Lots of changes

Hi everyone,

I can't believe I have not updated this since July. In my defense, I have attempted to update my blog before, but due to slow or nonexistent internet connection, it has been difficult. They seem to have at least gotten my internet working at a speed that will comply with opening a web page so I figured I should take advantage of that and get this done.

There has been so much going on here I almost don't know where to start, so please excuse me if it rambles a bit. First of all, I am job hunting again. I was laid off this past week due to some severe budgeting issues and they simply cannot afford to continue paying my salary. While this came as a shock and obviously a big disappointment which presents all kinds of practical problems, I am actively looking for something new here in Accra. The main problem is that here in Ghana you have to pay your rent a year in advance, which I have done. My rent is now paid through the end of next June. This means that most of the money I have made over the past months is tied up in my rent which makes it a bit more difficult to simply relocate if I need to for another job. So cross your fingers for me that someone will see what an asset I can be (and soon!) here in Accra.

It's now October and getting quite hot now that monsoon season is over here. It seems to me that it lasted longer than it did last year and I certainly saw more rain this year than the previous, which I enjoyed. I always struggle with the heat and don't typically enjoy weather that is overly hot or sunny- my skin is simply not designed to be in the sun for extended periods of time. I tend to burn here even sitting in the shade slathered in SPF 70.

Ramadan has been over for a while and I successfully fasted my way through it. I have to say it was a very enjoyable experience and I am glad I had good people who took me in for the entire month to join them for nightly feasts that exceeded American Thanksgiving standards (and EVERY NIGHT for an entire month). The food was fantastic and the company warm and welcoming which made me feel like I was part of something bigger and I was so appreciative of the reception they gave me. It does help when I spend so much time away from my family and friends.

Last Monday I also took the foreign service exam- this written test consists of a wide variety of information designed to test your knowledge for a job as a foreign service officer under the State Department (www.state.gov) will give you extensive information for those who are interested in seeing more about what all of that entails. I applied for the political career track (there are different career tracks to choose from and from the initial application stage you do need to select one). If your application is accepted you are invited to take the written exam. It will be 3-5 weeks before I find out the results and if I pass I will be asked to write a series of essays. These essays will be reviewed by an evaluation panel along with my test score and they will decide whether or not they want to invite me to Washington, DC to take part in oral exams. If I do pass the orals, there are still many steps after. If you make it through all of the steps you are placed on a list and your place on that list helps to determine whether or not you will receive a job offer. It's a very long process and you can make it through everything and still not receive a job offer. This is because if you are on the list for a certain amount of time and there are enough people ahead of you that you do not receive the offer before you "time out" they remove you from the list and you would need to start the whole process over from the beginning. So I am not counting on anything, but I wanted to have the option. I will keep you all updated on how the process is going.

As I am sure those of you from Havasu know, there was also a tragic shooting in town. We lost 5 people... I don't know what else to say other than this has been a difficult time for everyone and I am thankful for those of you I love and who love me and I appreciate all of you.

I don't know what the next step will be, but I will be sure to update this more regularly. I hope everyone enjoyed their summers, sending my love to all.