Movin' on up (or over... or North)...

So, its time for an update on what is happening with me in South Sudan. That is, besides taking photos and getting sick..

I came back from leave in the middle of May, and had finally gotten a handle on this job/ life. I like my colleagues, had made some good friends here in Yambio, and my veggie garden was finally coming along.

Plus, the work is really interesting, I did some fun (and occasionally heartbreaking) assessments with IDPs, learned about constructing slaughter slabs for goats, and how to stay awake during a 6 hour ceremony where "His Excellency, the Commissioner of xxx County" spoke at length about... something...   (I said I could stay awake… not that I could focus)

I've been helping to write lots of proposals, and have discovered that in the past few years, I've learned a thing or two about what makes a good indicator and what qualifies as relevant, efficient, effective and sustainable programming. Most days, I feel competent. All in all, I'd say that I learn new and interesting things every day, have grown a ton, seem reasonably competent and feel like I really found my niche. And, even though I still don't think of myself as a "grown-up"; I feel like a professional. Basically, I’ve comfortably settled into this life and just started feeling like I knew what I was doing.

So, last Sunday, when I got a phone call telling me that I was being relocated, I was a little stunned. Apparently we are having (another) re-organization. As part of this I am getting what is being called a promotion, but I think it’s actually just a new title on the business cards and a harder job.

Instead of being a "Program Quality Officer" in the "External Engagement, Program Quality and Resource Acquisition Department" I am a "Quality Assurance Officer" in the "Quality Assurance Department". (if this sounds a little Orwellian to you… you’re not alone)  I am also being moved from the state I currently live in, Western Equatoria, to a state called Warrap. This new position is supposed to be something like a we’ll-send-you-to-the-mess-and-ask-you-to-trouble-shoot, fix things-and-make-sure-they-stay-functional kind of a job. There will be lots of travel and I won't have a "base" I'll be mobile all the time-- moving within Warrap, to Juba and to the other regions if needed.

The mandate does actually sound like a lot of fun. That being said...

Western Equatoria is a tropical paradise, we have mangoes everyday and great weather. The projects were just starting to function, and we were starting 4 new ones that I was really excited to work on from proposal to close-out. Plus, we just got a new cook and I've stopped eating goat every day.

Warrap has 3 times the number of projects (i.e. 3 times the amount of work) and is easily twice as big (i.e. 2 times more bone-jarring rides in Land Cruisers)
Also, I hear that you can't find a vegetable in the whole state, there are snakes and scorpions all over and that the weather is absolutely miserable.

I'm 8 parts excited for this new job, 1 part sad to be leaving the one I love so much, and 1 part absolutely terrified that the new position is WAY too big of a job.

I will keep you updated and let you know how it goes. The good thing is that I'll have some breaks coming up. In August, I'm going to Honduras for a HEAT security training (totally awesome) and then my family is coming and we're going to spend a week each on Egypt and Tanzania.