September in Chisinau

Lazy, lazy Åsa… I know, not too many blog postings lately. I have not really gotten the habit of writing on a regular basis. My friend has an excellent blog (I won’t say who because she prefers to be anonymous). It is really funny, a bit like Bridget Jones’ Diary but without the tedious focus on diets, and she updates it three times a day! I guess mine is neither funny nor updated often enough, but I will try to at least keep it alive.

So a short recap of my life during this past month. As I wrote in August, a drought hit Moldova and with it came a lot of work for me since the majority of my time is focused on the agricultural sector. However, I am also involved in a number of cross cutting issues such as governance and anti-corruption, more strategic and results oriented work, and now our office’s work with migration has also ended up on my desk. There are a lot of things happening in all these areas right now, so my work schedule is quite intensive at the moment. But I like that and I learn a lot, which I still think is an important part of my work. And equally important, it is going fairly well which is always increases my hunger to do more. What are we achieving on the ground? Well, I that is for me to find out as my work proceeds. Most of our other projects here in Moldova are successful in terms of impacts and hopefully the ones that I am involved in will be equally so or better.

But my life is not all work. Three weeks ago, I went to Odessa again. The city was as beautiful as the last time, and perhaps even more so now in the middle of the summer. I also swam in the Black Sea for the first time in my life.

Last week, I was in Rome visiting friends. It was very nice and I went to the beach several times. I am happy I did, because now when I came back to Chisinau, the summer is over and cold winds are sweeping in. I think I will have to start using a jacket next week and the days of summer skirts and sandals are definitely over.

Rome was lovely as always. It actually felt like coming home, but more because of friends and all the people I know there, and because of the fact not too much has changed since I left, than the city itself. After three days in the traffic and facing the Romans’ self centred me-me-me, I couldn’t care less about anyone else!!! behaviour in the city (an apology to my Roman friends – hope you are not offended), I realized that I am not yet ready to move back.

In the beginning of this week, I got the sad news that my grandmother had passed away. She was 97 years old, so in a way it was expected. But she was also my last grandparent alive and a person in my life, so even if it the circle of life, it is still a sad loss for me. It is also in times like these that I find it difficult to be away from my family. I will go to Sweden for the funeral and I am looking forward to seeing them then.

Tonight, I am going to see a qualification match for the Euro 2008 between Moldova and Norway (football obviously). Who I will cheer for? Moldova of course!!