9 months

Last week I hit the nine month mile stone. As of March 20th I have completed one third of my peace corps service. And, overall, it was a particularly exciting and eventful week. 

Early in the week I got a text saying that I was invited to work at Camp Sky. Sky is a peace corps run camp for form four students from all over the country to help them prepare for their national exams. These are students from the poorest, lowest quality schools in Malawi. The camp gives them the opportunity to work with lab equipment not available at their schools, understand difficult topics through fun activities, and learn how to apply for jobs. It give them the opportunity to do better on their exams so that they have the chance to get into college and have a better future. I feel so excited and privileged to be a part of this camp. 

Another exciting thing that happened this week was that I received a free pair of shoes. Toms shoes advertises that they give away a pair for every pair purchased and it turns out that that's true. It was really neat seeing it in action. A truck pulled up to my school on Monday with burlap sacks full of solid black Toms shoes and every student at my school and at the village primary school got a pair. Since they had left over, the teachers got a pair too. I'm glad to see that this company is true to their word and that shoes are going to people who definitely need them. 

(I decided that solid black was too plain so I made mine a bit more colorful with some embroidery thread)

On Tuesday, I went to a village football match that turned out to be a lot of fun. I knew a lot of people there and talked to some of my students. My neighbor saw me and came over to give me a bag full of oranges and to talk. We won the game and a huge crowd of spectators proceeded to run onto the field, then march back and forth, from goal to goal, singing and dancing in celebration. 

Aside from all that, the rest of the week was pretty routine. I had Chichewa language lessons with my tutor. Another neighbor came over for dinner, brought me a pumpkin and taught me how to cook it. Another night, I went to her house for dinner and she sent me home with even more food (my neighbors are too nice to me). I went to church yesterday, which consisted of sitting under a tree and listening to a sermon in Chichewa. And of course I have been teaching. This week was a review week. Term 2 exams start tomorrow. I can't believe that I have finished two terms of teaching already. Time has gone by so fast. 

(If you want to help us with camp Sky here is a link where you can make a donation. We run on donations and need your help to keep the camp running and make it possible for students to participate in this amazing program! Any amount helps. 5$ is equivalent to about 2,000 Malawi kwacha and enough to cover one student's meals for the entire week of camp)

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=14-614-002

Pictures

I have good Internet service right now so I have decided to go through my photos on my phone and post some of my favorites. 

This is my Amayi (mother) who I lived with for the first three months during training. We were playing tug-o-war during a sports day in the village. 

Me and some friends playing bao, a very popular game here, similar to mancala. 

Some of my neighbors standing on my porch. 

A really sketchy bridge going to the market in Lilongwe. 

Me with our makeshift Christmas tree. Made from a mosquito net with attached leaves and random hanging decorations. 

Me with my neighbors baby, Joanna. This baby is now walking and is afraid of me. 

At the lake. 

Sunset at the lake. 

February travels

It's been a busy month and I've been away from home a lot and for a lot of different reasons. My travels started February 1st when I went to Cape Maclear to meet two friends for a weekend trip to the lake. The weather was beautiful and it was an amazing weekend. One of the friends is also a Floridian and also a diver, so I got the opportunity to go SCUBA diving with him in one of the most diverse fresh water ecosystems in the world. The water was crystal clear and the were hundreds of fish surrounding us the entire dive. It felt like we were swimming in a fish tank; the dive site was appropriately named 'the aquarium'. While at the lake we also kayaked, swam, snorkeled, played bao, and ate some delicious food. 

From the lake, I travelled to Lilongwe. I recently got accepted to be on a committee called VSV which supports and acts as a resource for other peace corps volunteers. I spent 3 days in the capital attending meetings. The last day I was there was also one of my friend's birthday so we went out to celebrate. 

I spent a week back home teaching, then headed off for my next adventure: climbing a mountain in Zomba. I spent Valentine's Day soaked and freezing, hiking up Zomba plateau in the foggy, cold rain. We finally made it to a lodge about half way up and decided to stop there and try and wait out the rain. The rain never stopped so we ended up staying for the night. We were dry and warm and we got a cheese platter and some wine and it turned into a fantastic Valentines day. The next day was still cold and rainy so we caught a ride the rest of the way up the mountain to the trout farm cabins where we had planed to stay. Even though it was far from ideal mountain hiking weather, the clouds and fog made everything ominous and pretty awesome looking. The rain trapped us in the cabin all day so we ended up talking and playing games and had a great time. Hiking down the next morning it finally cleared enough to see some great views of Zomba town and the surrounding mountains. 

In the span of two weeks I accomplished two of the goals I set during training: hike to the top of a mountain and dive to the bottom of the lake. So far it has been a pretty awesome month. 

Football

Last term I created and started coaching a girls football team at my school (It's really soccer). Sunday we have our first match against a school in a nearby village, so to prepare for the game we decided to hold a friendly practice match today, teachers versus students. There was a lot of question as to which team I would play for. Would I be with the girls since I am their coach and obviously a girl myself? Or would I be on the all male teacher team? Since the teachers needed more players anyway, I played with them. 

After classes I went up to my house to change and get ready. As soon as I returned wearing my jersey and trousers all the students still hanging out in the school's courtyard started yelling and cheering. We walked to the field where the entire primary school, our school, and half the village were already gathered. After a few warmups and a lot more cheering, shouting, and laughing, the game started. I played defense and did pretty well. At first I was pretty self conscious, I felt like there was a giant spotlight on me with about 500 people watching. I did, after all, stick out of the crowd. But as the game progressed I relaxed and had a lot of fun. I was, however, still concerned for my feet and ankles. The field we played on is hard, uneven, dirt with random patches of grass and plenty of rocks and holes. I, at least, had some protection. Half of the players weren't even wearing shoes and walked away with a good number of cuts and scratches. 

During the game I felt very worldly; I was an American, playing in Malawi, wearing a Nigerian team jersey, while people shouted German at me. (Even though they tack vowel sounds at the end of every other word, people here consistently pronounce my name Madam German.

The teachers won the game 4 to 1. But the best part was after, as I was walking off the field, one of my students handed me a note that read: "Madam Germany, you are doing the best please keep the fire going".   😊⚽

Student tutor

Today after school I was invited by one of my students to go to her house for dinner. Idah is not one of my smartest students, she has a lot of trouble with most subjects and does not speak or understand English very well. She is 20 years old and repeating form 3 (the equivalent of high school junior year) for the second time. But she is definitely one of the most ambitious and hard working. She constantly comes to me for help with problems or to define words that she doesn't understand. She wanted me to come to her house because everyday after school she voluntarily helps tutor primary school children that live in her area. I went to help them with their English. After walking for about thirty minutes, and of course greeting every person we passed, we arrived at Idah's house where students were already studying. All of the children were around ages 5-14. None were wearing shoes, and all looked positively terrifyed of me when I walked up. A neighbor was sitting on the porch helping the younger children with their letters. She had an old window shutter that was being used as a chalkboard and helping students trace and write the letters of the alphabet in the dirt. Some of the older students were working on math problems in their excersise books. The chickens and goats running around the yard didn't phase them at all, but at one point, when a plane flew by, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare and point excitedly at the tiny dot moving across the sky. After Idah and I ate we took over the lessons and taught some English. The kids sang the alphabet song, the days of the week song, and a months of the year song. They pointed out and named parts of their body. Then I attempted to teach them some colors. I pointed out a blue chair: "mpando ndi blue!" And green grass and a shirt: " maudzu ndi malaya ndi green!" They repeated the words, but didn't seem to understand the concept. So instead we started to talk in Chichewa about things we like. I told them I like teaching, I like Malawi and America, and I like my family, and I asked what they liked. The group of 6-10 year old girls told me that they like to cook nsima and pump water. It was a strong reminder of the tough lives and gender inequality that these young students face everyday. After the lessons I said goodbyes and headed back to my house. I admire Idah so much for all that she is doing to help these students everyday, and I will definitely be going back to help when I can. 

Christmas/ New Years

Merry Christmas! Happy New Years! I'm finally back home after about a month of traveling around Malawi. I fully intended to write posts while I was on my vacation but, as you can see, that didn't happen so I have a lot of catching up to do.

 I left my village the first week of December and headed to the capital for in-service training with the rest of my group. We had meetings and workshops for 9 days about teaching, camps, clubs, and living in Malawi. It was really nice to be back together with the whole group. After IST I decided to go back to Kasungu and visit the host family I stayed with during training. Appropriately, I saw them on the 6 month anniversary of our coming to Malawi. Can you believe it's been 6 months! Two years is going to fly by. After Kasungu, I travelled with a few friends to a beautiful lodge on lake Malawi where we camped for a few nights, ate delicious food, saw monkeys, and painted some pottery. 

Next on my journey, I headed to a friends house on the northern lakeshore where I spent Christmas with 6 other friends from my group. We made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and opened presents around our tree made from a mosquito net. The others were complaining that it wasn't snowing, but for me the hot weather made it feel a little like home. I missed the big family parties and spending time with everyone, but my Christmas here was still fun and I'm glad I got to spend it with friends. And at the lake :) 

After Christmas I went south to another friends house. While there we decided to check out one of the national parks and do a safari. We got to see warthogs, some kind of antelope thing, monkeys, hippos, and crocodiles!

New Year's Eve I spent with a big group at Palm Beach! (Not in Florida. I wish it was) I went on a sunset booze cruise where we ran aground 3 times, saw some more hippos, and someone almost drowned. Everything turned out ok though and we all had a ton of fun. 

And now I'm back in Mulanje. It's nice to be home and sleep in a real bed! Today is the first day of term two so now I'm just writing lessons and preparing for a great term!

Thanksgiving 1 & 2

Term one is over! I made it through the first three months at site, the part everyone says is the hardest. Even though the days seemed to drag on, looking back it feels like the time flew by. In a few days I will be leaving my village for a whole month to attend training in Lilongwe and then travel around the country for Christmas and New Years. 

Last week was Thanksgiving and, although it was difficult being away from home, it was a good one. I ended up celebrating the holiday twice, with two thanksgiving dinners and two great days with friends. 

Thanksgiving part one I spent at a friend's house in a district close to mine. About ten people from my group met there and cooked dinner together. Despite the lack of ingredients and having to cook over charcoal fires and hot plates, we managed to make a full, traditional, delicious meal. After dinner we spent the evening hanging out and playing cards and it was one of the best days I've had here in Malawi. 

Thanksgiving part two took place at Mulanje golf club on Thanksgiving day. After classes on Thursday I rode my bike into town for the dinner. I assumed it would be just me and a few other PCVs from around the area but by the time dinner started at six there were over 50 peace corps volunteers, NGO volunteers, and other expats from around the country. I only knew a few of them so I got to meet a lot of new people. That night I stayed at a friends house in town with plans to bike home the next morning, but a group got the idea to hike the mountain the next day and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. So the morning after Thanksgiving a small group of friends and I took a day hike up Mt. Mulanje to a beautiful waterfall. The water was freezing but we jumped in anyway and swam. 

It wasn't the traditional Thanksgiving that I'm used to, and it was definitely hard not spending it with my family, but I still had a great holiday and I am very thankful that I am here in Malawi and have wonderful friends to have shared the day with.