episode 3: everyday stuff

laundry: yeesh. do i ever miss a washer and dryer. my method thus far has been to wear the offending article of clothing into the shower with me and use *product placement!* dr brommers 18-1 peppermint soap. he sounds like a nutter from the packaging, but this is good stuff. so, scrubby scrubby, washy washy, rinsey rinsey, and then it's my turn to rinse.

what i have observed amongst the smarter-than-I-am locals, they use a 2 to 3 tub system. 1st tub for the washy washy, 2nd tub for rinse rinse, optional 3rd tub for more rinsing, or back up fresh water. they squish out all the water, and then lay the clothing out on the bushes to dry. i am loathe to lay my clothing, especially my unmentionables, out in public, so they are draped over our chair. takes a good day or two to dry. i also miss fabric softener….

rooms: we are lucky to have showers in our rooms. most rooms here in kibungo have public showers. our rooms are about 10x10 ft with one bare bulb. the bathroom is about 10x4 ft. "cozy." my roommate is D, and she's an elementary teacher in nashville, and quite hilarious. i have a fold out cot, blankets, and lovely lime green mosquito netting. D's bed is more normal sized with the same set up. we both journal like maniacs at night. my hair is not exactly wash & wear, so i'm up before her to push things into place. we have one outlet in the room, and both our converters are blown. silver lining - keeps you cooler if you go to bed with wet head! i look real special when i get up…. toya, it's similar to your james brown mugshot, only without any color. ;)

showering: dr brommer's 18-1 peppermint soap at night. that way i can sleep clean and pepperminty. they told us not to worry about water, but i try to turn off the water during scrubbing clothing or myself. all that water conservation in nashville was good practice. the shower is basically a 3x3 ft tub, about 4 inches lower than the floor. no shower curtain, so there is strategic rinsing, lest water get all over the floor. i've only wiped out twice so far. ladies, leg shaving appears to be optional. joy!!!! i'm going for once a week. TMI? tough. i'm just saying for someone who does not enjoy camping, this is an adjustment.

schedule: every day is a different adventure. and i mean ADVENTURE.
530am-ish - up, arrangement of self.
630am-ish - breakfast
730am-ish - team meeting and prayer time
here's where things always change….
1230pm-ish - lunch
then we do more stuff here….
630pm-ish - dinner
normally we round out the night with some scrabble with each other, card games with our helpers, translators, or anyone who is around, but sometimes after a long day, all you can think of is a shower, a book, or your bed! i tend to be asleep by 10. 530am is painfully early, even in rwanda.

food: i had great plans for this to be a separate blog, but since photos are so difficult to load, i'll 'splain a little differently. we are VERY well fed. they eat enormous portions! i do as much damage as possible to my plate.
a typical breakfast is eggs - either omelette form or hard boiled, fruit - passion fruit, bananas, unidentifiable with no translation something or other that is pretty delicious…. i think what we decided on was tree tomato. quite tart and tasty! we'll have water, tea, or instant coffee for bevs. there is always always bread & jelly. i REALLY miss peanut butter, but it is very expensive.
lunch is normally rice, beans, some form of potato, some kind of cooked banana, and either chicken or beef. not sure what kind of beef, but i keep trying it to see if i can decipher its origin. possibly goat. to drink, there is water, tea, and a variety of fanta.
dinner is the same as lunch, plus a soup, and a cabbage slaw - i think they flavor the slaw with vinegar, so it's too sour for me. whatever sauce they cook with is delectable, so i've taken to eating rice & beans with that sauce. normally there is lots of fresh pineapple. we pretend to fight over it, it's so good! today we had tilapia. it was SO great to have variety!
nutritionally, it's a full on starch fest. amber, it's so not dr. axe approved, but i do the best i can! i do have a killer raw multivitamin, and green food multivitamin, and drink about 5 bottles of water a day.
snacks have been found a local cafes! sambusas, or what we would call a samosa, are sort of like beef donuts. or beef pastry. not a big fan. they have a delicious sweat bread - totally not as good as my grandma's - a muffin like cake, and cookies, etc. most of the time i am starched out and looking for chocolate. it's funny to find yourself pining for an apple or tomato, or dreaming of bacon! for drink, CHAI!!!! they boil milk and add spices with chai masala. quite delectable.

internet! dear wifi, i love you and i miss you so. they keep the internet in a few cafes nearby. the closest one is up the hill and is about 200 RWF for 20 min…. less than a dollar. the problem is that their version of fast is painfully close to dial up speed. so most of our 20 min is sitting and staring at the windows flag while it waves and taunts us. i haven't used windows OS in a long time, and these computers are about 2 versions behind. so it's exactly like the old computer lab days when i was in college, before all you whippersnappers got laptops just for attending class. ha! so, my apologies for not being able to respond to emails…. it takes about 12 minutes just for gmail to load up.

i have 6 min left and it will take that long to post this!