 |
| |
--Wednesday, 15 March 00--
John Galloway left today. I genuinely regret his departure because John
was a pleasure to work with. That said, I am not one to pass up an opportunity.
I went to the hotel desk and negotiated a transfer to his room. John had
told me that his room was the best of the three he has had at the Grand.
Another reason is that John said that he had three chairs. I had one and
if they put two more small ones in the room, I wouldn't be able to move
at all. It's time to move up, (or, down from 547 to 329) as the case may
be. It was a haul to get my stuff there but worth the effort. The room
is larger, the phone works, the fan in the bathroom is silent and, surprise,
the TV worked.
The comparison of my two hotel rooms here is striking: my new room is
about 30% larger, has three chairs and a one-half fridge that actually
works, a TV that has an English news channel, as much closet space as
before, a bed that is not collapsing, a toilet that doesn't leak audibly
(but a wash basin that does). The water in the shower is hotter and the
pressure is good. "Oh, bliss, oh, joy, of rapture!"
Things That Don't Work (at least regularly)
The electricity -- the power goes on and off regularly on an irregular
basis. In the CFA building, when the electricity shuts off, 20 seconds
later, the generator cuts on. Shops without generators use candles, kerosene
lamps, and battery powered lights.
Water availability. pressure and temperature are problematic. In the Grand,
water is mostly regular but the temperature is not reliable although the
situation seems to be improving slowly.
Heat in the Grand is adequate. [Here this is a high complement.]
 |
| |
The Grand's two elevators are quite erratic in rather creative ways. Sometimes the only way to get to five is to go to six and walk down a flight. Floors are unpredictably skipped, sometimes the door opens and you have a 6 inch step up to the floor. I was told that to get the elevator to stop at six you had to press seven first and then six. It all adds to the day's entertainment. I live on three (now) so I take the stairs.
John left 70 marks on the desk with three bottles of water, all on top of a copy of the Economist. I hoped the magazine would be there when I got back at night.
I liked working with John. He had a direct approach to problem solving
that worked well here. He was a no fuss, no muss, problem solver.
Bernd insisted in taking all four of us expats out to lunch at a locally
expensive restaurant and paying for it himself. It set him back about
50 DM ($25). On the way there, Ishmail stopped me on the street and we
chatted briefly. This is the smallest town I have ever lived in.
Late in the afternoon, Bernd and I took a cab to the KFOR headquarters
to try to find some baubles for our friends. We flashed our UNMIK/EU plastic
photo IDs and gained entry. The PXs were organized by country and we visited
the Norwegian one first (it was raining and it was the nearest). It was
nicely constructed and pleasant to shop in. It had six aisles filled with
everything you could want, including witty T-shirts, caps and cups. I
bought a cup that said "NATO KFOR Kosova" on one side and on
the other there is a map of the Balkans with the words "Been there
. . ., Done that . . ., Got the mug".
The American PX was like a third-rate trailer home turned into a store.
Bare bulbs hung from the ceiling, the two aisles were narrow and congested.
But it did have American candy: I got a Snickers, a six inch "Baby
Ruth XXL", a 5.6 oz (you've bought that size frequently, haven't
you?) M&Ms, a 7 ounce "Good and Plenty". This was the most
licorice I could find. I saw that disgusting cherry licorice but could
not find any black licorice.
The junk food went beyond candy: I got a box of Cheez-Its and a 12 oz
Planters Cocktail Peanuts, "lightly salted", but I figured it
would be easy to add more salt.
With the exception of my McDonald's addiction, I am in Seventh Heaven.
I also got a black cap that has "KFOR" sewn in gold thread on
the front. It was made in China and looks totally official.
--Thursday, 16 March 00--
Today is a religious holiday, Bajram (pronounced "by-rham").
It is a major Moslem holiday, so major that in Turkey it is three days
long and everyone seems to take the other two days off as well, so business
isn't possible for a week there. Our local staff were delighted to get
one day off. The Serb government did not allow celebration of Moslem holidays
so this is quite a treat for them.
Someone walking past the Grand said hello to me and we chatted briefly.
He asked me where I was from and I told him. He said that he was from
a city whose name I didn't catch and that he was a hair stylist. I said,
"I need a hair cut," and he said, "Yes." Not everyone
here is polite to Americans.
I met Ishmail at the hotel and we promenaded and talked. He is progressing
but is slow in some things. He never seems to get "sidewalk,"
for example. But he does progress.
Today, Kosovo is the land of acronyms. Here is only a sampling of what
you read or see and what I can make of them:
BPK - Banking and Payment Authority of Kosovo
CFA - Central Fiscal Authority
CIMIC - Civilian Military Cooperation Centre
EU - European Union
FAO - (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization
ICRC - International Committee of the Red Cross
ICTY - (UN) International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
IMF - International Monetary Fund
IOM - ?
ITCY - ?
KFOR - Kosovo Force ???
KLA - Kosovo Liberation Army
KPS - Kosovo Police Service
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
OHCHR - ?
OSCE - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
SRSG - Special Representative of the Secretary-General
UNDP - United Nations Development Program
UNESCO - United Nations ???
UNFPA - United Nations ???
UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund
UNMACC - United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre
UNMIK - United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
USAID - US Agency for International Development
UXO - unexploded ordinance
WFP - World Food Programme
WHO - World Health Organization
This is an "acronymious" place.
Joe
A Virtual Tour of Kosovo |
   |