daily routine

I've been asked what my daily schedule is like, and honestly, it's pretty boring. The most exciting things in my life are chasing the neighbors' chickens (and the occasional turkey) out of my garden, biking through herds of giant cows, having good conversations, inventing science experiments for class (I'm really excited about my new one: heating up iodine water purification tablets to see the purple gas!), and chasing bats out of my house. But I can try to give a general idea, so here goes.

Wednesdays are my busy days, so I'll describe one of those to make me seem super-productive and purposeful. I wake up around 5 (I naturally wake up before 6 pretty much always, but at 5 I need an alarm) and eventually roll out of my canopy bed- ah, mosquito net. Throw on a pagne, put some water on to boil for tea, use the latrine, come back inside and make the tea. Sit out on the porch for a while drinking my tea and reading, taking advantage of the cool air. 6ish, it's time to figure out what to wear- long skirt/pants, button-up shirt, whatever's moderately clean. 6:15 I head out on the bike, going slowly and playing “how little can I sweat” on the 6km trip to school.
Get there 6:45, sit outside the school office, greet the school watchman, chat with other teachers as they arrive. A student raises the flag at 10 of, another student rings the bell (old metal wheel) at 5 of, head into class once I think all the students are there so I don't have to lock students out for being late. Teach math for 2 hours, teach physics for 2 hours. Finally done teaching at 11!
The CEG (middle school) is pretty close to Bagre village, so if it's a market day I'll bike that extra 2km and stop by, chat, buy some eggs, then bike back to Bagre town where I live. The smaller market in town has better tomatoes, so I stop in there to pick up stuff for lunch then go home to eat. After that it's siesta time!! I'll take a bucket bath either before or after siesta, depending how sweaty I am. I like taking my bath when it's hot out, because then I feel like I'm at a water park. Not sure why.
So after siesta/bath I do household-y things, sweeping, washing dishes, putting things in piles on my desk. At 4 or 5 I work on lesson plans, sitting outside because my house is still hot from the afternoon. Someone might stop by and chat, then it gets dark and the mosquitos come out. So, time for dinner and maybe some more lesson planning, then usually head out to someone's house to hang out. Chat for an hour or so, then (because I'm ultra lame) head back hopefully before 9 to go to bed. Oh, and feel kind of guilty because people like to walk you home here to make sure you get there safe, so I know when I leave they have to get up and walk to my house too.

And that's a typical day! On days that I don't have classes, things that occupy my time are doing laundry, gardening, biking, sewing, various home improvements, writing letters, lesson planning, going to the marche, reading, baking... so many options. And sometimes I'm bad and antisocial and watch movies. But sometimes I'm good! I just started tutoring a group in English, and set up a time for students to come to my house to practice English conversation... which may turn into a club, we'll see.
So I keep busy enough, and there are new activities in the works, so I'm enjoying my low-key schedule while I can.