Ndoto Njema - Sweet Dreams

Sleep never comes easily in a new place. I could feel the frame of the bed underneath me last night. The air is hot and because I am on the ground level I need to close the curtains, which makes for challenging air circulation. The school is close enough to the main road to hear the traffic all night. In addition to traffic noise there is a bird that makes a loud high-pitched noise, only at night. It’s similar to those whistles kids can get at a sporting event or parade. I still have a lingering cough from the cold I carried to Africa with me. But to top off the whole ‘difficult sleeping arrangement’ tonight’s dinner conversation included what snakes are found in this area and who has seen or heard snakes recently. There’s a topic not to dwell on too long.

What will make me sleep tonight? First, a head full of Kiswahili (as it’s called here). I had a tutor today for about 5 hours. Tomorrow will be the same. My tutor wished me dreams of Kiswahili. This should be enough to make anyone fatigued. But I had the blessing of talking with one of the workers here and switched the mattress for a thicker firmer one. They are all just pieces of foam, so swapping for the one in the unoccupied room next to mine wasn’t a big production. Finally I hope to get a shower in before bed, even if it means another one in the morning. It gets dark around 6:45. Africa gets dark fast, no long dusk. The grounds of the school have a thick covering of trees. So it seems darker even earlier. But that just means I can head to bed earlier without feeling guilty or missing anything. My day starts at 6:30 am here, breakfast at 7:00, devotions at 7:45, class at 8:00.

Lala Salaama!