June 6, 2013

Since I hadn’t heard from Zarina as to whether Lingua’s tech person had been able to retrieve any of my files from the damaged flashdrive, I decided it was time to buckle down and just go back and redo all the work I had already done on the CATEC schedule for day one and two.

This time, once finished, I emailed the copies to both Anna and myself. It’s really unfortunate that it has taken me this long to realize that flashdrives are really not to be trusted at all.

I spent the rest of my time working on the e-book answer keys until it was time to go to Lingua for my meeting with both Gulnara and Natalia. The latter came in bearing nylon bags with the US Embassy logo which will be distributed to each participant in the conference.

We discussed the logistics of CATEC including the orientation letter Gulnara had crafted that morning and which I had just perused briefly. Entertainment is still an open question, but Gulnara thought I could work with the Peace Corps volunteers to see if they could arrange for some impromptu program the first night.

Natalia mentioned that Rebecca should have the summer camp schedule ready for tomorrow so I could decide which camp to attend. Gulnara is having a seminar for teachers at Lingua from July 8-20 and would like for me to present at least one session.

Since Natalia had promised me to find the time so we could speak privately about Forum and the trip to the southern part of the country, we agreed to meet next Tuesday for lunch while I’m taking part in Willoughby’s seminar. I suggested we go to the Wasabi restaurant just a few buildings away from the guesthouse, and she agreed.

While at Lingua, I was approached by Leila, one of the trainers, who wanted to know if I was done at Lingua since they hardly saw me there anymore. I wanted to say that I was surprised she’d noticed since I felt like such a superfluous presence there anyway, but instead just said I’d been working from home on the CATEC documents.

I approached Gulnara about getting a letter of recommendation so as to keep my ELF application active in case something came up that was right up my alley. She appeared enthusiastic about the prospect of doing so, and I promised to send my resume and a prototype of the letter.

As I was leaving, Zarina asked me if I would be coming by tomorrow, and I almost blurted out “What for?, but instead told her I was finishing the e-book this weekend for sure and needed the uninterrupted time to be able to work on the table of contents. I really see no reason whatsoever to return to Lingua until the actual training sessions are in place since they have never required my presence on a day-today basis.

On my way home, I walked to the Beta Stores to buy a few staples including the few things to eat I’ll bring to the Forum picnic on Saturday. I just realized that the temperature is expected to rise to 100 degree Fahrenheit on that day. According to the announcement, we’re expected to be at this park all day, but I’d hate for that to be so.

I decided that I’m not cooking or sharing my food with anyone else except perhaps for Willoughby. I bought a couple of pumpkin samsis and two other baked goods that appealed to me in addition to the drinking cups I had offered to buy. I’ll bring some water and that will be the end of story.