Home Sweet Home!

I'm finally back in the states but missing Malawi already! I have a whole week left to post, so keep checking for a wrap up to my trip. I never could have imagined such a wonderful experience, and I can't wait to go back someday! 

Malemia Feeding Program

Friday, July 11, 2008

Instead of going to our school assignments today, we all went to
Malemia Primary to see the start of a feeding program. Malemia is
where the Radford students are working during our time here. Last
year, a student was able to donate $100 to start a program at the
school. It was enough money to feed the close to 800 students at
Malemia twice a week for seven months. We were able to make another
significant contribution for the next year.

When we arrived at the school, some of the children were playing and
waiting for their breakfast. Each child brought a cup to school to be
served. The women of the village started working at 6 a.m. on a large
container of porridge for the students. The container was the size of
a large metal trashcan you might see at a carnival or fair. They made
the porridge with maize flour, sugar, salt, water and a little milk.
We found out later that to make the porridge nutritious for the
students, the women MUST put milk or groundnut flour in the mix. They
did not put enough milk in the mix today, so our professors had to
talk to the head of the program to make sure it's more nutritious.

After working on the porridge for about 4 hours, it was about ready.
The women poured a portion into two separate smaller containers for
distribution. The children started to line up with their cups and
spoons. They started with Standard 1, and then they called each class
one by one. Some children did not have spoons, so they used leaves,
sticks and their fingers. Others did not have cups, so they shared
cups with their classmates. Teachers provided some cups.

I took some footage of the process on my camera and of the women hard
at work. It was great seeing the children's faces as they received
their porridge. This is one of the poorest schools in the area, and
the majority of the children were malnourished. I did see some
children with enlarged stomachs (a sign of malnutrition). As I taped
the morning's events, I found Sarah with a young girl. I didn't
realize why she was sitting with her until I really looked closer. I
came up to ask what was wrong, but the child was very upset. Tears
were streaming down her eyes, and she tried to cover her face. Neither
one of them spoke a word, but you could tell they both understood each
other. Sarah had realized the child did not have a cup, and the child
spoke little English to tell her what was wrong. Sarah was comforting
her without saying a word, but it really upset her as well. It was
like a child in America forgetting a P.E. uniform or lunch money, but
this child was going to miss out on a warm meal she desperately
needed. You could see that Sarah had really connected with this child,
and it really got to her. I wasn't even involved in the situation and
it upset me. I can't imagine what she was feeling at the time. She was
showing such compassion towards the child, and in the moment there was
nothing she could do. Luckily, a teacher nearby had a cup, and the
problem was solved.

We helped the children line up to get them fed quickly. The women
would scoop a cup at a time per child, and then the children would go
around the corner to eat. Sarah and I sat in circles with the
children. I felt bad because I didn't want to distract them from
eating their food while it was warm, but I think they enjoyed the
company. I encouraged them to sit and relax while eating. I just wish
we could have given each of them a full meal. They were so happy to
have a small come of hot porridge, but it's just not enough. With the
contribution this year, they should be able to have the feeding
program every day.

We spent the next couple hours celebrating with the students and the
local villagers that were passing through the schoolyard. A couple of
the Radford students asked Innocent, one of the teachers, to make them
a drum. He brought them to help celebrate. While some of us were
playing with the kids and helping serve, others got a hands-on lesson
in drumming! Lexi and Brittany also joined in with some of the older
boys. They started off slow, but then they were able to make some
great music for our celebration! I got a lot of it on tape and
continued to dance and play with the children. Each one of them is so
special, and one of my goals has been to make each one really feel
special in the little time we spend together. Even if I'm unable to
give them anything, just smiling or giving a high five goes a long way.

It seemed like we danced for hours, and those kids can dance! I try my
best to imitate their dancing, and the village women seem to love it!
We danced around the circle, clapped, sang and tried to catch our
breath at the same time. It was so much fun! The children love to
include you in the dancing and make you feel welcome. I don't believe
any teaching was done on Friday, but at least the children had a great
day!

After celebrating for a while, we headed into the office to collect
our things and say goodbye for the day. Some of Vandy's (a student
from Radford) girls from her class were being measured for uniforms.
Dr. Kelly and Vandy are funding the uniforms for these girls to reward
them for staying in school and encourage them for the future. If
anyone needs help, these girls do, and I'm sure it'll be a great
surprise. They'll be distributing them on Tuesday, our last day.

As we left Malemia, some of the village women were still gathered
around the drums and children celebrating. We said goodbye to some of
the children and danced a little more. One of the older women (A go-go
for grandma) came up and danced with me, and the ladies formed a
little circle. It was great! She showed me some good moves, and the
village women thought it was hysterical watching me dance like her. I
thanked her (Zikomo) and gave her a hug before leaving. She definitely
made my day.

We started to make the trek toward Domasi. It's about a 30-45 minute
walk. The Radford students walk to our school from Malemia every day.
Some of the children followed us for a while and kept us company. As
we crossed the main road, we saw a lot of people gathered on the road.
There was a band in the back of the truck coming down the street. It
was really neat! I felt like we were in the Caribbean. We continued on
toward Domasi, our school, and crossed the soccer field and river
along the way.

We passed through our schoolyard and saw our teachers standing
outside. School was out for the day, but they were having a meeting.
We talked to our teachers, and I apologized to Macdonald for not being
at school for part of the day. I told him to anticipate us at school
for about an hour, but we didn't make it in time. He's so
understanding, and said it was o.k. He did say that the children were
so sad that we did not come, and they anxiously peaked out the window
all day looking for us. I felt so bad! I told him we were very sorry
and we would make it up to them on Monday. He also reminded me that we
were invited to his home on Tuesday to meet his children. Lexi and I
are excited, and we're bringing lots of goodies for his family!

We spent the rest of the afternoon before we left outside eating
lunch, chatting, journaling and making bracelets with materials Heidi
and Amber had brought. It was relaxing, but we were restless after a
while. Our professors met with the "head" of the school district to
discuss our work and plans for the future. Specifically, they
discussed the contribution to Malemia for the feeding program, our
chalkboard renovations at Domasi, Vandy's uniforms for her class and
other individual progress. She was very pleased!

We headed to town for the afternoon and picked up pictures for our
class. About a week and half ago, we took an individual picture of
each child with a disposable camera. We had them developed, and we
can't wait to see their reaction when they get them! We know they'll
be so excited because many of them do not have an individual picture
of themselves. We also stopped by the grocery store for water and the
fabric store for some fabric to take home. I picked out two more
patterns- one for mom to make a skirt if she'd like (I hope you like
the fabric, mom!) and the other for a tablecloth for my Malawi table
setting pieces. They're beautiful! Sarah and Lauren looked through the
market for oranges, but there were not any for sale. We headed towards
the vendors to look around.

I now have a friend named Martin, and he's my jewelry guy. I bought
this great necklace and bracelet from him last week, and he said he'd
make me more. I bought earrings today, and he said he'd have more for
me on Monday to buy before I leave. I'm excited! It's good to get
close with a vendor so they'll "make you good price". Our last stop of
the day was Tasty Bites, of course! We ordered beef samosas, Fanta,
and chocolate cake! We're completely hooked on the samosas, and
they're so bad for you! But when you crave them, you crave them! Ben
and Johnny, our Canadian friends who run Africycle, stopped by and
visited.

We had a relaxing night, and tomorrow we're going to Peter's orphanage
and with Annie to a few places. Tomorrow night is Annie's big party
where we get to show off our Malawian dresses, so that should be fun!

I can't believe we're leaving in a week! I have so much left to enjoy
here…

T.A.L.U.L.A.R.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

This morning was really sad for all of us. Dr. Barber (Liz from NC
A&T) had to abruptly leave for Lilongwe to catch a flight to the
States. Her husband recently had a kidney transplant, and for the past
two weeks, he's been having severe health issues. She's been worried
about him everyday, and she constantly has to call or Email to see how
he's doing. She wanted to go home before, but she was waiting for
someone to tell her that she needed to. A family friend called this
morning and told her to come home because he's rejected the kidney.
We're so sad to see her go because she's so much fun and brings so
much enthusiasm to the group. We'll miss you Liz and hope your husband
is better soon!

When we got to school today, a lot of the children were outside (as
usual), so Lexi and I headed up to our classroom. The children in our
class greeted us with "Good morning, Madam." It never gets old.
Macdonald wasn't in our classroom, but we quickly found him to find
what out what the children were working on. It's interesting because
you never know if the teachers will be present or what children will
show up. As Patty (Dr. Talbot) said, "Schools here seem to be four
walls with children." Everything else seems to vary.

We helped the students with Math for the first 45 minutes. They were
working on writing out inequalities from sentences. A lot of students
mixed up the symbols for "add" and "subtract". It's interesting to see
how the students make a lot of the same mistakes. Some students at a
table gave Lexi and I a little note with Chichewa words for us to
learn. We're afraid they're going to quiz us! Some of the phrases are
very hard to pronounce, but I guess we can try!

Lauren and Sarah (two students from Virginia Tech) let us borrow some
books they brought to donate to share with our class today. A lot of
them were classics- Amelia Bedelia, Dr. Seuss, etc. The students in
Standard 6 are truly at about a first grade reading level from what we
can tell. Most still look at just the pictures or are slow to sound
out the words. Some are very proficient in reading, but the majority
struggle. We let them read and share the books for about 30 minutes,
and they seemed to love it! All of their exercise books for school are
black and white with no pictures. They really have no access to
reading books for pleasure in or outside the classroom.

For break, we headed out to the play field for some games. Before we
could instruct them in a game, they started their own "Champion Game."
It was similar to a basic running long jump, but the children set out
three sticks. They had to run and only jump once in between each
stick. If you step in between the sticks more than once, you're out.
Each round, they moved the sticks farther apart, and wow, they could
jump! During the last round, the sticks were separated about 8-9 feet.
A couple children could still make it! They really enjoyed the game,
and we could definitely see their great physical ability. Lexi and I
were afraid that they would ask us to try. I probably would have fallen…

Following that game, we found a stick nearby to teach them limbo. Some
of them had played before, and they knew a song to sing. They had so
much fun trying to master each level. I feel bad though; we always
exhaust them during their break! They do love learning games! Lexi and
I commented that we were glad that Wednesday is the day for washing
uniforms because their mothers would probably want to kill us after
all the dirt that ended up on them today. We ended break time by
teaching them some relay races. They love to compete!

We walked back to the classroom with Macdonald and our students. We've
really come to love our teacher. He seems to care so much about his
students and works so well with us. He's so enthusiastic in all that
he does, and he always compliments our work. He even invited us to
come to his home next week! Lexi and I are going to meet his family on
Monday or Tuesday. He said he has four children (Lucy, Vincent,
Godbless, and I can't remember the other name). The oldest child is
13, and he has two young twin boys. We can't wait to meet them!

Before we left for the day, Macdonald gave us a watermelon! We had one
at Jean's mother's house yesterday, but we love getting fruit! There
are few fruits we can eat here, so it's always a treat. Some of the
children also brought groundnuts, sugar can and popcorn. They're
always so generous to give us things. We gave Macdonald his invitation
to the dinner we're hosting Tuesday night at MIE. Every year it's
hosted for the three schools and all of the teachers from each school.
Each teacher is allowed to bring one guest, and it's supposed to be a
great night for everyone. We'll get to recognize our teacher, and
we'll be recognized for the work we've done.

Lexi and I walked over to MIE for class with all of our goodies. I
thought we're supposed to take more to school than what we go home
with, but that's usually not the case. We enjoyed our lunches for a
few minutes. Today I ate my last pack of tuna for lunch… Sadly, I'm
going to have to make PB&J for the last three days of school.

Today was my day to discuss a chapter from the book. Each day, one of
us has taken a chapter from our book, The Democracy of Chameleons, and
discussed it with our Virginia Tech group. My chapter discussed the
changing status of human rights for people in Malawi, especially
women. With the fairly new multiparty system and democracy (only since
1964), government agencies are demanding human rights and freedom from
oppression for everyone. The issue is that culture has denied a lot of
human rights for women, and the people believe the new mandates are
"ruining" Malawi's culture. The actions within the culture are what
cause the most problems. Women are objected to initiations that
sexually violate them against their will. Men in the villages are
violent towards women without just reasoning. More men are able to
leave for a liberalizing education, but women must remain in the
village. Times are changing, but in almost all of the rural areas,
nothing is different. The Western connotations with human rights are
also a factor that deters people's opinion. Although human rights and
the multiparty system are a national campaign, the local
interpretations of "rights" are so different, and this is what is
slowing progress for women. It was a really interesting chapter with
many examples of field research in Malawi, and I'm sure that I can
find more examples at home.

We had a shortened class today so we could meet with the MIE professor
who is an expert in T.A.L.U.L.AR. T.A.L.U.L.A.R. stands for "Teaching
and learning using locally-available resources." The basic idea is to
use supplies that are available locally with little to no costs. I got
some of his explanations on video, so it will be a great lesson to
share at home. They use everything from old light bulbs, matchboxes
and cans to plastic bags and toilet paper rolls. One of the best
examples he gave us was a "television" made from a box with a roll of
paper inside and two sticks. It's basically a scroll inside the box
that a teacher can draw a story to explain a concept without
electricity. He told us a great story with it. He gave us a tour
around the room showing us a lot of the teaching materials. We got
some really great ideas to use in the classroom. The concepts are not
only resourceful for teachers in Africa, but teachers all around the
world can also use them!

Following his explanations and tour, we headed to town to get water
and exchange money. I feel like Zomba has become our home! We always
ask each other what we need to do in town, and we respond with "Oh, I
need to go to the tailor" or "I need to get some fruit from the
market." It's great. Charles waited for us, and then we headed back to
Annie's.

A lot of us ordered dinner right away because we were very hungry from
the day. If we order about an hour before we know we'll be starving,
it usually works out all right. Tonight, I had the Chambo Curry.
Chambo is a very popular fish in Malawi, and it's delicious. They
serve it with rice, greens and green beans. It might be my new favorite.

Lexi and I are in the room now catching up on our blogs and packing
for the safari in Liwonde tomorrow. It's supposed to be amazing there,
and we can't wait! There's an afternoon Jeep safari, an evening
safari, a night safari, and a sunrise safari. We'll be safari'ed out
before it's over, but it'll make for some great pictures!

I can't believe we'll be home in a week and a half! This trip has
really flown by, but it feels like we've been in Malawi for months.
Can't wait to share all my experiences when I get home…

Good night from Zomba…

Teddy's Village

July 3 (Thursday):

Lexi and I decided to focus on English/ language development today.
She brought in a poster of the alphabet and I brought a set of phonics
cards that help with vowel sounds and the acquisition of vocabulary
for students. They sang the ABC's (somewhat similar to ours- but part
of the tune was different), and Macdonald said they learn it in
Standard 1. He enjoyed our lesson and said it would be useful for the
students because they have access to similar materials in their lesson
book, but there is no explanation or reinforcement.

We started to teach them hangman before their "break", but they got so
into it, that they never took their break outside! They basically got
the concept, but they sometimes had issues with how to play the game
and fill in the letters. Some of their phrases included, " Krista and
Lexi are our new teachers" and "I love Lexi and Krista." If that
doesn't melt your heart, I'm not sure what will.

Lexi and I brought 4 disposable cameras to take pictures of the
children (remember when we bought those Dad?). There's a place in town
to take the cameras to have them developed. We decided we want to give
each child a picture of him or herself. Lexi took the children outside
group by group to take their picture. They love it! Most children have
never seen a picture of themselves, so it will be a nice surprise!
While she did this, I taught the rest of the class "Heads up, Seven
Up" from elementary school. They loved it! I would repeat to the
children "No peaking", and he would reiterate it or tell a child to
sit down if they "Sneak a peep." They got the hang of the game right
away, and I think it's something they'll continue to play in the future.

You know, even if some children don't learn a thing while we're here-
at least they have a wonderful time at school. They each have
differing home lives, but some are much harder than others. Despite it
all, I hope school remains a safe and happy place to come to escape
any hardships.

We gave our class a treat with a piece of candy (gum, lollipops,
jawbreakers, Sweetarts- all from home) before we left for the day.
Overall, it was very eventful, and we were exhausted by the time we
left!

Today, the children brought us sugar cane and cassava (root of plant
with thick skin like a potato when boiled). We were so surprised! It
seems gift-giving for the guest teachers has become daily event.
Macdonald took out his 35mm camera to capture the moment. We were so
grateful to the children, especially when we know they could enjoy the
treats themselves.

We met for class for just a bit this afternoon. Teddy, Katie Brogan's
teacher from last year (Katie is a student from Virginia Tech who was
in my Human Development class and is a friend of Lexi's) met us at
MIE. He was about an hour early, arriving at 1, so we talked with him
for a bit. Lexi had to do most of the talking since Katie had given
him her information and he seemed most comfortable with her. After
about an hour, Charles picked us up to take us to Teddy's village.

Teddy's village was a few kilometers away. Charles drove us all the
way to the village, which included some narrow and rocky paths.
Somehow that bus can make it through just about anything- it's amazing.

Teddy showed us all around his village. We met some of his children,
saw his home, the village gardens, and met some people living there.
In total there are 70 homes in his village with families, and Teddy is
the only one who has an outside paying job. We had a quick tour, and
Teddy told us about the renovations for his new home. It was very
nice, but probably not much bigger than a standard living room size.
The walls are made of bricks and mud, and the roof had metal
shingling. It had a few windows. Chickens and goats surrounded the
area, and women were washing clothes and hanging them out to dry.

We got back on the bus, and Teddy took us to where his gardens are
located. They were just a couple minutes down the street, but they're
hidden from the road. Charles parked the bus on the side of the dirt
road, and Teddy showed us the way through the brush and dried plants.
It was a narrow path, and the dry plants make a lot of noise. If we
were going to see a snake on the trip, I swore it was going to be
then. I'm still dying to see a Black Mambo!

We finally came upon his gardens, and they were beautiful! He was
growing Mustard lettuce and tomatoes, and he was preparing another
small plot for other vegetables soon. He's done a fantastic job with
creating trenches surrounding the plots for irrigation. His gardens
were a village-style Freedom Gardens. He uses similar practices to
pump water from a nearby river to irrigate his sunken crops. We walked
done near the river, and he showed us the pump that he uses. It was
disassembled and hidden under some plants, so it took him a few
minutes to assemble. When it was finally assembled, he showed us how
it works and explained how often he uses it. The pump was positioned
like a bicycle, so Teddy has to stand up on it and pump for about 3
hours twice a week. It seems like a lot of work, but Teddy keeps it up
all year along with teaching.

Charles picked us up, and we headed back to town. We saw Teddy's wife
coming back from the market on our way out. He told Charles to stop
the bus so we could meet her. She came on and was very shy, but she
seemed happy to meet us. We thanked Teddy for inviting us to his
village, and then he discretely invited himself to the annual
teacher's party before we leave. Although he is not a teacher from our
current schools, he remembered from last year. Dr. Kelly said it was
fine, but it was funny how he was so bold.

We had to stop at Tasty Bites today! It's our favorite place to go in
town, and it's a nice break from Annie's Lodge food. We ordered 22
Samosas for 5 of us with spicy rice, Fanta and the amazing chocolate
cake. They brought the cake out first, and you better believe we ate
it first! It was delicious.

While we were talking, a woman a few years older than us from Canada
and her guy friend came in and asked us what to order. Of course we
said Samosas, but then we struck up a conversation. She's living in
Mzuzu, which is a couple hours north of Lilongwe. She said she had
hitchhiked all the way down and wasn't sure where she'd be going next.
We asked her why she was in Malawi, and she said she was doing
research on sustainable agriculture. The first words out of our mouths
were "Freedom Gardens!" We told her all about our experience there and
how she just HAD to go there. I gave her Mrs. Chinkhutha's card, so I
hope she makes it there!

We walked the mile back up to Annie's, and on the way, we stopped by
the tailor's house right next to Annie's to see if our dresses were
ready. We got to try them on and tell them if we needed alterations.
Some people had more issues than others, but overall they were great!
We really liked how they turned out. The tailor's house is so nice!
Especially for this area, it's surprising to see such a nice place. We
realized she must get a lot of business. We're not sure how much work
she actually does, but she has three men working for her. They make
everything so quickly, and I'm sure she makes a huge profit.

We're always exhausted by the end of the day, so we had dinner and
planned for Friday's class. Our whole week of classes is almost over!

I Survived the Safari!!!

Moni (Hello) Everyone...

It was AMAZZZZZZING!!!!!  I know I use that word a lot, but it was the coolest thing I've ever done. !

We drove about 2 hours and then 16 kilometers along this dirt road with lots of villages. We weren't sure what we would see at the end of the road, but when we got there, we were pleasantly surprised.  We had to take a boat over to Mvuu Camp where we were staying.  It goes out over the Shire (Sher-ah) River and it was so picturesque.  It reminded me of the Everglades in Florida.  The Palms were hugh and there were lots of grasses surrounding the water.  Apparently, it has about the most crocodiles in the world in this single river.  Scary, no?  The river spans the entire country and all the way through Lake Malawi.  

When we got to Mvuu Camp, which by the way was hardly a camp like I'm used to in my girl scouting days, it was like a resort.  They served us juice in the lobby immediately which overlooks the water.  I've never been to Animal Kingdom at Disney World, but someone said it was pretty similar, but this was the "real deal".  

We went on a river safari and saws tons (get it tons!) of elephants, crocodiles, and hippos!  It's so peaceful out there! I've never been that close in a zoo.  We took a jeep back and saw lots of warthogs, waterbuck, baboons, monkeys and so much more.  

We ate a nice buffet-style lunch with chicken, rice, and vegetables with scrumptious dessert!  We were in heaven!  We were assigned our chalets for the night, so we headed over to them - look on line to view them.  Lexi and I had two beds right overlooking the water.  This was high class camping!  We on an evening Safari and even saw Zebra!!!! It ended with probably the prettiest sunset I've ever seen over the waterhole. Then, we went on a night Safari.  We didn't see a lot of animals, but it was a neat experience to wrap up in blankets and view the clear pristine sky with stars.  Another unforgettable experience.  Our night ended with dinner - chambo, vegetables and more dessert! What a treat. Oh, have I mentioned we never have

 dessert in Zomba? 

We headed to our Chalet to relax and you could already hear the hippos on the shore!  It started to get chilly but we had warm blankets.  We each had a canopy bed with a mosquito net, and all night we heard hippos right outside!  They were no more than 30 feet from our chalet.  

We woke up at 5:30 a.m. for a morning walk.  We headed up to the lobby for tea/coffee and an elephant was walking around outside of the outdoor building.  It was phenomenal!  They ended up shooing it away for safety, but not before we got some good pictures.  It was cold for a while, but we enjoyed the brisk weather and walk.  Our guide, Danger, pointed out neat birds, trees and we got right up close to the Warthogs.  W had to take a guy with a rifle with us for protection.  Danger was very good at pointing out animal dung.  We used it to track what the animals were eating and where they were headed.  At first it was nasty, but piles of poop later, we thought it was such a cool learning experience.  

We came back for breakfast - omelet bar, o.j., ham and muffins!  We packed and were ready to leave.  I could have stayed for  week!  Brian said an elephant was literally a foot away from his screen window last night - there were no fences!!! The morning river Safari was a continuation of our breathtaking eventful journey.  It was so peaceful on the river and we got SO CLOSE to elephants.  We were about 15 feet away from them.  Little hippo heads pop up and out of the water - they were hard to catch!  Crocodiles were scary up close - as they almost don't look real!  So many great pictures and footage to share.

That was just a little summary of the Safari - so many details to add.  Overall, it was indescribable!!  Can't wait to share with you later.

On our way back to Liwonde, we stopped at a big craft market.  This was our biggest shopping stop for the trip.  We planed to spend 20 minutes shopping around, and we each bought a few things.  Then, we got back on the bus.  That's when the bargaining started!  Charles, our adorable bus driver, knows how to help our bargaining power - he would start the engine and slowly pull away, then the prices would really drop with Charles laughing the whole time, but it worked!!  I got so many bowls, figurines, spoon sets, a basket, candlesticks, and much more!  Hope it all fits on the way home.  I even traded a Yankees hat I brought from Wal Mart for a bracelet I loved.  I got a picture of the guy and he loved it too.  

It took about two hours to get home and we were exhausted!!  It was well worth the trip, and I'd definitely go again.  We all had to lug our souvenirs up the hill to our room, but I  always

love the view here.  Sarah, Lexi and I enjoyed the watermelon that our teacher Macdonald brought to us on Monday.  Another great treat!

Tomorrow we're going to the school where Radford College works tomorrow (Malemia) to help them run a feeding program.  We'll probably only be at our school for about 30 minutes.  In the afternoon, we won't be having class.  Part of our work in the schools is to also do a maintenance project.  We'll work filling in some of the blackboards, re-painting and sealing them. It will be a lot of work, but we adore these children so much and fortunate to have the opportunity to help improve their classroom.  

I'm now see how effective independent donors and projects can aid  a country like Malawi.  I wish more people had the opportunity to come over , do work or donate funds to the right people.  All too often, donations to NGO's and World Organizations never make it to the people who need it the most.  Here, we're living the effects of our work.  I wish I could do even more.

Thanks for reading!  Miss and love you all.  I'll be home before you know it on July 19 and I can't wait to see you all.

Good night from Zomba,

Krista  

 

July 2, (Wednesday) Malika Church

The mornings here are incredible as we usually have perfect weather.  Sometimes it's overcast, but it never rains.  Even if it appears it will rain, the clouds clear and the sun shines for the remainder of the day.

There are other Americans here now at Annie's Lodge, and our first reaction is the food going to taker longer to prepare!  We've gotten used to the lengthy dinner, but any longer and we may get hostile.  It's actually enabled us to get better acquainted   while waiting for dinner. 

Today our focus in class was on the body and when we entered the classroom, Macdonald was conducting a lesson on self-esteem.  It seemed the class was in much discussion.  As we listened, we realized the students were reading off the board.  The points were very valid and we're hoping they got a lot out of it, but we don't really know how much they actually knew. 

Lexi and I started off with stretches.  We wanted them to learn the importance of this before playing sports.  They really enjoyed them.  We taught them "head, shoulders, knees & toes". They loved it!!  It's so wonderful to see their faces light up when they learn something new.  Then we taught them all the bones from the Cranium down to the Phalanges.  The best part of our lesson was the "Hokey Pokey" when we went outside.  FYI...VT does the HP at all the  football games. It took a little while for them to catch on, but they love to see us move around in so many different ways.

We also went over to the other Standard 6 class to teach them the same lesson.  The other teacher is not as involved as Macdonald, but he seems to appreciate our teaching.

Two of our students brought us nuts today.  There was a lesson in English the day before that included the term "groundnuts" and we had never heard that term.  Macdonald asked them to bring in the nuts and we had our pictures taken with them.  It made me feel like a real teacher!

We headed over to MIE at 12.  Instead of having our regular class, we visited Malika Church, a Catholic Church in the center of Malika Village.  Being Catholic, I was so excited to see if there would be similarities in our traditions at home.  It took about 40 minutes to walk there, and two choir members met us to lead the way.  We passed the Domasi prison on the way and Dr. Kelly pointed out the water reserves and gardens they tend to.  It was a very long walk, but the scenery is never a disappointment in all of Malawi.  Along the way, we seemed to pick up some children.  They were so inquisitive as to where we were going and followed us all the way there. I met a boy named "Patrick", and I was still wearing my name tag "Krista Patrick".  I tore off the "Patrick" part and gave it to him.  He was so happy!

We passed through a few villages on the way with beautiful views, fields, villages and mountains surrounding in the distance to Malika.  It's never boring to take a walk here!

The choir performed several incredible pieces.  The females in the choir wore chitingis(sp) around their waist (wrap skirts) that had Catholic insignia on them.  Dancers also performed during some of the pieces.  I got a lot of it on tape, and I can't wait to share the video of the dancing when I get home.  All of the singing and dancing is so spirited-it makes you want to move along with them.   Despite the fact that most of the songs were in Chichewa, I felt like I could understand what they were saying from their enthusiasm and "acting" from the dancing.  The "MC" for the performance did a  great job of explaining some of the meanings behind the dances and like all Malawians, truly welcomed us with open arms.  Our three professors made generous donations to the church before we left, and of course they were very grateful.

The children that had followed us stayed too.  They sat around us and joined in on the excitement as we did.  There was such a sense of a community here.  Malika village women also joined the crowd to listen to the singing and added their own applause of "noisemaking".  It's impossible to replicate the sound -we tried.  It was almost like a bird call.

The walk back to MIE for the bus was exhausting!  It wasn't too bad on the way to Makika, but the sun had come out, and it made us overheated.  We headed to the teachers' commons room at MIE for water.  They actually have a bar there!  We just wanted cold water, but teachers are able to order beer during the day.  We were quite surprised.  I was so happy just to have a cold bottle of water.  We've been drinking bottled water since we got here, but it's never cold because we can't have ice.  It was probably the best water I've ever had.  I'm so dramatic.

Charles drove us back to town, but most of us were just too tired to stay in town, then walk back.  I headed back to Annie's for the night.  We stopped at the Tailor's house, which is next to Annie's to see if our dresses were ready.  Most of them were finished, but we have to go back tomorrow for alterations.  We were sooooo excited to see how they turned out!!

Dinner was pretty amazing and we've come to realize what we eat isn't that incredible, but to us it's the most glorious food we've ever seen.  I tried the chicken curry with rice and green beans, and it was delicious.  When you see the pictures of the food at home, it probably won't seem that appealing.  Just know we're eating decent food now.  Typical courses include chicken/fish/beef/with rice/potatoes.

The Internet still isn't working, but hopefully Peter will fix it soon.  We're all having withdrawal!  No other complaints though.  I can't believe we've been here almost two weeks!

GOOD NIGHT FROM MALAWI, Krista

Please note:  I am still transferring from e-mail to her blog.  Will continue to bring you up to date daily, even though the dates do conflict.     

July 2, (Wednesday) Malika Church

Something happened to tonight's blog entitled "Malika Church".  I lost is somewhere and will try and re-post tomorrow.

Brenda

June 30 and July 1 (Monday & Tuesday): School Days

On behalf of Krista, here goes....

I received an e-mail yesterday and they went on their Safari.  Hopefully we'll get the extraordinary details soon.

The first two days of teaching went so well.  The students seem to understand more and more, and they're happy to welcome us into their classroom.  

We spent the past two days in the first 30 minutes working on their English lessons.  Sometimes its really hard to tell if they really understand our lessons or if they just say "yes" to everything because that's the way they have been taught.  Most of what they're currently learning deals with word choice and sentence agreement.  I've found that if you can repeatedly quiz them, they start to see the pattern  with the correct answers.  I'll point to one student 

and say, "He say or he says," and they answer.  Then I'll point to a group of students and say, "They says or they say." and they answer.  It really works with all the word choices they have, and they seem to understand it!  Lexi and I try to praise them for correct answers so they will know they answered correctly and did a good job.

Yesterday we did a lesson on the water cycle.  We taught them hand motions for each step:  precipitation, collection, evaporation and condensation.  By the end of the day, they could recite it with the hand motions I used as examples.  Lexi also brought paper-like examples of the water cycle so the students were able to see color and see the water moving through each step.  They really enjoyed the hands on lessons and showed  extreme interest.

Today we taught our students about the world, i.e., types of maps, the continents, the revolution of the Earth and some of the facts about certain continents.  They had fund finding Malawi and using the blow-up globes we brought them.  We distributed each table a map, globe, or continent puzzle.  Again, "hands on" is so critical to this level of learning.  Macdonald Sherrif (Cher-eef)their Malawian teacher, commented, "They will be champions in Standard 8!"  Remember, they are Standard 6 and do not learn the geography we taught until Standard 8.  For a country with such a high dropout rate for primary school, most students only learn about Afri-central  and not other areas of the world. 

Each day, we spend break time outside with the students.  Macdonald asked us to take them to the field away from the play yard.  This was a great idea because there are literally hundreds of students playing, running and fighting with one another.  There is too much commotion to play an organized game in the area.  Yesterday, we played Frisbee and it was interesting to see how they naturally segregate themselves.  All the girls came to one side and the boys went to the other.  They loved the Frisbee!  I made up games to play as we went along to show them different ways to use it.  Then, we decided to play netball using the frisbee.  It's a game similar to basketball or soccer where girls throw the ball to each other and then into a goal.  They seemed to have a blast!!

Today, Lexi asked one of the students to get a drum from the class to take to  break time outside.  They love to sing and dance with the drum!  One boy started to make a  beat, and they all joined  in to dance.  It was so much fun to dance with it!  They don't need ipods, television or CD's.  They have fun being creative with what they have and they're so good at it.  Later, I just started making a beat with my hands, and the girls instantly started to sing  song that matched a beat.  They have beautiful voices and the fact they can create dances and songs on a whim says a lot about their creativity and intelligence.  Some people are so quick to judge them for their lack of education or knowledge, but their simple use of music in creative ways is a testament to the intelligence they innately possess.  The students never cease to impress me.

Macdonald and I chat a great deal while we're outside.  He's very interested in learning about our country.  It's funny now because the first day of teaching, I told the students "sushi" was one of my favorite foods.  Today he asked me if I was unhappy because Malawi does not have sushi.  I explained to him  " of course not" and let him know how much I loved Malawi.  Malawians always seem so surprised that we like it here!  It's incredible, and we have very few complaints.

Macdonald and I started to discuss politics.  I asked if he likes his country's government?  He likes the multi-party system, but didn't elaborate.  He asked me the same and I replied "yes".  It made me realize that I'd never been asked that before.  In the U.S. we discuss political parties and issues in the government, but at my age, do we ever reflect on the overall quality of our government?  We have the best government in the world.  Here, the government will not take care of you if you are dying of AIDS or starving.  Our government offers welfare even if we are still making the bare minimum.  Medical aid is available in the U.S.  I've never felt more like a democrat wanting my government to provide programming for me if I need it.  They pay very minimum taxes here because there's just no way to collect them.  There's a 17.5% tax for food, but other than government-issued paychecks, it's hard to collect.  Without these taxes, there is really no cash flow for the government to institute significant programs.  I actually like the concept of taxes now.  I'm not preaching that I love our everything about our  government, but I've never been prouder to be an American with a highly  functioning government.  I know we need some reform in the U.S, but when the main issues for this election are changing our fuel situation and global warming, I'm thankful our vote for president doesn't determine if we'll get medical assistance or transportation laws changed that make drunk driving illegal.  We live in the best country in the world.

I also explained to Macdonald about Barack Obama as a candidate for the Democratic Party.  I told him that he is the first black person to be in the race for president.  Macdonald asked me if we do not like black people in our country and it was hard for me to find the words to explain our long history of oppressing blacks in our country.  How could I tell him that some people in the U.S. are still very racist and hateful toward black people?  All in all I just explained that the U.S. has more white people running the country and we have yet to have a black president.  I'm not sure if he fully understood, but I suspect that he believes that people in the U.S. may be against black people, but I really hope not.  

I really enjoy the conversations and Macdonald he always tells us how much his students enjoy our lessons.  He's so grateful  and this makes it all worthwhile.

The school system is interesting.  At any one time, random students will be out of class watching our class or out playing, but their is no control.  (In comparison, I suppose it's like skipping class or not having a signed hall pass.)  With so many students, the average of 70 per class, there's not enough teachers to control them.  Alicia's class at Malemia has about 170!  They sit in about 10 rows, on laps, against the wall or anywhere they will fit.  And, we think we're over crowded!

We've really made friends with "Gift" a student in our class.  He speaks English so well and is so incredibly friendly.  There are so few articulate students and we can already pin point their strengths from their participation in class.

We met for our class discussion at MIE at 12, and we spent the first hour discussing a chapter on "hate speech" in our book.  A Democracy of Chameleons.  At first, I didn't like this text.  The reason was probably due to our lack of previous knowledge of Malawian culture - everything is difficult to read.  At least when we read other history texts, we have some prior knowledge or pre-requesite  to assist in reading.  Now, I don't feel the book is as hard to comprehend because we've constructed so much knowledge of Malawi during our time here.  I know we're not experts, but I really feel like I know worlds more than I did before.  The chapter on hate speech was very interesting.  It discussed a lot of how Malawi's constitution is similar to the United States with our civil liberties.  I was really unaware of this, but I think we're able to express more of our rights freely.

We also met three students being sponsored by Virginia Tech, Radford,  & NC A&T.  In Malawi there are limited spaces for college.  At the Domasi Teacher's College, there are 30 spots.  They accept more men than women because it's what their sleeping arrangements are able to accommodate. College attendance is almost limited because the government pays for it.  If you don't make the cut for higher education it's also because of limited space.  Our three colleges decided to sponsor these students to become teacher educators through "day school".  Rather than paying for their entire education (tuition, fees, housing, etc.), we are paying for tuition.  The goal is to not only pay for their tuition, but also to start to change some of the culture of Malawi.  Many students drop out of school because they know there's no money for higher education later.  The intention is to teach them to help pay and work your way through school, then more people would take the initiative to pursue higher education.

We learned a lot about their background in education and plans for the future.  Towina, Virginia Tech sponsored student, has been a teacher and has three children.  She's focusing on Science, so Dr. Kelly thought sponsoring science would correlate well with VT.  The sponsored students shared their joy of this wonderful opportunity and very grateful for what they have been given; but, they did list a number of areas their needs are unmet.  It was hard for us to listen to their needs, although some were valid.  We explained we can't do any more than tuition and the money comes from private funds, individual donors, Dr. Barber, Dr. Kelly and Dr. Jones and with help of some of our fees for this trip.  The students did not totally understand the purpose of the sponsorship which is to give funds for tuition to students who otherwise would not be able to attend school with the intention that they will work to meet their other needs.  It was hard for Dr. Kelly to explain to the, and I'm sure it was hard for the to understand this.

Charles picked us up at 3 and we headed to town.  I dropped off some postcards at the post office and then headed for the bus.  Some days, Charles waits for  about 20 minutes for us in town to do a water run, but other days he just drops us off.   This day, there were a lot of vendors waiting and trying to make deals for those of us sitting on the bus.  I actually like talking to them on the bus because if you want to talk and make a deal, you open the window.  If you don't want to talk or deal, you can just ignore them.  Sarah, Mandy, Dr. Jones and I were very interested in these carved figurines of Mary and baby Jesus.  So Sarah and I talked to Steve, the vendor.  At first he wanted l,500 Kwacha for two.  We said too much and ignored him.  Sarah was very good at talking him down, and he finally settled for 2,000 Kwacha.  What a deal!  We were definitely happy after that.

I've had vegetable soup and rice for dinner the past two nights and really enjoyed it.  It's similar to cream of mushroom and anything with vegetables is amazing right now.  I haven't had a salad in two weeks, and I'm dying for some greens.  We can't eat any uncooked vegetables here - it's just not safe.

Everyone's Internet access is going out, and it's starting to get frustrating.    We went down to see Cameron to ask when Peter will be back to help us out.  Within the hour, Peter stopped by our room.  It's always a pleasure to see him around; he takes such good care of us all!  He surprised each of us with a bottle of Amarulla which is similar to Baileys at home.  It's made from the Marulla fruit found in Southern Africa.  Elephants eat the fruit and actually become intoxicated.  It's very popular here.  Peter also told us he'd fix the Internet by tomorrow.  Good news all around.     

Goodnight from Malawi.....

 

June 29, 2008; Sundays in Zomba

Today is our first Sunday in Zomba, so we attended a local church. It was an earlier morning than usual. In fact, I woke up at the crack of dawn, literally. I meant to wake up at 6:00, but I woke up at 5:00 to the sound of a rooster right outside our room. Needless to say, I wasn't happy, so I stayed in be another hour. Lexi and I got ready despite the fact that we had no warm water - I really needed a shower! We headed to breakfast and then off to a Presbyterian Church not too far down the hill. But not without seeing lots of monkeys!! These black faced monkeys really like to come out early in the morning, and we were finally able to see them instead of just hearing them on our roof each morning. They jump from tree to tree, run across the road, stop and look at you, play with each other and aren't afraid of people. I swear if I had a banana in my hand, one would run right up to me and take it. The zoo will never be the same again.

We've come to realize Malawian time is "adjustable". When someone says the service is @ 800, it could be about a half an hour to an hour in either direction. It's the same with arrival and departure times. Culturally, Americans are very different (which is not hard to explain), but here there is no need to stress about time. What a relief! We'd be so much less stressed in our day-to-day lives if time weren't an issue.

We arrived at church about 8:15, but the first service (completely in Chichewa) started at 6:30 and had not ended. We conversed outside while waiting for the English service at 8:30. Most people get dressed up for church, (similar to the U.S.), and they carry their hymnal books with them. None are offered in the church. There was really no break between services. As the first service ended, the song being played was the cue for our entrance, and it continued until everyone entered.

Besides the music, much of the service was exactly the same as other Christian faith services at home. A few in our group commented that the lyrics from some of the music were also similar. About a third of the way, the pastor called upon our group and others present that were visiting for the first time. He asked us to come to the front and introduce ourselves to the congregation. There were two other women from the United States visiting too. They were young, like us, and had come from Pennsylvania on a mission trip. Dr. Jones introduced our group and explained the reason for our trip. The congregation was very welcoming (most welcoming: as Malawians say) and the pastor invited us to tea following the service.

One of the most interesting parts, was the announcements and the timing. In the U.S., they come at the end of the service, but a women read them aloud about the middle - which about a half were upcoming weddings. Instead of announcing and wishing them well, she said "If anyone knows if John has another wife, or Sarah has another husband, please come forward before they wed on Weds, July 5. A whole new interpretation to "speak now or forever hold your peace."

In lieu of passing baskets around for collections, the announcer calls us each "district" to place our offering in the basket at the alter. (We were called at the end and I'm glad we had something to donate.) It seems it was expected and I guess this way they know who is giving and who is not. Overall, we realized the caliber of people attending and their average home life is drastically differently from the majority of the people we've encountered in the streets and within our schools. Their dress, demeanor, appearance, and eloquence (even in slight ways) separate them from the typical Malawian. While I don't want to generalize the general population, this is what we observed.

The choir women prepared us tea in various mugs belonging to the church, and we sat in a small building adjacent to the church to enjoy, teach and visit with them. If you've never tried Chambe tea, it's excellent! It's a Malawian tea that is not exported. I'll definitely try to bring some home. While visiting with some of the church members, we met a man who works at Chancellor College in Zomba. I commented on his lapel pin because I knew one of the flags it had was Malawian, but I was unaware of the other. He explained that it's a Scottish flag from a man he worked with who taught him technology for teaching the blind. He now teaches other teachers at Chancellor College who can teach children in secondary school who are blind. They have speciality programs that incorporate software to help these children learn. His work seemed incredible, and his hospitality on behalf of his church was so inviting.

Following church, we headed for Tasty Bites, a favorite restaurant of past study abroad students and a good place in town to eat for about half the price of Annie's. It's not as tasty as Annie's, but apparently their chocolate cake is to die for! We ordered one for Heidi and Liz's birthday (today and tomorrow), so we'll get to try it really soon. (dessert is rare) I predict we'll spend many afternoons after school eating there. We headed home with a scrumptious cake. We're beginning to get used to walking up the hill, as I'm sure we'll have some pretty toned calves before it's all over!

Once we arrived at Annie's, Lexi and I asked Cameron (front desk) to see if we could switch rooms. He's so sweet and willing to take care of everything we need. A room opened up next to Brian and a little ways up the hill on the Annie's Lodge property. It was quite a hike, but Lexi and I thought the exercise would be worth it. Cameron showed us the room with just one bed. We took one look at the view from the porch, and decided that sharing a bed would not be that bad. We also have more space up there, and the bathroom is nicer. It's like we're in a whole new place in Zomba! He asked for us to visit him if we had any spare time at the front desk. Many people that work here are bored during the day when there are few guests around, so they really enjoy the company. 

Cameron and Henry (who also works here) helped us pack and lug all of our things up the hill to our new room. They were so helpful! Especially when we have over 200 pounds of things. The three trips exhausted us, but we were excited to finally unpack. We were expected to meet @ 2:00 and thought Dr. Kelly would come and get us since were are only a few doors down from her. Needless to say, we rested and it was 3:00 when Amber knocked on our door wondering where we were? Oh well, we needed the rest. It was only an introduction, but we'll catch up. Just sitting down there for 30 minutes of what was left of the meeting, I realized how much we can learn from Dr. Kelly's knowledge and experience. She really knows her stuff!!

I'm watching the sunset form our porch over Zomba, Lake Chilwa and even farther in the distance of Malawi. This view is second to none of I've ever seen. With little pollution in the air, you can see for miles and the colors of the sky are exquisite. I didn't realize how far we could see in the distance from Annie's Lodge until we moved rooms today.

I headed down to dinner a little while ago. Alicia and I ordered at 5:50; Dr. Barber and Jones joined us a few minutes later. The power went out and we had dinner about 7:30 followed by Liz's birthday cake we surprised her with. It's also Heidi's 21st birthday tomorrow, and she's so excited!! We had them put her name on the cake too. What a great way to remember your birthday in Malawi.

Cameron, just dropped off towels for us. He's such an adorable friend. We always like to say hi to him now, and he makes sure we get taken care of. He just ran all the way up here to just give us fresh towels. The showers up here are so much better and we're very happy about that. Can't wait to see the view in the morning.

Lexi and I are busy planning for tomorrow! We're very excited about our first real day of teaching.

Malawi Update

Our Day at Mulanje!

"Moni" from Malawi! All is well. The internet has been down for several days now. The server is back up, but some of our access cards are not working. Peter gave Lexi and I each an hour, so I wanted to add a quick update! 

We had an incredible week in Zomba (more updates to come later). It was exhausting and it flew by, but each of us is working hard to try and get through to our students. It's already a challenge to teach, but with a language barrier, it's much harder than you can imagine. We've enjoyed teaching science lessons like the water cycle and the life cycle of butterflies, helping with English proficiency, and assisting the children with their math lessons. They're really a joy to be around, and with a class of 70, there's never a dull moment. Even with our language and culture barrier, it seems we can do no wrong. The children even bring us gifts each day! Their teacher, Macdonald (who we adore) has asked them to bring traditional Malawian foods for us to try. It's really special because the children are bringing things from home that they could indeed use themselves. We've been given nuts, eggs, sugar cane, casava, and tomatoes. While we wish we could enjoy all of these items (especially the chicken eggs), we just don't want to risk anything. We've re-gifted all of these items to our bus driver, Charles and Tennison, our housekeeper. They're both so kind and generous, and we know their families will enjoy these items. 

Today, we left at 8:00 sharp to travel 2.5 hours to Mt. Mulanje, the third tallest mountain in Africa. We were all tired after a fun "poker" night (there was never poker, it was just an excuse for Peter to throw us a little get together), and it was a long drive. We passed lots of little towns along the way (including Blantyre, another happening spot in Malawi). We also saw some very wealthy areas with beautiful homes similar to home. 

Charles took us a special way where we could see a lot of the tea plantations of Malawi. The tea crops went on for miles with rolling hills of lush green in every direction. It was beautiful and truly a different site than the dry brush of most of Malawi. Dr. Kelly said that the majority of the plantations are owned by British tea companies who export the tea to Britain. This is yet another example of the continuing British presence in Malawi despite their independence. We took a lot of pictures along the way, but Dr. Kelly said if we were to pull over it's apparently illegal because of child labor laws for the children working on the plantations. It's really sad to hear to things like that. We didn't see too many people working, but those that we did see were hard at work. 

A lot of the buildings along the way were surrounded by bricks with sharp pieces of glass on the perimeter rather than barbed wire. I thought this was a great idea rather than buying expensive materials. 

About an hour out, we started to see Mulanje in the distance. At first, it didn't seem that tall at all. But as we got closer, it was massive. It's truly incredible to see it up close. It was a little hazy at first, but the trees surrounding it were beautiful. It took us about 30  minutes from the main road to get to where we could begin our hike. The roads were not very smooth. Apparently, they've been working on the same construction project for the past year, but Dr. Kelly said it looked exactly the same as last year. Throughout the day, we saw lots of girls carrying piles and piles of sticks and wood down the hill, and it looked exhausting. They spend all day gathering wood for fire for the night.

About half way down the road, we saw a group of men blocking our path. Apparently the main road was out from that point, but they were also offering a guide service. You really need a guide up the mountain (even though we were just going up to the falls). A man named Samuel got on the bus to be our guide. At first we were leery of this stranger (you just never know), but he did a terrific job for us, and knew everything!

A little ways up the road before the hike, vendors were selling walking sticks for the trip. They were hand carved, but most of us decided it was too much of a hassle to take with us!

The hike started off pretty fast-paced, so Dr. Barber decided not to head up. At first, I didn't blame her! Let me just say that today's hike was the most physically exhausting experience of my life. Mom and Dad, you thought the Cascades in Virginia were a hike? Try hiking Mulanje ( and we didn't even go to the top!) We were all a little dramatic about it, but it was more like climbing than hiking. It took a little over an hour to get up the waterfall, but we saw so many beautiful views along the way. I took a lot of pictures to remember it! The altitude also made it challenging. Today was also one of the hottest days we've had. Samuel pointed out a lot of interesting sites on the way up.

After about an hour, we made it! The falls were beautiful, and it was well worth the hike! We rested and enjoyed our lunch which by then we really needed. We climbed out on a few rocks to take pictures and video, and it was really a perfect day. The water was ice cold! Brian actually dropped his tuna pack in, but Samuel jumped in to get it for him! It was so nice, especially when the water was freezing. After our rest and enjoyment at the falls, we headed back. Samuel told us about the annual race to the top that although it takes 1.5 days to slowly hike up to the very top (with resting), it took him 3.5 hours last year! It was incredible! Apparently, it's next weekend, but he said he'd never do it again! I'd probably die before I'd make it up there!

The way down was much easier! We enjoyed this part! We stopped at a beautiful lodge on the way down for restrooms and cold sodas. What a beautiful place to live and work! Charles was there waiting!

We had fun bargaining with the vendors for some great Cedar products before we left. I found some very nice things!

The trip back was somewhat long but very scenic- more to update later! Sorry this was so quick! 

2 more weeks in Malawi!

All Is Going Well, Except Internet Is Down

It's Krista's Mom (Brenda) and I'm writing on her behalf.  She wants to assure you that she and all her fellow "mphuzitsi) are amazing!  (Sounds like her doesn't it.)  The internet is down, and she hasn't been able to update.  Annie's Lodge is working on trying to correct this important means of communication.

We called  to her on Thursday, July 3.   I had trouble getting through on the pre-paid international card, therefore I dialed direct from our landline.  When you call, they ask you to call back in 5 minutes so they can get her.  It was around 11:00 p.m. their time.  When I called back, the lodge receptionist said she was sleeping and to call back tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. their time which would be 12 noon our time.  

I then immediately called verizon to see how much the 2-3 minutes cost me.  (Tom was tapping his foot a lot while I was dialing).  Anyway, it was $3.91 per minute.  I asked about an international plan and they put me on a $4.00 per month and .50 cents per minute.  (Tom's blood pressure went back to almost normal after that.)

So, on to what you've all been waiting for!!!  

We called the next day and she was right near the phone.  She sounded "amazing"....she's rubbing off.  So clear as though she was right in the room. We were so glad to talk with her and hear of her updated "verbal blog".

She and Lexi have a class of 70 students each day.  They travel about 30 minutes each day and arrive at school at 9:30 p.m.  The children are so happy each day to see them.  They are teaching games, math and some science.  (Please read Lexi's blog updated by her mom too for the lessons they teach daily.)  

Once they return from school, they walk into town, shop, eat and socialize.  She has found the food of choice have been chips (potatoes like fries), vegetables and curried chicken.  So far she has not gotten ill from the food or water as she drinks bottled.  She and others selected fabric from the fabric shop and had outfits made.  They were to pick them up this week.  She promised to bring me some material  to have a skirt made.  Other things purchased have been some pottery which she had mailed  home.  I have been checking her VISA to assure charges haven't been compromised.

Once they are back from town, always before dark @5:30, she orders her dinner.  It  takes a while for preparation, but is very good.  I think she's eating a lot of chicken and vegetables.  Her evening consists of watching some television in the commons room with the others and doing lesson plans for the next day.  There's 5 television stations available in english which consists of english speaking, various older american movies and a soccer channel.    Each american teacher works closely with the African teacher and I imagine they have had to re-group while planning    with the language difference and customs.  Lexi and she have standard 6th grade, in which they able to communicate better  because they are middle school age.  

After planning, she is tired and retreats for bed at 9:00 p.m.  The evenings are chilly in the 50's.  She said they have lots of blankets to keep warm. Daily, and  part of their wake up call, includes monkeys from the mountain trees making a scratching noise on the roof of their room.  It seems their room is in the back of Annie's Lodge and closest to the mountains.  

They are hiking in the mountains today, Saturday, July 5.  It's about 45 minutes to a waterfall.  Monday is their Independence Day and it's a school holiday.  No fireworks though.    My guess is they will sleep in and go to town for their daily shopping and exercise.  

She feels very safe and find the people of Malawi helpful and friendly.  She is very intrigued with all she sees.  She can't believe her wonderful experience will end in two weeks.  

She is hopeful the internet will be up soon, and she and others will be able to update you all very soon. Comments and questions are welcomed.  She wants to thank everyone for thinking of her and was so pleased her friends and family friends are reading her blog and can't wait for the updates; and, a hello to everyone. 

Sincerely,

Brenda Patrick