Thursday, February 17, 2011

Pamene bwana amabwera ku town, Timada ulere!

"When the boss comes to town, we eat for free!"

So, After Diana left, I left Lilongwe in a hurry (I don't like to stick around there too long, money slips away). On the way down to site, I stopped by a friends in a neihboring district. We stayed there and had a mini party for a couple days. It was great. After speading a couple of days at said friends house we headed to Mulanje where we went for a small hike to see a waterfall. When I was trying to put my pants back on after a while swimming in the frigid water, my cell phone jumped (litterally jumped) out of my pocket only to land in a small (but seemingly endless) cave-pool thing never to be found again, whether by hand or foot. I am without a cellphone.

After a while, we eventually decided to head back down the mountain. A group of people headed toward a hostil in the boma, and a group of people (4) headed toward my house. We grabbed dinner and got back home in the evening. We stayed at my house for a couple days hinging out. After 2 nights, they left in the afternoon to go back to their sites. I was left alone, theoretically, for the first time since Diana came weeks before. People kept coming over and the rain wouldn't stop so I couldn't do laundry or wash dishes (that's legit enough of an excuse, right?). One night at my house, then I left again the next morning to head into Blantyre because the Director for all of Peace Corps Africa was in town. When Bri and I got to the boma to start hitching, we came across a peace corps vehicle (in the district to check out another PCV's house). Free ride to town! We got to ride for a while with the coutnry director (whom I never get facetime with) and talk about my projects and my community, ect ect, blah blah blah. It was great! We got into town, showered up and then went to kips for a dinner with Dick, the big boss. We ate and talked about Peace Corps, gave suggestions for improvement, talked about successes, ect. It was a good time.

After the dinner was over, there was talk of dancing but we were all pretty tuckered out from eating so we retured to our different hostils and hung out there with other people we don't know (at least that's what I did).

The next morning we got up bright and early to meet for Peace Corps transport again, going to Mulanje. We stopped in Thyolo to see some other volunteers' sites, then went to the pizza place in the mulanje boma (often drooled over, rarely experienced). Delicious. More talking with Vic and Dick about projects, things going on, suggestions, successes, sucking up, ect. It was really great to and both parties were extremely receptive to anything I wated to say from de-centralizing the entire organization, to the benefits of getting ducks over chickens or turkeys. It was a great time.

After lunch, we worked another free ride back to town so I can take care of some other things, get a new phone, maybe hit the clothes market, and ...most importantly...go to BBQ at a friends house (today).

That's what's been going on here. I'm off now to get some stuff for said BBQ, maybe some new duds, and definitly a new phone. Hope everythings good back home! Nice and sunny and warm here...the rain's even tapering off.

One more week until I am no longer a first-year volunteer, until the new trainies come in, until I'm not a newby anymore...next week is big. Really big. I'll try to celebrate in my village while being wild-ly productive saving the world with one pinky.

Love from Malawi!

6 comments:

  1. WOW!! Way to go with the productivity!!

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  2. If you are having fun and helping other people, what more can one ask. Truly blessed and providing that blessing to others.

    Love Dad

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  3. I'm grateful to know such a kind, caring, thinking, worldly person such as yourself who is making a difference in the world which on an adventure of a lifetime! Hugs and happy thoughts, Janice

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  4. Supposed to say ".....while on an adventure" etc.

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  5. Supposed to say, difference in the world WHILE on an... etc.!

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  6. You keep on saving the world with one pinky! That's my girl!

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