I guess that excellent colleagues pep-talking me via Skype while others send me love via Whatsapp is really reason enough to shake those irrationally blue feelings off and get back to business.

…anyhow – it’s already Friday.

Damn it, I’m so transparent that I don’t even need to say anything before people start telling me that I “look different” today, that there is something missing – “Where is all that positive energy of yours? We need it!”.

Is it really that obvious that I’m having a bad day? Maybe I need a crash course in faking “feeling great” because I really don’t know how to.

My baby has been published!

Come to visit our stand at the Business Link 2012 fair at Indy Village in Maputo to talk to us and get your own copy of the booklet containing my photos and stories from the field.

(Thank you Paracetamol and the creators of make up for helping me get through this day.)

With everything planned and under control, making this event happen was going to be a huge experience for me. I got this great opportunity and responsibility that I not only worked long hours for, but also learnt tons from. I couldn’t wait to see it all fall into place this upcoming Friday. It was my baby.

And then, three days prior to this very exciting international high-level event – it’s not happening due to reasons we cannot control.

It makes me quite sad for many reasons, not least for the young participants that were looking forward to it more than I was, for the months of focus and work, or for the sudden gap in my resumé.

Next step is trying to find a way to make up for this loss. I need more checklists, bring on the responsibilities!

I have put up one of my photos from Changara in my office. It’s like a window reminding me of why I’m here and of what it was like to be in the field. Maputo is really not representative for the rest of this country and it’s pretty easy to forget that.

(Yes, I’m at work on a public holiday. Haha.)

Here’s some very worrying Mozambique statistics for you. Always in front of me and another reason to stay put.

Painted my nails pink this morning in a slightly desperate attempt to remind myself that it’s Friday today. Been in meetings all day – and what you can see here is not even half of today’s 2do list. Maybe I should just realisticly call it the weekend’s checklist and I might get home before bedtime today.

It’s all good. I might even sneak out to dance one of these nights. And after this big event in October I shall have a social life again, hopefully a huge experience richer. Oh, and by the way – happy peace day!

Many office buildings in Maputo are actually old family houses. That’s why there’s an old bathtub here. Considering the amounts of time (~11h daily) I spend in this office it might come in handy one day. After this big event that we are planning for October, I promise myself to go home while the sun is still up at least twice a week. And try not to work at all on weekends, seriously now.

At least I’m really enjoying. That’s the main issue, I think. There are so many things to do, and they are just too exciting to leave for the next day. True story.

Finally got my card! And here’s my office, as requested. Busy, busy week – so exciting. Hope you’re all doing great, will make sure to reconnect soon.

The little peacekeeper is helping us in the UNICEF pavilion at FACIM today.