I'm sitting in the lovely Kafunta Lodge in Zambia, about halfway through our safari.
Yes, I said safari.
It's pretty disconcerting to eat Wednesday's dinner at a church potluck in an impoverished village, making sure not to take too much rice and greens so that the servers don't get any, and THursday's dinner in a resort on a river, four courses of gourmet food.
The poverty disconnect aside, it's amazing. Glorious. Two highlights: we were about five feet from lionesses protecting a hippo they just killed - they are so powerful and beautiful. The second: six women squatting simultaneously behind the same bush to pee, while our driver yells down "there's a truck coming!" just to be a stinker.
We go back to Malawi on Saturday, attend church on SUnday, and start our journey home on Monday. I hope to have some time to process and write and post some pictures.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
malawian tidbits
We walked out of our guest house this morning to find three men wielding machetes in our front yard. They were mowing the lawn.
We're still safe and healthy - our American intern friends have been taking great care of us. I even know a handful of Chichewan words.
Most suprising: For being one of the few "English Speaking" African countries, less people speak English than I expected. Chichewan is difficult for me to pronounce, but I'm trying. When I mess up they just laugh at me and applaud me for trying. The women sometimes hug me with a big laugh. The men never touch women in public except for shaking hands. Even married couples don't hold hands or hug in public.
Most beautiful: We met the widow's group - a group of widows chosen by COTN to be trained in sewing/knitting/etc. to earn money - and they stood up and sang us the most joyful song. Malawian singing fills up a room so solidly that there is no room for anything but joy and dancing. It was so moving.
Most disconcerting: Public breastfeeding.
Biggest bug: A snail the size of my palm.
Yummiest food: Fresh mango.
We're still safe and healthy - our American intern friends have been taking great care of us. I even know a handful of Chichewan words.
Most suprising: For being one of the few "English Speaking" African countries, less people speak English than I expected. Chichewan is difficult for me to pronounce, but I'm trying. When I mess up they just laugh at me and applaud me for trying. The women sometimes hug me with a big laugh. The men never touch women in public except for shaking hands. Even married couples don't hold hands or hug in public.
Most beautiful: We met the widow's group - a group of widows chosen by COTN to be trained in sewing/knitting/etc. to earn money - and they stood up and sang us the most joyful song. Malawian singing fills up a room so solidly that there is no room for anything but joy and dancing. It was so moving.
Most disconcerting: Public breastfeeding.
Biggest bug: A snail the size of my palm.
Yummiest food: Fresh mango.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Internet Cafes
Internet cafes exist even in the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi.
It took us two full days to get here, but Nichole and I finally arrived this afternoon (I think it's Friday). I'm too jet-lagged to write anything completely coherent, but here's some basics:
For the next three weeks, I'll be teaching something to someone. While I'm figuring that out, two lovely interns picked us up from the airport and have been helping us settle, eat, and find internet. Settling took approximately five minutes, as our luggage was lost. That truncated passive voice in the last sentence is meant to disguise my feelings of betrayal by British Air, who promised me (multiple times) that my bags would make it to Africa. We're surviving, though. We had a lovely dinner of mango chicken (it's mango season!), and are getting ready for our orientation tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon we're visiting a farm that houses about thirty orphans. Everyone's been so warm and welcoming. One Malawian lady hugged me welcome, then held my hand (tight) as she led me to the van. It made me smile.
I'll have sporadic internet access after all, so there may be more updates, but don't hold your breath. If you want to get a hold of me, you can email me.
It took us two full days to get here, but Nichole and I finally arrived this afternoon (I think it's Friday). I'm too jet-lagged to write anything completely coherent, but here's some basics:
For the next three weeks, I'll be teaching something to someone. While I'm figuring that out, two lovely interns picked us up from the airport and have been helping us settle, eat, and find internet. Settling took approximately five minutes, as our luggage was lost. That truncated passive voice in the last sentence is meant to disguise my feelings of betrayal by British Air, who promised me (multiple times) that my bags would make it to Africa. We're surviving, though. We had a lovely dinner of mango chicken (it's mango season!), and are getting ready for our orientation tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon we're visiting a farm that houses about thirty orphans. Everyone's been so warm and welcoming. One Malawian lady hugged me welcome, then held my hand (tight) as she led me to the van. It made me smile.
I'll have sporadic internet access after all, so there may be more updates, but don't hold your breath. If you want to get a hold of me, you can email me.
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