My Daily Routine

If any of you spoke to me prior to my departure, you know one thing I was worried about was my daily routines. In the Peace Corps handbook "A Few Minor Adjustments", it was noted that it would be challenging to experience everything for the first time including bathing, brushing teeth, routines in America we do without thinking. Well I am happy to say that I now have a routine established...

I usually wake up to the call of a rooster (very country/fairytalish). The time changes from day to day. I always thought they just called when the sun came up but apparently any lights (even flashlights) sets them off.

My host dad usually comes at 5:30, 5:45 and notifies me of his presence with a knock on my screen door. He asks for my wash bucket, which I place outside. My host mom fills it with warm water (half boiled, half regular temp) and places it in my bathing quarters. So I "shower" at sunrise- very beautiful. After bathing and getting dressed, I greet everyone. There is a Burkinabè superstition about not greeting until after you bathe. At this point I am handed a little loaf of French bread and hot water for my tea. I gather my books for the day and head off to class. On days we bike to the city, I have to leave at 6:30am; when we stay in village 8 am. My 8yo host brother leads the way on his bike to my meeting place. I greet many neighbors on my way- greetings are very important here, no matter what time of day. I thank him ("Y Barka" in Mooré) and meet up with my four other Sissamba trainees and our instructor.

We spend from 8am to 5:15pm in training. We are either learning French, doing cross-cultural activities, getting technical training for our health work, attending medical sessions about how to stay healthy or instructed on safety precautions to take. We are basically back in school. We have an hour and half for lunch break where we either go to a restaurant, shop at the market or visit a cyber cafe. As a requirement of Peace Corps, we are not allowed to travel at night so at 5.15pm we race home before night fall.

I usually don't arrive home until about 6pm. I give my wash bucket to my host mother and bathe under the stars. It is also customary to bathe before eating here (wash away the filthe of the day) and I am very grateful for this custom- I am always so gross at day's end.

I sit down with my host dad to prepare my dinner. We usually have at least 12 kids ranging from 1yo to 15yo watching us, well really me. I do my best to keep them entertained, noting every grasshopper (which the boys race to catch) and frog (which they race to kick). I also have a cool flashlight (thanks Cousin Billy and Cheryl) that they call whadigga (sun in Mooré). I spend an hour practing Mooré- numbers, naming surrounding objects, singing songs- and wait for my host father to correct my pronunciation. Then I have a conversation with my father in French which would only last 5 mins if I was fluent rather than the 30 it does.

At about 9pm I head to bed- very different than in the states. It is so hot in my room I sleep with just the screen door shut. The conditions are much better than my first night thanks to my use of insecticide and regular sweeping. (Isnt that interesting, by cleaning and spraying you can get rid of insects, even in a mud home).

Occassionally, I will stay up late and watch a movie (I saw a Jean Claude VanDaam one the other week) at the video club or I will receive an invitation to the party at the market's discoteque. Typically, I am too exhausted to do anything but climb into my bed covered in my mosquito net.

So right now, this is my rountine. On December 26th we head to our permanent site (no host family, living on our own) where I will have to establish a brand new routine.