No, I’m not in San Francisco or Sacramento. If you were in Sacramento, then got into a car and drove north for 4 hours on Interstate 5, you would be where I am now: Mt. Shasta. I’m here visiting my parents and my manager at Xerox has been kind enough to let me work virtually from here two weeks so I can spend more time with my family. I eventually want to transition to full time virtual work so this is a trial run.

This is a picture of my temporary office in downtown Mt. Shasta, you can see the mountain that dominates the landscape here just behind it. My parents live in Weed, a smaller town just north of here, but they have an office space in Mt. Shasta that I can use for most of the time I am here. I know it will be better for me to have an office space that is separate from my home base. I worked from my parent’s house yesterday but found that there were a lot of distractions and it was hard to find a good place to situate myself. I did a lot of catching up on email and some reading (I brought several months worth of Interactions magazine, the ACM’s computer human interaction publication).

I’m quickly discovering the importance of ergonomics in even a temporary office setting. Yesterday I set myself up in front of the picture window in the entryway at home. It was somewhat out of the way and I had a nice view of the yard. The table there is a little high so I sat on a stool for three hours, looking down at my laptop. Needless to say, this was not good for my back or my neck. I had to take some ibuprofen and spent the rest of the afternoon reading on the couch.

This morning I got up and came into the Mt. Shasta office early. I’m also dealing with the 3 hour time difference so most of my regular meetings happen during the first part of the day. I’m not used to getting to work at 8am, but it will probably have to become a regular practice for me out here. I was able to set up my laptop on a desk and there is an adjustable office chair. I raised my laptop up on some phone books so I wasn’t looking down on it as much. I had project-related meetings all morning which I took on my iPhone using my headphones with a microphone built in. For some of the meetings we also used Live Meeting to share screens. Many of the meetings that I have throughout the day are with groups of people that are not co-located (Xerox has research centers in India, France, Canada and California; we also work with development resources in India) so phone conferencing is a standard mode of interaction.

My last meeting today was my weekly one-on-one with my manager Pat. I called her a little bit early because my Dad showed up and wanted me to go to lunch with him. Pat and I decided to forgo the video conferencing through Live Meeting because we had some technical issues with it last week. Pat’s computer has been a little fussy about video sharing. It was nice to hear her voice and check in. After lunch I worked for a few more hours but my back and neck were bothering me again. I’m starting to realize what a nice office setup I have back in Webster, NY. If I plan to do this long term, I’ll need to invest in a comfy chair, as well as a full size keyboard and monitor. Luckily I don’t have many pressing things to do this week so I’m heading home now to read some more Interactions.

This is the tenth in an ongoing series of posts that capture journal entries from my incredible trip to Zimbabwe in 1997. You can read more about my motivation for the journey and why I’m revisiting it now in the original post. I was 21 at the time I wrote this.
 
Part 10
7/3/97, Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
I’ve been busy writing postcards and letters because I actually got to the Zengeza Post Office today and sent 23 postcards and three letters. Getting there was an ordeal because the hours are within my work schedule (8:30am-4:00pm). Joseph and Talita, driven by Emanuel, the designated CHIYSAP chauffeur (very few people drive here), came and picked us up early so I could go. We thought it opened at 8 but when we got there, we discovered it was 8:30 so that whole exercise was futile. I got a ride there later in the day and spent half an hour in line and another half hour liking stamps. Postcards cost $5.00 each and letters anywhere from $5-15.00. I bought some extra stamps so I won’t have to go there for a while. I’ll just have to estimate the weight.

I spent most of the day at the dressmaking training unit, a total waste of my time. They were supposed to cut out their trousers today but only one had her material. I helped three people transfer the master pattern into a copy of their own, the other two refused to do even that. After I did that I sat around for a while and then told the instructor to call me when she actually had something for me to do. I walked back to CHIYSAP where I had a productive meeting with Lovemore, then got into the back of the CHIYSAP truck (we took the station wagon in the morning but it wasn’t running very well) and came home.

I spent the weekend in the city; I went by myself so it was a test. I actually made it home in one piece (after dark) on Sunday night. Friday I stayed home after work because I had to meet with the theatre group on Saturday morning at 9:30am. Friday during the day was leadership training. It consisted of a male forum and a female forum. I was bummed because I can’t really relate to any of those girls except Judith, the welder. We spent our time writing articles for the CHIYSAP newsletter so it wasn’t as interesting as it could have been.

Saturday morning, James, the leader of the theatre group, came to get me at home. We actually walked all the way to CHIYSAP, something I was not expecting. It is a really long and sweaty trek! James is an actor in some Shona language TV dramas and as we walked down the road people not only stared at me, but stared at the TV star and called him by his character name: Tony. We started the theatre meeting with a discussion of future events, there are many planned but we have few concrete details on anything. I’m trying to put together a calendar for them. Then we did warm-ups which consisted of some dancing and singing games. I showed them “prunes and suns” (probably the only useful thing I took from my Beginning Acting I class at Santa Clara University). After warm-ups we practiced the traditional dances which I had seen on the previous Friday. I want to make some choreographic suggestions but I’m not sure how to go about it, I’ll have to discuss it with James.
 
To be continued…

This is the ninth in an ongoing series of posts that capture journal entries from my incredible trip to Zimbabwe in 1997. You can read more about my motivation for the journey and why I’m revisiting it now in the original post. I was 21 at the time I wrote this.
 
Part 9
7/3/97, Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe

Today was a good day although it started with some guys harassing me on the bus this morning. They were saying something about the color of my skin, but I couldn’t understand them so I turned away. They continued talking and pointing at me and Francis even talked to them which I thought was rather rude. I’ll just assume he was defending me.
 
Every morning we walk across a field to a main intersection and get a ‘lift’ to the St. Mary’s Area which is closest to CHIYSAP. Then we walk across another field of dry grass to get to the office. The lift can be provided by several different types of transportation. There are large buses that look like American school buses which are owned by many different companies; there are mini buses of every sort, some are owned my companies, others by individuals; there are “emergency taxies” which are about the size of a station wagon; there are also just random people who will give you a ride. Buses cost $2.80 and private rides are $4.00 I think.
 
I am getting more accustomed to the layout of this place and basic ways to get around. I’ll test that this weekend when I go into town by myself. I’ll have to figure out how to get home. I wrote my address down so I can ask if I get lost, but I fear that people here generally don’t have much good will towards me, a light-skinned foreigner. It is definitely a new place for me, but somehow it reminds me of my college experience at Santa Clara University. However, I could get along on my own there an at least it was safe. Here everything is unfamiliar and uncertain, but maybe someday soon I’ll be able to feel at home.
 
I spent the whole day (9am-5pm) at the office today, with two breaks for snacks and food which is becoming more palatable. We usually have bread with margarine and mazoe for snacks and a plate of sadza with greens and beef for lunch. Mazoe is like Hawaiian Punch, it comes concentrated and then you add water (four parts water to one part mazoe). It only contains ten percent juice, but it is better than water. Today’s meeting was the Council of Youths. It took place outsize under the tree and was actually pretty interesting. CHIYSAP is an extremely complex organization which allows everyone their input so things take a while, but I think that is a good thing. By the time I come home I’ll be used to their mode and everyone at home will be impatient with my new ‘developing country’ attitude towards time!
 
Continued in Part 10

This is the eighth in an ongoing series of posts that capture journal entries from my incredible trip to Zimbabwe in 1997. You can read more about my motivation for the journey and why I’m revisiting it now in the original post. I was 21 at the time I wrote this.
 
Part 8
7/2/97, Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
OK, feeling a little better today. I had a small breakdown in Talita’s office today and was told basically to get over it. So I have to be strong and endure the amazingly slow pace of life in a developing country, as well as the poverty and inconvenience. It took me two hours this morning to produce two letters at work, because I did not have all the information and had to wait on others , all of whom are incredibly slow and extremely irritating. I finally got all the information and got the letters printed out and then went into town with Lovemore, my partner in crime (at work anyway). We had several errands to run at the Embassy and at Speciss College. Lovemore had to make a delivery to a lawyer and I finally bought some postcards.
 
Lovemare is a very interesting young man, he actually works for CHIYSAP as a Project Officer and unlike most people his age, he lives alone and has some logical plans to make money outside of CHIYSAP because they don’t pay very much. Harare during the week is much more bustling than on the weekend, but I still didn’t see very many white or ‘colored’ people. The buses from the outlying areas all come to one place and to go anywhere else you have to take a taxi, which is expensive, by CHIYSAP standards anyway. So we walked to the embassy.
 
This is the second time I’ve been there and I guess I was expecting to be treated differently there because I’m an American citizen. This has not been the case. Most of the people who work there aren’t American anyway so they could give a shit. When I registered there the other day I got a flier for a 4th of July celebration taking place at some park in Harare on Saturday (July 5). I’m going to try to go and I hope it will be a positive experience. Anyway, we went to the embassy because they fund the dressmaking training unit and we have some questions about the practical application of those funds. They guy wasn’t there and we were told to wait outside or come back later.
 
So we walked all the way back to the bus station area and got a ride to Speciss College to register the three secretarial trainees for their placement tests. This was a complete fiasco. First we were given the wrong form, that fact was only discovered after we filled out all three. Next we found the real form and were told that we had to fill out 9 of them (one for each person and each subject that they were taking the test in)! I was extremely frustrated, that college is worse than CHIYSAP! So after we finally got all the forms done, we had to wait for this guy to manually create a receipt for each and every one of those forms. In the end I felt sorry for him because I wasn’t very nice to him at first. I should learn to be more patient I suppose.
 
Next we took a bus back to town and walked back to the embassy but the guy still wasn’t there so we walked back to the bus area and stood in line (the queue as they call it here). We got back to CHIYSAP before everyone went home.
 
It has been sprinkling/raining since the afternoon. Everyone says it is very cold but I don’t think so. I’ll probably say something different tomorrow morning in my ice cold shower. Last night I was awakened by shouting, a thief was stealing something from next door I guess. The neighbors discovered him and he jumped over the fence into our area and ran around the back of the house and jumped the fence again. Apparently they caught him and beat him (that was the report from Francis). This afternoon when we came home we found that he had left his shoe in the front yard. This is the second incident in the week that I have been here. I guess that’s the reason for all the bars and locks. I hope my stuff doesn’t get stolen while I am here.
 
Continued in Part 9

This is the seventh in an ongoing series of posts that capture journal entries from my incredible trip to Zimbabwe in 1997. You can read more about my motivation for the journey and why I’m revisiting it now in the original post. I was 21 at the time I wrote this.
 
Part 7
6/30/97, Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
Monday. Work is only 8am-4pm, Thursday and Friday are spent in meetings so that leaves me only three days to fill, with what I am still not clear on. Tomorrow I’m going to spend all day with dressmaking. That should be interesting, everyone was impressed with the skirt and top I made for myself at the party on Saturday so I don’t think they are too advanced, it’s just a simple pattern. Today I went to town (Harare) again, this time with Joseph, who not only has the worst teeth but also the worst eyesight, holding things inches from his thick glasses. He doesn’t drive, but owns a car. Clemens acts as CHIYSAP chauffeur. I’ve told them I can drive but I don’t think they believe me, women don’t drive.
 
So today I registered at the American Embassy, which contained no Americans that I could see, just the people who worked there and many people, Zimbabwean and other, trying to get a visa to go to America. I guess it’s pretty hard to get one, I heard many stores, all of which were rejected as flimsy reasons to want to go to the U.S. I also went to the bank to get money and to check if my credit cards were working. For a while, the Advanta wasn’t. The Chase does but I haven’t been able to use it to get money at an ATM. They both worked at the bank so I guess I feel a little more secure. We also visited the post office, stationary store, and OXFAM offices where David works (where I will be able to receive faxes). David is the most sane and rational Zimbabwean man I have met here. I like him very much and his wife Francine as well. They are very progressive and accepting. I want to have dinner with them soon. So most of my day in the city was spent in and out of the car. For the short time I was at work I sat at my desk and read a paper by Joseph that was surprisingly eloquent and informative. There is more to that man than meets the eye.
 
7/1/97, Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
Feeling very alone, missing Jennie, wanting to go home.
 
Continued in Part 8