A Day In The Life.

*** now the third post in the past 24 hours or so... be sure you're up to date! :)



Now that w have been here for 8 weeks and have gotten into a definite schedule, I thought I should probably share what a typical week looks like around here.
Monday through Friday is usually the same (unless we go out on a village visit with PH)
I usually wake up anywhere between 6 and 7 and if I have time, I will do some yoga before breakfast. Breakfast is at 7 and I usually eat with PH, Anne, and Steve. For breakfast they have bread, uji (kind of like cream of wheat, slightly different), yogurt, granola, and eggs (although sometimes they have french toast or pancakes too).
After breakfast I usually shower and then head off to morning devotions which consist of singing two songs, a Bible reading, a reflection on the reading (depending on who did that day’s devotion), and announcements. After devotions we break off into our Swahili groups and head out to the huts for some learning. Lessons are comprised of reading the Swahili book aloud and then translating as we read. Halfway through each chapter there is an exercise to practice vocab and any grammar we learned. At the end of the lesson there is a dialogue that we read and sometimes answer questions about, then we read through the vocabulary list at the end of the chapter and then do a final exercise. Each day we go through about 1 or one and a half chapters. At 10 we have a half hour break for tea. During this time I usually head back to my room to do laundry or just relax and let my brain rest. We reconvene at 10:30 to continue lessons until noon when we have lunch, which usually consists of rice, beans, some type of meant, some fruit, and some vegetables. We then have free time, which I usually spend reviewing Swahili, working on research for my independent study, napping, outside reading or just relaxing around my block. Lessons reconvene again at 2:30 and last until 4. At 4 we have tea. This is usually when we go to town, if we do so. From 4 on the night is free. I usually relax for awhile (thinking in another language all day is draining) and then study (either Swahili or my independent study). Dinner is at 6, although people don’t usually go until about 6:20-6:30. Dinner is made up of a lot of the same things as lunch. After dinner I will study for awhile and then usually head into the common room in the evening to hang out with whoever is around. Sometimes at night we play board/card games other times we lounge around and watch tv and some nights, when nothing much is happening, I will just hang out in the common room and surf the internet or read the (English) newspapers.
Saturday and Sundays’ schedule changes depending on where/if we go out with PH. Saturdays lately we have had off. So I spend those days cleaning up my rooms or doing laundry. After those things are done I will have a mix of studying and just relaxing and listening to music. Sundays (and other days we go out with PH) we usually meet around 8:30 or 9 and wait for everyone to be ready and then leave around 9:30. We pick up any number of people along the way and once we get to the village we usually have tea (again, depending on where we went) Then PH organizes things for the service – registering baptisms, catching up on news of the village, etc. – while we sit around and attempt to talk to people (we’re getting a lot better). The service starts anywhere from noon to 3 and last several hours. All of the services consist of readings, a sermon, greetings and introductions of the Americans (us), communion, usually baptisms, offering, and lots and lots of singing. After church, if we are in a Waswahili village (rather than a Massai one) there is an auction of things people donated during the auction – things like crops, fabric, livestock, etc. After the service we have lunch, although it is usually more like dinner by the time the service is finished. Then we say our goodbye and head back to LJS. The nights we go out with PH and Luka are usually nights when we go to bed earlier.
But that’s pretty much what any day here could look like – each day still has its surprises but for the most part they all follow this basic outline.
Peace.