My colleague Letisia greeted me with a smile and a hug and Alex greeted me with a smile and a very firm handshake when they picked me up from my hotel early Monday morning and helped me to drop my luggage off at another guesthouse, called The Guesthouse, on Stein Street which is much nearer UN house.
Then we went to the office. UN house is a striking modern glass building with flags outside. The head of UNFPA gave me a warm welcome and we had a quick meeting before I was ushered into the board room to meet everyone in the UNFPA who were all very friendly and participate in a long but informative programme meeting.
After that I went to the UNDSS office to have my mugshot taken for my UN ID card. I was allowed to smile for it (unlike usual passport sized photos!). I also booked a slot in a security briefing scheduled after lunch (a hastily grabbed tuna sandwich from the supermarket across the road). The security briefing was very thorough. I met a couple of my humanitarian counterparts in the afternoon, one colleague in the Resident Coordinator's office and another in UNFPA who is the focal point for emergencies and time flew by and before I knew it the sun was going down and I ambled my way up the hill to my temporary 'home'. Not bad for a first day.
Then we went to the office. UN house is a striking modern glass building with flags outside. The head of UNFPA gave me a warm welcome and we had a quick meeting before I was ushered into the board room to meet everyone in the UNFPA who were all very friendly and participate in a long but informative programme meeting.
After that I went to the UNDSS office to have my mugshot taken for my UN ID card. I was allowed to smile for it (unlike usual passport sized photos!). I also booked a slot in a security briefing scheduled after lunch (a hastily grabbed tuna sandwich from the supermarket across the road). The security briefing was very thorough. I met a couple of my humanitarian counterparts in the afternoon, one colleague in the Resident Coordinator's office and another in UNFPA who is the focal point for emergencies and time flew by and before I knew it the sun was going down and I ambled my way up the hill to my temporary 'home'. Not bad for a first day.
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