We go back to our regularly scheduled programming

We resume our story. 
In this week’s installment, our main character is laid off. She is deliberately avoiding her phone and the news and everyone’s anguish but does pause for a moment to see an email saying she is RIF-ed, effective late April. She does not read it carefully because she is about to go someplace awesome and do something fun. The email did say she would have access to her email and systems until the RIF is effective.

She returns to the United States. She had no access to her email or her RIF notice or the documents attached. 

Of course, her boss, her boss’s boss, and her boss’ boss’ boss have all been laid off too, so there are three people left in all of HR and two people in the whole Africa Bureau so lets not hold our breath on her getting access to her email or the notice. 

<switching from third person to first person>

Last night in the airport, checking messages through a forum that was NOT my work email, because I don't have access to work email, I learned that there would be a brief window today when USAID workers could pick up stuff from their cubes. 

I had left a water bottle in a cube but really came in because one of my good coworkers pointed out it would probably be the last time to see each other. I took pictures and video. 

There were crowds of people at the entrances with loving, supportive signs. They gave hugs, roses, chocolates, cookies, and donuts. They clapped and rang bells to cheer people coming out of the building with their things. Since the overlords were not providing boxes to people, these supporters did. 

It was beautiful. Most of the people I talked to were not current USAID employees. Many were former government employees hurt and angry at what was happening to us and wanting to be supportive. 

I did not cry, because I wasn't going to do that there. The overlords want us traumatized, so I dressed as gayly as possible. It turns out the gayest things I own are a pair of shoes and an umbrella, but I tried. 

LOTS of reporters and cameras, and four of our staff gave extensive interviews. I need media training. I'm putting that on a mental checklist somewhere. 

Fun things
I think of things to blip throughout the day but then of course I’ve gotten to blip so late during the trip that I’ve included none of them.
I’m so glad I went in Feb when traffic was low so I could screw up and not die. 
In another week, maybe two, Sao Miguel is going to be mind-blowingly beautiful. All the hydrangeas and azaleas are starting and they are EVERYWHERE. Cala Lillies are native to the Azores. They are blooming along the streets. 
People who didn’t grow up on farms are amazed at all the cows, everywhere. I did grow up on a farm so for me it was a light running joke. Cows! 
This trip was so much more affordable than my trip to Washington and Oregon two years ago.
The garden in Furnas was incredible and I thought of Kate and thought she would enjoy it. 
The food! I discovered I really like cod pastries. It doesn’t sound good does it? I had pumpkin jam. It was good but it was also just an astonishing thing to taste. I am not a foodie. I don’t have good taste. The meal with Daveena and Mike yesterday was the first time I worked so hard to truly taste and discern everything I was eating. 
Tuktuks in Portugal have seatbelts. !!!! And they retract!! They are individually decorated! Not like Pakistan or India or the Philippines, but they are decorated, painted to look like the tiles on the walls or with flowers or some other lovely thing. I didn’t see any with giant Playboys on them. In Pakistan or the Philippines I saw individually owned buses with Playboy designs. 
Seeing buildings with some tiles or covered in tiles is gorgeous. 
There were some modern interpretations that I thought were brilliant but I don’t have any pictures of them.
If I were to go back I would absolutely take a street art tour.

Ukraine
During our interlude we hit the three year anniversary of the new invasion. Ukraine was expected to take 3 days. Three years later Russia would have to, based on its current pace of winning area, keep fighting for 83 years to take over all of Ukraine. 

Trump has made a deal with Zelensky that feels like extortion. The US is demanding to be made whole for our contributions with revenue from Ukraine’s critical minerals. BTW, Europe has contributed more to Ukraine’s defense than the US. The US contributions have been almost entirely military equipment that we had and shipped over but the US has been lying and saying that half of our assistance is “missing.” The news is just openly calling it lies now as opposed to bending over backwards to find some polite way to describe it. The US and Europe have provided a mix of grants and loans. The president’s assertion that Europe contributed only loans is not true. The US and EU have provided roughly about the same amount of military aid and Europe has provided more non-military aid. 

As a result of agreeing to pay the presidential wanna-be mob boss Ukraine might continue to have US assistance. To try to find a positive spin, it might mean more investment in critical minerals in Ukraine after the war, which might benefit Ukraine and the US. If we have elections again in the US and we elect someone who is not a criminal, perhaps we will apologize and rescind this later. 

[Putin has offered the US a deal for Ukrainian critical minerals too.]

Denmark has delivered 12 of the promised 19 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Denmark has already provided over one billion euro of support to Ukraine. 

Finland announced it will provide 660 million euros in military equipment for Ukraine. Previously, Finland has provided Ukraine weaponry and equipment from its own stocks. In this offer they will order new military products from Finnish companies. Finland has helped two million people access basic services and supported mental health services. 

Norway will provide over $1 billion in humanitarian and energy assistance. 

Sweden will provide air defense systems.