Early morning exercise

I decided that it was about time that I started getting some exercise here, so went out with my skipping rope onto the balcony at about 6.45am this morning. Seeing Eric there, I thought ‘oh good, some company’. That was before he started insisting that I start doing press-ups, sit-ups, burpees, star/frog jumps and other hideous activities. Not sure why some people actually want a personal trainer…

A rough day here, in case you’re interested is:
6.45am – wake up, exercise, shower (sometimes even with hot water) and breakfast (toast, honey and a banana (yes, a banana) for me!)
8.00-8.30 – devotions with the whole team, in a mixture of Swahili, French and English with various translations and drums and shakers.
8.30-1.30 – work. It’s quite a long morning and I’m definitely hungry by lunch.
1.30-2.30- lunch. Main meal of the day, often with soup for starter, then either rice/pasta/potatoes/sweet potatoes with meat/fish/chicken and a vegetable accompaniment.
2.30-5.30/6 – work. Note the fairly long days (and work on Saturday too!). It’s all this extra work which means that we get our R&R (rest and recuperation) long weekends 4 times a year.
6 onwards – chat, watch TV (Bukavu has got satellite), eat, learn Swahili. Sometimes people go out and socialise, but so far neither none of us have (there’s only 3 of us at home at the moment).
9ish – bed. Tuck in my ‘Princess net’ and remove the blanket with which Suzanne continues to make the bed with every day.
Night – sleep soundly.

Mungu unabarika! (Which means God bless you)