But there's a light on in chicago

And i know i should be home

All the colors of the street signs..

They remind me of the pickup truck out in front of your neighbor's house

In the morning my dad walks down Daytona Beach and often finds washed up pairs of sunglasses. Thus far he has collected over 50 pair. We may have had a little too much fun with them.

Wrenches- To fix the hotplate I set on fire.

Ethiopian Starbucks Coffee- Grown in Africa. Probably bought cheap, sold expensive. Sent back to Africa.

Such a peaceful task before cooking dinner. Sitting in the evening sun on my back porch separating the peas from the pods.

A Malawian traditional practice is burning herbs and rubbing the ash into strategically placed cuts. Different herbs have different meanings. My fellow Peace Corps friend, Duncan, and his wonderful counterpart, Baxter, participated in the tradition, wishing for protection during travels (Duncan) and protection from snake bites (Baxter.)

Chitenje: A two meter piece of fabric worn by Malawian (and other African country) women usually around the waist to protect clothes from dust and dirt. Also used to bopa babies (carry babies on their back,) worn as head wraps, or made into traditional wear (outfits.)

106 Ways to use a chitenje:

1. “Chimbutzi is Occupied” Indicator

2. Apron

3. Baby Carrier

4. Back Pack

5. Back Scratcher

6. Banana Hammock

7. Bandage

8. Bandana

9. Barf Bag

10. Beach Blanket

11. Bed Cover

12. Belt

13. Bib

14. Blindfold

15. Body Wrap

16. Boxing Gloves

17. Bus Window Blind

18. Camera Hider

19. Capture the Flag Flag

20. Cat Hammock

21. Chalkboard eraser

22. Changing Screen

23. Clothesline Panties Cover-Upper

24. Coaster

25. Collar

26. Computer Anti-Scratch Protector

27. Couch Cushion Fort Roof

28. Curtain

29. Diaper

30. Dirt Guard Clothes

31. Dish Towel

32. Door

33. Door Block

34. Do-Rag

35. Dress

36. Dust Rag

37. Ear Muffs

38. Fabric for Formal Wear

39. Feminine Pad

40. Fire Smotherer

41. Fire Starter

42. Flag

43. Fly Screen for Food

44. Flying Ant Catcher

45. Fume Mask

46. Furniture Cover

47. Gag

48. Goat Whip

49. Group Advertisement

50. Head band

51. Head Cushion

52. Head Towel

53. Hood

54. Ineffectual Parachute

55. Lamp Shade

56. Last Resort Toilet Paper

57. Laundry Bag

58. Leash

59. Light Diffuser

60. Make-shift tent

61. Mat

62. Matador Cape

63. Mess Wiper Upper

64. Mop

65. Napkin

66. Oven Mitt

67. Pack Padding

68. Partition

69. Patch

70. Pet bed

71. Pet Carrier

72. Picnic Blanket

73. Pillow

74. Political Party Indicator

75. Poncho

76. Puppet Show Theatre Curtain

77. Rain Guard

78. Robe

79. Rope

80. Scarf

81. Screen

82. Seat-belt

83. Sheet

84. Shelf

85. Shirt

86. Shopping Bag

87. Shower Curtain

88. Skirt

89. Sling

90. Smoke Signal Definer

91. Splint Hold

92. Strainer

93. Super Hero Cape

94. Sweat Band

95. Table Cloth

96. Tissue

97. Toga

98. Tourniquet

99. Towel

100. Tug-of-War Rope

101. Turban

102. Usipa Net

103. Wall Hangings

104. Warm/Cold Compress

105. Wrap

106. Wrapping Paper

P.S. Last photo by Tyler Barriger

My own spin on a project has been a villager-to-villager apprenticeship. Students from my Form 4 (High school seniors) chose what trade they wanted to learn and then were paired up with a Misuku carpenter, tailor, basket maker, cook (my counterpart, NaSimwela), knitter, and I even taught art, how to make friendship bracelets and the benefits, growing and harvesting Moringa trees. Here are some of their hands-on experience.

The Hope Kit is a tool that us Peace Corps (and others) use to inspire people in the villages to talk about HIV/AIDS. It uses metaphors, games and is a fun, interactive way to get people of any language and any educational level to learn more on HIV/AIDS. In the 2007 study, Malawi was ranked the 9th worse country, with an average of 12% of its population infected with HIV/AIDS.

I have an amazing counterpart, NaSimwela, who basically did the entire demonstration solo. She did however allow me to do the condom demonstration to the giggling 36 women…. And yes those are wooden penises that are in the group picture.