Medicinal garden training would not be complete without a dance circle...and guess who is in the center? Yours truly.

To Hell with Good Intentions - nice little read, check it out:

http://www.swaraj.org/illich_hell.htm

December 8, 2011

It’s December?! My journal writinghas slacked. It’s not that I don’t haveanything to write – I do – I just keep getting more and more behind in my“catching up” that the thought of writing anything causes stress about where tobegin. Much like keeping up with friendsback home.

My mood has been dismal. I amstressed about going to Germany and camp next week. It’s been almost a full month since I lastleft for a journey – I truly enjoy being here and hate to leave. Trying to get pumped for camp – I am excitedfor what it’s all about and to see Shelly, but I also feel stressed that I willbe living for Germany soon after. However, if I know myself correctly, I know I will have an amazing timeand I will look back and think, “oh, how silly!”

December 10, 2011

Successful meeting with my HIV support group! They were psyched about the herbal garden Iproposed. I even left them with somemoringa seeds to get started (not to self: next time you give out seeds, makesure you count them out evenly before handing them out to people…they willcount and compare and get jealous!) Theidea is that the five support groups within Dwambazi will each have a communalmedicinal garden with a variety of herbs for remedies of common ailments forthose who suffer from HIV. Theirassignment is to hold a meeting with their members to discuss placement of thegarden and responsibilities. The groupwas enthusiastic and eager to get started – every Peace Corps Volunteer’sdream!

December 16, 2011

Camp was exceptional – huge thanks to the joy that Shelly exudes from everypart of her being! She was born to besunshine.

Camp was both fun and inspirational. So many times I felt emotional toward these girls – these amazing women! Yep, I was right – this was an incredibleweek and I cannot believe I stressed about it!

Jetting to Germany!

When Peace Corps first drops me off at site...it was a quick good-bye and they were off! And here I am...at my new home...the first few moments captured...

11-11-11

I am only writing because it’s November 11, 2011 and I wanted somethingdated with 11-11-11. End of journalentry.

November 13, 2011

I can’t believe my luck! A few greathitches home from Lilongwe and some excellent networking opportunities! I met a man who works in my district with anorganization that funds water and sanitation projects, It just so happens that I am working ongetting pit litrines in a nearby village that suffers greatly from poorsanitation. They are an extremelycommitted community, they just lack funds. Instead of writing a grant, I can connect them with this NGO that willhelp as long as they meet specific criteria. We chatted for a long time about project ideas and even stopped in tovisit the man’s brother in Salima for a few minutes. Both men were well-educated and kind – I feltso welcome (in a non-creepy way, imagine that?!). Overall an excellent interaction.

And it got better from there! I metan older woman in the back of a matola who only spoke Chitonga – yes we chattedfull-on Tonga even after being out of Tonga Land for two weeks! She was witty and fun and lives very closeby. I really enjoyed our interaction andI promised to visit her.

I also met one of my Form 1 students in the matola and he told me that thewhole class missed me – I was so flattered! I do enjoy my students.

November 15, 2011

Let’s recap the past two weeks. Halloween was spent with the Tongas on thebeach (where else?!) with cold beers (thanks to an ice machine in Robert’s vil)and cliff jumps (off a giant rock in Lake Malawi – I did my signature bellyflop contest – no one competed against me, as usual, so I am still thechamp). Yes, this is what TongaLand isall about.

Then I was Lilongwe-bound for the 50th Anniversary of PeaceCorps (and also USAID, conveniently enough). It was lovely visiting the ambassador’s house again (haven’t been theresince Swearing-in) and meeting the new ambassador – a lovely woman, truly.

Game Count soon followed an I was finally the furthest south that I haveever been in Malawi. We spent theweekend at Liwonde National Park – waking up early to do transect walks tocount the large game in the park in order to monitor population growth. We were teamed up with guides who had rifles(for the occasional rhino attack or maybe to scare off poachers in thedistance) and who showed us the animals who lived in the preserve. Mary (my partner in crime) and I weretogether – which is always a good time. Unfortunately I forgot two important things 1) my calculator (kidding,there weren’t that many animals) and 2) closed-toed shoes (really, Kathi? Goingto a national park with only flip flops?) Well at least I packed underwear thistime, which is more than I can say about two weeks at IST.

Anyway, it was great fun being with wonderful people I rarely get theopportunity to visit with and we saw many animals – mostly at a distance – andeven fought some monkeys who stole our food all weekend – not cool. The best part? Receiving a donation of 8 chickens and (drumroll, please) I killed one! Andrew gaveus a tutorial on how to kill a chicken and there I was, dull knife in hand,chicken upside down in the other. I didit. Killed it. Not that I want to go around killing things,but I am pleased to add this to my list of survival skills. Needless to say, dinner was delicious. Andrew made a tasty sauce and grilled thosebad boys – oh so good!

After Liwonde, I got to visit Mary’s swanky trailer in Balaka – aka LittleItaly. The children even say “Ciao”there, instead of the typical “Muli bwanji?” It was such a treat to eat frenchtoast topped with gelato – oh Mary’s trailer is so fun!

Then we moved on to ANAMED training with the talented and amazing NelsonMoyo! It was a brilliant week ofdetoxing – eating healthy foods, drinking herbal teas (ginger, lemongrass,artemesia, hibiscus) and learning how to treat certain ailments with plants(creating ointments, tinctures, teas and oils). Incredible! If every hospital hadan herbal garden, they would never run out of medicine. We received some plants to start our owngardens and I cannot wait to get started. This is something I am truly passionate about and my excitement grewafter this week.

November 22, 2011

My students are brilliant. I don’tknow what about them makes me so happy, but they just do. Everyday that I teach feels like a goodday. They inspire me somehow. Sure we have our struggles, but they are alsovery endearing. They are respectful andcourteous and I think we get along pretty well. We’ll see how long this lasts, though. I have heard horror stories from other teachers in Malawi. Gotta stay strong and not be too fun (it’shard to stifle awesome). Honestlythough, I feel like the teacher from Billy Madison – the one who is so happyand delusional, she rubbed paste on her face. I mean, there I am, clapping for my students when they answer a questioncorrectly, dance it out when things get boring, stretch it out when studentsare sleeping…I don’t know. I just feel good about this.

November 24, 2011

Happy Than4ksgiving!

I decided to spend Turkey Day in Dwambazi. I needed some free time to just re-focus on why I am here. As much as I enjoy my Peace Corps friends, Ialso need my space. I find it difficultto socialize all the time – I really enjoy my quiet moments alone – I’m use toit.

I spent some much needed time with my neighbors and I baked mango cakes(different varieties – I don’t know what I’m doing), gardened (started themedicinal garden in my backyard – looking good!) and caught up on some gradinga reading.

All was not completely well. Mycomputer fried. I am hoping to salvagethe hard drive – all my photos and videos of Malawi on there, as well as a fewgrants-in-progress and VSV projects. Trying to stay calm, but I am highly irritated.

November 27, 2011

Happy 9 Months in Malawi! 1/3 of theway through my service – can you believe it? The best way to de-stress? Cleaningthe house – there is just something about it that is so calming to me. It kind of freaks me out, actually.

This blog completely and beautifully sums up my Peace Corps experience. Please check it out:

http://waidsworld.wordpress.com/2011/08/07/the-real-peace-corps/

October 1, 2011

Where has the time gone? It’s October already?! Wish I was pumpkin picking,bundled up in fall clothes and sipping cold pumpkin beer and apple cider backhome…Instead it’s hot, muggy and sweaty here. I have the mental motivation to get work done, but with this heat, it’sso easy to slow down and sit in the darkness of my pantry (which is 20 degreescolder than the rest of Dwambazi).

Teaching is a blast. Life Skills isan important, yet simple topic to teach. Simple in the sense that we play games to learn. Otherwise the students sit in their seats,anxiously waiting to go home. I do lesstalking at them and more guiding them through activities. It’s like summer camp only 40 minutes a day, threedays a week. They like it. I like it. It works. Shout out to Health 420my senior year of college – I can whip up lesson plans the night before class,which is what I learned to do in Health 420.

A baby chick just came into my house. I tried to shoo him out, but instead he flapped himself into a corner.Oh the things I deal with here in Malawi.

In this heat, lying in bed and doing nothing makes me feel accomplished.

October 2, 2011

I made my house smell like Grandpa Gibbs’ – burnt pancakes on a Sundaymorning. Just wish I had real maplesyrup.

Today has been my busiest day at site – it felt great! With the help of Kenneth, we planted lettuce,tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, radishes (sounds like a delicious salad, right?),3 types of squash and cantaloupe. I broughtseeds from America (I’m pretty sure that isn’t allowed??) and my neighbors wereshocked there were so many “American vegetables”. They asked me what squash tasted like and “iscantaloupe like an orange?” They wereexcited and skeptical so I promised a veggie feast when we harvest.The plan is to transplant many of the vegetables to the hospital garden assoon as the seeds germinate and a fence has been built at the hospital.

My only issues right now are 1) chickens tend to bust right through myfence and 2) Kenneth wants to come over to water the garden at dawn and at dusk– completely unnecessary, as I can handle the task. Also, I think he likes to practice hisEnglish and to chat with. Also, I may betoo nice to him and he could be getting the wrong idea. Gotta nip that in the bud.

Ama Chimbutu took me to a tailor to have a skirt made. I bought a lovely chitenje with a largefloral print, borrowed Renee’s skirt that I covet so much and had itreplicated. It is absolutely beautiful.I love the finished project so much. It’s probably the nicest skirt I have in-country (no, I am sure it isthe nicest thing I own) so I plan on wearing it to the Ambassador’s 50thAnniversary party for Peace Corps in November.Lastly, I made wine. How I cameabout making this wine…

The crazy tailor (no, I don’t know his name, but he has a a shop at thecorner of the market and I walk by him everyday. In the heat of the afternoon he does notwork, but instead lifts his bare foot on top of the sewing machine and leansbacks outside his small stall. He isabout 60 with grey stubble on his face and wrinkles on his face that show hesmiled a lot during his lifetime. When Iwalk by, he lights up and excitedly shouts “yewu, yewu, yewu!” I shout “Yewu, yewu, yewu” right back athim. He loves it). Anyway, as I was walking by the tailor, wedid our usual greeting, but this time he seemed down and out. I asked how he was feeling and he told me ina garbled voice he was sick with asthma. I told him I was sorry to hear that and hoped he felt better soon. He pointed to four papayas sitting on his sewingmachine table. He told me to takeone. I asked how much and he shook hishead and said take one. I reached forthe smallest one and he said no, the big one. He smiled his huge, crazy tailor smile and waved good-bye. That’s how I got the papaya. Since I have bought brewer’s yeast in Lilongwe for Mango Wine (mango seasonis a month away) I decided to put it to good use with my maprizey papaya. I decided that papaya/banana wine was a goodway to beat the heat.It was well passed noon and my usual banana vendor had already sold out andreturned home so I went to the other end of the market but could find no oneselling bananas. I wandered aimlesslyout of town yelling the word “banana” in Tonga (literally – I don’t mind makinga fool of myself. In fact, my village expects it by now).

A woman heard my cries of anguish, grabbed my hand and pulled me down apath to her home. I sat on a reed matwith her mother and children just outside their home. She returned from inside her house with anenormous basket of bananas. I purchased8. She grabbed my hand again andescorted me back to the road.

It was a magical day at the market. I returned home to my 20-liter bucket where I began to turn water intowine. In 20 days there will be awine-tasting.

October 4, 2011

After riding my bike to school today, my legs were sweating so much that Ithought I had peed myself. Afterteaching, several students came up to me to thank me for being their teacher. I think that’s what makes it all worth it.

October 5, 2011

I just realized I typed a letter to 5 schools, printed it out and mailed itwithout proof-reading. In this letter, Isaid, “I look forward to the day I don’t have to eat peanut butt sandwiches.” Cool, Kathi.

October 6, 2011

Sprouts! My radishes, green beansand cucumbers are sprouting, oh happy day! My Form Ones are getting rowdy in class, but I found a way to quiet them –pop quiz! Oh the power of being ateacher…The Form Threes are doing well – they know their stuff and mostparticipate. My girls group needs someinspirado,, but that is mostly on my end.Mac and cheese and tabloid magazines helped me get through this drearyday. And this chilly night is sparing mefrom the blazing sun – a reprieve from hot season – thank you!

October 12, 2011

The country director of Peace Corps Malawi came to my house to check in onme. He came bearing gifts – banana breadand chocolate chip cookies. Somehow myawkward self managed to keep it cool and not botch the situation too badly.

His timing was poor – right in the middle of my Form 1 class – luckily Itracked down the headmaster to let him know I would be late just in time tosalvage my class.

Something tore up my garden. Notsure what it was, but my rows of radishes and carrots are clawed out. I had tears in my eyes when I felt the groundwhere they once were. I felt so maternaltoward those little innocent sprouts.

October 23, 2011

Girls weekend with a few ladies – I needed a quick trip to the lake. We went to Senga Bay for some swimming in thesunshine. It was brilliant andrejuvenating to be with these fun, lovely ladies. It left me feeling relaxed and completely atpeace.

We continued on to Lilongwe for VSV training. There I met up with Meredith, who I am sad tosee leave out Tonga family. I know shewill be happier someplace else, just glad I got the chance to say good-bye.I came back from my super rejuvenating week to find that Freddy ate most ofmy food (food from America), stole some of my stationary including U.S. postagestamps, and wrote his name on my spare sheets that I leave in the living roomfolded in a basket, my garden was left unattended and one neighbor told me heoften had friends over in my house. Hisbehavior is unbelievable – out of control – completely ridiculous, even. Why would be treat me like this after I paidfor his school fees? I addressed theissues like a big girl (go Kathi!) and was in disbelief when he denied it. He is officially cut off.

Even worse, I feel like there are few people who look out for me. I trusted Freddy, I really did. Kenneth used to be my go-to garden man, butnow I am just creeped out by how often he calls, sometimes calling me “angel”or telling me he just wanted to hear my voice. I am so sick of being mistreated because I am a mzungu and because I ama woman.

No water at any of the spigots. It’spacked with ladies with empty buckets. Igo around noon when it is hottest and most people are eating lunch – that’s thebest time to get water.

October 28, 2011

I love that I can do laundry and hang it on the line at 4pm and it will becompletely dry by the time it gets dark at 6pm. Dang, it’s hot!

Frustrated with how my school handles changes in the schedule – ie: theydon’t call me to let me know there is a change. I was really angry to show up at my scheduled time to find out I shouldhave been at school an hour earlier. However, none of the staff seemed to concerned. I pride myself on doing my work toefficiently and trying my best at being a teacher, but I was so upset by thisunprofessionalism. But soon the angersubsided and I realized it was no big deal – teachers rearranged my schedule soI could make up the class and everything was business as usual. I wish I wasn’t so Type A about things andwould let go of some of my American tendencies. They are what makes America run, but they clash with the ways of theMalawian village.

Kenneth asked me if he could borrow my bike today and I said, no, I amgoing to be using it and you know what that man said to me?? “You shouldwalk.” The nerve!

October 29, 2011

I was looking for Jimmy this afternoon and someone pointed at the deliveryroom, so I went inside to give Jimmy the information regarding a training formedicinal plants. I entered and a womanwas naked on the table. She was silent,sweat dripped from her forehead. Hermother held her hand.

“Do you want to see a birth? It will be just a few minutes”

Hell yeah, I do!

Within two minutes the woman was pushing. She didn’t make a sound. The babycame out quite easily and was light grey in color. She was placed on her mother’s chest. The grandmother praised God then shook myhand (as if I had anything to do with the birth) and cried. The cord was cut with a slice of a razor. The child was wrapped in a new chitenje andplaced on an empty bed nearby.

Next came the placenta. The nursepulled on the cord for a while, but nothing emerged. He injected the mother with a drug that wouldcause the placenta to be released. Handswent inside her, pulling and tugging at this stubborn placenta (it made me feelwoozy) but finally it came out. Again,the woman was silent through the whole thing.

I was in awe. Women are so strong,amazing and beautiful. It was anincredible experience – one I would probably not have in the States unless Iwas a medical professional.

The first week of December marked the end of the first term of Life Skillsfor my Form 1 (9th grade) and Form 3 (11th grade)students. It also marked the end of myfirst EVER term as a teacher. I preparedthe final exams (even as my computer burned out and several projects picked upduring the same week) and hoped for the best. What I got was…something else. Let’s just say, there was a bell curve (so that must mean my teaching isactually pretty spot on, right?) however, those who scored low, scored verylow. Let’s take a look at their answers,shall we? Keep in mind, this is LifeSkills - basically a mandatory health class that all students must take inorder to receive their certificate from secondary school. It is taught in English (not the students’first language) and the exam is in the form of multiple choice, short answersand essays.

I don’t remember the questions that went along with these answers, but these are the points that students made.“Smoking causes a disease called blindness”“Young people are drinking because they want the removal of shyness”

2. Describe a moral dilemma in yourcommunity“Favoritism is a moral dilemma in the community, for instance our parentslove the girls so they buy them clothes”“Maybe someone wants to destroy property. He can get drunk so he has an excuse”

3. List emotional/mental changesthat happen during puberty:“Boys sperm production will reduce when you live together and girls youfeeling this.”“Boys are discussing girls and girls are discussing boys.”

4. List two characteristics ofsomeone with high self-esteem:“Supply and demand”“Sexual intercourse and smoking/drinking”

5. List a disadvantage of selfesteem:“Everybody hates you”

6. List physical changes for malesand females during puberty:“Hair around in the ground”

7. List two democratic values:“hunger and thirst”

On top of these answers that were provided, some students chose to circleseveral of the options for a multiple choice question. They kindly put the word “or” in betweentheir selection so that I knew they were trying to get the right answer, ifonly they could call a friend. Also, Ihad two boys hand in identical exams – verbatim! And they chose to hand in their exams togetherso I knew right away that they had cheated. If there were other exams in-between the two, I may not havenoticed. Oh the joys of teaching!

This is where I lived the first 5 weeks in Malawi in Mkomeko village with the Lemonyi family...

Recently I have been getting into baking (cookies, breads, desserts, evenpizza dough) since I have acquired 10 kg of flour and I’m not quite sure whatelse to do with so much flour. You maywonder how one bakes in the village without an oven. Well, my friend, it is quite simple. There are many methods, but I will share withyou how I bake.

Materials needed: -Large pot with a lid-sand-baking tin-heat source (fire, coal, hot plate)

In a pot large enough to hold your baking tins, place fairly clean sand toa depth of two inches. Set pot on top ofyour heat source, place baking tin on top of sand and cover with lid. Baking time will depend on what you arecooking as well as your heat source. Things tend to cook faster than you think so check often. Adding a tablespoon of water to the sandbefore baking may help if your baked goods are coming out dry.There you have it! Who needs an oven when you have a big pot of sand?!

Back in the village and I feel like I am exactly where I should be. Did I scare you with my whiny post-holidayuncertainty? I hope not. Before I left for Germany, I felt empty andsad and walked anxiously through my house like it was the last time I was goingto see it. I couldn’t fathom leaving,even if it was for only two weeks. What,am I crazy?! I know, so strange. And then while I was in Germany, I enjoyedall things pleasant and easy to access and then felt sad and guilty about whatI was enjoying. I wanted to stay inGermany and felt even more guilty about those feelings. When I came back to Malawi, I was struck withgrief and confusion and was not myself. It took a few days, a handful of pep talks from my friends here andfinally after consuming a large amount of German chocolate I smuggled intoMalawi, I am back to myself.

I think there is always a degree of transition when leaving one culture andgoing back to another. Plus, it’sdifficult to balance your life. Malawians will never truly understand me and at times, that makes mefeel lonely. Family and friends backhome can never truly understand my life in Malawi and that frustrates me. I feel like I will never be at peace with mytwo lives – always in limbo. I amstarting to understand this and I am trying to just appreciate each day as itcomes to me. Whether I am in Malawi,Germany, America or Thailand, I will always face this sense of not trulybelonging somewhere, but it won’t stop me from traveling as much as I possiblycan. I got the travel fever and the onlyprescription is more cowbell – er, traveling.

Peace Corps’ 50th Anniversary was in 2011 – I am excited to be apart of Peace Corps’ 50th year and I can’t help but appreciate thosevolunteers who served before me – especially in the first few years when PeaceCorps had no idea what they were really getting into. Cheers to 50 more years!

So you want to make your own wine, but you don’t own a vineyard?

Ingredients:Fruit or flavorings (amount vary – see below)4 kilograms sugar9 tablespoons of yeast (Brewer’s yeast is best, but baking yeast works too)½ cup strong tea1 liter Sobo (any flavor)Water

Materials:Two 20-liter plastic buckets with lidsOne bandana or similar piece of cloth

Bottling Materials (Optional):18-20 old booze bottles18-20 small squares cut from plastic bags18-20 rubber bandsFunnel

Instructions:Determine what you want your flavor your wine with. Almost any fruit oredible herb will work. The amount variesfor the type of flavoring you have chosen. Large fruits, such as mangoes, guavas, or bananas will take about 20individual fruits. Smaller things likemint leaves, lemon grass or chidede will take about 8 loosely packed cups. There are no set rules for thesemeasurements, so play around with them as much as you like. For large fruits, cut them into smallerpieces or mash them up a bit. For thingslike mint, bruise the leaves so that the flavor will be released.

1) Dissolve the 4 kgs of sugar with warm water in a clean plastic bucket2) Add the flavorings that you have decided on3) Add ½ cup of strong tea (this adds tannin that helps mellow the wine)4) Fill the bucket within 2-4 inches of the rim with warm water (leave roomfor foam)5) Sprinkle the 9 tablespoons of yeast on the surface of the water (stir in ifdesired)6) Cover and leave for 7-10 days7) Strain contents through CLEAN cloth into second CLEAN bucket to removesolids8) Leave for another 7-10 days and it’s ready for drinking

Bottling Option1) Take the finished product and funnel into clean old booze bottles2) DO NOT CAP! Fermentation is still taking place and the bottles will explode3) Seal the mouth of jars with plastic squares and rubber bands. This will allow room for expansion

So far I have made papaya, banana and lemon grass wine. Delicious! Play around with flavors and enjoy!

My motherboard crashed – ooh no!

Special thanks to…

Stefan for taking my computer to the computer guys for diagnosis andsalvaging my photos and videos of Malawi!

Dee for the new computer! It’slovely and fresh and thank you, thank you, thank you!

Dad for the hard drive to back it all up! Let’s hope this doesn’t happen again, but Dad always has the pre-problemsolution.

John for receiving my wild anti-technology e-mails with a smile (at least Ihope you’re smiling – you could be rolling your eyes)!

And now I’m back and blogging and life is good again! Gotta catch up…

A brief, two-week, fun-filled holiday to Germany turned into quite an emotional journey as well. For one, automatic soap dispensers blew my mind. I forgot those existed and had no idea how to operate one in the airport (Kathi, you are so awkward! I know...). For another, I had plenty of time to do some evaluation of my experience thus far. Stepping out of Malawi and into a world more familiar made me realize how much I have changed.

Yet, the world I entered was not so familiar anymore. For instance, it's Germany, not America, but it is a world of many amenities. What? I don't have to wait on the side of the road for three hours to get to a grocery store? No rice and beans for two whole weeks?! Pizza and doner kebabs and schnitzel and chocolate and beer and wine at my disposal?!?!

However, I could sense myself comparing everything to Malawi. I referred to prices in kwacha, not euros. I told stories of my failures (there seems to be a lot more than I remember) and accomplishments (a lot fewer than I would expect) and at the same time trying not to bore everyone with my new life - my new life that I barely fit into and my old one that I can barely recognize. Limbo. Always in limbo.

The worst part is that I was surrounded by people who love me (Kathi, you're crazy! I know...). It was overwhelming. They love me and don't care about my failures and praise my mini accomplishments and not once did they demand that I loan them something and then not return it or ask for an obscene amount of money because obviously I am rich (okay, these things happens quite a bit in Malawi. I don't hold grudges and I understand the culture behind it - it's just exhausting to be seen as a dollar sign). They never stared or pointed or chased me around calling me azungu. They comforted me when I had my minor emotional moments when I got quiet and pensive and then sad and finally hungry.

We laughed. We played Uno. We played Apples to Apples. We drank schnapps when our tummies hurt after too much food. We swam in warm waters, visited Christmas markets and watched the final Harry Potter (YES!). Breakfasts of hard rolls and deli meat, whiskey tasting and visited castles on the Rein. Giant cheeseburgers danced in my head followed by beer by the liter. Gluwein, schnitzel and currywurst will tempt me in my dreams for the next 16 months and I can only hope that the chilly days I spent in Germany will stay with me for a little while as I drown in my own sweat on my concrete floor in my house. Thank you, thank you for everything. I love you so very much. I am lucky, blessed and spoiled.

And here I am in the Ethiopian airport, still saddened by my good-byes in Germany to my amazing and supportive family. I am struggling to get pumped for my arrival in Malawi (in about 4 short hours) but I might need some coffee or liquid sunshine or sleep before I can feel anything else.

For the record - I am not about to ET on anybody, so don't be getting any ideas. I am just reflecting. I am so very happy and grateful for the time I got to spend in Germany - it was too short! It was much needed (although I didn't know it before I left) and I am thinking this return to Malawi will be a time of rejuvenation - not a time of sadness (although I feel sad now...probably because I had to say good-bye all over again - I hate saying good-bye).

So, cheers to me cheering up for some new and exciting adventures in Malawi. *deep breath* Okay, I'm ready. Let's do this.

I stumbled upon a blog that my dear friend Shelly posted on her blog (because I like blogs) and I had to share...because I like blogs. Check it out - I hope you appreciate it as much as I do!

Stuff Expat Aid Workers Like

Hello, 2012!

2011 was very good to me, so you better be ready to live up to its standards. Some say the world is going to end....can you please make sure that doesn't happen? I'm not ready yet - I still have big plans for my village. And can you provide me rain (not chickens) to take care of my garden? Thanks, buddy.

As for my resolutions...

I want to give up biting my nails. Yeah, that one has been going on for the past twenty odd years, but really...I'm sure it is causing me to get worms in the first place. Gross.

Also, I want to run way more than I have been (that hiatus lasted too long). Running not just to lose that nsima weight, but because this is the only time in my life where I have unlimited time in my life. There's no excuse (besides 100 degree temperatures) why I haven't been running these past three months.

Read Harry Potter. Finally saw the last movie - it's about time I read behind the scenes.

Write more! Letters and journaling - I have been slacking. Actually come to think of it, hot season has been productively challenged. Come on, I grew up in Florida (the land of air conditioning) - you would think I could handle this a bit better.

Be a badass teacher. 'Nuff said.

Get my gardens growing all over Dwambazi...the seeds have been planted - just need some love and encouragement.

Focus. Sometimes I'm a fruit loop wanting to do everything. Focus, focus, Kathi! AND take advantage of every opportunity.

Spend more time traveling to see friends. They are good for me. Sometimes I forget and soak up my site rat lifestyle with too much gust.

However, allow for fewer visitors. Sometimes they tend to camp out and I don't get to spend time with my village (damn electricity!)

Stay positive, happy and healthy. Done.

Alright, 2012....bring it!

Just sharing an interesting podcast with you about gossip in Malawi. I highly recommend you listen!

Today is the last day of 2011 and I must say that this year has been very good to me. Looking back at this roller coaster of an experience, I can only be grateful for my friends and family for their constant love and support. I appreciate you giving me strength and encouragement when I needed it the most.

As for my newly acquired friends, I cannot express enough how happy I am to know you. You are my immediate support and I am lucky to have you nearby to relay my crazy stories that no one else can understand.

My apologies to those who had to spend time with me in the first few months of 2011 - you know what I am talking about - those two months prior to my departure where I was going crazy and questioning my decision and scared to death to move across the world...guess what? I am alive and well and completely in love with my life here and now I am just laughing at my silliness.

So cheers to 2011 (pando!) and bring it on 2012 - I'm ready for you!

Peace and love to everyone every where.

My friends! My fans! I am sorry to say my computer has failed me - it

no longer turns on even though I pushed the button & then pushed many

buttons & then removed the battery & finally yelled curses at it. I

will have to wait a few weeks to have a guru check it out. In the

meantime, know that I am concocting some fantastic updates and have

experienced some hilarious blog-worthy moments. I apologize to my

public. Thank you for your continued support & have a happy holiday

with your loved ones!

As you may recall, I had a run-in with my Malaria prophylaxis(hallucinations, irritability, insomnia). Well I recently switched toDoxycycline, a drug taken once per day (which makes it easy to forget, comparedto once per week with Mefloquine) and the side effects include: YOU WILL BEHOTTER.

No, not as in temperature-wise (dummy) but as in you will become far more attractive on this anti-malaria pill. Itwill clear up your acne that you have had since you were twelve years old (myskin genetics have not worked in my favor for most of my life), but it willmake you more susceptible to sun burns (or, in my case, a lovely bronze, thanksto that Native American gene). Not only am I Malaria-free, but I am gorgeousand I am less crazy (I don’t hallucinate anymore)! Thus, I am quite the catch. (Obviously I amnot stupid, I wear sunscreen on this continent. I am just saying, I have a glowabout me).

Bottom line: Doxy is a delight.

www.peacecorpsmalawi.orgOn 9/1/11, Kathi Ackerman <kathiackerman@gmail.com> wrote:

> Since the recent advent of my bwana phone purchase and the convenience

> of electricity, I have set up a Twitter account to fill you in on the

> happenings in Malawi in real-time (in 140 characters or less). You can

> follow me @AnyaChirwa (Anya Chirwa is my Tonga name given to me by my

> village). Enjoy my summation of Peace Corps life!

>

This recipe is being passed around (starting with Jay who received it fromsomeone back home) and it is quite a delight.

¼ cup honey¼ cup peanut butter3 tablespoons soy sauce2 tablespoons oil2 tablespoons garlic1 teaspoon gingerCrushed pepper

Great Asian dipping sauce!

Malawians don’t wear their emotions on their sleeves (or whatever theexpression is). They let you know loud and clear how they feel with sounds. Ihave compiled a short list of my favorites and I must say that I have startedusing these as well. I can’t help but wonder how these will be received when Icome back home.

Odie – This is used to let someone know you are at their house. We don’tknock here. Well, actually I have conditioned my neighbors to knock on my doorbecause I refuse to answer an “odie”. They are pretty okay with me changingthings up.

ooooOOOOOoooooo – This sound is the sound of realization. (When the “o”gets bigger, that means the voice goes up an octave and gets louder). It’sacknowledging that something is understood, loud and clear.

An example of its use: When you tell your neighbor the reason you aresweating so much is because you have been waiting on the side of the road forthree hours waiting for transport, but there is none because there is a fuelcrisis: “ooooOOOOOOooooooo”

Eeee – This sound is almost a shriek and always has the same pitch, nomatter who uses it. If you closed your eyes in a room full of Malawians and onemade this sound, you could easily think that anyone of them made it. It’sfunniest when a man uses it. It is used when something is shocking or ifsomeone feels sorry for you.

An example of its use: You tell your neighbor you paid 2500 Malawian Kwachafor a charcoal stove when it should have been 400 Malawian Kwacha: “Eeeeeeeee!”

Ah-ah – This is the sound of astonishment or disgust. It’s a short “ah”and”ah” and it’s used as a “oh no you didn’t!” sort of a response.

An example of its use: Your neighbor tells you to go take a bathe (okay,this is a very personal example) and you show her the bottom of your foot totell her it’s not that dirty, but oh wait, it’s very dirty indeed: “ah-ah!”

Ahahahahaha eeeeeeeee – This is my favorite. This is typically used by agroup of women who are chatting and they use it in unison. One of them sayssomething hilarious and then everyone laughs heartily and ends with the “eeeee”at the end, as if to sigh after all that hearty laughter.

Example of its use: The crazy foreigner came over to the house to chat, butobviously doesn’t know Chitonga well enough to make a significant contributionto the conversation so she straps your newborn on her back and starts dancingaround the compound. You say something to the others in Chitonga…something tothe effect of ‘She is such a weirdo’: everyone in unison responds,“ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha eeeeeeeeeeeeeee”

Yes, your dog and I have something in common.

Well, we did a few weeks ago. During IST, I was suffering from somegastrointestinal discomfort. Not uncommon here, but the pain lasted for weeks.I thought maybe it was a change in diet or perhaps a stubborn gas bubble thatjust would not burst. The pain would come and go without rhyme or reason.One time when I was giving a presentation, I doubled over in pain. It feltas if something was trying to birth itself from my chest. I finally talked to afriend who said she had the same problem (I will keep her anonymous, as noteveryone is proud of acquiring weird like I am) and she said she had worms.They went away on their own, but the doctor did give her a de-wormer just to besure.

So I went to the Peace Corps docs and took a blood test. They said it didindeed sound like worms and they should go away on their own.

After another week of pain, nausea and loss of appetite, I finally went tomy hospital (literally 50 yards from my house) and picked up some de-wormer.Within 48 hours the discomfort was gone and I am back in business.

Some words for the wary…

Getting worms can happen to anyone. Don’t be a victim. Make sure you washyour food before cooking it and drink clean water. Even with the necessaryprecautions, you can be targeted by these heinous creatures who will only makeyou slightly miserable until they die.

I survived and so can you. With the help of a de-wormer called Albendazole.Together, we can take down crime and cure the worms.

Jam can be made from almost any fruit. Since my neighbor had a stalk of bananas, almost too ripe, I took the opportunity to make some banana jam - which is awesome on peanut butter sandwhiches.

1) Wash fruit. (Unnecessary with bananas, really). Place in a large pot and just cover with water. Boil whole until fruit is very soft and remove seeds and stems (also unnecessary with bananas). Replace fruit back in original water which may or may not need to be strained first, depending on stems and foreign matter.

2) Measure contents of the boiled fruit liquid. For each portion of fruit liquid, you need to add one proportion sugar. For example: 10 cups of banana liquid requires 10 cups of sugar (yeah, my heart is pumping just thinking about the rush I'm going to get eating this delicious treat).

3) For each cup of sugar and juice, add juice of a small lemon or 1/2 large lemon. Be sure to remove seeds before adding this. (PLEASE NOTE: Lemon is not required, this is the pectin method, which I used, since lemons were available. If lemons were not available, then you would just boil the liquid longer, waiting for it to be 2/3 of the original volume).

4) Boil until setting point (SETTING POINT: take a tablespoon of the liquid, let it cool by blowing, etc. If its consistency becomes thick and has a "skin" and forms a firmish ball when dropped on a plate, boil for a few minutes longer (just to be sure) and remove from heat) and bottle immediately.

I promise you, it's delicious.

I made this! A Malawian specialty...

1 small pumpkin, sweet potato, cassava or green bananas (I used sweet potato, 'cause that's what was at my market in the vill)1 1/2 cups groundnut floursalt to taste3 cups water(I also added some greens because they were in my kitchen, waiting to be used for something)

Prepare vegetables by cutting into large, bite-sized pieces and boiling until just tender. Add groundnut flour and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes. Serve with rice or nsima (I served with tortilla bread and I also added like 4 teaspoons of curry powder).

I have a huge favor - please humor me - I want to show my students the U.S.(yes, all of it) but pulling up pictures from Google and projecting them on alarge screen is not something easily done here. So, if you are feeling bored,generous, spunky or just want to show some sweet Malawian kids a little sliceof America, please send me a post card (either from your town or a city you arevisiting or whatever) to:

Kathi AckermanP.O. Box 99ChinthecheMalawiCentral Africa

Thanks, I really appreciate it. This should be a fun project and I willdefinitely let you know how it goes!Oh, and p.s. – please send the post card in an envelope. I know, it defeatsthe purpose of a post card, but many people have found post cards from homehung up on the walls of the post office because they find the cards to be fun,beautiful and exotic and they definitely spice up décor in the post office

I made these with Clarissa one lazy Sunday afternoon. We didn't actually get the cookies into the shape of cookies, we just ate this mixture out of the pan with our fingers.

3 tbs cocoa1/4 cup of milk2 tbs oil1 1/2 cup oats1 cup sugar1/2 tsp salt1 tsp vanilla (we substituted cinnamon)

Boil cocoa, sugar, milk, salt and oil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in oats and vanilla (This is where we stopped following directions and instead ate our way through the cookie mixture).Drop spoonfuls on a plate in a cookie shape. Let them cool and harden.

I met him on my way to GADCamp with Robert. We were in a relatively slow-moving semi truck that continuedto break down every 15 minutes. The price was right, so we didn’t hop on othertransport. Rob and I sat in the front of the cab with the driver and a handfulof brave souls sat in the darkness of the truck. The driver wasn’t haulinganything yet, so it was relatively safe for them to be in the back? Every time the truck brokedown, everyone hopped out of the truck and milled around as the driver fiddledwith the engine and belts and bolts. He knew what he was doing, this musthappen a lot.Bobby approached me with asmile. I smiled back, but mostly did not want to chat. It was taking anunreasonably long time to get to Mzuzu. He struck up a conversation, telling mehe had a vegetable business that he has been developing for the past ten years.He started off as a vegetable stand owner in the Mzuzu market and expanded to asmall shop in the center of town. He now delivers vegetables all along thelakeshore to many of the lodges and touristy spots. He goes as far as Dwangwa.

My ears perked up. Dwangwa,eh? That is just south of Dwambazi. Now it was my turn to talk. I told Bobbyabout the lack of vegetables in Dwambazi. I told him how we can only gettomatoes, onions and greens in my trading center. He shared in my horror at thelack of nutritious veggies and promised to let me know the next time he wastraveling to Dwangwa. He would bring me a bag of fresh vegetables and meet meat the road. Brilliant! My diet just improved immensely and vegetablesdelivered to my doorstep?! I usually have to go to Mzuzu (about 3 hours away)to get the produce I want.

We exchanged numbers. Isaved him in my phone as Veggie Bobby. I laughed at my habit of instantlygiving everybody a nickname upon meeting them. I showed Veggie Bobby later. Hesaid it suits him. I think so, too.

Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) is a program that was developed byPeace Corps years ago and is used in many countries around the world to empoweryoung women. Malawi started Camp GLOW in 2003 and it has been held annually bythe Health Sector of Peace Corps. I was one of the lucky few from this year’sHealth Sector able to attend. It was a privilege and honor being among Malawi’sbrightest students. These young women inspired me and it was truly the best twodays of my service so far.

I was there Friday night, which was the evening of the Talent Show. Thegirls went on stage – where they were the stars – and showed off their dances,dramatic skits, singing abilities – it was so moving. Their smiles never faded.Their energy was contagious and could have lasted all night long. It wasbeautiful.

The next day Her Excellency, the First Lady of Malawi, Callista Mutharikacame to speak to the girls. Callista has proposed several campaigns supportingwomen and child health. She told the girls about her successes and gave adviceto continue their education and to be the best people they can be. The girlssang songs to welcome the First Lady and got their photo taken with her.

That night we had a bonfire and held a candle-lighting ceremony where eachgirl could take turns saying what she learned from Camp Glow. It was verymoving. The girls were insightful and grateful and I knew they were inspired togo back home and make a difference in their community, but also sad to besaying good-byeIt was a truly awesome experience.

However, it wasn’t all roses and butterflies. At a few points, realitystruck.

One girl stepped forward and shared that she was HIV-positive. She was bornwith it and her parents were both gone. She lived with her extended family, whotreats her poorly. They continually tell her that she is not one of them andshe should be grateful that they took her in when no one else would. She knowsher life will be cut short, but she still smiles and she still strives to be astrong woman. It’s heartbreaking to see a young girl with so much potential,yet her life is cut short by a stigmatized disease she was born into. She ismaking the most of the life she has been given and I wish her the best. I knowthe week she spent at Camp Glow was one of the best she has ever had.

Another girl admitted to a counselor that she had not menstruated in amonth. She had some concerns and so we got her a pregnancy test. The test waspositive – she was pregnant. She fell the ground in tears and said her familywill not support this, they will be so disappointed. She admitted that she hadbeen dating a boy for several years, but they had never slept together. He hadbeen helping her with her school fees. When she completed her final year ofsecondary school, he felt that he was owed something in return for paying herschool fees. He gave her some Sobo (a syrupy-sweet beverage in Malawi) that shesaid tasted a little funny and soon after, she felt sleepy. He proceeded topressure her to sleep with him, but she didn’t have the energy to stop him. Herwhole future was ahead of her. It tore me up to think this girl lost so much injust one moment of another person’s selfishness. I can only hope she will findthe support from her family and raise this child to be a strong individual justlike she is and maybe she can continue her schooling after the birth.

Reality hits hard sometimes. But I am happy to be a part of an organizationthat promotes women’s empowerment the way that it does. These girls would nothave similar opportunities otherwise. I hope that this program continues togrow and we can inspire more girls to continue to strive to be the best thatthey can be.

I made this! Over a fire, no less!

1 cup flour

1/2 cup margarine

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, cream margarine and sugar. Beat in eggs. Stire in flour mixture. Pour into a greased pan and bake at 175 degrees for 30 minutes (or, in my case, heat over hot coals with a thin metal sheet over top of pan, checking occasionally at the progress and adding or eliminating heat when necessary).

So how do I get around?! Things have changed. I don’t have my [somewhat]reliable Saab waiting in the driveway. I can’t just go places on a whimanymore. I always have to calculate time for transport and usually I calculatefor worst-case scenario.

My patience is incredible. It grows steadily with each hour that I wait,standing on the side of the road for a ride. And with this fuel crisis, I amonly growing more patient. With the exception of riding my bike, transportusually consists of me walking to the road (hopefully it’s a busy one) andwaving my arm up and down to let someone know that I’m looking for a ride.

So, this is how I get around.

My sweet Peace Corps-issued Gary Fisher

This is actually my second bike. If you remember, my first bike lost a pedal15 kilometers from my house mid-pedal to Clarissa’s site. This Gary Fisher ismuch more reliable. It’s got two pedals! I really only ride to visit my sitemates or outreach clinics. I have big plans to ride to Dwangwa (the nearesttown with a real grocery store) but it might be a long ride. I could do it. Iwill do it before my service is over. Plan.

Mini Bus

Probably my least favorite option and usually overlooked unless I amcompletely desperate. Mini buses should seat 18, but there are typically morecrammed in. When it comes to transport in Malawi, there is always room for onemore. It’s the size of a large mini van with bench seats. The mini bus stopsoften. Sometimes it also only goes half-way to your destination and makes youget off and get on a different mini-bus. They never tell you when they aredoing this. Sometimes when they stop at a trading center, they will sit andwait for 20-30 minutes. I don’t know what they are waiting for – more patrons?Maybe. Or maybe they just want to irritate me. It is not uncommon to havesomeone’s elbow in your side, a baby on your lap and a rooster giving you theevil eye. Uncomfortable, hot and smelly. No fixed prices, but you can bargaindown. Honestly though, no fun.

Coaster

A slightly better option than the mini-bus. But only slightly. It’s thesize of a “short-bus” from the school days. The seats are somewhat roomier andyou can cram more people in. It’s mostly just slightly easier to get in and outof a Coaster. Coasters are not as common as mini-buses.

Bus

A bus – a real bus – is a nice option. Sometimes. It’s usually reasonablycheap since the prices are fixed.. However, they stop often. And when they stopat roadblocks in the road, usually the passengers have to get off the bus.There are some early options that leave my village (at 4am) so you can get toyour destination relatively quickly. If you get a seat, lucky you. There isstanding room, but they tend to cram a lot of standers if possible. Dogs arenot allowed on a big bus, though. However, roosters, goats, and chickens areallowed. I asked a conductor why this is and he said it was because you can’teat dog. I told him I ate dog, but he dismissed me.

Matola

Not a bad option – you ride in the bed of a truck and there is no fixedrate. A man sits in the bed of the truck collecting money. Sometimes theyhaggle you because they know you are a forgeiner and think you have money.Sometimes matolas can get loaded (this is actually preferable for the matoladriver because he wants money) – I’ve had to stand in the bed of a truckbefore. Just the other day there were 25 people in the back of my matola withme. They can pack on luggage and people like you wouldn’t believe. It’spreferred over a mini bus because even if you have someone’s elbow in your sideand a baby on your lap, you have the breeze. Excellent during the hot season.

Bike Taxi

Sometimes frightening, but sometimes necessary – you ride on the back ofsomeone’s bike. There’s a padded cushion, which is classy. Usually relativelycheap and sometimes a beautiful way to go when you are on your way to the bankthrough the Dwangwa sugar plantation. But, you are riding behind someone on abike. The roads can be bumpy, sometimes the pedaler will make you get off towalk the bike up a hill, and sometimes sitting behind someone in the heat ofthe day can result in a smelly and sweaty interaction. Slightly unpleasant, butnot always horrible.

Hitch

The all-time, preferred way to go. It’s free, sometimes there is airconditioning, you meet really interesting people (sometimes you network alittle) and you get there fast. Hitching is not a negative thing in Malawi.It’s pretty safe (probably safer than a matola – I’ve had plenty of friendsalmost fall out of those things) and usually the driver speaks English so theconversation is pretty good.

That’s how I get places. I’m actually going to miss being able to flagsomebody down when I need a ride someplace. But I won’t miss the waiting part.

These are my woes:

being wide-awake when I should be fast-asleep

then falling asleep only to be trapped in a horrible, ridiculous dream thatcauses great distress

and when I finally do wake up, I don’t want to go back to sleep.

It’s the worst.

Mefloquine (“Mef” for short) is an anti-malaria drug. This is the Cliff’sNotes version of how it works:A malaria-infecteed mosquito will bite you and insert the virus into yourbody. The virus goes to the liver and hangs out there for a while until youstart feeling Malaria symptoms (high fever, fatigue – flu-like, but worse). Theidea of this prophylaxis is that it will keep the malaria that is alreadyswimming around in my blood dormant. So yes, I have malaria but as long as Itake this medication, I will not experience symptoms (It is expected that Icontinue taking my prophylaxis until well-after I return home to be sure thevirus doesn’t affect me upon completion of my service).

Mefloquine is pretty potent stuff. It’s half-life is 21 days. It’spreferred by Peace Corps because (they say) volunteers who take Mefloquine willNOT get malaria, whereas those volunteers who take another prophylaxis (Doxy orMalarone) are are more likely to get malaria because they will forget a dose(where the half-life is only 1 day). The side effects of Mef are ridiculous –enough to make you wonder: maybe malariaisn’t so bad, compared to this? Of course, I’m not curious enough to findout.

The side effects include: vivid (sometimes sensual, sometimes violent)dreams, hallucinations, insomnia, mood swings (to name a few).

I have experienced all of these. Insomnia affects me most nights (to thepoint where I sleep in shifts throughout the day/night). I am quick toexperience anger and frustration for what seems like no reason. Vivid dreams donot seem so awful, but after dreaming that I brutally murdered people (and Iknew it was just a dream, I tried to wake myself up from sleep, but I couldn’t.It was like I had to play the murders through – like a movie, where I wasn’tallowed to leave the theater) made me sick to my stomach and, quite frankly,scared the bejesus out of me. Insomnia is actual preferable in some bad dreamcases. Hallucinating is the scariest side effect – not only are you seeingsomething that isn’t real, you can’t escape it. You can’t just close your eyesand it will disappear. It will be there until your mind allows it to leave.

I am supposed to take one 250mg pill each week. The real dosage is one pillevery three weeks, but some people (Peace Corps headquarters) think that itwould be easy to forget a pill if it is taken so infrequently. So, I’m poppingthese bad boys weekly and I can only wonder how that affects the side effectsthat I am experiencing.

At any rate, I have already spoken to the Peace Corps Malawi doctors aboutswitching to another drug. For now, I am reducing my dose (breaking the pill inhalf). If side effects persist, I’m going to have to switch to a differentdrug.

Just giving you the inside scoop on anti-malaria drugs – I’m sure you are abetter person for knowing this tid-bit of information.

In Malawi, funerals are quite common. There is a highHIV/AIDS rate, diseases are often caught when it’s too late and transport isnot always reliable to a hospital so far away. There are many protocols thatone must follow in case of a funeral. For one, you cannot work on the day of afuneral. If you do, the chief will fine you a goat. Funerals last all day andeveryone will attend a service, whether or not they knew the person who passedaway. The funeral is set at the deceased person’s house and sometimes they haveto cut down trees to make room for all the people who will attend the funeral.The body is set out for viewing so people can pay their respects. The familygrieves near the body (rather loudly – the louder and more exaggerated theymoan, the more you know that they miss the person). During a funeral service,it is expected that you give money to the deceased’s family. After the moneyhas been collected, everyone sits around to listen to how much each person gaveto the family. This can last several hours if the person who died was prominentin the community. After the service, everyone walks to the graveyard together,singing songs and grieving loudly. There are some variations, of course,depending on one’s religious beliefs.

The other day I made a serious cultural blunder.

So with all these traditions, there is one that I forgot.During my cultural training at the beginning of Peace Corps, I learned thatwhen a pile of tree branches are found on the ground along a path or road, thatmeans there is a funeral. People are expected to remove caps, walk their bikesand slow any vehicles until they see another set of tree branches on theground. After the second set of branches, you can go on your way. The other dayI was riding my bike. I was going pretty fast, as I was running late for ameeting. I usually greet everyone I ride by (as it is considered rude not togreet people when you pass them) but when I greeted a group of people along theside of the road, they did not respond and they did not smile. I thought thatwas odd. Malawians are always smiling and they are always surprised to hear aforeigner speak Chitonga. As I pedaled away faster, someone along the roadcalled out my name. I stopped my bike and said hello to a man who works at thehospital. He asked me where I was rushing and why did I have no respect for thedead. I was confused at first and then I turned back and saw the tree branches.I just offended everyone in that community and I felt awful – especially sinceI knew the rule about walking your bike. I just did not notice the branches.This was a huge lesson – I need to be more observant and stop being is such arush. Luckily, it is forgivable, since I am not from here. But I did hear storiesabout another volunteer where he was chased down and pushed off his bike by agroup of Malawians because he did not walk his bike at a funeral. I definitelydo not want to be chased out of my village.

Will the cultural blunders ever cease? Oh, but the fun that ensues…

1/2 cup flour1/2 tsp salt1 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal1/4 water1 tsp baking powder1 egg1 1/2 cup milk2 tsp margarine or oil

Combine dry ingredients. Add egg, oatmeal, milk water and margarine. Mix well, batter will be lumpy. Cook on medium heat about 2-3 minutes on each side. (I only eat my pancakes burned, but gooey in the middle - reminds me of Saturday mornings in the summer with Grandma and Grandpa Gibbs)

August 3, 2011

I saw my first black mamba. I have the heebie jeebies just thinking aboutit. I was walking home from the market, minding my own business, feeling prettygood, when I saw a nicely dressed man pick up a large stick and whack away atthe tall grass. After three whacks, he lifted the three foot mamba up and outof the weeds. It was limp – dead. But I didn’t stick around for long. I keptlooking over my shoulder as I speed-walked outta there. I even crept into myhouse, just in case there was one waiting to attack me in my living room. Yes,that’s how scared I am of snakes.

August 8, 2011

Don’t ask what the world needs.Ask: WHAT MAKES YOU COME ALIVE?The world needs people who come alive.

August 9, 2011

Camp Glow was unbelievably inspirational. I felt uplifted, renewed andalive. For a few short days, I realized the beauty and strength of 80 youngMalawian women. It was blissful and I honestly sat in amazement watching thesegirls perform, give speeches, dance and laugh.

Shelly was a huge part of this experience as well. She always seems to finda way to save me from my stressed-out self. She helps me work through all mytroubles. I am truly lucky to have her. This trip, although stressful in itsown way (it took two days to get to Dowa – including a long morning inLilongwe), was rejuvenating. I went back to site ready to dive into my lifehere in Dwambazi. It’s crazy to think about what inspires you – it’s really thelittle things.

August 10, 2011

There hasn’t been water in the taps for days, so it’s necessary to go tothe borehole with empty buckets. Carrying water back from the borehole isexhausting and consumes most of my day. I finally caved and asked a couple ofgirls to help me out.

Well, it’s obvious I need to improve on my language skills. Or at least getenough confidence to not get ripped off. I intended to pay 10 kwacha for eachbucket of water a couple of girls carried for me. Somehow I got swindled intopaying 100 kwacha for only two buckets. Where did I go wrong? I don’t know, itall happened so fast.

Anyway, long story short, I was in a bad mood. So when Ama Chimbutu askedme for 50 kwacha, I flipped. I’m not made of money! After a 20 minuteexplanation, I learned that the money was being collected from all the stafffor a gift for the staff members who would be leaving at the end of the month.Good job, way to make friends, Anya Chirwa.

August 16, 2011

I think I’m a better person in Malawi. I recycle everything. In fact,before I finish a jar of peanut butter I have already compiled a list of thingsI can use the jar for. There are always at least two uses of each bucket ofwater that I use. After laundry, I water the plants. When I bathe, an emptybucket catches excess water from going down the drain and I use this to mop. Iam learning to cook (sans microwave). I eat homemade meals every day (I try tobe well-balanced, but starch seems to be a huge component – working on eatinghealthier starches). I am attempting a garden to improve my diet. I walk orbike to most places that are local (biking up to 20k – maybe more in the future– still out of shape). I am reading more books for pleasure, which hasn’t beendone at this consistent level since middle school. And, I am learning newthings every day.

Wow, I’m kinda awesome. High five.

August 17, 2011

Very unproductive day today. I didn’t even venture out of my house. I thinkI just needed some peace. However, my house is a mess. My neighbors probablythink I am being rude and/or not home. But I feel okay today. Just me in mynyumba. Tomorrow can be productive.

August 18, 2011

ESCOM graced me with their presence yesterday, so guess who has power? Thisgirl. Well, I have five units of power. These meters they installed in myvillage are brand new. They are pre-paid, so I have to go to Mzuzu, guess howmuch power I am going to need for the month (or until the next time I go to thecity – usually monthly), I receive a code and then I take it home to punch intomy meter.

Feeling very bwana with my internet phone and electricity.

I’ve been walking around with the women in my village to meet new staffmembers. We bring them maize flour and chat briefly with them in Chichewa(which I don’t know how to speak, but it’s okay, I just introduce myself andsmile – it works). Even though I don’t understand half of what they say, it’sreally nice to be included. I feel such a strong sense of community. I’ve feltit since Day 1. I’m really lucky.

Also, I love Ama Chimbutu’s candor. As we were walking and chatting, shepaused briefly (in step, not in words), spread her legs, urinated right thereon the side of the path and then continued walking.

August 19, 2011

I had talked to many other volunteers to get their take on “integration” (aPeace Corps buzzword). Stacey is the one who kicked my butt into gear. I wasdoubting some of the tools that Peace Corps gave us – I couldn’t see how they wouldhelp me get the answers I needed - but Stacey insisted that they were awesomeand extremely helpful. I took her word for it and worked my way through thecommunity, getting answers, kicking ass and taking names (okay, not so much thelast part, but I felt as successful as kicking ass and taking names).

I have been meeting with the HSAs (Health Surveillance Assistants – they gointo the villages within Dwambazi catchment area to address issues and bringhealth services to those areas far from the hospital). I’m not sure why Ididn’t do this sooner…? Maybe I was lazy or just biding time, soaking up theMalawian sun, reading mad books. Maybe I was intimidated – didn’t want to stepon any toes or come off as a know-it-all to these people who have been workingwith the hospital for years.

In any case, I have meeting with these HSAs individually and getting somuch out of our conversations. I’m learning a lot about Dwamabazi and I feel agreat deal of support from everyone. I should have been doing this a long timeago. I should be more confident, as we are on the same side. That’s why I’mhere.

August 27, 2011

The past two days have been super productive. I needed some inspirado, so Irearranged my house. The water came back on after nearly two weeks, so I wasable to super-clean. It felt good to put everything in order.

The hospital staff and wives of hospital staff have put together a women’sgroup that gets together to welcome new staff, visit family members of sickstaff and grieves when someone loses someone in their life (which happens quitefrequently here). We deliver maize flour and cook meals when it is necessaryand helpful. The group is led by Ama Chimbutu (of course, that woman could leadan army) and their meetings have been extremely productive.

After holding try-outs for a counterpart to bring to In-Service Training(IST), I finally found a lovely, eager, dedicated woman named Tryvas. She isexcited to work with me so I hope everything goes well next month. I reallywanted to bring a woman (In a country where few opportunities exist for women,I think it’s important to give this young woman the experience) and an CBDA(community-based development assistant) who would really get a lot out of thisexperience. Tryvas is it.

I was super successful in the transport department as I took a quick run toMzuzu to stock up on supplies. I got there and back for free! A total of 5hitches. It’s amazing to find that sort of transport on the M5 – it’s not acommonly driven road – and there is a fuel crisis! Feelin’ lucky.

On my way to Mzuzu, I went to visit my friend Christian in Nkhata Bay andmeet our newly acquired Tonga, Melissa. It was a great day, sipping beers onthe dock of the bay and chatting. I’m really excited to have a new friend notso far away and it’s always nice to hang out with Christian, a fellow BalWashresident. As we were waiting on the side of the road for transport for Melissa,a dog urinated on me. No warning. No rhyme or reason. He just came up, liftedhis leg, and that was that. Luckily we were at the lake so I could wash off. But seriously…really?!

On my way home from Mzuzu, in Chintheche, I met a man who was HIV positive.He told me about the ARVs he is taking and how he always feels sick. He pulledthe pills from his pocket to show me that he always carries them with him – heis diligent about his medication. Yet another moment of helplessness as a PCV.I advised him to talk to medical staff at his hospital to see if there areother medications to help with the nausea. I told him that honestly there wasnothing I could do to help – as I’m not medically qualified to give outmedication. But, unfortunately, even telling him this, I knew that there isvery little the hospital can do. Health Centers already have limited medicalsupplies and staff. It’s just an unfortunate circumstance that I cannot do muchabout. Helpless.

My neighbors are incredible. Have I mentioned this before? Well I willmention it again and again, I’m sure. Have I thanked them enough? Yesterday,Benard came over and I briefly mentioned that I wanted to go to the market thatday to buy a winnowing basket. Literally ten minutes after he left, a boy cameup selling the exact basket that I needed for 160 kwacha – 100 kwacha cheaperthan what I paid in Mzuzu. I asked how he knew I wanted the basket and hepointed at Benard’s house.

Then Ethel came over to wash the charred part of my pots so that I couldcook on my newly purchased stove with clean pots (they are charred from thefire – I admit, I get lazy when it comes to scrubbing the charred pots. Itentails scrubbing with sandy soil and then washing off the dirt and grime – notmy favorite chore). I tried to stop her, to tell her I was embarrassed she knewabout my dirty pots, but she would not listen, “just this one time, please, letme do this” she said with a smile and a little run out of my house, two pots inhand. She came back with the pots shiny and new and a lecture about how Ishouldn’t let them get that bad again. I am spoiled.

August 28, 2011

My BWANA lifestyle is on hold – the water stopped coming from the tap (Iknew it was too good to be true – luckily I mopped and washed all my clothesand dishes the day before) and the electricity is off, which means I shouldprobably go out and start my charcoal stove pretty soon.

I started my garden. And by “started my garden” I mean that I planted apineapple. It’s supposedly very easy to grow pineapple – it’s a hearty fruit.Let’s hope I keep it alive! I simply cut off the spiky part, with about an inchof the fruit at the bottom. I buried the fruit part and watered it. It’s apretty plant either way – the flowers that will grow on it are gorgeous andtropical, but it would be nice if I got a least one fruit from it while I’mhere. It’s supposed to grow a fruit after one year so maybe I will get lucky.If not, the person who takes my house will have a tasty treat soon enough.

August 29, 2011

Some anxiety has built up – can’t pin-point the culprit, but I’m lookingforward to IST with Mary, Shelly and Ellie (my Southern friends are just toofar away). Counting the positives – like saving a bunch of money from my luckyhitching extravaganza to Mzuzu.

Baby weighing was disastrous today. The scale was missing and amas do nothave patience. They were angry with me, some even left. I didn’t have thelanguage to tell them to stay calm, it will be found, I’m sure. To relax, I made myself some badass veggie egg rolls – which are easier tomake than I expected. I surprise myself every day. Continuing my four daycleaning streak. My vil has noted that I haven’t been around, so hopefully Iget a lot done today so I can say my hellos the rest of the week.

I met the other Life Skills teacher at Dwambazi Secondary. Apparently Iwill have 50 Form 1 students. He wants to share notes, which I am more thanhappy to do. Also looking into classroom management techniques. Teenagers allday?! Oy vey.

August 30, 2011

I am disappointed that my village got electricity. In the middle of theafternoon I went to chat with my neighbors and they were too busy watchingNigerian soap operas. I decided to take a walk with my camera. Slightly awkwardto be a tourist in your own neighborhood, but my vil was eager to participatein my shenanigans. They usually are. I walked down the M5 and sure enough,everyone wanted to know where I was going and why? The kids in the villagefollowed me, eagerly posing for photos and helping me with my Tonga. I walkeddown to Dwambazi River, half-looking for crocodiles, but mostly looking for arunning path. Jackpot! On the running path, not the crocs. I’m seriouslyconsidering a marathon while I’m here. And why not? I have plenty of time totrain.

August 31, 2011

It’s fire season: where they burn the dead crops to get ready for plantingseason. Not very good for the environment and awful for the cleanliness of myhouse. The ash finds its way through the roof and litters my house. I haveswept four times today.

A three-year old urinated on me today. And just a few weeks ago that dogdid the same. What is up with all this urination? Am I target?!

Shout-out to Mr. and Mrs. Neilson - thanks for reading my blog! That's really cool, but quite embarrassing. I really only thought my family was keeping track of me (and they know I'm nuts) but then I realized the Internet is a heck of a way to stay anonymous (so really, everyone knows I have a little bit of the crazy in me).

Stacey is a part of my Tonga family - she keeps me going when the going gets tough. And her love for Doug is beautiful and inspiring. I'm so excited for the next 20 months!

Keep reading, my dedicated readers...

USAID, in coordination with Barack Obama, set up a mosquito netdistribution program. They started along the lakeshore, where Malaria is mostprevalent and mosquito nets are the most needed. The idea was for everyhospital in each district to conduct a survey to determine how many nets wouldbe needed in each household. I attended a meeting at the Nkhotakota DistrictHospital to learn more and represent Peace Corps.

At the meeting, I learned the initial count was 80,000 nets were needed.When a second count was conducted, 160,000 nets were needed. Where did theadditional 80,000 nets come from? The HSAs made up excuses.

Maybe pregnant women had delivered their babies? The population growth in Malawi isastounding, but 80,000 babies? Not plausible.

Maybe people moved to Nkhotakota since the last count? 80,000 people foundthe real estate in Nkhotakota to be that charming? Probably not.

The excuses continued. I was bewildered. It was the Friday before the bigweek of distribution and we were short 80,000 nets.

Dwambazi was scheduled for the last day of distribution – the followingFriday – since we are the furthest hospital from Nkhotakota – at the border ofNkhata Bay district.

On Friday, people lined the road to the hospital, many sitting under treesfor several hours. They were anxious. One man lifted a brick (jokingly, Ithink) to throw at another man. USAID never came. I wondered if they ran out ofnets. People in the village and hospital workers turned to me as if I had theanswer. I did not.

On Monday, amid the Under-5 Clinic madness, USAID came and dropped off over8,000 nets for Dwambazi. The nets were sealed in plastic and split into twolarge piles. The HSAs calmly separated the names alphabetically and divided thevillage accordingly. In order to make this go smoothly, people sat on theground until their name was called and we handed them the number of nets theirhousehold needed. Four hours later, the nets were distributed, the HSAs were exhausted and itwas well-after lunch. It was satisfying – but only for a moment. I can onlyhope that the nets are being used for the correct purpose. Ideally, if theyare, then there will be no more Malaria cases at the hospital.

However, it is common practice (especially along the lakeshore) for peopleto sell their mosquito nets to fishermen to use to catch fish. They sell netsfor about 500 kwacha each (the nets are sold in stores for about 800 kwacha) sothat they can buy food for their families. It’s discouraging, but sometimes peoplesee what is tangible (eating for several weeks) before the benefits ofsomething that isn’t as noticeable (hanging a net over your bed – it just hangsthere and maybe you won’t get Malaria).

Malaria is the most commonly diagnosed illness – but it’s also overlydiagnosed. It’s a catch-all word. If someone is sick, they say they haveMalaria. The other day a woman told me she had had Malaria this morning, butnow she is feeling fine. However over-diagnosed it is, Malaria is a trueproblem along the lakeshore and it’s unfortunate that it is taken so lightly insome cases and in other cases, sometimes buying food for your family is moreimportant than hanging on to a net.

With this program, I am hoping to visit the homes of people who receivednets and make sure they are using them properly or make sure they even havethem at all.

I made this!

1-2 cups leftover riceNali to tasteSoy sauce2-4 eggs1 tbs oil

In a bowl, beat eggs with a fork. Add rice (about 1/2 cup per egg) and hot sauce or any other desired spices. Spoon into a hot oiled skillet and flatten to make patties. Turn once, cooking on both sides. Serve with soy sauce.

Since the recent advent of my bwana phone purchase and the convenience

of electricity, I have set up a Twitter account to fill you in on the

happenings in Malawi in real-time (in 140 characters or less). You can

follow me @AnyaChirwa (Anya Chirwa is my Tonga name given to me by my

village). Enjoy my summation of Peace Corps life!

I made this! Tasted just like take-out!

1 onion, chopped1 green pepper, diced1 /2 cup carrot, chopped1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger (mine came from a shaker)2 cups cold cooked rice1 tbs soy sauce3 cloves garlic, minced1 cup cooked peas1 cup shredded cabbage2 tbs oil 2 beaten eggs

In a large skillet, saute onion, garlic, vegetables (except peas) and ginger in oil until tender. Add rice and peas, mix well. In a small bowl combine eggs and soy sauce. Make a well in the rice mixture and pour the egg mixture. Allow egg to cook until nearly dry. Then mix rice and veggies with the egg together. Cook until throughly heated.

So now that my three months are up, people are already asking me what I plan on working on while I’m here. So I will just give you a quick list of potential plans (some have been brought up by my community and hospital, some are just ideas I have), so you can be rest-assured that I am busy.

Teaching Life Skills – I will be teaching Life Skills to Form 1 (freshmen) and Form 3 (juniors) at the secondary school. School begins September 5th, so I have already started working on lesson plans. I am thinking of tweaking the curriculum – not losing any important stuff, but getting rid of irrelevant activities.

Women to Women – there is a women’s group in my village that was working with the last volunteer and they have approached me about getting together and selling tortilla chips (I will push for guacamole, as soon as avocado season comes back). They are a group of really smart, strong young women and we have met a few times, but I think I may need to give them some more inspirado to start showing up for meetings more frequently.

Luso la Manja – this is a women’s group in a village about 45 minutes from me. This project has been on-going for many years and mostly the Tongas have been helping these women with their sales and development. They make shoulder bags, messenger bags, computer cases, aprons, change purses, dolls, etc. out of chitenges and sell them. They are a fairly successful group and pretty organized, however they do not have a shop. They sell their souvenirs from a spare room in their house. So my fellow Tongas and I are hoping to help build them a shop to attract tourists and sales. I have very limited business background (I used to help my mom sell things at our yard sales during the summer), so this is a big learning process. However, this group of women are exceptionally awesome and I’m willing to help out with whatever is needed.

Hospital Garden – I am already in the works in growing a garden at the hospital with the Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit. The garden will serve as both nutritious food for the hospital to serve to its patients, as well as an educational tool in teaching villagers to incorporate more vegetables in their diet. We have some land ready to plant and we are getting a fence built to keep the goats out. I’m hoping to get some free seeds from an on-going environmental project nearby.

Two Under-5 Clinics – since Dwambazi Rural Hospital treats many patients – some walk as far 20 kilometers to get treatment – I am in the process of writing a grant proposal for the development of two clinics in the outer regions of Dwambazi. Luckily the last volunteer had built one before she left, so I still have the grant and outlined plans from her building.

Pit-Litrines – There is a village nearby that has a high number of diarrhea-related deaths. The plan is to repair poorly built pit litrines and to build new ones for families without. This will reduce the number of cases of diarrhea significantly. A grant proposal is already in the works.

Drama Club – Malawians love acting. They love drama. They love entertainment. My plan is to help promote health and HIV/AIDS awareness through a drama club. One is already formed, but they need a bit more structure. I hope to have them start writing their own scripts and acting in front of school events and at under-5 clinics.

Youth Clubs – Let’s give the kids something constructive to do. This is obviously just an idea – not sure where I am going with this.

Moringa Tree Project – This is a huge goal for me – I still need to do a lot of research and talk to my community, but I am in love with the Moringa tree and I have already started some seedlings. The moringa tree is a miracle tree Moringa is particularly appealing because of its vitality and ability to grow to 12 feet in its first year. Almost every part of the tree can be used in some way: the leaves for nutrition, the roots for medicine, the wood for firewood, the seeds for cooking oil, and live trees for agro-forestry. Moringa has also been used for animal feed, dyeing, fuel and water purification.

So that is that. I’m taking one project at a time, but I have high hopes and I seem to have a lot of support from my community. We’ll see what happens these next two years.

I made this!

1 cup uncooked rice1 chicken bouillon cube1 green pepper, chopped2 tomatoes, dicedsalt and pepper to taste2 cups water1 large onion, chopped4 cloves garlic, minced1-2 tsp Nali

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 moinutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender.

I made this! Great with tortillas!

1 cup dried beans, washed, presoaked1 large onion, chopped1 tsp salt2 tsp Mexican spices (cumin, chili powder, coriander)4 tbs oil5 large cloves garlic, minced1 tsp hot sauce

Cook beans until tender (Heck yeah, pressure cooker!), drain, and mash. Saute onions and garlic in oil until tender. Add spices and mix well. Add spice mixtureto mashed beans and mash together. Serve topped with cheese (HA! Cheese...) or in your favorite Mexican dish.

To not greet is to have poor manners. Do you want to be thought of as the rude villager? Heck no! So you have got to greet everyone. Especially agogos (elderly people) or else they will beat you. No, not really, but word spreads fast in the village, so don’t offend anyone, dummy.Directly translated:

Timoneni – (This is not directly translatable – basically it’s the first thing you say to someone you never met before)

Mwe uli? – How are you?

Magona uli? – How did you sleep?

Mayuka uli? – How did you wake?

Matandala uli? – How did you spend the day?

Typically there is a script that is followed. Depending on the time of day and one’s relationship with the individual, the previous questions need to be answered and followed up with either:

Yewu – thank you

Dawonga – I am most grateful

The dialogue somehow flows naturally into these demanding questions (again – depending on one’s relationship with the speaker – this could go on for a while) that must be answered before one can continue on his or her way.

Muluta pani? – Where are you going?

Mutuwa pani? – Where are you coming from?

Mutuliya pani? – Where did you come from (before Malawi)?

Muja pani? – Where are you staying?

Mupempha pani? – Where do you pray?

Muwirwa? – Are you married?

Chifukwa uli? – Why not?

Mwe ndi mwana? – Do you have children?

Chifukwa uli? – Why not?

Mwe nde vyaka vilinga? – How old are you?

Muwirwa cha?! – And you’re not married?!! What are you sterile? A nun? Why don’t you have a family by now?

Mugwira ntchito uli? – What is your job?

Tiwonanenge sono sono – We will meet soon…And you will be my wife…

That’s exactly how it goes, with some liberal translation that I can only guess from the person’s expressions.

Recently I spent a week in Mzuzu at GAD Camp. You are probably thinking, what in the world is a GAD? GAD stands for Gender and Development. It is an organization within Peace Corps that meets monthly to discuss programs involving (guess what?) gender and development that can be used effectively within communities. If you live in the northern region of Malawi (like I do) then you are a member of GAD. It’s as simple as that.

It’s a good way to consult with other volunteers about projects and programs – especially when you are new and you’re drawing a blank.

This was the first year of GAD Camp. It was designed for secondary school students in form 3 and form 4 (equivalent to high school juniors and seniors) to learn about their gender and development (What?! No, not really, but I did actually say that to someone when they asked what GAD Camp was and I couldn’t come up with an answer right away. Yeah, I was completely wrong and Robert reminded me that juniors and seniors in high school are pretty familiar with their genders thus far…) These students spent the week job shadowing different professions in the mornings (doctors, nurses, hair stylists, business people, paralegals, mechanics, etc.). In the afternoons we had guest speakers, field trips, and workshops (veterinarian, librarian, judge, banker, as well as learning how to write a resume or conduct a community assessment) and in the evenings, we played games (Bingu [a spin off of Bingo – we merely substituted the President of Malawi’s name for the infamous dog], Red Rover [violent and oh so fun], Bang Bang [also violent, but a huge hit], etc.)

Some of the campers had never left their villages before. Traveling to Mzuzu was a huge adventure and they had the opportunity to experience a working day. At the end of the week, it was so exciting to see how much the kids learned and to hear that they wanted to come back next year. The joy never left their faces and I think they were inspired to continue doing well in school and to take advantage of more opportunities.In an environment where few ever leave the village, we can only hope these experiences will help encourage students to look for ways to improve their lives and Malawi. There’s only so much a Peace Corps Volunteer can do and the youth in this country are the future.

Maybe a cheesy blog post, but I’m genuinely inspired by my week at GAD Camp – those kids made me smile.