Day in the life of Karen (version one: office in Bukavu)

A friend recently asked what a normal day in my life here is like. Here's my first attempt.

5:45 Wake up, listen to discern if the power is on, crawl out from under mosquito net.

Do Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred workout in the living room (M,W,F)

6:30am coffee and quiet time

7:30 shower then breakfast (oatmeal or yogurt and granola)

8am Domestic worker arrives (M, Th). Give him instructions for the day (laundry by hand, shopping in the market, what to make for dinner, any special cleaning needs)

8:25 leave for the office

8:30 arrive at office. Check emails, organize to-do list.

Whenever Serge arrives (varies greatly), compare lists of urgent tasks for the day and discuss communications we’ve received from any of our eight “seeders” or partner organizations, especially regarding finances or security.

Too often, we have to go to the bank to take care of some unresolved issue (password isn’t working, transfer didn’t go through correctly, they need us to sign something, etc.)

On Mondays we try to have a staff meeting with all MCCers with a short devo and discuss urgent and/or strategic matters.

In the past six weeks, we’ve had many planned and unplanned meetings with our new Eastern Congo Program Coordinator, as he gets to know and understand how things work and also tries to sort through the messes that have been waiting for him to fix.

Squeeze in an hour or so of French practice when it works.

12:15 Take lunch break – go home for leftovers, out for roasted goat and maize meal (fufu),

or over to a neighbor’s office if her domestic helper has prepared extra.

1:15pm Keep doing whatever is on the day’s agenda. Seeders may be coming by with

questions or financial needs. Ask Serge a bunch of questions. Scan receipts when there’s electricity, write emails, etc.

4:30pm  sign off work. Maybe skype/facetime with someone at home. Tues/Thurs go to

Bible study at pastor’s house (in French). Maybe go to the nice hotel in town to exercise and take a hot shower.

6:30ish Dinner. (Power’s almost always out from 3:30pm-8:06pm, sometimes longer) I’ve

been making fried rice a lot. Our domestic helper usually cooks on the days he’s working. Mark makes soup, fajitas. We try to take turns doing the dishes.

Evening dishes, coursework, reading, sometimes games or reading aloud in French.

Between 8-9pm Head to bed under the mosquito net

Day in the Life of Karen version 2: "field visits" to come...