I've been asked by several people to recount my daily routine/schedule. I'll try to put as much flare into my descriptions as possible, but I apologize in advance if this is the most boring post in the entire world.
5:30am The first call to prayer. I'm awakened by the noise that comes over the village's loudspeaker, curse a little bit in my head, and then roll over and fall back asleep.
7:45am My alarm goes off. Generally, I forget that there is mosquito netting tucked into my mattress and I try to get up without untucking it. Since I'm not really a morning person, this leads to entanglement, general confusion and sometimes a bit more cursing. My morning ritual consists of a trip to our squat toilet, I also use this opportunity to brush my teeth. Once I've finished, I get water from our spigot (if it's unlocked) and wash my face. Then, I stumble back across the compound and into my room to get dressed. Breakfast every day has been a baguette with butter on it. I also have a cup of a hot drink that is made from boiling tree leaves from one of the trees in the yard (once I have a better grasp on the language, I will be sure to ask the name of the tree).
8:45am I leave for class at Sidy's house. Even though he is about a 3 minute walk from me, I leave myself 15 minutes in case I get lost.
9am - 12pm Language class! Once we are finished, we usually hang out and talk for about an hour. Sometimes (most of the time) we treat ourselves to a fanta.
1pm I go home and take a nap.
2(ish)pm Lunch. This is over quickly, and then I take another nap. I know, life is tough.
3pm Emma, Hailey, Meredith and I usually meet and go to Sidy's for tea and cultural questions.
4pm Gardening. I wish the kids at the school we work at weren't such little sh*ts.
6:30pm Time for my daily bucket bath. Which, by the way, I have to draw water from the well for. And, I can do it all by myself now (well, for the most part).
7:30pm My family feeds me a pre-dinner (I have to figure out a way to stop this. Maybe if I just stay in my room until 8pm and pretend I'm studying they won't try to feed me so much).
9pm Real dinner time
10pm My mommy usually calls me (love you mom!).
10:30pm "American Time." I've decided to allow myself a little bit of "American Time" every night. This might consist of a movie, some music, a book, or possibly just some journaling.
11:15pm Bed. I'm not sure how, but I'm usually the first person alseep and the last person awake. I'm not sure how I feel about this...
Of course there are always variations to the schedule. For example, on Friday, Emma, Hailey and I met up with the other language group in our village (Andrew, Jen and Ivy) and walked 40 minutes to a gas station so we could buy ice cream (yes, we were that desperate!). Let me tell you, it was worth every minute of that walk! There and back!
Asalaa maalekum,
Rachel
SO glad you're doing well! I read your entry before this on the jitney earlier and asked Marissa if she's read your posts lately. When she told me the last time was before you were off for about a week I told her she needed to soon! Sorry the kids are mean but maybe they'll get nicer?
ReplyDeleteTomorrow's Tuesday and we'll sure be missing you! ~Anne Marie~