DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOCELYN THE P.C. VOLUNTEER:

October 10,2012

DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOCELYN THE P.C. VOLUNTEER:
6:00am: I wake up, a little confused because i'm sleeping on the bottom part of a bunk bed and my masquito net or masqwito net as the Kenyans call them, is a little blue cave around me. After I wake up, check my floor for any bugs like cockroaches and find my way out of my blue cage, it's time for my bucket shower. I put my bucket and shower stuff in a small cement room with a little window where everyone in my house takes a shower. I get hot water and pour it into my bucket and then put some cold water into my bucket and vawala! I'm ready for my shower. After my refreshing bucket shower I get dressed and help get the chickens out of the coup, get the goats untied from inside the coup so they can eat and we let the puppy out. Although, the puppy usually stays in the crate all day and they only let him out at night to guard the house. They also only feed him only once so that he will become fierce and not sleep all the time. I think that has been one of the hardest parts of living with this family. The puppy cries for food and to be let out. They won't let him out or feed him until night time, so that he will not be to comfortable around humans and be a tough puppy. ALL I WANT TO DO IS PET AND PLAY WITH HIM! This is all part of getting use to cultural changes!

October 9,2012

8am-5pm: We have Kiswahili class for an hr. After Kiswahili class we go through one of the many cultural, health, educational classes we have. At 11 we have Chai, samosas, and this sweet bread called mndazi. After Chai a few more classes then lunch at 12 then a few more classes and were finished at 5pm.

Fun Fact: Swahili is a tribe and Kiswahili is their language. There are 42 tribes and they chose Kiswahili as the national language because it was the easiest language out of the 42 languages.

5-7:30pm: Carla, Elizabeth and I walk the half hr to our houses that are close to oneanother. The other 7 Deaf Ed volunteers who are in Machakos live close to each other but not us. I go home and help out feeding the chickens, goats and sometimes help water the garden. I then help with dinner. Which consists of me being told what to do, doing it and then being corrected on how to do it. haha It's wonderful because I'm learning the true Kenyan way to cook. I made ugali, which is just maze flower and water. It's a staple food in a Kenyan diet. It's like hardened porridge but doesn't have much taste.

7:30-8:30/9pm: my family tries and let me repeat, TRIIIIESS to help me learn Kiswahili while I do my hw. I'm a slow learner when it comes to languages. We also have either the TV on or the news. Clean up dinner. The little five year old I live with, we like to play a game where I peak around corners and try to run after him and tickle him. He doesn't speak English and I don't speak Kiswahili so we have our own language of staring, making funny faces, me pointing at something and saying the English word and him screaming back YESSS! And then him talking Kiswahili to me and me asking my other family members what he said.

Around 8:00/9:00pm: I head to my room to write, read, listen to music, write blog enteries.