Some of us have joined the pool at the very posh hotel which is next door to where I will be working. I was in the pool at 6 this morning, it's cooler then. I think the hotel charges 200 pounds a night, so is aimed at diplomats and ex patriates. We have been noticing how many staff there are everywhere, just the opposite of the UK. There are security people on the door, three staff on reception, then it's another person's job to smile and hand you a towel. People here are on very low salaries but make up for it by insisting on recognition of status - very smart and very bureaucratic. For instance I have bought a mobile phone - you have to take your passport, they print a receipt, stick tax stamps on the back, sign it, rubber stamp it, then you go to someone else to pay for it. We are warned that it takes ages to get anything agreed - for instance if you want to get some stationery at work there will be a long winded procedure with different staff having to agree. As my placement is at the Ministry of Education I am expecting this to be even more extreme - watch future blogs! So the name of the game is to take it easy, to slow down and go at the local pace - the saying is that things will be done "just now" which means between 5 minutes and a week.
Today we get to meet our employer and move into our accommodation - mine is a three bedroom house shared with another volunteer. Then we get the rest of the week off, so we can settle down into shopping, cooking, and generally finding our feet. I'm getting an allowance to buy a bike today.
Nature notes: saw a tiny hummingbird this morning close to the National Park which is the jogging place.
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