Since coming to Kenya, I have experienced a new feeling that I had previously never felt. In the hustle and bustle of college with impending exams, projects, and activities, I rarely had a time where I truly had nothing to do. Within minutes of me sitting down to watch TV, the sheer guilt of relaxing would remind me of another deadline or errand to run- in other words, I felt the need to always be busy.

In Kenya, however, this need is not there. No one feels this need in this country, and after spending some time here, that drive is forced out of you. There isn’t a real explanation for this, but ask any other volunteer and they will agree. Perhaps it is the pace of the day. The Kenyan timetable begins at 7 A.M. or as it is called here, hour one. That is when the cock crows (if you have an extremely lethargic chicken) and the chores must begin. It is when all of the clothes washing, house washing, and children washing begins, followed by any and all shamba work (garden/farming) will occur. After, and only after, all of those tasks are completed will the activities of the day begin.

These activities include meeting with people such as myself. Because these meetings are of secondary importance to the members involved, they will only come when all of their tasks are completed, which could take anywhere from two to six hours complete.

So let’s take a 10 A.M. meeting. A few of the group members may have completed their tasks by 10 and will arrive at or a little after 10. But more than likely, they are not in any particular rush, and they could show up anywhere from 11 until 2. The meeting will likely start at 3. And for the few that may have arrived around 10, that’s five hours later, so some food had better be prepared. So after food has been cooked and eaten, the meeting is ready to commence at 4:30. The children start returning for school and are soon going to be looking for supper, so everyone is suddenly in a hurry. The actual meeting may last for 45 minutes, with 30 minutes of it going towards roll call, reading of the last meeting’s minutes, and a revisit of the late policy, which people likely have disagreements about. That leaves about 15 minutes, five going towards the beginning and ending prayer, and oh look, it’s getting dark and about to rain, we all better get going before the rain hits.

So yeah, that’s what I do here.