A Day in My Life: On Brigade
What some people don't know is that my job has many different facets. Some days I work from home, some days I work in a typical office, and some days I work in one of our partner communities. Each day provides me with new opportunities to connect with people in-person or online. Whatever my day throws at me, I have to be ready to tackle it head first and make sure that all a solution is reached for all parties. So here's an overview of what a day in my life may look like while I'm out in a partner community and 'on brigade'.
5:30am - Wake-up
This is about the time I have to wake up whenever I'm on brigade. As soon as I wake up, I generally have to get dressed in the dark and pack whatever essentials I may need for the next 12 hours. These 'essentials' generally include: water bottle, Dramamine, Tums, Aspirin, work laptop, bug-spray, sunscreen, ChapStick, notebook, pen/pencil, wallet, small first-aid kit, work phone, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper.
6:00am - Breakfast
Finally, it is time for breakfast. A wonderful staff of Honduran women are up before the crack of dawn to make up to 200 brigaders and staff members breakfast. Generally, this meal alternates between a typical Honduran breakfast and a more typical US breakfast. Of course, there is always cereal, fresh juice, milk, and copious amounts of coffee
6:30am - Buss ride
This bus ride varies between 45 minutes and 2.5 hours. Normally, the bus is a great time to catch a bit more shut-eye, but some days the bus rides are especially brutal. It's always a toss-up between why the ride might be miserable that day- freezing A/C, blaring Reggaeton or debilitating motion sickness. To this day, I'm still not sure which option is best.
8:30am - Arrive in community
This is the typical time when we arrive in a community to begin setting up our medical clinics. All brigaders, staff, and volunteers begin unloading medicine and setting up the various stations for the day.
9:00am - Begin medical clinic
Once medical clinics begin it's all hands on deck. There is no stopping the steady flow of patients who have sometimes walked for 2 hours just to receive basic medical care. My job during clinics is to 'float' and help out whenever an emergency or situation may arise. When I'm not dealing with emergencies, my favorite stations are triage, consulate, and charla. These stations allow me to be the most hands-on and practice my Spanish skills in a forgiving environment.
12:00pm - Lunchtime
Lunch time is often the first time that I'm able to take a break, sit down, and think clearly. The whole clinic stops for 45-60 minutes so that brigaders and volunteers can eat lunch together. Often times the lunches are lukewarm and not very tasty, but any food is gratefully accepted since breakfast was 6 hours prior. As soon as lunch is over, the group of volunteers and staff get back to business since a line has formed again.
3:30pm - Clean-up/Wrap-up
Clean-up is one of the easiest times. We all work together to put desks back, pack up medicine, and load the trucks. This packing process takes all of 15 minutes since we will be coming back for the next 3 days.
3:45pm - Bus ride 'home'
If volunteers didn't sleep on the bus ride this morning, they definitely are sleeping now. Medical brigade days are long and incredibly tiring for all parties involved. The afternoon ride home is the perfect time to rest before an intense game of Uno with coworkers.
6:30pm - Dinner
Dinner is one of the highlights of the evening. The wonderful kitchen ladies have worked for hours to feed all staff and brigaders their third meal of the day. Dinners are typically Honduran foods such as: soups, pupusas, chicken and rice, grilled beef, etc. Dinners also include fruit or a sweet dessert to help celebrate a hard day's work.
7:15pm - Nightly meeting & reflection
There is just enough time between dinner and our nightly meetings to slam back a piping hot cup of coffee and grab another for the meeting. My job is to lead these meetings or help others facilitate nightly reflections. As a staff member, it's my job to ensure brigaders are educated on Honduran culture, school systems, and healthcare. Since I'm not an expert, there are Honduran staff members who mainly lead these discussions.
10:00pm - Shower and bedtime
Although brigaders are now free for the night and able to go to bed, my job isn't necessarily done. Now that I'm 'free', I have to catch up on important emails and make sure everyone is prepared for tomorrow. Sometimes I stay up late to talk with brigaders or play games, but generally I patiently wait my turn for a shower. A freezing cold shower before sleeping in a small, stuffy room with 20 other staff members is the perfect way to fall asleep and prepare to do it all again tomorrow.
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| I woke up early to catch the sunrise over the mountains around 5:45am in March, 2019. |
5:30am - Wake-up
This is about the time I have to wake up whenever I'm on brigade. As soon as I wake up, I generally have to get dressed in the dark and pack whatever essentials I may need for the next 12 hours. These 'essentials' generally include: water bottle, Dramamine, Tums, Aspirin, work laptop, bug-spray, sunscreen, ChapStick, notebook, pen/pencil, wallet, small first-aid kit, work phone, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper.
6:00am - Breakfast
Finally, it is time for breakfast. A wonderful staff of Honduran women are up before the crack of dawn to make up to 200 brigaders and staff members breakfast. Generally, this meal alternates between a typical Honduran breakfast and a more typical US breakfast. Of course, there is always cereal, fresh juice, milk, and copious amounts of coffee
6:30am - Buss ride
This bus ride varies between 45 minutes and 2.5 hours. Normally, the bus is a great time to catch a bit more shut-eye, but some days the bus rides are especially brutal. It's always a toss-up between why the ride might be miserable that day- freezing A/C, blaring Reggaeton or debilitating motion sickness. To this day, I'm still not sure which option is best.
8:30am - Arrive in community
This is the typical time when we arrive in a community to begin setting up our medical clinics. All brigaders, staff, and volunteers begin unloading medicine and setting up the various stations for the day.
9:00am - Begin medical clinic
Once medical clinics begin it's all hands on deck. There is no stopping the steady flow of patients who have sometimes walked for 2 hours just to receive basic medical care. My job during clinics is to 'float' and help out whenever an emergency or situation may arise. When I'm not dealing with emergencies, my favorite stations are triage, consulate, and charla. These stations allow me to be the most hands-on and practice my Spanish skills in a forgiving environment.
12:00pm - Lunchtime
Lunch time is often the first time that I'm able to take a break, sit down, and think clearly. The whole clinic stops for 45-60 minutes so that brigaders and volunteers can eat lunch together. Often times the lunches are lukewarm and not very tasty, but any food is gratefully accepted since breakfast was 6 hours prior. As soon as lunch is over, the group of volunteers and staff get back to business since a line has formed again.
3:30pm - Clean-up/Wrap-up
Clean-up is one of the easiest times. We all work together to put desks back, pack up medicine, and load the trucks. This packing process takes all of 15 minutes since we will be coming back for the next 3 days.
3:45pm - Bus ride 'home'
If volunteers didn't sleep on the bus ride this morning, they definitely are sleeping now. Medical brigade days are long and incredibly tiring for all parties involved. The afternoon ride home is the perfect time to rest before an intense game of Uno with coworkers.
6:30pm - Dinner
Dinner is one of the highlights of the evening. The wonderful kitchen ladies have worked for hours to feed all staff and brigaders their third meal of the day. Dinners are typically Honduran foods such as: soups, pupusas, chicken and rice, grilled beef, etc. Dinners also include fruit or a sweet dessert to help celebrate a hard day's work.
7:15pm - Nightly meeting & reflection
There is just enough time between dinner and our nightly meetings to slam back a piping hot cup of coffee and grab another for the meeting. My job is to lead these meetings or help others facilitate nightly reflections. As a staff member, it's my job to ensure brigaders are educated on Honduran culture, school systems, and healthcare. Since I'm not an expert, there are Honduran staff members who mainly lead these discussions.
10:00pm - Shower and bedtime
Although brigaders are now free for the night and able to go to bed, my job isn't necessarily done. Now that I'm 'free', I have to catch up on important emails and make sure everyone is prepared for tomorrow. Sometimes I stay up late to talk with brigaders or play games, but generally I patiently wait my turn for a shower. A freezing cold shower before sleeping in a small, stuffy room with 20 other staff members is the perfect way to fall asleep and prepare to do it all again tomorrow.
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