Well, nothing terribly interesting has gone on during the last week. Compared to the previous week with two important visitors (Yes, both came despite the draw down and increased security posture.), things have actually been surprisingly calm for a few days. That should probably worry me.
Political Irony
I'm working on the transition to the Political Section. I happened to notice today that the updated copy of the Embassy extensions list that my secretary gave me last week already has me listed in the POL section--as "chief" no less! I thought that was pretty amusing.
I still haven't gotten the full in-briefing from Steve Walker, the Political Officer, or Brad Hanson, the Deputy Chief of Mission to set my specific goals and work plan for the next couple of months. In the meantime I'm starting to ponder what I want to do when I take over as POL. If things go as I plan, I'm hoping to make this a real intellectual and professional growth opportunity. There are lots of possibilities for travel in Yemen, cultural exchange (also known as chewing qat with "contacts"), and writing reports that interest me personally. Steve even suggested that it might be time to do another report on the conditions of the Jews of Yemen, since there hasn't been one in a few years. That could be pretty interesting. I was also thinking that a detailed report on the best gifts available and the different areas of the suq would be a productive use of my time...
In the meantime, Steve handed me one short project that I thought was pretty ironic. When I joined the Foreign Service, I had to choose a "cone," or professional specialty. As most of you probably know, almost everyone thinks they want to be political cone because it's the route to the top and the prestige cone. I decided that political work actually sounded pretty boring. "Sitting and reading the newspaper all day and then writing reports just doesn't sound active enough for me," was what I thought and said to many people.
Well, it seems I was prescient. My first assignment as Political Officer was, in fact, to sit and read the newspapers. The short project that Steve gave me was to read three weeks' back issues of the Yemen Times and the Yemen Observer and cut out and file articles that might be useful for next year's Human Rights Report. Fortunately, that won't be the bulk of what I do. I was just something that Steve hadn't gotten to in the last few weeks and that he could easily ask me to help with.
The Jinn
Meanwhile, my secretary pointed out that the job of GSO Sanaa seems to be cursed. No matter what they do, this post doesn't seem to be able to keep someone in the job. I think the office--or maybe just the chair--has been cursed by jinn. Perhaps an amulet with Quranic inscriptions would help fill the position.
Before I got here, the previous GSO had resigned in January after only one year at post (and had been Absent Without Leave for a good portion of that year). There were a couple of temporary people in the interim before I arrived, but major gaps still took their toll on the section. Then the second temporary GSO, who was supposed to be around until I arrived, ended up leaving about two months early due to the authorized departure. Another gap.
I joked to many people that if I just stayed at post, even if I didn't do any work, I would be the Golden GSO. Even that turned out to be an optimistic goal.
Other News
Can't say I have much else to report. Last weekend was relaxing (I didn't have to work!) and fun. I unpacked some boxes (not fun, but necessary). Then on Thursday, a couple friends and I went to the Sanaa Equestrian Club, where we rode horses, played pool and Ping-Pong, and shot rifles. It turns out there is something to do in Sanaa besides go to the suq!
Friday my friend Anise and I went to the suq and just wandered for a couple of hours enjoying the sights and sounds. Sadly, she fell in love with a chest that is way out of her price range. In the same store, I was captivated by an inlaid copper plate that the proprietor said was "the most expensive item in the store." Once again, I have expensive taste.
All of this would have been much more fun if Jen were here. I am managing to have a relatively normal life, but it is always foremost in my mind that I should be doing these things with Jen. For example, I used the BowFlex for the first time last night. Jen was so excited when we managed to buy it from Ambassador Bodine back in September. To this day she has never even seen it. It's that kind of thing that is keeping me from really being happy here.
Love, Michael Kolodner