Don't Blink

Not only is the title of this post a reference to one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who, it is also how I'm starting to feel about my time left in Malawi.

I have roughly four months left in the Warm Heart and I'm trying to live it up as much as possible.

 Let me give you a quick recap of the last month or so:

• I celebrated my birthday on the 12th of December at Maji Zuwa. James, Matt, and I ate my favorite meal, Chicken Chipati Tacos (with CHEESE!), and had a few glasses of wine. It was relaxed and comfortable: just the way I like it! James made a card and everyone at Maji Zuwa signed their birthday wishes for me. It's now hanging on my wall at the house.
• I also received a great birthday package from mom and dad that included my very own special birthday cake: vanilla wafers and vanilla icing :)
• The fact that Christmas came so fast blew my mind a little. Living in Malawi, you just don't get the same type of hype that comes from living in the states. There are no Christmas commercials or special catalogs. No decorations or talk of Santa. I spent the holiday at Maji Zuwa and on Christmas Eve we were provided with a chicken dinner thanks to America, a Spanish volunteer with Latitude, and her mother who was visiting from Spain for the holiday. On Christmas day I watched White Christmas and hung out with some fellow volunteers in the sand at Maji Zuwa.
• School began on January 6th. I'm adjusting to living on my own since Carly's departure and so far so good. I've enjoyed the solitude, something in which my inner introvert relishes. Although I miss Carly (and Sami and Aaron), I'm enjoying this new adventure of being on my own in Khwawa. 
• Lusubilo, my neighbor that helps out a lot, has been quite busy with school lately. She's standard 8, which means that she will be writing her national exams for entrance into secondary school. She still likes to come around to see what I'm cooking or to see if I need any water drawn from the bore hole. Her brother Owen also likes to come over a lot. His main joy comes from watching me attempt to build fires in the rainy season.
• I've started my search for teaching positions. I've been looking mainly in the Dayton area but also keeping my eye on any positions in Cincinnati. I've applied to one school so far and I'm hopeful that things continue to go smoothly on that front. 
• Special shout-out to Sharon for helping with my resume and cover letter!
• Packages have been coming in! I received two from my parents around the time of my brithday (one was meant for Thanksgiving...) and so far I've gotten one from Grandma Bev and one from Phyllis and Larry Burton and their Sunday school class at FUMC. My friend at the post office tells me that I have three waiting for me, so when I get back to my house I will make the trip to pick them up. Thanks to everyone who has sent something! I have really enjoyed seeing what everyone puts in their packages. My favorite things so far have been the large jar of Nutella, a block of Velveeta, and all the candy!

Thanks for reading! I'll try to get a few more posts up soon.

Here are some random pictures from the last few months:

Me with some of my Form 4 girls after being taught how to make kondowole

Christmas eve at Maji Zuwa.

Sookie had babies! They are getting cuter every day!

Thanksgiving

Sorry for the lack of posts since I returned to Malawi!

Thanksgiving was a big deal at Maji Zuwa this year. We were lucky enough to have the US Ambassador to Malawi as a guest for the afternoon, as well as her husband who is a retired US Ambassador.

Also in attendance were some local peace corps volunteers, latitude volunteers staying at Maji Zuwa, an Argentinian who happened to be traveling through, a couple from Karonga working with the Paladin Mine, and Matt.

It was a long day of baking and cooking and by the end of it I was covered in flour and sweat but it was well worth it. We had a great lunch and I'm thankful for all the help in the kitchen! I also had a lot of help from my mom. She e-mailed me some recipes to work with and helped to find substitutions as needed.

What was I thankful for? The fact that the electricity stayed on the entire time I was cooking with the toaster oven!

Here's some pics!

Eating Like Queens

We have been eating really well lately. Our neighbor Aaron gave us all of his leftover American food from care packages when he left for the states and we have been putting it to good use. 

Carly wrote a post this week about her top 5 foods that we make. You can read it at www.carlymalawi.blogspot.com

For each meal we typically take one thing we've gotten from care packages and mix it with a traditional Malawian ingredient. On my wish list page (link at the top of the page) you can see a list of ideas for care packages.

Our friend Nick, a peace corps volunteer near us, visited Khwawa this week and shared a block of velveeta. We made the best macaroni and cheese ever! To add some protein to our meal, we sautéed some soya pieces with garlic, Parmesan cheese, and some other spices from our bin. Needless to say, I had a great nap afterwards. 

Waking Up

It's been a seven days since I landed in Lilongwe and my five weeks in America seem like a dream.

Saying goodbye at the airport wasn't any easier but this time a little less dramatic. dryer eyes, shorter hugs. We're old pros by now! I encountered zero problems traveling from Dayton to Lilongwe. In the capital I was greeted by Carly, who escorted me back to Khwawa. We made it to our house on Sunday morning and I was thankful to be able to sleep in my own bed that night. Jet lag has been tough and I think I'm just now getting over it; glad that I have a week-long  buffer before school begins.

I've had a week to think back about all the things I was able to do during my visit home and I am overwhelmed with gratitude to those who made these events happen. I went on vacation with my family, visited friends in Kent (and Seven Hills!), was invited to speak at my church, welcomed guests for a backyard party, and participated in the baptism of my niece/goddaughter. I played golf and went to the aquarium. I'm still amazed at the amount of people I was able to visit with and the things I was able to do.

Thank you to those who took me out to a meal, made me food, donated funds to help me throughout the next year, or pledged to send a package. The support I received during my time home heart-warming and will stay with me for months to come.

I've woken up and it's back to reality. Building fires and tucking in bed nets. I'm back.

This Was PROBABLY A Lot Of Fun

Over the last few weeks I've been scrambling to cover last minute material before my form 2 students take their national exam, the JCE. This is a pass/fail exam that must be passed in order to continue in secondary school.

A few weeks ago I planned to teach a unit on probability. My school lacks a lot of materials when it comes to mathematics. And when I say that we lack a lot of materials I mean that we have none. Typically I would teach this lesson with dice, counters, or blocks of some sort. Instead, I passed out baggies filled with candy I bought at the trading centre and the kids went wild! They had fun being split into groups learning about theoretical vs. experimental probability.

Home Sweet Home

Sorry for not posting in the last few months!

There has been no Internet in my area for the last three weeks but I've just come to Mzuzu to get some wi-fi. To take advantage of the Internet I thought I'd post some pictures of my house in Khwawa.

This is pretty much everything we own. Our beloved shelf.

Our dining room table. So much rice has been eaten here.

The shower! And by shower, I mean a bucket and a big plastic cup.

Our bedroom. The nets are a little annoying but I've gotten used to it. In fact, it helps me sleep a little easier knowing critters aren't crawling all over me.

The sink! Water is life.

International Women's Day in Malawi

Today is International Women’s Day and let me tell you; it was a day to remember.

I started the day off meeting Sharon, The country director for Latitude New Zealand. She is in Malawi visiting the volunteers she sent for a Gap year. She’s been in Malawi about a week and has been more places in Malawi than me! It has been a whirlwind trip for her and she’s just got about 6 days left. Meeting her was great; I’m really interested in what she does, getting young people prepared to travel and live a bit abroad. As a teacher, I’m looking forward to having an opportunity very similar, of offering opportunities for students to travel and experience different cultures. My time as a travelling as a middle and high school student were instrumental in getting me to where I am today.

I met up with Sharon because she was traveling with Matt to Kaseye Girl’s Secondary School, a National Boarding School and one of the top schools in the nation. I heard about the trip and was excited to tag along. Matt and Sharon’s purpose was to visit the two Latitude volunteers, but I was more interested to witness all the great things I've heard about this particular school. I was also excited to see one of the girls sponsored by Matt’s NGO. Alinafe, a girl from Sangilo Village, was raised by her very old grandmother and against all odds was selected to such a prestigious school. Without the help of Determined to Develop and Maji Zuwa, Alinafe would never have been able to afford attending such a high-ranking school. Kaseye Girls was a sight. The Head Teacher of the school, Mr. Mtombo, was so incredibly welcoming, and gave us a tour of their ever-improving campus. I've never seen so much construction and motion happening at such a fast pace in Malawi. It was refreshing to see such an up-beat and positive attitude all over the campus. The two volunteers placed at this school at first were a little disappointed with their placement; disappointed that they weren't getting the more traditional experience without the amenities that come along with living at such a nice school. One of the female teachers at their school explained that the two volunteers were doing more for those girls than meets the eye. Just the fact that they are there setting a great example for the girl students was help enough. A lot of the girls may not have a female role model in their family who has pursued an education, or maybe not even a female role model at all. The girls at this school are going somewhere. Almost 30 of the total 300 students (male and female) in Malawi considered for University last year came from this school. The girls they are mentoring and teaching are going to be the women running the country within our lifetime. Visiting Kaseye was a great motivator for getting my Girl’s Club to become more stable and sustainable. I’m excited to brainstorm more over the term holiday that starts after the next two weeks of exams and to return in April full force.

On our way home from Kaseye, we stopped in Karonga town for Matt to get some building supplies for Maji Zuwa. While Matt was doing boring business things, I took Sharon into the market to have a look around. As Sharon was buying a soda from a shop inside, a lady from the next stall over and I exchanged greetings. As we were talking I noticed that she was wearing a beautiful ivory bracelet. It caught my eye because I had seen only one before; two and a half years ago, when I first visited Malawi. I asked her about the bracelet and told her about how I had met a woman who wore a very similar bracelet. The woman told me that the bracelet, traditionally, was a sign of royalty and had been passed to her from her father when she succeeded him as chief of her village. That’s right, a female chief! How awesome is that!? What’s even better, we both realized that she was the woman who spoke to me about women in Malawi in 2010. Here I am, standing in a random spot in the middle of the busy Karonga market, and I come across such an incredible example of a strong woman in Malawi, who also happens to be the women I spoke to in 2010. It was a “pinch me” moment if I ever had one! 

2010

2013

I've had so many great female role models in my life. My mother, other women who are also practically my mother, grandmothers, teachers, preachers and friends are all women who I hold very near and dear to my heart. So here's to all the women in my life; I love you, miss you, and wouldn't be here without you.