So...having been invited to my first official diplomatic event, how would I dress? Well, the invitation was quite specific on this point and dress was to be 'informal'. Lisa suggested that I might want to interpret that as 'business informal' and I changed out of my jeans and Def Leppard t-shirt and into khakis, a button down shirt and a tie. I hoped I wouldn't stand out as the 'over-dressed' bozo at the party.
Nature, in all its glory, would be hard pressed to equal the splendor of a room full of Pakistani women dressed for an 'informal' event. They came into the reception hall in small groups like schools of brightly colored reef fish and moved around the room like flocks of tropical birds. They were all wearing the traditional Khalwar Shameeses and flashed and sparkled with gold and silver jewelry. If there was a woman in that room who had spent less than two hours on her hair and make-up, I didn't see her. The Pakistani men were all, without exception, wearing dark business suits. Fortunately, I wasn't the only man in the room not wearing a dark suit. Most of the 'foreign' guests were dressed less formally than the Pakistanis, including a couple of Neanderthals wearing jeans and polo shirts. The very nerve! Apparently, in diplo-speak 'informal' means don't bother to wear your tux.
Because Pakistan is an Islamic country, the bar served soft drinks and fruit drinks but no alcohol. Nonetheless, conversation was lively and people seemed to be enjoying themselves in the reception hall. I met a Consular Officer and his wife who were from Lahore and they told me quite a bit about their city in particular and Pakistan in general. After speaking with them for quite a while, I've moved Lahore to the top of my 'must visit' list.
The food was excellent and plentiful so Lisa and I filled our plates, diplomatically, and snuck back for seconds. Then we went upstairs to the concert. Salman Ahmad is known as the John Lennon of Pakistan. He's quite a famous guy in that part of the world and had been invited here by the Ambassador to sing just for this event. He accompanied himself on the electric guitar and had a tamboori player sitting alongside him. That was very special for this event because the tamboori player was an Indian man and, given the historical state of tension between Pakistan and India, it was somewhat unprecedented that an Indian musician would be allowed to play at an official event in the Pakistani Embassy. Salman Ahmad is a Sufi Muslim which is a less well-known branch of the religion than Sunni or Shiite. They are the pacifists of Islam and seek to promote understanding and tolerance everywhere. Salman Ahmad also spends much of his time, talent and money helping to develop HIV/Aids awareness throughout the underdeveloped nations of the world. I suppose that's why he's known as Pakistan's John Lennon, that and the pony-tail. His music was good, in fact, it was very good. It's sort of driving rock & roll with a distinct Urdu flavor and the tamboori drums really had the place rocking.
I bought one of his cd's after the concert and have just spent an hour trying to put a song on this blog, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to do it. If anyone knows how to attach an mp3 file to a blog, I'd be grateful for the information.
The parking lots at the FSI are set in a circle around the perimeter of the campus. There are unmanned security gates at each of the outer lots and you gain access by putting your security id into a sensor and punching in your individual code number. Often this will cause the gate to unlatch and you can proceed through it to the campus. Sometimes, however, the gate does not unlatch right away and you need to reinsert your card and try again. If you are in a hurry or the weather is bad the gate never works and people behind you in line begin offering helpful suggestions. I like to use the lot behind the Language Building because it is the closest lot with the shortest walk and I'm basically lazy. It was pouring rain and cold one morning a week or so ago and by the time I got to the gate there was a line of frustrated language instructors trying to get through. The language instructors are mostly women in their late forties to early sixties and the 'helpful' suggestions they were giving each other in all the languages in the known world would have shamed a carnival barker. I'm quite certain I recognized the Bulgarian word for 'donkey' used several times.
I'm currently in my second module of GSO training. Last week in Module One we were given Tools of Management. These turned out to be things like Group Dynamics, Conducting Effective Meetings, Time Management etc. One earnest presenter even took the time to explain the clip art he'd put on his PowerPoint presentation while he read it to us. They all seemed to be required to read their presentations to us and to give us hard copies of the slides for posterity. Tools for management indeed, I'm sure that in some way I'm a better man for it.
This week is better. Module Two is Acquisitions and we'll be learning how to buy things on behalf of the government. Believe it or not, I'll be getting a credit card with a $5,500,000 limit on it. I have run a Mapquest on the closest Ferrari dealership and am now accepting applications for 'trophy wives' (Note the plural). I suspect that some form of regulation will come along with the card, but for now I intend to engage in massive acquisition planning. Learning to spend the government's money is hard work and I fully intend to become good at it.
Finally, I went into DC this past weekend and spent an afternoon at the Museum of the American Indian. It's well worth your time if you come to visit. The building itself is quite beautiful and I'll stick a couple of photos of it here.
So, until next time 'Haam kaal malingay' or 'see you again'.