Damascene rose

So i have been in Damascus for a whole month now. Again with the time flying! It has actually been a fairly smooth and event free transition. Damascus is an easy city to meld into, get around and live in day to day. I was surprised at how quickly life has normalized, Syria is much less 'exotic' feeling than I ever imagined. It doesn't smack you in the face when you get off the plane, you can get around just fine speaking English or sometimes French and you can buy most food products you're after at the fancy new Cham City Centre mall (just down the street from me actually).

Not to say that things aren't different. It is ridiculously hot most of the time, there are stray cats all over the place and as a foreign lady I get a certain amount of attention (some helpful, some decidedly not). There are souqs and delicious sweets and plenty of hummous. The food is tasty...but I'm learning you get sick of eating Syrian quite quickly. In Canada and the UK I have been accustomed to having access to food from all different cultures....and the melting pot is delicious! As they say, variety is the spice of life. Not quite so true here...so mediocre curry, becomes to die for and previously frozen sushi, a real treat. Not to mention the distinct lack of alcoholic beverages at most restaurants. I'm not a huge drinker and didn't really notice this at first, but now it feels like my lucky day to be sitting on the patio at the 4 seasons enjoying a proper cocktail at a premium price. Maybe this is why diplomats have a reputation as alcoholics....Thank goodness for the duty free ;)

My other 'culture shock' from daily life...the bathrooms! All of mine came complete with a bidet of course and there is no flushing of TP allowed. Something about the pipes. I spent a few weeks being sick, sick, sick and spent rather a lot of time getting to know mine. At least chez moi there are proper thrones. In most public places there are squat style loos. I get it, these are practical on many levels and tend to be cleaner....however, they are much more suitably for middle easter attire than tighter, western style trousers. One step at a time!

Let the posting begin...

I finally made it to Damascus. It feels like it’s been a long road, but also ridiculously quick considering how much has gone on, especially in the past few weeks. My parents visited me in Ottawa for the last time, the good-bye parties with my FSDP group, finishing up projects at HQ, doing the inventory and pack-up and then one by one we all started to leave on our adventures. Before I knew it, I was on a plane. I had an easier time than most staying in my bubble for a bit longer because I was taking the first plane to well known territory to visit some friends in Europe. Then a rather nice vacation in Croatia later, I was in the airport waiting to fly to Syria. That’s when it really sank in that I was moving to the Middle East, somewhere I’ve never been and couldn’t even really imagine being. Maybe that’s what kept any fear and nervousness in check, the fact that I actually had no idea how things would turn out, so there wasn’t anything concrete to be scared of. So I waited patiently in the BMI business lounge (and waited….for 5 extra hours) and eventually boarded my flight, ate my selection of cheeses and drank some port, then fell asleep and woke up in Damascus. Initial impression: it is 5am, how can it be this hot?!! (for some reason I was under the impression deserts were cold at night…)

Happily I had an embassy ‘handler’ who whisked me through passport control and helped me get to my new home, a tiny marble palace kept on ice by aircon units in each room. I was feeling a bit buzzed at this point, so investigated all the rooms that were now mine for the next two years before passing out in bed.

back on track

i guess this project has been put on hold lately in favour of a busy, busy life (and plenty of free time laziness). i don't think anyone actually follows, so not really a big deal...

so, much has happened in the almost year since i quit posting. i worked in the office some more, completed IRPA training, had an insanely heart crushing break up, did overseas training in paris and mexico city and found out my posting. i'm moving to damascus in less than 2 mths!! hard to believe it is finally happening.

it's funny how something that couldn't happen soon enough 6 mths ago now feels like it is going to happen way too fast! the first of my colleagues already departed for post last week and the first big goodbye that is going to hit me in the heart happens this week. having lived in ottawa for almost 2 years now, i've been blessed to meet some truly great people who have enriched my time and been much needed companions in arms on this journey that can sometimes get a bit lonely.

overseas training was great. it was really the first time that all of us got a taste of what our job would actually be like. i'm happy to report that i liked it! this was good news as there was always a little voice in the back of my head saying, now what have you got yourself into? i found it very satisfying...but of course getting to train in paris and mexico was such a treat, who wouldn't enjoy working there?!

i was in paris for 4 weeks and loved getting the chance to practice using french and flex my tarte eating muscles. in fact, i ate so many pastries and sweets that the ladies in my favoured bakery would giggle every time i came in to purchase another treat. apparently it is not a normal parisian practice to consume tartes every evening...

i also got to take a weekend trip to normandy to see the d-day beaches. the views are amazing and evocative; this should be a must see for any canadian travelling in france. since it was winter when i was there, there was a total lack of tourists. an eerie fog had descended and i couldn't shake the lingering feeling of walking amongst ghosts. quite powerful really.



mexico city was also fabulous. i was lucky enough to get to share my training with 3 colleagues (one an excellent spanish speaker) so we had plenty of fun and adventures. the two things i take away from mexico are how incredibly lovely and warm the people are and how delicious the food is. having never experienced latino culture, i can say i fell in love and hope one day to be learning spanish and staging a return.

i smell fall

i can't believe it has now been over 6 months since i arrived in ottawa...time flies. plenty to report so i'll get straight to it...

it looks like we finally have confirmation of when the first law course (on the immigration and refugee protection act) will start! this is excellent news for all of us who have been anxiously waiting to have some shape to our lives. the course really sets the milestones for the next year leading into our first posting. our course is meant to start mid-november, which is perfect as this breaks the year up into nice manageable chunks. so course in november, break for christmas, stage in the new year, then get ready for posting! i'm starting to realise it will come sooner than i think....which is good, i'm starting to get itchy feet ;)

in more personal news, i now have a date for the boy to join me in ottawa. i'm popping over in october (with a quick stop in paris :) to collect him. exciting new start for both of us, it will be really nice to have him here and have some back up on this adventure.

it's also time for us to hand in our posting preference forms! it's a lot harder to fill in than i thought it would be. i've got my heart a bit set on damascus....and then beyond that i have to fill in 4 more choices. i really wish we all were just spinning a wheel of fortune that would land on our selection! it feels like we're getting a hand in shaping our destiny and every choice has it's plus and minus sides! i've been given plenty of advice...but i know ultimately it's up to me to make the choice. well sort of anyways...at least in what i give to the posting assignment officers! i can't wait to find out....:)

saying goodbye

so i've been having a really awesome couple of months in ottawa (finally!). feeling comfortable and settled and met loads of good people. work has even been interesting, learning lots about my future role and got to play a part in a big project. even got to use my hard won security clearance in being entrusted with 'secret' info. good stuff.

my situation is a bit different than most fsdps because i came mid way through the recruitment cycle due to all the problems with clearance. each year there are usually two 'groups' because they run two sessions of the law course we need to take before getting posted abroad. people in each group tend to bond since they end up spending so much time together. so far i've really been without an official group, so i've ended up making friends with people from all of the groups instead. which has been awesome...but means that i'm feeling really lonely right now since group 1 and 2 are now out of ottawa and on post. it reminded me of one of the fundamental aspects of this job, moving a lot means meeting and then saying goodbye to a lot of people. this isn't all negative obviously....getting the chance to meet lots of interesting people and letting them into your life is an amazing opportunity. but getting left behind is hard (or leaving people behind). also anti-climatic when you go to 2 weeks worth of goodbye parties and realise you still have to go into the office lol.

wishing everybody the best of luck on their postings...i can't wait to get out there! and a big hug to those special people who touched my life and made me smile...until we meet again!! :)

office doldrums

i guess i've been working in the office for almost a month now...time flies! it's mostly been quite, well officey. i've worked in enough offices to know what to expect, sit at desk, stare at computer, work on projects, pray for email. or a cookie.

the people are nice and the cubicle arrangement allows me to overhear lots of interesting tidbits from long time FSers which is helping me put together a picture of what people do when they're abroad. so far it's mostly meet foreign women or get divorced (often a combination of the two). enlightening stuff really. but i guess it's a tribute to how hard this lifestyle can be on personal relationships. i guess the advice is choose wisely (and i've also heard marry a teacher). i'm not really worried about the boy, i don't think he has a particular taste for phillipeenas...or not that i know of yet.

i've also met a lot of the earlier group of FSDPs. they've finished their training, done 6 weeks abroad and are now just tying up loose ends in ottawa before going to post. it's exciting just being around them knowing that will be me next summer. and im finally glad that i didn't just sneak into that group as word is the only post left was dhaka (which i'm sure wouldnt be horrendous....but i hate the idea of being forced to go to the last choice of anyone!)

tale of two cities

french is finally done and dusted. and somehow i managed to pull off an E...which means i never have to do french grammar ever again. that's a huge sigh of relief for me. so that means that the only thing i'll have to keep up for my 5 year/promotional qualification is my speaking ability. so as a present to myself for all my hard work and frustration (lol) i took a few days off to spend with the boy (who traveled all the way from london to see me!). it's been lovely, spent some time getting to know this city that i've been living in for a few months and then we rented a car to go to montreal for the weekend.

on the way out we stopped at a french sugar shack for a meal and a 'traditional' canadian experience for my british man. i had remembered going to a sucrerie outside quebec city years ago and having one of the absolute best meals of my life, so i was eager to share. did some research and found a really sweet cabane (haha...) half way between ottawa and montreal (www.sucreriedelamontagne.com) which seemed to fit the bill. it's a bit off the beaten track, but entirely worth it in my estimation if you're looking for something authentic. although it didn't quite live up to my remembered standards (i knew that was going to be difficult!) the setting was quaint and the meal and entertainment was great (there was even a guy who played a saw). especially of note was the sugar pie....delicious....i want some more right now.

absolutely loved montreal. it was like going back to europe. lots of great architecture, cute little streets, awesome shops and sweet restaurants. it even had the boy asking if it was possible that i could live there instead...i have a feeling it would sweeten the pot to get him to move over!! we finally got our first bit of sun and soaked it up walking the streets of the old town and sampling some more french canadian food in the form of poutine and smoked meat sandwiches. yum. also made a trip up to the Jean-Talon market which gave me fresh veg envy. the market in ottawa is not even close to this awesome. i got some quebecois honey and lavender oil and got to sample some of the other local wares. did i mention i love montreal? :)

growing on me

sorry for the time between updates, but i guess ottawa isn't exactly an exotic locale. i'm finally properly settled in with a bed and a sofa and real plates...life is full of little luxeries. the best thing of all though is having my bookshelf (and adjoining alcove) stocked full of my books that i haven't been able to have for 3 years. i know it's a bit stupid, particularly with my lifestyle, to have such an attachment to loads of heavy objects that take up a lot of room, but i can't help feeling like they're part of me and immediately make my house feel like a home. i'm actually really enjoying the city as well, it's not as bad as i was expecting! the weather is starting to get sunny and i've met some really cool people to sit on patios drinking beer with. there's really only one thing..err person...who could make me feel any happier right now and he'll be making an appearance in less than a week, so sorted! the long distance thing is a hard reality of this line of work, something to get used to, but manageable by the patient and foolhardy.

i'm now in my final week of french school, the big grammar test is scheduled for monday! thank goodness! i really have a lot of respect for all of those learning from scratch. though as someone pointed out to me, we really should feel lucky to have the opportunity to learn another language (or in my case re-learn..) and get paid to do it. it's true....but that does little to relieve the day-to-day of it! i'll be sad to leave the new friends i've made there and hope they join me in the office sharpish. wish me luck for monday.

connect 4

back on the scene....have been without internet for 2 weeks after moving due to some rogers related problems. oh well, back to being connected to the world. it's amazing how these days being cut-off from the internet feels a lot like having a limb or one of your senses removed. i felt lost, disconnected and uninformed...realised i not only communicate through the internet (a lot!) but also use it all the time for things i take for granted like checking the news or the weather, listening to songs i love (i was cut off from don't stop believing for a whole two weeks!!) and using maps to find places. i guess in a modern life the internet really has become a sort of extension of our daily reality, a commodity i feel naked without....lol i hope it doesn't take this long to set up the net at my posting :)

so i've now been in ottawa for 2 weeks. not too much to report really. i'm set up in a new flat, which is pretty much entirely empty as my stuff is still in alberta due to some organisational mishaps at headquarters. i have a really fancy blowup bed though. language training is hard going....i definitely feel for those who have had to learn from scratch, i honestly don't think that i would've had the patience or perseverance to go through with it. the 4 weeks i need is excruciating enough! grammar 7 1/2 hours days a week. boo urns! then i get to move over to the CIC office and commence something i've gotten really good at/used to.....yes, more waiting. but should find out posting availabilities come summer....

all clear

yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard right....i am finally cleared to start! and as i suspected things are going to move quite rapidly for the next bit. i'll be moving to the national capital in a week or two and starting on february 13th...which i can't believe my luck is actually a friday. i'll be taking that as a good omen...

i'm unbelievably excited and nervous....in a lot of ways i don't think i ever really believed that this would actually happen. and now i'll be starting in a few weeks and i don't really know what to expect and i still have so much to organise.

good news...should be on my first post by summer 2010. so just have to put up with one more canadian winter....

auld lang whatever

2009 already...is it just me, or did that one fly by?! i can't believe that a year ago i was on my way to move to the uk without much of a plan beyond following my heart to where it wanted to be. i never thought that a year later i would be in canada again! it isn't where i planned to be, but i guess that's what life's about..gotta roll with it :)

so new year, new adventure, new life (well coming soon), what more could a girl ask for? turns out not much lol. no resolutions for me this year...just keep on moving forward, move to ottawa and start the new job and get my arse to the uk as often as possible. oh and finish ulysses by bloomsday...

walking in a winter wonderland

i've had a visitor from the uk to brighten my enforced canadian boredom over the festive period. brlliant. and more than just making me happy with his fabulous presence and reminding me how much i miss my second home....it also reminded me that i live in a pretty cool country right now. huh, who'd of thunk it. seeing canada through the eyes of someone who had never been to canada....the snow, the mountains, the quaintness, the polite niceties...it was an eye opener. and just what i needed. i found myself marveling alongside him at how amazing it is to sit in hot springs watching big, fat snow flakes collect in our hair while looking out over the snow capped mountains. i forgot just how lucky i've been to grow up here and get to take part in the 'alberta advantage' and the gorgeous natural heritage that surrounds us here.

a bit sappy i guess....but i'm feeling very positive these days. i had decided i was going to follow through with this job a while ago and came to terms with that meaning i would have to move back to canada for a time, but i never really came around to being happy about that. now i feel like this remembered appreciation for my country will go a long way to making me excited to work for it''s government and be an integral participant in the fabric of it's society. about time i guess!! thanks d, and happy new year everyone xxxx

and another month bites the dust

oops, there goes a whole month and not a post in sight. i am the queen of laze. so much for that political blogging i suggested last month. it's not that i haven't had entirely nothing to say...i just started to think that maybe a commentary on the adventures in democracy in the country of my birth might not be in good taste from a future employee of said government. hmmmm....or else i'm just really lazy.

so instead of writing down any of my clever thoughts (haha!) i have instead been involved in the rather arduous pastime of increasing my turkey belly and catching up on american tv. so much for december.

still waiting....

sweet home alberta

So I'm home. Unfortunately nothing much more exciting to report. Taking some time adjusting to jet lag and reacquainting myself with my cat (and the rest of the family of course). Pretty much just wishing I could fast forward to Christmas and then on to starting the new job. Waiting feels a bit like purgatory...the holding area and I'm not sure if I'm on the way somewhere good, or straight on to the bad place. As I'm so often reminded, only time will tell. Really hoping being in Canada will help speed up the security bollox.

Seeing I've got nothing but time on my hands, I thought I'd try my hand at some proper political type blogging. Starting tomorrow (or whatever) of course as I am a serious procrastinator who should really be turned over to procrastinator's anonymous (ie the lazy lard arse society). Topic on my mind these days has been the relative effectiveness of aid orgs.

It's cold here. I don't like it. ;)

things i will miss about britain

fizzy vimto. the guardian crossword. cherry bakewells. train journeys. weekend newspaper glossies. mueller rice with vanilla custard. primark pants. fish and chips. multi-coloured terraced houses. actually funny comedy. quorn bacon. never being more than a few hours from the sea. m&s. worchester sauce crisps. easter break at the beach (despite bracing wind and rain). the tube. 6 nations rugby. cobbled high streets. proper ale drunk in proper pubs. branston pickle. boots the chemist. decent indian takeaways. waterstones. lime shower gel. the multitude of accents. the bbc. bollox, rubbish, cheeky and lovely (yes, the words). chocolate horlicks and malteaser drinks.


things i'm looking forward to in canada:

my nephew. my cat. having a proper steak. snow (for about 2 minutes mind). american style pancakes with maple syrup. driving. country music on the radio. christmas lights everywhere. hmmmm...

the cornish riviera

On a wee holiday visiting a good friend stationed in deepest darkest Cornwall. Actually there is nothing deep or dark about Cornwall (apart from the weather). It is lovely and friendly and rather old timey. And you can't exactly take a place too seriously that calls itself the 'cornish riviera' and where train conductors sound like pirates. This is a place that feels like time stops and life is lived in harbour walks, long pub stopovers and pasties consumed in teashops. While this is a rather fortuitous phenomenon for people (like me) who are trying to avoid their 'real' life and cocoon themselves from the hectic displacement that is about the occur....it is also disconcerting. Time might slow down for a moment in a sleepy place to sit and appreciate a hot cuppa with a friend, but it doesn't actually stop. On the contrary it keeps flying by. Speaking of flying, that's me on a plane in just 2 sleeps. No, I'm not freaking out or anything. Of course not...that would be silly...

I also got the chance to attend my first British fireworks night down at Swanpool Beach in Falmouth. Really fab. Not exactly for the fireworks...but as a reminder of why I love being British and want to call this place home. All of these people gathered in the cold looking over the water with a sense of foregone disappointment. Finally a few crackers go off...really mediocre, unexciting stuff and there is this collective sigh of yes, of course they are shite, what else were we expecting. Amazing really. They did get better...I mean nothing on the scale of anything you'd see at even the smallest North American display....but so much the sweeter for the humble, low expectations. I'm not really sure why I love that so much, but there we are.

a change is gonna come...

Only just recovering from the late night up with election fever. To be honest I'm a bit disappointed with the lack of 'action'...it was pretty much over before last night even got started. That of course didn't stop me from staying up over many cups of tea and paltry snacks to watch, almost to the bitter end.

Interesting really, I guess I'm a bit of a cynic and I expected that people were a lot less inspired and a lot more apathetic than the American people turned out to be yesterday. Good on them really.

I think that Obama is going to be carrying an awful lot of expectation on his shoulders on his way into the oval office. I just hope that he can live up to it and follow through with change we can all believe in. I admit to not being sold on his spiel...but I hope, especially now, that I'm wrong. The world will be watching and really, it's about time.

all my bags are packed

The time for denial is over (well sort of)...I finally have a departure date for leaving the UK. Came a bit as a surprise to be honest, I spoke to my mum on the phone about booking a flight home and the next day received an e-mail from my father telling me when I needed to arrive for the plane on November 12th. Parents are interesting creatures. Efficient though.

To be honest, reading the details in black and white shocked me a bit because it was finally a fait accompli, I am going and with only another week to say goodbye to the UK (and all the people who make the UK the place I wanna be most in the world). After a wee cry and a reminder from a very dear friend that I was never going to be any more ready to leave, I found that I am after all ready. That doesn't mean that I want to go, I love so many things here, but I a'm ready to take the next step.

Still no word on security clearance.

american idol

What kind of politico would I be if I didn't make mention of the impending American election. I've been following the election buzz with a lot of interest. A good percentage of my peers at the moment are also politics students, so it was pretty hard to avoid the subject. Not that I'd want to, as let's face it, it is pretty massive. Who will be the new leader of the free world effects us all..primarily in terms of foreign policy. It almost makes one feel as if the rest of the world should get a vote or two in this election.

But if you're Canadian (even one living abroad) the next American president is an even more pressing matter. Canadians aren't exactly shifting a lot of weight on the international stage, it's not really our style. Or policies are often alongside or in direct response to what is decided by our southern neighbour. That's why I wasn't partiularly bothered by the results of the recent PM election because it is clear that policies coming out of Ottawa are going to be shaped in a big way by who ends up getting the keys to the White House.

Just another night to wait....I'll be pulling an all nighter here in England.

waiting game

Just got back from a lovely getaway to the Cote d'Azur. Figured I needed a bit of sunshine before heading off to face a Canadian winter in Ottawa. It was just the ticket as well...loads of beach lounging and plenty of cakes, tartes and flan. I faced my relatively pathological fear of open water and swam in the med at night starkers. Was absolutely the most fabulously free feeling, floating naked in the clear water staring up at a star filled sky.

I finally feel ready to start the 'proper' job journey and excited about the FSO position more than scared or in denial like I have been. I hadn't heard anything from the HR department for awhile, so I was starting to get worried that things weren't working out and that the job offer would fall through. I realised that the worry was because I was actually looking forward to the new adventure and that I was prepared. It would just about be my luck for it to fall through then!! But I was able to get in touch with HR and we are still waiting on my security clearance...so just keep on waiting I guess!! November start date is postponed...so maybe New Year start instead.