The following is a journal entry. While I generally know when I'm writing in my journal whether it's intended to be a personal entry or whether I'll edit and type it later as a blog post, I'm terribly behind on writing 'posts,' and I thought perhaps this would be, at least, a little glimpse into my daily life and thoughts, however banal they may be. I've included a few notes for clarification.
It's been a lazy Saturday. Not to say I've done nothing; I woke unbidden around 7:30. Swept out the house, fixed a flat on the bike and cleaned it with a dry brush a bit, washed some clothes, went to Munada [our monthly traveling-market day] with Kapula and Dina, where I met some German travellers (who I think were some kind of volunteers in Ghana at some point), made banana bread, roasted groundnuts, hung out with the family some over lunch, read most of the newspaper filler that was in the box Beth's friends sent her. Bathed, soaked my feet, painted my toenails blue to get me out of my comfort zone. (Also, they've been deep red for the past month and my two pink options are, I believe, in my makeup bag at the provincial office in Kasama.) The girls were over (Kapula, Dina, Sarah, and Precious) and did some watercolor painting, nail painting, storybook-tamba'ing (note: ukutamba means to look at; I mix Mambwe and English frequently, even making verb creations through partial conjugations from both languages.) Oh! I finally finished my little ABC game too and they tried it out. I'd planned to mark the Maths mock exams today, but Mr. M. finished them.
There's no boredom. Always something to do. I'm still trying to find a sense of peace, of picking one thing and doing it and not worrying about the 20 other things on my list. Being in the moment. Not worrying about what's expected of me or what I should be doing. Trying to ask myself, "What, exactly, do I want to do, right now?" Luckily for me, chores like laundry and tap'ing manzi (there I go with another mixed verb conjugation; ukutapa amanzi means to draw water) do fit in there, or I'd be hungry and dirty a lot. But even as I write this, my mind wanders to the 2 books I'm reading. Letters to write. The screen adaptation of Nine Hills to Nambonkaha that's sat untouched for over a year. Paintings to make. The bit of sewing that remains on the third cushion cover. Prep for the term--I've done so little~! And rebuilding the ulusasa (bathing shelter), and thatching repair, and concrete, all things I want to look into--if not finish--within the next 3 weeks.
But a lazy day is OK. Quieting my mind is good. Racing thoughts fill mental space but actual do...not much. It's been a good day, a peaceful one, and the fire should be going again so I can put on water for tea and for the flask (thermos) as the last remnants of light slip away.
No comments:
Post a Comment