Just to clarify – we are NOT JUST on holidays here all day long, we DO do work. Or, like some more envious people like to put it: We just come here, have a good time and make lots of money.
Today then, a little insight into the reality of things. I'm currently working (my head off) on the preparations for the 2nd Annual Roof of the World Festival in Khorog. My job is to do all the graphics, advertising & promotion for the festival, which will take place on July 25th. Well, actually my job is to do the art-direction and training of a local designer, Rasso. This means that in addition to staging an express logo job to consolidate the opinions of all 15 festival-committee members and to laying out & editing a 12-page brochure in 3 days, I also speak a lot...and explain, share, show, delegate, correct, critique and most of all: try to get those Tajikis a feel for 'organization'! (Lots of nodding and uhms and ahs > but no results).
Admittingly, I feel just ever so slightly stressed (3 weeks to the festival) and all material has to be sent down to Dushanbe to get printed and make it back in time. I'm thinking landslides, power cuts, sick grandmothers, a cousin's wedding... so many possibilities to screw up my deadline. Oh well, feels a bit like work back home, just that the client is even more incapable here...
But I do enjoy it. I actually love it. Training people. Talking design all day long. The frustrations are part of the deal, they come with the job. Plus, the worse is almost over. I still hope that now that the groundwork is done I can actually hand over some of the remaining tasks to Rasso and go back to 'having a good time'. (Note: parents-in-law are on approach and due to arrive later this week)
There's more ahead down the line, including a multimedia workshop we are conducting, some lectures at the University of Central Asia and hopefully some work under the ominous title "cross-border initiative".
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