A Day in my Life

Muga (greeting in Kimeru, the mother tongue – proper response is “kwega”)!

Things are still fine here.  Per some reader requests, I wanted to give you a glimpse into my daily life here in Igoji (Eastern Province of Kenya).  Here was my day today:

8am – Wake up (they do not have a rooster here, thank goodness).

8:30am – Take “bucket bath” (this involves heating water over charcoal, pouring warm water into bucket, filling another bucket with cold water, carrying both buckets upstairs, pouring a mixture from both buckets into a small tub (holds about 3 gallons) until reaching a comfortable temperature, splashing water on myself, lathering up with soap, splashing water on myself to rinse off the soap (washcloth also helps), pouring dirty water down the drain, and toweling off – don’t let me get started on when I have to wash my hair!); I’ve yet to discover if everyone keeps a layer of soapy film on their body or if I’m doing it wrong.  I should note that my sister in the family, Winnie, and the housekeeper, Faith, take care of most of the aforementioned steps – starting fire, heating water, carrying buckets – they’ve yet to offer to bathe me, but I think if I asked…Kenyan hospitality seems to meet no bounds.

9am – Take breakfast: “white tea” (despite my first impression, this is not a racial reference – it just means that it’s made with milk; aside: the family’s cows are calving, so there’s not as much milk as usual), sweet potatoes, and a mango.

9:15am – Leave the house (shouts of “MZUNGU” – “white person) are heard echoing in the street.

9:20am – Flag down a “boda-boda” (motorcycle), negotiate fare, and hop on the back (shouts of “MZUNGU” as we pass, this should be assumed by now).  Roads are unpaved, so it’s a little bumpy.  

9:35am – Arrive at The General’s house and tea farm.

9:50am – Take “white coffee” (refer to above note – “white” indicates “milk” in this context) and bread with fat spread on it, breakfast with The General and his wife, Jojo Jessica (she is 80-years-old and works in the garden all day – she’s planting beans now).

10:20am – Recording session begins; topics today included: WWII and its effects in Kenya, the Mau Mau Oathing process, how the system of chiefdom evolved (notes to follow in future blog).  I reaffirm every reason why I thought this project was important – I respect this man.

1:40pm – Take lunch with The General and Jojo Jessica (rice, goat, and spinach with carrots).  I also enjoy a bottle of room temperature coke, The General took “Krest” (kind of like Sprite).

2:30pm – Resume session.

4:45pm – Leave for “Texas,” an open-air bar that serves nyoma choma (bbq goat) and beer.  I indulged in a Guiness mixed with Alvaro, a pineapple soft drink.  There was a television there playing American hip-hop – Lil Wayne, Biggie, 50 Cent, and Brittany were all in the mix (The General asked, in English, what language they spoke).

6:30pm – Leave Texas, stop by the road and buy mangoes, and get dropped off at my house (near the coffee farm of The General’s son).

8pm – Take dinner (pilau and beef stew tonight – it is often goat stew and cabbage) with my family and watch the news on television (WWF SmackDown is on tomorrow night).

9:30pm – Review some of the day’s sessions, write questions, read, learn some Swahili vocabulary with Winnie.  

11:47pm – Heading to bed… (we’re seven hours ahead of EST time).  I sleep in a twin, wooden-framed bed with a very thin matress on it.  No mosquito net, so I’m taking malaria prevention medicine.  There aren’t many mosquitos here anyways because of the altitude.  I share a room with Winnie.   

All for now…more later!

Hugs – Laura Lee (aka: Nkirote) :-)