Ndasala ndi matsiku 43 ndisanachoke Malawi

'I'm left with 43 days before I leave Malawi"

Some young man riding his bike SCHREECHED to a stop by where I was walking and shoved his headphones in my years telling me to listen to what he’s listening to. It turns out he was an artist…he’s not untalented. I told him “Uli ndi chidwi” or “You’re talented” and he let me go. That was a perfect example of something that doesn’t really faze me as uncommon here, I wasn’t shocked or surprised by it at all, but back home, I would tell everyone about it as something really weird that happened to me. That being said, I have 46 days and one wake-up before I leave Malawi.

So, this past weekend I went to a wedding. Not only did I go to a wedding, but it was the fanciest wedding I’ve ever been to here, or back home. Fancy Fancy Fancy. There was even champagne, or the people I was with thought it was champagne and got all excited, enough that they took turns taking pictures of it. Then someone actually read the table of it to find out that it was non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice. That was funny to me because I was the first one to see what it really was but didn’t bother telling anyone because they were so excited about it.

Oh Malawi, 32 days left in Chiradzulu, 44 days and a wake up left in Malawi. Malawi, the country where every day someone asks me if my ipod is a phone, its polite and encouraged to go to your neighbors’ houses and demand to be fed, and if you want to bath you have to walk down a hill, then back up with a bucket of water on your head…unless it’s raining (because then the water comes to you).

Right now I’m sitting in my office drinking an ice cold coca cola and listening to “Halo” by Beyonce over and over again on my iPod loud enough to drown out my ex-landlady and current office-mate’s terrible singing to terrible gospel music (not that I have anything against gospel music, I just have something against bad music-which is ironic given what I am currently listening to).

Since we’re on the topic of my starting to enjoy bad pop music, today is the two anniversary of the Environment group 2010 coming to Malawi. Two years together. 44 days and a wake up to go. Crazy. That’s all can say about it. Crazy. Twenty-one in, sixteen out. 76% Successful. Two years here and every letter I get I still read 4 or 5 times. A big hand to Janice and Wanda for double handedly (mostly) providing me with reading material during my stay here.

It’s been almost 6 months now that I’ve been counting down and trying my best to push time forward. It’s time now to pull back. I’m ready to go but I’m upset about leaving (yes I realize that every post I contradict myself).

Side note: I’m still listening to Beyonce…also, I just added Beyonce to the dictionary on word on my computer so I can talk about her all I want and the red squiggly line won’t come up like it just did when I wrote squiggly…take that , world.

My supervisor just came in and saw the backdrop on my computer and made a noise in my direction suggesting that it is inappropriate. Change requires words or actions, not mumbles. Mumbles get nothing done here, out there, or anywhere- think about that world! Would it kill you to enunciate? What do you want? I informed him, in answer to his mumble that it is my computer, not the offices so my backdrop requires no action as per his mumble. My backdrop is the one I had with Milty, for those who know me and have seen it before (yes, I still think it’s funny and I always do…he was and economic pimp daddy).

Like I said, Environment 2010, Twenty-one in, Sixteen out. This is us during our Close of Service Conference.


Us how we normally are.

Fancy fancy fancy wedding.



The "champagne" that turned out to be bubbly juice. I'm still laughing at everyone's reaction.




I took this at the Limbe post office last week. Limbe, Airmail, Elsewhere.


The soccer pitch right outside of my boma.

That delicious coke I was drinking.