Take 2...

Greetings from Malawi!
I prepared my second entry ahead of time working from my Head Master’s computer. I wanted to write about my last few days in Lilongwe as well as fill you in on the Swearing-in ceremony and my first day moving to my village.
We arrived in Lilongwe on Sunday, December 9th a day before my birthday. We were crammed into vehicles while our stuff went in separate vehicles. Imagine all the belongings for a two-year stay for 24 people!! Also, add to it all of the goodies we have received from home which has multiplied our things as well. Peace Corps makes a manual for each and every training session we have and had I known, I would have packed a separate bag to accommodate all of these papers. Some are very useful such as a Malawian cookbook and tips on gardening and building a mud stove. Those that do not prove useful for the long-run I will use to help start my fire!
We all settled into the Lilongwe transit house located in a very nice neighbourhood in the capital city. It is a beautiful house from the exterior with plush landscaping and a wrap around gate. We have two gate men at the compound; a common security feature for wealthy people in Malawi. I was told that I could have a watch man if I wanted for my home but I decided to wait until I arrive to see how safe I feel. I have close neighbors. One older man, “Mr.Billy” and my landlords are also close-by. They have a son named “Sunday” who waters my flowers and is always working on a new house they are building next door. I feel safe. The transit house held all 24 of us and up to 15 others that were in the city either relaxing or taking advantage of a free nights stay before flying home for the holidays or moving on to other destinations. A group of Peace Corps volunteers from Namibia came on the night of my birthday and were too tired from their long journey to go out dancing with us. Nearly every square inch of the floor space was occupied by a body. We all had the pleasure of sharing a kitchen and I tried hard to figure out what the off-hours of cooking were because 10 people in a small kitchen is not very peaceful, even with kind, sharing, Peace Corps volunteers.
As I have seen so far, Peace Corps volunteers are not always “clean,” in their physical appearance or with in their living quarters. Environment volunteers are the ones that you normally see with huge beards, dirt under their fingernails, and shoeless. That isn’t always true as volunteers from all sectors are known amongst their peers are “grungy” or “overly clean.” There is a joke in our group about my friend Ali who has impeccably clean feet. She keeps them well manicured and painted in an iridescent blue color. She looks like she just stepped out of a nail salon and in these conditions it is quite remarkable. The rest of us do the best we can to clean them but dirt under your nails is common and as I have found, a constant condition. I feel that as soon as I clean my nails I find dirt under them again; it’s baffling, yet not really.
We spent a few days in Lilongwe attending sessions about administrative issues and touring the office. The cool thing about the Peace Corps is that they employ Malawians to hold 85% of the positions in the organization. Our drivers, our language teachers, our technical trainers (that help us integrate into Malawian schools), our office staff, and our program directors are all Malawians. The administrative officer and Peace Corps country director are Americans but that is it. The Environment program director is American but our Education director is a woman who has studied in America and formally worked with the Malawian Education Ministry.
While in Lilongwe we did have some time to shop which was both fun and overwhelming. They gave us hefty amounts of money-which none of us want to carry around-and an extensive list of suggests items to buy for our homes. I splurged on a nice frying pan and pot with a lid. I bought some food like: powdered milk, spices, sugar, salt, and tea as well as fresh goods from the market like: tomatoes, green peppers, carrots, onions, avocados, beans, and rice. Other household things like: clothes pins, sponges, a gardening shovel, laundry and dish soap. I bought about 8 different buckets to carry water, store food, wash dishes, and one for bathing. It was quite amusing seeing 15 volunteers in the same store buying out the entire inventory.
On Wednesday we all got dressed up and ready to go by 8am to be driven to the Ambassador’s house for the swearing in ceremony. For those who received letters describing Thanksgiving it was held at the same place. The home is very impressive with an in-ground pool; a fountain, a pool table, and beautiful patio furniture to sit on underneath an overhang (don’t know what to call it). It is a wooden structure that is built off of the roof that provides shade for the back yard area. There is a tennis court and a large open field used for playing football and Frisbee and gardens are dispersed throughout the property. The house was decorated nicely for the ceremony and our language & technical trainers were their dressed in their finest clothes. People in Malawi dress very nicely and are very clean. They are always in business attire and for our special ceremony, the men busted-out 3 pieces suits and the women, beautiful suit coats and skirts. Our group took special care in getting ready and did each other’s hair and makeup. I wore a dress that was given to me by a volunteer who E.T.ed (early terminated) as a way of honoring her. Our guests were the Ambassador, our country director, our program director and program coordinator, and the secretary from the minister of education. They all gave a speech and in addition, our group wrote a speech which was translated from English to Chichewa (national language and language I speak) and Chitimbuka (language of the North and the language of many volunteers). I helped write the speech with another volunteer Meleia who did most of the work. The one positive advantage to a major side-effect of our Malaria medication is insomnia. Meleia was up all night anyway and was able to crank-out the speech in one night. I added some details and changed some of the wording but I give her the credit. It was a beautiful speech (maybe I can post it) and hopefully it wasn’t lost too much in translation. Our readers did us proud especially Anthony (quite a performer) who brought the crowd to tears with his dramatic reading. He added drums when we spoke of being welcomed with song and dance and used a lot of hand gestures to bring drama and effect to the words. This was aired live on Malawi t.v. (for those who watch it) and I have a feeling he may be famous.
After the speeches we all raised our right hands and said our oath. Many people were joyous but for me, honestly, I didn’t feel different after earning status as a “volunteer” versus a “trainee.” Some felt or expressed joy whereas some of us agreed that a two year commitment is a two year commitment no matter what acronym we are given. We had great appetizers following: mini pizzas, samosas, chicken, and cake. We had our married couple cut the cake (my idea) since they were skilled in it! We got photos of them holding the knife together as in a traditional wedding ceremony and they were cracking up!
The following day we all brought our things outside and waited as each of us loaded up our prospective vehicles to be dropped off at our sites. I went with another T.D.F. (Teacher Development Facilitator) “Shana” and I am glad I did. I was shocked at how far off the main road (they say “Tarmak”) she is-about 40miles. We kept driving up this windy, dirt road for what seemed like forever. At first I commented at how happy I was to be able to see her site as I would highly doubt that any Peace Corps volunteer would visit her. To get out of her site there are vehicles that leave every day at 5am and 7am but they have to be full to leave or you have to pay 250 kwacha (2dollars) for every empty seat. Not the most reliable transport. Then after 45 minutes I wasn’t so happy as the bumpy roads got to my tummy! It was plush green rolling mountains and fields of freshly planted maize and tobacco...beautiful!! We dropped her off and proceeded to my place. We were also lucky to have Heather, the desk assistant to the Southern African countries from Washington, D.C., who was visiting for a few days. She came along with us for the ride. She kindly provided lunch and bought us each Taco Mix and a sleezy, magazine to catch-up on our Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie info! The food was soooo spicy I couldn’t eat it and the magazine sooo trashy that my stomach was very unhappy. Needless to say I listened to my MP3 player (which takes AAA batteries...hint, hint) and tried to zone out.
When we arrived to my house we found that we were unable to drive up to my front door. We all took some of my things and carried them across a field and a river. I was appalled at a man who put my 65lb bag on his head!! But needless to say it was done quickly and without a lot of difficulty. After we brought the things to my house Heather suggested that we drive to the lake. My Head Master and myself got into the car and headed down the road-about 2km. When we got out of the car we were greeted by about 25 children who all started shouting, “Azungu!” which means “white, wealthy person in Chichewa. We walked down to the lake and it was beautiful. I had visited the lake but a different spot. There were gorgeous big rocks in the water and boats, docked on the shore where fishermen had left them. There were “usipa” drying on the lakeshore-a tiny fish that many people eat. A man informed me that they fish are caught at night with boats with lights. Heather got some great photos as these children loved being photographed. None of us could stop smiling because the children had so much energy! They would scream each time they saw the flash go off. Luckily, it wasn’t a digital camera otherwise; they all like to look at the picture.
So I settled in and because it was dark, I ate Chex-mix for dinner as I didn’t want to start a fire. I put up my mosquito net, read Ericka’s letters and went to sleep. I slept from 8pm-6:30am..exhausted from the last few days. This morning I ate chex-mix again as I have still not fetched any water. The bucket awaits me outside my Head Master’s door as do many people who will watch me as I fill my bucket and place it on my head. It is not something I am looking forward to but something I want to begin doing so it causes less attention each time. I don’t mind performing however; when you are constantly on display it can be unsettling. I am dealing with it. I just try to remember that we are all children or novices at many things and need to be humble and start at the beginning. I could easily pay someone to do my chores but I want to save my money and truly try to integrate and live as they live. I must sign off but I hope you enjoyed this entry. I will write as much as I can in as much detail as I deem necessary. Love-Angela


December 19th (a few days later)
Just thought I would add a few things today as the adventures never cease in Malawi. Today I am in Lilongwe after a pleasant ride with a man in a nice truck. He charged me for the ride but I can’t complain because I arrived about 2 hours early than I would have by mini-bus. We listened to reggae music the whole way as many Malawians are “Rastafarians” with dreadlocks and outgoing personalities. I am here to do some business then I will proceed to my friend MaryBeth’s house to spend the night with her and her friend from the UK that she met. It is fun being here as meeting people is easy and the circumstances and ways in which you meet are unexpected and spontaneous.
Anyway, I wanted to inform everyone that I have a new member in my family. It’s a kitten named, “Njala.” I asked my Head Master for a cat to help me with my mice problem. The mice are cocky and have no problem making noise at night while I am sleeping even when I shine light on them. I heard that they are afraid of light but it is not working. It’s as if they know they have been there long before me and are trying to break me down so they can reclaim their territory. My cat’s name “Njala” means “hunger” in Chichewa and I am hoping that he will live up to his name and eat every last one of them. For now, I am feeding him “usipa,” the small fish I described above. He is cute but I must admit that my limited cat experience leaves me feeling clueless as to knowing how to respond to his frequent “m-e-o-w-s.”
I will be returning home tomorrow or the day after and will be accompanied by 8-12 of my fellow volunteers. Everyone wants to see the lake for Christmas so they are coming to my place. The more the Merrier!!
I must be going but I am hoping you are enjoying my entries. I will try to make them juicy so that you feel you are being swept away in an African novel!
All the best and Happy Holidays!