This week was FULL.
Moving Offices
When I arrived at work on Monday, I discovered that we had received a new participant over the weekend, bringing our total number up to six (in a three bedroom house)! It was now clearer than ever that we needed to move our offices into our new rented building so that we could convert our current office space into two new bedrooms. We’re also building a dividing wall in the living room to create a third bedroom.
All of this means that the week was chaos. We packed up everything and moved it to our new space. But because we’re moving so quickly, the phone lines aren’t working yet in the new office. That means that our desks are in one space and our wifi is in another (a 25 minute walk between them, too, so the commute is not simple). Only the Day Program (that’s me and the two other facilitators) will be working out of the new space next week, and we tried to plan ahead for everything we might need that would require Internet access.
Speaking of the Day Program, this week felt like I really came into my new role as the coordinator. I did the intake forms with our newest participant, in which she shares her story (we only ask our participants to relive their trauma once – after the initial forms, they can share or not share the details of what they have gone through at their own discretion). I also had to do a re-entry interview with a participant who returned to us last week. And there are several fiscal year reports to do and program rules that I am responsible for creating and enforcing, and ah! It feels like a lot!
I didn’t quite realize the difference between being a facilitator and being the program coordinator. Last year, when I had a concern or an idea, I could tell the coordinator and let her decide what to do and when to do it. Now I’m that person, and while I quite like the position, I feel very drained at the end of a busy day.
Bucharest, Romania
Luckily, there is travel! Olga and Luciana and I went to Bucharest this weekend. All of us like to explore new places, but more than that, we share a NEED for travel. For whatever reason, there is a direct link between my physical and mental presences. When I am in Athens, I feel responsible for work-related things, past and future. But when I physically leave, I am able to leave the mental worries behind too.
So we went to Bucharest for €40 roundtrip, stayed in a cute little hostel downtown, and explored! The three of us have wonderfully similar travel philosophies (heavy on the coffee shops, bookstores, and silly pictures), which made for a really fun weekend. It was an especially amazing time to visit Bucharest, because there were hundreds of thousands of protesters flooding the city. The Romanian government tried to pass a law that would make government corruption legal, but after four days of peaceful protests, it looks like the law won’t be passed! It feels really cool to have witnessed a historic event like that.
We returned already planning our next trip, so I think that solidifies our weekend as a success. I feel rested, excited, and ready to go back to work. I love this life of working hard at something that feels important, and then playing hard by visiting new countries and experiencing new cultures.
It Is Trish 