Since it’s not Ansetta’s turn to cook lunch today, she’ll make her way back home around noon and head to her room or the sal (living room) to scroll on TikTok and record dances with the other girls. She’ll probably change into more comfy bottoms, either looser pants, basketball shorts, or a long piece of fabric wrapped around her waist. She’ll call friends and family or send or respond to voice notes before leaving her phone to charge in the community charging station in the mayor’s house. This is a huge privilege to have, as not all homes have solar power or any way to charge devices. Some neighbors even come over to charge their phones at the mayor’s house. She may do some homework if she’s feeling motivated, but she’ll probably leave that till later in the evening when it's gotten a bit cooler.
As it’s very important to be clean before eating meals here, Ansetta will shower just before lunch. She’ll fill a large basin of water from the well, put it on her head, and walk through the house to the back yard where there is an enclosed space for showering. She’ll be pretty quick with her bucket shower as all the other girls need to shower after her, too.
At around 3 pm, the house gathers for lunch. Everyone has co
It’s a leafy vegetable that has been ground into a pasty, sticky substance. The women use it on their fingers to form the rice into compact balls. It’s really just grass and holds no nutritional value, but people here are addicted to it as they’ve been eating it with lunch and dinner since they were born. Even though I eat with a spoon at my bowl, there is always a lump or two of it around the bowl for the little boys as they usually don’t eat with a spoon until about age ten.
