So I wake up to the rooster crowing usually around 5 or 5:30 am and book it to the nyegen -- the Malian form of a bathroom. The nyegen consists of three walls and a hole in the ground where you shit. This nyegen, I might inform you, is also the place where we shower. Anyway, as my system is still adapting to the food and water here, I have been frequenting the nyegen quite often and have mastered the squat! It's been over a month since I've sat down on a toilet seat and believe it or not, I'm actually beginning to enjoy the squatting. It's very clean and things flow nicely... Not to mention, at night I get to look up at the beautiful Malian sky full of shooting stars-- the kind that fall slowly to the horizon.
Anyway, after my bathroom time I take a nice long bucket shower. At the beginning of my time here this was the hardest part for me as I have thick hair and it took me more than one bucket to wash my hair and body. Luckily, I've figured out a system by now. I wash my body first then dunk my whole head in the bucket to get it wet and throw the bucket of water over my head to wash all the soap out. My showers are close to my favorite part of the day -- they feel incredible since we're pretty much always hot and sticky here.
After my shower, I sit in my doorway in my toubab chair and they serve me coffee and bread and sometimes some hardboiled eggs. Once I finish my breakfast I usually sweep my floor to get all of the crickets out from the night before and then I go to school on the new fancy mountain bike I got the other day.
Today is Sunday though, and Sundays are our day off. Today, we collected peanuts and made peanut butter. Then I spent 2 hours doing laundry, just about killed my back and sweat out pretty much all of my bodily fluids. After my shower I made myself a nice peanut butter sandwich and then hoped on my bike to head here. We just discovered this internet café and although it’s quite nice, the bike ride here it very tiring so I’m not sure how many more times I’ll make it here before I get installed.
This afternoon Abu, the donkeymaster of the house, is going to teach me how to ride the donkey. I will be sure to post a picture of that when I get it. Should be incredibly entertaining. After my donkey ride, I'm headed to the taylor with my host sister to have them make me a nice malian outfit for the swear-in ceremony. Wow it's coming up so soon!
