I got back a few days ago from a big trip across southern Morocco. I signed up for a four day trip but it got extended to a five day trip because a storm came in and dumped snow in the pass. The main thing I remember from the trip is how cold it was! The weather in Morocco is about like weather in California. It gets cold in the winter, cold enough that we all have heaters in our houses. This is the difference between rich pampered Americans and Moroccans. They know the cold only lasts through January and February so they just put on a coat and a blanket and get on with it. The problem is that there is literally nowhere that is heated, so you spend days and days never really getting warm. Like you come in out of the van with windows that don’t quite close and a heater that doesn’t really work, and you go into the restaurant which is really just a terrace and a kitchen, then after you check in to your room where the tile construction makes it feel just like a meat locker. The hotels do not have hot water, or certainly not enough to take a shower. When I put water into the sink to wash and warm my hands the sink itself cooled the water down to less than lukewarm as it was filling! ...

I have been in Marrakech two days now and I have been lost in the souk (marketplace) at least three times. Far from being a problem, that means I am doing things right. After traveling in Dakar, the touts, faux guides, and various other types of urchin are no problem for me. In fact, as they are incredibly effective at reading people, I get approched a lot less because they can see that they will have no power over me. Still, I get my share of them. I turned into an alley yesterday and immediately realized it was a mistake because this guy launched into a speech. I ignored him furiously, staring at my feet and pretending to be deaf. Out of desperation he started guessing nationalities: Vous etes francais? American? Spanish? Greek? England? Taiwanese? ...

I am still alive! Just a little post to keep something on the front page of my blog. I am in Rome right now staying with the lovely and hospitable Kristin. Tomorrow I fly to Paris and meet the lovely and resourceful Lisa, who has scored us a room with the lovely and hospitable Nancy. In Paris, I will take Lisa to the lovely and educational Musee de Orsay, then go to MSF France to beg for a DVD of training films. I am heading on to Morocco to meet the handsome and helpful Aly, who will send me into the Atlas mountains on the back of a slovenly and surly ass, no doubt. ...

This photo essay shows pictures of several Liberian civil servants. The picture of the governor of River Gee brought back memories. I met village chiefs in offices like this to talk about how MSF could work with the community.

Some serious wandering on Google Video lead me, by way of the brilliant Bravia commercials, to this fun remix for what seems like a nice product line. And that in turn lead me to Bev Lee Harling’s music, which is another pleasurable discovery. And I realize that somehow I am 2 years late, but I just discovered One Ring Zero, and I am also in love with them as of right this minute. So there. ...

It has been a long time since I wrote last, so here is a tiny update. I am doing the handover to the new November 2 right now. It is a very strange thing to have him here and be able to literally count the days. Also now I have to pay particular attention to issues of respect, authority, control, and so on. I need my staff to see that this is an orderly transition and that I trust and have confidence in the new guy so that they do too. It is a different set of things to think about, but not too hard to figure out. ...

One of our cars is broken. The differential was making noise. In Liberian English, car parts can be “fine”, “not fine”, or “finished”. The mechanic took it apart this morning and found that one of the bearings in this differential is finished. It was interesting to see the insides of the differential, and I spent a while poking at it on the workbench, and having the mechanic explain the finer points to me (“This can spin, but those don’t so they have dicks and not bearings. Dicks, yes, dicks. Discs? No, dicks. And these, they can’t spoil too easy. You put different spacers in like so when these are not too fine, but you can’t file the spacers yourself, you have to get them from Toyota.”) ...

We were really busy here in October because of the need to plan 2007’s activities. We had to make a Plan of Action, then we had to make the budget. The whole process was eye opening into how MSF plans its activities, and working on the budget was sometimes boring drudge work, but sometimes it was really interesting. I understand the MSF budget system much better now, and in the future I will be able to quickly see what work was envisioned by the previous people when I get to a new project. I put in a bunch of nifty things that I think the next log/admin will appreciate, including major repairs to the radios and some replacement equipment for stuff we have worn out. ...

I just had the most profound sense of peace wash over me… not of the spiritual variety, but of the logistical. I was out checking up on the carpenters to make sure they understood my instructions right and were building the right stuff today. I held the plank for the guy as he was sawing out the handle for the drawer he is making. I puzzled for a while about the two pieces he was making, trying to figure out how he’d make a handle out of them. Then it dawned on me, “I don’t know what he’s going to make, but I’m sure it will be fine.” ...

Just a quick note to tell you all that I had a great birthday here in Nimba. The day went much better than could be expected, starting with the surprise arrival of the chief mechanic who fixed three cars today. It was not really a surprise, but it sort of felt like it, because he arrived on Saturday when I wasn’t around, and then came in to work on Monday morning and started waving his magic wrench around like a fairy sprinkling motor oil and fixing cars. ...