On my way!

Just found out this morning... Plan A is back!  No more scouring the internet!  Huzzah!

No updates just yet...

This morning I got a request by the people at the school to send over all of my results and whatnot, and they were planning to take them to the Ministry of Health. I haven't heard anything since. So it would seem that the final word has not yet been uttered.


In the meantime, I have been scouring the internet and exhausting my contacts to figure out Plan B.  There are a number of possibilities in Egypt, but because I have access to a listserv for expats in Cairo that allows me to network more efficiently, it's probably misrepresentative of reality.  I feel like Jordan may be a better starting point, considering I have more contacts who are closer by way of degrees of separation, and also considering that it's about 250 miles from Tel Aviv to Cairo and about 65 from Tel Aviv to Amman.  I have been in contact with someone in Bethlehem - which is about halfway between Tel Aviv and Amman - who has an extra room and would allow me to use it for a bit while getting things sorted out.  Now my thoughts are circling around things like - "If I don't have a stable place to live and I'm going to be frequently on the move... two 50 lb. bags are not acceptable."  So now I'm trying to figure out how to score an adequate hiking pack.  There may be a drive to Waco in my future (a friend in Austin has one, we may meet in the middle tomorrow).
 
Right now, nothing is certain.  I am at once incredibly overwhelmed by and surprisingly at peace with that reality.  And who knows, perhaps I'll find out on Monday when my test results come in that the first test was wrong and there never was anything to worry about!  I'm not keeping my fingers crossed on that one.
 
Just 2.5 more days.

Here we are.

Here's the news:

1)  Took a blood sample to be tested in the hopes that the initial test provided a false positive.  Results come in Monday.

2)  Got a call from the school.  No job for me.  If it was a false positive, I assume that would turn around.  The likelihood that it was a false positive... I have no idea.

3)  I'm now looking for other possibilities that would allow me to use the plane ticket and maybe find a different job.  Anyone have any contacts in Egypt?

Fingers crossed for somethin' good.

Well, crap.

My flight takes off Tuesday.  That's 4.5 days from now.  And I don't know if I'll be on that plane or not.

The question stems from a medical concern.  My last job (which I quit in order to take this one) was at a refugee resettlement agency.  As a little background, since not everyone is aware of refugee resettlement policy or practice in the US, or even what a refugee is for that matter, here are the cliff notes:

1. You (individually or with your family) are not able to stay in your home due to legitimate concern for your safety, and you are not able to seek help regarding this matter from your own government (typically your own government is the reason you can't stay).  So whether you are of a minority ethnic group, 'inappropriate' religion (in the eyes of your persecutors, that is), or you are an activist speaking out against a repressive regime, you had to leave your home country. 
2. You can't stay whereever you originally fled to, so you work with various international organizations and state governments (the US resettles over 50% of refugees who are resettled worldwide) to find a home in a third country.
3. If that third country is the US, our government works with various national agencies, who filter down to local resettlement agencies which will help provide some basic needs and other types of assistance for a period of time.  This is where I worked.

Understandably, coming from these backgrounds, health conditions in the places our clients came from were not typically as keen as one might hope.  The end story is that I was diagnosed with something that is not communicable at present, and it is unlikely to become a risk to myself or anyone around me in the future. 

I was diagnosed yesterday, at which time I notified my contact at the school where I would be teaching, informing her also that my doctor gave me clearance to travel and to teach children with zero qualms.  I got in contact with a friend of a friend living in the area, a doctor himself, who told me that I would be able to get the medicine I will need over there (which changes the small statistical likelihood that I could become contageous to an even smaller one), and he also said that he would be happy to help me in this endeavor.  His email was forwarded to my contact at the school, and she said she would forward it to her supervisors.

This evening, after having finally forgotten how incredibly stressed out I was about all of this, I received a voicemail from my contact at the school, who informed me that there are 'concerns'.  She does not know which direction the concerns will lead them, but there are indeed concerns.  Those who make decisions will speak tomorrow, I hear.

Basically, whether or not I have a job is not guaranteed at present.

So it's 12:30am on Friday morn.  I've given up my job in Austin.  I've given up my home in Austin.  I've cancelled my car insurance.  And of course don't have medical insurance, considering I gave up the job that provided the insurance... and ironically enough it was that job which provided the need for the insurance.  I have a non-refundable ticket that cost me almost a grand.

...

My flight leaves in 4.5 days.  And I don't know if I'll be on it.

Wrapping up Austin like a Breakfast Taco.

T minus 16 days.

Yesterday was a milestone; it was my last day of work at RST. The plan was to shut down the office at 2pm, feast on a variety of goodies brought by co-workers for a potluck (unless you were fasting... ouch, bad timing for a potluck!), then leave and enjoy happy hour nearby. And my own party was scheduled for 9pm that night, so full day.

The morning started a bit late after an AM/PM mix up on my alarm... Tired from staying up all night making salsa and preparing the sangria, I realized once I got to work that I'd trained my replacement well, and I really had little to do. I had never once been present in that office and been so entirely useless. It was an odd feeling considering the fact that I'm usually flying around that place with my mind racing as I try to keep a mental hold on the 52 things I need to get done.

So I did productive things like make Melissa mimic the pose of the drawing she so loves on the side of one of the donations bins.

I got one last nuzzle, although Elyce informed me that it was perhaps more of a motorboat...

I took pictures of the things I'll miss... like the wall of drawings I'd created behind my desk from kids who came through the office.

Thanks to the arrival of warm, delicious, homemade taquitos (thanks, Cleanton), I was able to survive until the 2pm feast. Everyone drew teardrops on their faces and most wore black in honor of the departure (of both myself and our final summer interns). One of our old interns even came by to say bye to me and to show off her new baby. Twas joyous indeed.

Here you can see our photo sessions displaying the tears some had drawn on... imagine me yelling in the background, "LOOK SAD! NO, YOU - SAD! SADDER!"

Off to the Flying Saucer where many of the ladies of the office (where are all the men?!) enjoyed some beers, discussed the Refugee Ruff Riders membership, recounted the exaggerations of true stories that they would tell about me after I was gone to the new people, somehow started talking about Miley Cyrus which turned into a 2 Live Crew discussion with Jenny... Twas magical.

My side of the table is clearly unaware that the other side all has their fingers crossed.

Then off to my place, choppin' berries and grillin' quesadillas for my party. I told everyone who came that they were supposed to burn me a CD and write a quote on it. Here are some of the quotes:

• "I make it a rule to never smoke while I'm sleeping" (Mark Twain)
• "The first person you meet when traveling is yourself"
• "Why did you bring me here to live in the street!? Tell me why!!" (Anonymous)
• "Sometimes you just have to pee in the sink." (Charles Bukowski)
• "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." (Mark Twain)
• "I'm the one who said just grab 'em in the biscuits." (Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance)
• "For rectal use only" (medicine bottle)

The content of the cds, most mixes, included artists such as:

George Clinton

Edith Piaf

Oum Kalthoum

The Kinks

The Misfits

Sir Mixalot

Ricardo Arjona

Manu Chau

Billie Holiday

There was also one cd complete with introductory Czech lessons (the cd was titled - "Czech Yo Self"). You never know when you might need to know a little basic Czech.

The driveway circle.

The drink station... Kate making martinis once we ran the sangria down to nothing but fruit.

Me n Trish. No caption required.

Dancing to "Booty Time," the cd Melissa burned for me. I was rockin the cat ears all night because the party was on Friday the 13th.

So I'm officially done at work... I've finished my favorite job I've ever had, where I met more amazing people than one should hope to meet in a lifetime and learned and grew in one year more than I did in the last five combined. I'll be drivin' out of this city in less than 72 hours.

Next stop - Lafayette, LA to see my brother and drop off some furniture. Then back to Dallas until it's time to fly out. In Tel Aviv by September 1. And then the next adventure begins...