On Monday morning, I woke up ready to meet my new colleagues, home, and office for the coming month: travelling is tiring (first world problem, I'm aware) and the mere thought of unpacking filled me with a sense of comfort. I was welcomed by Heather and Ida, the founder and the country manager, and introduced to the team who I would be sitting around the table in the small office with. Straight afterwards, I met with Ida and Lusungu, who I would be working closely with on the disability project that she was managing. It was such a change from my previous experience at Pippi House Foundation and the structure and clarity of my role at Landirani Trust was a welcome relief. Landirani Trust had worked together with an organization called 500 Miles to equip physically disabled people with prosthetic devices that provided support to arms and legs, and we were to follow-up with those people to report on their progress. The results were impressive: people who had previously only been able to move by dragging themselves forward on their hands and knees were able to walk, and as this was often the only mode of transport in the villages they lived in, it gave them the freedom to work and take part in their communities as they had previously been unable to. As Lusungu and I conducted follow-up visits over the next few weeks a recurring theme was gratitude towards Landirani and hope for the future.

Before any of these visits could take place however, I was completely knocked off my feet by a fever that made me feel so rubbish I convinced myself I had malaria. (I hadn't been taking the preventive medication, thinking I was gone far too long for it to be good for me.) Trying to make a good impression on my new colleagues and friends, and yet unable to ignore the fact that I was shivering despite the hot weather and feeling faint, I went to the local hospital for a malaria test. The trainee doctor who took the test, who must have been younger than me, stated that it was negative, that I probably had a bacterial infection, and wrote me out a prescription. As I went down the hall to get the prescribed antibiotics, I was convinced that the test was wrong, the young doc didn't know what he was doing, and I should re-take the test. So I did - and as the nurse told me with a sympathetic smile that the test was still negative, I still wasn't convinced. I hate to admit it, but just to be sure, I went to a nearby private clinic and paid for what was essentially the exact same test, with (shockingly) the exact same result… Having been proved that I was in fact not better at diagnosing myself than the health professionals of Malawi, I sheepishly made my way back to the office with my antibiotics and headed straight to bed. I felt rubbish for the rest of the week, and it wasn't until the following Monday that I felt well enough to leave the house.

The second week at work was far more productive, and I was also a much more sociable roomie to Nyomi, who at this point was probably wondering how long she had to put up with the narcoleptic whinger in her room. She had been entrusted with house-sitting during the week over the school's Easter holidays, and invited me to join her at a beautiful house around the corner from the Landirani office. I stayed there with her and we enjoyed the luxuries of a coffee machine, barbeque facilities, and the huge kitchen to the max.

The week flew by, and all of a sudden it was Easter weekend. I had decided to spend it by the lake at Senga Bay. Heather was also spending the long weekend there, so I had a lift and a tent that I'd borrowed from Nyomi's friend Fayaz. We got to Cool Runnings, where Heather was staying, and were warmly welcomed by the busy owner Sam, and made to feel very welcome. Having pitched my tent with help from Heather and a fellow camper - quite the mansion for just one person! - I quickly settled in to lake-side life. I headed to the terrace overlooking the lake, where Heather and I met Emma, the daughter of a friend of Heather's (or a friend of Heather's daughter, something like that!). She was studying medicine and volunteering at a nearby clinic, and was such a nice easy-going person! Also staying at Cool Runnings was a group of boys from school in England, also volunteering, and a Welsh army battalion who were training a group from the Malawian army in preparation for the DRC. They were at the end of their time and had some interesting stories to tell about the challenges they had faced in their training.

I had heard about a big party going on nearby, but had resigned myself to the likelihood that I wouldn't make it seeing as I didn't have transport to the place. However, later that evening, Sam approached Emma and me with the news that a bunch of the guys were planning on heading there and would be able to give us a lift if we wanted. We didn't take much persuading and hopped into the car with a boot full of boys crying out at each speedbump and pothole while the driver made the most of them, and soon arrived at the Wheelhouse. It was a great venue right on the beach of the lake, and we kicked off our shoes and enjoyed some brilliantly old-school hiphop tunes! (My gangsta alter-ego may have come out…) It was a brilliant night and before bed we elatedly headed for some night swimming under the stars! The next night a bunch of us headed back, looking forward to an equally fun night… only to find when we got there that this was acoustic night, the guy playing when we arrived was rather drunk and bemoaning his ex, and as it began to rain we realised this was turning out to be an entirely different experience. We tried to make the most of it, but eventually gave up and headed back to camp. Next day was another lazy beach day for me, and by the time Emma got back from the nearby crocodile farm with the volunteers (and 5kgs of croc meat!) and suggested the we kayak out to a nearby island, I was getting restless and loved the idea! Lizard Island is a lush green island nestled in the bay, named after some giant lizards that inhabit the island, and as we gracefully (not) disembarked the first thing we did was to set off in search for one of these lizards! Sadly we had no luck, but we did find a good spot to see across to the bay and the hills behind, and we regained our strengths here for the paddle back. Our timing was perfect as we got back just as it was getting dark, though Sam assured us that they had been keeping an eye on us the whole time. That night we helped the guys make skewers of crocodile for the fire (although it turns out 5kg really is a lot of croc!) and had a semi-successful meal with them. After the dinner, and assured that most people had already gone to bed, Emma and I decided to take advantage of the deserted beach and enjoy a night swim in our birthday suits this time. It was so nice, though as we gathered our clothes up and headed to our tents, one of the army boys coincidentally happened to be coming back from the (closed) bar at the same time and the privacy we had assumed all along was called into question… :-)

The next morning it was time to pack up already and emotional goodbyes were said. As Heather and I made our way back to Lilongwe, we reflected over the lovely people we'd met and felt thoroughly relaxed and recharged. I was definitely over my something-like-malaria, and a Happy Easter had been had by all!