Thursday, May 26, 2005

July 4th in May

The official July 4th party was held on May 26th. We shifted the date to avoid the heat and wet of monsoon season. Normally the monsoons start in June. However, this year it rained nearly every day in May and we feared a bad decision had been made. Crazy weather. The Ambassador decided on a large July 4th party, with about 1100 invited guests. I think about 800 actually came to enjoy our planning and hard work. The party was a resounding success. Several Nepali guests commented that though they had been to the American July 4th party for the past 20+ years, this was the best one they had attended. That was a great compliment, especially after all of the work and frustration that went into the event. (See photos at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=16nw59zt.67dr2met&x=1&y=1v28ag).

Sunday, May 15, 2005

Professional successes

The goodbye party season is in full swing, with half of the American staff changing between now and August. That means my busy time of the year really kicks in. As the housing person, I arrange the painting, repair and housing assignments (known as house make ready activities) for all of those new people, and make sure that the old people pay for any damage they have caused in the house as well as getting their personal stuff packed out. This year we not only have the replacement of the people who are leaving, but we also have a net increase in new positions of 5 people. Things will be very busy. I started signing new leases last week on houses we located in December. It takes a lot of time to get a house ready to the point where we can sign a lease (nearly 5 months!) and start doing the other things the embassy needs to do to make it work for an American family. These things include installing a generator, appliances, split heater / AC units, etc. I am making one really big change here in Kathmandu. For the first time, in more than 15 years, we are renting an apartment building. We located a wonderful, seismically stable, 6-unit apartment building. For a while the make ready difficulties seemed overwhelming, but it all seems to be working out. Our first occupant will move in at the end of July. Not only will this make an easier make ready season for my busy staff, but it will also be a better financial deal for the American taxpayer. By having one building we save on rental costs, guard salaries and preventive maintenance. It is great to be able to do parts of my job effectively.

Saturday, May 07, 2005

GSO staff observations

I went on a picnic with many of my staff at a temple outside of Kathmandu. I was the only woman in a group of 50 guys. It is the first time I realized there are only 4 women on my entire staff, when you exclude me. Odd, but driving and maintenance do not attract women professionals yet here. I hired one more woman for a purchasing job, so now there are 5. Anyway, the picnic was fun, and I had the chance to dance, laugh, eat and drink for a day and remember that my staff loves me, despite the fact that they are not getting ANY raise this year because of budget cuts. (See photos at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=16nw59zt.aaylg82t&x=0&y=t1bmwq).