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.