A Day in the Life

I awaken at 5:08 AM to "Armon, Rachelle, Arastu, time for prayers!"

Groggily I pull my ear plugs out, fish around for my glasses and grab my prayer book. The family gathers around on low cushions and mumbles out prayers, or sings them in cracked morning voices. The kids and Sohayl leave to go on their jog. Usually I don't go so that I can use the bathroom at my leisure. But its not an unpleasant jog, though the streets smell of feces at that hour. Its cool and quiet and there is that sense of serene loneliness that only comes from wandering streets at early hours.

After the walk, or while they're out I get ready and sit down in a comfortable arm chair to read my book. At the moment I'm reading Les Miserables. At some point after 6:00 either Sohayl or Nicole brings me a glass of warm banana-milk and shortly after we're called to breakfast. Breakfast consists of a fruit salad and then a bowl of Indian corn flakes. Sometimes we sit around the table, talking and laughing or I return to my reading while the kids get ready. At about eight its time to go.

We usually walk to work, a short trip through the streets of our little suburb. There are cows and dogs along the road and people going about their business. There are no laws about keeping your dogs, or your cows from doing their 'business' in the streets, so they are covered with a dry patchwork of feces. The government recently decided to expand the roads in the area, so anyone with a garden outside their house will be fined if they don't tear it down soon. People are taking their brick fronts down manually with chisels and hammers.

At work I set up my laptop, and check the Internet. Then I begin working on whatever assignment I have at the moment.

Most of the time, at about ten we go for tea. We take a short walk out of the suburb to a little roadside store that sells tea and some food. Usually I have samosas.



Then we return and work until sometime between one and three, at which time I return to the house and read or visit with Nicole until the kids come home for lunch. After lunch I return to the office for another hour or so of work, and at 5 we return home.

The kids usually study at this time, so I read or write. A little later we visit together, or play games. At about seven we have dinner, the conversation is always full of laughter. We usually end up finishing at about eight, then the kids do dishes except on Sundays, which is my day. Another hour of reading, studying, talking and then we have evening prayers and at 9 we're off to bed.

Of course that's a day without Children's Classes, Feasts, or other Bahai gatherings. Sometimes Nicole and I go out to fetch something from the market. Sometimes Rohit, a co-worker stays for lunch. Sometime in March I'll probably move into the office when one of the other volunteers arrives, then I'll have more time on the Internet, more privacy for watching movies and playing video games. But its not unpleasant, just reading and visiting.