A Day in the Life

Things are moving along pretty nicely here. Yes, my kids are still troublesome. Yes, the heat is still unbearable. But, it seems like I am adjusting to the flow of things and getting into a new "normal" routine.

Perhaps my life looks like one of glamour, luxury, and great fun based on the photos and comments I have been posting on Facebook. Granted, I am enjoying my days here, and I have found pleasure in things that are simple. I thought I should share with you a bit about my daily routine so that you can get a better idea of what REALLY is going on...

Here is a bit about what my usual day looks like:

5:00am- wake up.
5:30am- make instant coffee, x2.
6:00am- morning yoga, stretching, etc.
6:45am- shower and get dressed for work.
7:00am- breakfast!

At around 7:15, I will start walking to school. It usually takes me about 15 minutes to get there, mostly because it takes so long to greet everyone I pass on the way there. That, and walking through the deep patches of sand haha...

On Mondays and Fridays, the learners will host their morning devotion at 7:30am. This is where they will sing, dance, pray and make announcements to the school.

School begins promptly at 8:00am. The class periods at school are 45 minutes long, and run from until 2:15pm. There is a half hour long break from 11:00-11:30am. After school, learners remain on campus until 4:00pm to attend the study period. I usually hang out in the library during this time, helping kids with homework, english stuff, or just chatting and getting to know them.

During my off periods at school, you could also find me in the library. I do all of my grading, marking, lesson planning, and other work here. The staff room is just way too crowded for me to be productive, so it is nice to have some space here to get my work done.

After school, I will usually stop at one of the local shebeens for a cooldrink before heading home. Ted and I will pack our lunches for the next day, relax, enjoy some dinner, and usually take a walk when the sun is setting. There is a really nice sandy road that runs behind our house (away from the main road) so it is nice and quiet and we can chat about our day. People will usually be guiding their cattle home at this time, too, which is always amazing to watch.

The sun sets here around 8:00pm. It sounds so lame, but by the time the sun is setting, I am usually absolutely exhausted. At night, we like to read, maybe enjoy some South African wine, or maybe watch an episode of The Wire on our computer.

Things that are awesome:

1. It's guava season right now. In the afternoons, a woman with a huge basket of guavas on her head will walk past our house. I chase her down and buy as many as I can for less than $1US.
2. A decent bottle of South African wine here is about $3USD.
3. Braai-spiced everything. Braai spice is a mix of garlic, salt, chili, and some other BBQ flavors. It tastes good on just about everything.
4. The sunset. Every night it is different, beautiful, and so lovely.
5. The music here is super. Pop music, kids singing, whatever. It all sounds so good!
6. Getting letters, notes, and pictures from my learners!!!

Things that are not awesome:

1. Tofu does not exist here. Neither does good hot sauce. And the only lettuce is iceburg. Traveling 30k to get produce is also not so fun.
2. Being a spectacle sucks. Walking around, sometimes I feel like a toy doll on display or an exotic animal at the zoo. I hope that this novelty will soon fade, or I will just start caring less...
3. Instant coffee. I live in freaken Africa, which produces some of the most wonderful coffee in the world, and yet the best I can get here is Ricoffy. BARF.
4. Many of my kids have expressed that they feel like no matter how well they do in school or no matter how high their marks are, it doesn't matter, because they will be stuck in their village forever. This negativity (and harsh reality) makes motivating learners extremely difficult.
5. The heat, oh lordy, the heat. I have never felt anything like it. It is supposed to be the middle of the rainy season right now, and people are extremely worried since it has not rained at all since we have arrived. No rain means no harvest, which means the people of my village will be hungry and suffering. I really hope that we are not here to see this happen, and that the rains will come soon. This kind of drought will have a very hard impact on our community.

That's it for now, folks. I hope to be writing more this weekend, as Ted and I are talking about taking a weekend trip. Hopefully I will have some new photos/ witty words to share, soon.

Love to all of you from Omungwelume.