A Typical Day

5:30 AM wake up. Stagger to the coffee, and brew. Make breakfast (Note: breakfast usually consists of 1 fried egg, ½ plantain fried or boiled with cinnamon, ½ cup beans, or oatmeal). Heat water for bathing. Take bucket bath. Iron clothes for the day.

7:30 AM walk to the school. Visit cafeteria and talk with lunch ladies until classes start. Go to class and assist teachers with English class. Return to cafeteria to help distribute the free snack to students. Play soccer or tag with students during recess.

12:00 PM walk home. Lay in hammock. Eat light lunch (Note: lunch consists of some combination of the following: ½ cup rice, ½ cup beans, pasta, tortillas, and 1 banana). Lay in hammock. Read. Play cards with street vendor kids who stop by the house.

1:30 PM return to school. Repeat 7:30 AM routine but with students in the afternoon section.

4:30 PM leave school. Stop at internet café. Talk with Director of the Cultural Center about upcoming projects. Walk around town greeting people. Go home and lay in hammock.

5:30 PM make dinner (Note: dinner is usually 1-2 eggs, ½ cup beans, ½ cup rice, cheese, and 2 tortillas) or eat at a friend’s house. Play Go Fish, Mancala, or Uno with my neighbors.

7:00 PM retire to my house and close the door. Brew tea. Lay in hammock. Read.

9:00 PM turn off the lights. Go to bed.

2:00 AM wake up to a cacophony of dogs and roosters. Go back to bed.

5:30 AM repeat.