Five Months 'Myezi yankhonde'… (October 16, 2009)

Days continue to pass at a pace which I can't quite understand. At times it still feels like forever before I will return to the creature comforts in America. At the same time, however, it seems as if the time here has already gone by faster than I can grasp. Nevertheless, I am staying well and learning more than I have in years of study (nothing like first hand experiences).

I have to admit, however, that there are times when I miss my friends and family from home greatly. The problem is when I see things that remind me of you all and then I am in a stupor for the fact that I am unable to share with you that I am thinking of you. Examples from the last few months: Toads in my garden which would make mom go running and dad would have catapulted, little ones with mannerisms similar to my refugee kids in Atlanta and wishing Sarah were here to point out characteristics we have seen them sharing, various flora and fauna which Chrissy and Evan would have a field day classifying- I took a picture of a fish eagle for you, ball games made up by children to pass the time like Jessie and I would do all those years ago, mountain hiking without Erik or Philip to accompany me, house music and no Nico to dance with, dancing in traditional circles without the professional Boom by my side (if only they could see how you impressed the Ghanians)…. In short I may be in a completely different world over here, but I can't get away from all the memories we once created together. You are always in my mind and heart (cheesy) but hey I calls them as I sees them J.

I am busier now then when I last updated. It seems that I now have to remember to find time for cooking meals (not that I ever have more than rice and beans around the house as the heat seems to make everything I get from Mzuzu spoil in about 48 hours). Students in form 2 and 4 (grades 10 and 12) are currently writing exams so many of the teachers have been out either giving the tests or retaking portions of the form 4. In order to progress people are required to pass a certain number of subjects leaving many people to repeat grades until they have done so. Thus, many of the students I am teaching are actually older than I am (and I have seen the tests which are no easy task as they have difficult questions and take 2 weeks to complete). Thus, I have been at the school just about every morning picking up the classes of the missing teachers… biology, geography, and even Romeo and Juliet in literature. It has been fun getting to know the students better and relearn so things that I have long forgotten (what light through yonder window breaks, it is the east and Juliet is the sun…)

Other parts of my day are filled with meeting people who are working in the community and making plans for places we want to improve. Malawi is a place of planning, and with that it takes a lot of time for anything to actually happen so I hope that in starting now I will have some things completed in my two years. Thus I am working with Temwa with crop diversification and peer education, LISAP with the study of mother-to-child transmission of HIV as well and Home based care, the Primary schools with the location of vulnerable children and forming clubs to keep them and girls in the community busy in the holiday season, with a guy in Mzuzu and the local member of parliament with getting clean water here (of which there is none in the whole village), and book collection for building up the local library (I got about 400 books from the Peace Corps house when it was closed last month that are now available to the Usisya population). While this list seems pretty extensive, keep in mind that development moves at a snails pace, and projects don't always follow through. Thus by working with several groups and beginning these now there is potential for at least half (if not all with a bit of an optimist coming out) will be going strong when I leave.

Okay, so I have admitted to myself that I can't save the whole world… a feat many of you have said I could do… but when I see problems here my instinct is to find the solutions. Now I am attempting to tackle all of the problems I have seen, and while there is no guarantee that I can go as far as I am attempting to get… I am merely shooting for the moon and hoping to land among the stars (as the old quote goes) J.

So far as my personal life in the village and around the north, I am staying quite well. I can now light up a fire with just one match (cooking has thus become less of a chore) and I have a thriving garden out back which I water and chase chickens from daily. I was taught how to steer a dug out canoe and can now go out into the lake (fishing is next on my list) and I have danced magule so many times at village events that I am frequently encouraged about my dancing skills (and even given money which is a tradition here when someone approves of another's ability). I am frequently around the village chatting with acquaintances or friends and my language is getting a bit better with each passing day (but for deep conversations I still revert back to English). Outside of that a lot has happened which I can't sum up ( a boat ride with the Honorable Member of Parliament, Braai at the lakeshore, hiking to Chikwina, shopping in the Mzuzu market, meals of Usipa (like sardines) and sima at various gatherings, village meetings discussing development…) If you have interest there will be stories and pictures when I return.

I will end with an image, of which I don't know I can give justice to… At night is the best time for catching Usipa so the fishermen go out in their canoes with lanterns as their business requires. Due to this economic venture at night the lake is lit by hundreds of these entrepreneurs. So if one walks up the mountain just a bit and looks down on the valley of Usisya you can see nothing (as there is not electricity to speak of once the few houses with solar have gone out at 9pm) until your eyes get to the lake. Here there are fallen stars, so it seems, scattered without order or configuration. Then is you glance up at the night sky it stands unpolluted by development and so clear that no light is hidden. Thus, you stand with the clear night sky above and below (the lake of stars).