Stop!

My worries were right. Today Sida blew off the trip to Afghanistan. I am not only a little frustrated. A lot of work for nothing! :-(

Bad timing

It is so frustrating!! I have been working so hard to finally get this trip to Afghanistan going and now finally things started looking really good. Money was there, agreements and all the practicalities was working out well. Then what happens!? The idiots in Afghanistan can not stay calm. Yesterday some of the Swedish troops in northern Afghanistan were shot at and today there a bomb exploded outside the hotel in Kabul where we most likely would stay and where we have some of our people staying. None of these people got hurt.

I am not worried for my personal safety, but I am a bit worried that someone (MoF, MoD, Sida ?)will decide it is too risky to go there now, that would be sooo annoying. There was even talk about evacuation of the ones we have there, not that I think that will be, but..
Not that anyone ever thought it would be very safe, but this is really bad timing.

Really Travelling Again?!

It seems I am really getting into some serious travelling again. It seems we are really going to Afghanistan. This trip, that is to be the kick of for future projects, has been due for sooo long. I only got seriously involved in November/December and we were planning to go there in December, but there was just so much trouble with the whole planning so we postponed the whole thing to January. I was still worried it would not work out, but now it seems we are really going! Ok, we still don’t have the definite booking and our visas haven’t arrived yet etc etc. But it is all under way!!

As it has been this much hassle with it all I don’t really think I have fully understood I might be in Afghanistan in a week, but it is slowly starting to sink in. It will be very exciting, but as ever a bit frustrating. When travelling professionally one can of course not stay as long and see as much as I would like to and also not learn as much about the country as I would love. I have been reading quite some, but most of it is focused on what is relevant for the projects of course. Ok, I still have a week to read and learn!

New Year but still Problems of the Developed World

I am having another one of those luxury problems of the developed world. Just came back from a nice and relaxing trip to friends in Holland and in France. I France I had the opportunity to visit the local weekend market. I got completely carried away by all the delicacies and after having spent some time with a lot of friends around I just felt it was not enough to buy a little to take with me home, but I had to take a lot! Or maybe it was just that I could not make my mind up what to take. Back at home I realise that in my one person house hold not so much delicacies are consumed. So now my fridge is swelling over of sausages, ham, pâtés and foie gras. I just don’t know what to do with it. On top of that I also forgot that I already had a big piece of prosciutto that my sister brought from Italy. What to do?? Invite my colleagues over for cold cuts and wine?? Can one deep freeze these things? It would be horrible just to keep it until I have to throw it all away. Talk about having a luxury problem!!

Or maybe the real problem is that I don’t have a life here and people I can invite to come and eat it together with me?!

Anyhow, the trip to Holland and France was great.