COVID -19 and 2020 recollections

 

Sylvester and Pinky and I enjoy the sunset

I'm writing to you from lovely green Kefalonia, Greece. I came here in October for a writing retreat with a bunch of Berlin writers that had been postponed from May (due to the pandemic). Back in January 2020 when I first signed up for this retreat, I envisioned taking a month off and writing for a week then going on holiday and "island hopping" for a month before returning to Berlin and my work as a consultant.

Little did I know how much things would change for me.

This is probably the year I've done the least amount of travel since I got my passport in 1997 to go on a study tour/vacation to Jamaica! The year started off with a bang - new year's eve in the village in NYC with my friend Alec from my days in DC, visiting old friends in NYC and shopping and eating. I then went to DC on the 3rd of January for my first vacation trip there for a few years and caught a terrible flu around the 6th. I recovered but I remember the weeks of fatigue afterwards and the wheezing and difficulty breathing. I look back now and wonder if it was COVID although the virus had not yet arrived in the USA at the time. Magical thinking to hope that I'm immune is more probable.

I flew back to Berlin after recuperating with my friend Cat in Pennsylvania and my sister in South Carolina and almost immediately went to Bulgaria for a training of one of my favorite projects last year, developing a curricula for interpreters and cultural mediators on how to respond to GBV survivors and provide psychological support for them, as well as addressing vicarious traumatization and burnout for themselves. Interpreters and cultural mediators are the front line workers - particularly in Europe - and it was a very meaningful and lovely project. I met amazing people that really gave me a lot of energy to do this work.

And then I went on a quick holiday jaunt to Dubai to see a friend (thinking, well, I don't love Dubai but its just for a few days!) I had the idea that I would then go from there to a conference in Bangkok and visit friends there, visit my friends in Maldives, and then go to Fiji to see friends there - possibly spending some time getting to know the Pacific before returning to Europe for spring. Boy how those plans changed! As I traveled back on February 11 on the terrible Pegasus Airlines from the budget terminal in Dubai and had a 3 hour layover in the "third" airport of Istanbul from 2am to 5am, the stories of the virus in Asia had spread and one by one, all the events in Asia were being canceled. "Good," I thought, "I could use a rest. These last few flights have been horrible! I am tired of traveling." Little did I know what that meant!

So I stayed at home. February in Berlin is not a pretty month  - dark, grey, cold, and rainy. But i was happy to be in my apartment for a while. We had an amazing spring and I had a small balcony where I could sit in the sun and plant flowers. But it was not restful and the fear of contracting COVID, spreading COVID, or learning that my loved ones had COVID was ever present. At the same time, the humanitarian world was coming to terms that GBV was the shadow pandemic coming alongside the lockdowns and quarantines. Never have I wished more that I had a cat. Simon Le Bon, the Siamese would have reminded me to sit, nap, breathe, eat, and purr to stay calm.

Dancing with Lukas in Templehof

 Berlin was a strange place to be in - we seemed to have the most beautiful spring in a long time and the summer saw the sidewalks and outdoor cafes packed with people outside, not a mask to be seen. And the noise from my neighborhood became unbearable. I hated being in my apartment (although its lovely). I couldn't get away from the stomping neighbors upstairs, the chattering coked up people at the restaurant downstairs under my bedroom, or the drunken mobs coming home from dancing and partying in the park near my house at 4am. I felt miserable and angry all the time. We did have some bright spots, all social activities moved to the parks so we had a few birthday parties in the outdoors. So in October, I came to Kefalonia for the writing retreat... and just stayed.

And - its March and I'm still here! I wake up and look at the Ionian sea and a grove of olive trees. 5 cats (Pinky Tuscadero, Cutie Pie, Sylvester, Filos, and Jenny) come onto my balcony and stare at me until I feed them. We discuss the seasons. I check them for ticks. They fight with each other and sometimes they curl up in the sun with each other and clean each other. We've been on lockdown since November which means there's a 6pm curfew and you have to get permission from the police to go out. So I go out once a week to buy groceries. I go downstairs to talk to my Greek neighbors and cook with them. And I walk around in the olive groves to the sea and listen to Stephen Fry reading Greek mythology to me on an audio book. Thanks to zoom and the internet and a kindle, I can still talk to friends, work full-time, and read books and watch movies. Its a very different existence than February 2020! But a good one.

So forgive my tardiness in sending you holiday greets and instead accept this as Saint Patrick Day or Ides of March greetings! A few photos of Kefalonia, cats, and COVID outdoor party in Berlin

Much love,

Sarah

2017 in photos (with cheesy epic music)

Here was my crazy 50th year - 2017 in photos.

Countries traveled to in 2017: Oman, Lebanon, Switzerland, Germany, UK, Turkey, France, Bosnia, Italy, Russia, Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Myanmar, Greece, Iceland

2017: From Asia to Europe and Back Again (with a lot of stops in between)

Happy New Year and Greetings from Berlin, Germany! 2017 was the year that I decided to leave Asia. This decision had been a while in the making – while my apartment was in Bangkok, I spent most of 2015 in the Middle East and most of 2016 in Europe (Serbia, Bosnia, and traveling in Greece, Middle Europe and Portugal). I finally bit the bullet and closed down my apartment in Bangkok and moved to Europe.

I knew at the end of 2016 that I was definitely going to leave Bangkok but I still wasn’t sure to where. Motivated by an inability to stand the 100% humidity and heat and awful sexpats of Thailand (along with an uncertain status as I was on a tourist visa), I wanted to take advantage of my British citizenship and EU passport before the powers that be finally pull the United Kingdom out of Europe. The allure of cheap Thai massage, jasmine flowers, and spectacular Thai food were not enough to hold me in Asia anymore and I had vague thoughts of “putting down roots” somewhere where gender equality and mild summers might exist. As a freelance consultant, I often work from home or travel for my work so I’m fairly free about where I can be based.  I came up with a plan to check out the cities that most appealed to me and to spend 3 months in each one until I decided where “home” would be.  I had also been in a bit of a depression and deep funk in 2016 with the awful double whammy of Brexit and the Trump election[1]. I started to heal a bit when I was asked to speak at the anti-inauguration in January with the Democrats Abroad in Bangkok where I spoke from my heart about the terrors that the Trump administration was going to bring to women – both in the USA and around the world. I took the next step in healing by returning to Beirut, Lebanon (via Oman). Beirut is a beautiful and exciting city where my friend Lina invited me to teach a class on Gender and Emergencies at the Lebanese-American University for her Institute of Women’s Studies in the Arab World[2]. It was very healing to be teaching energetic young students in Beirut as that was where I was when the dreaded Trump election happened. I also got to enjoy all the delicious Lebanese and Armenian food that Beirut offers and hang out with my friend Tom who kindly let me stay with him.

In March, after a short sojourn in Geneva for work, I headed to Berlin where I had rented a small (VERY SMALL) apartment in a neighborhood called Prenzlauer-Berg. Imagine my surprise and shock to find it did not come with internet! Although spring in Berlin is beautiful and I loved being outside, I am a free-lance consultant so need internet at home (plus as those of you who follow me know, I’m a social media junkie). While looking for a new temporary apartment, I unexpectedly landed a lovely apartment in Kreuzberg and he gave me a lease til March 15, 2018 so voila – decision made (at least for 2017). I hope to stay in Berlin but the housing market is very difficult so maybe the other cities may become options (Athens, Lisbon, and Paris if you are curious).

After a great spring and summer in Berlin (with travels to the UK to see Sarah marry Brett in Stonehenge, in Tuscany to see Maria marry Philippe, visiting Toni, Joeri, and Enzo to meet Yara in Bosnia, work trips with Kristine to Turkey, and amazing days in my friend Christine’s flat in Paris), I picked up my trusty bike from Amsterdam and spent it cycling around the parks and canal in Berlin having late night picnics. I also signed up for some writing classes and finally started writing (a long time dream)[3]. I’m really enjoying the move a lot. Being in a country with seasons again is fantastic and I love the culture and vibe of the city. If only I could get a permanent apartment!

2017 was also the year I turned 50. I can hardly believe it myself. How can I be 50 when I still feel 17 inside? Half a century of living deserves a big celebration so my dear friend Adrienne Cox, who I met when I worked in North Carolina after the death of my mother, flew out to join me on my adventure. After a fun night in the biergartens of Berlin, we flew off to Moscow where I fulfilled a dream of seeing Russia for the first time. We joined up with my friend Svetlana and her husband, Luca, and 4 others (Eva, Lora, Jason, and Connie) and jumped onto the Trans Siberian Railway where we spent a week traveling to and exploring Yekaterinaburg (where the Romanovs were murdered) and Irkutsk (on Lake Baikal in Siberia). So much vodka, caviar, Crimean Champagne, pelmenis, and “Trans Siberian bloody marys” were consumed.

Sarah and Svetlana’s Trans-Siberian Bloody Mary recipe

Vodka Train generic tomato juice Pickle juice from the delicious Russian pickles we bought at every stop Sarah’s Tabasco sauce Svetlana’s “spicy bear” sauce Pour into train proof – adult sippy cup and consume at all hours of the day.

After a week on the train in Russia, Adrienne, I carried on with two girls (Lora and Eva) on the Trans-Mongolian Express and headed to the capital of Ulan Bataar. We went down a step from our first class Russia travel and ended up 4 in a compartment with a Dutch couple who had very particular ideas about how the train compartment should be organized. Henk and Marlena lightened up though when we brought out our bottle of vodka and soon we were all friends. The Russian-Mongolian border was an experience as we had 8 hours to cross so killed the time by traipsing around through the small Russian town on the border and making friends with the local drunks who liked to hang out by the train station. Eva lead a yoga session on the tracks as well.

Mongolia was spectacular – after one day checking out all the Genghis Khan monuments and listening to some spectacular throat singing[4], Lora and I headed out to the countryside to stay with a nomadic Kazakh family in their traditional ger (known as a yurt in Europe). It was freezing cold by the time we got there and we rode some Mongolian ponies, had a lovely meal with the family, and gazed at the spectacular Milky Way in the clear non light polluted sky.  After playing an incomprehensible game with some sheep ankle bones with the kids, there was some miscommunication and Lora and I found ourselves sleeping in the yurt without about 15-20 people. It wasn’t very restful but the next day we drank some mare’s fermented milk and drove out to see some of the Gobi desert and to ride a Mongolian camel. We were just coming in from our camel ride when who did I spot in the distance? Our train buddy Eva and her brother! We had a nice reunion with some Genghis Khan vodka by the campfire for the night. The next day, on the way back to Ulan Bataar – we stopped into a national park where they are reintroducing the wild horses (precursor to our domestic horses) and I got to sit in the wild and watch a herd of them enjoy the sun with no fences or cages to be seen. Truly a highlight of the year. (you can see more about them in a movie that Julia Roberts produced called: Wild Horses of Mongolia[5]). Mongolia is a spectacularly beautiful and wild place – one of the most special countries I have ever been to. I highly recommend that if you get the chance, you should go there. It has a spirit that is hard to put into words.

Lora and I bid adieu to Eva and got back onto the train where we completed the Trans Mongolian and headed to Beijing, China. We lucked out with some great train mates – Barbara and Leo – two Italian punk rockers and we introduced them to the custom of drinking vodka in the morning. All was going well until a horrific few hours at the Mongolian-Chinese border where they locked up the toilets, turned off the running water and the air conditioning and electricity, leaving us to vegetate and stew in our hot compartments where I somehow managed to spill KimChi instant ramen sauce all over Leo’s pillow on his bunk. Finally, we were able to enter China and use the toilet! It was a world apart from Russia or Mongolia and not at all what I expected  - clean public toilets in the train station, muzak wafting from the fake neon trees on the train platform, and uniformed Chinese guards to escort us around. We rolled into Beijing the next morning to rain and a cold front but after a nap, we lucked out for the rest of the trip as somehow we had clear weather and clear sunny skies without a hint of pollution. Lora and I visited the Forbidden City (a bit dull), ate and drank our way through the hutongs/back allies of Beijing (with amazing food like donkey burgers and jianbing[6], Beijing Duck with my friend Lars from Bangkok) and met up with Barbara and Leo to see Beijing’s craft beer scene. Lora encouraged me to be brave and hike up the very very high and very steep Great Wall of China (instead of emulating the Chinese and taking the cable car) and then I headed off to Shanghai alone on the train (this time business class!). I fell in love with Shanghai – a perfect mix of old and new. It was again, very different than what I expected – crowded but not oppressive. The Chinese are amazing hosts- kind to strangers and their food is spectacular. A highlight was a food tour I took through the French concession where I sampled snake, hand-pulled noodles, so many different dumplings, roasted lamb – and ended the evening drinking martinis in a beautiful 1920’s style bar listening to the “Old Man Band” of jazz musicians over the age of 80 play old jazz standards. I also learned about the 30,000 Jewish refugees who fled World War II and were sheltered by the Chinese in Shanghai. Very moving to go to the old synagogue and learn about Dr. Jakob Rosenfeld[7] who was grateful to the Chinese and ended up serving as a doctor with Chairman Mao in the Chinese Revolution.

I got back on the train again to old Canton (Guangzho) where I got to meet up with my friends Karen and Phillip who hosted me and showed me around this lovely city in a monsoon, treated me to dim sum, and giggles with their kids. Finally, I jumped on my last train and headed to Shenzhen where I unfortunately missed Nolan, my friend from Goatfeather’s in SC, but rested my bones before hopping the border to Hong Kong, getting on a plane to Bangkok, and packing up my apartment and saying goodbye to dear friends in Thailand. Phew!

I lived in Thailand from February 2011 in the same apartment so I had a very close relationship with Khun Nee – my housekeeper who looked after me and my cat, Simon Le Bon. She nursed me through my kidney operation in 2011, minded Simon through all my travels, and cried and hugged me when he died and I brought home his ashes. I will miss her – not just her immaculate housekeeping but her warm and caring nature and all the sweet things she gave me and did for me (she often brought me doilies, little animal figurines, pomelos, buddhas as well as ironing my sheets and keeping my houseguests in line). She is an amazing kind devout woman and treated me well. I’ll also miss my motosai guys – the four men who provide motorcycle taxi service in front of Sethiwan Residence. They always gave me free rides, cheered me up, and once even warned me to stay inside during the Yellow Shirt protests on a night that got violent. Wanchai, my favorite of them all, took me to the airport on my last day and gave me a lovely Buddhist amulet to protect me in Europe. While I was, sometimes, very lonely in Bangkok - the relationships I had with these lovely Thai people will ensure that Thailand is always in my heart. I’ll also miss my great expat neighbors, Kathy, Andrea, Richard, Jordan, and Rebecca, from Sethiwan Residence. When we were all living there together, it was as close as I ever came to my dream of making all my friends live in the same building a la Seinfeld. My other dear memory will always be the Ottolenghi Cooking Club where I joined Vanessa, Ramya, Momo, Andrea, Kathy, and others to cook for each other from Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks[8] and post instagrams hoping to lure him to Thailand. I had the chance to meet him in Berlin where I babbled about our devotion to him so keep the hope alive Momo and Vanessa! It might happen! We will continue our cooking adventures via our facebook page but it won’t be the same without the food in front of us.

So after almost two months traveling again in Asia, I flew to Berlin (via Qatar!) but for less than 12 hours before I turned around and tried to fly to Brazil (tried because in my fatigue I lost and then recovered my passport forcing me to stay grounded for 24 hours). I presented a few papers I wrote at the biannual Sexual Violence Research Initiative conference in Rio and got to explore that fantastic city of contrasts. From lying on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema to the amazing street art and music, Brazil has it all. I loved it.

I then finally returned to Europe to spend the rest of the year here. Well – sort of – I did a rapid trip with my friend Devanna to Iceland to make sure I could handle winter! So much for putting down roots! But autumn and winter in Germany are also lovely. From bicycle rides through the golden leaves of the parks of Berlin to the cozy glüwein fueled winter markets, Berlin has something for every season. Alyson came to join me in December for a holiday and we headed to the Christmas markets and the sites of Berlin before ending the year in rural Wales with my friend Sandrine.

Even though 2017 saw the world being terrorized by ISIS, a never ending war in Syria and Afghanistan, the expulsion of the Rohingya from Myanmar (and the death of our love for Aung Sang Suu Kyi), the cheeto faced maniac who is currently serving as president of the United States and the incompetency of the Tories negotiating Brexit, it was, for me,  a very positive and fulfilling year, both professionally and personally. I accomplished some great work (publishing a chapter of a book with my friend Devanna[9], putting out two publications with my work with UNFPA for the Whole of Syria response[10] and Women’s Refugee Commission in Lebanon[11], co-authoring a paper with some amazing feminists and presenting in Brazil[12], and working with UNICEF in Greece and Italy) and I made some great new friends (you know who you are). And I moved to Europe. While I miss my little furry friend Simon Le Bon, in 2017 I move forward hopefully into 2018 ready for new adventures, houseguests, and fun!  Please stay in touch and let me know if you are coming through Germany! I’d love to host you!

Much love,

Sarah

-->

---

[1] For some of my immediate reaction to the Trump election, see my blog at: http://screamsfromthepinkcollarghetto.blogspot.de/2016/11/cooking-to-heal-your-broken-political.html

[2] Check out Lina’s amazing work at http://iwsaw.lau.edu.lb/

[3] Excerpts can be found on my blog: http://screamsfromthepinkcollarghetto.blogspot.com

[4] Check it out for yourself here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rmo3fKeveo

[5] Wild Horses of Mongolia with Julia Roberts at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RzVQ988LDQ

[6] Check out jianbing here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/08/jianbing-chinese-savory-breakfast-crepe.html

[7] For more on the refugees of Shanghai, see http://www.china.org.cn/video/2015-12/12/content_37300684.htm

[8] Ottolenghi has several amazing cookbooks but my favorites are Plenty and Jerusalem. An amazing mix of mostly vegetarian Mediterranean food – run and get yours now! https://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/

[9] Sarah Martin and Devanna de la Puente, Forthcoming 2018, Mind the Gap: Challenges and Opportunities for implementing the Relief and Recovery pillar of UN Security Resolution 1325. in S.E.Davies and J. True (Eds). Oxford Handbook of Women, Peace and Security (New York: Oxford University Press). http://www.monashgps.org/single-post/2016/06/10/Oxford-Handbook-on-Women-Peace-and-Security

[10] Listen, Engage, and Empower: A strategy to address the needs of adolescent girls in the Whole of Syria. http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/unfpa-launches-strategy-syrian-adolescent-girls and https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/system/files/documents/files/wos_adolescentgirlstrategy_final.pdf

[11] https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/populations/adolescent-girls/research-and-resources/1538-engaging-male-caregivers-to-end-early-marriage-in-lebanon

[12] Cofem: Feminist Perspectives on addressing violence against women and girls, 2017, Eclipsed: When a broad protection agenda obscures the needs of women and girls. http://raisingvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Paper-5-COFEM.final_.sept2017.pdf

2016: Cat Sitting for the Soul

Hello all: 

Happy New Year! It's a bit late but I hope you'll accept my greetings! I feel like 2016 had me always a day late on everything. So a short catch up on my whirlwind life: 

Last year, I traveled to 24 countries* including 8 new ones (Hong Kong, Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzagovina, and Greece) bringing my total of countries up to 84! I still have so many places to see though, I'll never get tired of traveling but I am getting tired of moving around so much. I want a home and a place to live that I can settle into and get to know my neighbors, have a garden, and all those other homey things. 

On the career front, I started off the job as the Regional Emergency Gender-based Violence Advisor for Asia and the Pacific - a job that seemed like it was something I would like but that I instead felt frustrated in. The internal UN politics are not where I am happy. I like being in the field with women's organizations and teaching humanitarian aid workers about gender and GBV and getting them inspired. I went to London to attend a certificate course on Research Methods about GBV in February and while there was interviewed for what seemed like a dream job. 

In April, I took the job as Initiatives Director for Women and Children's Protection at the International Rescue Committee based in Belgrade, Serbia. I was to map what was happening with the Syrian, Afghan, and other migrants/refugees/asylum seekers (whatever you wish to call them) as they moved through Europe and tried to get to Germany, Sweden, and other countries. I moved to Belgrade in April but it was one week after the EU-Turkey deal took place which sealed the borders and dropped the flow of immigrants. 

It was a fantastic job - I interviewed refugees and got to know them in Berlin, in Serbia, I traveled all over the Balkans (hence many of those 8 new countries). But unfortunately, the world's attention shifted now that refugees were being moved via smugglers and there weren't the dramatic boat and group shots at the borders on the nightly news. There were still immense protection violations and women and children were at even greater risk from smugglers and others as they attempted to illegally move through the continent but with donors attentions elsewhere, IRC decided to discontinue my position and scale back. 

This also coincided with a moment I had been dreading - the death of Simon Le Bon, my adored Siamese cat. He was the loudest cat in the world, a real love bug, and a force of nature. He was 16 years old and while still quite spry and energetic and loud as ever, he had started to have some problems with his kidneys. My constant time away from him was an awful thing but I did the best I could for him. He was a well-traveled and deeply loved cat. I still can hear his meow when I come back to my apartment every day.  I was in Serbia when he died and I dreaded returning back to Thailand to no job, an empty apartment, and the heat and humidity and assorted big city life. 

Thankfully, after a good holiday in Budapest with my bestie Alec I felt a bit better and then a series of cat sitting gigs opened up. I am calling it Autumn 2016: Cat Sitting for the Soul. I met four new cats in Sarajevo, Bosnia where i stayed for August and September. Naila and Garu and Dirty Frank and the late loved Bobbie Magee (RIP). They kept me warm, purred over my broken heart, and kept me attentive to the needs of their littler boxes and food bowls. I even received some gifts of dead birds and grasshoppers. And a few fur balls. I also looked after the elegant Labneh in Paris for a while and hung out with the old dude, Primo in Berlin. 

After healing up a bit, I took off traveling around Europe looking for that elusive place that I'd like to call home. I visited Athens, Greece which I loved because of its connection with my father. But there were a few too many aid workers and it stressed me out thinking I was the "old woman' being irritated with young new faces working in humanitarian aid. I went to Berlin, home of my good friend Mike Dumiak (from Drinking Big 40s in the Graveyard in Sumter, SC fame) and it seems like a great fit. I also went to Lisbon, Portugal with my friends the famous author (!!) and his handsome DJ husband, Saleem Haddad and Adam Barr. So glamorous - I hope the paparazzi spells my name right and doesn't get wind of us stuck in an elevator for 3 hours! And Paris - gorgeous Paris - home of extremely expensive apartments and my glamorous friends (as well as the elegant aforementioned Labneh). I'm still figuring it out. Alyson joined me in the autumn for a trip we've been planning for years which probably makes no sense to anyone but us: Auschwitz and Neuschwanstein. we are both mad about history, she studied German and European history and we love castles. We had a book on our living room table since childhood of castles of the world and Neuschwanstein was the cover photo and we have been talking about going there forever. We had a great trip and worked in Vienna and Prague as well. 

I then went over to Beirut, Lebanon to reconnect with my brilliant friend, Lina who runs the Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World where I'll be teaching a class in 2017. And in what we thought was going to be an affirmative win of feminism over crass bigotry, we got together with two other gender-based violence activists to watch the US election returns. I have never been more frightened, anxious, and depressed over politics than I have been since November 6. I took to my bed for two days - waking up to realize it wasn't a nightmare and going back to sleep with a sense of dread and anxiety. 

Sitting in a country like Lebanon that has suffered so much from internecine conflict and lives in a dangerous neighborhood - dangerous because it also serves as a battle ground for USA's political experiments and happens to have the extremely controversial spiritual hubs for three religions right next door - is humbling. It reminded me to calm down because the Lebanese know how to survive in such places but it also made me realize how high the stakes were in this election. I feel so disheartened and my normal political activism is gone. I feel cynical, scared, and hopeless about the future of our world. The fact that one of the first things that the administration of "he who shall not be named" moved to do was cast their Sauron's eyeball towards gender equality programming is chilling and doesn't bode well for the women of the world who have looked to the USA as someone to assist them in their search for equality.

So I returned to Bangkok for Thanksgiving 2016 with a group of human rights activists and americans. We were sad and subdued this year. And I returned to my apartment and did a little more travel in Asia - visiting Yogyakarta and Borobodur, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Hoi An and Hanoi, Vietnam, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin, Thailand before returning back to Bangkok to begin consulting again. 

So despite the many movements and job changes in 2016, I start off 2017 sort of where I started - back in Bangkok, unsure of where to go next, and working as a consultant. I'm also turning 50 this year so it feels like a year that should involve some change. However, as I analyze the findings from my sabbatical, I'm trying to focus on the good things like my cat friends taught me on my sabbatical. Find a sunbeam and lie in it to rejuvenate yourself, nap whenever possible as we all need more sleep, when in doubt - pause and take a bath, and show your love for those that feed you and make sure that you get the type of food you want. If they don't, then maybe you should pee in their fireplace. 

So - what is next? I don't know! Stay tuned! Happy 2017,

Sarah (available for cat sitting gigs globally)

Consulting and Traveling (Repat) End of the Year 2013

Happy Holidays to you and your family from South Carolina! I thought I would send out a traditional "Xmas Letter" to those who I haven't had a chance to talk to this year and just fill you in on what probably looks like a chaotic life from afar (or on facebook!) I'm also enclosing a "xmas card" that I designed myself. As you can see, I have not re-trained as a graphic designer.

Yesterday, I completed the grueling 24 hour trip home yesterday (took me almost 4 days with a layover in Seoul, Korea and Seattle) and upon arrival, I had to rush to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles to renew my driver's license in person (as it had been over 10 years since I had the photo taken last). It was an interesting welcome back to South Carolina and the USA (the super friendly lady at the DMV told me how teenagers don't know how to sign their names anymore since they don't teach cursive and the friendly photographer apologized for not being able to photoshop my photo)- gotta have a driver's license to exist in this country! As my friend Alec said - its not a proper license unless you look like a zombie in your photo.  In order to make it completely American, I made Alyson stop off at the McDonald's drive-thru for lunch on the way back but I was disappointed in the french fries and missed the Thai chili sauce that they serve with fries in Bangkok but there's no place like home for the holidays!

Alyson and I are going to do a little sister's road trip to Florida to see some friends after spending Xmas Eve and Xmas day in Columbia and then I'll spend 2 weeks in South Carolina and a week in the Pacific Northwest back in Seattle and maybe Vancouver before heading back to South East Asia to see what the new year brings.

2013 was a good year - I officially launched my consulting business (although I had a few consultancies in 2012) and was kept quite busy with short term work in Thailand, Libya, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Egypt and the Philippines. I was honored to be one of the first people in the UK government's Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative to be deployed to look at sexual violence as a war crime in Libya. I also was thrilled to present some of my work in October at the biannual Sexual Violence Research Initiative Conference in October where i got to hobnob with other professionals and meet lots of dynamic and inspiring women working to end gender-based violence around the world. Another highlight of the professional year was the opportunity to work for almost 3 months in Rakhine State in Myanmar where there has been an ongoing crisis of Buddhists attacking and displacing Muslims. I helped set up gender-based violence programs and trained people in how to respond. Myanmar is a wonderfully beautiful and interesting country -particularly with the rapid onset of changes in 2013 and I hope to go back in 2014 to work more - perhaps up in the Kachin region by the Chinese border to look at trafficking of Myanmar women into China as brides.

While I like some aspects of being an independent consultant (very little office politics and new and interesting assignments), I miss having the stability of a job, the companionship of fantastic coworkers (you know who you are), and of course - a less hectic traveling schedule. My non-stop travel caught up with me in December, I caught the flu in the Philippines so rather than doing an assessment on the needs of GBV survivors in the aftermath of the typhoon, I ended up watching lots of tv shows in a hotel room while shaking, sneezing, and wheezing through the flu for over a week. However I can highly recommend "The Americans", "Orphan Black", and "The Returned" to anyone looking to binge-watch any shows...  silver linings! As I spend a lot of time in hotel rooms and on the road, I was also able to watch all of the "House of Cards", "Breaking Bad", latest season of "Mad Men" and "Orange is the New Black" this year too... the downside is that it seriously impacted my book reading which I hope to remedy in the new year. All this travel makes it too hard to read sometimes!

I also traveled for fun a bit too - I have a tourist visa in Thailand so I can't stay there for over 30 days - this lead to good fun in Vietnam where I toured the country to check out the legacy of the US war there with my friend Mike Dumiak from high school, eating tarantulas and touring the killing fields in Cambodia, bicycling around Bagan, Myanmar street food and art tours in Penang, Malaysia with my other traveling buddy and friend from Amsterdam Jennifer Lin, relaxing at Railay Beach in Thailand, getting centered amongst the rice fields of Bali, and catching up with my college roommate, Ann-Michelle Burton, and her family in Phuket, Thailand and Doha, Qatar amongst other amazing times. All in all, I spent 223 days (and 70,000 miles) on the road. I think for 2014, I'm looking to stay in one place for a bit longer. Simon the cat doesn't like it when I travel (although my housekeeper, the lovely Khun Nee takes great care of him when I'm gone).  I want a more settled existence so I can develop some routines, spend more time reading, writing in my blog and possibly tackling that book I always said I want to write and more time cooking and entertaining with others. A boyfriend would be nice as well.

I was also pleased to meet some amazing foodie people in Bangkok this year as well and have enjoyed in the short time I've been there some great dinner parties, food excursions, and farmer's market trips which I hope to do more of in the new year.  I love having guests in Bangkok (whether I'm there or not) so I encourage you to come see me in the new year - although I am looking at finding someplace a bit closer to the US and a more stable lifestyle than this visa situation allows for the new year. I'm going to apply for my UK citizenship finally and also consult an astrocartographer in the new year to see where is the best place for me!

That's it for me for 2013. Looking forward to South Carolina cuisine (barbecue! black-eyed peas! catfish! sweet tea!), the pleasures of America (Mexican food! driving! good music! On-line shopping for underwear that fits me!), and catching up with friends while stateside until January 20th. I hope you'll drop me a line and let me know what you've been up to as well! I love facebook because it lets me peek into your lives and I miss all of you dear friends and family. This nomadic existence that I lead makes me long for roots and connections so please feel free to share your news and baby photos and other things that we can't share together as the miles separate us.

Sending you my love,
Sarah

2011: A Year in Movies

I love to go to the movies but Bangkok (despite having spectacular theatres) does not really play many of the types of movies I like to see. However, I did manage to sneak in quite a few (thanks to airplane trips to Europe, Asia, and South Africa).

Loved:
1. Captain America - reminded me of Indiana Jones. I particularly loved the USO show part with the cheery music!

2. The Help - brought me right back to South Carolina

3. The King's Speech- saw in Feb 2011, good old Anglophilia movie

4. Little Red Riding Hood* - lush and romantic with some amazing images. Great Scenery chewing by Gary Oldman and much better teenage love than Twilight.

5. True Grit** - particularly Matt Damon! But everyone was great in this movie. You can't go wrong with the Coen Brothers!

6. Jane Eyre* - another stylistic and beautiful retelling of an old favorite - plus Michael Fassbender!

7. Midnight in Paris - Don't like Woody Allen anymore but could not resist this film. The guy who played Ernest Hemingway was amazing!


8. Hanna* - A crazy race around Europe. I loved it. The girl assassin is amazing and I love Eric Bana.

9. Cedar Rapids* - fantastic and funny and surprising. I felt like I had been to this conference. Better than Bridesmaids in my opinion.

Not Too Bad:
10. Contagion* - you get to see Gwyneth Paltrow's head be sawed off in an autopsy!

11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2* - I wept, I'll admit it. Some pretty good war scenes and very intense. A great ending to one of my favorite kid's series.

12. Submarine* - some great 70s scenes, a great protaganist, and a good reminder of heart break.

13. Water for Elephants* - Robert Pattinson is not too bad and I do like Reese Witherspoon but Christophe Waltz steals the show as usual.

14. Bridesmaids - had to see it after all the hype but was rather under-whelmed. It did hit female friendship quite well but I could have done without the diarrhea jokes. But I loved the Irish cop.

15. Get Him to the Greek** - love Russell Brand but don't like the fat guy with the curly hair. I don't find him funny, just weird. But P Diddy was quite funny....

Should have been better:
16. One Day - the book was great, the movie sucked but had some okay parts. Anne Hathaway was completely miscast and the aging effects were terrible.

17. X men First Class* - stylistically beautiful but I didn't buy Kevin Bacon as the villain. I also saw because I'm obsessed with James Macavoy and Michael Fassbender.

Saw because I was desperate to watch a movie:
18. The Priest - surprisingly interesting - cowboys, the Spanish Inquisition, and ugly vampires. And I like Paul Bettany.

19. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - I thought I was going to see Fright Night and surprise! A shitty Katie Holmes movie about the tooth fairy!

20. Mr. Popper's Penguins* - some amusing parts but why is watching penguins shit a crowd pleaser?

21. The Hangover 2 - loved watching Bangkok in its squalor but again, it went too far and was not funny enough.


Hated:
22. Tower Heist - seriously bad. I could have re-written the whole thing and was tempted to do so. I felt like I could predict the lines. And Eddie Murphy should have been funnier.

23. Somewhere - As my friend Brian Griffin said at the end of this snoozefest - "I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit" - come on Sofia Coppola!

24. Thor - small people rattling around in a big set and an annoying hero who I wanted to see die. Watch the trailer I linked to - its definitely better than the movie.

25. Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon* - See previous review. "CRASH, THUD, BANG"

KEY:
* Saw on the airplane
** Saw on the movies on demand in the hospital

Changes in 2011

As you may have noticed - 2010 was not a great year for me as far as writing and being creative... I was on sick leave for five months due to a combination of stress from work (non stop travel, Haitian earthquakes, and human resource problems at my org) and from personal grief over the illness and death of my father in 2009 and it definitely impacted my ability to put my thoughts down on paper (or the computer!).

Although I had adventures and traveled a lot in 2010, I couldn't find it in me to write as much as I used to... for the record, I did manage to hit several new countries this year and most of them were for pleasure and fun, not work*.  It was odd not to visit Africa this year - although my time in Haiti and India were certainly memorable.  2011 should bring some big changes... I've accepted a job with the Norwegian Refugee Council and will be seconded to the United Nations as a Gender-based Violence Regional Training Manager for Asia. I'll be working on building capacity in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nepal to fight gender-based violence and I'll be moving to Bangkok, Thailand!

Its a big change - but I think I needed something. Although I have learned a lot in the big humanitarian agency where I currently work, its never really been a good fit for me - the lack of prioritization on women's issues, the reluctance to do advocacy, and the byzantine office politics and proud refusal to professionalize has undermined my own belief in my abilities and I feel stagnant.  I'm not sure that this new job will be perfect - are there any "perfect" jobs out there? And I will miss Amsterdam and Europe and my lovely colleagues from my current job but I am ready to try something new. Thai cooking classes, meeting Afghan women's organizations, and working for the Scandinavians... lets see how it goes! Wish me luck and pack your bags and come to visit in 2011!!!


*Here's my travel itinerary from 2010:
January: Kerala, Delhi, and Manipur India
February: Istanbul and Selcuk Turkey
March: Port-au-Prince, Haiti and London and Liverpool, UK
April: Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina
May: Edinburgh, Scotland, Paris, France and Texel and Verschelling in the Frisian Islands of Holland
June: Berlin, Germany and Gdansk, Poland
July: Paris, France
August: Copenhagen, Denmark
September: Tuscany, Italy and Bologna, Italy
October: Berlin, Germany and Prague, Czech Republic
November: Ghent, Belgium, Maastricht, Netherlands and Berlin, Germany
December: London and Swindon, UK

Goodbye 2008

Goodbye 2008! It was a hell of a year. Here's a few of the highlights and low points. Let's hope 2009 is a bit nicer to family Martin!

Highlights:
Learning how wonderful my family and friends were as they helped my family and me out during some stressful times. Thank you cousins Dorothy, Don, Catherine and Dickie, Mike, Michele D, Calvin, and Chip. Thanks to everyone else who looked after Simon and supported me.

Meeting new and interesting people, great concerts in Amsterdam, and some beach parties too!

The election of Barack Obama as US President which showed the world (and me too) that the US is still an extraordinary place where good things can happen.

Going to Papua New Guinea

Presenting my work at a conference in Uganda

Vacationing in Rome to see my friend Brian and attending my friend Diana's son's baptism.

Holidays in Berlin, Lisbon and Lake Naivasha, Kenya


Low points:
My father's accident where he broke his arm. This lead to a sudden decline where we had to move him out of my childhood home in Sumter, SC to live in Columbia with my sister.

Alyson's broken leg - while in the process of the move, she fell down some stairs and broke her ankle. About a day later, she found out that her company was being merged with Verizon and she might lose her job.

My father's illness - after moving to Columbia, he suddenly started experiencing terrible pains. They hospitalized him to perform tests. We suspected cancer. he developed pneumonia and they didn't think he'd make it. I flew 42 hours from Papua New Guinea to South Carolina but luckily he survived.

Helping him rehabilitate and learn how to walk again in some of the grimmest healthcare settings in the USA. Learning about what happens to you when you are a prisoner and develop cancer or need kidney dialysis.

The death of my friend Sunny.