Here is our typical day: get up at 0430 (that’s pretty dang
early, but, it’s not bad since we go to bed so early – what else is there to do
in the evenings once the sun has set?), of course that’s after the 0130-0230
wake-up call from one of the outside guard dogs’ barkings, and if the watch
alarm doesn’t get me, then the roosters will, or the Muslim call to get up and
go to prayer. It’s still dark outside,
so if it’s a lights out condition (no electricity) and the diesel generator
isn’t running, then it’s a flashlight kind of morning (showering with a
flashlight to illuminate the room is a special treat!). The shower sprays gently, smells of sulphur,
and is a touch cold (you never get used to the cool water (probably about 70
degrees) when it first hits the arms, back, chest, and head, but after a few
moments, you relish the cooling off it provides); we now have a mirror on the
wall, so shaving is no longer by feel only, but brushing teeth using bottled
water is a bit cumbersome (the tap water is assumed to be safe for showering,
but not teeth brushing). The towel to
dry you is never really dry (too humid), but it works, especially after a
partial drip dry while shaving and teeth brushing. Your clothes kind of stick to you as you put
them on since you’re not really dry either, but they eventually loosen up. By 0500 is time to get the kids up (various
stages of denial), then it’s time for personal and family scripture study, and
by 0600 everyone is in some stage of being prepared for the day. Breakfast is delivered sometime after 0600,
and can either be devoured, or pushed away depending on what it is (our
favorite is a rice porridge with eggs and rolls, and the least favorite is what
I call “hot, brown yoghurt” – it has a distinct sour dough flavor that only
large amounts of sugar, cream, and bread can neutralize). By now it’s quite light (sun comes up around
0615), and we get our things ready to school/work (two lab tops, maybe a
violin, backpacks, etc).
Emmanuel either takes us in to the school (1 hour drive) or
drops us off at the bus transfer point (Oyibi) which then means an hour and a
half ride. By now, it’s warmed up and
sweating is a normal event (upper 70s Fahrenheit). School occurs from 0800 to 1500 when we board
the bus or go home with Emmanuel a little later in the day. Besides teaching classes (or for Mariah and
Sam, attending classes), there’s time to check e-mail and the web for what’s
going on in the world, update EMlearner (the software the school uses for
homework communication), etc., have time for a lunch provided by the school,
and prep for classes. The ride home with
Emmanuel is about 45 minutes, but the bus ride is about 2 hours and something
to behold (I end up with near fatal cheek burn out). When we get home, we unload our bags, greet
Natasha and the grandchildren (Dante, Iris, and Raine), and plop down on the
couch – it’s now been a number of hours of sweating. Dinner is served at Emmanuel and Natasha’s
apartment where we eat with them and the BYU I interns (Jake and Trevor). Dinner nearly always consists of some kind of
rice with some kind of tomato-based stew that includes onions, carrots, and
fish or chicken (small amounts). By now
the sun has set, and lately we’ve been attempting to see Mercury shortly after
sunset, as well as Mars and Saturn (Jupiter is in the morning, and Venus is too
close to the sun in the morning with the ever-present clouds close to the
horizon); dinner dishes are washed primarily by Mariah and Sam, and we head back
to our apartment. I had been engaged in
a particular book, but I’ve finished it now, so I’ll need to find another one
to read (what else is there to do?). There’s
usually some kind of homework questions answered, story read, and conversation
had, but by 2000, we’re all pretty beat, and are ready for bed. I usually attempt to cool off underneath a
ceiling fan prior to sleep, but that process also includes swatting at the
little bugs that find me (so far no mosquitos and malaria).
Fortunately, we’ve had no mosquitos get us, and we’ve kept
the flies and ants to a minimum with good clean up after every breakfast;
parents, if you ever wanted to teach your children to clean up after
themselves, this is the place – there is an immediate (2 hour) lesson from the
ants on what you didn’t clean up. Of
course, sleep comes with the chorus of crickets, and when the rains had been
frequent some unbelievable frog croaking.
The only change to the routine is Thursdays for me, and Fridays for
Kristin when we don’t go in to Adenta (I have classes at Ayikuma on Thursdays
(labs), and Kristin has no classes on Friday).
We haven’t had enough Saturdays to come up with much of a routine, but
they usually include doing extra laundry (you must dry your clothes in the sun or
you’ll end up with maggots in the clothes), and filling up the cistern tanks
with water so that we have shower and toilet water. Sunday’s are a “late” rise in the morning
(0600 is late compared to 0430), breakfast, go to church with Emmanuel’s family
and the interns (the three hour block starts at 0900), and then home for lunch,
lots of visiting, dinner, and then a church movie in the evening. We also get a movie on Friday or Saturday
night for entertainment.
Some upcoming changes will include possible internet
available in Ayikuma which will make e-mail, skyping, and EMlearner updating
much more convenient. And then there’s
the hope that Emmanuel and Ta’s house will be completed before we leave – wow,
that would be the heat (okay, the cool, but that’s not correct vernacular).
Michael
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