A day in the life of Isis

I thought I would give you a day in the life of Isis:

At 7:00 I wake up sitting up and taking out my earplugs and pull out the mosquito net. I place my feet into flip flops. I kick my cat out of the way and filling his food dish. I get dress and place my PJ’s under the mosquito net before tucking it in again. I leave to the latrine opening the door and squatting over a hole in the ground with a cement seat I go to the bathroom. Going to the pilla (a stone barrel that has a wash area next to it filled with water) I splash water onto my hands and look for some laundry soap. I wash my face and brush my teeth then go to eat breakfast of eggs and rice. Grabbing my bag I swing onto my bike and leave for my school that is 6k way. Putting in the headphones I put on some music to make the ride go faster.

I get passed by a man on a moto who slows down to chat with me and asks for my number I politely refuse and we go on our way. I get passed by a guy on a horse carrying jugs that will be filled up with water later and give the basic “Adios” greeting. About half way there I am passed by my teacher on a moto (motorcycle). Swerving to avoid rocks in the road I finally make it to the road that turns up into my school. I jump off my bike and navigate it from a path or huge rocks and bump my way, up a hill to the one room school house.

Class has already started as I park my bike at the front of the school and go inside. All of the students stand and say “Buenos dias” (good morning). I respond “Buenos dias, sientense” (good morning sit down). I greet the teacher and get the lesson topic in science for the day as they continue with Spanish. I look through the book and plan my lesson for one of the three grades 3^rd, 4^th, or 5^th grade. I stop to teach Math to one of those three classes and then begin the first half of my lessons which is one hour long before they have recreo (recess) that goes for over the allowed time of half an hour. I get dragged to play games with the kids until I get tired and go over the join la profesora in the shade. Class starts again and we continue with the lesson. Once school ends I get pestered by my teacher to ride on the moto back to site and I have to deny since it is part of the Peace Corps rules. She gets irritated and thinks I don’t like her and I begin the long hot ride to my site. I have to slow down for a herd of cattle that are coming my way and avoid rocks and poop again.

I make my lunch of tuna fish and rice with juice and maduros (plantains fried). I eat while talking with the kids in my house. After I finish I have descansa (siesta) which is when I go online or read from my kindle. Or I should say try to I have kids coming into my room trying to talk to me and if I go out of the room it’s worst. It can take a while to get anything done. After the hot of the day passes I would adventure out to plan lessons with my other teachers for the next day or go talk to my counterparte (counterpart). I begin to start dinner which is an American meal of pasta salad and fruit. I eat while talking to my mother.

I go to my room and give the cat his dinner while getting myself ready for a bath. I slip on my flip flops and grab my bath things and go out into the night to the bath house. I scrape the old bath water from the clogged drain and step over the wet area to get undressed in the small outhouse hut with a door that doesn’t lock. I hang up my clothes on some of the multiple nails on the wall. I take the pale (bowl like pail) that is in a corner stoned off area that has water filled from the hose. I pure it on my legs arms chest and back shivering from the cold water. I soak my washcloth in the water and begin to wash my body (once a week I would wash my hair by pouring water on my head slowly from the pale I would put the shampoo in my hair to slowly wash it out when I think it is all out I move to conditioner which I leave in until the end of the bath) I rinse off the soap and then the hair. I grab the towel and dry off wrapping it around me and rush to my room before people can see me. I finish drying off and get changed into sleep clothes. I go into the main house and watch some TV with the family as they cell hamburgers from their house. It’s more like a fried piece of meat that they put condiments and lettuces and tomatoes.

I return to my room turn on my fan if it is not already on which is usually is. I go pee on the ground outside my room because it is really dark and the latrine is on the other side of the yard. I climb into my wipe off the dirt and crap on my bed and tuck in my net. I read for an hour and put in earplugs and have my spray bottle of water with me to scare Miles off the bed at night. I turn off my headlamp and got to sleep at 9:30-10:00.