October 8, 2011 – It’s been almost 2 years since I last wrote in this blog. My apologies for leaving so abruptly – it was quite a whirlwind by the end of my internship. Trying to get out of Khorog in February is always an adventure but that trip was once in a lifetime. Avalanches, mudslides, rockfalls – all the natural disasters that Tajikistan has to offer rolled up in one. We made it to Dushanbe in one piece but by the time we got there I was dreaming about Turkey. The food, the wine, the beaches (despite the fact that it was Winter), the men (let’s be honest Khorog is not the most happening place for a single lady)…
Saying good-bye to my colleagues, my friends really – was very difficult. Particularly, because I knew that I would likely never see them again.
Anyway, I was checking out this blog and realized that I had forgotten to post my last entry. So thought I’d so so now.
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Feb. 23, 2010
I’ve spent the past 8 weeks obsessively applying for jobs. I have a tendency to go a little nuts when it comes to applying for things. Luckily, I have friends who are also kind of crazy. My friend Jeff put together an excel control sheet for me a few months before I left.
Basically, it tracks every job I apply for and documents: location, salary, application deadline, follow-up date etc…I was looking through it today and realized that in the past 2 months I’ve applied for 32 jobs.
THIRTY TWO JOBS!!!!
And today, I finally got my first interview. With a French NGO. So the interview’s going to be in French….Apparently, I speak that….. I haven’t spoken a word of French since I left Montreal 8 months ago…..
I am so happy to have this interview – I was starting to get a bit discouraged. It’s a well-known fact that breaking into this field is very difficult. Most people pay their dues for a few years (volunteering, internships etc.) before getting solid paid employment with a good organization. I always thought that if you put in your time, the job would come…But i’ve come to realize that this field has a lot more to do with who you know. And aside from the other 23 interns I went through boot camp with – I don’t know anyone. 🙂 I guess that’s not entirely true….if I wanted to stay in Tajikistan I could probably get a job. The expat community in Dushanbe is small and pretty tight. But, as much as I’ve loved my 8 months here – I’m ready to hit the next country. I haven’t seen enough places in the world to want to repeat any at this point….
Wish me luck!
UPDATE: I got a job in Haiti! As an M&E Manager for a mid-sized NGO. Heading there after a quick (2 week) stop in Turkey with one of my roommates. I think Haiti is going to be quite an adjustment after Tajikistan but it’ll be nice to be near home again. Hopefully, I’ll keep this blog going there. Until then, thanks for reading my ramblings and posting comments. I’ve really enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you – it’s gotten me through some challenging times. And of course, a lot of amazing ones.
Voyageuse Mondiale 
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