6/26/15
This post comes to you thanks to Hannah Stewart who suggested that I write it.
Hannah thinks you might all be interested to hear what a typical morning here looks like for me. So I’ll tell you about this morning and if it bores you and you can blame Hannah for requesting that I write about the banalities of my sunrise affairs.
4:30am. I half wake up from the screaming of a rooster. You might remember that I hate the roosters here. I wrote about that early on in my time here and my negativity towards them remains unchanged. Most of this has to do with their obnoxious yelling at ungodly hours of the morning (sometimes it’s as early as 3am. Those days it takes more self-control for me to not offer to make a family-sized batch of chicken soup).
4:47am. Hannah calls me by accident, not yet knowing how to work her new iPhone. This does not wake me.
5:03am. I roll over after another obnoxious screech from the roosters and notice a missed call on my phone. I know I’ll have to be up for prayer in 10 minutes anyway so I call Hannah back. While we’re talking she gets to experience the constant interruption of the roosters too. A few minutes into our call I hear a loud whistle blowing outside the gate as the police make their morning march down the road. This is the part where Hannah suggests I write this post.
5:39am. Lily comes to get me for morning prayer, which is starting later than usual for some reason this morning. Lately we’ve been waking up around 5:10 or 5:15. I roll out of bed, find a scarf to cover my head, and head to the living room. We start by singing a hymn in Ngambai, then Papa prays for the day, also in Ngambai. To end we say the Lord’s prayer (in Ngambai, except for me because I say it in English) and then we shake everyone’s hand.
5:57am. I complete my morning chores routine. First I fill a bucket with water from the pump, which is a great way to get your muscles going in the morning. This water goes into the filter so I don’t die from dysentery or whatever happens when you drink bacteria-infested water. Then I wipe the table clean of last night’s dinner remnants and set the table for breakfast. I put out coffee cups and saucers, stirring spoons, tea, coffee, sugar, and a tub of chocolate spread. The table will be complete after the other girls finish heating up the water to put in a thermos and one of my brothers returns from the bakery with fresh baguettes. Sometimes there will be fish soup or something equivalent, which I politely decline because my taste buds just aren’t ready for that. My refusal to eat fish soup at breakfast brings on the inevitable discussion of my weight and how I should eat more so that I get fatter. Every day I’m either told I look too skinny or that I have really filled out and it’s actually quite funny since my weight fluctuates fairly little here. Maman says that if I eat well and keep gaining weight that my family won’t recognize me at the airport and I’ll have to walk funny because I’ll be so fat. I think this is her dream for me.
6:20am. I finish my chores by sweeping the small square of concrete outside my bedroom door, then I lay down for a little while until my brother is back with the baguettes.
6:50am. I pour some tea and grab a baguette and chow down. Yes, that’s right – I eat a whole baguette for breakfast and I’m still told I don’t eat enough! I get to hear about Maman’s plans for the day (today includes work and a funeral visit for her former colleague). Papa joins a bit later and shakes his head while the news plays in the background, laughing at the reports because that’s the only way he can respond to just how messed up our world is. I agree silently as I finish my tea.
And then the day begins. Showers are taken, kids head to school, parents head to work, my host sister’s baby is dropped off at the house for my siblings and I to look after while his mom goes to work. I spend my day helping Lily with a paper she’s writing, playing with the baby, inputting data for AJOSMO into my computer, and enjoying a little reading time.
It’s not such a bad little life I’ve got here.
But I’m still eager to be on my way home is just over a week :)
This post comes to you thanks to Hannah Stewart who suggested that I write it.
Hannah thinks you might all be interested to hear what a typical morning here looks like for me. So I’ll tell you about this morning and if it bores you and you can blame Hannah for requesting that I write about the banalities of my sunrise affairs.
4:30am. I half wake up from the screaming of a rooster. You might remember that I hate the roosters here. I wrote about that early on in my time here and my negativity towards them remains unchanged. Most of this has to do with their obnoxious yelling at ungodly hours of the morning (sometimes it’s as early as 3am. Those days it takes more self-control for me to not offer to make a family-sized batch of chicken soup).
4:47am. Hannah calls me by accident, not yet knowing how to work her new iPhone. This does not wake me.
5:03am. I roll over after another obnoxious screech from the roosters and notice a missed call on my phone. I know I’ll have to be up for prayer in 10 minutes anyway so I call Hannah back. While we’re talking she gets to experience the constant interruption of the roosters too. A few minutes into our call I hear a loud whistle blowing outside the gate as the police make their morning march down the road. This is the part where Hannah suggests I write this post.
5:39am. Lily comes to get me for morning prayer, which is starting later than usual for some reason this morning. Lately we’ve been waking up around 5:10 or 5:15. I roll out of bed, find a scarf to cover my head, and head to the living room. We start by singing a hymn in Ngambai, then Papa prays for the day, also in Ngambai. To end we say the Lord’s prayer (in Ngambai, except for me because I say it in English) and then we shake everyone’s hand.
5:57am. I complete my morning chores routine. First I fill a bucket with water from the pump, which is a great way to get your muscles going in the morning. This water goes into the filter so I don’t die from dysentery or whatever happens when you drink bacteria-infested water. Then I wipe the table clean of last night’s dinner remnants and set the table for breakfast. I put out coffee cups and saucers, stirring spoons, tea, coffee, sugar, and a tub of chocolate spread. The table will be complete after the other girls finish heating up the water to put in a thermos and one of my brothers returns from the bakery with fresh baguettes. Sometimes there will be fish soup or something equivalent, which I politely decline because my taste buds just aren’t ready for that. My refusal to eat fish soup at breakfast brings on the inevitable discussion of my weight and how I should eat more so that I get fatter. Every day I’m either told I look too skinny or that I have really filled out and it’s actually quite funny since my weight fluctuates fairly little here. Maman says that if I eat well and keep gaining weight that my family won’t recognize me at the airport and I’ll have to walk funny because I’ll be so fat. I think this is her dream for me.
6:20am. I finish my chores by sweeping the small square of concrete outside my bedroom door, then I lay down for a little while until my brother is back with the baguettes.
6:50am. I pour some tea and grab a baguette and chow down. Yes, that’s right – I eat a whole baguette for breakfast and I’m still told I don’t eat enough! I get to hear about Maman’s plans for the day (today includes work and a funeral visit for her former colleague). Papa joins a bit later and shakes his head while the news plays in the background, laughing at the reports because that’s the only way he can respond to just how messed up our world is. I agree silently as I finish my tea.
And then the day begins. Showers are taken, kids head to school, parents head to work, my host sister’s baby is dropped off at the house for my siblings and I to look after while his mom goes to work. I spend my day helping Lily with a paper she’s writing, playing with the baby, inputting data for AJOSMO into my computer, and enjoying a little reading time.
It’s not such a bad little life I’ve got here.
But I’m still eager to be on my way home is just over a week :)