The next step

Today’s date: February 8, 2010. In my computer’s calendar I have a green post (colour-coded according to category: blue = personal, green = work, red = travel, orange = birthdays, purple = visits) that says Ethiopia? Yet here I am, Monday morning still in Copenhagen.

My Things to do before Ethiopia checklist is considerably shorter than it was a week ago. I’ve sub-letted my room, packed all my belongings, cancelled my gym membership, gotten all my vaccinations, applied for my visa, confirmed that cutlery, dishes, linens, mosquito nets and an assortment of other practical household items are available at my staff guest house. I’ve sorted out my malaria prophylaxes and have a back up emergency treatment lined up as well. I have yet to stock up on personal hygiene items like shampoo, conditioner, o.b., hair-dye and reusable toilet paper (honestly, I’m still a little skeptical here). I could have taken care of all these details already, but I’m in a virtual limbo, so as long as I can calculate at least five days to take off, I’m comfortable procrastinating these small things.

My travel plans are hinged on the donor approval of my international airfare. This means that my visa application is caught in limbo. The kind souls at the Ethiopian Embassy in Stockholm can’t finish processing my visa until I have a fixed arrival date in the country, this also means that I am not currently in possession of my passport. My HR contact at Mercy Corps, can’t proceed with the travel plans until the donor has approved my travel. My Chief of Party wants me to start ASAP, but with the embassy being in Stockholm, there’s a tricky logistical situation involved in the travel planning. They need at least two days (we’re working across time zones here, from Portland to Stockholm) to process and get my travel documents sent off to Copenhagen. Then the postal service must be allowed two–three days to figure out where I live and deliver the precious documents. This means that there is at least a week delay on the travel plans, and as long as we’re waiting for donor approval, I’m going no where fast.

So I’m left here in sub-zero temperatures, waiting anxiously for the next step; for someone to get their butt in gear and give the approval which would in turn set the final arrangements in process.

In the meantime I’ve been killing time kissing friends and family goodbye, filling out forms, planning medical insurance, registering next-of-kin with ISOS and creating a proof of line statement, you know, just in case.

Now, to the sounds of Final Fantasy, my fingertips are dancing across the keyboard keeping my mind occupied so the inner control freak in me doesn’t freak out. Patience is a virtue and I’m telling myself that the ball will start rolling today, in at least one of the time zones my fate is tied to.

Current local time: 11:37; Portland: 02:38; Dire Dawa: 13:38.

Cross your fingers for me.