The Midpoint Formula

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June marked the midpoint in our tour, which means we have been here now for one year, one month of a two year tour. One year is enough time to find your footing at post, make friends, and ferret out what kind of a post you're at. If you came in during the summer, it also means that Summer Transfer Season has begun. Most of the old people leave, and a lot of new people arrive. It's kind of like a reset button. If you were unlucky enough to have a social sponsor that dipped out on you not long after you arrived at post or did the bare minimum, you get a chance to sponsor someone else the right way, make friends, and build up your social base for the remainder of your tour. If you have kids but have lived nowhere near anyone with kids, your neighborhood dynamic may change at this time. Or, you might still be out of luck. Regardless, your disposition towards post is set by the end of the first year. As such, it shapes your remaining time at post. 

 That's where we are right now.  End of year one. Hello reset button!

I have been making cookies, and welcoming people to the neighborhood. Sponsoring people, officially and unofficially. Going to the playgroups, attending some events. Dispensing information when asked. As I am certainly not the most diplomatic individual, I have no doubt that some of what I am saying is kind of like a rude awakening to the new people. Water outages? Why yes, par for the course. Air pollution? Year-round! Medical care? ...

Some things should best be left unanswered, I suppose. 

 Lots of people (smarter people than me, maybe) have that gene that allows them to just smile and nod and say all the right things. I think i'm missing that gene, because I just can't do that.  Some expats talk about this process of winding down their time at post, keeping busy, staying positive (ha!) and finishing strong. I would be lying if I said I was one of these people who believe in 'finishing strong'. I understand the sentiment, but I personally find it to be more or less bullshit. Do I keep trying to make friends till the bitter end? Kind of, sorta? Do I try to put on events in order to hang out with people I like? You bet. Will I keep trying to go to community events and in general not be a shut in? Sure. Will we continue to see things in (and out of!) country while we are in this part of the world? Of course. But eventually, there comes a point in time where you jut say, "That's it, i'm done!" What I do believe, as I have seen (and experienced firsthand!), is that people check out. They check out at post, work, or both at any point during their tour. Once that happens, you are pretty much like that for the remainder of your tour. 

 Have I mentioned that water shutoffs during the day have started again?

 Yeah.




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