Hi friends! Stay tuned for a new post on my first two weeks in Hanga! It should be posted later today. In the meantime, to keep my blog posts from being to long and overwhelming, I decided to make a separate post on a typically day in my life in Hanga so far, just so you all can get an idea of what I have been up to on a daily basis. So please enjoy!
Day in my Life as a Benedictine Volunteer in Hanga, Tanzania
My day in Hanga usually begins with the 5:30 AM wake-up call for Morning Prayer (referred to as Laude, or Lauds, in Swahili), which begins at 6:00 AM sharp in the Abbey Church. Lauds typically lasts from 6:00 AM, to around 6:30 AM. After Lauds has concluded, we have around 10 minutes of silent meditation (this is typically the hardest part of the morning for me, as I struggle to stay awake 😂), as we prepare for the Holy Mass. Mass begins around 6:40 AM, every day (excluding Sundays). Mass typically goes from 6:40 AM to roughly 7:30 AM, and is immediately followed by breakfast.
Now, the monks have their own monastic refectory, but they also have a guest refectory, which is where me, and my BVC partner Allan, eat most meals. A typical breakfast in Hanga includes freshly baked white bread, Makande (dried maize and red kidney beans) and coffee or tea. A fun little fact: there is also an old tube TV in the guest refectory and typically in the mornings, the Tanzanian Safari Channel is on, and we can see all sorts of animals found in the famed Serengeti National Park Reserve, which is located in Tanzania. Another fun thing about the guest refectory is that it is often where we can meet guests from all over the world that are staying at Hanga Abbey for various different reasons/purposes, so far we have met friends from Italy, Germany, and visiting monks and nuns from various different monasteries in Tanzania.
After breakfast ends (usually around 8:00 AM or 8:30 AM), the formal morning work period begins, and this lasts from 8:30/9:00 AM until 12:30/1:00 PM. After the morning work period concludes, it is lunch time! A typical lunch in Hanga can include white rice (a staple in Tanzania, and is usually served with every lunch, and dinner), boiled potatoes, Ugali (a very thick, dough-like cornmeal porridge made from white maize flour and boiling water), Sukuma Wiki (sautéed collard greens or kale, onions, and tomatoes), beans, fresh fruit, and occasionally meat (usually chicken or beef), water is the typical lunch beverage though there is occasionally a fruit juice of some kind.
After lunch ends (usually around 2:00 PM), the afternoon work period begins and this lasts from 2:00 PM to around 5:30 PM. Sometimes our work period in the afternoon ends earlier than 5:30, and we have the rest of the afternoon to ourselves and we can spend it however we wish, usually I use that time to do laundry, read, or shower. Vespers (also known as Evening Prayer) begins at 6:00 PM sharp, and typically concludes around 7:00 PM, with dinner immediately to follow. A typical dinner in Hanga can include white rice, Ugali, boiled potatoes Sukuma Wiki, beans, meat, fresh fruit, and occasionally Mandazi (fried bread that is similar to a sweet, fluffy doughnut or beignet), water is the typical dinner beverage in Hanga, however soda is also available on occasion.
After dinner concludes, (usually around 8:00 PM), we are free for the rest of the evening. Usually, I utilize this time by either showering (if I haven’t had time previously in the day), reading, socializing with the brothers and other guests, or just relaxing. I typically aim for a 9:00/9:30 PM bedtime, to ensure that getting up the next morning isn’t a miserable experience. 🙂
I hope that this brief look into my day to day life was informative of what I am doing on a daily basis, and I hope you enjoyed! A blog post containing everything I have been up to these past two weeks will be posted soon.
Have a blessed Sunday friends!
Cormac 🫶🏻
Leave a Reply