So one of the "perks" of being Acting Country Director--which I was again last week--is attendance at the weekly Country Team meeting at the Embassy. The Ambassador sits with the heads of each Agency (Peace Corps, USAID, CDC, DoD, etc.) for updates, sharing, etc. I put "perks" in quotes coz I find it boring and always "negotiate" with our Country Director for her time off and when she wants to make me Acting CD based on having to go to these meetings. This week, I happened to get there a little early, along with the Security Chief, the Chief Political Officer, and the guy from USAID and I was punished even further by having to listen to them all prattle on about beer. BEER! They were talking about it as if it were like WINE, and having tastings and and and....BEER. I mean, honestly, it all looks, smells, and tastes like piss. I don't get it.
Speaking of the Embassy, several weeks ago I had my first "Top Secret Briefing." Of course I can't say what it's about, except that it was recently in the news - and we knew about it first. Ooooooh! But seriously, we all actually went into this "secret" sealed bunker in the Embassy compound that was scarier than the briefing itself. I would NOT want to be trapped in that room. Esp. with those people. The briefing was SO over the top, like something out of a movie, and I was torn between thinking, "This is really cool" and "This is really lame." Ha!
In other news, I kept wondering why my house would get so hot during the day on the living room side, which faces north. "It's a northern exposure, dammitt, not a southern one! What the hell......oh yeah, I'm in the southern hemisphere! Duh! Carry on!" In other Southern Hemisphere news, I found out it's a myth about the water in your toilet flushing in the opposite direction--dang, that's the whole reason I took this job/moved down here: to see that!
Scandal with the King! One of the fun things about walking to work is seeing the weekly posters the local papers put up with the latest headlines to try and get folks to buy their paper. A couple of weeks ago there was one that gasped (well, figuratively): "The King Drinks SA Water" Of course, SA refers to South Africa. I loved this for two reasons: One, was just the way it was worded - sounded like a taunt/slur you'd hear on the playground. "Oh yeah? Well, your mom drinks SA water!" Snap! The other reason I like it is for the irony: RSA gets a good chunk of their water from...you guessed it...Lesotho. So the King of Lesotho was drinking SA water at an event - water that they probably imported from Lesotho. Quel scandale!
I've decided that scientists need to spend more time identifying and tweaking/wiping out the "selfish asshole" gene - seriously, think what a boon to humanity this would be. While I've always been appalled and annoyed by selfish assholes, it seems that as I get older I have even less patience for them. Those people who cut in line wherever, that get in the short "10 items or less" line with a boatload of stuff, thieves, the loud cell phone bleaters in the movie theater, etc. Lord knows there are huge swaths of China and America where they could find candidates to test this research on. Get with it, science! Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe global warming and the upcoming devastation of the earth/complete annihilation of the human race is nature's way of addressing this issue.
But wait! This just in!
http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-created-a-drug-that-makes-people-more-compassionate
Huzzah!
Speaking of China, I am - bit by bit - doing better at controlling my previous gut-level, automatic disdainful sneering whenever I encounter someone here from Mainland China (again, for those who missed my earlier rants on this subject, it's not the Chinese that are so horrible on a macro level, it's the MAINLAND Chinese - as validated by other Chinese throughout the world). I actually had come close to stopping that completely, but then I invariably have to fly somewhere and there are always a few mainlanders heading home, and I end up having to deal with their astonishingly boorish behavior once again. Sigh.
Speaking of again, the other day I saw something that should put fear in the heart of anyone, pedestrian or motorist, on the streets of Maseru: a Basotho man teaching a Chinese woman how to drive. Of course, a Basotho teaching ANYONE to drive is scary enough.
Seriously, I continue to be astonished beyond belief at the way they drive here. It's particularly disgusting when everyone knows/sees every day the number of accidents and deaths. I mean, I've always been a fast driver, but the speed at which they drive here: downtown, on residential streets, etc. is just ludicrous and ridiculous. The blatant red light running. It's amazing. Since I've been here, at least 4 Americans have been involved in serious accidents, with 3 of them having been severely injured. And the locals, too. It's hard NOT to be judgmental of their continuing, ridiculously stupid and life-threatening behavior in this area.
And yes, after 10 months at post, I am STILL annoyed by the stupid, incessant honking of the 4+1s. "Oh YES, thank GAWD, you honked at me 8 times, Mr. Taxi Driver! I had no idea that I needed a taxi and that your clearly marked taxi was, indeed, a taxi!"
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