Daily Routine in Village

6:30-8am: At 6:30am it is bright enought to see and I want to do as much as I can because it is the coolest part of the day. I first go outside and greet my family in the compound. Greetings are extremely important, not greeting is rude. I then sweep my little house because dust gets everywhere. I then take my shower/bucket bath after fetching water; then organize my things, eat breakfast, and water my garden. Right before 8am I head to class making sure to greet everyone along the way.
8-12pm: All os us trainees in village (5) gather under the mango tree to have language class with our LCH instructor.
12-1:30pm: We are supposed to practice language skills with our families and the community but our language is not good enough. We usually talk a little but we mostly listen to our host families talk amongst themselves without understanding much. We are starting to understand a word here and there and sometimes we can formulate an answer. It is hard!!! Hopefully we will get good enough soon.
1:30-2:30: Lunch time. Our families provide us breakfast and dinner (rice or coos) but the Peace Corps provides lunch. They bring vegetables and meat and a villager cooks for us because veggies and meat are not usually part of the families' food bowl.
[12-4 is the hottest part of the day. Most people do not work and they usually sit in the shade.]
2:30-6pm. Free time. We usually work in our language manuals until 4pm. As it starts to cool off, people start to work. We work in our gardens, fix fences, plant seeds or walk through the fields.
6:00-7pm: The sun sets. Thus, I try to do many things before it gets dark; I take a bucket shower which feels great because the cool water washes away the dirt and sweat. If I can't do it in the light of the day, I either cast my shadow against the fence (putting on a show for my neighbors) or I cannot find the soap and shampoo in the pitch black.
7:00-9pm: I sit with my family outside in the dark and eat dinner (around 8pm) out of a communal food bowl (men separate from women).
9:00-10pm: I go into my house, brush my teeth, sometimes write in my journal and got to bed.
That is my daily life in an African village in The Gambia!!