2 posts tagged “hamas”
there's something lovely about remembering how to use your legs. i hate that i have to sit in an office every day. but we have a kick-ass gym, and it really is a nice way to end the day. plug in some good music and take a long run on the treadmill, sure running on the beach would be better, but a minor compromise like that won't kill me.
i had a good day...no, it was a great day. things are really coming together. i have some of my own projects, which is really nice. it makes you feel established, and like you belong. and i found out i get to go on this cool security course. its the same one that they send all un staffer's on before they get sent to iraq. lots of fun stuff to learn. and i had a really good day with my boss. i am learning to read his moods, and i think we're beginning to work well together as a team. even if he did make fun of me for having to take a driving test tomorrow (so that i can drive the un cars when not in gaza).
overall it was just nice. i feel like i am sort of coming into my own. i am so not the biggest social person, but i feel like simply because of my position here i am really having to utilise my social skills, and expand them. and finally i've found a position where it pays to remember everyones face and name, and useless tid-bits. thank god for my exemplary skills at retaining useless bits of information!!!
its also nice to be appreciated, and to feel like part of a team. i think everyones just finding out how young i am and that this is my first job. its kind of funny, because all these people here are amazing. they have done amazing things, and have so much knowledge and experience, and over the last few days so many of them have said such lovely things to me, and paid me such wonderful compliments. its hard to rectify that i can belong in a system like this. its an amazing confidence booster, thats for sure!!
and the crazy story for the day! there's actually a few. i'm getting really good at answering phones in arabic, and conducting basic telephone conversations, which is quite the accomplishment, since i have trouble understanding people who speak english on the phone. anyway, several times today i answered the phone in arabic to get a bit of a flustered, 'ummm....can i speak to someone in english???' the great part was when i switched to english, you could literally hear the wheels turning in their brains!! it was kind of fun. does that make me a mean person?
the other odd thing: all the small arms fire after dark doesn't worry me so much....now thats not a good thing. it should worry, it should worry anyone with sense. but i suppose you have to adapt to some things to retain at least a bit of sanity. the funny moment for the day was when S and i decided that we should maybe practice putting on our flak jackets - it was like 2000hrs at this stage, we'd been at work for 13 hours, and we weren't going home anytime soon. it took the two of us five minutes to get the damn thing out of the bag - for anyone who has not been lucky enough to have a flak jacket to play with, they are heavy! i mean i know thats good, but they're really heavy!! then it took two of us to strap me in. and then we were having fits of giggles, when another colleague walked into S's office, took one look at us and turned around and walked out. that did not help with the giggles.
on the note of flak jackets, i know how to say it in arabic now!! see what this posting is doing for my language skills?? i am learning all the important words :)
oh, and the weird/scary/omg moment of the day? the former minster of health came to visit. hes relatively high ranking hamas. he brought his body guards. they were scary. like, really scary. like i was really glad that one of our cps took them out of the office and made them sit in the entry area. we had one cp at the front door, one in the entry area with these two hamas guys, and one sitting by my bosses door, which is just next to my desk. it was a bit comforting, but still, it was one of the few times i felt a bit worried.
although, thats one for the story books. how many people can say they've been in that situation?
i really do love my life. i suppose thats really all that matters. that and living by the med. i am not sure how i can leave and not wake up to the sea every morning.
the hamas parade! i am not sure how i could have forgotten that....it was quite...something. it consisted of an open back truck driving around blasting music and singing/shouting men. who i am guessing were hamas supporters. lots of green flags etc. i stuck my head to watch for a while. and then there were the fun celebratory small arms fire. i pulled my head back in and decided i should probably not stick it out again. not that they were aiming at anything in particular. they were just shooting into the air. which was kind of the problem, since my window is up in the air.
anyway, it was quite the site to see.
