Today for example
-6:30- wake up to Charlie popping up in her pack and play saying, "Hi!"
-6:45- take a cold shower because I am too lazy to wait 15 minutes for the water heater and I don't want to take a bath (the only way the hot water really works). The water is luke warm so it is not that bad.
-7:00- Get dressed. Hmm, what to wear? Oh the choices- always a skirt, t-shirt, and head scarf.
-7:10- Get Charlie ready for the day and wake up Josh.
-7:30- Breakfast. This morning was granola and mango. Charlie LOVES mango. She would eat 20 of them if we let her!
-8:00- Fellow missionary Carrie comes with Dada Dorkus (mother of Dorkus- my name is Dada Charlotte!). She will be our domestique (aka- life saver). Everything takes FOREVER here and there would be no way to learn Fufulde and do the house chores, cleaning, and cooking. Also, it provides much needed employment for the people. (I am trying to convince myself of this. It is still a really weird concept, but when in Africa...). Anyway, Carrie comes with Dada Dorkus to translate because she does not speak English which makes things fun.
-8:30- Fufulde lessons begin with Dada Esther and missionary Dave. Lessons are three hours and by the end I literally have trouble remembering my own name or should I say "ingaago."
Charlie plays with Jennica and Linda- her nanny and nanny's three-year-old daughter. Or Charlie is carried around by other people on the station while they work.
-11:30- come home and complete Fufulde homework- write and conjugate 20 sentences. Read them to Josh and have him try and translate. Give up and go eat lunch.
-12:30- LUNCH! Oh my goodness! Josh and I were hoping to loose weight here, but Dada Dorkus is an amazing cook. We had hamburger steak in the most wonderful gravy with mashed potatoes and green beans. I mean we were licking the plates! We invited Dada Dorkus to eat with us because after I gave her a plate of food, I realized that she was eating on the floor in the kitchen. Did I mention she is 8 months pregnant with baby #7?! Bless her soul, she deserves a chair. So then we practiced our Fufulde on her- most of which she eventually understood.
-1:00- brain break (aka facebook)
-1:30- clean up house and put away laundry
-2:00- put Charlie down for nap
-2:15- make kettle corn for missionary get together night. Burn first batch because not used to overly dramatic gas stove. Burn 2nd batch. Give up. Move onto pizza making for the get together.
-3:00- skype with my dad
-3:45- pizza making
-4:45- shower again because some days are a 2 shower kind of day! This time I choose a red shirt and green scarf. I kind of look like a Christmas pirate!
-5:00- "graduation" ceremony for 4 of the mission kids on their last day of school with Miss. Laura.
-5:30- bake the pizza
-6:00- going away pizza party for Miss. Laura complete with Coke, charade's, andJenga!
-7:30- bathe Charlie in the cement tub which is loads of fun now that she hates bath time. Maybe it is the cold water.
-8:00- Charlie bedtime in our room with the AC. Take down laundry from the line that Dada Dorkus washed and hung up. Spray ants in bathroom and in kitchen. Step on ants in dining room. Sweep up dead ants.
-8:30- blog :) and kill more bugs
-9:30- relax!
-10:00- Take malaria medicine, use light from phone to check bed for bugs, crawl under mosquito net and go to sleep!
Well, now you know!
