And so it begins
...on the 18th of June when I flew to Ottawa and was picked up at the airport by a friend from HRSDC. I was going to stay with one of her friends but I actually ended up staying at the University of Ottawa. From Monday the 19th to Wednesday the 21st, I received training at CANADEM’s headquarters. Myself and all the other JPC's (Junior Professional Consultants) received briefings from: security officers, health officials and FAC and CIDA officials. The briefings were helpful but what made training fun was meeting the other folks who were departing for other placements around the world. Hopefully, over the next six months, I will be able to visit those working in Southern Africa and vice versa.
On the 23rd it was off to Ottawa International after being taken to lunch by my former boss at HRSDC, Catherine. Such a good meal and so great being full prior to lift-off as airline food never fills me up. So it was from Ottawa to Montreal and then from Montreal overnight to Paris where I was met in the morning by Karin, a good friend of mine. We spent a lot of time watching soccer, ambling around Paris and eating baguette and good cheese. Sadly, the 27th came to fast and I had to make my way, on the RER and subway, with my cursed bags, to Charles de Gaulle airport, which just may be the worst airport in the world.
At CdG, Karin and I said our good-byes and I made my way to Satellite 4 where I boarded my South African Airlines flight from Paris to Joberg. SAA is a wonderful airline and gives Cathay a run for its money in terms of good food and service. In Joberg, I got off the plane and went to the domestic terminal where I got a small, twin-prop plane to the airport in Maseru. As I stepped out of the terminal, I was greeted by Benjamin. He was the UNDP driver that had been sent to pick me up. As we drove from the airport to Lancers, the hotel I would be staying at for a few days, I realized that yes, I had arrived in Africa. If you want a visual, and this is not meant in a pejorative way, imagine a huge IR in BC’s interior.
I stayed at Lancers Wed (28th), Thurs (29th) and Friday night (the 30th) and was picked up for work each day. I have been advised not to walk anywhere, but to take a taxi or get a ride, for security reasons. In this time, I began to get to know Maseru. Maseru is a small city and, quite honestly, an ugly one. It has functional buildings: post office, hotels, business centre, restaurants etc., but aesthetically, this city will not win any awards.
Another observation I made was the city has very rich habitants and very poor habitants. There are rich Besotho, rich white folks, and rich Chinese people. Yes, it surprised me too. I overheard someone say they are here because it is easier to immigrate to Lesotho than South Africa and so they come here so they can eventually get into South Africa to do business. Many of them can speak Sesotho though, and so I think it is likely that there is a long history of Chinese people living here. Back to the rich/poor observation though. Driving down the street it is likely that you will see brand new BMW's and Land Rovers as well as rust-buckets that look like they aren't going to make it home.
On Wednesday (29th), the day I arrived, I went out for lunch with some of the people I would be working with. After this I was whisked back to the hotel where I slept for 15 hours or so. Thursday was similar. I was picked up by Benjamin and went to work. After work, it was back to the hotel and back to bed. I was recovered by the start of work Friday though and was eager to get going with work and move into my house. Incidentally, this Friday (June 30th) was the end of the month which meant payday for those who work in the textile industry in Lesotho. Across the street from my hotel then were maybe 1000 people lined up to use the ATM to withdraw some of their earnings to buy food. It was quite a sight. Factories here make jeans, shirts, jackets etc. for the big names like Gap, Guess etc.
After work Friday some of my colleagues and I went out for lunch. Work ends at 1:30 on Friday so we all work until 2 and then go eat a huge lunch and have a few drinks. That is another thing that I don’t mind about work here. It is almost mandatory that you take an hour lunch break and equally mandatory that you have a beer to go with it. After lunch we headed over to the UN compound. This is where I am living now. It is a fenced compound, guarded by a South African security company called Security Unlimited. There are about 10 houses in the compound and about 8 people living there at the moment. One of the people who lives on the UN compound is actually a fellow Canadian who calls Newfoundland home. She had just purchased a new TV and satellite dish and so we were able to watch both WC soccer games on Friday.
About a half hour before the second game started Friday (30th) night, Jose (from Spain) and I were getting hungry. “J’ai faim” I said. (lots of people speak French here so I am getting some practice) “Alors on va manger” he replied. We then jumped in his friend, Mapesa’s car, and headed downtown to Scooters. This is essentially an African version of Domino’s Pizza and it delivers! In fact on Saturday night, either because we were too lazy or had consumed to many beers, we had pizza delivered to us while we watched the other quarter-finals.
Sunday was fairly uneventful. I slept in and then spent the day arranging my house. This, I was told, was fairly redundant, because I would be getting a maid in the next week. The UN tries to employ a lot of nationals as unemployment is rife in Lesotho and so it is basically mandatory that all UN employees or UNV’s have a gardener and a maid, myself included. At the moment it is winter here so the gardens are lying fallow but one plant that seems unaffected by the cold is one native to Mexico, actually the plant that is used in the production of Tequila. It was brought here because it grows well in the soil they have here and prevents further soil erosion.
My house is quite big. I have a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. I also have a servants quarters although nobody lives there. There is no central heating in the house so it is bloody cold. If the sun is not up, and this is basically whenever I am home, I walk around the house in fleece pants, two jackets, a toque and gloves. I have bought an electric heater for my house, a duvet as well as a Basotho blanket for my bed. I am warm while I am sleeping but as soon as you get up, yikes! Still, makes it easy to get up and going in the morning. Another interesting feature of my house is its lack of shower. All I have is a bath. So, showers in the morning consist of jumping in the tub and using a bucket to get all nice and clean prior to work.
My first real day of work was Monday. The routine is get out of bed and get dressed very quickly. Then, grab a bite to eat, lock up the house, throw on gloves and toque and head out-side. Most people on the compound have cars and all work at the same place so Jose and I just start walking down the road to work and whoever passes us first picks us up. Monday, we were picked up by two Irish girls who also live in the compound and work for UNICEF at the UN House.
At work, I was toured around and began to get a feel for the office. The UN House is four floors and each floor houses a difference agency. Third floor houses, UNDP where I work, second floor, World Health Organization and first floor UNICEF. The World Food Programme is beside us on the same street. As Jose and I arrived at work we walked down the street to the fruit vendor where we bought some pears and apples to keep us nourished till lunch. Work here is taken very seriously and people work very long hours, especially the international staff. It is not uncommon for people to get to work at 8 and leave at 8. It seems that typically, people go out for lunch rather than bringing a bag lunch. This is understandable because going out for lunch or a meal is quite reasonable. For example, on Tuesday we went out to an Italian restaurant across the way and I ordered a huge pizza and beer and it came to 50 rand which works out to like $7.50 Canadian. If you were wondering, yes, it does seem strange to eat some of the best pizza and Italian food I have ever tasted, but in Lesotho.
At the end of the day, I got a ride home from John (British guy, married to Anne, a Swedish girl…they speak Swedish with one another, very cool!) We stopped in at our houses (he lives beside me) and grabbed our gym stuff. Tonight, he was taken me to the new gym that had just been built. About 15 minutes later we arrived at the gym and quite honestly, it is the nicest gym I have ever seen. It has two floors, two pools, courts for b-ball, tennis and squash as well as great shower facilities which I may take advantage of seeing as how I don’t have one chez moi. We worked out for an hour and a half and then headed home.
This brings me to today, the day of my first blog posting. For the next four weeks I will be working for the Governance Unit of the UNDP. One of the projects they have now decided to put me on is helping establish a Human Rights Commission for the country. Today, I have a meeting with the Lesotho Ministry of Justice to discuss the parameters for a stakeholders meeting where the details of the Commission will be discussed and debated. Of course I need to be home by 8 though as I need to watch Germany destroy Italy in the semi’s!
On the 23rd it was off to Ottawa International after being taken to lunch by my former boss at HRSDC, Catherine. Such a good meal and so great being full prior to lift-off as airline food never fills me up. So it was from Ottawa to Montreal and then from Montreal overnight to Paris where I was met in the morning by Karin, a good friend of mine. We spent a lot of time watching soccer, ambling around Paris and eating baguette and good cheese. Sadly, the 27th came to fast and I had to make my way, on the RER and subway, with my cursed bags, to Charles de Gaulle airport, which just may be the worst airport in the world.
At CdG, Karin and I said our good-byes and I made my way to Satellite 4 where I boarded my South African Airlines flight from Paris to Joberg. SAA is a wonderful airline and gives Cathay a run for its money in terms of good food and service. In Joberg, I got off the plane and went to the domestic terminal where I got a small, twin-prop plane to the airport in Maseru. As I stepped out of the terminal, I was greeted by Benjamin. He was the UNDP driver that had been sent to pick me up. As we drove from the airport to Lancers, the hotel I would be staying at for a few days, I realized that yes, I had arrived in Africa. If you want a visual, and this is not meant in a pejorative way, imagine a huge IR in BC’s interior.
I stayed at Lancers Wed (28th), Thurs (29th) and Friday night (the 30th) and was picked up for work each day. I have been advised not to walk anywhere, but to take a taxi or get a ride, for security reasons. In this time, I began to get to know Maseru. Maseru is a small city and, quite honestly, an ugly one. It has functional buildings: post office, hotels, business centre, restaurants etc., but aesthetically, this city will not win any awards.
Another observation I made was the city has very rich habitants and very poor habitants. There are rich Besotho, rich white folks, and rich Chinese people. Yes, it surprised me too. I overheard someone say they are here because it is easier to immigrate to Lesotho than South Africa and so they come here so they can eventually get into South Africa to do business. Many of them can speak Sesotho though, and so I think it is likely that there is a long history of Chinese people living here. Back to the rich/poor observation though. Driving down the street it is likely that you will see brand new BMW's and Land Rovers as well as rust-buckets that look like they aren't going to make it home.
On Wednesday (29th), the day I arrived, I went out for lunch with some of the people I would be working with. After this I was whisked back to the hotel where I slept for 15 hours or so. Thursday was similar. I was picked up by Benjamin and went to work. After work, it was back to the hotel and back to bed. I was recovered by the start of work Friday though and was eager to get going with work and move into my house. Incidentally, this Friday (June 30th) was the end of the month which meant payday for those who work in the textile industry in Lesotho. Across the street from my hotel then were maybe 1000 people lined up to use the ATM to withdraw some of their earnings to buy food. It was quite a sight. Factories here make jeans, shirts, jackets etc. for the big names like Gap, Guess etc.
After work Friday some of my colleagues and I went out for lunch. Work ends at 1:30 on Friday so we all work until 2 and then go eat a huge lunch and have a few drinks. That is another thing that I don’t mind about work here. It is almost mandatory that you take an hour lunch break and equally mandatory that you have a beer to go with it. After lunch we headed over to the UN compound. This is where I am living now. It is a fenced compound, guarded by a South African security company called Security Unlimited. There are about 10 houses in the compound and about 8 people living there at the moment. One of the people who lives on the UN compound is actually a fellow Canadian who calls Newfoundland home. She had just purchased a new TV and satellite dish and so we were able to watch both WC soccer games on Friday.
About a half hour before the second game started Friday (30th) night, Jose (from Spain) and I were getting hungry. “J’ai faim” I said. (lots of people speak French here so I am getting some practice) “Alors on va manger” he replied. We then jumped in his friend, Mapesa’s car, and headed downtown to Scooters. This is essentially an African version of Domino’s Pizza and it delivers! In fact on Saturday night, either because we were too lazy or had consumed to many beers, we had pizza delivered to us while we watched the other quarter-finals.
Sunday was fairly uneventful. I slept in and then spent the day arranging my house. This, I was told, was fairly redundant, because I would be getting a maid in the next week. The UN tries to employ a lot of nationals as unemployment is rife in Lesotho and so it is basically mandatory that all UN employees or UNV’s have a gardener and a maid, myself included. At the moment it is winter here so the gardens are lying fallow but one plant that seems unaffected by the cold is one native to Mexico, actually the plant that is used in the production of Tequila. It was brought here because it grows well in the soil they have here and prevents further soil erosion.
My house is quite big. I have a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. I also have a servants quarters although nobody lives there. There is no central heating in the house so it is bloody cold. If the sun is not up, and this is basically whenever I am home, I walk around the house in fleece pants, two jackets, a toque and gloves. I have bought an electric heater for my house, a duvet as well as a Basotho blanket for my bed. I am warm while I am sleeping but as soon as you get up, yikes! Still, makes it easy to get up and going in the morning. Another interesting feature of my house is its lack of shower. All I have is a bath. So, showers in the morning consist of jumping in the tub and using a bucket to get all nice and clean prior to work.
My first real day of work was Monday. The routine is get out of bed and get dressed very quickly. Then, grab a bite to eat, lock up the house, throw on gloves and toque and head out-side. Most people on the compound have cars and all work at the same place so Jose and I just start walking down the road to work and whoever passes us first picks us up. Monday, we were picked up by two Irish girls who also live in the compound and work for UNICEF at the UN House.
At work, I was toured around and began to get a feel for the office. The UN House is four floors and each floor houses a difference agency. Third floor houses, UNDP where I work, second floor, World Health Organization and first floor UNICEF. The World Food Programme is beside us on the same street. As Jose and I arrived at work we walked down the street to the fruit vendor where we bought some pears and apples to keep us nourished till lunch. Work here is taken very seriously and people work very long hours, especially the international staff. It is not uncommon for people to get to work at 8 and leave at 8. It seems that typically, people go out for lunch rather than bringing a bag lunch. This is understandable because going out for lunch or a meal is quite reasonable. For example, on Tuesday we went out to an Italian restaurant across the way and I ordered a huge pizza and beer and it came to 50 rand which works out to like $7.50 Canadian. If you were wondering, yes, it does seem strange to eat some of the best pizza and Italian food I have ever tasted, but in Lesotho.
At the end of the day, I got a ride home from John (British guy, married to Anne, a Swedish girl…they speak Swedish with one another, very cool!) We stopped in at our houses (he lives beside me) and grabbed our gym stuff. Tonight, he was taken me to the new gym that had just been built. About 15 minutes later we arrived at the gym and quite honestly, it is the nicest gym I have ever seen. It has two floors, two pools, courts for b-ball, tennis and squash as well as great shower facilities which I may take advantage of seeing as how I don’t have one chez moi. We worked out for an hour and a half and then headed home.
This brings me to today, the day of my first blog posting. For the next four weeks I will be working for the Governance Unit of the UNDP. One of the projects they have now decided to put me on is helping establish a Human Rights Commission for the country. Today, I have a meeting with the Lesotho Ministry of Justice to discuss the parameters for a stakeholders meeting where the details of the Commission will be discussed and debated. Of course I need to be home by 8 though as I need to watch Germany destroy Italy in the semi’s!
posted by Aj at 5:51 AM
2 Comments:
Sound like Africa!
hjh
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