A Day in the Life of a PCV

In 2014, we wrote about “A Day in the Life of a PCT” to share the normal training schedule for our post. Now that we have been teaching for a year, it is easy to describe a typical day in our life as full-fledged Volunteers. Here is a snap shot!

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5:30 am: Wake up. The sun is streaming through our copper curtains and white princess canopy/mosquito net. It is time to open my eyes and get ready for school (after a good 30 minutes reading in bed, because I am never in a rush to wake up in the morning).

Mmmm...cozy, cuddly beeedddd

6:00-7:00 am: Make my breakfast (typically cereal), feed Charlie, prepare my lunch (2 PBJ’s and fruit), get dressed (typically a cotton skirt and short sleeve top), brush my teeth, and wash my face.

7:00-7:15 am: Mental checklist… Lesson plans? Check. Textbooks? Check. Teaching aids? Check. Black bag with teacher’s file, USB, and keys? Check. Blue bag with any excess, lunch, and water for the day (filtered, of course…can’t have that runny tummy)? Check.

7:15 am: Depart for school. Ready for adventure, like Dora the Explorer!

Ready, ready!

7:17 am: Pass the cutest child that has ever existed and greet each other…repeatedly. I smell the fresh-caught fish that her mother is smoking over the fire. She will take these to sell over the weekend in the city, which is six hours away by public taxi. A high-pitched “goodbye!” echoes in my ears as I walk away.

7:18 am: Arrive at school. Greet the security guard at the gate. Sometimes I pass my bags to a group of learners who are running up to help me. Greet my colleagues.

7:30 am: The bell rings. I am embraced by the beautiful harmonies of morning prayer. You can hear a few recordings at the end of this post.

Grade 7 performing at assembly

7:45 am: Classes begin. I will teach 2 of the 6 periods that we have in the day. I use the remaining 4 hours doing any combination of the following:

• Preparing teaching aids, seating charts, or lesson plans
• Marking (aka grading)
• Training and supervising the library student assistants
• Meeting with the library committee
• Teaching other teachers how to use the computer
• Typing something for another teacher, for the principal, or for the library
• Teaching remedial phonics lessons
• Meeting with my Head of Department (HOD)

Preparing some teaching aids

10:45 am: Lunch time! Most days I stay in the library with my ever-inspiring and entertaining learners. I have a handful of regulars who eat their lunch with me every day, tell stories, and teach others to read. Sometimes, I eat lunch in the staff room with my colleagues, where we share and share alike (as is the culture). Other days we have a staff meeting, which will likely start late and go over time (which, is also the culture).

Fabulous learners

2:30 pm: Depart school. I get kicked out by the security guard if I so much as think of staying past 2:40. I catch a ride home with a colleague, because it is futile to refuse and point out how short my walk is. Also, it is always a good few minutes of social time with friends and makes me feel included.

2:40 pm: Return home. Greet Charlie, who tries so desperately to pretend that he is calm. He sits dutifully, but the wag of his tail moves his whole body like an upright wave. I let him outside and feed him.

CHARLES!

3:00 pm: Eat an afternoon snack (typically homemade white bean dip, hummus, or popcorn).

3:20-5:00 pm: Do ANYTHING POSSIBLE to find/become/stay cool. A tin-roofed, non-insulated house can get roasty toasty! Other possible activities include: teaching mini writing lessons to the swarm of kids next door (“ngicela ungifundisa” or “I am asking you to teach me” is a common chant), marking, lesson prep, exam writing, reading, washing dishes, or writing for the blog.

Our afternoon playmates!

Stayin' cool in a homemade hammock

5:00 pm: Every few days, we must fetch our buckets of water from the taps. I typically “thwala” the water (or carry it on my head). Joe carries two buckets at a time, like they are on a yoke. Beast mode!

5:30-6:30 pm: Walk Charlie. We use any number of the small trails around our home. The paths will range between deep sand and less-deep sand with rocks. They are surrounded by tall grasses, lush gardens, and scattered fruit trees. This is our special time together where we can talk, point out the things that we see, and enjoy the sunset.

Beautiful landscape

6:30-7:30 pm: Cook and eat dinner. This is typically some form of faux Asian-peanut-sauce over pasta, pizza, or the occasional stir-fry. This meal will often be followed by one of Joe’s famous desserts.

7:30 pm: Bucket bath! On hot days, I use the unheated camp shower that Joe bought in the city. On cold days, I heat water in a kettle and do the old school bucket-and-pitcher method.

8:00 pm: Watch TV or a movie from our laptop.

9:00 pm: Read until I pass out for the night.

Lale kahle.