Week in Review

I can’t believe I’ve only been away for one week! It hasn’t been a bad week, but very long. The long days everyday have all seemed to run into each other and it doesn’t feel like a weekend at all. Besides the fact that I’ll still be working, CAR doesn’t have much to offer on the social front. In the northern region it has gotten very dark by 6pm each night and even if I felt safe venturing out to find the nightlife, there isn’t one to be found. Even on the UN Compound in Paoua, where I stayed my first night in the north, everyone was in their rooms by 9pm. Expats have never had a problem partying and drinking in the midst of development and humanitarian crisis, but I think it’s different in CAR because the security situation here is so insecure that no one wants to take a chance and getting caught in the crossfire.
In Bocaranga, where I am now, things definitely seem livelier because this community seems to be doing much better, but many expats are just recently arriving to the community and don’t seem to have their social networks set up yet. And I would prefer to socialize with locals, but again considering the security situation, my American accent and inability to speak French fluently would make me a prime target for mischief.
When I was in Bangui, we went to a few restaurants and tried to stay out a bit later to enjoy the warm nights, but even though we were staying in a seemingly secure apartment/hotel there were tons of street children outside relentlessly asking for money and at one point our apartment guard even misbehaved.
But I will admit that ending the nights earlier have given me enough energy to get through my extremely long days and also enough time to go through all of the things I’ve seen and heard throughout the day. And, I’ve been consistently updating this blog, so that’s always a good thing!