I can identify far too many of the products in this picture.
I can put my hands on far too many of the products in this picture right now in my house.
Beverly, I just backtracked through LJ to find what you are referring to, and I think you handled it very well. Not a lot of compassion in that visitor, I think.
Mememe, mostly:
We just got our sponsor assignment for this summer. It's a couple transferring from a SE Asian country. He's the gov't employee, and basically on his retirement tour; she's his wife of 5 months, a citizen of the SE Asian country, and this is her first time away from home. This means that I'll have a little more to do sponsor-wise than usual, as she'll be in need of a little more help, what with assimilating into the USG culture at the same time as the Greek culture.
The general idea is that sponsors should be similar to sponsees in age and family makeup (a single twentysomething won't have much information about daycare, for example), and in Athens, it's also important that you live in the same area so you can show them around and give them rides and stuff.
So what do we have in common with this new couple? Well, not much. We all speak some English, and three of us have security clearances of some level or another and work in the same building. They live in a completely different neighborhood, have no kids, he's 52, she's 26. We're the perfect age to not relate to either of them.
Argh. At least I'm starting to figure out the bus routes and stuff to their neighborhood.
So what you have in common is that you are married and in USG culture? That's it?
And Timelies everyone!
It's a gloomy yet cool Friday morning -- my last regular Friday off. I feel like I should be sleeping in but allergies and the cats woke me up early.
...he's 52, she's 26.
If I manage to come away from Thailand
not
despising men, it's going to be a miracle. No reflection upon the individuals concerned, Raq, just - man, I have little enough patience with white heterosexual male entitlement shit as it is.
How did you know it was Thailand?
Did I ever tell you how my best friend's father bought her mother (again, Thailand) for 2 rifles and $50? Or the time that the embassy security officer had to break down the door of an embassy apartment (again, Thailand) because the husband had locked the wife out as he was hell-bent on living with the maid?
No reflection upon the individuals concerned
No worries. I have my own concerns about him for this and other reasons. It's one of the reasons I want to do a little extra in the way of looking out for her. At least it's only his second marriage, so he's not a new-wife-every-two-years guy. And they've been dating for a while, and both speak English.
We used to get American men in the consular section in Romania who were cranky that "mail-order bride" didn't mean she was delivered to their door by post. The engaged couple would sometimes meet for the first time in the consular office, and would almost never share a language. We'd mention that she was going to be his 8th wife, and she'd shrug. Then we'd just really hope she'd survive the two years until she could dump him and still be USian.
Meeting with Job Guy this morning. It was rescheduled from Wednesday. This day should be the final decision about whether they want me or not.
I'm surprised how nervous I am.
{{{Bev}}}
Good luck, Cashmere!
I'm having my first "dinner party" on Sunday for my dad's birthday. I'm so excited! Gotta figure out what to fix. Gonna get to use the Happy Birthday plate that goes with my dishes (yes, I'm a BIG dork).
packs up a huge cart of ~ma and rolls it toward Cashmere
I can't deal with laptops and their tiny little keys!
Easily solved. External keyboard and mouse for home use. Have them plugged into a usb hub, perhaps along with a printer, connect it up when you set the laptop down, and voila!
Some laptops have docking stations, but generally I don't recommend them unless one is hooking up more than a keyboard and mouse.
It's a couple transferring from a SE Asian country. He's the gov't employee, and basically on his retirement tour; she's his wife of 5 months, a citizen of the SE Asian country
Oh boy does that sound familiar -- when my in-laws were stationed in Seoul, my MiL was one of maybe 3 middle-aged white women on the base. Most of the rest of the senior staff had moved on to their second, younger, Asian wives.
~~~~~Bev & family~~~~~
~~~~~Sean/S~~~~~
