All In A Days Work

I wake up before the sun and sit in the silence of the dark morning with a hot cup of tea in my hands, sharing my thoughts and upcoming challenges for the day with someone who simply listens. Within an hours time everything will come to life and the day will begin and won't slow down until after the sun is gone again. Before I know it the short hour has disappeared and I quickly throw on a jacket, grab my bag, and head out the door quickly heading for the gate. There waits the school's new auto that has been promised to take any staff members that need to make purchases at the villages larger Wednesday Bajeng Market. When I finally reach the auto it has been packed full and so I climb into the passenger seat and find an empty lap to rest. The auto is full and noisy as it makes a rough trip to the market and 20 minutes later we arrive. I make my way towards the field unfolding with fruits, vegetables, rice, sweets and all kinds of household goods. Row after row, blanket after blanket, men and women sit on the ground along side their harvest waiting for the mornings first customer. This isn't a new experience for me and many villagers even know who I am and where I'm from and possibly have a photo of me stored away on their cell phone. There's no chance that in this village I'll see another "foreigner" although by now I don't even notice the differences between us. I make my way down my "grocery list" that is stored somewhere in my busy mind and within an hour I have all the food we'll need for the week and a few flowers and pots to prepare the yard for spring. I pick up some breakfast, rice bread and jakep wrapped in banana leaf, on my way back to the auto to head back to school.
Twenty minutes later we reach the school where I take my large bag of groceries and pots home and quickly put them in their respective places and head to the Ad building to start registering students. After registering almost 60 students we take our lunch break and I head home and barely make it to my bed where I wake up only a few minutes before the second round of registration starts. We are busy registering until late afternoon. I rush home so I can finish everything before the sun light disappears and I quickly throw on my work clothes and make my way outside to work on the flowers. After planting two pots and setting them on the steps I move into the house and sweep out the sand that has snuck it's way through the cracks. Now I can start on my own mess in my room where all the christmas packages have been stored to clean out the front room. After my room is back to it's empty self I grab some dinner, cabbage salad with carrots and grams. By this time it's dark and there is nothing more that can be done. The lesson planning and laundry will have to wait for tomorrow, so I grab a book and sit on the grass mat on the floor to read for some time. I put down my book and recall all that the day has brought and think to myself, "what a life?" I don't even think twice about it most days, but this is a life I never would have pictured myself living. But I love it and wouldn't have it any other way.