birthday narcissism

YES. It's true, I had a birthday. I ought to write a long reflective blog entry about what the this past 23^rd year of life has meant to me... But I think that instead I'll tell you what I think the next one will hold:

I'm going to stay in Botswana for another year.

Okay, so it's about 85% likely, but that's pretty good odds.

What do you think? Good idea/bad idea?

Birthday fact about Jenn: I can do seven chin-ups, overhand or underhand. I'm not sure if that impresses you, but it impresses me, and if you want to argue – it's my effing birthday. Or it was. Recently.

....

The past two weeks have been a frustrating marathon of funding proposal development, culminating in a meeting with the president and vice-chairperson of the board yesterday afternoon. It was strange to be schmoozing with rich, middle-aged white men again – it felt like being back at Princeton. A good ol' boy is a good ol' boy, apparently, wherever you happen to find him.

I found their attire amusing – it always strikes me as funny that Americans (and other foreigners) coming to Botswana for the sole purpose of meetings still wear head-to-toe safari gear. They roll up in hiking boots, $200 North Face ultra-breathable shirts with multiple mesh slits for extra airflow, and pants with more pockets than even the Crocodile Hunter would know what to do with. Fancy, functional hats, even though they're under some kind of roof the entire time that they're in-country. They arrive at the airport, drive in an air-conditioned car to an office, sit down under the ceiling fan and have a meeting... and then they get back in the car and drive to the next office. BUT BEWARE, THIS IS AFRICA!!! There could be breakdowns, elephants, tribal uprisings, land mines, vicious dust-storms, bush fires, rabid spring hares... ANYTHING. Best be prepared. Get out your GPS-equipped cell phone. Strap on that Leatherman. Never mind that you've only ever used it to open a bottle of wine.

(Note: I myself am guilty of this sort of over-preparation, though not to such an extent. Whenever I was hiking in India, with my boots and hat on, I would be totally shamed by the women in saris and plastic flip-flops, massive loads balanced on their heads, charging uphill at twice my pace. I blame it on the altitude. And hey, a giant bundle of firewood is just like... a really fashion-forward hat?... right??)

Anyhow, I was hoping that this funding proposal would be the one to deliver me a salary for next year, but it seems unlikely. Although they were positive about some of our other projects, they nixed the game farm project, due to the involvement of hunting. Hunting is not – gasp – PC enough for their donors. The complaint seems obvious in retrospect, considering that they're an American organization, but after six months here I've forgotten what “PC” means. I've also lost some of my schmoozing skills, not that they were too considerable to begin with. I'm bushing out, man. Hopefully these skills can be quickly re-learned, because I'm going to need them to deal with future donors... They noticed the Obama sticker on my laptop, and with a burst of panic I realized I should start thinking like an American again. “Wait – laptop covered in stickers – unprofessional!” “Oh shit – they'll actually have an opinion on my political leanings!” “Must not sit in lotus position during meeting!”

If this is the state of my etiquette after 6 months, what will I be like after 2 years? I don't know if I'll be able to re-enter politically correct society... But I hate being politically correct, anyhow. Africa is not a place for the politically correct, if you really want to get into things. If you just want to skim the surface, throw food and used clothing at some poor orphans, I guess you can be politically correct... Otherwise, abandon all hope. Also, Africans themselves are not politically correct - nor are they concerned about being politically correct - and so, if you are concerned about being surrounded by political correctness, this is not the place to be.

On the other hand, I fed a small child today. That's PC money in the bank, right?