A typical day
After living for a month (!) in Mbam, I feel as though I can begin to describe what a typical day looks like. Keep in mind that for me there really isn't a 'typical' day, so to speak, given my general lack of structured activities. Within a moment's notice I can be whisked away to a wedding or a funeral or to the river or any number of other things. But, on the whole, I feel confident that I can generalize to give the impression of how I live here.
Tuesdays and Fridays I teach at Mbam II, the local elementary school. This is my only true structured activity from week to week, so these days I can count on pretty well.
6:45 am- wake up, throw open shutters to sounds of cocks crowing, donkeys braying, and birds singing. Luckily, I can count on sunny, clear skies.
7:20 am- Take my breakfast. Here it is Cafe Touba (spiced Senegalese-style coffee) and a baguette with chocolate spread. Yum!
7:45 am- Wander down the dusty path to Mbam II with Thiarma, who is in CM there. She walks with her gal pals and they all speak in Serer, so I have absolutely no idea what they're saying. Occasionally they attempt to communicate in Wolof though, which is nice.
8:05 am- Class gets called to session. I head to CM II to wait my time to teach
Sometime before 11 am- Give my 30-ish minute lesson, which generally seems to fall unheard on an uninterested audience. Except the fact that I'm a toubab seems to make them care a little bit.
11 am- Wander back home with Thiarma, probably for the day. Sometimes I head back in the afternoon to plant trees or work some more, but usually not.
11 am-1 pm- Run around doing errands with Kumba. This usually means repeated trips to the 'marche,' a shady spot under some trees where lots of ladies sell spices, veggies, and fish.
1pm-3pm- Enjoy lunch and attaya (with so much sugar I am fairly certain I'll be diabetic on my return stateside). Lunch is always served with rice and usually is some fish and veggies with sauce. I LOVE the produce here. So much squash, cabbage, carrots, eggplant and manioc. Binta's family eats well!
2pm-4pm- 'Repose-toi!' Usually some lazy activity like reading, napping, journaling, blogging, etc. It's siesta hour so I never feel all that guilty about taking some really necessary 'me' time.
4 or 5 pm-7pm- Run more errands with the ladies. Usually involves me carrying a heavy bucket on my head that is not nearly as heavy as the ones the Senegalese ladies carry. We make daily trips to the well, where I carry a 20-ish pound lidded-bucket and the other ladies have multiple trips with open-topped, 30-40ish pound ones. The women of this house haul ALL of the water that we use- drinking, bucket showering, cooking, etc- from a well about 1/3 mile from our house. Oftentimes we also head to the mill, the tailor, or visit friends during this time. It's also the hour to prepare dinner! I am occasionally of use, but only occasionally. My skills are limited to using a mortar and pestle to grind pepper/other spices and chopping vegetables.
Sometime between 7 and 9pm- Dinner time! Binta sometimes makes me something special, like a rich sauce with baguette or pasta, but the average night is cere (millet-based cous cous) with fishy or peanut sauce! Yum! Neex na!
After dinner- Take my daily bucket bath. This has become increasingly unpleasant with dropping temperatures. It's still in the high sixties, but that feels cold when you're basically outside with a bucket full of well-water that was pulled only hours before, without the benefit of a day in the sun.
All night long- Lounge. Watch television (occasionally, when the power isn't out). Work. Read. Etc. Usually head to bed long before most Senegalese people. It's funny, but getting into bed with a mosquito net feels like a lot of work nowadays.
On days that I'm not at school, I spend the morning running errands with Kumba. We go to the river to barter for fish, or to the fields to harvest peanuts, or to hunt for fruit. Sometimes we head to the fields in the afterlunch lazy period too. Everyone works their hardest to avoid making any effort during the hottest hours of the day. This is especially true of me because I get made fun of a lot everytime I burn, or tan for that matter. The fact that my skin changes color almost daily really amuses my family here. For the most part, the days all blur together in a contented whirl of activity. The ladies of the house are my lifeline. Even when I am in the most foul mood, Kumba, Khady, and Ke manage to make me laugh and run around the village like a fool. There's something very nice about wandering around on dirt roads with the ladies at sunset. The sky turns lovely shades of pink, blue, and purple, and there is always a slight smokey haze rising out of the huts. Add the silhouettes of baobab trees, the random wandering of animals, and the fact that there is a full moon that rises before the sun sets and you can imagine that Mbam is basically the most picturesque place on the planet. I can already tell that this whole experience is going to feel very surreal when I leave.
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