Saturday, December 10, 2011

Walking to work & morning routine – Dec 8, 2011

Here is my morning routine for those interested in what life here is like.

5:00 am – My phone alarm goes off and I get up to check for water. If there is water I run or jump rope. If not, I go back to sleep.

6:00 am - I boil water. If there is electric I boil it in the kettle, if no electric I boil it on the stove. If there is water I shower (cold water only but I am glad to have a shower) if possible. If no water and we have enough in reserve I might take a quick bucket bath otherwise I go without. Boiled water is also for instant coffee and porridge (our normal breakfast).

7:00 am – I begin my walk to work. This normally takes 30 minutes, but often someone stops and picks me up. Sometimes I know them and sometimes I don’t. We normally have a good conversation and lately it has been mostly people I know picking me up. During the walking part of my commute some days I end up stopping and having several conversations with people rarely initiated by me. Everyone knows my name as well most of which I have met but occasionally not. The problem is I do not remember everyone’s name no matter how hard I try. There is no way to be anonymous, which is hard enough in a small town let alone being a minority in a small town. It is hard to get over the feeling of being rushed which comes with the US society I do not want to be late, but I have to budget a little extra time walking to talk to people. Lately a man who drives one of the govt. trucks has taken to yelling my name and stopping and saying hi to me in the mornings. He is not heading to the RAC so I do not get a ride, but I have learned to take any positive attention as a good thing and talk to anyone who is friendly. This is extremely important because during the day there are so many things that destroy the day mainly due to misunderstandings, cultural differences, ambiguity, or just plain hitting a stress/exhaustion wall.

John and I hit a bit of a stress wall the other day and have had a hard time fighting our way out of the funk but are beginning to see the light. Right now we are in temporary housing which is a 10’ by 10’ room with multiple water leaks that began upon the rains beginning. This has been a huge stressor as there is no way to really move everything out of the way of the leaks. Today we looked at a nice 1 bedroom house that my boss is working on getting a lease signed for. We are excited and look forward to getting in it. Our stress level is seeing light at the end of the tunnel! If possible we will keep you posted.

1 comment:

  1. hang in there sis! that sounds super stressful, so if there is anything you need, that i might be able to send, don't hesitate to let me know!!! i support you from afar. xoxo leah

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