Phewy!

Well, after a wait of a few days, during which I must admit I have slightly sweated, I got a message back from one of the girls who had been concerned about my blog posting, and it seems I am in the clear. She agreed with me that my original post had been nothing more than a call to action for people to support the AIWC, and a general comment on the apathetic approach of our small foreign group to fill the gaps in the committee of the Almaty International Women's Group.

It has surprised me how strongly I was worried about the negative reaction to my (self-published) opinions (see my previous post) - and it has really made me think about whether or not to even continue blogging. I definitely did not want to piss these people off. I also wondered why I should leave myself open to criticism  when I could just keep my opinions to myself and be a quiet little lamb. But that is not really my nature, and I think I will keep blogging for the time being, since I find it such a cathartic exercise, and since I only started blogging in order to keep a record of my odd life, I don't want to get knocked off course by one wobble. Having a blog to add to is the first time ever that I have kept a diary for more than a month. And I have never been one for secret diaries. I am a pretty open person, and find that having things out in the open is usually the best way.

But I do remain slightly perturbed. I don't quite get how things work here. There seem to be some overly influential girls in this small group - people who genuinely try to influence opinion for or against certain individuals. If you are in the "against" bracket, I think that they can make life quite difficult. And, added to this, there seems to be a misguided belief among some of the Almaty ladies that everyone actually cares about this supposed "hierarchy". Even worse, with a kind of top dog set up, there is a sort of competitive housewife-ing going on here! Where some women are actually genuinely concerned about who has invited who to which dinner party and who has had lunch with who in a week. Absolutely bonkers, I hope you will agree.  In the grand scheme of things, it is utterly pathetic, and it may just be that I have been a new girl for too many years and paranoia has now irredeemably set in! It may also be that some people should remember that life is short, and there are more important things to worry about.

For now, though, I will go to bed and get some sleep.