A Day in the Life
Hello faithful blog readers! You will be happy to know that my DR surgery went well and my foot is healing quite nicely. I’m down to one crutch sometimes and a walking cast so I am very happy that I can get around pretty well. Two to three weeks to go and hopefully I’ll be good as new!
I’ve gotten a lot of questions about what a normal day looks like for me the PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer). It has taken a long time for things to get into a “normal” rhythm, but finally after 7 months in-country, I could say there are a few days that are shaping up to be our new normal. So from time to time, I’ve decided to blog “A Day in the Life” and I’m going to pick some average days to write about. Here are two of them. Enjoy!
A Day in the Life
Day A (a Tuesday in March)
8am – wake up, collect water for the day, get dressed for our 9ish “appointment” with the Sindico (mayor)
9am – arrive at project partner’s house (Sara) to pick her up.
9-9:30am – realize she just woke up so wait for her to get dressed
9:30am- go to the Ayuntamiento (like a City Hall) to meet with the mayor
9:30-10:30am – wait…
10:30am– we decide he’s not coming in today and present our diagnostic and projects to the Visa Sindica (Vice Mayor)
11- 11:30am – meet with and present diagnostic and project ideas to the youth sports department of the Ayuntamiento
11:30am-1pm – back at home, I work on a solicitation letter to ask for money (latrine project) and sports equipment (volleyball and basketball teams) while Darryl makes lunch
1pm – eat lunch (carrots, chicken, and pasta)
1:30pm – prep for the Sala de Tarea (after school program) – read the chapter in the story for today and make a sample art project
2ish pm – head to the Sala, stopping and talking to people on the way, get to the school and send a muchacho to get the keys to our classroom
2:30-4pm – Sala de Tarea (reading and math activities)
4-4:30 – discuss how the class went, proof-read the letter to the Sindico with Sara
4:30 – Darryl goes to the internet center to check email and print the letter, I tutor Migue (a 15 year old neighbor). We are working on reading, starting with learning the letters in the alphabet.
5:30-6pm – relax and sit and watch people outside
5:55pm – ¡Se fue la luz! (The electricity goes out.)
6:00-6:30pm – I take a bucket bath in a chair (broken foot) by sunlight.
6:30pm – dinner (honey nut “cheerio”-type cereal)
7-10pm – lay on the futon and listen to Darryl’s conversations with his parents and sister, and read a little bit by headlamp
10:10pm – ¡Llegó la luz! (The electricity comes back on.)
10:10-11pm – we talk, maybe read a little
11pm – bedtime
A Day in the Life
Day B (a Wednesday in March)
9-10ish am – wake up but stay in the bed to read while Darryl collects water for the day and kills a cockroach and shoos a lizard out the window
10:15am – ¡Llegó la luz!
10:30am – get myself going, brush teeth, drink a protein shake, decide to stay in my pajamas today
11am-1pm – listen to music, play Free Cell and Solitaire on the laptop, read (The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls)
1pm – make lunch
2pm - eat lunch (Chili..mmm..)
2:30-3:30pm – take an afternoon nap
3:30-5:30pm – Darryl goes to teach his English class, I go next door to chit-chat and gossip with 2 neighbors and play with her one-month-old baby while being encouraged to pay attention for when I have my babies and while being told that I need to have them soon (still in my pajamas)
5:30-6pm – brainstorm Sala de Tarea ideas
6pm – dinner (leftover chili..mmm…) AND ¡Se fue la luz!
6:30-8pm – read by lamplight (A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving)
8-10:30 – watch a movie (“The Matrix”) on the laptop hoping the battery will last until 10ish when…drumroll please…¡Llegó la luz!
11ish – bedtime
April 4th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Trenita,
Always love reading your blogs. This “A Day in the Life” is a great way for us to know what you are up to, and more about life in the Peace Corps.
Sorry about your foot, but glad to hear your surgery went well. I’ve been there, done that (broken foot – while hopping and singing Little Rabbit Foo Foo LOL) so can imagine how you feel. Your “what does it mean” perspective in March blog was interesting to read. Appreciate your perspective on letting go.
Sending hugs and wishes for a quick recovery.
Oh, and love the colors of your painted apartment.
Hugs to Darryl.
With joy,
Karen
April 4th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Hola, Chica!
You are a woman of so many talents, not the least of which were described in this great
Can’t wait for your next update!!!
“Day in the Life of Us…” blog! I could just see you there either sitting in the sunshine or watching the wildlife inside and out! I know how very much work you put into just everything in life, but this reads like a tourist brochure for ‘Come Live With Us in the DR!’ What a wonderful adventure you’re having with lights or without, and, man, those parenting tips!~
Be happy and well!
Love,
Patti
April 5th, 2009 at 5:55 am
Hey Trenita! ‘Enjoyed your “day in the life” so much! We just had the faculty party honoring Margaret Gragg last night (you know she’s retiring -right?). It was very nice even if if was held in the Bruton Smith Athletic Center! Jim Sherman and a quartet of men serenaded her with songs like “My Girl,” etc. 400-450 people attended. Mark Reed has big shoes to fill next year, for sure.
Take care of that foot!
Martha
April 6th, 2009 at 5:24 am
That was great to read, thanks for doing this!! I am glad to hear you are adapting to your new normal
And glad to hear to foot is healing!!
April 6th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Hey Trenita,
It’s mom. How are you honey bun? I know I just emailed you and talked to you, but just wanted you to know that I read your blog. I still can’t find the photos of the apartment. Maybe I can see them when I come, or I’ll just look at the apartment and take new photos…..duuuhhh.
Your ‘Day in the life of.” was really interesting. I think I’d go nuts, personally. I can’t stand for things to move that slowly. I would probably be bald by now and thin too. But that’s just me. But I guess, when we have to, we can adjust to anything. It’s all in our minds anyway.
Well, tootles. TTYL