6:00am Ninaamka- Wake!
Little children chirping as they run to school, shambas (farms), or errands for
their parents is an immediate energy boost.
6:10am Ninafagia- Sweep! I grab one of the reed brooms and sweep the halls, rooms and kitchen. The walls of our house do not meet the roof. Critters of all kinds come in through this space. In the mornings we are greeted with a film of moth wings, cockroaches, ants, assorted other wildlife unable to find it’s way out in the night. Plus, the schmutz left behind by our sandy feet from the day before. Better to start the day with a fresh floor.
6:45am Ombe kwa Asubuhi- Morning Prayer! Sometimes under the mango tree, sometimes in the maize field
7:30am Chakula-Food! We eat as a family: bananas, wheat buns or chapatis, tea. Kiddos do the
serving during meals. “one lump or two?”
8:00am Walimu wanafundisha-Teachers Teach! The school is on our property and begins at 8 even though the students have been arriving since 6. It is a cement slab with palm frond walls and a corrugated tin roof! Fun when it rains; sometimes, school is cancelled.
8:30am (or whenever milk comes) Chai! I use either charcoals or a gas camp stove to make chai. The milk comes from a parishioner’s cow. Mamma Grey won’t produce until her calving! As the milk and water are warming, we add tea leaves and ginger. AND, I keep both eyes on the boiling mixture- Unfortunate stories involving me and milk loss and chai flavored mozzarella keep this rule fresh in my mind.
9:30am Uji -Porridge! A local Momma arrives to cook porridge for the school children. She is a tiny, yet mighty woman, whose skin looks years younger than the time required to rear her 6 children. I help her carry jugs of water, start the fire, stir, wash and pour as I practice my Swahili. A patent, peaceful soul, she laughs and laughs at our mutual confusion.
10:30am Tunacheza- Play! Chat, play, sing, dance with the children as they eat porridge on their break. This is cup of boiled maize meal is the only meal some of these children will eat in a day.
11:00am Ninasikia- Listen! I sit in on a class. Not only do I learn Swahili and the children’s names, I too, learn the Kenyan way of teaching.
11:45am Chamchana-Lunch! We wont eat til 12:30 or 1, but I’ve gotta get the charcoal goin. “Momma: beans, maize, rice, green grams, cabbage, boiled sweet potato, or tomato stew???” The normal selections are good fall backs. Lucky for me though, she is open for suggestions and has a good bit of creativity. Cinnamon cabbage came out of the kitchen the other day. De-Licious! She gets credit for the idea.
2:00pm Kulima-Farming! Either dig my hands into our sand or meet a neighbor that needs extra help. With a Jambe in my hands, a long skirt and a bandana around my head I feel like a straight
African Momma.
4:00pm Usirika-Fellowship! Organized fellowship occurs on our property 6 days a week: bible studies, choir practice, prayer days, classes, Church. There is always loads of handshaking at these events. I have always held an affinity for the handshake greeting. You can measure a man and see what work the lady finds. It seems more personal in a culture where hand usage is integral: eating, washing, drumming, grinding flour, clapping, milking, mud hut building, farming, sewing
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5:00pm Tunapiga Mpira-
Kick the ball! In America, it’s no secret that soccer is NOT where my sport
talents lie. Well, the secret’s out in Africa tooJ.However,
the amazing thing is how that short coming has directed my time on and off the
field with the young boys here…more on a later post!
6:00pm Tunapika- Cook! Certainly a daily highlight and a gathering time, place. A hot jiko, small hearth holding smoldering coals, draws all nearby Kenyans. Ladies visit, men advise, children feed the flames as we cook: mboga (greens, beans, maize, vegetable stew or lentils), a starch used as an eating utensil (chapatti, rice, ugali), if we’re lucky nyama (goat, fish, chicken, cow). No cutting boards to be seen, yet an armory of large machete knives.
8:00pm Imba na Ombe- sing and pray! Before eating, we share a passage from the Bible and I try to keep up as we sing a chorus. As a Kenyan sings, the lips become very important to the sound production, or so it seems. Always protruding and overly active, their lips dance. Kenyans too, love to harmonize and take creative liberties with the lyrics. Awesome, I take this as positive reinforcement to jump head long into tunes and Swahili that I don’t know.
8:45pm Usiku uhai- night life! Tea with a side of conversation bring a close to the evening. I gravitate to the dishes and check for last minute chores as people filter off to their rooms. In my room, I close up shop with reading, a little yoga, writing, music, typing blog posts, or studying Swahili.
Anywhere from 11pm-4am Maji- water! Water fetching is a nightly duty for us in the village. The heavy usage during the day keeps the water from reaching our tap in the daytime. Our grounds man wakes to check for water periodically during the night. When the water is here, first, he rejoices!!!!! Then, he chooses a lucky someone to help fill the 20L containers. These containers are poured into 250L drums until every reserve is completely refreshed!
6:10am Ninafagia- Sweep! I grab one of the reed brooms and sweep the halls, rooms and kitchen. The walls of our house do not meet the roof. Critters of all kinds come in through this space. In the mornings we are greeted with a film of moth wings, cockroaches, ants, assorted other wildlife unable to find it’s way out in the night. Plus, the schmutz left behind by our sandy feet from the day before. Better to start the day with a fresh floor.
6:45am Ombe kwa Asubuhi- Morning Prayer! Sometimes under the mango tree, sometimes in the maize field
7:30am Chakula-Food! We eat as a family: bananas, wheat buns or chapatis, tea. Kiddos do the
serving during meals. “one lump or two?”
8:00am Walimu wanafundisha-Teachers Teach! The school is on our property and begins at 8 even though the students have been arriving since 6. It is a cement slab with palm frond walls and a corrugated tin roof! Fun when it rains; sometimes, school is cancelled.
8:30am (or whenever milk comes) Chai! I use either charcoals or a gas camp stove to make chai. The milk comes from a parishioner’s cow. Mamma Grey won’t produce until her calving! As the milk and water are warming, we add tea leaves and ginger. AND, I keep both eyes on the boiling mixture- Unfortunate stories involving me and milk loss and chai flavored mozzarella keep this rule fresh in my mind.
9:30am Uji -Porridge! A local Momma arrives to cook porridge for the school children. She is a tiny, yet mighty woman, whose skin looks years younger than the time required to rear her 6 children. I help her carry jugs of water, start the fire, stir, wash and pour as I practice my Swahili. A patent, peaceful soul, she laughs and laughs at our mutual confusion.
10:30am Tunacheza- Play! Chat, play, sing, dance with the children as they eat porridge on their break. This is cup of boiled maize meal is the only meal some of these children will eat in a day.
11:00am Ninasikia- Listen! I sit in on a class. Not only do I learn Swahili and the children’s names, I too, learn the Kenyan way of teaching.
11:45am Chamchana-Lunch! We wont eat til 12:30 or 1, but I’ve gotta get the charcoal goin. “Momma: beans, maize, rice, green grams, cabbage, boiled sweet potato, or tomato stew???” The normal selections are good fall backs. Lucky for me though, she is open for suggestions and has a good bit of creativity. Cinnamon cabbage came out of the kitchen the other day. De-Licious! She gets credit for the idea.
2:00pm Kulima-Farming! Either dig my hands into our sand or meet a neighbor that needs extra help. With a Jambe in my hands, a long skirt and a bandana around my head I feel like a straight
African Momma.
4:00pm Usirika-Fellowship! Organized fellowship occurs on our property 6 days a week: bible studies, choir practice, prayer days, classes, Church. There is always loads of handshaking at these events. I have always held an affinity for the handshake greeting. You can measure a man and see what work the lady finds. It seems more personal in a culture where hand usage is integral: eating, washing, drumming, grinding flour, clapping, milking, mud hut building, farming, sewing
6:00pm Tunapika- Cook! Certainly a daily highlight and a gathering time, place. A hot jiko, small hearth holding smoldering coals, draws all nearby Kenyans. Ladies visit, men advise, children feed the flames as we cook: mboga (greens, beans, maize, vegetable stew or lentils), a starch used as an eating utensil (chapatti, rice, ugali), if we’re lucky nyama (goat, fish, chicken, cow). No cutting boards to be seen, yet an armory of large machete knives.
8:00pm Imba na Ombe- sing and pray! Before eating, we share a passage from the Bible and I try to keep up as we sing a chorus. As a Kenyan sings, the lips become very important to the sound production, or so it seems. Always protruding and overly active, their lips dance. Kenyans too, love to harmonize and take creative liberties with the lyrics. Awesome, I take this as positive reinforcement to jump head long into tunes and Swahili that I don’t know.
8:45pm Usiku uhai- night life! Tea with a side of conversation bring a close to the evening. I gravitate to the dishes and check for last minute chores as people filter off to their rooms. In my room, I close up shop with reading, a little yoga, writing, music, typing blog posts, or studying Swahili.
Anywhere from 11pm-4am Maji- water! Water fetching is a nightly duty for us in the village. The heavy usage during the day keeps the water from reaching our tap in the daytime. Our grounds man wakes to check for water periodically during the night. When the water is here, first, he rejoices!!!!! Then, he chooses a lucky someone to help fill the 20L containers. These containers are poured into 250L drums until every reserve is completely refreshed!
Tosha kwa siku mmoja-
Enough for one day.
