Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Update (finally)

I haven't written much of anything in a while because I've just been busy studying French, so I could pass the language exam that is required for me to keep my job (even though I won't be using French in Kenya).  So there hasn't been much going on with me, just French and procrastination.  But on Monday I took my French exam (for the second time), and this time I passed!  Woohoo!  (I really hadn't expected that I would, because the test is as much about public speaking ability as about language ability, and public speaking is not my forte).

So now with my language requirement out of the way, it's back to a regular office job for me.  I'm going to be working for about six weeks on the Somalia and Ethiopia programs in the Food for Peace office (FFP is the office that sends American-grown food to places around the world where there are famines, etc).  Hopefully it will be interesting.  I'm excited about it anyway!

After my FFP rotation, I'm hoping to do another month or so rotation on the Somalia desk, which basically means I'd be coordinating/information sharing what's going on in the part of the USAID Mission in Nairobi that's dedicated to Somalia with the people in DC who do the same thing.

And then, inshallah, I will be moving to Kenya!  I'm planning for mid-June, but that's just a date I made up, so who knows if it will actually happen then.  But anyway, after so many months of what felt like stagnation in French, it is nice to finally feel like things are moving again.

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Court Authorizes Inquiry of Kenyans - NYTimes.com

Court Authorizes Inquiry of Kenyans - NYTimes.com

PARIS — The International Criminal Court has given the green light to open formal criminal investigations of the political leaders who organized the violence that shook Kenya after its disputed election in 2007, the court announced Wednesday.

Two of three court judges said that the clashes, which left more than 1,100 people dead and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes, could amount to crimes against humanity. The judges’ decision will now allow the prosecution to bring a case.