Diplomatic tests

So it turns out that I am not so good at updating blogs (although I appear to be better than my ASPH fellow counterparts...lets get some updates people!). I think part of the reason is because I havent had anything terribly exciting going on here that I should update you on. I'm really just enjoying living here and meeting new people.

However, yesterday I did meet with the Ambassador, so I figured I could give you a bit of information on that. First of all, I was pretty nervous, even though I kept reminding myself on the ride over to the Embassy that she is "just a person, just a normal person". However, for a normal person, she has a frightening amount of power and I think thats what made me a wee bit nervous. But I get to the Embassy to find that David (the Associate Director of CDC Cambodia) was going to escort me to meet her. I have a sneaking suspicion that my bosses just didnt trust me alone with the Ambassdor, but I was assured that this is just protocol. It was actually quite nice because David offered his opinions in this rather informal meeting, so it wasnt just me talking all the time (which if you know me, is a good thing. The less I talk, the less trouble I get in). :) She pretty much just asked me about my background, how I got here, what I have been doing here. The questions werent terribly hard to answer until she asked me what I thought of the Ministry of Health and if I thought they were doing a good job. I've been in the country less than 2 months, and in that time, I have not worked that closely with the ministry of health yet, so all my opinions are just based off the stories of Perry and others that I work with. So I stuck with my diplomatic "Well, I think parts of the ministry are trying to do a good job, but there is always room for improvement" kinda response. She then talked for awhile and at the end asked me if I had any questions for her. Of course, being a curious sort, I had like a million questions, probably none of which were appropriate to ask and which she would not have been able to tell me the answers to anyway. So I just stuck with asking about her personal background and how she got this gig (you never know, maybe I want to be an Ambassador someday...). I really think it would be fun to spend a day in the life, just to see what she actually does on a day to day basis. I bet she has some great stories too because she has been a career diplomat for 30 years now and has been all over the place. So after we were finished David told me that I did a good job and that she liked me. I am now "official" (whatever that means) and I have passed my first diplomatic test. I hope there are not many more.

Alas, I fear there are since the Marine Ball is coming up this Saturday. Talk about a diplomatic test. Geesh. There is an actual VIP table. However, my dress is finally ready (not exactly what I wanted, but still simple elegance... I hope), I have all my accesories, and I know where to get my hair done (I wouldn't be getting my hair done if I would have just thought to bring my curling iron...). However, getting my hair done beautifully here only costs about $8 so what the heck? (I also got my eyebrows waxed for $3- Mom, pass THAT along to Deb!) This is what I love about Cambodia. If I don't want to, I really don't need to sacrifice many creature comforts (like when I need to go to a ball). But most of the time, it's just the dirty, sweaty Cambodia that I love...where no matter where you go or what you do, you will always have the faint smell of garbage, sweat, and a whiff of fish stuck to you. God bless Cambodia.