Mzungu Maasai

Okay, don’t laugh, but time really seems slower here. I don’t know if it is because I am seven or eight hours ahead of my people in America, but I feel like I am so much more productive over here. A typical day may consist of me waking up around 7:00 am, turning on the hot water heater, scrolling on my phone for about thirty minutes while the water heats, walking outside to turn on the water pressure button, THEN taking a shower. Before turning on the shower, I go ahead and wash my face at the sink, brush my teeth (using bottled water!!), and put my contacts in so I can see what I’m doing. Then I turn on the shower, rinse off, and turn it back off while I soap my body or shampoo my hair. Turn the water back on to rinse body or hair. I have learned that this lets me have hot/warm water for the entire shower. Next time you take a thirty-minute shower “just because”, think of me.

After all of this, I finish getting ready for the day and go fix breakfast. Normally my driver comes to get me between 9:00-9:15 to drive me out to Losimingiori to visit my school which is about 45 minutes away (I think it’s around 30 miles and whatever that translates to in kilometers). I try to time my visits to arrive during porridge/recess time which lasts anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour and a half. This is preschool, after all. For them, play time is still a time to learn. (See “The Namayana Project” website: www.namayanaproject.com or on Facebook or Instagram) I typically leave there around noon when the kids are dismissed for the day. We drive back to Kisongo, and I usually go home and eat lunch. Sometimes I eat at Kisongo Lounge (if I haven’t had kuku/chicken in a while, ha ha), or we drive into “town” (Arusha). I love how they call Arusha a “town” when its population is over 600,000+ people. By this time, people in America start waking up.

On days (like today) when I stay home to work, my routine is still roughly the same minus the drive to Losi. Today I woke at 8:00 and cleaned up because the cleaning ladies were coming (some things are the same no matter where you live, IYKYK). As I write this, I have already completed two work assignments for my job in America, checked email and responded, read my morning devotion which included a ten-minute video, eaten breakfast and washed those dishes, and responded to several WhatsApp messages that needed my attention, plus checked Facebook and completed “Wordle” (in four attempts today, not very good), and it’s not even noon. I actually love “African Time”! Here when someone says they will come get you around 10:00(ish), that “ish” part is REAL! Church starts at 10:00 (ish). Late arrivals are encouraged. It’s like this country was made for me (again, IYKYK, I’m somewhat notoriously late in America). Anyway, I think the simple life may suit me. Enjoy these pictures that I took while I was writing this.