Sylvia's Journal

Sometime in the next 10 days I will be flying to the east rather than to the south; Tanzania is off, Afghanistan is on. The course in Arusha was cancelled because of ‘exceedingly low enrollment figures’ according to our academic partner. I am not surprised, as the course was never really marketed. I am also annoyed because the process of getting to this point has been exasperating at every twist and turn, and has sucked up much time and money, including a preparatory trip to Arusha last March that seemed successful at the time but turned out not to. Was I fooling myself? Are we?

But before leaving the continent, I am off today to Charleston in South Carolina for my last fall OBTS Board meeting. Next June I will be going off the Board. My three year term went fast, a little too fast. I am finally getting the hang of my job as chair of the nominations and elections committee and am preparing for my last elections early 2009. It has been a privilege to be associated with a remarkable group of people with whom I share a passion for teaching.

My last visit to South Carolina was 35 years ago, in 1973. I have no recollection of my passage through that state, in a greyhound bus, from Miami to Washington DC, on less than 5 dollar a day. I traveled with Peter. This was before he became my husband in 1975 and my ex husband in 1979. We must have passed through Charleston but I don’t remember. It was in another life. This time I will be jetting into Charleston on Wisconsin Air; a four hour trip with a stop in La Guardia. I will meet up with my 18 fellow Board members who are flying in from everywhere, including New Zealand.

At work yesterday I was kept in suspense about my changed travel schedule until the end of the day. By then I had a long list of people who needed to be alerted because they are either associated with the planned trip or are alternate destinations. In my line of work everything is carefully planned and scheduled because of the approvals we need from our government in Washington (we are after all spending tax dollars) – as if we have any control over what actually happens. Often things falls through; so I have learned to have alternatives lined up in back of a plan. The substitution of Afghanistan for Tanzania happened quickly; now the details.

We ended the workday on a high note with a party to acknowledge Tim who had worn three hats since June, applied for one of them and did not get it. Everyone brought food or drinks. I bought him a steak and beer with an appropriate name which I already have forgotten, Quiet Times, or something like that; it seemed appropriate for not getting a high stress job. We all believe that somewhere in the rejection is a blessing, and that it will reveal itself in due time. People gave heartfelt testimonials and we all felt good about being part of our team. Tim is back to one hat, and may discover he has his life back as well.

I rushed home to get to my yoga class in Hamilton. Once again Peggy and I had a semi-private class. I was a bit more careful with some of the poses, wanting to avoid the painful aftermath from last week’s class. I have now accepted that I am still somewhat handicapped; my ankle cannot do what it used to do and my carpal tunnel is still tender. Still, it felt good, especially the dead man’s pose at the end, which made me look forward to going home and to bed. Back home I found Axel off to his branding class, Steve still sick with flu-like symptoms, and Tessa at work behind her computer. I made myself hot chocolate for dinner and checked all my friends and family on Facebook before turning in.