I am sitting in the office on this Saturday morning, on my second cup of coffee, working on understanding a few financial documents, which studying my french. Have to pick up my two country directors from the airport this afternoon, so I thought I would get as much done right now as possible.
So far my first week in Congo has had it's ups and downs, which I know as typical. Spent the first 5 days in the bush, which I still cannot write about in the proper manner, have been in the office trying to get the hang of things here since Wednesday, and then yesterday spent my first day/ night alone as my teammate Marie headed to Nairobi for the week. I do not mind time alone; in fact, I many times enjoy my quiet time to be alone and process the day's events. Last night the guys from the office would not allow me to be alone and took me with them to a "fete" (party) for the commencement of Bravo Air Congo here in Isiro.
What I have seen in my first week here is how hard Congo is trying to get to its feet again. From driving through villages last weekend which used to be rather properous (or prosperous than they appear to be now) but have been torn down and depleted in the 10-year war, to seeing the excitement last night when people heard they would be able to jump a plane from Isiro to Brussels, to hearing the people talking about the upcoming run-off elections... Congo and its people are resilient. I am humiliated and humbled by them all in the same breath; humiliated by my own petty complaints and short-comings in comparison to them, humbled by their constant resilience even with everything they have experienced. Their resilience was one of the first things I ever noticed when I first visited Congo 18 months ago to do research for my masters degree. The people here are good teachers for me; once again I come to Africa thinking I can work for them, but they end up teaching me more than I think I can possibly ever give to them. I am always the student here.
For whatever reason, I was a little sulky coming into the office today. I think most of it has to do with my lack of language skills and I always feel so ignorant as I am butchering a sentence in french, but some of the staff lightened the load for me. They told me I need to be patient, take it a little at a time and it will all come back to me. They know I was able to speak french a few years ago because I lived in Togo, but how quickly and easily that has seemed to slip away (not that I have ever been a linguist).
The other part of my sulkiness probably comes from my lack of exercise lately. I was told the other day that if I want to run, I need to have a "companion" with me. I think it's more of a reassuring safety measure for our "chef du base" (the big man in charge of our base) than anything. As the base is quickly finding out, I am the 'babe', 'youngster' here and it is funny to watch how people react to that. I feel I have worked very hard to acquire the independence I have at this age (29) and it seems so easily taken away or restricted now as others want to make sure I am taken care of. I know it is nothing personal, so I am trying to just let it go like its nothing. Marie said if I wanted, when she returned we could start running together and in the meantime to find something else to do. Creativity has never been my strong point, but I suppose I do not have much of a choice. Exercise has always been my release and if I need it that badly, I suppose I'll find a way, won't I? Maybe some Congolese resilience will wear-off on me to find a way to keep myself somewhat grounded if I cannot do it thru exercise for the time being.
I had to run back to the house (just across the courtyard) for a minute and I saw the kids across the road playing football (soccer), women walking back from the forest carrying branches on their heads for use of firewood, another person passing on their bike with at least 50 lbs of goods packed on the back of their bike... it's a beautiful Saturday morning here. Its a clear day with a slight breeze to keep things cool and life illuminates itself in the luscious greenery surrounding us; the grass, the palm trees, the jungle which starts just behind the schoolyard across the street.
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