</a></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> (donate link is first option in "Get Involved" drop-down menu)<br /><br />The World Food Programme (a UN aid agency) has activities pretty
much anywhere there is hunger. I've heard them described as bureaucratic
and somewhat inefficient (again, I've never worked with them so cannot
give a personal opinion), but they are EVERYWHERE, and there's something
to be said for that - they have a lot of leverage when working with
host governments.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><a href="http://www.wfp.org/stories/sahel-crisis-by-country" target="_blank">http://www.wfp.org/stories/<wbr></wbr>sahel-crisis-by-country</a></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> (donate online link in "Get Involved" drop-down menu here, too).<br /><br />A good general resource on humanitarian aid is <a href="http://irinnews.org/" target="_blank">irinnews.org</a>. For instance: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/Country/BF/Burkina-Faso" target="_blank">http://www.irinnews.org/<wbr></wbr>Country/BF/Burkina-Faso</a><br /><br />USAID funds a famine-specific news source, which is good for climate
monitoring and understanding the full situation of food insecurity in
the region (but does not address your specific question of funding aid
efforts): </span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.fews.net/" target="_blank">www.fews.net</a><br /><br />I wish I knew more, but I'm pretty confident in at least those
recommendations. In fact, I am going to reproduce this email on my blog.
Do you mind if I copy your email, too, to give it context?</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />love,<br />dav</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">With that, I will now go off to other places and invite my very knowledgeable friends to add to and/or correct the advice here. Also, I apologize for the ugly formatting, but I am in a hurry so just using Blogger's native options. When I come back in to report on my friends' ideas, perhaps I'll also have the chance to pretty this up.</span></div>David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-1478404298377885912012-04-16T15:03:00.003-04:002012-04-16T15:16:56.532-04:00News roundup: MaliFor those interested, I just posted a <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/114889/Hail-Hail-Azawad-land-of-the-brave-and-free#4296701">summary</a> to <a href="http://www.metefilter.com">MetaFilter</a> of several current articles on the Mali situation, and I put enough effort into it that I thought I'd post it here as well.<br /><br />Completely unsurprisingly, the situation in Mali is kind of dominating the news here in Burkina. Here are some of the articles published today for the francophones, and synopses in English for the rest:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.lepays.bf/?NEGOCIATIONS-INTER-MALIENNES">Summary of the negotiations this weekend</a>: about eighty Malians participated, representing the elected government, the junta, and civilian leaders. The two topics were a roadmap to power transition and the Tuareg rebellion. As for the former, they will stick to the agreement from April 6th which puts Traoré in power and makes anyone participating in the transitional government ineligible in the next elections, but whether the transition period will be only forty days as originally agreed will depend on the resolution of the rebellion. As to that resolution, all agree it needs to include humanitarian aid as soon as possible. They call for the immediate "restoration of the integrity of the territory" (read here: surrender of the rebels), saying everyone participating should remember their "duty to protect the civilian populations," lay down their arms, and look for "republican" solutions.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sidwaya.bf/quotidien/spip.php?article4480">Slightly more detail on the structure of the agreement</a>, which is broken out into 17 recommendations focusing on three main points: ending the rebellion (this section uses the exact same language as the above article); transitioning power by recognizing the 6th April agreement, creating a "national unity government," and creating new ministerial departments to focus on humanitarian efforts; and creating some sort of monitoring body, overseen by an international mediator.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.lefaso.net/spip.php?article47474">This article discusses the wider political impact of the choice of a mediator</a>, mentioning that the representative of the interim Mali government at the weekend talks asked that the Mauritanian president participate in negotiations with the Tuaregs (that's the same guy as in <a href="http://www.lexpressiondz.com/linformation_en_continue/152025-nouakchott-appelle-%C3%A0-agir-pour-%C2%AB%C3%A9viter-un-nouvel-afghanistan-%C2%BB-au-mali.html">this article</a> (cheers, <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/114889/Hail-Hail-Azawad-land-of-the-brave-and-free#4295620">nangar</a>) last link, where he explicitly says he's open to the establishment of a new country, but adds that he is ready to commit troops to fight the terrorists of AQMI, inviting European intervention as well). The author expresses some doubt that Aziz and Compaoré (the president of Burkina Faso, and current mediator between the junta and constitutional authorities, nominated by ECOWAS) will work well together but notes that Mauritanian involvement may be beneficial given their nearer geographic proximity to the territories being fought over.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.lepays.bf/?CRISE-HUMANITAIRE-AU-NORD-MALI">Here's a discussion of the humanitarian crisis caused by the Tuareg rebellion</a>, or at least of the difficulty in addressing it. Ansar Dine has announced that they will open corridors to humanitarian aid - as long as said aid is "halal"; that is, from Islamic nations only. They won't accept any aid from Europe or the US. The author speculates that they may be concerned that any corridors they open will become routes for gun-trafficking. He or she then says that Ansar Dine is being hypocritical because they already use Western technology, and that in any case they should focus on accepting any aid that feeds the hungry in their territory if they want any claim to legitimacy. The conclusion of the article is that if they hold to this demand, they are planting the seeds of their own destruction, when hunger overcomes fear.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sidwaya.bf/quotidien/spip.php?article4461">The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs</a> came to Burkina Saturday to offer the king's support to Compaoré toward ending the Mali conflict. He also offered monetary support for humanitarian aid to the Malian refugees in Burkina.<br /><br />So, yeah. A lot of interested parties are talking with each other. But so far not with the Tuaregs.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-75335632135878854152012-04-11T08:32:00.003-04:002012-04-11T08:37:34.402-04:00I attended a management trainingThe topic of role playing came up. This is what I hoped would happen:<br /><br /><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/solotoro/management%20role%20playing%203.JPG?attredirects=0"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 630px; height: 195px;" src="https://sites.google.com/site/solotoro/management%20role%20playing%203.JPG?attredirects=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />It didn't. So I drew this instead.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-55427980259720107812012-04-08T17:15:00.006-04:002012-04-08T17:40:10.396-04:00GratitudeWow, I really don't update this blog very much these days. Blame Facebook. I've been meaning for the last couple days to write something. I've got a fun idea. I'm going to tell the story of my life in a way that is 100% true and entirely misleading. Kind of like that game Two Truths and a Lie, only no lies. That will have to wait though.<br /><br />Because this evening a Burkinabe friend stopped by, and he said some things I need to make sure are documented for posterity. He's a young guy who used to be a guard at the Peace Corps transit house. He stops by occasionally to chit chat. A couple of times I've lent him my moto, and he's unreasonably grateful about it. So much so that I get embarrassed when he talks about it, and I don't get embarrassed easily*.<br /><br />As I said, he stopped by this evening. Lucky he did, otherwise he'd have gotten caught in the rain** on his way home.<br /><br />My friend started talking to me about his life growing up, a topic that had never really come up before. Turns out his mom had him when she was 16, so they were both kind of raised by HER mom, his grandma. He didn't really have a father figure. (The subtext of this conversation, by the way, goes back to how great I am for letting him borrow my bike. See? EMBARRASING.) Now here's where the story gets weird - when he was talking about not having a dad and what he never got that other kids did, he never ONCE mentioned love, or a helping hand, or pride, or anything like that. Nope! Apparently, what he missed out on (and seemed sincerely to regret missing) was someone to tell him when he was wrong, someone to tell him he was gonna get beat if he didn't straighten up.<br /><br />That was not the weirdest part of the conversation. It got weirder. He started talking about people being kind to each other, and how you shouldn't be mean because if you are then the people you are mean to will be mean to others; same thing for being good to others. (This is STILL all him expressing gratitude. EM. BAR. RAS. SING.) Ok, I can dig all that. But then he busts out this proverb to express it (it's a Djoula proverb, if anyone's interested): "When the sorcerer eats a baby, he'll forget it as soon as it's time to go look for his next meal. But the baby's father*** won't ever forget."<br /><br />What a weird conversation.<br /><br /><small>*Especially when the topic is me, and ESPECIALLY when the topic is how great I am.<br />**Rain! The third in a week! In April. This is too late for the mango rains, too soon for the real ones. I hope it means the season is very wet, but I'm worried it will be even more unpredictable, which is no good to anyone.<br />***He said the proverb a couple times, and he used the words "père" and "proprietaire" interchangeably. I can't help but think that word choice is pretty intimately tied to his views on fatherhood as implied by his earlier comments.</small>David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-31364593959707871652011-11-21T07:22:00.002-05:002011-11-21T08:06:12.747-05:00New post, new designI hadn't played with Blogger's templates in quite some time. They've got some nice ones! This one seemed like a good fit. I also removed the striking of "Peace Corps" in the title. As the current Country Director mentioned to me, just because I returned (for a given value of "returned") doesn't mean I'm not part of the Peace Corps family anymore.<br /><br />Fair point, and it's a good lead in to today's post, which is the story of an event that happened during my service that came up in discussion last night. The discussion was about resistance to change.<br /><br />One day, I visited my neighbor Pete in Boulsa, his site and my provincial capital. I went there every couple months to get supplies like mayonnaise and margarine - things I couldn't get in my own village. Pete was always a great host, and with few exceptions I generally spent a night or two there when I went. We often ended up cooking something that I wouldn't have the ingredients for in village and he wouldn't have the energy to do alone (I think we can all agree, cooking for one is really a hassle). This particular day, we decided we wanted hamburgers. That wouldn't have been possible weeks earlier, but one of the kiosk restaurants in town had recently purchased a meat grinder and was selling sandwiches. I headed over to bargain over the price of ground meat.<br /><br />When I get there, it's some guy I'd never seen before. I roll up, we go through the usual salutations, and I ask him if they have meat today*.<br />"Yes," he says, "we've got some today."<br />"Great!" I reply. "I'd like to buy some."<br />"How many sandwiches do you want?"<br />"No, sorry, that's not what I meant. I just want to buy some meat. How much would it cost for the amount of meat you'd put into two sandwiches?"<br />He gives me a panicked look. "We don't sell meat. We sell sandwiches."<br />"I know," I respond gently, "but you could just sell me the meat too, right?"<br />"No. We sell sandwiches."<br />"Listen," I say, "You sell coffee here. With the coffee you use bread. So it's not like you won't use the bread I'm not buying. You'll still make your profit. You don't have to sell me the meat at cost, mark it up the same way you would for a sandwich**, and in fact you even make a little more because I don't want you to cook it!"<br />"Not ... cook ... no ... br - no, sorry, we don't do that."<br />"Please? It's really easy to do."<br />"Ok, I'll go ask the owner, I guess, but I think he'll say no."<br />"Thank you!"<br /><br />He disappears around a corner, and reappears a few minutes later.<br /><br />"No, sorry," he says, "I can't sell you the meat like that. I can only sell sandwiches.***"<br />I'm pretty frustrated by now. And hungry. "Well, that doesn't make any sense, but since I can't change your mind and I need to eat, I guess I'll buy two sandwiches. How much?"<br />"Sorry," he says, "but I can't sell you a sandwhich."<br />"WHY THE HELL NOT?"<br />"We're out of bread."<br /><br /><small>*Note to anyone thinking about living in West Africa: this is ALWAYS the first step when ordering something at a restaurant. It drove my brother nuts when I visited home and at nearly every restaurant we went to, he'd ask me what I wanted and I'd tell him my first choice and my three backup plans in case they didn't have that. "David," he'd sigh, "yet again, I assure you, they have it."<br /><br />**With a bit more understanding of the inner workings of business here, I realize how hopelessly unlikely it was that the server would have any understanding of the kiosk's pricing model. In fact, there's a 90% chance the owner himself didn't really track it; he probably set the prices based on what someone somewhere else was charging and assumed that at some point he'd realize his profit. This is a typical amount of bookkeeping for many of the illiterate/mostly innumerate entrepreneurs here, and is one of the biggest constraints on small-scale economic growth. If I joined the Peace Corps again, it would probably be as a Small Enterprise Development volunteer.<br /><br />***I also realize in retrospect that there's a very good chance the owner was nowhere around, and the guy just went around the corner for appearance's sake. Third partying me when no third party was available. Ah, l'Afrique.</small>David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-47667018175403382212011-09-03T17:31:00.002-04:002011-09-03T17:57:58.030-04:00Two storiesNothing much to report from me. Work is going well, having fun with friends but haven't done anything spectacular (though my birthday dinner was yummy and my birthday presents very nice), looking forward to spending the holidays with family. So instead, this update I will give you two stories from other people.<hr>A Tuareg in Canada
<br />
<br />I recently met a Nigerien (note: "Nigerien" means from Niger, "Nigerian" means from Nigeria. An important distinction should you meet someone from one or the other, as they are very different countries) Tuareg who has spent the last several years in Canada. For his first couple years he worked at a nature reserve filling a function somewhat similar to a forest ranger - just patrolling the park, making sure the people visiting and camping were accounted for, nothing illegal happening, that sort of stuff. His colleagues were a few Canadians and another African immigrant.
<br />
<br />Well, a few weeks go by, and winter has fully struck. It's some number of degrees below zero, and someone is getting lazy. The manager calls all the rangers in and says, "Look, I know you're cold, but someone is crapping behind the office without going to the toilets and that's just not gonna work. Who is it?" He's looking kind of pointedly at my friend and the other African. My friend says, "Look, I know why you think it might be us, growing up without plumbing, but if you think after living my whole life in Niger I'm going to go outside and take off any one of the five layers I'm wearing in this insane weather and let my balls get within 20 inches of that snow, you're out of your damn mind." At that point, one of his Canadian colleagues 'fessed up.<hr>An American in Burkina
<br />
<br />This one could have happened to me, but it didn't. So, a PCV I know is walking along in his village when he spies a little girl selling ... something. He asks her what it is, and she says it's samsa, which is a fried bean dish that is very common here. He doesn't think it looks like samsa, but she insists that it is, and anyway he likes trying new and interesting foods, so he buys 50CFA worth (about 10 cents, which doesn't put it in perspective, so instead I'll say about the normal cost of one full meal in village). He's sure it's not samsa, but he's excited about trying a new food and brings it to his Burkinabé friend to find out what it is and how he should cook it. His friend laughs and tells him that he's just bought 50CFA worth of mud! The little girl had just been sitting by the road playing, pretending to be a food vendor, and when the weird white guy came around asking what she was selling, she told him. How was she supposed to know he'd actually buy some?! White people ARE crazy. Sure enough, that evening, her dad came by his house to give back the 50CFA and apologize.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-40368578710732966692011-07-27T17:25:00.002-04:002011-07-27T17:28:02.942-04:00Edamame Adventures part 2Today I spent the morning filling out forms for a federal background investigation. Then I spent the afternoon in meetings. Until 7pm. Not the sort of day to make you glad to be leaving work so late, though I've had worse. Then I get outside and I have a flat.<br /><br />It's difficult to describe how that made me feel. I've been sick for over a month, nothing serious but constant low-grade unpleasantness. I'm tired. It's been a long, long day. Work has been extra demanding, extra draining, extra futile it seems sometimes, and here I have a flat, and thanks to my friend buying me a full-size tire for a half-size spare, I have nothing to replace it with. I have already turned down two dinner invitations tonight because I want nothing more than to go to bed, and now this. Ugh.<br /><br />And then two guys, Ousmane and Ibrahim, offer to help me out. Before moving here if that had happened (and let's face it, in the U.S. it wouldn't have) - I'd have said no. I'd have felt weird...less of a man I suppose*...accepting help for such a thing. I should be able to change my own tire. Heck, I help OTHER people when they need their tire changed.<br /><br />That's not still the case, and I don't know if that's more because I live here or because I wear a suit to work now, but now if someone offers to help my response is more along the lines of, "Hell yeah, that sounds GREAT!" So I said yes.<br /><br />But the real turning point in the evening was when I made a conscious effort to enjoy what was happening. One of the great things about this country, something that sets it way apart from the U.S. and even apart from the rest of West Africa, is the "on est ensemble" culture. These guys were helping, not because I seemed helpless, not because they expected a return on it, but because hey, we're all people with problems, and if I can help you out I will and if someone else can help me out in turn, they will. So rather than just doing the typical American thing of either chasing them off (see previous two paragraphs) or just accepting their help and maybe throwing them a few cents, I decided to buy the guys a beer and sit with them. Sure, I was tired and just wanted to be home, but the culture here is all about recognizing other people and I've been losing sight of how important that is too often lately.<br /><br />So a night that started with an inconvenient flat tire ended with two new buddies, Ousmane and Ibrahim; I know where they live, I know where they come from, I know about their kids, I know about their dreams. They know about my work, they know about my love life, they know about my history.<br /><br />What a good night.<br /><br />*I also only thought "gender roles" were a consideration when casting a play, but that's a post for another time, I suppose.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-48483140929978847612011-07-03T15:59:00.004-04:002011-07-03T16:47:48.727-04:00Edamame Adventures part 1In my last post I told you about my new car. She now has a name, Edamame. For those who might not know what that is, it's a Japanese preparation of soy beans. The idea was to play off of both her country of origin and other things Volunteer friends might be jealous of. I was kind of partial to Unagi, but I got outvoted.<br /><br />So far, she's mostly been in Ouaga, excepting trips to my girfriend<sup>*</sup>'s site, which is on a main road and an easy drive. Yesterday we took her up to a friend's site to the north for a 4th of July party. Roasted pig with barbecue sauce, macaroni salad, and copious amounts of beer - a good time was had by all.<br /><br />The adventure part came on the ride back. We had just gotten in to the outskirts of Ouaga when we came upon buses and trucks lined up along the road. And then in the driving lane. Being a proper Ouaga driver, I didn't let this dissuade me, and we began driving in the oncoming lane to get a better look at what was going on. We eventually discovered that the road had been barricaded.<br /><br />Now, when we first came up to the barricade, small cars were still going around on a dirt strip to the side of the road (less a frontage road and more the seating area of restaurants, but whatever). But for all my bragging above about being a proper Ouaga driver, I was loathe to drive us through a mob of people when I didn't know what was going on, especially given the protests over the last 5 months, so I had turned around to find a place to stop and ask around. Apparently, the folks in the neighborhood got fed up with the condition of the road, and as a resident explained to us, decided to "help" the government see the importance of repairs. He encouraged us to take the road around, that we would be fine, and to "<span style="font-style:italic;">n'hesitez pas</span>." Unfortunately, we already had hesitated, and by the time we got back that side strip had also been barricaded.<br /><br />So we went back to find our friend who had said there was another but worse way around. He pointed out the road, and we started. We didn't get far. The condition of the road was terrible, and it's entirely possible I left a bit of Edamame's paint on a wall when I had to come up the side of the road as close as I dared to avoid a mud hole. We asked a guy a couple blocks in where we could turn to get to Ouaga, and he told us that there wasn't a road our car could take. So we turned around to find our friend again.<br /><br />We didn't find him, but someone else had pointed out a different road on the other side of the highway that we might try. Except by "road" I really mean "alley with a ditch running down the middle." And by "ditch" I really mean "place where running flood water has carved out a randomly meandering path." I saw that as ... not a great option. We asked some guys if they could show us how to get around, and while some claimed there was no way, one of them said he knew how we could get out of this, and he'd show us if we followed him on his moto. We agreed. The drive started out on roads that were clearly not intended for routine car use, but weren't so bad for all that. After a while, we started catching glimpses of other cars and 4x4s trying to find their way, but our guy never brought us quite the same way as them - he was better, and got us ahead of them. But it wasn't all coming up roses for us even so. The road got bad. More mud holes. Twice I had all my passengers get out and waited for the stretch of "road" (this time more like "pond") to clear out so that I could get some momentum and minimize my chances of getting stuck in the mud (like a 4x4 in front of me on the other side of the road we saw). We made it through the neighborhood and eventually ended up in an area that was neither being cultivated nor lived on, because it was all uneven rock. I finally did get stuck in a mudhole, but at this point there was no traffic, because we weren't anywhere remotely resembling a road, so at least it wasn't too stressful. And my passengers + guide pushed me out in no time anyway.<br /><br />As it turned out, the scariest part of the drive wasn't mud, nor traffic, nor mobs, nor worrying about bottoming out on uneven terrain. It was the last part of this rocky formation we were crossing, where we had to cross a narrow strip between two gorges<sup>**</sup>. Just wide enough for the car and either side sloping off and gravel-covered. I was a little worried we'd end up sliding off. But not worried enough to balk, and we made it.<br /><br />I hear the demonstration didn't last long, and we probably could have waited it out and possibly even done so without losing any time (our detour to get around this 500m stretch of road took over an hour). But hey, it's a heck of a story.<br /><br /><small><sup>*</sup>The first time I've used that word on this blog. It should at least explain the "outvoted" comment above.<br /><sup>**</sup>Ok, "gorge" is a bit much. But we're talking a good 5- or 6-foot drop onto rock; these weren't just drainage ditches.</small>David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-59120972397223292832011-06-02T04:48:00.002-04:002011-06-02T06:17:12.337-04:00I have a car!An old beater, but it's nice to feel less exposed when I'm driving around at night. I still use the moto during the day because I'm much more comfortable on it in traffic...and I've been wondering what that says about my approach to driving. Of course, the fact that the car is a manual transmission - as they all are here - doesn't help; I've never had a manual as my main mode of transportation other than a couple days when my car was broken down and my brother-in-law loaned me his. Interestingly enough, that was in Atlanta, and the traffic here reminds me of Buckhead around the mall - a mass of people ignoring traffic laws in the hopes of getting one car-length ahead, with the aggregate result of slowing everyone down, even those who have gotten ahead.<br /><br />A friend asked me yesterday if I got it for the same reason she did - that she didn't feel safe on a moto. I said yes and no. Like I said, I'm totally comfortable on the moto in traffic, so no. But should I happen across soldiers who have decided to take to the streets shooting in the air, I'd feel much safer in a car, so yes.<br /><br />It's funny the way my friend E brags to people back home about the car. Imagine, in the U.S., your friend in high school getting the first car of any of you. And it's a lamborghini. And it fights crime. That's the level of excitement we're talking about here. For a 1987 Nissan Sunny, a car which my friend Carson was kind enough to research on Wikipedia: "In 1996, Jeremy Clarkson (of Top Gear fame) declared the Nissan Sunny to be the 'worst car in the world, ever' and destroyed one by flinging it from a trebuchet pulled by a tractor." Thanks, Carson! People here LOVE the car. I bought it from the consular, and embassy employees have particular guidelines about things like this, one being that they can't make money on the transaction. So he sold it to me for what he paid for it a couple years ago. The reader is at this point unimpressed; he or she is thinking "So what? You should have paid LESS, not more!" But gentle reader, to fully understand, you must take into account two more facts: 1-here, an old car means a car that has proven it can survive, and 2-the car is an import from a country where they are sold much cheaper. I bought the car for about half of what most used cars go for here, and it's in much better shape. All of the local hires at the embassy, knowing the price rule, hounded the consular to sell them the car, and when he sold it to me instead (another guideline - Americans get first shot at your stuff when you're leaving) they fell over themselves letting me know that the moment I wanted to sell it they were available. Anyway, being in the gray area of a consultant for the embassy rather than a direct hire, I'm not bound by the same guidelines, so this car can easily be thought of as an investment, not just a ride.<br /><br />All that said, immediately after getting the car I had a problem with the battery. The previous owner drove the car every day, but after getting it I let it sit several days; like I said, I still prefer my moto. And then found the battery had died. The experience of getting it started again is definitely worth recounting here:<br /><br />I drive my moto to my friend's bar to ask where I might find a mechanic in the neighborhood. She isn't there, but her 14-year-old helper is, so I give her my helmet (she gets a huge kick out of that) and she hops on the back of the bike to show me where to go. We get to the garage, they say they'll call the mechanic, and I bring 14yo back to the bar where she works (just had to emphasize that again). By the time I get back to the garage, an available mechanic has been found, and I tell him that my car won't start and that I'm pretty sure it's the battery, so he finds another battery and hops on the back of my moto. I take him to my house. He tests the old battery by putting a wrench on each node and touching them together. No spark. He takes it out, hooks up the new one, and does the same thing. Huge sparks. I note that he is not wearing gloves. He seems unconcerned. He has me start the car. It works. He expresses his opinion that the old battery is out of acid, and unscrews the tops to several cells to show me. It is not out. He proposes a second hypothesis: the acid is "weak." To test this theory, he DIPS HIS FINGER IN THE BATTERY ACID AND <span style="font-weight:bold;">THEN HE TASTES IT</span>. I hurriedly point out the tap in the courtyard so he can rinse off, and privately note that I now understand why his fingers seem slightly stubby. He tells me that he was right; I choose to believe him without replicating his experiment. He puts the old battery back in, connects the nodes between the new and the old by holding two wrenches across them, and tells me to start the car. I express concern again (he must think I'm one heck of a namby-pamby) that the resulting shock might ruin my screened-in porch as he is hurled through it, but he assures me that he is "ready." I start the car. It works. I drive him back to the garage, where they tell me I should drive around now to recharge the battery and replace it soon. I ask the owner of the garage how much I owe. He tells me to just give the mechanic whatever I feel like. I give him about two dollars, which is more than I would normally pay for 20 minutes worth of work with no new equipment being installed (similar work on my moto would cost about 40 cents), but I feel like it's worth building goodwill with the neighborhood mechanic. Though I'm walking a fine line between "goodwill" and becoming "that white guy that we can charge three times what we would everyone else." Both the mechanic and the owner express amazement at how good a shape the car is in, given its age. Then the owner turns to me and says, "Did a white guy own it?" I say yes, and both give the universal grin, nod and sigh of a mystery explained.<br /><br />So, I mentioned above the soldiers. They're still at it. And everyone is tired of it. Really our threshold has gone way up; you don't hear people expressing fear anymore, just irritation. I won't go on a rant here, tempting as it is because it won't solve anything. I'll just leave it at this: it is still the case that foreigners are not being targeted for the most part, and there is definitely not an anti-Western sentiment. In fact, for the first time ever, last night a Burkinabé expressed concern to me that the riots may prevent foreign investors from funding development in Burkina. So don't worry too much.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-69589080139527736742011-04-16T10:27:00.002-04:002011-04-16T10:50:46.448-04:00My computer moves in mysterious waysYesterday morning my computer decided it no longer felt the need to access any site that uses https. Upshot: No gmail, no facebook, pretty much no access to anything requiring a login. So I've been able to follow what's going on but not able to comment. Today I finally remembered that I still had Kait's old computer. It's on its last legs, but I got it running long enough to catch up on messages.<br /><br />And now my computer is randomly working again. So I'll try to update while I have a chance.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-16/burkina-faso-president-dissolves-government-as-soldiers-rampage.html">Yesterday</a><br /><br /><a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE73F07N20110416">Today</a><br /><br />The news wires are making a big deal out of Blaise "dissolving" the government, but that's less of a big deal than it seems to westerners. After every presidential election, the government is dissolved and new ministers are appointed; rather, most of the ministers are re-appointed, but those who didn't perform to the President's satisfaction are replaced. In other words, this dissolution is a sign that heads WILL roll, but it's not quite the drastic move it may seem.<br /><br />This is an ugly situation. But I am ok. So far my neighborhood has remained calm. And in case any family of current volunteers are reading this, as usual Peace Corps is taking excellent care of them, and anyway none of this has spread outside of Ouaga.<br /><br />If anyone wants to get in touch with me, let's assume email won't work since I don't know what caused my connection problem nor do I know what fixed it. Facebook should be reliable since I changed my connection settings, but as always the only sure bet is to give me a call. +226.75.90.71.83<br /><br />Du courage to all of us.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-34588864905864782682011-03-17T03:38:00.004-04:002012-04-11T07:52:17.465-04:00Events haven't warrantedAll has been calm since Tuesday, and what actually happened on Tuesday remains unclear. The students gathered in Zogona/Zone du Bois, but the military made it very clear that renewed demonstrations were not welcome. That there were injuries is certain, and I have a first-hand report of shots fired in the area...but the extent of casualties isn't being reported anywhere. Not too surprising given the treatment of journalists during the Friday march (Anglophones: I think that bit only showed up in one of the French articles I linked. At least one journalist says police struck him and took his camera; others have claimed they were chased away).<br /><br />For some reason, all the <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2011/0316/Will-Burkina-Faso-s-protests-catch-fire-like-Egypt-Tunisia">news outlets</a> seem to think that the University closure is the biggest part of the story, but while that's a big deal (though I recently read that the universities haven't been functioning for a year anyway because of unofficial professorial striking; frustratingly, I can't find that link again), it overlooks the equally important closure of ALL schools. This is ... indescribably unfair.<br /><br />The life of a student in Burkina Faso is HARD. I had students who biked 15km every morning to come to class. Some of them didn't really have any family in our village, so their options at lunch were to bike home or go hungry - they certainly didn't have the money to buy food. In theory, the school had a canteen to serve lunch to just that population; in practice, said canteen was open for about a week and a half of the school year. Many of the students had no one to speak French with at home, so they barely spoke the language they were being taught in. Above the homework we professors gave, they have penurious chores, like hauling water 2 km or more in calabashes on their heads, or in certain seasons getting up at 3 in the morning to work the harvest. Often sick from malnutrition or contaminated water, students who miss class face more than just the loss of points for whatever assignments happened to be due that day - they will likely also receive a penalty deduction of more points. That can be avoided by going to the doctor and getting a note - but when you're sick, biking 15km is not an attractive option. And on top of all of that, many of the students aren't getting any support at home - a sad fact is many students are not only not encouraged to attend school, they are forced by their families to drop out so that they have more time to plant the fields, or work in their father's shops, or help their mothers cook for the passel of young children in the courtyard.<br /><br />That's not all the challenges. Just some of the major ones, enough to make my point. Which is this: if you see a student in your class, they REALLY WANT TO BE THERE.<br /><br />Apologies. In the next post I'll take a step back from the editorializing and get back to letting my friends and family know what's going on.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-23112619318756079502011-03-14T07:38:00.004-04:002011-03-14T07:49:36.726-04:00Quiet today.<a href="http://lefaso.net/spip.php?article41129&rubrique309">An impressively thorough report on Friday's protests.</a> Even for you non-francophones, check out the video at bottom to get some idea of the scale of the march.<br /><br />It's hard to know what will happen tomorrow. The report above says there will be a meeting at the university. The professor I met yesterday said the teachers would demonstrate. Various expats I've talked to have said that they've heard the students will try to march again, specifically to take the road that they were prevented from taking Friday (which would have led to the police headquarters). Some say it's calm today because they're all regrouping.<br /><br />Updates as events warrant.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-51634909422572866612011-03-12T07:22:00.002-05:002011-03-12T08:28:43.507-05:00It's not over...Friday was quite a day. We had an interesting moment in the office as I and two of my coworkers compared our reactions. Without revealing who was who, as we watched smoke rise in the not-distant distance, one of us expressed annoyance at the logistical problems being caused by road shutdowns, another nervousness at the prospect of widespread violence, and the third excitement for the Burkinabé people asserting their rights.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42005593">The short version</a>.<br /><br />The long version (fair warning, some of these links are in French):<br /><br />Despite my assurances in <a href="http://solotoro.blogspot.com/2011/02/who-knew-id-post-less-once-moving-to.html">my last post</a>, all has not been quiet in Burkina.<br /><br />As I mentioned there, it all <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/world/africa/25briefs-Burkina.html?_r=2">started</a> on Feb. 22 with the death of a student in police custody in Koudougou. The police claim it was illness, the students claim it was brutality. I have no independent information to confirm or deny either cause; I can only say that either is entirely credible.<br /><br />From there, protests <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-09/burkina-faso-students-protest-deaths-police-rights-group-says.html">quickly spread</a>, many following the Koudougou example of violence and the burning of government buildings. The word on the street here is that in at least 20 towns buildings have burned. I sat down with a Burkinabé friend, and between the two of us we could list 13 of which we'd heard news reports or first-hand accounts:<br /><br />Koudougou, Kongoussi, Kaya, Ouahigouya, Léo, Boura, Koupela, Pouytenga, Diapaga, Gourcy, Dori, Yako, and one I can't remember.<br /><br />Above that number, I can name several more where I know there were protests or riots, but I don't know whether there were injuries or damages: Tougan, Sabou, Bogandé, Boulsa, Fada, Bobo, Tenkodogo, Gaoua, and Po.<br /><br />In short, this thing is big. In response, university students in Ouaga planned a massive "peaceful" march for <a href="http://www.fasozine.com/index.php/societe/societe/5653-mort-de-justin-zongo-4-nouveaux-commissariats-incendies-des-detenus-en-cavale-">last Wednesday</a>. However, other groups wished to join in (unfortunately, I've lost the link to that story), so the march got moved to Friday. There was also some <a href="http://www.lefaso.net/spip.php?article41103">disagreement</a> about the route to be taken.<br /><br />Yesterday, the roads were <a href="http://www.cnt69.org/index.php/2011/03/11/755--international-manifestations-pour-la-verite-et-la-justice-au-burkina-faso">lined with police</a>. The students marched, peacefully as planned, up until the intersection where the two routes (one proposed by the protesters, the other by the mayor) diverged; at that point, the students that tried to take their chosen route were <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iQw_36TKaVk02DHPGr12QZmB9bxw?docId=6214466">teargassed</a>. The smoke we saw from my office was the result of tire fires, which the students lit along their entire route - driving from work last night and back in this morning, I noticed at least a dozen charred spots along the roads (one exactly 2 blocks from my house!). From friends scattered around Ouaga, I heard about similar fires in Zone du Bois, Zogona, Zad, and possibly Pissy.<br /><br />Other than that, I didn't hear about any injuries until this morning, when I stopped by my aforementioned friend's kiosk. In my neighborhood at least one kid was injured when another selling drinks hit him with a bottle. The <a href="http://directscoop.net/2011/03/11/burkina-faso-violente-protestation-des-eleves-suite-a-la-repression-policiere/">news reports</a> say there was at least one death yesterday, and that protests continue around the country, though I saw nothing driving into town.<br /><br />There will be more Monday. While sitting with my friend, a fellow who works at the University joined the conversation and expressed in no uncertain terms his and his colleagues' anger with the government, both in general and specifically with their handling of this situation.<br /><br />Last week was the students. Next week, the teachers. It's not over.<br /><br />I admit it. Of the three of us in the office Friday, I was the nervous one.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-8290595710507483322011-02-26T06:46:00.002-05:002011-02-26T07:24:43.855-05:00Who knew I'd post LESS once moving to Ouaga?In the news:<br /><br />Egypt is awesome. Gaddafi (or whatever spelling is currently in vogue) is a terrible human being. Cote d'Ivoire is on the brink of civil war. And in a surprise move, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/world/africa/25briefs-Burkina.html?_r=1">the New York Times</a> has actually chosen to give Burkina a bit of coverage. Naturally about violent protests. I hasten to add that they are a) far from here, b) not related (directly) to the unrest in other countries, and c) demonstrably not in great danger of spreading (there was already a sympathy protest here in Ouaga that was entirely peaceful in nature).<br /><br />In other news, I have a new address. I can finally stop using my Volunteer friend as my mule (for all the good that's done; my brother sent me something a month ago and she still hasn't gotten it).<br /><br />David Duckworth<br />06 BP 10539<br />Ouagadougou 06<br />Burkina Faso<br /><br />I now have about 10 minutes left to actually talk about my life. Fortunately, I have little enough to say...<br /><br />The job goes on. Soon I will be entering negotiations for a second year. Both my boss and I will make a good faith effort to come up with something, I think - I like the job and she likes how I'm doing at it - but it is entirely possible she won't be able to come up with enough money for staying here to be the right career move for me. So we'll see, and that's all I can say on the matter at this point.<br /><br />Two weeks ago I played poker with a mixed crowd of embassy and missionary types. I lost. Depressingly quickly. The next game is tonight, so hopefully I'll perform to a somewhat higher standard. That was pretty much the first time I'd hung out with anyone other than PCVs. Which is neither here nor there, just the way things are.<br /><br />I now have a pool table at my house. I've had a Wii for a while. I'm on the brink of getting internet. Soon all the Volunteers will love me! I'm not above buying friends, don't judge me.<br /><br />And now I'm out of time. I'll close with one of my new favorite quotes; it's great for both its cynicism and its perverse vanity:<br /><br />"I hate mankind, for I think of myself as one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am." - by Johnson, SamuelDavid Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-81445593717084748742011-01-07T05:01:00.002-05:002011-01-07T05:52:30.609-05:00New Year's Update!Apologies to the parents, who requested I do this, well, actually on New Year's.<br /><br />Further apologies to any reader who may already have seen my description below of New Year festivities, since I've used variations of it in a couple emails.<br /><br />Happy New Year! My best wishes! May God grand you lots of prosperity, health, and all the good things in life!<br /><br />Saying something resembling the above is more or less mandatory in this country the first time you see someone after Jan 1. Until at least about March. It is also typical-almost-to-the-point-of-being-rude-if-you-don't to send text messages with something like that to anyone you may not see in that time frame. My favorite this year came from my best student last year, one of the few I had who moved on to high school this year:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Je vous envoi un chèque de 100 ans qui je serai payé à la banque de santé,situé sur l'avenue prospérité,rue de la paix,porte du bonheur,guichet 2011.Bonne fète.</span><br />(For what it's worth, I didn't teach his French class. Don't blame me.)<br /><br />But I'm getting ahead of myself...<hr>Spent Christmas in Bobo. Two years ago <a href="http://solotoro.blogspot.com/2009/01/vacation-continued.html">I spent New Year's there</a>. This time we didn't go out to a fancy dinner and show, though; we cooked. We also each introduced everyone in the group to one of our Christmas traditions. I hope my mom will forgive me for the one I chose: I made peanut butter balls. I think she will, considering that there were almost nothing like the ones we make at home. The peanut butter was the local stuff (no sugar, preservatives, emulsifiers...just ground peanut and oil), and the chocolate was melted candy bars - no semi-sweet baker's chocolate to be found here! Nothing I could use to temper it! Which meant I had to keep them in the fridge. But they tasted yummy all the same. We also did Secret Santa <span style="font-style:italic;">pagne</span> stockings. I received a new cap that I love (the attentive reader will notice that I got a hat last time I was there, too...new tradition?), in a stocking my mom would love - it says "<span style="font-style:italic;">Jesus est né</span>" all over.<hr>Did little during the lull between the holidays, and loved every minute of it. I went to work for a couple days and taught myself a bit about MS Excel pivot tables, but mostly I just goofed off. For several days, my friend E stayed in Kait's* room (yep, that's still how I refer to it. I've even heard some of my friends refer to my place as "Kait's house"!), so it was a lovely week of good company and no responsibilities.<hr>Then New Year's itself rolled around. And in all honesty, I was considering skipping it. It's not at all my favorite holiday, staying up that late seems more like a chore than anything else these days. But I'm glad I didn't, we ended up having a crazy good time. Every time we hit a snag in the plan, it turned out to make the evening EVEN BETTER:<br /><br />BAD: We couldn't find a cab.<br />GOOD: But the bus stopped for us even though we weren't at a stop.<br /><br />BAD: But the bus wasn't going where we planned on going.<br />GOOD: But It was going to a different nice restaurant.<br /><br />BAD: But it's a restaurant usually very full of tourists and with a snooty yet inefficient staff.<br />GOOD: But even though there were very full, the staff was on the ball, seated us right away, and was on top of our orders the whole night.<br /><br />So from there we decided to go to our favorite bar, a little place run by a French guy who loves Americans and always has jazz or motown playing.<br /><br />BAD: It was 1130 and they don't open 'til 1 AM.<br />GOOD: But he served us anyway, and we rang in the New Year shooting tequila with the owner.<br /><br />Then, we decided to go dancing, by which I mean the pretty girls decided to go dancing and we guys decided that following them was better than drinking with each other.<br /><br />BAD: They picked my absolute least favorite club.<br />GOOD: But there were no hookers in sight (seriously, that's why I hate that club, it's just depressing, I tell anyone who will listen that the hallway to the bathroom reeks of cheap perfume and broken dreams), the music was higher quality than usual, I danced with a very attractive non-hooker (um...probably, anyway), and there was a group of French guys who were hilarious and wearing crazy wigs. One kept insisting on unbuttoning my shirt.<hr>So that was my holiday. It was a good one. Sorry, no photos - I still haven't visited my old village (shame on me), and my camera is still packed away in one of my trunks. Er, I hope.<br /><br /><small>*Wondering why in this case I broke my no-name rule? Because Kait is back in the States now, sad face, which means no discussion of her time here is likely to lead to badness. Miss you, Kait!</small>David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-13317184599946317062010-12-02T05:02:00.004-05:002010-12-03T03:56:41.043-05:00We'll need ADP, LTP, ESA and DPM to approve the RAP, including an inventory of PAPs, to meet the CP.UPDATE 3 Dec 2010: I forgot to mention that the above sentence could also be "We'll need PDA, PSF, DEES and PD<sup>+</sup> to approve the PR, including an inventory of PAPs, to meet the CP." And it means exactly the same thing in exactly the same order.<br /><br /><small><small><sup>+</sup>It's a question of whether the abbreviations are French or English. The reason I flagged this one is that I got it backwards - I used the French abbreviation in the title where all the others are English, so in this update I put the English abbreviation in where all the others are French. This demonstrates pretty clearly how confusing this can be. Also worth noting is that even when speaking English, I pronounce the string DPM as the French letters.</small></small><br /><br />That's my world these days. Never mind what it means, though in fact in MCC/MCA-speak it's a perfectly cromulent sentence.<br /><br />For the last two weeks, I've been neck deep in the contract that controls 9/10 of our entire diversified agriculture project. No, scratch neck deep. I've been in way over my head. But, with the necessary parties finally mostly signing off, it looks like I can stop having nightmares* soon. Until the next fire that needs putting out, anyway.<br /><br />Other than that...well, there isn't much other than that. I've worked every day since Tabaski, though on Thanksgiving I was able to get off a couple hours early. It's been pretty intense. Hopefully, in 4 years we'll look back on the project and see that yes, it was all worth it. Not that I'm currently in the habit of looking four years ahead. It's a good morning when I have an idea of what meetings I'll have after lunch that day.<br /><br />But things are going well for all that. On the nights I don't have to work late, there's usually a Volunteer friend or two in town I can spend time with. I've gained weight thanks to the much better variety of food in Ouaga, which should thrill my mom no end. Though I need to get a gym membership so I don't gain any more - enough's enough! Finding time to actually use such a membership will be its own challenge, but <i>ça va aller</i>.<br /><br />Anyway, the short version of all this is that I don't have much to say, I've been too busy working to do much that would spark a reader's interest. Just wanted to update so everyone knows I'm still here.<br /><br /><small><small>*Literally. I had a dream in which a friend asked me to join her for lunch. I explained to her that the four-page document she'd submitted to me describing said lunch really needed a lot of work on its timelines and deliverables before I could accept.</small></small>David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-21048390162715608102010-10-29T12:20:00.002-04:002010-10-29T12:58:34.891-04:00In memoriamEarly this week, my APCD from Peace Corps, Sebraogo Kiendrebeogo, passed away after fighting cancer for several months. He was 40 years old. He leaves behind his wife and two young children.<br /><br />I don't think I ever really talked about Seb here. I mostly talked about my fieldwork. Oh heck, let's be honest: I mostly talked about myself. But let me tell you about my boss, Seb, who was one of the greatest bosses I've ever had - and I've been fortunate enough in my career to work for some pretty amazing people.<br /><br />Seb had been a teacher here in Burkina himself before working with the Peace Corps. He then worked with the Peace Corps for several years, first as a technical coordinator for <span style="font-style:italic;">stagiares</span> for both Secondary Education and Girls' Education and Empowerment, and finally as the APCD for Secondary Education. But that's just his resumé. It tells you that he had the knowledge, but it doesn't begin to convey how he used it, how devoted he was to his colleagues, how ardent he was about helping people.<br /><br />I chose that last adjective with care; I'd originally written "...how <span style="font-style:italic;">serious</span> he was about helping people." Not that he didn't take his work seriously, but it's hard to use the word "serious" to describe someone whose smile and whose laugh were so infectious. And who did both so very, very often. You couldn't stay in a bad mood when Seb was in the room.<br /><br />Peace Corps is a tough job, and how much a Volunteer enjoys it, and how successful she or he is, depends in no small part on the support he or she receives from the main office. The Peace Corps Burkina office is an incredibly supportive group of people. Everyone there goes out of his or her way to help the Volunteers, often working long hours and well outside of their written job descriptions to do whatever it takes. And even among such a group of supportive, wonderful people, Seb stood out.<br /><br />Goodbye, Seb. The world's a better place for your having been in it.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-45517651247636824232010-10-18T04:52:00.004-04:002010-10-20T04:22:33.350-04:00Voulez-vous que je fasse une entrée en français?D'accord.<br /><br />Ce weekend passé, moi et ma co-locataire, K, nous sommes allés à Kaya pour rendre visite des amis. Plus précisement, des anciens voisins. Il y a je ne sais quoi de ce province-là qui m'inspire à trop boire...<br /><br />Quand même, le voyage s'est passé très bien. Nous avions programmé d'aller à la piscine, mais malheureusement ceci était trop sale puisque l'appareil de filtrer était tombé en panne. Et alors, contre le chaleur il n'y restait qu'une seule option : la bière. Dont nous buvions beaucoup. Et puis du vin. Et vu que nous ayons apporté notre narguilé, il nous semblait très ridicule de le laisser inutilisé!<br /><br />Au travail, ça va. Comme on dit en Mooré, bilf-bilfu, qui veut dire petit à petit. Il y a toujours des petits problèmes informatiques, et on pourrait bien dire qu'il y a toujours des crises de toutes sortes, mais rien d'impossible à maîtriser. Au moins, ce n'est jamais ennuyeux...<br /><br />Et en parlant du travail, il faut que j'y aille. À tout à l'heure, chers amis.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-19507185316482914982010-10-08T10:45:00.002-04:002010-10-08T11:25:31.269-04:00On living overseasI'm posting this from my computer. The work computer that I couldn't get to work on Blogger before. The problem, it turns out, is IE's unreasonable assumption that if it can't load a page in 30 seconds, it can't be loaded. Not that it's entirely appropriate to use my work computer to blog in any case, but hey, I'm on my lunch break. And since no one in this country has administrative privileges to this computer anyway, were I to log off no one else would be able to log on.<br /><br />I won't be paid for September until mid-October. This would be much less frustrating (which is not to say it would be ENTIRELY without frustration) if I'd had some advanced warning. It has to do with the end of the fiscal year, and the way my contract works...and the fact that I live 4 timezones away from my employer's headquarters. Which is, incidentally, another reason why no one else could use this computer if I weren't - the embassy closes at 1230, so my MCC (remember, that's the American side of the organization) coworkers have left. But MCA (the Burkina side) doesn't shut down, and there's a weekly phone call with the Washington folks at noon their time. 1600 our time...but then, I should save my complaining until early November, when you clever folks in the US (most of you, anyway) go on Daylight Savings and I don't. By the way, did you know, dear reader, that while both the US and most European countries use Daylight Savings, we don't switch on the same day? There will be a couple weeks in late October when I'm only an hour off from Paris time (instead of the two I have been), but am still at the same time difference with respect to home. Sheesh.<br /><br />The inspiration of the title of this post is the phone call I just had with the lending institution to which I owe rather more money than is prudent thanks to a desire whilst in grad school to be able to pay for things like gas and groceries. Ah yes, our higher education and student loan system is a clever one. Anyway, they called me (actually, my parents) a couple weeks after I closed my Peace Corps service to let me know that my loans would go back into repayment. By the way, kudos to you Citibank for giving me a grace month. It's not enough for many freshly returning PCVs, but it's frankly one month more than I expected. Since, upon answering, my parents very modestly admitted to not being me, the loan officer gave them a rather cryptic message for me (have him call this number, then use this code. Very cloak and dagger sounding, no?). I called the number and gave them the code (which was just a string of letters and numbers; I don't see any fundamental reason why it couldn't be something like, "The raven calls at midnight when the full moon is in view," but then I guess romantics make lousy loan officers. At least from the point of view of the bank), and during the conversation mentioned to them that to avoid such back-and-forth in the future, they should just call my phone here (I might have also made this suggestion because since I'm already paying them so much, I feel no need to pay fifty cents a minute to call them when they have a message for me). They agreed. Hooray, problem solved, pack it in, let's go home.<br />Or not.<br />I've been trying for two days to log onto their site and pay. The above-mentioned internet problem reared its head - their site is clearly not optimized for speed - so today I brought my personal computer to work. Because, you know, it's nice having a computer that I can adjust basic things on, like how long my browser will try to load a site before timing out. Or adding printers. (**Side rant. Look, USG, I appreciate good security. I'd even go so far as to say I'm more aware of it than many of your employees. Make me change my password because you know I won't otherwise, that's fine. Restrict my access, that's fine I guess, as long as we're both on the same page that it's a little bit insulting to my intelligence, because if you honestly believe I have evil intent then you know that physical access is everything and after spending 20 minutes of googling I could own this machine even though I know nothing about hacking currently, so you have to either be worried that I'm susceptible to social engineering hacks, or worse, you simply think I'm too dumb to be allowed full access because I'd break something. Whoops, that was a side rant to the side rant. Backing up, what I'm getting at is that it's just silly to run an overseas post where EXACTLY ZERO PEOPLE have administrative access to my computer. I'm not irritated [much] that I can't add the office printer to my laptop myself. I'm THOROUGHLY frustrated that NO ONE here can do it and I have to call someone in Washington so they can remotely access my machine to do something so trivial.**) So I finally manage to load up the page...and I can't see my account info because, it says, I need to update my phone number. Whisky Tango et cetera. I call (more money being spent just so I can be allowed to pay them), and find out - after many, many minutes on hold (yet more money I'm spending just to convince Citibank to let me pay them...hm, do they own stock in my cell phone provider?) - that the problem is my new phone number. It's not in the US. Their system can't handle that.<br />Seriously.<br />So, long story short, sorry Mom and Dad, you're going to continue to get phone calls about my loans, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to pay them. Which would leave me getting the phone calls, not you, but they'd be much less pleasant ones.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6083935606295010294.post-18420571426581006632010-09-26T09:47:00.001-04:002010-09-26T09:47:19.187-04:00a long overdue updateHere's irony: I'm sitting at one of a handful of restaurants in Ouaga<br>with wireless internet, I have a computer with me, and yet I'm still<br>updating from my phone. The computer, you see, is work-issued, and<br>blocks most social networking sites.<p><br>WORK<br>Where to begin? Though I have held real jobs before, my new one is<br>like nothing I've done in the past. I've been in jobs where meetings<br>were a success if they stimulated discussion and new trains of<br>thought. I've been in jobs where meetings were a success if necessary<br>administrative information was delivered. I'm not sure I've ever been<br>in a job where a meeting is a success if the sole result is the plan<br>to have another meeting.<br>Which is not to say I don't enjoy my job. It's fascinating. And<br>sometimes surreal, especially for someone a month out of Peace Corps.<br>Imagine this: two months ago, to get anywhere for work I would either<br>bike or take a 15-year-old van with the original shocks, crammed with<br>twenty people, going down a dirt road to get to the next slightly<br>bigger village. Now if I need to get somewhere for work, I only take<br>my moto if for some reason the embassy driver is busy. Surreal.<br>And high pressure. When you've got 5 years to turn half a BILLION<br>American dollars into structures and systems that will still be<br>helping an economy develop 15 years in the future, deadlines are<br>tight. Hence why I have a work computer at my Sunday lunch.<br>To be fair, said lunch is grilled carp with a savory Senegalese sauce.<br>Not just rice cooked with beans and oil. Having a paycheck and not<br>just a volunteer stipend has its advantages.David Duckworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200580252079307881noreply@blogger.com3