A Typical Monday in Goz Bëida, Chad

6:00 Wake up, it’s still a bit dark, there is no power so I turn on my headlamp for light

6:05 Go check to see if the ‘city’ water is on yet- not yet-

6:10 Go boil water for morning tea for me and the guys

6:15 Check again to see if water is on – not yet….


6:15 Breakfast! Tea + bread and jam or cereal with powdered milk or perhaps an omelet!

6:25 Read My Upmost for His Highest my favorite devotional book and from Bible

6:40 Water is on! Wash up and get ready for the day

6:55 Pack up and leave for the office in one of the land cruisers, 2 blocks away

7:05 Arrive at office hearing the sound of our staff singing French choruses for devotions

7:35 Devotions end and short staff meeting starts

8:00 Meeting ends, greet staff with my poor French, they laugh and I keep trying

8:05 The generator goes on, office is buzzing as field staff prep to go to the field

9:00 Field staff leaves, office gets a bit quiet, managers and admin remain at office

9-12 Work on reports, reply to emails (offline), review budgets, deal with HR issues…

12:00 start getting restless as the heat is starting to get to me and my hunger is growing

12:35 Generator off, walk towards home, greeted by school kids learning basic English

12:40 We arrive at home, peek to see what ‘surprise’ has been prepared -chicken or beef?

12:45 Wash up, eat lunch and fill up water bottle, 1 liter already taken in during morning

1:05 Time to rest and read a chapter in my book, listen to music, try to stay cool

1:45 Start prepping to return to work, walk in the heat of the day through the sand to office


1:55 Back to work on those budgets, reports, work plans, meetings with managers, etc.

3:30 I always know when this time of the day comes, it is the hottest and I always feel it!

4:15 Field staff return bringing much needed energy to keep me going as its too hot for tea

5:00 Start packing up, generator goes off, within minutes the office is nearly empty

5:10 Expats head across town (a few blocks away) to UNHCR to try our luck with email


5:15 Tap on HCR gate, show ID, head in for internet, search for a seat but I find the ground

5:20 Download new mail, cut and paste emails from Outlook outbox to send via Gmail

5:50 Hop on Facebook and check things there, change my status if anything inspired me

6:10 UNHCR guard comes and politely kicks us out of the internet ‘café’(just HCR’s yard)

6:15 Leave compound, finish more email if wireless is strong as laptops rest on car hood

6:25 We finish up, hang on tight as Ayamba is driving faster than usual through the sand

6:30 Arrival at our compound, guards check if it’s us & delay entry if seatbelts aren’t on!

6:31 Home for the night, I note the stars are out, the air is cooling, the night is quiet

6:32 Ayamba yells, “Groupe” and the guards turn generator on, no longer quiet

6:33 As we enter, pass the dining table, we curiously check what’s been prepared for us


6:35 The water is on- we each fill our buckets in case water doesn’t come tomorrow

6:45 Shower if enough pressure otherwise bucket bath- oh so fun! Put on shorts, cooling…

7:00 Catch up on news if CNN’s on or try to guess what’s going on if its news in French

7:30 We sit to eat dinner together- chicken or beef with rice, pasta, cous cous or chips

8:00 Finish dinner, what remains we give to the guard and lock ourselves in for the night

8:10 Down time to talk, read, work out, catch up on work, watch tv, etc.

8:30 Water stops coming in, off again until next morning

9:30 Get ready for bed, wash face with bucket water

9:45 Generator off, quiet again… other than the random donkey in the background!

10:00 In bed, hoping to get a restful night of sleep if not woken by the heat