I have become accustomed to making do with not enough sleep, skipping meals and rushing to the country's next catastrophe. Friends have confirmed they have a similar sense of anxiety. Normally tidy homes are now in disarray. Ordinarily cool, calm and collected people now seem more scatty and more emotional. This nervous edge has given social gatherings a new electricity.
People drink more and laugh more loudly.
Conversations have become more intense. And there are many more goodbye parties. Last night I went to a party for a Yugoslavian friend who had sought refuge in Zimbabwe from her war-torn country. Now she is off to seek a new life in New Zealand. But after Yugoslavia and now Zimbabwe, I want someplace boring.