Jobs and Needles and Things.

So I've found myself a full time position at a different Embassy here in Islamabad. Woohoo! I haven't started yet, as I'm waiting for my security clearance to come back, and I've just handed the paperwork in today. But hopefully that doesn't take too long, because I'd like to start work as soon as possible. Sitting at home doing nothing (ie. watching television shows, sleeping, and travel planning) is starting to get a little boring. However, once I do have a job, I'll probably miss all of this down time.

After handing my paperwork in today to the security department, I was told to go to the clinic for a checkup. So I get there, and suddenly I'm told that I must go out into the city for a chest x-ray and bloodwork. Say what? I've never heard of a job making you do that before now. I got a little upset at this news, because I'm terrified of blood and needles, for whatever reason.

But it went shockingly well!

Aside from the fact that the clinic was set up in such a way, that it was literally like going to the DMV. You take your number, you wait until they call your name, and then you go up to the counter, stick your arm out, and they take your blood. Yup, right in the waiting room. I may have shed a tear or two, only because I get myself so worked up over these things. But she was incredibly gentle, and the needle she used was so tiny that I could hardly feel it. It was like the tiniest poke ever, and did not hurt one bit. I was amazed! If only it were that easy all the time, I'd happily go every week to donate blood. And that's saying something!

But yay me for landing my ass a job! I thought the interview went well, but I didn't think I'd get it. And I'm very pleased that I did. Hopefully I'm good at it, and that they like me, and that I can continue to work there until we leave in 2014. Not to mention it'll look great on my resume :)

Oh, and we fired out domestic helper. It just wasn't working out, she wasn't doing what we wanted her to do, and I'm not sure if we'll hire another. I've never had to fire anyone before though, so that was kind of awkward.

Just some things to note

+ It takes like 10 freakin' minutes for the water to turn hot! Okay, maybe I am exaggerating, more like 3-4 minutes.
+ We've always washed our clothes in cold water, but here, even when you put the dial to cold, it's more like luke warm. No big deal really, just odd.
+ Everyone told me that I'd be sick within the first week, as I guess that's when most people fall ill here. Just shy of 3 weeks and I'm still feeling great. Knock on wood.
+ I think we've only cooked two meals for ourselves since we've been here? Quite the change from the chefs we were back home, with our fancy meals every night. It's just not the same without our own pots and pans, and without our spice rack and "our food". Hopefully things will change once all that arrives.
+ We've hired a domestic helper. Her name is Tahira, she's Christian, and came knocking on our door one day looking for work. Most people here, in the diplomatic community, have a helper, a cook, a gardener, a car washer. It's a little ridiculous actually, but it would be nice to have someone help clean and cook us dinners once in awhile, especially if and when I find a job. So she'll be working for us every Monday and Thursday, for about 4-5 hours. And get this - it's only $80 a month. And we're OVER paying her. She was so happy when we told her how much she'd be making and said that she'd been praying that we'd hire her. It feels good to help her out a little bit, and in return, we have help too! Just going to be hard adjusting back to Canadian life, and not having anyone to help. Haha.
+ I was told the other day that according to the UN, Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world. And Canada is the biggest exporter of drugs. Who knew?
+ Monday and Tuesday were holidays for Eid, the end of Ramazan, sort of like a Muslim Christmas I guess you could say. We were invited to dinner at Michael's house, a local staff member. He's Christian though, so it wasn't exactly a dinner for Eid, but just to feed the Canadians until they puked type of dinner. The 4 other Canadians and I crowded around a small table with Michael, while his wife and son served us dish after dish of delicious Pakistani food. It was a bit weird that they didn't sit down with us to eat, but I guess that's just their culture. What a nice son though, so well behaved. That sure wouldn't fly in Canada.
+ Unfortunately the power was out for half the time we were there. Here in Pakistan, load shedding is a daily occurance. The government will turn the power off for one hour intervals to help save money. They promised that they wouldn't over the Eid holiday, but alas, they broke it. Fortunately for us in the diplomatic enclave, we are not affected by the load shedding as we have back up generators.



Definitely not in Kansas Canada anymore.