criplomats

Kimbap

Just as I was complaining to Jamie and Jackie on our video chat last Sunday about the lack of good food options here in Liberia, a co-worker’s wife dropped off this beautiful assortment of Korean sushi (“kimbap” made with cooked fish) – delish! This week she also made professionally decorated cupcakes for our local staff appreciation day and sent me a piece of a wonderful apple tart (that also looked like it was made by a professional chef). And I wonder why I can’t lose weight…!

We’ve been spoiled in November by having short weeks due to holidays, but this was not one of those weeks. We had a full five days, plus I worked late Friday night and all day yesterday. We work an “African schedule” here, meaning office hours are 8 – 5:30 Monday through Thursday, then 8-1 PM on Fridays ostensibly, although that never seems to work out for John and me. I did sneak out at 4:30 Wednesday for a pedicure (at a safe salon) which was a huge treat.

In addition to talking with Jackie and Jamie last Sunday, I also talked to Mary and Pam this week for brief chats. John got up at 3AM Friday night to attend a Zoom birthday party for a friend back in Arkansas – fun!

We watched the remake of “Emma” this week; Emma is played by the actress from “Queen’s Gambit.” We’re also following “The Undoing” with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, and we started the most recent season of “The Crown.” I’m so glad there’s some good TV options to relax with in the evenings.

On my morning commute

“Queen’s Gambit,” a limited series on Netflix, totally captivated us last week! It was beautifully done, great acting, and a terrific story – bravo! We’re also engrossed in “The Undoing,” a new HBO series with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, and we’re watching an Irish crime drama called “Blood.” Good TV lately.

Wednesday was Veteran’s Day so the office was closed; I worked most of the day anyway, trying to get caught up and learn more about the new (and confusing and frustrating) hiring process we’re now using. I worked again most of the day on Saturday, too, and just spent the last couple of hours working from home today. The work just doesn’t stop, and we’re completely backlogged on processing immigrant visa cases due to COVID-19. We’re gradually restarting services, but it will take a long time to dig out of the hole.

Friday afternoon, I had a chance to meet with the new Foreign Minister which was interesting and hopefully productive. I appreciate the support of our Front Office on consular issues.

Wednesday evening we went to a small, sunset rooftop BBQ to celebrate Veteran’s Day – delicious smoked chicken and beans cooked by our Southern host.

We stopped by a rooftop happy hour Friday at sunset – it’s a lovely view and a chance to say hi to friends.

Last night, we attended a small dinner on the Ambassador’s veranda. I love listening to the oceans crash on the rocks right below us. It was a low key, casual dinner and I really enjoyed it.

Sundown at dinner last night

Happy birthday!

John celebrated a birthday this week! Pablo organized a nice get-together on the embassy balcony and we had cake to celebrate. John fell for his ruse to get him down there and had a pleasant surprise. Shortly after that, his assistant organized another pop-up celebration complete with more cake and singing by his local staff employees – fun!

It was a long election week, and now the hard part begins. Hopefully we will enjoy a peaceful transition of power despite the rhetoric of the last few days; I hope Biden and Harris can bring Americans together again over the next four years.

I had a good video call with Pam, Jackie, and Ann last Sunday and Pam took us on a tour of her wonderful new house! I’m thrilled for her, and especially love the location – a lovely street very near our good friends Bruce and Beth.

Thursday was Liberian Thanksgiving. I worked most of the day trying to get caught up, then John and I met the new IT officer and his #2 for dinner outside at Mamba Point Hotel. They’re both really nice and we had a good evening.

I worked yesterday, then we had our neighbors Michael and Karisa up for a game of Wingspan – fun!

A peninsula of trash mars the view of gladiolas and ocean at a particularly stinky part of town where raw sewage and trash flow into the ocea.

It was a beautiful full moon last night and the bats returned to the embassy compound this week – happy Halloween! The embassy had a nice socially distanced Halloween get-together on the patio at the Ambassador’s residence at sunset yesterday that everyone enjoyed – especially the kids who’ve been cooped up at home with on-line classes. There were fun costumes and some much-needed social interaction for all – and how could you not have fun with the ocean view from there and a lovely breeze?

I tried to go to an arts fair yesterday, but it was indoors with no A/C and I just got too hot and had to leave – dry season is definitely coming back. I headed in to work to continue working on an adoption case. Afterward, I had a nice, long video chat with my good friend Cathy who’s now working in Canada – it was great to catch up with her.

The work week was pretty calm with a few conference calls. Our team also did a malfeasance prevention training which prompted some interesting discussion. I stopped by for a quick hello at a rooftop happy hour with some co-workers Friday on the way home at sunset, which was nice. We’re lucky we have outdoor spaces and the weather that lets us have a few get-togethers but be safe about it.

Another pretty sunset

John and I watched four movies this week. “Tim’s Vermeer” is a documentary about a quirky inventor who thinks he figured out how Vermeer painted his amazing pictures, produced by Penn & Teller – very interesting. We re-watched one of the sweetest movies ever, “A Man Called Ove,” which we highly recommend, and we re-watched “Gosford Park,” also highly recommended with a brilliant cast. And we watched the new Sachs Baron Cohen movie, which is very raunchy but funny – and breathtaking to see him “get” Rudy Gulliani in a compromising position with an actress posing as a reporter. Paraphrasing someone in the news: if he can’t recognize a fake reporter, how he could recognize a foreign operative?

We went to a small going-away dinner at Anglers for a neighbor/co-worker. I learned that the Atkins/keto diet here is called “Banting” so I’ll have to look that up. It’s a West African thing and supposedly incorporates more local ingredients. Hm. Eating here is my biggest challenge due to lack of fruits and vegetables. I am happy to report that some basil cuttings are thriving in my Mexican pots on the balcony!

We held a virtual awards ceremony this week. John and I were included on a couple of group awards for our work during COVID, which was nice. I was happy to see two of my former employees receive awards I had nominated them for.

Also at work, we invited three people from the civil registry for a socially distanced meeting at the embassy to discuss the issuance of birth and death certificates here to try to get a better understand of the process.

I ventured out yesterday to a West African chain called Orca. It was fun to browse around lots of kitchen and home decor things for a change. I didn’t realize it was here until a friend mentioned it – just a little retail therapy. While I was out, I drove around trying to find a new co-worker who got lost on his first outing alone, bless his heart! It was a bit harrowing because he ended up in a not-so-nice part of town. John came to our rescue by plotting his location in WhatsApp and talking him through the turns to get home – whew!