Sylvia's Journal

It was maybe a year ago, I was still in Afghanistan, that I wrote a comment on Katie’s blog where she reported on her life in South Africa. She wrote me back something like this, “I am sitting on my balcony, it’s warm and sunny. I am looking out over green hills, a glass of cool white wine in my hand…” I think I read that while it was cold and wintry in Kabul, sitting amidst diesel fumes, hacking coughs, no wine or green hills in sight. I remember being a little jealous.

And here I am now, sitting in that same apartment, looking out over these green hills, a glass of white wine and French cheese (another thing I craved in Afghanistan) on the table in front of me. Katie moved out to a real home with more space for her visiting friends and so her place has now become the MSH apartment and I am the first user. It is lovely, breaking out after four weeks in hotels.

The project staff was so kind so put some basics in the fridge, enough for breakfast. I love it that this included the local equivalent of Marmite, Bovril. I added some other basics, like wine and cheese and now life is nearly perfect.

I drove myself to the apartment in my spiffy red Hyunda, a cute little car that the project rented for me so I am no longer dependent on drivers and rides. It gives me some freedom. I had practiced the route to the apartment in my head and was able to follow it without the help of the GPS or my smartphone. I told people not to worry and I called in once I had arrived. The driving on the left side of the road was not so difficult – I have done it before and the neural pathways allowing me to do it again are still there.

I am busy with design work, a thing I like to do best, and something I didn’t get to do much in Afghanistan. I am designing one event for the beginning of next week and another for the end of next week – both for MSH projects but there the resemblance ends.

The design work has led me to rediscover my enormous library of articles and exercises that I have stored in my dropbox and can thus access anywhere.

I am re-reading and re-studying, re-writing in simple language, the works of Schon and Argyris, trying to capture explanations for what is happening here. I get to be an organizational psychologist again and it makes me happy.

Tomorrow I am moving out of the guesthouse, however nice it is, because I am tired of staying in hotels. One of our staff has vacated her one bedroom garden apartment with its wide terrace overlooking the hills – it is now called the MSH apartment and is mine for the last two weeks of my stay here. One of the administrative coordinators has been so kind to stock the refrigerator with some basics and so it is ready to move in. I will be able to prepare my own meals and work in a place that is not my bedroom. Oh, the small things that have become important after one month of hotel life.

I will also be given a rental car so I no longer depend on drivers and rides from colleagues. This does mean I have to get used to left hand manual driving – but I have done it before and I am sure I will get the hang of it quickly – and find my way around town. I have started to pay attention to the route our driver takes and at which landmarks I have to make turns. Luckily I have my smart phone, something that has become invaluable during my stay here, not just for the scrabble games that keep me connected to the home front, but also my Kindle collection and music, and now my GPS navigator.