A Day in the Life of [Me]

Due to popular demand, here's a "day in the life of" post for what life looks like here. A few notes first, however:
-- Not every day includes all of these events, but they often occur in my daily living here.
-- Because I didn't feel like doing a story format, this is in the form of "if I wrote FaceBook posts frequently throughout the day." 

A Day in the Life of [Me]:

7:00 AM – I’m up for the day, what more can you ask? Bucket shower first, then time to make coffee.

8:00 AM – Trying to prepare for a language lesson on 1.5 hours of sleep is pretty ridiculous. I’ll be glad when the electric company sorts things out and we have electricity through the night again. Hard to sleep without a fan.

9:00 AM – Heading out for a language lesson. Caught a taxi right away, but the driver then stopped at a shop for 10 minutes to do… I don’t know what? My fellow passengers have now quizzed me on my nationality, marital status, reasons for my (non)marital status, and I’ve explained twice now that, while I’m an English teacher, right now my focus is on learning their language. 

9:30 AM (approximately) – language lesson started close to on-time today! My language helper is probably more concerned than I am about the project we’re working on.

10:30 AM – Whew! Brain dead already. It’s amazing how language learning saps the gray cells and turns them to jello. Well, now we’re just practicing what I learned today, so it’s easier.

11:30 AM – I love lunch time with my language helper. She, or her mom, always makes something for us to share. Today’s lunch is a rice flour soup. She soaked rice in water, then blended it, cooked it, and added powdered milk, cardamom, and sugar. It’s surprisingly good.

12:00 PM – Catching a taxi from m-town is more difficult than airport town. Finally I got one, and we’re going through the standard questions: name, age, nationality, marital status, occupation, marriage proposal, etc. 

12:30 PM – Language review, then a nap! No power, so guaranteed I’ll wake up covered in sweat.

2:00 PM – Practicing language in my room. My voice recorder has captured a lot of phrases for me to practice fluency and intonation. Maybe I’ll get some house projects done too?

4:30 PM – Exercise time! Aerobics is becoming a great way to practice language and meet new people. Strange to start the workout covered in sweat though. Oh, and we have some dedicated observers: kids and young men will stand outside the window and stare at all the women working out. As Jess told a couple of them, "I'm not a TV!"

6:00 PM – What should I cook for dinner, folks? 

7:00 PM – Dinner = success. Chicken wings + tomato slices + fried potatoes = Abby fed.

8:00 PM – Curriculum reading. Just a little bit to finish before team day this week.

9:00 – Time to settle down for bed. Maybe I’ll check emails and see if anyone’s online to talk. It’s 10 AM back home, so most people are at work.  

9:30 PM – Bed is comfy, but sleep ain't coming yet.

11:30 PM - This "read until you feel sleepy" thing isn't working yet. So tired, so sweaty, so in need of sleep. Maybe I'll get a few hours tonight?

[ Sometime in the night I finally fall asleep. Rinse, repeat the next day]

[When it rains, I do get good sleep. But that's not all the time. When it's hot, I don't sleep well at all.]