Ridiculousness

So, things at work are pretty crazy because the conference we're planning in Bamako is coming up next week. There are so many documents we're preparing and having printed for the conference at the last minute that everyone is in a crunch. It doesn't help that our printer stopped working and the power has continued to go on and off (though it's been better this week than last). My major deadline was yesterday, though, so I'm in a bit of a better situation than some others here. I won't bore you all with the details of what I was working on, but I do have one pretty funny anecdote to share:

So this conference is honoring the President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré, with a peace prize to recognize his commitment to democracy and gender equality. We've also invited other important African officials, including Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the new President of Liberia. Apparently, she has accepted the invitation to come, but doesn't have a way to get to the conference. Since Liberia is still such a mess and has very little infrastructure, the president doesn't have a personal plane. But neither does the President of Mali, I found out. He charters one whenever he needs to travel anywhere. But Johnson-Sirleaf can't do that either, and without transportation, she can't come to the conference. So the ED here, Mme Diop, called the Foreign Minister of South Africa, Mme Zuma, who is apparently a big supporter of FAS and is planning on coming to the conference, and asked her if she would be able to swing by Libera on her way from the DRC (where she is currently) to Mali to pick President Johnson-Sirleaf up. Is that not one of the most ridiculous things you've ever heard? Okay that might be a slight exaggeration. But really. The best part is, she said yes. Well, she has to get permission from someone, I guess President Mbeki. But it's looking likely. So, I might get to meet (or at least be in the same room with) the first woman elected to the Presidency in Africa. That'd be pretty cool, eh? But only if her friend the foreign minister can pick her up on her way :)