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Time flies
Jul. 17th, 2009 12:55 pmIt's been a week since my last post. *goggles* I hadn't been aware it was so long, but evidently that's what happens when I'm busy in a good way.
And it's so difficult to give something like a rational, well-ordered overview over the last week.
Well, today is a somewhat boring day with nothing much to do. The rest of the week was rather busy, although nothing really sensational or noteworthy happened.
I spent a few hours on Tuesday looking at apartments for Irene. I know her well enough to be able to discard what she certainly won't like; she'll have to choose from the remaining gems (3 so far) after she arrives. There's really a lot of flats on offer here. And people seem to spend insane amounts of money for refurbishing attics and adding storeys, so as to make some money by renting them out. The result are often very cramped and not too practical, especially where storage space is concerned, and so I ruled out most of those. But there is one flat in my building, which would fit the bill size- and price-wise. It's on the 3rd floor though, so I'm not sure if she'll take it, as she's extremely noise-sensitive. I viewed another 5 today, none of which made top of the list.
Then there were of course my first two Macedonian lessons, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The teacher *really* likes my asking questions, and so I'm of course very happy with him. Next week and the week after that he'll be on holiday, so I'll have plenty of time to memorize what I've already learned and think of more questions. Anyway, he tells me that my accent is very good. This was confirmed yesterday by a taxi driver, who took me for a Macedonian when I told him the address. Needless to say that I was quite proud.
Due to lots of meetings I'm getting to know many people from other embassies. I especially like the French consul (he's about 10 years younger than I and a very sweet guy with a wonderful sense of humour) and the Greek police attaché. The latter is the spitting image of the actor Jeroen Krabbe. Funny.
Speaking of meeting people from other embassies: I already know the Slovenian Ambassador and Consul. Yesterday there was a brief seminar at the US Embassy on document forgery, and a young woman, also from the Slovenian Embassy, was among the participants. As politeness dictates, I went to introduce myself to all the people I hadn't yet met. What did she say when she heard which Embassy I was from? "Oh, you're the new girl!" I confess that I was speechless for a full 20 seconds (more or less) and then simply said, "I'll take that as a compliment." I mean, I'm certialy not keen on formalities, but I'm the bloody deputy head of mission, and certainly not "the new girl".
And, speaking of the US Embassy: These guys are seriously paranoid. There were maybe 10 embassy people participating in the seminar, and there was of course a list at the entrance, detailing name and function etc. Nevertheless, and in spite of the fact that neither the Swiss nor the Austrian Consul are likely to blow up the US Embassy, we all had to undergo a meticulous search of our bags. That was a bit strange, and I won't comment on the embassy compound itself. Suffice it to say that the atmosphere of a high security prison is probably cheerful and welcoming in comparison.
Tonight there'll be a concert of the Tirana Chamber Orchestra (hmmm...). They'll be playing Mozart and Vivaldi, so I decided to go. Our trade counsellor will be there, too, and maybe the ambassador as well. My expectations aren't very high, but there's such a thing as positive disappointment. And at least there *are* concerts to choose from, which is much more than I had in Ankara.
No plans for the weekend as of yet, but maybe I'll go to see "Brüno" with the police attaché.
Only 10 days to go until my things arrive. I'm not sure who'll be happier, me or ze boyz.
Oh, and did I mention it's bloody hot? Not the ideal weather for viewing apartments on the 3rd floor without lift...
And it's so difficult to give something like a rational, well-ordered overview over the last week.
Well, today is a somewhat boring day with nothing much to do. The rest of the week was rather busy, although nothing really sensational or noteworthy happened.
I spent a few hours on Tuesday looking at apartments for Irene. I know her well enough to be able to discard what she certainly won't like; she'll have to choose from the remaining gems (3 so far) after she arrives. There's really a lot of flats on offer here. And people seem to spend insane amounts of money for refurbishing attics and adding storeys, so as to make some money by renting them out. The result are often very cramped and not too practical, especially where storage space is concerned, and so I ruled out most of those. But there is one flat in my building, which would fit the bill size- and price-wise. It's on the 3rd floor though, so I'm not sure if she'll take it, as she's extremely noise-sensitive. I viewed another 5 today, none of which made top of the list.
Then there were of course my first two Macedonian lessons, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The teacher *really* likes my asking questions, and so I'm of course very happy with him. Next week and the week after that he'll be on holiday, so I'll have plenty of time to memorize what I've already learned and think of more questions. Anyway, he tells me that my accent is very good. This was confirmed yesterday by a taxi driver, who took me for a Macedonian when I told him the address. Needless to say that I was quite proud.
Due to lots of meetings I'm getting to know many people from other embassies. I especially like the French consul (he's about 10 years younger than I and a very sweet guy with a wonderful sense of humour) and the Greek police attaché. The latter is the spitting image of the actor Jeroen Krabbe. Funny.
Speaking of meeting people from other embassies: I already know the Slovenian Ambassador and Consul. Yesterday there was a brief seminar at the US Embassy on document forgery, and a young woman, also from the Slovenian Embassy, was among the participants. As politeness dictates, I went to introduce myself to all the people I hadn't yet met. What did she say when she heard which Embassy I was from? "Oh, you're the new girl!" I confess that I was speechless for a full 20 seconds (more or less) and then simply said, "I'll take that as a compliment." I mean, I'm certialy not keen on formalities, but I'm the bloody deputy head of mission, and certainly not "the new girl".
And, speaking of the US Embassy: These guys are seriously paranoid. There were maybe 10 embassy people participating in the seminar, and there was of course a list at the entrance, detailing name and function etc. Nevertheless, and in spite of the fact that neither the Swiss nor the Austrian Consul are likely to blow up the US Embassy, we all had to undergo a meticulous search of our bags. That was a bit strange, and I won't comment on the embassy compound itself. Suffice it to say that the atmosphere of a high security prison is probably cheerful and welcoming in comparison.
Tonight there'll be a concert of the Tirana Chamber Orchestra (hmmm...). They'll be playing Mozart and Vivaldi, so I decided to go. Our trade counsellor will be there, too, and maybe the ambassador as well. My expectations aren't very high, but there's such a thing as positive disappointment. And at least there *are* concerts to choose from, which is much more than I had in Ankara.
No plans for the weekend as of yet, but maybe I'll go to see "Brüno" with the police attaché.
Only 10 days to go until my things arrive. I'm not sure who'll be happier, me or ze boyz.
Oh, and did I mention it's bloody hot? Not the ideal weather for viewing apartments on the 3rd floor without lift...
