a day in the life...

A typical day in the life of naye:

i wake up at around 7, climb out of my mosquito net, brush my teeth, wash my face, change, and the first thing i do in the morning (4 times a week anyway) is get bread (buru) for the 15 students in the program. i walk out of the cfca (where i live) and go to the bread guy on the corner. he hangs out at a wood shack, and i pay 800 cfa for 4 baguettes (sp?) of bread... thats 2 dollars. he wraps scrap pieces of paper from a local school around the bread and i take it back to the dining room. soumana, one of the cooks, boils water and i make tea with powdered milk and sugar cubes. i take a piece of bread, and put peanut butter anddddd condensed milk on it. i know, it sounds nasty, and it actually looks nasty too. but the peanut butter isnt sugary enough, and it makes your tongue stick to the top of your mouth. so sweetened condensed milk is good.

i do my reading or go to my community placement until 12:30, then we get lunch. then we have naptime!!! i nap from about 1-2, and take a nice shower. its the hottest part of the day, and i wake up in a pool of sweat. so a shower is nice. then class starts up again at 3, and can go until 8:30 at night.

after class i read, write in my journal, watch a movie, or go out w/ the ppl here to the neighborhood bar. dont worry, i buy a fanta. there are a lot of bars here!

when i walk in and out of the grounds, i talk to the staff a lot. my bff is hama, hes the day guard. he teaches me zarma and he's patient with my lack of language skills.

at night i tuck my mosquito net under my mattress, think about all of you (i have pictures up on my wall), and snuggle with teddy. oh yea and i sweat a lot.

the power goes out a ton, and the internet poops out with it. my hand crank flash light is really coming in handy!

love naye/ayesha