While I may not have such luxuries as “indoor plumbing” or

“electricity” at my humble village home, I now have one of the latest

and greatest luxuries of all: the internet! As of last week, I’ve been

equipped with the internet thanks to the purchase of a little USB

stick that gets signal through the phone towers. Malawi’s course of

development is surely different from America’s—internet being

available in my village before electricity? I’m also reminded of this

unusual ordering of things when I see women pausing to answer their

cell phones while carrying water on their heads. Here I sit, posting

on my blog instead of starting a fire to cook my dinner (I find

different ways to procrastinate here).

A lot has happened since my last posting—beginning a third year of

teaching, traveling around Malawi, saying goodbye to my group, getting

an internet stick for internet connection. Teaching is going well. We

recently heard that our school’s pass rate was more than 60% on the

national Junior Certificate Exams. This was great news for us! The

results were announced on the radio last night, and the names of the

students who passed were all read aloud. I could hear cheers coming

from nearby houses when they heard their names called.

This year, I’m teaching Form 2, 3, and 4 physical science along with

Form 3 English literature and grammar. I start with an African literature book. It’s called Looking for a Rain God, and I just finished reading it today. It’s a collection of short stories that is giving me a little bit more

background on different cultures within Africa.

From the middle to end of September, I traveled around Malawi and said

goodbye to my friends in my group—the majority of my group is in

America now; I remain here with the few and the proud who chose to

extend. While traveling, we made it to the lake (Senga Bay is so

beautiful and relaxing, and a great place to chill and chat), Liwonde

National Park (we got so close—too close?—to elephants), and Blantyre.

In Blantyre, we went out to the movies! The movies! Going out to the

movies may seem unremarkable, but for me, it was quite possibly the

best date ever! The company had a lot to do with it, as did the fact

that I was at the only movie theatre in ALL of Malawi: a place with a

giant, enthralling screen, extremely comfortable seats, and popcorn

with cheese powder. I’m used to such seating arrangements as 20 people

per pickup truck bed and such food as maize flour porridge. The movies

were… wow. I hope I can appreciate them at least 10% as much in

America.

After traveling, I went back to site and caught up with my students

and my groundnut group. The students are hardworking this term; I’m

excited about this year. The student who lives with me, Dyna, is doing

well. It’s really neat to see her getting more comfortable and

realizing how talented she is. She’s 16, making her one of the

youngest form 4 (senior-level) students. She’s an academic superstar.

Dyna continues to beat me at Bao (a traditional African game, like

Mancala). That’s surely not keeping her humble. But there will come a

day when I’ll have learned all of her tricks. And then she’ll be in

trouble.

The g-nutters, whose business management and oil production I advise,

are doing well. I visited them this morning. The women looked so cute, and

the men so sharp (er…emasculated?) in the aprons I had made with a

ground nut pattern on the fabric. When they requested that I write

aprons into the grant proposal, I don’t think they knew how far I

might take it with the g-nut pattern. Oil-production is going really

well. Everyone is happy, having received their pay from the groundnut

oil and flour. They still have some money in the bank too! I’m really

pleased and impressed with this industrious group. The Department of

Agriculture has noticed them, and is encouraging them to apply for

funding so they can build a production house. I’ll try to find an

artist who can paint groundnuts all over the building. Just kidding….

Well, MacKenzie IS coming to visit….

That’s right! I’ll be receiving two very important visitors next

month! Carroll and MacKenzie, two of my very best friends, are coming

to Malawi! I am working on putting together a good itinerary for us.

It will definitely involve a Thanksgiving to remember (killing our

very own Thanksgiving turkey, I hope!). We will also head to the lake

where two of my friends—a Canadian and a Malawian—will be getting

married. We’ll spend some time at my site, do a hike in Nyika… add to

those things about 3 or 4 days of travel (which can be fun with

company!), and the time will surely fly.

Well, I’m getting hungry. My loving mother sent me a care package that

was bursting at the seams! It was filled, almost entirely, with

macaroni and cheese. Yummm. My stomach just made an audible growl.

Better go start a fire.

I hope y’all are doing well! Now that I have the ‘net, I’ll be able to

see your e-mails in good time (I should be checking at least every

other day). Hopefully I’ll be able to stay in better touch this year.

I miss you all and look forward to hearing what’s new in your lives!

Love,

Alyssa

I'm in Lilongwe now after the annual 4th of July celebration at the Ambassador's house. Another lovely picnic-style party at the Ambassador's... and it may not be my last 4th of July as a PCV in Malawi! As you may already know, I have decided to extend my service through July of next year. I miss you all so much, and I will continue to wish my life were more entangled with your lives back home. I appreciate the letters, e-mails, and packages that remind me that I'm still on your mind if not on your schedule. The relationships I have in America are so special, and I am lucky that I am also developing relationships here that encourage me feel supported and welcome. Several professional factors, buttressed by these relationships and personal factors, have helped me decide to stay in Malawi.

There are a few specific reasons why I thought this would be the best choice: School is the most significant factor. The school year shifted so that my Peace Corps group's second year of teaching was shortened. My group was confronted with an option: extend for a few extra months to teach for a third year, or leave early (in September rather than December due to an overlap with our replacements). I want to continue teaching for a third year, especially with the students I been teaching for the past two years. One cohort will be writing the school leaving exams that will determine their future options, and I would really like to follow through with them. Also, there has been a change of staff at my school that makes for a very pleasant working environment. I am truly enjoying what I'm doing, and my fellow teachers have all decided (and told me formally with one spokesperson and several nodding heads) that I'm a good teacher. Finally! Not only am I liking what I'm doing, I see it holding more value than any little odd job I could pick up in America while killing time before grad school. In addition to teaching, I want to continue working with my ground nut group (they are producing oil for sale now) and continue mentoring my boarder Dyna, who is approaching a major crossroads in her life with exams next year. I am so excited to be able to be working with my students, fellow teachers, and friends in the village for another year. And guess what! There's more time for YOU to come and visit!

Heading back to site tomorrow, where I will continue teaching through August when the school year ends. We just welcomed a new Peace Corps group to country. They will begin their training in Dedza. I will be hosting a group of trainees in August for a one-week model school at my site. I can't imagine how excited my students will be to have EIGHT PCV teachers for a week rather than just one crazy lady.

I hope you all are doing well back home. I miss you and love you!

Cheers,Alyssa

I'm Back !

A lot has happened since the last time I attempted to summarize my life in a blog entry. As more time passes, it only gets more difficult to capture it all. Thankfully, my Father Aunt & Mother (the FAMtastic group) meticulously recorded their two-week visit. So at least this blog hasn't been entirely dormant ! The FAM really seemed to enjoy Malawi, and I had an incredible time with them. It was neat to see my family as they experienced Malawi and to feel like I could "show off" the country. And, although they took their standard of living down a notch, I was boosted to Bwana while they were here. Delicious meals, a chauffeured car, and plush accomodations. Not to mention not needing to fetch my own water ! As a result of my short stint in the lap of luxury, I gained at least 10 pounds and got very used to daily gin & tonics . . .and then went through a grumpy 2-day readjustment period when I was back to village life. All in all, the visit was pretty magical.

I've been back in the village for a few weeks now. Term 2 will finish on May 21. A few weeks off, then Term 3 (my final term?) begins. When the new Peace Corps volunteer comes to my village, there is going to be a three-month overlap period with the two of us. This is unprecedented with Peace Corps Malawi and is happening because of the sudden shift in the school year schedule. I'm not sure if I want to teach during this overlap time, or if I will focus on secondary projects and let the school be the domain of the new PCV. It depends on what the new PCV teaches. If they're not taking science subjects, then I'll team teach and work on hand-over with one of my Malawian coworkers. If the new PCV is taking science, then I may just learn how to weave baskets in my last few months at site. We'll see. My teachers and I are currently looking for a new house for me, so that when my resplacement arrives, he/she can have my house. So I"ll be moving out in July, that's the plan. And I just bought wicker furniture !

Wicker furniture is just one of the many new developments in my life. I guess I haven't really written since the rainy season started. Well, it started. And now it's over. Rains were low, but everything seemed to do A-OK. My Malawian crops all did well: maize, beans, and ground nuts. I also had one lone tobacco plant that sprouted by itself. It's a beauty. It's been valued at about two kwacha. Rather than going through the headache of taking it to the auction floors, I donated it to my neighbor who grows tobacco on a larger scale than I do. I also planted tons of American seeds this year. My herbs did well (there's nothing like fresh basil) and some of my lettuce really flourished. Unfortunately, my "World's Largest Pumpkin" seeds didn't germinate. I was planning on making one heck of a jack-o-lantern.

But much more important than plants is the fact that I now have a wonderful roommate ! I decided to invite a boarder to live with me after I had a minor break-in in March. My fellow teachers and I discussed who would be a good fit; someone who does well in school, excels in English, and lives far enough from school (so I could help circumvent a lengthy daily commute). Dyna Mfune was the match, and she was really excited about the offer. I talked with her family, and at the beginning of Term 2, she moved in. It has been really fun so far. It's great having someone around to talk with, and to help with chores too. Having a second person at my house while I'm here, as well as someone to watch the house while I'm away (maybe she's having parties, who knows?), really makes me feel more secure. I also don't know how I would have been able to host the FAM without her. She's a superstar, and she's much better at starting fires than I am. If not for her, my parents might not have had their coffee every morning, and the world might have just stopped turning (thank goodness for Dyna !)

At the beginning of Term 2, the neighborhood received another new addition: our new headmaster. The previous headmaster was demoted to teacher level and transferred to a different school. It's been a long time coming. I've seen a lot of improvements in the shcool since Mr. Mhone arrived. Mr. Mhone has been a primary school headmaster for 20 years, so he has leadership down to an art. He is really mature, sensible, and completely present (he hasn't missed one day of school since arriving!) I hope that this level of attention to the school continues. The students are saying he's a good teacher, and the community likes him a lot so far.

He is my next door neighbor. He's got two sweet teenage daughters whose company I am enjoying, as is Dyna. He's bringing a lot of great things to Lundu, and I'm grateful for that. Unfortunately, he has also brought one of the things I hate the most: guinea fowl. Imagine the noise a see-saw would make if it's every piece of metal was rusting and in need of oil. And it was being ridden by two 300-pound people. That is the noise a guinea fowl produces. He has nine of them. I've gone so far as to kindly ask him if he might consider selling any. I would buy them to kill them. I imagine they're delicious. He also has a chicken who routinely breaks into my house (comes in through open windows, rather). She hides eggs throught my house (bonus !), but breaks my clay pots in the process (not worth the bonus).

My life is far from tragic, I know. I'm not trying to bore you with my complaints. I just like to marvel at the issues that get on my nerves here. I doubt I will ever again be in a life situation where I need to vent about my neighbor's obstinate chicken. Aside from the frustrating fowl, everything is really great here. The library is a few finishing touches away from functional; the People Living with HIV/AIDS group with which I'm working is applying for a grant to renovate a building to be a ground nut oil "factory"; and teaching is, well, teaching: exciting, dynamic, and constantly demanding. I'm enjoying it, and I realize that being a teacher gives my Peace Corps service meaning, continuity, and relationships that I would otherwise be unable to foster.

It's May now. How did that happen so quickly? Although I'm trying very hard to keep my head in Malawi, I'm starting to think about what I'll be doing at the end of the year when I'm back in America. If I can do graduate school without busting the bank, I will push for that--a master's in anthropology, break to self-reflect and catch my breath, and maybe a doctorate. We'll see. I've got some time to carve things out. I'm only 23--no, 24 (another new development).

Time to turn off my computer and go to bed. The bugs are having a cross-species convention on the screen. Anyway, I hope everything is going well in your corners of the earth. I was happy to hear about many of your lives when my parents were visiting. I miss you all a lot and look forward to seeing more of you in the future.

Ndine winu (love from)

Alyssa

You can view our travel pictures at Alyssa's picasa web-site: http://picasaweb.google.com/ALMorley. Enjoy !

The F.A.M travelers made it back to the U.S.A after a long and relatively uneventful trip back. There were a few glitches with security. At the Lilongwe airport one F.A.M. traveler attempted to take pictures of the Malawian President's honor guard, and the whole F.A.M. contingency was ordered to go back in the building and wait instead of taking in the sights and fresh air outside. At a security check in the Johannesburg airport, the same F.A.M. traveler was ordered to "SIT"in an area apart from the other F.A.M. travelers, perhaps due to the fact she was unsuccessfully trying to chug her water bottle before going through security. Despite the separate seating areas all made it on the same plane. Candy sat next to a girl who was a professional soccer player for South Africa n the U17 division. Her parents are both South African.They have two homes - one in NYC and one in Johannesburg. The girl goes to school and plays on a club team in NYC, then carries her school work with her when she heads to South Africa to play soccer. She sometimes does the 17 hour flight 2 weeks in a row. What a contrast to the soccer playing we saw in Malawi. They played everywhere all the time, most of the time with no adults referring and no shoes.

F.A.M. travelers met Sean at JFK where he helped us consolidate our pictures, then after a long delay on the tarmac, we were off to Detroit. After a delay on that Tarmac due to a woman being removed from the plane (No, it was not a F.A.M. traveler -we were on our best behavior), we landed in Flint by 7:00, found most of our luggage and headed home.

Re-entry into normal life has been somewhat exhausting, but at this time we are almost acclimated. The challenge is to integrate the vacation spirit of adventure, wonder and awe into our everyday life.

We last wrote from Laura’s house on Thursday, April 15. When we returned to Alyssa’s house, we all got busy making dinner—homemade tortillas cooked over the fire, lentils and rice, tomatoes, greens, and of course MGS (Malawi gin and sprite—can’t buy tonic water anywhere near Alyssa’s house) On Friday, Candy and Cindy went for a morning walk, intending to return by 8:15 for showers, packing, and a visit to Tamika and Temwa (Alyssa’s friend and her baby). Only Cindy and Alyssa got to visit Tamika and Temwa—guess which FAM traveler’s run was extended due to a wrong turn? Guess which FAM member had to stay back at Alyssa’s house to wait for her and then proceeded to let a hen enter the house and lay an egg? Then five chicks joined the party in Alyssa’s house. Candy was quite entertained when she returned to Mark, a mama chicken, five chicks, and a freshly laid egg! After the clean-up and packing of the car, we started our drive to Mzuzu, the first leg of our trip back home. Once in Mzuzu, we picked up our dresses from the tailor and had lunch at an Indian restaurant. It was the most Western restaurant we at ate during our entire trip. Guess which FAM member was ecstatic to flush a toilet three times in an hour? Then it was time for our B&B with the Steyns. Trish and Eric Steyn used to live near Alyssa, but have recently relocated to Mzuzu. They are both 66 and have been married for 8 years. Trish is South African and Eric is from Rhodesia (he’s been a Malawi citizen since 1970). Eric manages several farms for Africa Invest, and Trish organizes their home. And what a wonderful home it is. Tile floors, soft couches, electricity, and yes, flush toilets! After a cold beer and chat with Trisha, Eric arrived home from work. Mark thought he had died and gone to heaven when the TV turned to rugby, Eric enthusiastically gave us a primer on the sport, and the beer flowed. Dinner followed, with help from two servants. After dinner conversation on the veranda was delightful; topics ranged from African history to politics to farming to religion. We were party-poopers and went to bed around 9:00. During our morning coffee (the fixings were laid out on a buffet table the night before) the four of us were glued to CNN World View; the first news we had seen or heard in over two weeks. After a leisurely breakfast of fruit and omelets, we bid farewell to the Steyns. Our drive to Lilongwe was long, but the first three hours were very scenic as we travelled through a pine forest and an indigenous forest. We stopped for lunch in Kasungu, and it seemed to take forever. But the TV was on and we watched the live coverage of the President’s wedding. And here we are at the Kiboko, our last night in Africa. Candy and Cindy went on a frantic souvenir run, and the local street merchants detected our eagerness. They followed us to the Shoprite store, and were waiting for us upon our exit. Alyssa and Mark went to get pizza. So here we are in the open air lounge once again eating pizza and drinking Kuche Kuches. A bit bittersweet. We’ll be back in the U.S. Monday night.

Wednesday, April 14 Happy Birthday Alyssa !!!!!!!!! The morning started with Dyna and Alyssa awaking first, getting the fire going and morning prep started. Today was a big day with us “teaching” and then hosting a dinner for 17 at Alyssa’s house. We all thought it would be great to help out with Alyssa’s classes on her birthday. So we conducted an American/Malawian culture exchange for the classes of Form 1, Form 2 and Form 3. We refined our plans as the day went on, and it culminated with teaching the last class the Hokey Pokey! And they did not want to stop, even after 3 renditions. How did we get to the Hokey Pokey? We conducted each class with variations of “Ask Alyssa’s family questions you have about American culture, school, family life, government, etc.” Without fail, we were always asked about dancing. As witnessed in the celebration the day before, these kids are quite accomplished dancers themselves We had many other very good questions, and were very impressed by the student’s attentiveness and respect given to Alyssa and us. They even rise when a teach enters the room, greet her in unison, answer her questions in unison and then wait to be told to be seated. Another treat for us was the singing of the Malawian national anthem by her Form 1 students at the end our class session. After school, we hurried home to prepare for the evening feast. Alyssa was in her glory with her new dry erase board and wrote the menu, along with preparation plans, in brilliant colors. Dyna asked 3 friends to come help cook. We enjoyed the camaraderie and challenge of meeting the 5:00 deadline. Our meal was fantastic, thanks to the girls and the four fires they had blazing in Alyssa’s courtyard. The main dish was the chicken that was gifted to us the day before. Alyssa had the honors of killing it, and yes, we have pictures. One of the girls swiftly and skillfully plucked it and had it in a bucket of water before we knew it. Dyna got us laughing with her joke of the chicken “kicking the bucket”! Other dishes included American potato salad (an attempt to use up some of the gifted eggs and potatoes and Alyssa’s passion fruit wine as the vinegar), cooked greens, cooked vegetable medley, sima, rice, and pumpkin cake, made from the pumpkin gifted to us the evening prior and quite skillfully put together by Candy. As the adults were eating, the girls and some teen-age party crashers were laughing and having fun in the courtyard. The teachers and their wives thoroughly enjoyed the evening of food and friendship, along with their gifts of caps (with Michigan on the visor), chocolate, and Michigan playing cards. One teacher told Mark this was such a feast, it was like having two Christmases in one year. The teachers left and we all went to bed. The dishes waited until the morning. The Morning After (Thursday, April 15) We were all a bit groggy—was it the late night, the barking dog during the night, or the MGTs? Mark got up to school to take a picture of the library with the students gathered, as did Alyssa to write some assignments on the board. We then headed to meet with Ground Nut Group, at the ground nut peanut fields. We love this group—they sang to us as we arrived. They are so proud of their work and also of the education they received (coordinated by Madame Alyssa) regarding business management and nutrition specific to living with HIV/AIDS. They all had their certificates of completing these workshops and posed for pictures. After visiting with them and walking with them to the warehouse where they hope to store the harvest, we began our walk to Bolero, about 8 km from Alyssa’s village. It was a delightful walk of greeting people and animals. In Bolero, we saw Johannah, the PCV, who will be replacing Emily. We enjoyed a quick Malawian lunch with her, and are now at Laura’s house using her electricity and hopefully internet access to post this blog. Tomorrow we begin our journey back south, stopping overnight in Mzuzu, to stay with the Steyn’s, who are South African and Zimbabwean friends of Alyssa. Then on Saturday we will drive to Lilongwe to stay the night before flying home. We are already asking ourselves where the time has gone.

Tuesday, April, 13 It’s hard to explain the ceremony we just attended. Overwhelming, emotional, awe-inspiring . . . We were led from Alyssa’s home by a chorus of singing, dancing women and men playing drums. This celebration ceremony was in honor of our visit. When we arrived at the school grounds, couches were set at the “head table” for us, with flowers and pink embroidered overlays on the couches and the table. People were sitting in a large half-circle under the gigantic bow-bob tree. We estimate that 200 people were there, including the school children. Although this was a celebration of our visit, it was really a celebration of Alyssa. Mr. Munkhuwa, a fellow teacher, was the Master of Ceremonies. We were led in a prayer, followed by introductions of the chiefs, school committee, ground nut group officers, teachers, and more. The new headmaster was introduced as the next Obama because of his excellent leadership qualities. Entertainment included dances, singing and drumming from the ground nut group, a women’s group, and several student groups. The emotional part included the speeches and tributes to Alyssa. The bottom-line, they want her to stay another 10 years! Many wonderful things were said about her hard work, her smile, and her respect for all people. She also received much recognition for the ground nut project, the scholarships and the library. Guess which FAM travelers could not look at each other without tearing up. Alyssa and Mark both were requested to speak and did a great job with their spontaneous speeches. This celebration has been the highlight of our trip so far. Yesterday, we had a taste of a village celebration with Emily’s going away party. We stopped at her site on the way to Alyssa’s home (about 3 km away). We thought it would be a 15 minutes drop-in (like the open houses in Michigan), but no, we were guests of honor. And we were fed goat liver. Guess which FAM member hid it under the rice left on the plate? (this could be an “all of the above” response). The arrival at Alyssa’s home was Alyssa’s nightmare. We were greeted by a crowd and they saw all the multitudes of luggage and riches that the queen brought for her princess. But at least they helped carry it all in! The evening was a wonderful night of conversation and snacks. Frank, our driver, stayed with us, as it was too late for him to drive through the fields of maze and terrible roads. The morning was leisurely, and reminiscent of camping. Dina made a fire before going to school, and we used this fire for our coffee, tea, oatmeal, and bathwater. We soaked our dirty clothes and after our baths, we took the laundry and buckets for water to the bore hole. Coming back, we all had buckets on our heads, shoulders, and or hips. This was such a wonderful day, we just had to start this update with it first. Now we’ll take you back to Thursday and our days at the lake and in the mountains. Lake Malawi—The Makuzi Beach Resort (Thursday and Friday, April 8 and 9) We stopped approximately halfway on our drive from Lilongwe to Makuzi Beach Resort at a pottery studio/store on the shore of Lake Malawi. They also had a restaurant on the lake where we first got to put our toes in Lake Malawi and also had our first taste of Chambo (the fish from Lake Malawi). There was a man selling crafts and curios outside of the pottery studio and Alyssa successfully negotiated a great deal on two chairs for Candy. We were so thankful she did not throw the chairs at the man with his first offer of a ridiculous price, as did with the material at the material market. We arrived at Makuzi Beach Resort at sunset. The tour book was right—it was paradise on earth. We had two beachfront chalets that reminded us of the mushroom houses in Charlevoix. Both the bar and restaurant were elevated and overlooked the lake. The food was gourmet dining. Pumpkin soup, egg rolls, chambo, pineapple cake. Yum ! We started the next morning with a pre-breakfast swim. It felt so good to be in the lake. We had the beach and the resort to ourselves all day long. When we were gobbling down our breakfast from the complete breakfast bar, a waiter came and took our orders for our eggs, toast, sausage, baked beans, and tomatoes. After breakfast, Alyssa and Cindy went to Kande Beach Resort to check out the accommodations for the April 30 weekend PCV birthday bash (15-20 PCVs are expected). A nice place geared to the party crowd with beach volleyball, foosball, hobie cats, and a variety of sleeping arrangements from camping to dorms to private chalets. Candy and Mark hiked Mt. Makuzi (with a guide) in the blazing sun. They reported that the views were awesome and they got a really nice sense of the foundation work done by the Makuzi Beach Lodge owners (more later). More swimming, water walking, kayaking , sightings of fish eagles followed with drinks and peanut butter sandwiches on the beach. A waiter came to the beach in the early afternoon to get our dinner orders. We had to pinch ourselves to make sure this was reality! Guess which FAM member had a gin and tonic and fell asleep for 2 hours? Upon awakening, this FAM member claimed it was a travesty for which the others were to blame. She could have done so much more with this lost two hours. A bit about the Makuzi Beach Resort. A woman named Jane came to the area visiting missions, as her family had done for four generations. A chief offered her a deal on the land and she took him up on the deal. She died at age 45 in a hang-gliding accident and her daughter and son-in-law took over the land and built the resort. They have been very community focused, supporting the primary school, community gardens, a cultural museum, and more that we can’t remember. A foundation has been established, and some of the projects have World Bank involvement. The daughter/owner is also really into yoga (she holds yoga retreats and instruction at the resort) and the family was in India at the time of our visit, where she was updating her skills. Travelling to Livingstonia (Saturday April 10) The drive was gorgeous. We drove through a rubber plantation during the first part and bought balls made out of rubber bands from kids on the side of the road. Alyssa’s cell phone was beeping, buzzing, and singing as we pulled into Mzuzu (the regional capital of the north). We had several errands to do, including visiting the tailor to make our dresses. A very critical errand was to buy 2 buckets for our basic needs—one a “pee” bucket for the night, and the other one was to become an accommodation for the reluctant and uninitiated chim (hole in the outhouse ground) users. On the walk to the different stores, we saw Andrew (who we met at Kiboko, lives at Nyike Plateau) driving a truck. Alyssa’s cell phone beeped even more with PCV’s saying they heard she was in town. So after a typical Malawi lunch at the Green Vee (where Alyssa was well known, especially by Queen Victoria), we went to the Mzoozoozoo, a PCV hangout. We met 6-8 different PCV’s in different stages of their service, along with Laura, Alyssa’s friend who is a PhD candidate in anthropology with the University of Toronto. The PCV’s and Laura gave us good advice to stay at Lukwe Camp near Livingstonia. So our journey continued. The first two hours of the drive had absolutely stunning views as we traversed a mountain and overlooked Lake Malawi. We had no idea Malawi was so beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. Then we arrived in Chitemba, we left the paved road to go up the mountain to Livingstonia,, stopping at Lukwe Camp, 15 Km up the mountain. This was the most scary road we have ever travelled. Stone, super sharp switch-back bends, one-lane, dramatic drop-offs with no shoulders. Guess which FAM traveler(s) were holding the side grips on the ceiling of the car. Obviously there was no room for mistakes or overactive imaginations of what would happen if Frank made a mistake. Guess which FAM member ordered a double gin and tonic upon arrival? And then another. Lukwe Camp and Livingstonia (Sunday, April 11) Candy was in heaven when we woke up on Sunday morning. Our tents (Candy thought they were chalets) were on stilts cut into the mountains, with views overlooking the mountain valleys and Lake Malawi. The outhouses were composting outhouses, and the showers were right out of M.A.S.H. The small kitchen (the restaurant had two tables, and we were the only ones there) ran on solar power, and the much of the food served was taken from their own gardens. The restaurant was also on stilts with fantastic views. Mornings were spent watching the rain on distant mountains and over the lake. On the second day (Monday), we saw a water spout over the lake. On Sunday we toured the Lukwe gardens, attached to Lukwe camp, with a tour led by Moni, the owner’s very articulate 5 year old son. His mom, Lizel, joined us to “fill in the gaps”. She explained that the land was previously a cassava (potato) field that were built on wetlands. The artisian wells provided the irrigation system for the permaculture, as well as our drinking water at the camp (bottled in wine bottles for people to drink at will). From there we began the trek to Livingstonia (about 5 km each way) with Keely, the Lukwe Camp owner’s dog. Our first stop was the Manchewe Waterfall o f 125 m. We awoke each morning to the sounds of this magnificent waterfall. There were people above the falls from us washing clothes. Continuing our trek up the mountain to Livingstonia, we passed many people returning from church and visiting, with whom we had a chance to practice our Chitumbuka greetings. We followed the advice of a group of teenage girls and took a shortcut, which led to another shortcut, which was a steep narrow path. Guess which F.A.M. traveler was looking for a Swiss type café three-fourths of the way up? At Livingstonia, we had lunch at the Stone House, which was the home of Dr. Robert Law, and also where they held the church committee and school committee meetings. We ate on a beautiful veranda, where we enjoyed the beautiful mountain and Lake Malawi views and also watched a wotman hanging laundry . It was here that we laughed about the realization that we would eat anything put in front of us. Early in our travels, we discovered that menus are a list of the possibilities of what may be offered throughout the year. However, they may only have beef, or chicken, or greens, but always nsema. We quickly toured the museum at the Stone House, and then walked, to the church and also saw the grounds of the University of Livingstonia. We began our descent back to camp, and we all made it down the steep shortcut without incident. Once again, Keely the dog, was first to arrive. About half way back, the rain came and we found shelter under some trees. A woman invited us to sit on her house porch out of the rain, and we gladly accepted. She was very pleased that Alyssa spoke Chitumbuka, and she was all smiles. Back at camp, we had cocktails to relieve our throbbing feet. A spirited game of euchre followed, with allegations of cheating. Guess which FAM members were not allowed to escort each other to the outhouse driven by the fear they would develop more cheating strategies. We learned that Mark’s play by the rules genes have been transferred to the next generation! Monday, April 12 Another morning of gazing at the mountains and lake before hitting the road to Alyssa’s site. Candy and Cindy went back to Lukwe Gardens to get pictures of the schoolhouse, where Moni and his friend, are educated. It is literally a tree house with big windows from which they can see the waterfalls. We chatted with their teacher, who showed us her lesson plans, and also with the kids, who showed off their clay and their toys. We stayed a bit longer than expected, as we needed to wait out another intensive 10 minute rain. Our drive back down the mountain was a bit calmer as we knew what to expect. There was a pedestrian we saw several times; he took footpaths and beat us down the mountain. On our way to Alyssa’s site, we stopped in Rumphi for groceries and a lunch of typical Malawian food. We then went through Bolero, met Esnarte and her family. Esnarte has adopted the PCV’s and is a friendly resource for all. She was out in the field tending the tobacco, and she graciously invited us into her home where we chatted for a few minutes. Then it was off to Emily’s farewell celebration, which is we described in our April 13 posting.

The FAM (Father, Aunt, Mother – a.k.a. Mark, Candy, Cindy)) Travels to Malawi

Getting to Malawi

The FAM journey to Malawi was pleasant and uneventful. After the first leg (Bishop Airport, Flint to Detroit Metro to JFK) we found ourselves at a Holiday Inn Express in a questionable neighborhood in Queens. We cruised the neighborhood to find food and beer, found beer and went back to the motel to order delicious pizza. Love that East Coast thin crust baked in a hot oven. JFK check-in was fine; Mark bought 3 bottles (it was a bargain, it came with a messenger bag) of Jack Daniels at the Duty Free store. He has never done that before—perhaps travelling with his 2 wives drove him to do this. And surprise - they were jumbo size liters, not the smaller ones we get at home. South African Airways was great. Even the long flight didn’t seem that long, due to the fact the excellent crew supplied us with toothbrushes, wine, movies and fine food. Arriving into Lilongwe, we spotted Alyssa and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) Kelly waving to us on the outside balcony.

Lilongwe

Lilongwe is the capital city of Malawi. It is spread out more than other capital cities we have been in and people drive on the left side of the street. There are no little arrows indicating this anomaly painted in the streets . Initially, each street crossing was an adventure requiring the FAM travelers to reach deep into their brains to access their spatial abilities. On FAM traveler kept emitting strange “OOOH –OOOH” sounds during the street crossings. Guess Who?

The highlight of Lilongwe was running into and meeting Alyssa’s fellow Peace Corps Volunteers. While feasting on a huge avocado purchased from a vendor who carried a large flat box of them on his head, along with cold Kuche Kuche’s (the local beer) outside the Diplomat’s ( a Peace Corps hangout), several PCVs stumbled upon us with lots of animated greetings and smiles. It is a holiday break for them, so the city is full of PCVs who instinctively find each other. Margaret and her parents, Jane and Steve Sessa-Hawkins joined us on safari (more on that later); we first met up with them for lunch on Saturday, along with 2 more PCVs, Joce and Caitlin.

Our Lilongwe Hotel, the Kiboko Town Hotel is great. A true African Hotel, that caters to travelers of all varieties and nationalities. The best part is sitting in the upstairs open lounge area, with couches full of pillows and friendly strangers (Andrew from Britain, a journalist arriving to write about Nyika Plateau where Andrew works, anthropologists from Norway and Germany)

Saturday afternoon we went to local vegetable and fruit market. We crossed a 100 yd wide river on an elevated log wooden plank bridge to get to the clothing and material market. We took the better bridge and had to pay a toll. Despite taking the better bridge there was still a FAM traveler emitting the strange OOOH – OOOH call. Guess who? Hint: Not the same wife as the one who emitted the sound during the street crossings. After the bridge crossing we embarked on the search for material with which to make dresses. . The intensity of market with blazing sun, music blaring, and skillful negotiations by Alyssa paired with the desperation of the sellers, led to Mark finding shade and standing in the distance. Alyssa also bargained with sellers for greens and veggies. Coupled with some dressing and other appetizer-like food procured at Shop-Rite, our market purchases made a substantial meal devoured in the fKokibo’s wonderful lounge area.

Off to Safari

A seven-hour drive in a Land Rover on terrible roads was made bearable by Henry, the most competent driver ever met by the FAM travelers. Both paved and gravel roads were full of people walking and biking on their daily routines of going to church (it was Easter Sunday), carrying water, logs, and all sorts of items on their heads and the back of their bikes. We saw dressers, four foot high log bundles, food, water, everything imaginable being carried on persons and bikes. The scene was reminiscent of the CROP Walk saying – “We walk because they walk. “

We arrived at Wildlife Camp, right outside of South Luangwa National Park, were offered a ride to our tent, but declined the offer and leapt out of the vehicles to walk to our luxury tents and (they did have cement floors , toilets and showers in the back). We were not allowed to walk at night due to the animals (big animals that eat other animals —hyenas, leopards, giraffes, elephants hippos and baboons all wandered around our living space). Candy also was not allowed to go on runs or walks—she asked several times and got the same answer.

After settling in we went right to the pool, oval-shaped and eight yards at its widest, and immediately saw a hippo in the river (which our tents faced and so did the pool), an elephant on the bank, vervet monkeys (aka blue-balled monkeys), and yellow baboons. Since we could walk to eating area in the daylight. We took advantage of that opportunity. We met Conrad, the camp host, at our first meal. Before we were completely oriented to the place, but all seated at our table, for the first time, he said, “Now, that you are all relaxed, would you like something from the bar?” (Remember General Ransford in The Most Dangerous Game?—could be an even scarier story with hyenas and leopards in the background)

A typical safari day included wake-up by the night watchmen at 5:00 am for the 5:30 transport to restaurant, leaving for safari at 6:00. Return to camp at 10:30 for quick dip in pool and lunch at 11:30, followed by naps/reading/swimming/jogging in pool. Return to restaurant for tea and biscuits, leave for evening safari at 4:00, 2 hours in daylight, with a “sundown beer” at sunset, followed by 2 hours of shining night animals. Return to camp at 8:30 for dinner and sleep. Surprisingly exhausted with no physical activity, except bouncing and holding onto grab bars in open-air 4 x 4, we ate heartily.

Animal Sightings: Our driver/ guide was for the safari was Philamon. He was soft spoken and incredibly knowledgeable about the natural world. He was able to communicate his knowledge with reverence and awe. The first significant, and also favorite, sighting was of humping hippos right in the middle of the river with their baby watching. Philamon politely called this mounting. We all watched for a longer time than we were willing to admit. We saw several crocodile with mouths open and learned that was the way they got rid of parasites. We will try to organize this into mammals/water creatures, birds and vegetation.

Mammals/Water Creatures: Giraffe, elephant, hippos, impalas (striped butts), pukus, bush buck, baboons, monkeys, lions, leopard, water buffalo, spotted hyenas, cervit, serval, genets, mongoose, civets, zebra, warthogs

Three kinds of storks, wooly, saddle bill, and open bill stork. Crested cranes, fish eagles, snake eagles, and more. So many fascinating birds! Lilac-breasted rollers, woodland kingfishers, sparrow weavers, yellow weavers, louries, oxpeckers, jacanas (they’re polyandrous—Philamon thought that was a bad idea but some of the ladies on board disagreed).

Between stalking a pride of lions in a high-speed chase, being threatened by an angry elephant, and star-gazing on the night drives, the safari was anything but boring. We are off to the lakeshore now for the next leg of our adventure.

Tiwonana!

Hello everyone. I arrived safely in Malawi (about a week ago now). My group had our Mid-Service Training in the central region, and now I am in Mzuzu. I'll be heading back to my site tomorrow.

It's very nice to be back in Malawi-- the vegetation is so green right now after a month of rain. But as much as I love Malawi, it was really great being home for the holidays. Thanks for being so welcoming and for making me feel right at home.

Happy 2010! Keep in touch.

"MADONNA! AFIKASO!"

In Chitumbuka, this means "Madonna! She has returned!" Yesterday I was walking around Mzuzu when I was greeted by a very enthusiastic man who thought I was the Material Girl herself. Was it my ankle-length dress? My French-braid pig tails? Either way, it was pretty funny.

HE/SHE?

As you may remember from a previous blog posting, when I first started teaching, many students addressed me as "Sir." The acceptable confusion between males and females comes in handy, i.e., if you can't tell the gender of a small child, or even a medium-size child. I attribute this cultural confusion to the fact that in Chitumbuka (and also Chichewa), "he" and "she" are the same word. For instance, "bayigula" means both she bought it AND he bought it. I also think this is why rumors get so distorted here. You hear a story with "he was cheating on his wife and trying to proposition this girl-child..." and two days later it's being said that these two women were in love and somehow propositioning a boy-child... and then, lives are ruined. All because inventing a word for he AND she would be too much. Of course the extremly fallible rumor-mill is bothersome (I am NOT married to that guy who visited me once, but if you still want to give me this gift of peanuts, I will accept). It can be attributed to a lot of things-- boredom, especially-- but I also do link it to the confusion between he and she. But as much as I get fired up about it every now and then, I find it very entertaining. And I was sad when my favorite grocery-- the one called "Aunt George's Grocery"-- changed its name to Sister Susan's.

Teaching Teachers How to Teach about HIV

I spent the past week at Matunkha Centre in Rumphi Boma in a teacher workshop. The purpose was to educate teachers on how to teach HIV prevention (beyond abstinence and being faithful). It was interesting. I was the only white person *naturally*, but after the first few hours I was just one of the group. I appreciated the session most for its insights into Malawian culture-- I was able to see areas I had not accessed before, especially relating to cultural practices promoting HIV (namely polygamy and wife inheritance, but also some rite of passage stuff I didn't know about). And also, I had never heard Malawians speak so freely and graphically about certain issues. My Chitumbuka vocabulary sure expanded over the past week. If I ever meet some Tumbuka sailors, I'll be able to keep up.

FIRST, I updated some pictures. Check them out: http://picasaweb.google.com/ALMorley/Africa#

I just have some quick notes and updates for you all—

Cat Conundrums: Vincent ran away. He got the headmaster’s cat pregnant… and then he fled the scene. Now he’s off somewhere searching for more wives. Ah, men in Malawi! Vincent is most likely philandering in neighboring villages. I’m handling it better than I thought I would…partially because I’ve been able to almost entirely block out the possibility that he could have just been eaten by the neighbor’s dog. I got a new cat. I named him Pablo. We’re still getting used to each other… actually I think I might be developing an allergy to him, but I’ll keep him anyway. I’d rather deal with puffy eyes than mice eating my food.

Damn!: A lot of children in my village want to call me “Madam,” but they can’t quite pronounce it. So… instead, when I ride my bike by a group of kids, I hear “damn! damn! damn!”

Hello, Mommy!: In Chichewa and Chitumbuka, the generic way to greet a woman like “ma’am,” also happens to mean mom. It’s funny when I’m walking down the street and someone tries to translate directly from a Malawian language. Instead of saying hello miss, or hi ma’am, it’s “Hello mother!” and “Buy some bananas, mommy!”

He Keeps Cows: My headmaster was recently posted to a different school. Although he has not yet moved (his posting was announced in June), there is still the looming knowledge that he will be moved—when the Ministry of Education pulls through with transport. Conversations about the incoming headmaster have been mixed. Some people know him and love him, others don’t deliver such rave reviews. My favorite piece of information comes from the Primary Education Advisor in Bolero. About the future headmaster, he says, “ah, he is a nice man. But he keeps cows.” Then he looks at me like I understand EXACTLY what he means. And I say, “well, I am just getting used to having goats around, I don’t know how I would do with cows as neighbors.” And then he tells me that he won’t bring cows to Lundu, but rather keeps them at his home village. What sort of information am I supposed to ascertain from this? I’ll keep you posted.

Genda: I’m working with several groups that are applying for various grants. I really am enjoying working with these people—it’s a nice change of pace and a lot of the work is less formal than teaching. When we put names on paper, they’ll say—“no we must include a female in this section. Gender (pronounced “genda). The donors love genda.” I'm not complaining though-- whatever gives women a voice!

Work Stuff: Teaching is going well, though I’ve shifted my focus a lot to doing development work in the village. Next year, we’ll have four forms and so my teaching load will increase a bit. I’m keeping myself pretty busy right now working with a People Living With AIDS (PLWA) group, applying for funding to get a bore hole at my school, and constructing the library. On top of that I’ve got a vegetable garden going—I’ll be making zucchini bread soon!

I’ll Be Home for Christmas: Two months from today, I’ll be on a plane coming to America! I’ll be in America from Dec 14 – Jan 2. We’ll spend a little bit of time in Key West, and most of the time in Michigan. So, hopefully I’ll get a chance to see many of you J I better start mentally preparing myself for Michigan in December…

^ the r and the l are often confused... so that's a sample of what it's like reading student work!

Kudandaula chara – Nichali kukhala! (Don’t worry – I’m still alive!)Sorry it has been so long since I’ve checked in with you all! It has been due to a combination of my being busy and also my getting to the point where my experiences seem normal and less worthy of mentioning. But when I remember what it was like one year ago, when Malawi was a complete mystery to me (some days that’s still true...) and my days were spent among electricity, internet, and Americans, I begin to reevaluate my experiences here and find them a little more unique! Especially since, in just more than a year, I’ll be somewhat removed from the close-to-the-earth lifestyle here. I’ll be back to using wireless internet and sipping lattes. And also, I’ll be eating bagels. And cheese. And watching movies. And enjoying icecubes... I hope all of you at home at appreciating these luxuries! I am sure that in many ways, my life here will permeate profoundly when I am back in Western culture. Whenever I’ll put on trousers, I’ll think, “American women are so fortunate—in Malawi, if an average village woman were to wake up one day and put on trousers, her husband might not let her leave the house... for a month...”; When I eat a meal, I’ll wonder where all of the parts were produced—when you eat at a home in the village, usually the places where the food was grown, or where the chickens are kept, are in your field of vision! When I’m back in the Western World, I might feel compelled to sit down to greet people (it is inappropriate to greet someone while standing!), to sweep my house daily so as not to disrespect any visitors who may stop by, and to carry anything and everything on my head. Ntchito yane ku dera kwane(My work at site)Ntchito! As is my way, I’ve been finding work in all different forms to keep myself busy. My teaching load has increased a bit, and I’ve started working on some secondary projects. I am still teaching Math and Science, and I have added English Grammar in Form 3. English Grammar is a fun class to teach, especially because Form 3 only has about 10 students, so we can do a lot of interactive activities. In addition to teaching, I am also interested in helping with the development of the school. I am an advisor to the Komiti ya Maji (Water Committee) which aims to get water access at the secondary school. On top of that, we are starting to construct a library at the secondary school. We’re linking up with my Methodist Church in Midland to raise funds for this project. Quick plug: If you want to help out with the library, e-mail my mom at morleymid@gmail.com. Any help will be appreciated so much! Dollars go really far here.Along with school stuff, I’m also helping out with my site mate Emily’s nyumba za wowa (mushroom houses). Over this term break, we built a mushroom house at chief Mwajonyanga’s house. My headmaster’s wife has organized a women’s group of six women to manage the house and eventually sell the mushrooms. Each woman contributed 300 Kwacha (less than $2) to help pay for the carpenter and purchase wooden poles. We planted the mushroom spores about a week ago and now we are just waiting for germination! Hopefully soon the women will have a little pocket money from mushroom sales as well as some delicious dende (side dishes). Camp STAR!(STAR = Scientific Thinking Achieving Results)From August 9 to 14, I was helping at Camp STAR in Ntchisi District. This camp was coordinated by my friends Kelly and Mike at Gwangwa C.D.S.S. Their school is AMAZING. It was constructed by the African Development Fund, and it has solar power, a stocked laboratory, and a huge library. The purpose of the camp was to fully utilize these facilities with students from different schools. Students from Gwangwa and surrounding schools (that don’t have these resources) were invited to spend one week of their holiday staying and learning at Gwangwa. There were about forty five students in total, and eight PCV teachers. The students are all in their last year of secondary school and preparing for their national exams. They were divided into groups of about eight students, and were taught challenging science subjects in a fun and interactive way. I taught about the biology of HIV, while others taught about electricity, titrations, human diseases, et cetera. It was a really great camp, and it got us all excited to teach at Camp SKY (a camp run by all education volunteers in December).Before going to Camp STAR, my friend Caitlin came to my site and hung out for a bit. It was really fun having someone to show around the village, and to be able to show off my village to someone! After her visit, she and I went to Chitimba Beach north of my site for a few days. The drive there was probably one of the most beautiful rides I’ve ever been on. We descended a mountain and the lake was right there at the bottom! It was awesome. In addition, we saw a whole gang of baboons just hanging out right by the road. Chitimba Beach was pretty remote, and we had some nice time to rest and charge up for camp. Mbwenu, tiwonanenge!(That’s all, see you later!)I will head back to site tomorrow or the next day, because Term 3 starts on Monday. Thanks again to those of you who have helped with students’ school fees. Five new students were selected this term to have their fees paid. The students are extremely grateful! Also, I must issue a big thank you to everyone who has sent me letters and care packages: I appreciate these things so much! It’s so nice to know that you are thinking of me, and I want you all to know that I am thinking of you all often. Alyssa

^My life, here in Malawi

About one year ago, I received my Peace Corps Invitation to Malawi. Had it not been for Madonna or my mild addiction to online map quizzes, I probably wouldn’t have known where this tiny country is. Now here I am, surrounded by the gorgeous mountains of Malawi, teaching Malawian students every day, and clumsily figuring out the language and culture of this agricultural, collectivist, and friendly group of people. I’ve been in Malawi for more than six months now, and I think I am finally getting used to things to things here. But every now and then, I step back and think about how my days here—my activities, my concerns, and my routines—are so wonderfully different from my life one year ago. I’ll ask myself, “Did I really spend all afternoon sewing tobacco and chit-chatting in Chitumbuka?”; “Do I really blush when I see my own knees?”; “Did I really just carve a jack-o-lantern out of this pumpkin and give it to my neighbors, just to see their reaction?” (hey, if you didn’t have TV or the internet you’d probably be finding creative ways to entertain yourself too!).

Where was I one year ago? Presenting my fellows research, working frantically on my senior seminar paper, and trying to manage the anxiety of my approaching move to Africa. Though adjusting to African life is still a concern for me, I recognize that I am really lucky to be in a forgiving culture surrounded by people who laugh easily and want to see me succeed. My job is also making the adjustment smooth: as a teacher, I have a school community which helps with community integration, and I have enough structured work to feel like I'm accomplishing something every day. At the beginning of April, I completed my first term of teaching (there are three terms per year). I found that I really enjoyed being a "site rat" (staying at site for weeks on end), and therefore I was really horrible at updating my blog. So I have a lot of updates and anecdotes from the past few months that I want to share with you all!

Life at Lundu CDSS

My first term of teaching has been wonderfully challenging and rewarding. It makes sense: they say Peace Corps is "the toughest job you'll ever love." Something that is really neat about my work is that I have a lot of freedom to be creative. Although the Malawian school system is very test-oriented, and the student-teacher relationships are very formal, I am a pretty unusual addition to my school. I think that because I'm the youngest teacher and the only female teacher, my coworkers have trouble figuring out what I should be doing (there's nothing close to a precedent!). It's been neat to have the chance to carve out my own niche at the school.

This term, I taught Form 1 Math, Form 1 Physical Science, Form 2 Physical Science, and Form 3 Social Development. Next term I'll trade Social Development for English Form 3, which I'm a little anxious about. I haven't thought about grammar since my high school newspaper days! But, since one of our English teachers was transferred, I'm taking on his class. I’ll try to incorporate social development issues into the English class. English is such an important subject, and I can easily include current issues and HIV/AIDs education in an English class. Students can choose six subjects out of ten total to sit for on their senior year test (the Malawian School Certificate Exam); however English is the only subject that they are required to pass in order to get the certificate.

In addition to teaching, I was the "Sports Mistress," which is a title that I have recently decided to forfeit. I realized very quickly that my position was strictly nominal, and that I really was the wrong person for the job. The girls play a sport called netball that is completely foreign to me, and practices are conducted exclusively in Chitumbuka. The girls are very self-directed and for a while they led practice themselves and I just watched and did time-checks, but as soon as we learned that we had a forthcoming competition against Chikwawa CDSS, the other teachers at my school began to take netball extremely seriously. For one week straight, we had practice every day after school. My headmaster began running drills for the girls to ensure that we would not lose. The Friday before our Saturday game, he offered encouragement: "those who lose will be punished." Thankfully, we won by a landslide.

I have decided to surrender my minimal role in sports, because my job as the librarian is becoming very time-consuming. I really like organizing books and advising students on what they might want to read. But after taking final inventory after Term 1 finished, I realized that I need to be much more vigilant as a librarian… My favorite book, a hardcover children's book called Do Animals Dream? with all sorts of animal-related questions and answers, was stolen. Other books had been taken too, which was really discouraging for me. Although only a handful of books have been stolen, I realize that I need to make some changes next term in the way I manage the library. For the most part, though, running the library has been incredibly enjoyable for me. Many of the students are getting a lot out of it (not in a sneaky, thieving way). I have students who come in every day to chat with me to work on their English, or copy words out of my Peace Corps English-Chitumbuka Language Manual that I've made available to them. Overall, the library is looking like a success. After being at my school for a few months, I've determined that I would really like to try to begin a library-building initiative at my school. I started the "library" at the beginning of Term 1 by moving our books from a closet to a vacant classroom. But next year we will have four classes, so we won't have a vacant room for the books.

I am glad to be at a school that has the potential for a lot of growth and development, because it really makes me feel like I can contribute. The other major development project that I would like to explore is the possibility of getting a bore hole at the school. The school committee is currently building a girls' hostel, and I think the next logical step would be to have a school garden so the girls could grow their own food. Also, I have a vision for a lunch program that would only be possible if we could grow food at school. The major obstacle is water: it is quite a trek to the bore hole to the school. I've heard that some Members of Parliament have promised to put in a bore hole and/or tap at the school, but nothing has come to fruition. During Term 2 I hope to apply for funding for a bore hole. Although I feel much more passionately about the library, I think that water is the more important initiative. An additional way want to help at the school is through offering scholarships to a few deserving students. I’ve e-mailed many of you about this, and thank you so much for those of you who have sent money my way! Though school fees are only about $15 per term, it is a lot of money for many Malawians. I had some students last term who missed the first half of Term 1 because they couldn't scrounge up school fees. Term 2 begins in just a few days, and I have five very happy students who are getting "scholarships." When I figure out who is sponsoring which students, I'll have the students write thank you letters and I'll send them your way!

Domestic Affairs

At the front of our Peace Corps Malawi Cookbook is a quotation that I quite like: "If you are carefully, if you use the right ingredients, and you don't take any shortcuts, then you usually cook something very good. Sometimes it is the only worthwhile product you can salvage in a day: what you make to eat. With writing, I find, you can have all the right ingredients, give plenty of time and care, and still get nothing. Also true of love [maybe also true of teaching? some days…]. Cooking, therefore, can keep a person who tries hard sane." I've been cooking a lot lately, partly because I like to have a tangible product for my work every now and then. Also, once I mastered the art of fire-starting, a pyromaniac that had sat dormant for almost 23 years was unveiled. I have had some great successes, as well as some great failures, in the kitchen (i.e., maize flour and corn flour are not interchangeable). Baking here is not a piece of cake (ha!). It involves starting a small fire that is kept below the pot with the cake/bread/cookies, then starting a raging fire on a sheet of metal on the top of the pot (or atop the lid). Baking usually leaves me with a one or two minor burns and eyes filled with tears from the smoke. It takes me a while to recover. However, right before leaving site I made the most delicious loaf of bread (a dash of honey in the dough--yum!); this reactivated my interest in baking. I'm also surrounded by baking in the village. My headmaster's wife, Victoria, is a scone-baking expert, and she lets me roll the scones sometimes. Everyone knows which scones I've rolled, because they're enormous… what can I say? I like scones. Victoria also helped me bake a devil's food cake that was sensational. It made me want to start an income-generating activity of cup-cake making with a women's group, but when I did the math I realized that it would be close to impossible to make a profit because cocoa powder is so pricey. The women in my area already make good money selling scones door-to-door and at the school.

My worker, Cecilia, sat down with me one day and showed me how to make the best scones in Malawi, with milk powder, brown sugar and good yeast. Cecilia comes every day (except on the weekends), bringing a bucket of water. She helps me clean the house and heats up water for my daily coffee (some habits are just too important to try to break!). Cecilia is becoming one of my best friends at site, and I'm glad she is starting to feel more comfortable around me. When I first hired her, she was so subservient and quiet that it made me feel a little awkward--though I realize she was simply trying to show me respect. But now she sings while she mops, and she calls me "Alyssa" instead of "Madam." We're making progress! Cecilia is a really active person in the village; she always knows if there is a mbotoska dance, or if the church has a community event I should attend. Her English is a little better than my Chitumbuka, so she and I are able to converse pretty easily.

Sundays have become my laundry days. For a long time, I've been trying to convince myself that doing laundry by hand is a cathartic experience. Get all of your stress out as you pound those clothes! Now that the procedure of laundry is a bit more routine, I am finding that I quite enjoy it. Also, the BBC Forum is on around the time that I do laundry on Sundays, so I've got good conversation to listen to as I wash!

The Day My Site Mate was sent to America

One day, I arrived at school and received a message from one of my fellow teachers. "Madam, one of the students came with a message for you today. I'm very sorry, but your site mate Emily has been in a motorbike accident and is now in America." I was immobilized by this horrible development. Emily? In America? How did this happen so quickly. We're not allowed to ride motorbikes--it's a Peace Corps policy. So, if she were in an accident and Peace Corps found out, she'd be kicked out of Malawi! Although Emily is not a rule-breaking ruffian, I knew she had been traveling, and the story seemed plausible. My fellow teacher told me that Amalia, my other site mate, had the details (mistake #1: I assumed Amalia has sent the message to me). So, at my headmaster's request, I leave school to figure out the whole story. I began the 45-minute bike ride to Amalia's house, and when I arrive find the house is empty. Her neighbors inform me that she left and hour ago with two friends. They were going to the village where Emily lives. So… I begin the bike ride to her village. The whole time, I'm consumed by confusion. Who is with Amalia? Is it Emily? I ask a shop owner along the way if he saw any white people biking, and he says yes, one male and one female. Who? He doesn't know. The confusion persists.

On top of all this, my brain is still in its hyperactive post-coffee state. I'm playing through what would happen if Emily were gone. Would I get a new site mate? Who will finish Emily's mushroom houses? Who will show me around Nyika? All these questions are tormenting me as I arrive in Emily's village. I pull into Emily's house, where I see three people sitting calmly. They don't look like the type of people who are cleaning their friend's house because she has been removed from the country--which is what I expected to find. I get close enough to see that the three people are Amalia, Emily's boyfriend, and (are my eyes deceiving me?) Miss Emily herself. When I frantically ask them to relieve me of my confusion, they are just as mystified as I am. I begin to tell them the story of my morning, and Amalia says, "Oh, I heard Lauren [a Canadian grad student in the area] got a flat tire on her motorbike and got it fixed near your village. And I am going to America soon because I'm done with my service…" And that is how a terrifying rumor was born: a few facts jumbled together, and distorted in a game of telephone, and suddenly my site mate is in a body cast in America. Though I was frustrated at my crazy morning of exhausting worry and bike-riding, my aggravation was overshadowed by my relief that Emily is still here. After I returned to school to deliver the good news to my headmaster, I went back to Emily's house. I had to celebrate Emily's health and presence! For the first time in a while, I gave myself a nice break. Instead of taking library inventory, I enjoyed a nice afternoon of chatting with friends and sipping Carlsberg beer (probably the best beer in the world… certainly the best [er…only] beer in Malawi!).

The Funeral

One Sunday, I had resolved to spend the day vegging, reading, and maybe doing some laundry (if I could muster up the ambition). Although I often go to church on Sundays and realize that it's very important for community integration, it's not always the most pleasant. Because I am a woman, I need to sit on the floor (the women's side of the church does not have chairs like the men's does). Some days, I'm just not in the mood to sit on the floor for three hours and try to pay attention as people lecture in a language I don't understand (though the experience does help me empathize with my students…). On top of this, every now and then, the minister mentions my name and it makes me nervous. But there is one thing that keeps me coming back on Sundays: the music. I should mention that it is also really beautiful to see such a large group of people united through a common belief and to see the passion with which they worship. But the music at church is the most incredible thing to me. Both men and women can do amazing things with their voices, and the falsetto harmony when they're all singing together is astounding. There are so many different sounds represented, and they all seem to fit together (mom, there might even be a spot for you!). But what I really love is the drumming. I can't help moving when I hear the drums. The drums are the real magnet that pulls me to church.

On this particular Sunday that I began this section referring to, I'm sure my decision to skip church was only faintly driven by the fact that the choir gave up drums for Lent. So, I was sitting in my house, lazily enjoying a cup of coffee, when I heard a forceful knock on my door, coupled with the familiar voice of my next-door neighbor, my headmaster: "Madam, there's a funeral. Let's go."

We learned about funerals during our Peace Corps cultural training. The gist of it was: funerals are very important, and everyone in the village goes. Teachers should definitely go, especially if a student is connected to the funeral. This funeral was the grandfather of two of my students. So I let go of my plan to be lazy and prepared myself for a cultural experience.

We walked for about more than an hour before reaching the family's house (and many of my students have longer daily commutes than this!). My headmaster bumped into a female friend on the walk there and asked her to be my "escort." Funerals, like so many other things here, are gender-segregated. My headmaster and I were both relieved that I would have a guide for this! When we arrived at the compound, I sat outside on the ground with the women, and the men went elsewhere (though I never actually saw where they went, I think it was a tent-like structure). There had to have been hundreds of people at this compound. We waited for the church service to begin. My "guide's" English was about as rough as my Chitumbuka, so my understanding of the whole event was pretty limited. After waiting for an hour or so, a staggered parade of family members arrived and entered the house. They were wailing—as least the women were. The men were rather stoic. The women were visibly grieving. This seemed to be a major difference from in America, where people try to maintain their composure. The older women were especially animated in their grief, shouting "my brother" or "my husband," and requiring the help of others to stand up.

Once the individuals who went inside the house (maybe to observe the body? Maybe to eat nsima? Not sure why) emerged, the church service began. During the service, a shoe was passed around as an offering plate to collect bereavement money for the family. About two hours later, we went to the cemetery. The body was in a wooden coffin that male family members carried. As we were walking, women were still crying and grieving audibly. As I've mentioned before, cemeteries are in forested areas. Villages have cemeteries; from what I understand, graveyards aren't segregated by religion. Everyone sat on the ground while men dug the grave. There was a small choir singing songs as this took place. When the grave was dug and the body placed and covered, the choir did a modest dance where the body was resting. After announcements were made and a donation summary was read aloud (any big monetary contributions were recognized), we were free to leave.

Although my lazy Sunday had taken an unexpected turn, I am glad that I was able to attend the funeral and show my support for the family. It was also a very interesting and important cultural experience. It is very fortunate that there haven't been too many funerals in my area. Right now, it is "funeral season" here, because there is a period of a few months in the rainy season before crops are harvested, and many people are very hungry. One of my PCV friends has had three people at site, with whom she was close, pass away--just in the first three months at site. She and I have talked about how it is hard for us, because we are so used to having our emotions run as an undercurrent to everything else in our life. Malawians seem to have an ability to turn their emotions on and off. At the funeral, it surprised me to see ordinarily composed women sobbing and grieving with every fiber of their being. But it seems like once they have grieved fully, they can move on.

In-Service Training in Dedza

Along with the rest of my group, I was at the Peace Corps' training site in Dedza from April 6-15 for language intensive training as well as technical training (In-Service Training, or IST). It was really nice to see everyone in my group and hear how their first term of teaching went. The first few days we worked on our respective languages: some of us need Chichewa, others Chitonga, and others Chitumbuka. It was amazing how much everyone's language has improved—at least I noticed this with the PCVs in my language group. We learned a lot of technical language during this time, as well as HIV/AIDS-related vocabulary. Our language trainer, Shupe, was also willing to go off on a lot of culture-related tangents. Many of us had questions about cultural issues such as polygamy and witchcraft.

For the rest of the time in Dedza, we were learning about funding sources for secondary projects, discussing problems and successes in the classroom, and hearing about various things like permaculture and how to use sports to educate about AIDS. It was a very productive training session, and I was really glad to see that so many of us are really thriving at site and generating some great ideas for how to contribute. Every year, the education volunteers coordinate an academic camp after Term 3 called Camp Sky. As a group, we discussed how we are going to run Camp Sky this year. I am on the curriculum committee, so I get to help design different "tracks" for students (i.e., a business track, a science track, an arts track), and I will also help recruit volunteers from different sectors to help with teaching. During IST, we also had "elections." There are two things you can be elected for—the Volunteer Advisory Committee (VAC). VAC members meet with the different directors and serve as liaisons between volunteers and the administrators. There is also Volunteers Supporting Volunteers (VSV), which is a support network for volunteers. VSV members help other volunteers when they're having tough times by visiting sites, providing a listening ear, and perhaps bringing chocolate. I was elected as one of the VSV members, which I'm really excited about. I will go to Lilongwe in June for VSV training.

Aside from learning tons of stuff and holding student council elections, we also went on a really neat field trip during IST. We visited a place called Mua Mission that is a cultural history museum featuring the different ethnic groups of Malawi. There were beautiful paintings and carvings there, too. It was quite the treat, and we just happened to go there on my birthday! In addition to this lovely coincidental birthday treat, we also celebrated my birthday at Kande Beach…

Kande Beach

Because Grandma and Grandpa Lakin, as well as Grandma Morley, decided to give me a little bit of money for my birthday, I thought it would be nice to take a beach vacation after IST and before school started back up again. I used my birthday money to rent a chalet on Lake Malawi with four of my friends (Caitlin, Kelly O, Kelly P, and Margaret). We went to a resort called Kande Beach Resort. It was beautiful and remote. For almost three whole days we just sat on the beach, listened to music on my new ipod (thanks so much mom and dad!) and chatted and played games. We have become very creative these days, playing games like "would you rather" or "sticktionary" (Pictionary with sticks!) because we don't have all that many resources.

We met some nice people at Kande Beach—an older Canadian couple working in Mzuzu, as well as some PCVs who had just been evacuated from Madagascar because of the political situation there. Because Malawi is opening up a uranium mine in Karonga (I think it opened yesterday actually), there were a lot of miners at the beach too. I returned from Kande yesterday, and I'm in Mzuzu now getting a few things in order before heading back to site Thursday. The term begins on the 27th. Last time I returned from site after being away, my cat was missing his whiskers… who knows what surprises I'll have waiting for me on Thursday!

Until later,

Alyssa

I'm in Lilongwe right now after finishing my first term of teaching. What a mixture of emotions-- excitement, as I'm seeing my whole group again after being holed up at site for months; relief! the term's over! (No grading for a while!!) ; confusion/nostalgia-- have I really been here for six months? Peace Corps is such a time warp! And on top of that my taste buds are being constantly delighted in the city. I had Indian for dinner last night!

My group is heading to Dedza for about 10 days for In-Service Training. We'll reflect on our first term of teaching, learn a little more language, and also have some presentations from organisations that could help out with secondary projects. I'm also anticipating down time while at Dedza, so I'm going to use that time when I have constant electricity (we're so spoiled in Dedza!) to type up my blog posting. The past few months have been wonderful in many ways and extremely frustrating in many others. I am looking forward to filling you all in shortly. Sorry that this is just a teaser, BUT here is consolation prize: I'm posting a few pictures on my Picasa Web Album. Photos of students, of my fellow teachers, of my new house (I have real windows!)... so check out those photos.

Hope all is well in your lives. I'll write more around mid-month!

Alyssa

I’ve been at site for a few weeks now and wanted to update you all on how things are going, and what my life is like at site. I haven’t written since before Christmas—quite a bit has happened since then. We traveled around during Christmas time and spent New Years in Mzuzu. School started January 5. I’ve been keeping myself busy teaching and getting to know my community.

Because I am becoming very organized (I am a teacher now), I’ll break up my entry into categories… starting with my fun Christmas travels!

Christmas and New Years

I outlined our plans a bit before we embarked on our journey, but of course, I’m in Malawi… plans change!

We left Lilongwe the morning of Christmas Eve, and arrived at Senga Bay (a beach in the central area) that afternoon. After setting up camp at Carolina’s, a resort on the lake, we jumped into the water. I was in the water for most of the day! We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner (chicken and chippies—my favorite Malawian meal).

Christmas Day was pretty similar: going for walks on the beach, relaxing in the sun, splashing around in the water… it was nice, but I really missed everybody back home. It was strange to be with new friends on a beach in Africa when my image of Christmas is composed of family, tons of snow, and Christmas songs playing in the background (mom you should know that on Thanksgiving I asked my roommate Caitlin to wake me up by singing Christmas songs! It made me feel like I was back at home in Midland.).

When in Lilongwe I had received packages from Jenny and Tyler. As two of my dearest friends, they know that I have the palette of a child and stuffed the packages with skittles, pixie sticks, and other delicious candies. I shared the candy Christmas morning so it was almost like “stockings”… We had a nice Christmas dinner. I treated myself to a cider! It wasn’t quite as good as a Strongbow, but it was still wonderful.

The day after Christmas (Friday), many of the people in our group went back to their sites. But those of us who came down from the north decided our trip would only be worthwhile if we stayed an extra day. We moved to Cool Runnings Resort down the beach from Carolina’s. Cool Runnings has a great atmosphere—very laid back and homey. We met two South Africans there, Garth and Karen. They had been staying in Malawi for a few months doing volunteer work with orphanages, and were concluding their stay with some relaxing on the beach. They’re very interesting people, and Garth became one of our travel companions later in the trip!

Caitlin, Joce, Margaret and I went on an adventure for part of the day Friday. There is a small island close to Senga Bay that looked really cool. It’s a few miles away and appeared to be completely remote. We wanted to go check it out, but boat rides are very expensive. We ended up renting a 2-person canoe from Cool Runnings (there was only one, as the other had been tipped and damaged the previous day—by Garth and Karen, nonetheless). The four girls all decided that we wanted to take the trip out to the island, so we did. In a flimsy, 2-person canoe that we were convinced was going to tip the whole way there, and back. But it didn’t! And we arrived at the island in good time. We packed a picnic and spent a few hours just hanging out at the island, which was covered by rocks and completely free of any life aside from birds and monitor lizards (which kind of look like baby crocodiles from a distance and gave me a good scare). We ate sandwiches and mangoes, jumped off rocks, and swam around (Margaret and I swam around the whole island!). Most of you know how much I love boating, swimming, and just being on the water! It was a really incredible day—one of the best days I’ve had since I’ve been here.

The following day, Caitlin, Margaret, Garth and I left for our journey back north. We planned to hitch up the M-5, the lakeside road. Nkhata Bay is only about 30 minutes from Mzuzu, so our plan was to arrive in Nkhata Bay, spend the night there, then return to Mzuzu and go back to site. Hitching was not as easy as we thought it would be—there were hardly any cars on the M-5. We ended up riding a three-star AXA bus, which is pretty much the lowest of low of public transport here. It was awful. The vehicle was jam-packed, and stopped about every kilometer to let some people off and let more people on. When we finally arrived at Nkhata Bay, we were uncomfortable, unhappy, and exhausted.

But then, we realized that we had arrived at a little paradise on earth and our moods instantly changed. Nkhata Bay is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The water is crystal clear. The landscape is mountainous and the area is much less developed than in the central region. We stayed at a place called Mayoka Village. It’s named after a village in Nkhata Bay, and is run as a collaborative effort between a South African and members of the village. There were lots of options of places to stay in Nkhata, but this, along with the free snorkel gear, persuaded us to stay at Mayoka. We set up camp there, and had a delicious dinner. And the best part of the meal was that they had homemade ice cream! It was really incredible. The plan was to stay in Nkhata for one night, but quickly we determined that it would be a complete shame to leave so soon. We resolved to stay a second night.

The next day, we ended up running into three other Peace Corps Volunteers, Meagan, Danny, and Terence. They were coming to Mayoka Village too, so we had a few more playmates for the day. (Garth, meanwhile, is getting along with everyone in our group and at Mayoka just fabulously. He is behind the bar most of the time DJ’ing and making drinks. Before we leave, he has received an offer to stay and work there for a few months. Lucky guy! I wouldn’t mind working at a place like that). We just hung out and relaxed most of the day, tried out the snorkel gear (these cichlid fish are gorgeous), and ate tasty food. There are dug out canoes here, and there is a dug out canoe challenge at Mayoka where if you can take the dug out canoe around the raft without tipping you get a free night at the resort. I tried the challenge with Danny about 20 times and we were met with constant defeat. As a result, I was left with several bruises, a cut up foot (not too mention a sense of failure). Margaret and Meagan, after watching Danny’s and my attempts and stealing our strategies, managed to make it around the raft on their first try. They were one of seven teams who had accomplished the challenge in the past five years or something!

We left Nkhata Bay on Monday and stayed in Mzuzu for a few days before New Years. Stephanie, the PCV-Leader, planned a wonderful NY’s Eve extravaganza. She made SO much food! Fried chicken, fried cheese balls, vegetables and dip, devilled eggs, and wonderful desserts. I’m pretty sure, in that day alone, I gained back any weight I might have lost since I’ve been here. New Year’s Day I returned to my site. I had really started missing many of the people at site, and I was happy to see them again!

A Typical Day at Site

Here is an outline of how I spend a typical day at site. I wake up around 5:00 or 5:30. I take my bucket bath, have a cup of coffee, and eat my oatmeal (usually with bananas and honey—yum!). I get to school around 7 am. School starts at 7:30, though on Mondays and Fridays we have assemblies. I teach about three or four classes each day, then head home around 2. Some days I stay later, as we have manual work and I am needed to supervise (there are no custodians or workers here—it’s the students who clean the rooms, slash grass, and carry bricks when necessary. And they pay school fees too! The school is getting quite a deal, I think.). Once clubs start, I will be busier in the afternoons with the clubs I want to head up. Some afternoons I will go and chat with neighbors, or go to Bolero to get vegetables. Many days I just sit and read a book or draw pictures with the kids who live nearby. I’m in bed usually by 8:00 every night. I might read for a while with a candle or my headlamp, but for the most part I sleep and rise with the sun.

My House and My Village

My house is in a very remote area—my school is up on a hill and is very “in the bush.” I’m about a 20-minute walk from our trading center (where I can buy tomatoes, oil, and sometimes fish). While I know not all people would enjoy the remoteness of my site, I really do. I love the wildlife that I have around me, and I like being able to escape from the village from time-to-time. I have a few neighbors around me, but for the most part, if I want to be social and go and chat, it’s my job to make the effort. I think I would find it overwhelming to have a house at a more central location in the village (especially now, where I feel like anytime I am interacting with people in the community I have to be “on.”). I am about a 30-minute bike ride from Bolero, a town with electricity and groceries. I bike into Bolero about once a week.

There are a few houses nearby that have solar electricity, and I can charge my phones at those places. I’m glad I discovered these houses; at the beginning I was biking to Bolero anytime my battery was low, and that was kind of a pain!

My neighbors are really wonderful. They have been coming by to greet me, and bringing me many gifts. I have been receiving maize and mangoes, and even eggs every now and then! Guinea fowl are very obnoxious animals, but their eggs are delicious.

“Key Players” at Site

I spend a lot of time with the children of my fellow teachers. They like to come to my house to draw pictures or look at pictures in magazines. Sometimes, Tandiwe (my headmaster’s daughter who is 7) will ask me if she can sweep my house! She also asks if she can weed my garden for me. Or mop. Hey, if that’s what makes her happy, I’m not going to hold her back. My headmaster’s youngest child, Lekal, hasn’t quite warmed to me. Tandiwe will bring her over to my house sometimes, but Lekal has made a habit of urinating on my floor. I can only assume she’s trying to make some sort of statement.

Tandiwe often comes over just to chat. She is often very patient with my broken Chitumbuka, but sometimes when I don’t understand it, she will just shout it louder and louder. That’s a little frustrating… If I get too annoyed by the children, I will give them a ball to play with outside (Tyler they love the soccer ball you sent), or I will say, “Panyakhe mukukhumba kuluta ku thengere kupenja maluba!” (Maybe you could go into the bush and search for flowers). I keep wildflowers in a bottle on my table in the living room. There are some really gorgeous flowers out there!

My headmaster’s wife, Victoria, is a really great person that I am grateful to have living so close to me. She is cooking me lunch every day (I buy food for her to cook, enough so that she has some for her family too). I am getting my daily serving of nsima, don’t you worry! If I run out of water in the middle of doing laundry, or desperately need embers to start a fire, it’s nice to know Victoria is nearby.

I have a worker who comes to my house in the mornings to help me with cleaning and heating up water for my bath water and coffee. Her name is Cecilia (for the first few days she was coming to my house I could not get the song “Oh Cecilia” out of my head, but I’ve since been cured of this.). Cecilia is so helpful, and I’m really glad I hired her.

The Mfune family lives near me, and the daughters have been helping me with my Chitumbuka. Ethel is a Form 3 student and Tamika recently graduated secondary school in Lilongwe. Their sister, Esnart, has two adorable children. Her husband ran away (which is the same thing that happened to Cecilia). I go to the Mfune’s house fairly often to chat or play cards. Their mom brews a local beer called Kachasu to make a little extra money. I haven’t tried it though—I hear it can be lethal…

More key players: my site mates, Emily and Amalia who are environment volunteers. Emily has done some work with Lundu and is very helpful. I think I will be working with her a lot. Margaret is the closest volunteer in my group to me. She is at Lura CDSS.

My fellow teachers are Mr. Bota, Mr. Mkandawire, Mr. Chirambo, and Mr. Chipofya (the head master). We have two new teachers coming too.

Teaching

I’m teaching Form 1 Math and Physical Science, Form 2 Social Studies, and Form 3 Social and Development Studies. Form 3 has been suspended because there were only nine students who passed the Junior Certificate Exam (the lowest pass rate in my district…). Many of the students who did pass could not afford school fees. So at this point I’m not sure if we’ll be teaching Form 3 or not.

I’m really enjoying teaching Physical Science and Math. Of course the language barrier is a serious challenge. I have been trying to make class somewhat fun. I had them make a human number line, and play a set scramble game to teach about sets. For social studies, I had them decorate the library with illustrated Tumbukan proverbs. There are some proverbs that are interesting, such as “one turn of calabash spits on okra,” or “man who hides on wooden spoon exposes back.” I don’t quite get them yet.

I am the librarian at school. I moved the books from a closet to a vacant classroom, and I’m selecting “library assistants” to help me with inventory and keeping the library in order. I am also on the school committee which helps with school development. Additionally, I’m the sports organizer for girls (I’m the only female teacher so I sort of need to help, or else they can’t play!). I also want to start a girls’ club and a science club.

Animals

I have a cat! He has black and white fur and has a little bit of black on his otherwise white face. It looks like a beard and goatee! I thought he needed an Italian name, so I went with Vincent (Vin, Vinny, Vince). He is really cute. I got him because I had a small mouse problem, and I am glad to be free from that problem and to have an adorable companion now.

I also was gifted a chicken. What a prize! It was alive. I did not want to kill it so I’ve been keeping it. Victoria, the headmaster’s wife, is keeping her for me. It hasn’t laid any eggs yet but I am hopeful that it will start earning its keep.

As I’ve mentioned, the wildlife here is really beautiful. I’m at the base of Nyika and so there are wonderful birds and flowers. Some of the Form 1 boys found a snake in my bushes! They killed it, after I consulted my Wildlife of Southern Africa book and saw that it was poisonous. This wildlife book I have is really great. I’ve been circling all of the birds and plants that I’ve spotted! Unfortunately one of the things I got to circle was a scorpion, which I found in my bed… eek!

Cultural Notes and Anecdotes

I wanted to write about a few of the funny/interesting/shocking things here…

-My students are so used to having male teachers. On the first day of class, the Form 1 students all stood up and said, “Good Morning Sir.” I had them try again.

-It is rainy season now, which happens once a year so it seems like everyone would be prepared to deal with the rains. But I am continually surprised to see that so many people won’t do anything if it is raining! Students won’t come to school, or committee members won’t come to meetings.

-I am so glad that I am in an area that is so deeply Tumbukan. The culture is very rich. There are fabulous cultural dances, such as the mbotoska dance for women and the malipingo for men. The women do the mbotoska fairly often and they try to teach me! It’s good entertainment for them and fun for me. There is also the vimbuza healing dance that happens on Friday nights. From my house, I can hear the drums beating. I went one night with the Mfunes to watch the vimbuza. It was late at night (10:00 or something—way past my village bedtime) and that night there was a full moon, which made it for a really cool setting. The vimbuza took place at the African Hospital, which is near my house. There was a woman sitting in a chair, encircled by people who were singing, clapping, and playing various wooden instruments. There were three men playing the “healing drums.” The woman drank a maize drink, and seemed to be in a trance-like state for almost an hour while sitting down and swaying to the music. Eventually, she elevated from the seat and began dancing. She was joined by two or three other people who wanted to be healed. It was really interesting to watch.

I feel so lucky that I am so close to all of this culture. It’s the perfect site for an anthropology major!

Well, that’s all I have for now. I miss you all and hope all is well in your lives.

Love,

Alyssa

Monire babwezi (hello friends-- in Chitumbuka, of course!). I can't believe that it's Christmas time-- it is so warm here, and we are leaving for the beach later today. I hope all is well in your lives. Things are great here. I am in Lilongwe at the Peace Corps office. It is only 7 am here and I have been up for two hours! Wow, my schedule is sure changing. Just a warning: this entry will be much shorter than my long-winded previous entry! But I will try to fill you in on the new happenings in my life.

Since my last entry, we wrapped up training in Dedza, went to Lilongwe for a few days before Swearing In (which was December 9-- no we're official volunteers!), then moved to our sites (December 10). The last few days of training were rather uneventful, but we did a few fun things. At the beginning of training, the Malawian trainers put on a skit called "Strange Malawians" to attune us to the ways Americans seem weird to Malawians. They joked about our desire to be alone from time to time (in this collective culture you are weird if you just want to read a book alone!); they also laughed at the way we are so fascinated with wildlife and nature (it's no big deal to them that they can see the stars so clearly!). Anyway, so on one of our last days of training, the PCTs got a chance to put on a "Strange Malawians" skit-- a rebuttle of sorts. Two of the guys in our group held hands (here it is acceptable for same-sex friends to display affection, but not opposite sex friends). While they were holding hands and cuddling they were discussing the horrifyingly brazen displays of affection they had seen between an American woman and a man, and how the woman was wearing a skirt that showed her knees (unthinkable!). We also carried many different things on our heads (coins, bags, and one girl actually managed a chair!!), and we had a "wedding" where the bride and groom looked terribly unhappy. In Malawi the bride and groom are not supposed to appear happy on their wedding day; rather, they look miserable to signify their sadness over leaving their families. So that skit was one fun thing we did during the end of training. We also made a mud stove (a wonderfully messy endeavor) and learned how to kill chickens. I did not volunteer to kill one, but I watched! That was enough of an experience for me. We had intense language training during the last week at Dedza and had our Language Proficiency Interviews before heading to Lilongwe. Everyone in our group passed the LPI, which rarely happens! We went to Lilongwe on Sunday (Dec 7). We had a series of final training sessions on Malawi politics, PC financial stuff, and the role of volunteers in development. Then on Tuesday we went to the ambassador's house for Swearing In-- when we transitioned from PCTs to PCVs. Several of us had dresses made for Swearing In, so we were looking very stylish! After Swearing In we had to get all of our shopping done for site (buying stuff like buckets, pans, candles, soap, paraffin stoves

I'm at an internet cafe in Mzuzu and have a little bit of time to post this entry I've been typing up on my laptop ...

I have been in Africa for almost two months now. So much has happened—home-stay, language training, teaching practice, site announcements!—I think the best way to approach this blogging business is to divide my homestay entries by themes. Sorry, for those of you who are very chronocentric (Malawi is curing me of this). I’ll try to touch on the main things that have happened since I last wrote: staging and travelling to Africa, training at the college, homestay “key players,” chores during homestay, technical training, site announcement, and site visit.

Side note: Thanks so much for the letters/packages I have been receiving! I’ve really appreciated them. For anyone who doesn’t have it, my address here is:

Alyssa Morley, PCV

Peace Corps/Malawi

P.O. Box 208

Lilongwe, Malawi

Southern Africa

Staging and Travelling to Africa

I flew to Philadelphia the day before staging and stayed with Matt and Bethany. We went out to dinner and played some Wii (no, my Wii skills have not improved). It was really nice to spend time with Matt and Bethany before leaving! Staging began on Friday, September 26. I’m looking back at my journal to see what I wrote on September 26. . . “It has been a whirlwind so far, and I know the chaos is just beginning! Today was packed with icebreakers, discussion of Peace Corps history, anxieties, aspirations, and safety. I keep getting more and more excited about Malawi—‘the Warm Heart of Africa,’ ‘the Starter Country of Africa.’” My first impression of my training group (which has really proved true!) was everyone in the group is a very interesting, passionate, and unique person. There are 22 people in my group altogether. I will be teaching Physical Science along with three other trainees—Johnny, Kelly O, and Caitlin. The majority of the training group went out to a Cuban restaurant in Philadelphia that was really great—Cuba Libre, I believe. Saturday we wrapped up staging and went over the logistics of travelling. Saturday evening we decided that pizza and beer should be our last American meal, so we found a place near the hotel and enjoyed some delicious beer and pizza (I think about that pizza about twice a day, because it was so delicious and it’s pretty much impossible to get cheese here). Sunday we boarded a bus to JFK airport. Getting to Africa was rather uneventful—we flew from JFK to Johannesburg in South Africa. The flight departed about three hours late, which I can only assume the Peace Corps arranged in order to get us used to the Malawian perception of time. We arrived in Johannesburg September 29 after 20 hours on a plane and stayed at a heavenly hotel (please bear in mind that my description of food and accommodations may be somewhat influenced by the fact that my life no longer includes running water or electricity). We flew from J-burg to Lilongwe the next morning (after a sensational breakfast buffet at the hotel) and arrived in Lilongwe in the early afternoon. There was a crowd of Peace Corps volunteers holding up a Peace Corps sign and cheering as we got off the plane. It was very exciting and made us all feel most welcome! The Peace Corps Country Director was there to meet us and so were many of the trainers and other members of the PC Malawi staff. There was a bus that then took us to the Dedza College of Forestry, where we kicked off Pre-Service Training.

Training at the College

We spent the first few days at the Dedza College of Forestry. Dedza is in the central area of Malawi. It is summer time here which means it is fairly warm, although Dedza is mountainous so it doesn’t get too hot here. The Dedza College of Forestry is where Peace Corps Malawi does all of its training—Pre-Service Training, In-Service Training, and Mid-Service Training (while we were in homestay the health volunteers were here for IST). The college area around Dedza is very pretty; there are many forests and gardens. This is a welcomed contrast from much of Malawi that has been largely affected by deforestation. I am told the central and southern regions are the hardest hit by this. If you do see a patch of forest, it is safe to assume that it is a graveyard—any other forest has been cleared for farmland, living space, and firewood. The college sits at the base of a small mountain. On the first morning of training (1 Oct) we hiked up the mountain. What a gorgeous view! The first day of training was busy. We had introductory sessions on the cultural, language, and technical aspects of training. We started “survival Chichewa lessons.” Chichewa is the language spoken in the majority of Malawi (including Dedza). There are other languages too—Chitumbuka, Chitonga, Chinkhonde, etc.—but the main language is Chichewa. So we learned the basics, “how are you?” [muli bwanji?] “how did you wake up?” [mwadzuka bwanji?], and so on. On Oct 3 we learned our homestay villages and language groups. I am learning Chitumbuka, which means I will be living and working in the north. My homestay village is called Mpalale. It is very close to the college—about a 30-minute walk. I am teaching at Mpalale Community Day Secondary School during training. We leave for homestay Sunday, Oct 5.

Homestay “Key Players”

There are seven of us in Mpalale, three learning Chichewa (Kelly P, Bryan, and Courtney), and four learning Chitumbuka (Enrique, Jenn, Terence, and me). Shupe is our Chitumbuka language trainer. She is from Rumphi district in the north. Kelly (or “Kiri” as it is pronounced by most Malawians) and I have started meeting at 5 am every morning to go for walks, or expeditions, rather, where we explore the village. We found a lovely area of the village that is replete with banana trees. We called it “banana village”! On our morning walks, we also have discovered a maize mill, some very pretty trees, a graveyard, and some well-irrigated areas of farmland close to a stream (most of the plots of farmland during dry season are simply dirt, so it is nice to see some green!).

My house is on the edge of the village. My abambo (“dad” in Chichewa) is one of several village headmen. Both he and my amayi (“mom”) are very sweet people. My amayi is in the kitchen all day long! She cooks for so many people—her grandchildren (Yoweali and Sara are 5 and 9 and stay at our house. In Mpalale children live with their grandparents once they are 5 so their parents have room for more children). My amayi and abambo (their names are Esila and Frederick) have seven children, but currently only three live at home—Wexton (11), Wellington (17), and Hastings (19). My abambo’s niece, Sadrine, also lives with us. She is 9 and she and Sara are best friends. Also at our house are two workers and three girls in Form 1 who rent out a room. They are named Rose, Pemphero, and Prisca. They, along with my host brother Wellington, are in the class that I am student teaching! The Form 1 girls love looking through my photos. It was really nice having the Form 1 girls at my house; their English is fairly good and they are so curious to learn about America. Nobody here can believe that there is no sima in America, by the way.

There are lots of animals at my house, too: three dogs (Switch, Poison, and Danger), five goats (nameless), and a whole bunch of chickens. The whole rooster-crowing thing took some getting used to! Switch and Poison are two adorable puppies. I tried to hide my affection for them, but it was so hard! Switch would wait for me outside of my door in the morning and Poison would follow Kelly and me on our walks. The day I left for homestay, after giving me about two tons of potatoes, my amayi said to me: “Ndi mudzatengaso Switch” (and you will also take Switch). I told her no—but I do hope to get a dog at site. Most of the PCVs that I have talked to have one. There are vets around so it will get shots and everything.

Chores During Training

Part of homestay involved learning the different chores that we will need to master in order to survive kuno ku Malawi. This is no easy task—I still don’t feel totally competent in most of the areas, but I I’ll be able to live.

Cooking is an all-day event here in Malawi. I tried to explain that in America we have frozen dinners that you can prepare in 3-minutes. My amayi couldn’t really wrap her mind around this—she always has a fire going because she is constantly cooking. One of the homestay objectives was to learn how to make a fire from our amayis; this was tough, because I think my amayi has had the same fire going since she got married. The most popular food here is sima. Corn is the major crop here, and sima is a porridge-like patty made of corn flour. Sima is made by adding corn flour to boiling water and stirring, which seems easy enough. But the reality of cooking in a Malawian kitchen is much different: no pot holders (my amayi just picks up hot pans with her bare hands!) and tons of smoke. I could only stay in the kitchen for a few minutes at a time—my eyes would start to water and I would need to leave for fresh air. One of the first nights back at the college after homestay, some friends and I tried to make chippies (delicious French fry-like treats that my amayi would pack for my morning snack). It took us way too long to make a fire. I think I will buy a paraffin stove.

My homestay house did not have running water (and neither does my site), so people are always making trips to the stream or the bore hole. I went with my amayi to get water—she can carry a huge bucket on her head easily. I, on the other hand, get a second bath in the process. At least I can provide some entertainment to the amayis though! Women will carry their dishes to the stream and clean them there, and many do laundry in the stream too. I usually did laundry at home in buckets, but once I took my sheets to the stream to wash them. I had been getting a little frustrated by my host family’s perpetual attempts to help me—with sweeping my room, with mopping my room, and with doing my laundry. The first few weeks, I really appreciated it, but I really tried to make clear that I needed to learn the chores on my own. The problem was that whenever I started a chore they would somehow commandeer it. I tried to be logical about it: they were being hospitable and generous; I was being proud and interpreting their help as an assertion that I was incapable. My host family speaks Chichewa, and I am learning Chitumbuka, so I tried to say that I wanted to do my laundry alone using horrible Chichewa, but it undoubtedly was something like: “You help thanks but laundry me, laundry me [curious facial expression].” Anyway, I decided to go to the stream to do laundry because I didn’t want my family to see me doing it and take over. So I washed my first sheet in the stream, no problems. I had set the first clean sheet on the shore on a chitenje (a one-meter piece of cloth that Malawian women use for just about everything). Things were going well. I was onto the second sheet. But then, a wanton galu (“dog” in Chichewa) appears, looking for mischief. He approaches my sheet, and I get a little anxious. But I’m in the river, ankle deep, so I just hope that the galu won’t mess with my sheet. Alas, such is not the case. The galu decides he likes the smell of my laundry soap, and rubs his galu body all over my sheet and then knocks it into the dirt. I’m just a little bit irritated at this point. I’m already a late for breakfast, and now I have two dirty sheets to wash. One of the women at the stream offered to help me wash the galu sheet, and I had to accept her help. I felt a little disempowered after the whole experience (Note: since the galu incident, I have done laundry completely on my own.).

So that’s just a little piece of the chores that I got exposed to during training. It is refreshing to be in a place where people are self-sustaining without electricity and without so many of the comforts that we rely on in the States.

Technical Training

For the past decade, there has been a shortage of teachers in Malawi. Primary education has been free in Malawi since 1994. Secondary education is not free, but there are still too many students and not enough teachers here in Malawi. Secondary school is divided into forms: Form 1 (freshmen) Form 2 (sophomores) Form 3 (juniors) and Form 4 (seniors). There are two major tests that students take during secondary school—the Junior Certificate Exam (after Form 2) and the Malawian School Certificate of Education (after Form 4). These are national exams that determine whether students advance to Form 3, and whether they are eligible for university. There are two types of secondary schools in Malawi: conventional secondary schools and community day secondary schools (CDSSs). Conventional schools are selective and get more government money; CDSSs have no admission criteria. PCVs in Education teach at CDSSs. During homestay, I taught Form 1 physical science at Mpalale CDSS. Physical science is difficult to teach, especially when the only resource I had for a class of 58 students was one book. The topics I covered were mixtures and compounds; separation techniques; physical and chemical changes; and chemical reactions. I found it very challenging to teach the difference between physical and chemical changes with no laboratory! I can’t tell you how much I wished I had baking soda and vinegar to show a chemical change, but neither of these things were sold in the market (my school at site will not have a laboratory either, so I’ll need to be thinking of ways to get creative. I’m told that my school has a library, though). At the end of technical training, we administered tests on what we had taught. My test average was about a 60%, which I hear is good... I will certainly need to adjust my expectations with teaching here in Malawi. The language barrier, especially in Form 1, is a huge obstacle. It is hard, because the culture is one of extreme politeness. If you as the class, “Are we together?” they will smile and say “yes,” regardless of the reality. It will take some getting used to, but I am very excited that I will be teaching. I enjoy working with students, and I also like that teachers’ schedules are somewhat structured. Additionally, teachers are extremely respected in Malawi, which makes the think that I will be able to organize secondary projects with more ease, and also, I will be a very visible presence in the community because I am a teacher. It’s all just speculation now, though—more on this later!

Site Announcement

In writing these entries, I have tried to engender in you the curiosity that I experienced for six weeks of training. I know you are on the edge of your seat, wondering, “where is Alyssa’s site?” You have some clues. I am learning Chitumbuka, which means I’m going north. Actually, that is the only clue. The possibilities are endless!! (a) I could be going up to Chitipa—where there is beautiful vegetation yet no cell phone service. (b) I could be in Mzimba, just as close to Lilongwe as I am to Mzuzu. (c) I could be in Mzuzu, living the inner city life with inner city pressures. (d) I could be in Rumphi district, living at the base of Nyika plateau... Which is it, you ask? In order to get our sites, we had to answer a question, Game Show Style. My question was “what is the currency of Malawi?” Answer: “Kwacha.” Phew. I’m still in Peace Corps. And then Stephanie held up a little piece of paper saying “Lundu Community Day Secondary School.” This means pretty much nothing to me. Lundu is a village in northern Malawi. I will be speaking very proper Chitumbuka (yes!), whereas in some of the other areas they don’t use all of the tenses and grammar isn’t as polished. So, as a former editor of my high school newspaper, you can imagine how excited I am about this fact. The most pure Chitumbuka is spoken in Rumphi district. Which means, the answer is (d)! I’ll be living in Rumphi district at the base of Nyika plateau (Nyika National Park is right there). I’m at a new site, which is what I wanted. I have two site-mates, both Environment volunteers. I am a short bike ride from a town called Borelo (20-40 kilometers, according to Stephanie). I’m not too far from the Rumphi Boma (the capital of the district). The M-1 is the major road here, and I think I’m only about an hour from the M-1. Once I get to the M-1 I’m an hour from Mzuzu, where one of the Peace Corps respite houses is located (they’re in Mzuzu, Lilongwe, and Blantyre). The school is small and they are currently constructing a library. My house is near the school (no running water or electricity—but that stuff is overrated). I’ve been looking through my travel book and reading stuff about Nyika and Rumphi. Nyika has the best bird-watching in all of Malawi! There are zebras and leopards at the park too. You should google-image “Nyika”—I’m sure it will yield so awesome pictures. My travel book compares the views to Europe. The weather is supposed to be nice—a little warmer than here in Dedza. We leave for site visit on Friday. Our headmasters and headmistresses (I have a headmaster) are coming to Dedza today (Nov 18) or tomorrow. Then we’re travelling to site for site visit, and then it is Thanksgiving! We go to Lilongwe for Thanksgiving and we’ll be eating at the ambassador’s house.

Site Visit

Just got back from site visit and I’m now at an internet café in Mzuzu. My site is wonderful. The school is in good shape and the other teachers are very nice and excited that I will be joining them. My headmaster is great (his name is Jolly!). I stayed with his family while at site visit. He has a 19-year-old niece named Mphatso (meaning “gift” in Chitumbuka) who lives with him. She has offered to help me get settled in. She will help me with cooking and fetching water at the beginning. I will be teaching Physical Science and Math for Form 1, and Social Studies/Social Development in Form 2 and 3. I will also help out with sports. I am the only female teacher at my school, and so I will help "coach" the girls soccer and netball (like basketball) teams... If any of you have seen me play basketball, then I know you are laughing as you read this! There are two other PCVs nearby (they are in the environment sector and I'm hoping they'll help me start my garden). I will be living in a teacher house very close to the school, and I am only 1 km away from Nyika national park. Please come visit!

Tiwonana means "see you later" in Chichewa! I've really been practicing -- I now know a few more words than simply "hello" and "toilet," so I'll be able to do a little more than greet a toilet... I can't believe that I'm leaving for staging later on today!! I just wanted to let everyone know a little bit about my travel details and getting in touch with me when I'm in Africa.

I leave this afternoon for Philadelphia, where I'll be in staging for a few days (staging = orientation, going over safety information, etc.). The staging deal begins tomorrow afternoon, so I'll get to spend a little time with Matt and Bethany before I go! On Sunday morning, my training group and I will take a bus to JFK airport where we catch our flight to Africa. We leave JFK at 5:20 PM and fly to Johannesberg, South Africa. It's an 18 hour flight -- I hope they're showing some good movies! We spend the night in South Africa and fly to Malawi the following day. I'll arrive in Lilongwe, Malawi Sept. 30 at 1:55 PM. Malawi is 6 hours ahead of Eastern time.

I will be in the Dedza province of Malawi (not too far from the capital Lilongwe) for ten weeks, for technical, language, and cultural training. During this time, I will be living with a host family and I will not have access to the internet or telephones. E-mail my parents (MorleyMid@gmail.com) if you would like my mailing address (Mom and Dad, I hope you don't mind me saying this... I just know that you know my address by heart)! Dec. 12 is when I'll get inducted into the Peace Corps and when I'll definitely know more about my site -- I'll let you know then how to get in touch with me after training.

I hope all is well with everyone! I will write more when I am able (and when I have something interesting to say).

Tiwonana!

Alyssa