It has been over a month since I have written. The end of Ramadan came and went, and I
vacationed in Turkey with Florence. Oh
yeah, and I’m now engaged. Since
returning to Kurdistan things have gone well.
With the end so clearly in my sights, how could it not?
My
role at Career Development Center has expanded a great deal. When the Director left I took over in an
Interim role. In the United States I
would not have been offered such an opportunity, and at a major university it
is probably for good reason. I relish
any opportunity to expand my skill set, and my CV, and it now appears that
career development is a path I am considering as I apply to jobs. I want to be able to connect to students,
something that is leading me to mostly apply at universities, but career
development offers an external portion that allows me to stay connected to the
“real” world. It has certainly been
frustrating at times as I feel that I am doing much of the work alone, but my
main focus is laying the foundation for the CDC’s success; anything that
happens after is on them.
One
opportunity that the CDC presented which I found to be quite enjoyable was a
trip to Sulaimani. It is about 5 hours
away from Duhok but feels much different culturally. The city has much more bottle shops, bars,
and it seems far less conservative than Duhok.
The American University there has some pretty amazing brand new
buildings. The rest of campus is dry and
mostly unsightly dirt, but the buildings are top notch. I also found out that a teacher there makes
$6,000/month. That, combined with
working with numerous other Americans, naturally led me to think, “What am I
doing in Duhok?”
Overall,
I am glad that I spent my time here.
Some American friends of mine, a married couple with two young children,
recently asked me what I gained from my experience. At first, it was tough to answer. It is clearer now. I know what it is like to be alone and
entirely self sufficient. Living away
from home before has certainly provided me with plenty of experience in the
American context; however, there is something distinctly different about living
6,000 miles away from everything you know and love. With much free time, and an inability to
connect with most of the population, you are forced to spend time with just you
and your thoughts. The computer provided
a much needed release, and living with Samuel and Paige certainly helped give
some taste of the West; however, being in Duhok has given a greater opportunity
to increase my capacity for: handling diversity, facing challenges you have no
control over, and remaining calm no matter what happens.
There
are many more things that I wish I could have, or should have, accomplished
here. The NGO consulting firm never got
off the ground despite my grandiose expectations. This was a lesson in humility and that just because
you are doing the right thing doesn’t mean that it will automatically
work. I never learned Kurdish, or even
attempted to, and I probably should have taken greater advantage of this
opportunity of language immersion. I don’t
think this will hurt me too much down the road, though. I did manage to see a fairly great deal of
the Kurdistan Region, and long after I leave it will certainly have a special
place in my thoughts, despite the setbacks I have faced while here.
Another
important nugget of wisdom from this experience has been the opportunity to
view America from the outside. We are
still looked at as a beacon for many of the people here, and rightfully so, but
this experience has certainly changed my view on US foreign policy. It seems that the most impactful forms of
diplomacy aren’t those instituted by the State Department or any official
government program; it comes just by having real Americans to talk to, exchange
ideas, work together, and see what people are really like. While I still feel that foreign aid is a
necessary tool, I am quite alright with focusing more on providing tangible
goods and services to those in need (mosquito nets, hurricane assistance, etc.)
rather than capacity building. I don’t
want to turn this into a wonkish discussion of foreign policy nuances as I am
admittedly speaking from personal experience and not in-depth research.
Overall,
the experience has been fruitful. I have
been offered to stay here at the university as full-time Executive Director of
the Career Development Center, but I don’t see myself staying in Duhok and
Florence has zero desire to even enter the country, regardless of how lucrative
we could make the salaries (they provided the carrot that if I stayed they
would hire Florence too.) What is next
for me? Only time will tell. I set the goal of applying to one job per day
since returning to vacation. That would
total 41 before I leave; thus far I have applied to 16, right on schedule. Locations applied to are literally all over
the country. Where the first interview
and offer will come from I don’t yet know.
As of now, applying for
jobs is an exciting process. There is
something alluring about not knowing what is next on the horizon. However, I am certain that if I don’t have
something locked up by January that excitement will turn to desperation as I am
unable to collect unemployment in the US due to not having collected a paycheck
in the US for a full year. Until now, I just
have to stay positive, steadily keep on plugging away, and I am sure that something
will come up. It is funny because I have
applied to entry level positions which I am clearly overqualified for, and this
job I am applying to now is nearly a senior level position at a community college. Just roll the dice and see what comes up…..
A few pics from vacation for the non-Facebook savvy people aka Dad.
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