A day in my life

So I don't really have any sort of typical day, but here's an idea for those of you wondering what my life’s like here.

I wake up a few times between 6 and 7:30AM because of roosters crowing and general noise in the compound but usually don't get out of bed until 7:30 (on weekends maybe I'll sleep until 8:30). If there is power, I'll put my computer or phone on charge in our office. Kenya has been rationing electricity so sometimes on Mondays and Thursdays there isn't power during the day. I get dressed (I wear a skirt every day, I never would have thought I’d get sick of skirts but, yes, I am) and make my breakfast. I usually make toast with peanut butter and honey or if I'm feeling ambitious I'll make "egg bread." It's like the bland version of french toast. I beat an egg put a little garlic powder and cumin in it, dip a slice of bread in it then fry it. I also "splurge" once or twice a week and buy a small juice box of Minute Maid apple juice from the supermarket. After breakfast I usually boil water to get warm water to wash the dishes from the day before because doing dishes at night by lantern-light is not fun. I have two 100 liter tanks where I store water in my house and use it for bathing, washing clothes, dishes, and cooking. I get water from a tap of a borehole that turns on randomly every few days or I collect water from the rain. If there is neither, I hire a man on a bodaboda (bicycle taxi) to bring me water from a tap in town at 20 shillings per 20 liters. I brush my teeth, spitting outside the house and using my drinking water to wash off the toothbrush. I then wait around until someone from my organization shows up to the office (which is 20 ft from my house inside the same compound). If it's a Tuesday or a Friday we'll stay in the office and chat/plan what's going on in our community groups. The other days we go to the field or meetings. There isn't really a typical work day, so far I've been meeting the groups we work with or attending trainings given by my coworkers. On office days we'll have tea and bread with "blue band" (a type of margerine/i can't believe it's not butter spread) which everyone here seems to love. I'm not really a big fan but I usually eat it anyways. If we're in the field or at a seminar here there isn't always lunch so I'll munch on some biscuits (crackers/cookies) until I can get home to eat something. Other days we'll get nyama choma (the asado-type beef I talked about) or if I'm near home I'll eat leftovers from the night before.

Tuesdays and Fridays are the market days so I'll walk the kilometer to town (usually takes about 20 minutes) saying hi to the children screaming "mzungu" or "lizzie" (I'm trying to teach them all my name, maybe by the end of two years they'll all know). I walk by various cows and sheep grazing along the side of the "highway" (paved road) and there's this one donkey which is always tied to this one tree and makes noises when people walk by. The other day I saw it fighting another donkey and they were kicking each other, it was pretty intense. At the market I go to my favorite stand, where the lady has a variety of good quality veggies so I buy a carrot, tomatoes, onions, green pepper, green beans, and sometimes an eggplant. The vegetables in kenya are smaller (probably because they aren't on steroids like in the US) which I prefer because I'm just cooking for myself anyways. I make a stop at the avocado stand and say hi to a few of the vendors who I've started to make friends with. On my way home I stop at a little store with a sitting area and buy a cold soda and chat with the mama who owns the shop, who I've made friends with. I get home and am sweaty so I chug a ton of water and then lay on my couch while sticking to it. I'm lazy for awhile mostly because it's hot and my stomach hurts because I drank so much water too fast. I bathe in the afternoons because it's amazing to dump cold water on my head after sweating all day. I read, write in my journal, make lists, draw pictures of household items (I've drawn my radio, lantern, and a pineapple so far), listen to the solar/crank satellite radio which has been the saviour of my sanity, and anything else that will stop me from being bored.

Around 4 it usually starts raining, sometimes hailing and I stay in the house. The children of the neighborhood play in my yard when it’s not raining and sometimes they make me very angry. I don’t care when they are asking me “how are you?” and playing, but when they are looking in my windows trying to see around the closed curtains while I am changing, or trying to peek in the door while I’m bathing, that’s not cool. I’ve yelled at them telling them “bad manners” in three languages (English, Swahili, and Luo). If they don’t start behaving I’m going to their parents.

I make dinner on my gas stove starting around 6:30. Peace Corps gave us an awesome cookbook which I use a lot but I’ve been improvising. I make stir fry and rice probably twice a week, I also make what I call “salsa rice” (rice with tomato, onion, garlic, and cumin), I make guacamole two or three times a week to go along with whatever I’m eating, I also make spaghetti sauce and spaghetti, omelets, or fried rice. Every once in a while I’ll make beans, but you have to soak them overnight and then cook them for a while so I’m too lazy to do that all the time. “Green grams” aka lentils don’t need soaking so I’ll make them more often. I made lentil burgers that were pretty tasty not too long ago. I also have Ramen and box Mac&Cheese for my desperately lazy nights.

After dinner I go to the office to get anything I have charging or to the bathroom, but sometimes I chicken out if the landlord’s dogs are out. They see my light and start barking and chasing me. The other night they chased me and I ran to the choo (bathroom) and stood inside (with the humongous cockroaches that hang out there at night) for 10 minutes waiting until the dogs went back to their house. Then I made a run for it and they chased me again but I made it to my house before them. I fear rabies. I’m happy to see that they protect the compound so well, but I need to make friends with these dogs otherwise I’ll have to have our guard escort me to the bathroom, which could be awkward.

I wash my hands with my home-made "tippy-tap," which I learned about from those BU students doing water and sanitation research near Loitokitok. It's a 10 liter jerrican filled with water that I hung outside my door. I punched a hole the size of a nail in the bottom and then tied the nail to the can to plug the hole when not being used. I also filled a small water bottle with a small hole in the cap with some water and put chunks of soap to make a homemade liquid soap.
Here's a picture.


I brush my teeth and then go to bed. I tuck myself in to my mosquito net with my computer and usually watch one of my dvds, right now I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy again. Or, I'll read or write in my journal using a mini flashlight, which i tied to the top of my mosquito net. I usually end up going to sleep by 9 or 9:30 because there isn’t really anything else to do.