My wife says I don’t have to feel guilty about not blogging. The funny thing is, she’s right. (Not really funny ha ha, I guess, but you know what I mean.) I imagine somewhere at some university there is a grad student writing a thesis about the psychology of the blogosphere and why bloggers feel guilty about not constantly updating a site that few people read and most of that small number of people are strangers. Still, I feel bad about not giving my loyal readers a bit more to read so here is a mini update on life in Kyiv.
Yes, I know. I haven’t updated the blog in about two months. I’m a terrible, terrible blogger. The worst thing I could do now is a cheesy, cop-out post where I just cut and paste someone else’s work. That would be very bad of me.
I had my first Ukrainian traffic cop shakedown experience recently. I think it was about my fifth time driving the new wheels so I guess I was due. To be fair, I probably shouldn’t use the word “shakedown” as I probably did break the law. I’m not really sure. However, seeing as they were going to ask for a bribe anyway, I don’t see that the fact I may have turned left illegally makes the cops actions any better.
You can knock America and Americans for a lot of things, but there is one thing that we do damn well. We line up. We instinctively line up and wait our turn. Sure, patience sometimes wears thin and people push forward. Sometimes some doofus comes along and tries to cut in line. Mostly, if we’re irritated we just do that exasperated sigh to let the person in front of us know our displeasure. All in all, we’re pretty darn orderly. Unfortunately, the rest of the world doesn’t work this way.
I’m trying out some new themes with the blog. I think I like this one, but I need to tweak it a bit and clean up some rough edges. Feel free to provide any input.
It is always nice to see The Foreign Service getting mentioned in the news so that the average American might know that we exist. Here is a recent article from The Washington Post. I’ve pasted it in full below.
We took our first trip outside of Kyiv this past weekend. We were on a trip sponsored by the Community Liaison Office (in charge of the general morale and welfare of embassy employees and their families.) Chernihiv is less than two hours to the north of Kyiv near the border with Belarus. We had an English-speaking guide and, all in all, a good day.
It is a well-known and scientifically proven fact that most of the cool kids from high school end up marrying each other and eventually living in trailer parks. Less well-known is that a small percentage of the cool kids escape this lifestyle and become something else altogether.
I’ve had a topic I’ve meant to cover since we arrived in Kyiv, but like many blog entries, just haven’t had the time or motivation to get around to it. However, I saw something today that gave me the kick in the butt I needed.
I read an interesting article today from the International Herald Tribune about how the efforts of U.S. diplomats are hampered by security restrictions. It isn’t much of an issue here in Kyiv, but I have colleagues serving in places like Kabul, Sanaa, Port-au-Prince, and Riyadh and I know it really affects what they can and cannot do. The security is there for a reason, but we must also struggle with what is acceptable risk. From the watercooler talk I’ve heard, many Foreign Service Officers in Baghdad can accomplish very little due to the well-meaning security precautions. However, if all the diplomats can do is stay behind fortified walls all day and be ready to duck and cover, what are they doing other than waiting until something bad happens? I’ve heard countless diplomats complain that any other mission in the world would have been evacuated by now. Hopefully we’re standing strong for a reason. Read the rest of this entry »
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