One-week reflections...

So it has been almost a week now that I am in Kinshasa, and work has already become so busy! It was a miracle that I actually left the office on Friday around 6pm, after working for over 10 hours and taking maybe 5 min to eat. Now, I know what my manager meant when she said that work could take over your life if you didn't try to set a schedule for yourself and evitate getting burned out. I met with the country director, the health technical advisor, and one of the program field managers in Kisangani. Conversations with these individuals were so fulfilling, especially from those who are involved directly in the field.

I am impressed by the level of integrated participation and holistic programming that this organization aims to adopt in all its projects; however, it is also interesting to hear first-hand perspectives on the difficulties of humanitarian work and the commercialized enterprise it has become. According to the country director, there are some good and bad, in terms of accountability and ensuring that mechanisms for verifying effectiveness are put in place and humanitarian aid having become "sexy" in some areas. Perhaps a bit like in Cambodia with the issue of human trafficking and how all NGOs try to introduce new programs to get funding. From the field manager, I was shocked to hear some of his experiences in Eastern Congo. He talked of stories of cannibalism, of extreme poverty, and of ongoing fighting and desesparation. As mentioned before, the eastern part of Congo is one of the most dangerous areas in Congo, especially since there is much instability. Raids occur almost every week, with villages in that area being devastated by pillaging and rapes. I guess at this point I am not sure how I will react when I actually visit the field and see the consequences of war in front of me.

Besides work, I have actually gone out of the lonely house and visited a bit more of Kinshasa. My coworkers have been nice enough to invite me to salsa and to dinner. We have a curfew of 22h30. Salsa was a lot of fun.. I was actually amazed by how good the instructors are, esp. since two of them were trained in Cuba. I've learned some new steps, messed up quite a few times, but at least helped to decompress emotionally. Dinner was also fun, although I have yet to try the local food at local restaurants. Most of the places that I have been to have been for expats and a bit expensive. People here are shocked when they hear that I actually would like to check out the areas where locals go to eat and/or have fun. Even our drivers were like, "wow, you actually want to try?" Interacting with the locals has been a mix. Mainly, the Congolese that I have met are employees of the organization, but even with those interactions, I need to watch myself. Many of the Congolese men tend to be a bit too friendly, and especially if they're married, their visits at my house may not be culturally appropriate. I just got myself out of a situation in which a coworker planned to come over to my house and say hello. I told him right off hand that he should bring his wife or daughters along, since I don't want anyone to think anything. Besides that, I was actually standing outside of the MONUC headquarters alone, waiting to get picked up by a friend I had met on the plane. Definitely felt out of place at first, insecure, and so of course I tried to cover that up by talking on the phone and acting like I knew what I was doing.

So I had a great time with my friend from the UN. She works at MONUC, which is the UN mission to Congo. She is very religious and has such a big heart that she continues to amaze me. She definitely has changed some of my perceptions of religious people, especially since I tend to get very defensive when I hear the word "god" used too much to justify and explain everything around us. I get the principles, and I'm glad that at least she and I were on the same page on that. We had some Congolese food at her house, and she was trying to put me in touch with a local Congolese girl about my age. Unfortunately, the girl was busy and so I just hung around her house.

So on Wednesday I leave for Bukavu. All my coworkers there have emailed and told me about how much better than Kinshasa Bukavu is going to be. It's a lot cooler in terms of climate, and the natural landscape is supposed to be very nice and amazing. Definitely look forward to it, also especially since the organization's programs are actually over in Bukavu.

So for now, I'll try to take things easy, try to complete reports as assigned, but also try to keep a balance between work and life.

Deuxieme jour... un long jour...

So I had a long day orientation today on the organization, the DR Congo, and the work that I'll be doing here. We began the day with a wrap-up of the previous's day training on program framework. It was pretty interesting to see how the program framework was being applied in actuality, and to hear from those involved in the field about efforts to ensure community participation in the projects.

After the wrap up, I met with the country director. He's french and is very knowledgeable on the organization, the Congo, and the humanitarian field. I appreciated the overview he gave me on the DRC, issues that he highlighted included why the conflict arose, the colonization period, the effects of the colonization, impacts on the population, etc. It was also difficult to hear the continued danger and pillaging that persists in the east of the country, where militias from uganda and rwanda still roam free in the mountains and attack small villages almost weekly. This is where the organization also has its gender based violence programs, given the emergency response needs and violence against women committed. It was also very nice to see how knowledgeable everyone is on the Congo, its history, and the interplays between the state, civil society, and the market. I also appreciated the encouragement and provision of literature and studies that have been written on Congo to help give me a more contextualized understanding of what is taking place today in this country.

I spent the rest of the day beginning to work on grants. It was cool to spend a bit of time with some of my Congolese workers and to break the ice. One of the guys discussed music and played some local traditional sounds. It was very neat and upbeat, and I could definitely see the power of music to help people get through everyday here. Kinshasa was a bit crazy again today. We were told that street kids had taken over one of the main streets, were throwing rocks at cars, and were making them pay a toll fee. Apparently, this was "things going back to normal." I guess getting adjusted to the security situation is still a bit tough and nerve-wrecking.

I went to the supermarket.. and oh my are things overpriced. Cheese, $5, chocolate, $10. Just ridiculous.

Premier jour au DRC...

Donc ca fait maintenant a peu pres 24 heures que je suis a la Republique Democratique du Congo. So far, I am not sure where I stand. For sure, the flight was quite a long one, and I am glad I won't have to travel this itinerary for a year. Maybe, I'll go to Europe during my two-week vacation...

So, le Congo... bon, bien sur qu'il y a de la pauvrete et puis de grande disparite entre les congolais et aussi entre les congolais et les expatries. L'arrivee a l'aeroport etait interessante, avec des cinquantaines de congolais qui essayaient de nous aider avec les baggages afin de recevoir un pourboire. I was able to find the driver from the IRC, although it took a long time to find him. For a moment, I thought they had forgotten me! The majority of the people on the plane were European foreigners with a few Americans. I definitely was the only Asian to stand out for miles. Not like I've never been in that situation before.

So driving around Congo to the house... interesting sights of people walking around the streets. I was told that it's pretty safe usually for local Congolese to walk the streets in the night and not get harrassed or anything. There were a lot of prostitutes, and it was unfortunate to hear that it has been a phenomenon that has emerged in the last years as a result of the conflict. The driving.. well, crazy as one might imagine. Thankfully, I had the chance to experience Cambodia, and so I didn't jump everytime we got close to hitting someone. The drivers with the IRC are all Congolese, so they all know the roads very well. The houses were all very nice, and again, I am faced with the situation of seeing how privileged we are here and in the States.

The first day at the office was busy and good. Woke up about seven hours after I arrived at the airport, forgot my alarm clock in the US, so I had to have the guard knock on my door to wake me up. Yes, I woke up ;) I met all the coworkers, with a majority it seemed of expats in the office. I am told that there are about 80-90% of Congolese employed by the organization, with most working in the field implementing the programs. I definitely can't remember the names of the workers right now, but they were all extremely nice. Everyone seemed very busy, which made it a bit difficult to just go to their desk, sit, and chat for a bit. My permanent workplace is in Bukavu, so it won't be too important if I don't become extremely close with the coworkers here... getting to be familiar is at least important.

Anyways, it's late.. got my phone and laptop and the internet. Talked to the family, miss everyone a lot... time to sleep.