Perhaps you may be wondering what an average day in the life of a Peace Corps trainee looks like….well if you do not care, stop reading.
My day starts 5:30am when I wake up. I am not a morning person and love to sleep. However, there is something about roosters in the morning that just prevents me from sneaking in that extra hour. In our community, chickens just roam everywhere. I am not sure how people keep track of which chickens belong to them but they are EVERYWHERE! So normally I force myself out of bed by 6 am. Sometimes I will just finish up a lesson plan or study Kiswahili during that 30 minute period when I seem to be the only one awake, but as soon as I hear noise around the house I wake up. Our house girl is very nice about boiling some water for me in the morning so I do not have to start my day with a cold bucket bath. And I appreciate it so much! We are in the cold season so cold water is not fun in the morning. After I take my bucket bath and use the choo, I get dressed, get my lesson plan and everything together, and have chai (breakfast). What happens next depends on the day…
Before internship teaching, I would walk with fellow PCTs who live near me to our school. We would be picked up by a driver at 7:20 am and taken to another school to meet our entire training class for tech training, medical, or Peace Corps information. During these first three weeks we did a lot of language study in our small groups, received several injections from our Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO) and learned policies regarding safety and security. We also learned how to garden and the types of fruits and vegetables available in Tanzania. I think I am going to attempt to start a garden when I get to site so that I can have a more balanced diet. One of my friends took pictures of our group so I will post them later. Thank you Athena!! On an average day, we would finish training around 5 pm and then go back to our homestay families. Sometimes the PCTs will go to a bar before heading home, but the sun goes down around 6:30 pm and our families want us home.
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| This is a picture of the English teachers at our training location. It is hard not to be distracted by the beauty of the country. |
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| Learning how to use a hoe to garden. I hope to have a garden of my own when I get to site. |
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| We are learning about the different fruits and vegetables available in Tanzania. |
Now that we have begun internship teaching the day is a little different. PCTs all have different teaching schedules so we teach in the morning anywhere between 7:40 and 10:30 am Monday through Thursday. Then we have a tea break and intense language study from 11 am until around 4 pm. After we finish for the day, I may meet up with other trainees for a cold drink (soda), go to an internet café, lesson plan, or study Kiswahili. On Fridays and Saturdays, we usually have large group training and learn tech skills, Peace Corps medical information, etc. Our schedule on those days is similar to how it was before internship teaching.
When I get home I spend some time with my family. We eat dinner and then I go study my Kiswahili and lesson plan. I usually go to sleep around 9:30 pm because I need my sleep and with the sun down and no electricity, sleep is the most practical option. I wake up and do it all over again the next day!
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