A day in the life of Bendu

Disclaimer once again: I have a plethora to write and this keyboard is not the best quality, so please bare with me.

Seeing as though I have been slacking on the blog updates and have been in SL for almost 3 weeks and have a a million stories, I decided the best way to give you all an update is blogging a "typical" day for my during my training in Bo. When I say typical I say it with a grain assault because truely, Sierra Leoneans are crazy, this experience is crazy, and everyday is filled with something that completely blows my mind.

My day starts at about 6:30 when I wake up. I usually hit the snooze, because surpisingly despite the ridiculous heat, mosquito net, the 5 am. Muslim call to prayer, roosters in my yard, and the occasional wake-up int he middle of the night to a cockaroach crawling over me, i've been sleeping like  a baby since I have gotten here.

I then throw on a t-shirt and sweats and take my bucket (the doors to my house are pad locked in the middle of the night, so Peace Corps graciously supplied me with a bucket to use) out to the latrine (Bathroom/shower house) where I empty it and wash it. Everyone's usually awake so I get an early start on my morning greetings of "mornin", "aw yu slip" and " aw di mornin". I then dress in my teaching clothes, make sure I have an abundant supply of snacks (everyone already has claimed me as the one always eating and comes to me for snacks) and then get my books together. I haven't seen what I look like in over a week, due to the lack of mirrors here - and I love it.  I have been told I have a constant sunburn on my face, but thankfully so far so good ont he akward farmer's tan since we always have to be covered up.

I then go out and Patricia brings me mybreakfast, which I eat in the "dining" room. It's a sign of respect towards guests to let them eat by themselves in the dining room, so the rest of my family eats outside on the ground, or at least I am assuming they do because I have never actually seen them eat. at first I felt completely akward and begged them to eat with me (which they kindly refused), but now I embrace this along time, seeing as though its the only time alone I get all day. My breakfast is the same meal: boiled eggs mixed with mayonnaise, ketch-up, and onions mixed in either noodles or an odd fioshy substance I thin is anchovies and bread. I'm also served either coffer or tea, which are both actually hot chocolate. i usually never have time to drink my "tea" so I take the cup with me on my walk to training. It has become a tradition for ym favorite neighbor to yell at me from her patio "Bendu, why yu wak wif yu tea!?" "Giv me yo tea" to which I reply "no, I lek mi tea!" and then she dies with laughter. Every time. It never fails.

My walk which i've figured out if one of the longest of the groups, takes about 25-30 minutes, but feels even longer due to how many greetings I have to yell out. For each minute I easily say 10 "mornin's, aw di bodi" or "aw yu slip?" So 10 x 25, you do the math. By the time i get to language class, which is the beginning of our training, i am already wipped out.  Training goes from 8 - 5 everday and the content usually differs from day to day which is nice, but by the afternoon we are all going stir crazy and are brain dead by 5. We get a lunch break from 12:30 -2 and it is much needed! During lunch we usually sleep under the palovo huts, play cards, read, walk down to the market down the road, or in my case hit up the donut man. I kid you not, if I didn't sweat half of my body weight during the day I would easily have gained 25 pounds by now.

After training there is a group of about 5 or 6 of us who run everyday. We bring our clothes and leave from th training site. The view on our run here is so beautiful, you never notice you're tired, which is nice because the hills here are insane. We were just recently introducd by an older volunteer to a trail on candy mountain. The run up almost kills you but the views from the top are worth and the run down on the back side is even more beautiful. After running we come back to the training compound and do a few more workouts and then head back home for the day. No matter how tired I am, whenever I turn the corner of my road I have 4 or 5 kids racing to greet me and I immediately get a second wind of energy. As soon as I walk up to my compund my family, who are ALWAYS outside, tells me "Bendu, go was, yu dirty." Sometimes I get the water from the well and other times, when my family can tell i'm really tired they have one of the kids get it for me. You would think pulling water up in a bucket would be easy, but it's a lot harder than you'd think - which is why its a little embarrasing the 10 year old Mustapha always has to come with me and help.

After I carry my bucket to the latrine, I go inside to change into my lappa (a giant piece of fabric), my shower shoes, and towel and then grab my bucket of toiletries and head to the latrine. I will never forget the feeling of accomplishment the first time i mastered the bucket bath - and if I must brag, it was only day two. It takes a lot more strategy and planning than one would think. You can't wash you body first because if you put the loofa in the water then the water for the rest of your wash will be soapy for rinsing or washing your hair. I now know it takes about 3 or four cup fulls depending on the amountof shampoo I use to rinse and 3 for conditioner. I am proud to say I always have water left over. It's amazing to see how much water you actually need to shower - I even shave AND wash my face. I challenge all fo you at home to take a bucket bath and see how much water you use! Just kidding, PLEASE embrace the running water for me!! I have actually grown to really like my bucket showers, especially when I am joined by these cute Lizards all over the wall, i was even lucky to shower with a gecko watching me one day.

After i was, i go change and Patricia has dinner ready for me, of course which I eat by myself. It's alway rice, and then either chicken, fish, granat (peanut) soup, casad lif, or gren-gren ( a leafy plant). After I eat it's usually pitch black outside. Sometimes my family will turn on the generator and other times we hang outin the dark. I introduced them to UNO, which they now love! I must say the rules differ slightly when I play with them due to the language barrier, but they get it for the most part. They also love puzzles and we have done the three I brought numerous times already. They also love to help me with my krio language homework, so we do that right after i eat. They also thoroughly enjoy my "pumoy", or white girl, dance moves and are always playing songs on their phone and yell for me to dance. Let me just say the Sierra Leoneans love my dance moves!

I then usually "go to bed" around 9, after having to say "sleep well" to everyone in the family. I then have what I like to call Brooke time - which is lay in bed, by myself and jsut listen to music or do whatever for about an hour. I've never appreciated alone time so much.

So I hope this has given you guys an idea of my adventure here is Sierra Leone thus far! It's aboslutely insane in ways i've never imagined and I love it! I miss you all and can't wait to share more stories!! Until my next post, love you all! :)