Somehow between my last peace corps post and now, my life has completely changed! I arrived home with my dog, Odi, from my service with the Peace Corps at the beginning of May (a Mother's Day surprise!), jumped around Los Angeles for a while, made a leap of faith in moving to Portland, OR, did a dance audition or two, and am currently looking for a wonderful, intellectually and spiritually stimulating job.

Not everyone takes the opportunity to start their life over from scratch, so I am celebrating my position and starting the ultimate personal experiment... using the law of attraction to create the life I really want to live! Certainly, this requires a lot of deep thought and consideration, but knowing what you want is the first step.

So here I go!! Each and every day for the next year, I'll be practicing the law of attraction to realize my perfect life. I'll also be sharing tidbits of what I learn and fun stories from along the way!

Alright universe, I'm ready. Bring it forth!!

With abundant love, B.

** The purpose of this blog was to share my experiences in Malawi with my incredible family and friends. This blog did not in anyway represent the views or opinions of the Peace Corps, the United States government, or the government of Malawi. The views and opinions written on this blog were/are mine and mine alone.

Somehow between my last peace corps post and now, my life has completely changed!

I arrived home with my dog, Odi, from my service with the Peace Corps at the beginning of May (a Mother's Day surprise!), jumped around Los Angeles for a while, made a leap of faith in moving to Portland, OR, did a dance audition or two, and am currently looking for a wonderful, intellectually and spiritually stimulating job.

Not everyone takes the opportunity to start their life over from scratch, so I am celebrating my position and starting the ultimate personal experiment... using the law of attraction to create the life I really want to live! Certainly, this requires a lot of deep thought and consideration, but knowing what you want is the first step.

So here I go!! Each and every day for the next year, I'll be practicing the law of attraction to realize my perfect life. I'll also be sharing tidbits of what I learn and fun stories from along the way!

Alright universe, I'm ready. Bring it forth!!

With abundant love,

B.

Hello!

Greetings from a very, very warm Salima, Malawi. Hot season has finally hit its stride and there is no relief to be found. My thermometer broke back in September at 120 degrees Fahrenheit when I took it outside, so I don’t even want to know what the current temperature is (well, maybe I’d like to know, but just for bragging rights).. Luckily, my house is a bit cooler than outside – about 90 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the night and 100 during the day. I will say that the heat is more manageable the second year, but not necessarily any more enjoyable. One great thing about hot season, however, is that MANGOS abound!! I am doing my best to limit my consumption, but they are wonderful!! I wish I could send each of you your own fresh, juicy Salima mango because there is simply no way for me to adequately describe a mango’s glory.

Anyway, life is good! It has been a busy couple months here in Malawi, and specifically in Khombedza. Our pit latrine training took place the week of my birthday, back in September, and the work has continued ever since. Thus far, the community of Sompho has 20 new pit latrines (just 20 more to go before total coverage of the first 2 villages). The work is slow, but we are looking to make certain people know the importance of hygiene. After we finish the next 20, we are hoping to begin digging for 2 or 3 new water pumps in the same area. Only the next “cholera season” will tell if our work is worthwhile, but I am very excited to see things finally in progress. The community is really beginning to take ownership!

More great news! My proposal to build an under-five clinic was just approved! After 2 long months of waiting, we will be beginning construction on a building to be used for health education, sanitary inoculations, and, hopefully in the future, family planning and HIV and AIDS testing and counseling. The community will be doing ALL of the construction while my counterpart and I supervise. My personal hope is to put together a nutritional garden and educational murals when it is finished. Sompho has a lot of work to do, but I believe that after we finish re-vamping the village, we will find a whole new attitude towards health management and disease prevention (any artists interested in coming to help!?).

Other than these 3 big projects, we have also been hosting our Youth Friendly Health Football (soccer) League. The educational portion is going along great, but the scheduling has been a bit difficult. Another group decided to put on a league just after we began ours, so the interest level in the league has been divided. For the sake of maintaining a high turnout to the health discussions, we have postponed games until after the other league is finished (this coming weekend). The audience is mostly men, which is pretty awesome considering that most men here in Malawi never see the health centre unless it’s a life-or-death situation. I have had the pleasure of watching a 50 year old man giggle like a school girl during condom demonstrations! It’s been an effective forum to gather men (mostly between the ages of 15 and 25) and talk about safe-sexual practices, and Arthur is truly doing an incredible job.

The health centre itself is facing a bit of a struggle right now. I won’t go into detail as I have been instructed to remain neutral by the Peace Corps office, but the preventative health staff are “on strike” (which to them means simply refusing to work on a particular campaign). Other than some raised voices, everything is very peaceful (no reason for anyone to worry). This is fascinating to watch given my interest in conflict resolution and I am actually learning quite a lot!! If only Peace Corps would let me mediate…

On a personal level, I am also doing really well! Since I last wrote, I have grown older in age and, wow, 24 feels really good. The birthday celebration couldn’t have been more perfect as friends joined me in Lilongwe for a night of dancing and then at the beach in Salima where we all tanned our very white thighs with beers in hand. I feel that this year will be one full of many new adventures, and I am looking forward to each of , excited for what they will bring; my return home will give me (and Alinon, too!) the opportunity to start completely fresh, redefine priorities, and share experiences with the people I (we) love the most!

Vanessa and I decided that we would run a half-marathon this November. Training started out really well and I made it up to 5 miles every other day… then this began, or that started, and then the heat came, so we called it quits. Nevertheless, it reminded me just how much I love working out and running around. Keeping up a workout routine has done wonders for my physical and mental health!

This time last year, the roof was ripped off the top of my house and with this weather, I almost wish it was again!! My house is still a work in progress - I found myself having a “Krake weekend” recently, patching up holes in my wall with mud and refinishing the floor in my “kitchini,” also mud. Next up: beautifying my grass fence and getting my garden ready for the rains. Now, if my parents had only spent a little more time teaching me to build mouse-traps, I wouldn’t have anything to gripe about!!

Odi is indifferent to mice, but very partial to the clothes drying on my laundry line. She is getting very big, very fast and has quite the “’tude.” She has the basic commands down when fish is held in front of her, but otherwise, she has discovered that chickens are scared of her, that she is faster than me, and that anything of value tastes quite delicious. She follows me everywhere and people call her my “mwana” (child). I must say, that having Odi walking around has been really comforting and the house doesn't feel quite so empty.

With about 6 months left in my service (moved up due to programmatic changes), I have also started the search for jobs. I know that I still have quite a while left in Malawi, but I hear finding work is still pretty challenging state-side. Generally, I am looking for dispute resolution work, so if you hear of anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know! My resume is updated and ready to send out… ;)

I am very excited to announce that I am headed home for the holidays!! I have saved up my vacation days and will be going back to California for about 3 weeks :) What a blessing – I am counting down the days (36 from today, Nov. 2) till I can see (and hug!) family and friends in person. If you will be in Southern California, please send me an email so we can meet up.

Ok, enough. If you’ve made it this far through the blog – you are wonderful. I hope all is well, wherever you are!

Peace, love, and abundant joy,

B.

P.S. I hope you are “got out the vote” today - I did!

Muli bwanji nonse?!

After several picture updates on the blog, it’s about time for me to descriptive update you on my service here in Malawi. WHAT A COUPLE OF MONTHS THIS HAS BEEN. I will give you a quick run-down on a few noteworthy events, but I will focus the blog on the one thing that has completely consumed this last month, Camp GLOW.

During July (my memory doesn’t seem to extend past there), we celebrated another Independence Day at the Ambassador’s house. It wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as it was last year, but much more laid back and the food was just as good, if not better. Once again, I ate twice my weight in food and went to bed a very happy and satisfied person. It will be the last Independence Day with Ambassador Bodey here in Malawi as he recently received a huge promotion for development in the Middle East. Another nice addition to the Independence Day weekend was meeting Jamie’s friend from home, Dorothy. I was able to spend a few days with Jamie and Dorothy and had a wonderful time. I don’t think it was only me who had a good time… I believe Dorothy had a blast, so if anyone is looking for an adventure, please feel free to join me here in Malawi for any length of time ;)

The following two weeks were spent meeting with the Sompho community talking about pit latrines… almost all of the small pit latrine bricks were ready to go, and they had another little surprise waiting for me also… another 8000 bricks (!!!) as a commitment to me if I would help them find funding to build an immunization and family planning clinic in their community. Wow. I was shocked. These projects usually take a lot of time, but if the proposal goes through quickly, I think everything can be done by the time I leave Malawi. Upon arriving to Salima (one year ago!), I swore I would not help with any construction projects. Many projects which involve buildings seem to go into a quick disrepair and disuse after the contributing volunteer leaves. After seeing how large the catchment area is, however, and noting how many women simply cannot access the health facilities due to the distance, I feel better about helping with this project. I should not forget to mention that the community came to me with prepared bricks and a commitment of community laborers. Their dream is to have it done in November. My role as a volunteer is not to provide mass amounts of monetary aid, but to see where a need can meet up with opportunity and connect the two. If this is truly as much of a community motivated project as it seems to be, I, against my original oath, have no problem helping out. The thought of providing a confidential place for women and mother’s to access birth control methods, for children to receive immunizations, and for the entirety of the community to be able to test for HIV feels good.

After a couple weeks of work in the village, the Peace Corps volunteer community was called into Lilongwe for a very special event, a Presidential Luncheon. The President of Malawi invited all volunteers and staff of Peace Corps to the Statehouse for a day of music, food, and drinks. No matter how politics fall into play – whether we all personally agree or disagree with the direction of the executives - it was quite the affair and as a “lowly volunteer”, it was truly humbling. How cool to say that I met, shook hands, and danced with (okay…near) the President of Malawi! Just so we are all clear, every portion of the “presidential” meal included meat. And yes, I ate it all.

What a perfect high to the beginning of my M-O-N-T-H in Lilongwe. The other Camp GLOW Coordinators and I made a new home at Mufasa Lodge in Lilongwe for our last month of preparation for what would be the Best Camp Ever (B.C.E. as we would commonly refer to it). No need to go into detail about those few weeks… it was a lot of menial tasks, stress, and blisters on my feet. I did, however, receive a soft bristled tooth brush from some new friends (to-be-dentists doing volunteer work for the summer) and it changed my world. The small things in life… *sigh*

Camp GLOW was amazing. Humbling, invigorating, and inspiring. We were graced with the presence of 75 campers, 7 incredible junior counselors, 7 local mentors in the role of counselors, and a host of willing Peace Corps volunteers. Most of our campers and junior campers come from the villages (not the city), where poverty and culture poses seemingly insurmountable barriers for young women to become educated and independent. This was most likely the first time they had ever traveled away from home. The week brought in motivational speakers – members of parliament, government ministers, a radio talk show host, teachers, nurses, a deputy-warden of the southern prison system, the director of the National Youth Council of Malawi, and… are you ready for it?!?!?! Joyce Banda, the Vice President of Malawi herself. Wow. That all of these inspiring Malawian women would respond to our invitation with an eagerness to motivate our campers had us all in awe. For many of the young women who attended, these leading ladies are their role models; they are people they hear about in the news and secretly hope they can become. Wow. In combination with curriculum focusing on self-esteem and leadership, reproductive health, the environment, human rights and planning for their futures, these inspirational speakers were paramount in affecting the transition the girls made during the week.

We witnessed some truly special moments – whether a girl opened up about her HIV status, traumatic events in her past or current life, the barriers she will face when she returns home, or the new lofty goals she set for herself – we were often brought to tears. I knew the camp was a success when one of our guest speakers said to me “these girls are truly listening.” The perfect close to the camp was our Guest of Honor, Vice President Joyce Banda (three girls made BEAUTIFUL speeches to address her), as well as the awarding of a scholarship taking one of our participants to Scotland for a few weeks next year. Some of these young women will be changed for good and Malawi will be the better for it.

It is impossible to describe every moment of the camp. Photos seem to do a much better job. I have already posted several on Facebook, but being that I am currently at Khombedza, uploading photos onto my blog would be near impossible. Next time I am in Lilongwe, I promise to post some on here for those of you who cannot access my account.

I can hardly believe Camp GLOW is over… it has consumed the majority of my time here in Malawi and if I left today, I would leave knowing that I did what I came to do. I am NOT leaving today, however, and am excited to be back in Khombedza re-defining my role as a Peace Corps Volunteer. There is much left to be done and I am eager to spend more time with my community talking about and acting on it.

I have invited a new friend to join me at my house here in Khombedza… Odi, a 6 week old puppy and my new night guard. “Odi” is what people say to announce their arrival at someone’s house. It actually means “zikomo” in Chichewa, or “thank you.” Thanks to Dannelle for giving me the idea for this name… now every time someone announces their arrival at my house, the dog will go and greet them.

This is all the news I can update you with for now… Hopefully having an (unreliable) internet source in the village will help me to be in much better contact. I miss you all immensely each and every day, but my heart is comforted knowing I have such strong support back at home. Thank you.

Abundant Love,

B.

I also want to thank several people who have inundated me with packages in the last couple months, I am so incredibly grateful (believe me, after spending all my money surviving the prices of Lilongwe, I am happy to announce I will be able to eat throughout September!!).

Thank you to:

Dan and Rhea – the dehydrated ice cream sandwich was an entirely new experience, it was... interesting but good! I will let you know how the rest go :) How many fast food places did you raid for the mayonnaise and mustard packets? Awesome. The magazines will be a huge help as I prepare for job applications at home – you ROCK. P.S. Dan, I started training for a half-marathon… whether or not I do it here, you better be ready for me when I get home.

Brian and Kristy Rolig – you’ve lived in Malawi before, haven’t you? Even if some of the things were “pulled from your pantry,” you knew exactly what to send. I will take the pictures to Matenje for everyone to see. So great to hear from you, and thank you.

David and Art – I received your packages the day I left to travel back home to Khombedza. A week later, all of the Smarties have been devoured and I am still committed to saving the mac and cheese for my birthday dinner! :) I had a great time sorting through it all and I don’t think the gift receipt will be of any use. Also, I shared a few razors with some girlfriends… hah. You two are incredible. Thank you guys.

Alinon – You already saw me in the hat, your button is on my backpack, and I’m halfway through the book :) I love you, but you know that.

Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jeff – I have the prettiest toes and the best smelling armpits in Peace Corps. Sometimes there is no better way to cope with the stresses here than to pamper yourself for a day. The novel was AMAZING – potentially one of my new favorites, in fact. Thank you so very much. I love receiving your notes every so often as you are constantly in my thoughts. xo

A night on the town before we are sent to Dedza for our Mid-Service Training. I've been in Malawi for one year (just 14 months to go)!!!!

Salima Neighborhood (Sitemate) Dinner, including lots of laughs and the best mexican fajita-ritos in country!

The next few pictures are a series "my kids" learning how to use a camera...

Not a bad one...

Now this is a VERY typical picture... I often have to remind them about the importance of including people's heads in pictures.

Just a few of "Auntie Thoko's kids" playing bowu on the porch

Tree Planting at Matenje Secondary School:

I grew about 20 papayas and 50 mango trees in my 1m x 1m compost pit alone. I split these trees between the health centre, friends, neighbors and the girls dormitory at the secondary school. Not all of the trees will take, but the project was intended to incite discussions about taking responsibility for the future. Papayas might produce fruit in the next 2 years while mangoes can be a 5-10 year commitment. A top view of my compost pit (half full)

One of my favorite pictures: She made a protective fence to ward of the goats... we'll see how it stands up to their crop-eating habits...

The Secondary School in the background. The block on the left is where I taught physical science.

Getting the Headmaster involved!

Leave it to the girls to provide the muscle...

A partial view of my front yard (including my freshly slashed lawn :) You can find lemon grass, papaya, jatropha, pineapples and moringa for now.

Cooking beans

Dear friends and family,

Thank you for your patience as I have been slacking off with my blog-writing responsibilities. February and March came with some highs, some lows and mostly a lot of changes.

Since I last wrote, my time in Khombedza has been quite limited...

Camp G.L.O.W. (Girls Leading Our World) has really begun to take off and the amount of work associated is beginning to increase exponentially. As you know, I was selected by my group to assist in coordinating the counselors at the camp, which is mostly comprised of training and... (wait for it..) conflict resolution. Right now I am focused purely on preparing curriculum for the counselor training and disseminating applications for those who want to be counselors or know of great local women who can also serve in that role. We have also decided to add an additional leadership component to Camp G.L.O.W. by bringing back women who have participated in years past to be "Junior Counselors." I will begin putting together an outline of their curriculum together this week to make sure we can really take GLOW to the next level. I couldn't be more happy to assist with this project... In my opinion, women's empowerment is the most important thing for moving Malawi forward into sustainability, and there's an overwhelming amount of work to be done.

*PLUG: Please check out our website!!! http://www.campglowmalawi.com/

We've posted a description of the GLOW empowerment camp, its history, a few pictures, and ways you can assist us. If you are able to assist financially, there is a link to a partnering non-profit which allows you to claim your donation as tax-deductible.

Around the beginning of March, Alinon found out that his grandfather had passed away. Since he was so close to the end of his service, Peace Corps allowed Alinon to close his service early so that he could attend the memorial. He spent the first week of March packing up his things, saying goodbye to his community and organizing his quick departure (I tagged along to keep him company). Luckily, we had already planned to have a small engagement party at a friend's site, so some of our closest friends here in Peace Corps were able to come out, celebrate the fact that he and I like each other a lot, and also to say goodbye to Alinon before he left. It was such a blessing to have friends around - thanks to those of you who were able to make it. The second week of March, we came to Lilongwe so that he could finish his medical and administrative requirements for leaving the country and closing his service. Of course, I'm very sad that he had to leave a couple months early (or even at all), but happy that Peace Corps was so supportive in helping him get home in time. Life after he left has been quite an adjustment... Luckily, we have been able to keep in good contact, but I definitely feel like I am learning how to settle in at site all over again. He made my original adjustment so much easier and now its time to step up to the challenge and really make this experience my own.

The day he left, I went back to site for a short time - focused on researching water and sanitation issues in Arthur's catchment area, setting up fruit tree projects with the health centre and secondary school, introducing a potential HIV and AIDS education project to a primary school, participating in a basketball tournament, and of course, working on GLOW. Other than Camp GLOW meetings, I have also been busy with VAC (Volunteer Advisory Council), which called me back to Lilongwe a mere week later, as well as another workshop with the Dreyfus Foundation and Local Initiative for Better Health. The training was WONDERFUL. It helped Arthur and I organize our thoughts on our new project, helping to build pit latrines. The workshop focused mostly on problem analysis and provided a framework for proposal writing which was awesome for my counterpart to get that experience. I feel confident that if I had to leave today, he would have the skills and contacts to complete whatever project he wanted to. Cool, right?

On Easter weekend, several volunteers from my incoming group decided that we should hike Mt. Mulanje. YES PLEASE! We went to Mulanje for a 3 day hike up and down the Mountain (3rd highest in Africa). Mulanje was so BEAUTIFUL and quite the challenging climb. I would do it again in a heart beat (any visitors coming!?). I made it all the way up to the peak, it's named Sapitwa ("People don't go there") - doing a fair amount of bouldering and scrambling which was a LOT of fun. I will admit though that I hired a porter to help carry my bags because my back has actually been injured for quite some time now. Maybe not the "best" decision to climb a mountain, but it felt wonderful to be out and active in nature (trees) again... something I feel I have been missing here.

We also spent a day in Blantyre, visiting all the places that remind us of America - we even went to a movie theater where we got to watch Sherlock Holmes!! I won't go into detail though - you are probably used to good food and entertainment. Point is, it was a great escape for a day.

Now I am back in Lilongwe, working on some things GLOW related and preparing to go back to site. A little nervous given that the ups, downs and changes of the last two months are finally going to have to settle in and I will have to get used to my new Malawian life. A LOT will be happening in the next few weeks - tree plantings, village surveys, GLOW, proposals, the start of a soccer league... hopefully I will be able to schedule a few mental breaks here and there.

Health update: my body has not been too happy with me lately. I injured my back quite some time ago and have been working on re-building muscles and loosening others. I also have been struggling with anemia (due to a low iron diet) and its effects (hair loss, bruising, lack of energy), the shingles (after using an aloe plant, they are finally healing), a "non-allergic" reaction to a bug bite that has been causing certain glands to produce histamine spots all over my legs, among other things. I am not a big fan of utilizing medicines, so I am really looking forward to cutting down my pill consumption in the next few weeks. While this certainly hasn't been fun, its been a great lesson in realizing what people in my community are dealing with every day. Please keep me in your thoughts - I'm determined to prioritize my health a little bit more.

Well, for now I think that's it! I don't have pictures dowloaded just yet, but come back in a few weeks and I will post some pictures from the engagement party and Mulanje. I'm hoping my next post is full of news related to project progress and other exciting new things happening at site. If you get the chance, shoot me an email, letter, or phone call to let me know what is going on in your lives. As usual, I am missing you all immensely.

Oh yea, don't forget to check out http://www.campglowmalawi.com/. Thanks!!!!

Peace, love and laughter,

B.

ShoutOuts:

- Congratulations, Dan, on your promotion!! I am so proud!!!

- My Lil' Sis (Delta Delta Delta) Marcia Garcia is graduating from Pepperdine this month with a near perfect grade point average. Congratulations on finishing and I know all your hard work will pay off!!!

- Grandma and Grandpa, I just received your package yesterday! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. The Emergen-C is bound to help with my host of health issues :)

- Brian and Kristy Rolig, just welcomed their new daughter Ingrid into the family. Congratulations!!

- Go Blazers!!!

From the Top: 1) Alinon and I while waiting for transport from Nkhotakota Pottery; 2) Alinon with our Christmas Day Guests of Honor - Aggie, Gracie, Joanna and Rodwell; 3) Me with our lovely guests playing my FAVORITE Malawian game, Bowu; 4) Tarantula on my bathroom roof (thought you all would like to know how well I am doing with my arachnaphobia).

Friends and Family, It has been far too long since I have had the opportunity to update you on the going-ons in my life. The last few months have been quite exciting ones and are hopefully setting the stage for the months yet to come. December was filled with holiday excursion excitement… despite any previously made plans, I ended up spending my Christmas in Alinon’s village, enjoying the cold mountains while relaxing and entertaining a few small guests for Christmas Day lunch (see pictures). I struggled a bit with homesickness around the holidays, as I knew I would, but filling my schedule tight with travelling seemed to help. After Christmas, we returned to my site for a few short days and then headed up the Lakeshore Road to see the North. It was my first time in Northern Malawi. It is BEAUTIFUL. The transition between Central and Northern Malawi can easily be compared to driving from Southern to Northern California. Just imagine driving up I-5 through California, finally approaching Shasta and all of the sudden being surrounded by trees. From the scarcely planted fields and monotonous shades of brown of the Central region, a visit to the lush and vibrantly green North was much welcomed. Our first stop was Mzuzu, the largest city of the region. There we stayed with our friend Chad, a PCV and nurse at the St. John’s College of Nursing. We stayed for two nights, checking out the city and the cuisine it had to offer (notable is the “Chipati Lady” at the market who makes a deliciously drenched in oil egg, lettuce and tomato chipati). It was wonderful to catch up with Chad, to see where he is working, to hear about the challenges and excitement at his site, and, not to forget, watching a little NBA in another sports lovers' presence as well. Next we headed to Nkhata Bay for the New Year. Ws stayed at a backpackers lodge known as the Big Blue Star (or “Big Blue”) which is located right on the lakeshore, staring out into Lake Malawi. A large number of Peace Corps Volunteers spent their New Years celebrating here, and the lodge set us up with a great deal providing us a buffet line of delicious food each evening that we stayed. The highlight of celebrating New Years was seeing friends who had travelled from all corners of Malawi and spending the days kicking up my feet or swimming. The highlight was certainly NOT the fact that I decided to take a “power nap” at 9 pm in preparation for New Years Eve, but did not wake up until I heard the cheering and jeering of party people in the discos. If anyone has witnessed me in nap mode, this shouldn’t surprise you whatsoever. Anyways, Alinon and I were some of the few people who woke up rested and ready to hit the lake the next day. Maybe it was worth it?...After New Year celebrations, we took one last stop as we headed back down the lakeshore by stopping at the Nkhotokota Pottery on the lakeshore to spend a night camping on the beach, and, specifically, to say goodbye to a friend who was leaving for the states. I was so happy to see her before she made the big departure. - Missing you Stevie!Afterwards, it was back to site. January was much less travelled, but just as eventful. I was lucky to have a few visitors here and there; having Dannelle at my site for a few days was such a blessing! I have also been working on a small project, trying to find a Cholera Shelter (tent) for my health centre. While a few contacts have been made, unfortunately it is going at too slow a pace and I can only hope that a tent should arrive before any outbreak (or at all). I have also received approval to set up a program for planting several papaya and mango trees that I have grown in my compost pile around the Health Centre. Hopefully we can create a day of nutritional awareness and commitment to food diversity to provide educational opportunities and community ownership. Sometimes it’s the small things that count, right? In a few years, these trees could be supplementing thousands of people’s diets! Cool.During January, I mostly stayed at site, except for a couple meetings in Lilongwe which directly preceded the closing of our Peace Corps transit house (due to a lack of funding). Nevertheless, what a GREAT weekend... On Friday, after all of my meetings and project work was done, Alinon, Devin and I joined a few of the men and women working with various American aid organizations in Lilongwe to play softball. It felt great to be up and running around (not something I am able to do often in the village), but also to see Alinon in his element. I also met some people who gave me some great tips for potential work after I finish with my Peace Corps career… Don't get to excited just yet Mom and Dad, we'll see what pans out.Later that night, as Alinon and I were chatting about this and that and everything, I had a moment where I was absolutely overcome with the happiness that he so often makes me feel and I asked him to marry me when I return back to the states. After the brief shock that then overcame him, he replied that, “yes, of course” he would marry me. While it may not be the well-thought out, layered process of a proposal that some people expect, it was organic and spontaneous and thus is perfectly fitting for the story of our relationship. AND, if there is one thing I have learned in Malawi, it’s that if you want something to happen, you have to be the catalyst. So there’s the exciting news! As of January 15, WE’RE ENGAGED!! I couldn’t be happier about the idea of marrying my best friend and partner in crime. It is going to be a long journey until that date and we have a lot of obstacles to overcome, but all we know is that we don't want to be apart after all of this. I'm looking forward to every step along the way :D And for those of you who have already asked or may be wondering, no, this does not mean I am coming home early…. Sorry. ;)I came in yesterday to Lilongwe for a Camp GLOW meeting… the camp is going to ROCK (once we get everything in place of course). We have a few great ideas about how to take the camp to the next level, preparing young women to become leaders in their communities and to take the GLOW curriculum back to their own districts for dissemination. Exciting things are happening here and I am lucky to be working with such a dedicated group of people in organizing this. I’ll make sure to put in a plug for Camp GLOW in my next blog so that it isn’t overshadowed by the news above. Today, we are headed to training. This time, we are learning all about the “Hope Kit.” My counterpart is thrilled to come and I am excited to spend a week adding tools for reaching out to youth to my resources in Khombedza.As you can see, the last two months haven’t been short of any excitement. I certainly wish we could share this time with all of you in person, but for now, I will just have to look forward to that day where you can meet my incredible fiancée and fall in love with him too. Who knew that my life would change THIS dramatically in just a short 9 months?!? Well, other than Grandma, of course. Loving and missing you all more each day!In abundant love, B.

Hello All!!!

I can hardly believe two months have passed since I last wrote on my blog. As of November 27th, it has been six months since I left the Los Angeles airport and started this crazy adventure. What a huge feat! I am doing my best to enjoy every moment here, but it is impossible not to count down with each month that goes by. Only 21 months left of Peace Corps service... until I can come home and give you all the biggest of hugs.

So much has happened in these two months... where to begin??

Most of October was filled by surveying staff at the Health Centre about the areas they work in. My "catchment area" for the Health Centre includes about anywhere between 250 official villages and 500 unofficial villages, comprised of 50,000 people... the surveys were to assist me in evaluating what resources and services are already available in the community and who potential partners for my projects might be. In October, I also officially chose my Counterpart (Arthur) who will assist me on my projects and in the community. Not to mention that he will be a fabulous translator. ;) Arthur is 25 years old and a Health Surveillance Assistant at my Health Centre. He finished taking post-secondary school exams for the second time in October in order to reapply for nursing school - ultimately, this is what he would like to do as a career. The university system has very few openings for students in Malawi and is particularly expensive... keep his success in your thoughts!

The rest of the month was occupied by my waiting for a new roof... rainy season typically starts somewhere in the month of November and I didn't want to leave my house for any extended amount of time with a holey roof. After three months of being at site, too many phone calls, and days of hoping the maintenance crew would show up, I finally have a shiny silver new roof without holes!! It was fabulous sleeping in my house without a roof for a few days while they were replacing all the beams... it was comfortably cool at night and I was able to stare at the stars until I fell asleep. The new roof has also somehow lowered the temperature of my house to make it comparable to outside temperatures during the day :) It's still hot, but much less of a sauna. Next time I update my blog, I will upload pictures of all the construction.

I went to Lilongwe a day or two before Halloween, to finish up my community assessment reports before our Re-connect/In-Service Training (IST). For Halloween, we got creative with costumes (my curly haired twin and I were Adam and Eve, thanks to nude colored undershirts and slips we found in the "I don't want" box at the transit house), ate delicious food and bobbed for apples - not so great for those of use with TMJ :/ The next day, we were off to Dedza for training.

The first week of IST was just the Health '09 Peace Corps Volunteers. We heard from a variety of speakers, including some from USAID and Bridge. We also broke down our experiences from our first three months at site and took a side trip to the Mua Mission in order to visit a museum about traditional Chewa, Yao and Angoni cultures. While I struggled with the idea of learning about these cultures through the eyes of a mission, the museum still provided a wealth of information and a collection of masks and materials donated by each of these tribes for display. Also, I am excited to let you know that I will be helping to coordinate next year's Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World). It is a girl's/women's empowerment camp organized by the Health Sector each year. My role is to coordinate counselor training among several other things. This, OF COURSE, includes dispute resolution. My degree might just come in a little bit handy here ;)

During the second week of IST, our Counterparts joined us for training. We presented general information about our communities and our findings during the Community Assessment. We also heard from more speakers, talked about project design and development, created action plans, and learned about several income-generating activities (IGAs) such as making peanut shelling, oil pressing, making peanut butter, growing mushrooms, bee keeping and soap making. My Counterpart was sooooo excited to be invited and felt like he learned a lot... He's ready to start up an oil press and a bee colony all on his own!! Let's see what community resources/groups we find to get a fun project like this rolling :) Anyway, he left motivated and ready for action in establishing a transportation project and youth friendly health services at the Health Centre - our primary projects.

After IST, I returned to Khombedza for a few days to set a few details in order...

Due to a withdrawal of my past sitemates' site for this group of education volunteers, I will begin teaching Physical Science at the secondary school in Forms 1 & 2 in about one week!! I am excited to get back to site and try my hand at some new things, but a bit nervous as I will be the only physical science teacher at the school. With that said, there will not be any teachers for Form 3 & 4 (Junior and Senior year of high school) in both Biology and Physical Science. Also, I checked in on the two students were sent to Camp Sky - a camp run by the education sector of Peace Corps - and made sure that a friend starting a peanut shelling business was able to function with his new sheller.

When all was clear at site, I headed back to Lilongwe to do some research and begin my mental health week. This week included camping out at the transit house, going for long runs, and celebrating Thanksgiving with my Peace Corps family here in Malawi. On Thanksgiving day, Alinon and I made about 60 pancakes for the other volunteers staying at the house and then spent the rest of the day relaxing, enjoying others' company and partaking in a late night BBQ. On Saturday, we attended the Thanksgiving celebration held for a few embassy members and all Peace Corps Volunteers! While I kindly denied the roasted pig (all parts visible on the table), the rest of the food made and contributed by volunteers was INCREDIBLE... a sweet taste of home. Other than food, we enjoyed playing a game of football, swimming in the ambassadors pool and dancing the night away. It was a GREAT way to spend Thanksgiving if I can't watch Dan and Drew deep fry a turkey.

The next month should be just as exciting as this month. I'm looking forward to getting some projects started (even in the most elementary of forms) and taking a hiking/camping trip to Ruarwe for Christmas and Nkhata Bay for New Years. It's about time to see a little more of Malawi :)

On that note, it's about time for me to run... today we getting our plans for Camp GLOW rolling and I am starting lesson plans for my students. Wish me luck! Missing you all immensely!!

Peace and love,

B.

P.S. thank you to all of you who have sent me letters!! I'm sending out your mail today!! Aunt Debbie, everyone has commented on how wonderful I smell :) Thank you so much! Grandma and Grandpa, I am doing my very very best to space out my use of the Mac n Cheese... it has been delicious!!! Thank you again! LOVE!

[Photos: 1) My kids and their karate poses :) 2)My birthday at the beach!]

Friends and Family,

I think a life update is in order. Kelly Russell asked me to describe a day in the life here in Malawi and now that I am finally getting settled in to my new home, I am happy to say that I have fallen into a bit more of a routine and a “typical” day is something I finally have.

I wake up as the sun rises here in Malawi… usually anywhere between 5 and 6 o’clock in the morning. First thing in the morning is what I call my fitness hour. Depending on my mood, I either begin my day with a bit of yoga or, for mental fitness, a game or two of Sudoku. Thank you to the Roligs leaving a partially used book of fantastic fun, I have recently become obsessed with Sudoku and find myself playing the numbers game during any bit of free time I have. After fitness hour, it’s time for breakfast: oatmeal with brown sugar- yes, everyday. Unlike most Malawians, I do not sweep my dirt yard on a daily basis (or ever, really), but my morning chores do include handwashing and hanging my laundry (which is a much bigger chore than this sentence can communicate), watering my papaya trees in hopes that they will survive the hot season, and sweeping my porch to ward of ant infestations. By 7 am, I am already sweating from the humid heat of Salima and a cold bucket bath is the only thing that will give me motivation before I get to work for the day. Around 8 am, I walk out of my yard and onto health centre grounds (a MUCH better commute than it was to downtown LA). At the health centre, I have been rotating departments to observe the type of work they do, their processes, and their daily challenges. The departments we have include: Under 5 (vaccinations and growth monitoring), Maternity, Volunteer Counseling and Testing (VCT) for HIV testing, Anti-Retroviral Treatment (dispensary for HIV/AIDS medications), and Outpatient. I have mostly enjoyed visiting the VCT clinic; most of the staff are actually volunteers and are receiving no pay for the work that they do, but they truly care about the issue of HIV/AIDS and are some of the most motivated staff I’ve yet met. I usually spend one day a week at outreach clinic, which is the under 5 clinic functioning out in the village, or weighing babies at the static under 5 clinic. I love playing with the children and chatting with the Amayis (moms/women).

Around 11:30, all of the staff leave for lunch. Since I usually don’t cook traditional Malawian food for myself, my lunch is made and consumed during the first 15 minutes of the lunch break and I spend the next 2 hours sitting in front of the fan with a book since it is too hot to move... Any longer than that and I follow in my father’s footsteps and start pacing my house because I am extremely antsy. After lunch break, I try to work on my village background analysis, go to the market and mosey around until I meet someone interested in chatting with me, or conduct a meeting with a community group. Last week, I met with an orphan care group in a nearby village with whom I will hopefully be working to assist in communicating with the aid organization. This next week, I am hoping to go to an orphanage closer by to find out what their situation is. There’s a theme arising in my work, its youth.

By 4 or 5 o’clock, if I haven’t already been to the market, I grab something to make for dinner and head home to be “harassed” by my neighbor kids. They have become obsessed with taking pictures (with a recent theme of karate poses), teaching me basic traditional dance moves – and then laughing at me when I try, and doing acrobatics in the sand in front of my house. Somehow, Peace Corps matched me up perfectly with the interests of my neighbor kids… I’m sure I’ll have them doing back handsprings before I leave.

After an hour, I kick the kids out and start piecing together dinner (sometimes PB & J, sometimes spaghetti, sometimes a strange manipulation of the tomatoes, onions and eggs that are the base of my village diet). After dinner, my energy dies down pretty quick… just as I awake with the sunrise, my ability to function decreases with the sunset. So I take another cold bucket bath, climb into my hospital bed and mosquito net and open a book or turn on a movie (or mostly, I just play Sudoku). In general, my day doesn’t sound all that exciting, but one thing is for certain, I’m always learning something new. There is always something to test my patience, some unacceptable disparity becoming apparent and inspiring, somebody new to meet. Truthfully, no day is ever really the same.

Some days are frustrating, dealing with cultural differences or simply missing all the people I love and care about at home, and some days are extremely motivating and exciting, leaving me totally impatient while I wait to start my projects in Nov/Dec. Needless to say, these 4 months in Malawi have been a rollercoaster of emotion, throwing me in directions I didn’t expect. I have realized that I chose to be here for a reason – not sure what that reason is, but I’m really looking forward to finding out :)

Thinking of you all daily and missing you immensely. I hope all is well back stateside – please keep in touch and let me know what you are up to. Sending all my love and positive energy back to you!! xoxo.

In peace and with love,

Brittany

Hi again :)

I've uploaded some pictures from my home so you can see how I'm now living here. While I may not have any furniture other than a maternity bed to sleep on, it's such a relief to finally have my own space to call home for the next two years. In the photos, you can see the front of my house, the kitchen, bath, chim, and the back and side "yard." The last is of my living room which is fully furnished with 3 blue plastic chairs :) haha... I have a lot of work to do in order to get settled in.

Love and miss you all!

Almost a month has passed as an official volunteer and already so much has happened...

After swearing-in and a memorable night of celebration with my training group, we were whisked away with all of our belongings and shipped to site. When I arrived in Khombedza, it became obvious that there was still a lot of work to be done on my soon-to-be house. The health center was set on converting an old brick storage room into a liveable space and the improvements were to be managed by the community. It was so impressive just how much work had been done and I feel incredibly grateful to have the community invest so much into my arrival; this is a rarity and I am very lucky. Until complete, I am staying at my sitemates' home and "commute" to work every day. No traffic here on the bicycle really... just the need to stop and greet every single person to cross your path on the way. It can be overwhelming, but it is also a great way to meet people in the community.

At my health center, there are two Medical Assistants, two Nurses, and Environmental Health Manager (preventative health - my area), and forty-two Health Surveillance Assistants (!!! - a huge number for a health center, but not nearly enough). Most everyone speaks better English than I do, which has made integration with the staff easier, and they are excited that I want to learn - really learn - Chichewa as well. Last week, I was given a name in Chichewa - Thokozani - which means "grateful." Brittany is a very hard name for Malawians to pronounce and it was difficult for my colleagues and neighbors to understand how someone named "Britain" would come from America... so now, anytime I go anywhere, I always hear someone yelling "Thoko! Thoko!"

I have traversed with a few HSAs into their surveillance areas to see what issues the communities are struggling with the most and to get to know the HSAs so that I may eventually choose a counterpart to work with on projects. The situation in my health center's catchment area is dire... water sanitation is merely a concept, hygiene is poor, and good nutrition is seemingly unattainable. There is so much to be done if the community decides they want it and

the HSAs have a lot of knowledge to offer; I can't help but feel a sense of purpose here. In the next two months before our "in-service training," I will be engaged in information gathering in catchment areas, interviewing about and observing the health needs and desires of the communities and assessing potential project opportunities.

As of now, I am back in Lilongwe. I have been sick with some sort of stomach illness (we are still uncertain of the cause, but it seems to be resolving itself - did I mention poor water at my site?!). I am technically on medical hold until Monday, but we are also waiting for my house to be finalized so that I can actually get moved in and settled. Who knows how long I could be here for...

The "ultimate makeover" on my house has been quite impressive. Although I am still waiting for stronger doors to be installed, new tin sheets to replace my holey-roof and to cover my showering area, they surprised me with an electrical outlet and lighting, as well as a water spicket in my backyard! Totally unexpected, and now I can't brag about "roughing it" for the next two years. I am okay with that, however. :)

Okay, I need to run for the time being. Next time around I hope to bring you some good stories and give you some insight into the life I am establishing here. Hopefully by then, I will also be living in my own house. Miss you all immensely.

In peace and with love... B.

Hey Everyone!

I know it has been quite some time since I have been able to update you on my Peace Corps adventures, so I thought I could fill you in on what has been going on.

Technically, I am still in training - this being my last week with swear-in next Wednesday (7/29). During training, we spent a week in orientation in the coldest region of Malawi, Dedza District, where we began our introduction to culture, language and technical knowledge needs. The following week, we were promptly moved to a nearby village for our home stay which lasted about 5 weeks. Mom posted one of my letters which gives you a brief description of my host family and they were so incredibly gracious to let me stay with them for such a long time. My stay there was extremely beneficial to learning the ins-and-outs of Malawian culture. In the village, we continued to learn language, culture and tech until we finally left the village for our "language intensive week." We split up into regions for language intensive where we attended several informational sessions about culture and, surprisingly, had very few language lessons. Regardless, the goal of the week was to give a "Health Talk" in Chichewa about the subject matter of our choice to a group of Malawians. My group of 4 trainees decided to speak about Nutrition (malnutrition, its relation to disease, the food groups, and important vitamins and minerals). The session went very well overall and was an ego booster as far as language is concerned.

After language intensive, we all went our separate ways to visit our permanent sites. After much indecision, I am officially being sent to Khombedza, Salima District and will be living on Health Centre property. As of now, my house is little more than a storage space, but the Traditional Authority (in charge of the village headmen and group village headman) is really excited to have me there and is promising prompt work on my house to make it liveable. I will be without electricity and running water, but those amenities are nearby and so I am actually quite lucky! All I can really ask for is a "chim" and bathing area. During my site visit, I stayed with my sitemates (Kristy and Brian), two volunteers in the education sector. They have been absolutely wonderful to me, cooking GREAT food, showing me around the village, taking me into town and showing me the resources I might need, and taking me to see Lake Malawi for a day with my other site-mates in the district!!! Yes, it really is as beautiful as the pictures you can find on the internet... Unfortunately I don't have my camera cord to upload pictures, but I hope to do so soon (Did I say that in my last email?!) I hitched with Brian and Kristy back to Lilongwe today and will be traveling back to our training hub in oh-so-very-cold Dedza this afternoon. It will be great to see the rest of my training group and brag about what a wonderful site visit trip I had (most people are left to fend for themselves during site visit... I was truly very, very lucky).

Tomorrow, I should be taking my final language test. I'm a bit nervous as I haven't spoken Chichewa much in the past two weeks, but, as usual, I will probably stay up a bit late tonight to cram. My study habits don't necessarily change simply because I'm on the other side of the planet.

While this is a rather brief update of the last 2 months, all I can say is that I am having a GREAT time here. The people here, both Malawians and my Peace Corps family, are truly incredible and I know for a fact that these two years will be more dynamic and adventurous than I originally imagined.

I am always thinking of you, my family and friends. You are missed and loved immensely!!!

In peace and with love,

brittany.

Oh, Dan and Rhea - apparently Lake Malawi is one of the best places to scuba in the world... think about it.

Muli Bwanji? (How are you?) I was informed that you would be receiving an email with a photo of all of us volunteers arriving at the Lilongwe airport.. (see previous posting) We were greeted by a HUGE group of current volunteers, the Peace Corps Country Director and a few of our trainers. From our greeting, I have the feeling that everyone is pretty happy here. The trip went (fairly) smoothly. We had a few delays but nothing detrimental to our flight schedule and surprisingly enough, I have hardly felt any effects of jet lag. :-)

After we landed, we were piled into a mini-bus and sent on our way to our training site in Dedza (about a 2 hour drive). THIS COUNTRY IS BEAUTIFUL!!! Once we get back to Lilongwe for our swearing in at the end of July, I will do my best to send some pictures your way.

We started training the day after we got here (Monday)... language in the morning, tea break, technical training, lunch, more informational sessions, tea, more language, and finally dinner. It is dark by the time dinner comes around, so we try to stay inside for the most part (to avoid mosquitoes) - we usually end up playing board games, studying our language lessons, or chatting. All of the volunteers are pretty cool - we get along great as a group. My roommate from D.C. training , and I have remained roommates during this first week and are getting along very well - YEAH for friends! Oh, there are 20 of us in total, by the way.

The trainers (language, cultural, and technical) are all brilliant people! We couldn't have been put in better hands! Our cultural lessons this week have included proper greetings and their associated gestures, how to hand wash laundry, and how to properly use the chimbudzi (bathroom), which is much more difficult than one would think.... it provided plenty of entertainment.

We went to a local District Health Office (hospital) today. It was incredibly eye-opening and helpful for understanding why we are here... 3 M.D.s in a district serving 665,000 people!! What?! But I have been so impressed with those we've met who are dedicated to being in the health centers. It has already become so clear why they call this place "the warm heart of Africa". Every local has been so accepting. :-)

Tomorrow, I will find out for certain if I will be learning the language of Chichewa. Other options may be Chitumbuka or Chitonga, depending on the region of my placement. Saturday, we will all move in with our host family in a village nearby. The village(s) are about 7-10 KM away from the College of Forestry (where we have been training). I am so excited to spend my time with locals in a more realistic context.

I am REALLY HAPPY here. I know it has only been a few days and I am still in training (totally sheltered), but I am certain that I will grow immensely in these next 2 years and some incredible friendships will result. Never the less, I love you all so much and miss you heaps and heaps!!!

Love,

Brittany

Dear Family/Friends:

I am happy to inform you that our new Health Volunteer Trainees arrived safe and sound yesterday, May 31, 2009 at 1445h at Lilongwe International Airport. All Trainees looked well and happy. We had a contingent of PCVs at the Airport to greet them with welcoming signs and cheers. It was a wonderful occasion. Inspiring in so many ways (as a former PCV myself I know it meant a great deal to our new Trainees).

After their arrival and baggage clearance, the group traveled safely to their training site, Dedza. I went to Dedza on Wednesday to welcome them officially. They are great! Already speaking Chichewa! We are very proud and pleased to have them.

Please see the attached pictures and please know all is well.

Cheers and best wishes.

Victor K. Barbiero, PhD,

MHS Director, Peace Corps Malawi

The time has officially come... today is my last day in L.A. and I'm gearing up to board the plane to D.C. for staging. In true Brittany-style, I am frantically putting together the last bits and pieces of things with the hopes of spending the Taco-Tuesday enjoying the company of my family (most likely a wii bowling tournament will be on the schedule).

This past week has been incredible... Any loose ends that existed are seemingly tied up. I spent a few nights last week visiting friends, took part in graduation last Friday morning, spent a day in San Diego to watch Rhea graduate and to celebrate (congrats sis!!!!), met with my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Richard for breakfast, watched the Lakers lose to the Nuggets, and said my good-bye to Malibu by way of good conversation and my absolute favorite beach hike.

While there were many emotional and tearful good-byes this weekend, a fellow Peace Corps trainee reminded me that many hellos are soon to follow. This is an adventure of a lifetime and I am so ready to be absolutely present in it. I will do my very best to write one last time before I leave DC and let you know how staging goes.

In abundant love, b.

...and ask them to hold on to it for as long as you are in Malawi.

Dear Families,

Greetings from the Malawi Desk in Washington, D.C. It is with great pleasure that we welcome your family member to the Peace Corps/Malawi training program. During the past year we have received many questions from Volunteers and family members regarding communication, mail, and travel plans. As we are unable to involve ourselves in the personal arrangements of Volunteers, we would like to offer you advice and assistance in advance by providing specific examples of situations and how we suggest you handle them. Peace Corps service certainly impacts more than just the trainee and we hope that this information will help ease some of the uncertainty which affects the families of Volunteers.

The Peace Corps experience can be an exciting, intimidating, and amazing experience for both the Volunteer and family. The Volunteers will learn a lot about Malawi during their preparation for service and throughout their service of two years. This is also a great time for you to learn more about Malawi, which may alleviate some of your concerns.

Below are a few links to get you started in your discovery:

The World Factbook – Malawi: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mi.html

The Lonely Planet: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/malawi/

The Malawi Nation newspaper: http://www.nationmw.net/

Friends of Malawi: http://www.friendsofmalawi.org/

1. Irregular Communication. (Please see #3 for the mailing address to Peace Corps' office in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi) The mail service in Malawi is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service; thus, it is important to be patient and understanding. It can take three to four weeks for mail coming from Lilongwe to arrive in the United States via the Malawi postal system. From a Volunteer's site, mail might take 1-2 months to reach the United States. Sometimes mail is hand carried to the United States by a traveler and mailed through the U.S. postal system (Volunteers should bring some US ‘forever’ stamps). This leg of the trip can take another several weeks as it is also dependent on the frequency of travelers to the U.S. There is a truism that you may wish to embrace as uncomfortable as it is, “No news, is good news!”

On average, it takes approximately four weeks for letters mailed from the United States to reach Lilongwe, and may take an additional six weeks to reach the Volunteer’s site. We suggest that in your first letters, you ask your Volunteer family member to give an estimate of how long it takes to receive your letters and then try to establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other. Also, try numbering your letters so that the Volunteer knows if they have missed one. Postcards should be sent in envelopes – otherwise they may be found on the wall of the local post office! By the end of the Volunteer’s Pre-Service Training they will be able to send you their specific site address.

For the first 9 weeks in country, your family member will be living in a village near the training site (about one hour drive south of Lilongwe) and participating in an intensive, immersion style training program where they will begin to learn language, cultural and technical skills necessary to be a safe and productive Peace Corps Volunteer. During this time, they will NOT have access to email/Internet but can certainly receive and send letters. Receiving mail during this intense period is most welcome and appreciated. Once they are sworn-in as Volunteers, they will have access to the Peace Corps computers in the office and can reestablish email communication. However, you must remember that NO Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi has daily or even weekly access to email so you should have limited expectations as to immediate replies to any emails you will be sending.

Volunteers often enjoy telling their “war” stories when they write home. Letters might describe recent illnesses, lack of good food, isolation, etc. While the subject matter is good reading material, it is often misinterpreted on the home front. Further, given the lag time in communication by the time you receive certain news, weeks if not months have passed and the Volunteer has moved past a particularly sad moment when they miss you, or that specific illness, and don’t understand why it is that you are so concerned anymore! There are two extremely competent Peace Corps medical doctors at the Peace Corps office in Lilongwe. In the event of a serious illness, the Volunteer is sent to Lilongwe and cared for by our medical staff. If the Volunteer requires medical care that is not available in Malawi s/he will be medically evacuated to Pretoria, South Africa or the United States. Fortunately, these are rare circumstances.

If for some reason your normal communication pattern is broken and you do not hear from your family member for an abnormal amount of time, you may want to contact the Office of Special Services (OSS) at Peace Corps Washington at 1-800-692-1470. The Office of Special Services will then contact the Peace Corps Director in Lilongwe and ask him to check up on the Volunteer. Also, in the case of an emergency at home (death in the family, critical illness, etc.), please do not hesitate to call OSS immediately, so that we can inform the Volunteer. Tell the operator your name, telephone number, and the nature of the emergency, and the Duty Officer will call you back.

2. Telephone Calls. The telephone system in Malawi is relatively good and service in and out of Lilongwe to the United States is fairly reliable. In the interior of the country, where most of the Volunteers are located, there are fewer phones and service is more sporadic. Your Volunteer family member, however, will undoubtedly buy or bring a GSM cell phone for use while they are here in Malawi. Cell service is quite good, reliable, and available in most parts of the country. Some Volunteers may have to climb a small hill or walk a distance from their home, but it is a far cry from having to travel several hours or days to get to a working phone as it once did. Volunteers will mostly use text messaging in country, and you may be able to send and receive messages with them.

Please be aware that the Peace Corps staff in Lilongwe and Washington are not able to assist in arranging calls. Your family member will be able to inform you of the actual telephone numbers once they arrive in-country and to their site. The Malawi Desk is in regular communication with the Peace Corps office in Lilongwe. However, this communication is reserved for business only and we cannot relay personal messages. All communication between family members and the Volunteer should be done via international mail, e-mail, or phone calls.

3. Sending packages. Family members and Volunteers like to send and receive care packages through the mail. Please be advised that packages can often take 1-2 months, but sometimes as long as 4-6 months. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due to the high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes. You may want to try sending inexpensive items through the mail, though there is no guarantee that these items will arrive. We do not recommend sending costly items through the mail. It is recommended that packages be sent in padded envelopes if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more heavily. Even though many Volunteers choose to get local post office boxes, you may always use the following address to send letters and/or packages to your family member:

Brittany Krake, PCV

PEACE CORPS/MALAWI

BOX 208

LILONGWE

MALAWI

For lightweight, but important or time sensitive items (e.g. airline tickets), we would recommend using an express mail service. DHL is one possibility and other courier services may operate in Lilongwe. For more information about DHL, please call their toll free number, 1-800-CALL-DHL, or visit their web site at www.dhl.com. We advise you to shop around to find the best prices and service options.

If you choose to send items through DHL, you must address the package to:

Brittany Krake, PCV

c/o U. S. Peace Corps Malawi

AREA 4 PLOT 70

ACROSS FROM OILCOM DEPOT

LILONGWE

MALAWI

(You’ll also need to include the Peace Corps/Malawi phone number: 265-1-757-157).

Trying to send cash or checks is very risky and is discouraged. If your Volunteer family member requests money from you, it is his/her responsibility to arrange receipt of it.

We hope this information is helpful to you during the time your family member is serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi. We understand how frustrating it can be to communicate with your family member overseas and we appreciate your using this information as a guideline. Please feel free to contact us at the Malawi Desk in Washington, D.C. if you have any further questions. You may reach us at 1-800-424-8580, ext. 2331 or 2332, or locally, 202-692-2331 (2332).

Sincerely,

Seana Lammers, Acting Country Desk Officer

Peace Corps

Malawi Country Desk

1111 20th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20526

Phone: (800) 424-8580 ext. 2332 or (202) 692-2332

Fax (202) 692-2301

E-mail: Malawi@peacecorps.gov

I just received my staging information!

I am leaving LA and flying to Washington DC on May 27th in order to attend an intensive introduction to the Peace Corps with the other volunteers and to become an official Peace Corps Trainee! On May 29th, we will all head overseas together to begin in-country training (most likely in Dedza). Yay!!!

On another note, thanks to everyone who came by Andrea's to send me off last night. You all will be missed!! Portland has been a blast, and I'm so glad I came up North to spend a little time with you all. :) xx.

Dear Family, I could not be more thrilled and excited to let you know that I have accepted an official invitation to serve with the Peace Corps!!! My Placement Officer called last Wednesday to ask a few last interview questions and said she had the perfect assignment for me…I have been asked to serve for 27 months in Malawi, which is more affectionately called “the warm heart of Africa” as it is known for its warm and friendly people (not to mention a tropical climate). Malawi is a small landlocked country in southeast Africa, about the size of Indiana. On its eastern border is Lake Malawi, the third largest lake in Africa (larger than the state of New Hampshire), and judging by online photos, it’s absolutely incredible. Malawi is considered an African political success story. After a 30 year dictatorial rule, Malawi fairly and peacefully elected a government committed to a multi-party democracy. All elections since have remained peaceful. Peace Corps was first asked to come to Malawi in 1963, just before it gained independence from the United Kingdom, and has been continuously present within the country since 1978. There are currently 126 volunteers serving in Malawi. Despite Malawi’s political success, however, they are experiencing extreme health and economic difficulties due to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among its population. HIV/AIDS has heavily impacted the ability of the Malawian labor force to regenerate itself – directly affecting the quality and availability of education and food resources, among other things. In addition, the presence of this disease has disabled the government and the Malawian people from directing their energy and resources to other national developmental priorities. I will be working as a “Community Health Advisor” which is a fancy title to describe a combination of partnership work in education, community development, policy and HIV/AIDS. Relationally, I will be working in conjunction with the Malawian government and local community based organizations. There will also be plenty of opportunity to get involved in secondary projects in my community as time goes by. I could not ask for an assignment more fitting for my passions!! For those of you who have known about my application, you also know that the process has been extremely long, very complicated and quite nerve-wrecking for me. After 10 months of waiting, what a relief to hear this great news! I am very excited to finally put my passions into action and to embark on this incredible journey which lies ahead.I am expecting to depart at the end of May, just a short 6 weeks away, and I am planning on spending the remainder of my time here in the U.S. finishing up my masters degree and seeing as many friends and as much family as possible. I am currently residing in Portland (which you all know I love) and will be returning to Southern California at the beginning of May to pack my duffel bag, clean out my parents’ garage, eat a chipotle veggie burger from John’s Garden, graduate and spend lots and lots time with my parents, brothers, sister-in-law, and, of course, the pups too. Yes, I asked, but they won’t let me bring Lulu along... Amidst all my excitement, however, I cannot help but feel a tinge of sadness. My family, related or chosen, means the world to me and I will greatly miss each and every one of you while serving overseas. Words cannot express how important you are to me and how very thankful I am to have met, known and learned from you! With that said, it is highly unlikely that my future home will be wired with electricity or the internet. I will mostly be dependent on snail mail and potential infrequent visits to internet café’s whenever I’m in a bigger city. This blog will be updated by myself or from letters I send to my family. Please, please, please do me a big favor and send me both your physical address and your preferred email address for the spreadsheet I’m assembling to take with me. I would LOVE to send you letters and/or email updates whenever I get the chance! I do love writing/receiving a good letter… ;)Thank you all for your continuous and unwavering support and friendship despite the fact that I am always coming up with new adventures and extended travel plans… I’m a one very lucky woman! I promise to keep you updated over the next bit as I hear more.

Best wishes, many blessings and much peace to you.

In love, Brittany

“…if you come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” – Aboriginal activists group, Queensland.