Day-to-day

I’m writing to myself for the future so that I can realize all the things I’ve accomplished over the past 5 weeks working for Liberty in North Korea. It hasn’t been easy.

5:45 AM – Wake up and try to get ready while 8 girls share one bathroom.

6:15 AM – Drive in to work.

6:30 AM – Start the work date with coffee (for others, not me), and a yawn. It’s time to book events (ie. making phone calls and writing emails until the cows come home).

11:00 AM – Lunch. Most days this means that I eat my food while interspersed between practicing my 30 minute presentation I am required to memorize.

12:00 PM – Q&A testing. The regional managers (RMs) quiz us on things we may be asked on the road. We need to know exactly what to say and how to say it. It’s all very scientific.

1:00 PM – Often we have an hour of training after Q&A where we learn anything and everything about LiNK operations, policy, or how things are done in general.

2:00 PM – Back to booking.

4:30 PM – Freedom!! For now. Most often I study my script.

6:00 PM – Mock screenings. It’s time to put the memorization to the test and perform what we know for our RMs and friends. It’s not easy because 2 or 3 days a week this means that we work for nearly 15 hours with little time to do anything else!

9:00 PM – TRUE FREEDOM!! For now. Because soon the next day starts over again. We need to practice, learn new sections of our scripts, study Q&A stuff, try to find a minute of time for ourselves, and sleep. If we are lucky we get about 6 hours of sleep in the night but that is only if we are lucky.

Right now as I sit outside at 5:04 PM I am taking a mini break. Half of the Nomads are doing their final mock screenings which means that they are getting tested on the readiness of everything they know. The presentations need to be perfect and without flaw in order for them to get the OK to perform on the road.

In about 15 minutes, I’m going study that script, in some ways for the very last time. My mock is tomorrow and therefore I need to be perfect tonight, or at least try to be.

This whole time that I’ve been working at Liberty in North Korea I’ve stressed myself to the max because of the pressure I feel regarding my presentation. Memorization, as you probably know, is not something I excel in and I find it especially difficult after working 15 hour days and running on less than 6 hours of sleep each night. It is not easy.

That being said, tonight I have a few more hours to get my script out to learn and perfect to the best of my ability. I won’t ever be perfect but nobody can say that I haven’t tried. I’ve put every ounce of energy possible into this and so tomorrow, when I’m standing on that stage, I’m just going to push through it all. It won’t matter if I mess up or say something that is stupid. Because I’m going to be doing my absolute best and that is all anyone can ask for. And it’s all I can ask of myself.

I’m proud of the growth that I’ve done during these past 5 weeks. I can’t believe that it’s only been 5 weeks!

We are leaving on the road for Salt Lake City, Utah next Thursday and I’m ready to move on.

I’m looking forward to this new chapter of life and my new chapter with LiNK.