My Typical Monday

Mondays are the day that my counterparts Rachida and Said are in their office in EEK. It is souk day in EEK so many people from the surrounding towns and villages that Rachida and Said work with travel to EEK to do their weekly shopping and they stop in the office to say hello and take care of paperwork. Sarah and I are the K-5 volunteers assigned to work with Said and Rachida, so we go to the office on Mondays.

I get up early, at 7 or 7:30 to get ready and make sure I catch a taxi by 8:30 or 9am. If I am any later, the taxis are gone and I have to wait a while or walk out to the main road. My host mom usually insists on my eating breakfast, but breakfast usually isn't ready before I want to leave, so I try to “sneak” out when she is milking the cow or otherwise occupied.

The taxi usually isn't full when I get there so I make a quick run to the post office to check my mail and to send any letters I've written over the weekend. By the time I get back, the taxi is usually full and we are on our way. The taxi is a 15 to 20 minute ride and EEK is busy by the time we get there.

I haven't figured out the office schedule, because some Mondays, Rachida and Said are there and in full swing when I arrive and other times I've sat outside reading my book until 10:30 or 11am waiting for someone show up. So far, there hasn't been any work that Sarah and I can help with, so we catch up with each other and try to get information out of Said and Rachida. They are busy actually working, so I feel a bit awkward pestering them with questions. Sarah and I usually stick around for an hour or two and then take off to meet Marja, the youth development volunteer who lives in EEK. We meet for lunch and sometimes hit the internet cafe or go to souk. By the time we return to the office around 3 or 4pm Said and Rachida are wrapping things up and there is more time to talk. I stay and chat with Said about the things happening in my village and he patiently answers all of my questions.

Around 5 or 6pm I head back to the taxi stand to get a ride home. For some reason, they really cram people in on this route. Once I counted 13 people in a station wagon – 4 in the way back, 5 in the middle and 4 in front! The front seat was interesting because it was the driver, 2 women and me. One woman was straddling the gear shift and I was sharing the front seat with another woman. Talk about uncomfortable! The woman next to the driver had her jelaba hiked up and she had to kind of stand up every time the driver shifted gears.

Its usually tea time when I get home and Fatima, my host brothers and I sit down for an early evening snack. Sometimes I accompany Sumia to the spring to get water and other evenings I simply relax and try to process the day. Mondays are good because I have a set schedule and I get to speak a little English!