Ticket to Anywhere

Friday came, as the last day of instruction. We both went to class, to find that very few of the teachers were doing the same. One of the students, Leonard, is an aspiring DJ that goes by LDKAY. Sasha gave him some chemistry key points about the periodic table and paid him to make a song about it. We chanted him to the front, he was quite shy, but when he started it went very well. He sang about how not to be like the noble gases who react to nothing, how Carbon makes up all of us, and the reactivity of halogens. Sasha paid him K1000, and if anyone needs an artist- we know a great one. Another student, Zeless, also wanted to sing a song. It is not clear if she wrote it, but it was very sweet and about missing us as we go. Norah continued to ask Sasha for something to remember her by, for example- her watch, necklace or purse. Sasha asked for something to remember Norah by, and walked away with Norahs backpack. She made it halfway back to the office before a laughing Norah came to ask for it back. We took many photos of and with the students, and printed out one each with Steve’s printer that he gifted to us. Each one said something like “SPASS memories 2020” or “God Bless”.

Sasha helped do one of the students hair that was just long enough to braid. Hers were quite loose compared to the others, but when they tried to braid Sasha’s hair they said it was too silky and only managed after a lot of practice. One girl- Sandra who has been almost kicked out of the classroom multiple times (if she doesn’t run away first) said her hair was “Gaga”. When Sasha asked the meaning, Sandra ran away. We do quite like Sandra, if she sees someone shout “Azungu!” at us, she says “no Azungu! Sasha and Ryan!” which is far more polite. Turns out Gaga means dirty- they found Sasha’s dandruff!

Finally, it was time to party. We all loaded into the back of a truck and headed to Mango Drift. It was a good truck- Lackson knew the guys putting in a new cell phone tower so once they were off work, we got to use the truck. When it went down a hill with no potholes, he went quite fast and we all laughed and shouted with the wind in our hair. We brought our cake, a block of cheese as a gift for Andrew, and our own sodas to keep the price down. We ordered 15 pizzas, enough to feed everyone. Our friends have listened to us talk about pizza all year, and now finally they were trying it as well! They said that they liked it, but maybe that was just the free food. Halfway through we noticed the cheese on the pizzas became cheddar, and when we went to get the cake later we saw they had used our block of cheese. While Ryan learned how to play Bao (and even won a few games) Sasha took a few people snorkeling. We told them they had to see why Lake Malawi is so famous worldwide! People who were not born on the island rarely know how to swim, much less breathe underwater with a snorkel so seeing the fish in their natural habitat and not on their plate was very exciting.

On the wall, there is a sign saying that if you can row a dug out canoe around a buoy and back you can get a free night. If your legs are out, you get a free drink. We asked the manager of Mango if anyone had managed it. He explained there was a trick to it, but wouldn’t tell us what it was. We asked Andrew who said the trick was that it was impossible, the canoe was a dud. A few of the teachers decided that they could do it. While everyone had fun, it clearly was impossible and everyone tipped over very quickly.

There were several guests staying at Mango and they all said they had decided to wait out the quarantine. Some were from Italy, Germany and Argentina which may actually be stuck. The ones from the UK, States, and a few others could still make it home, but would prefer to stay on the paradise beach. We were tempted to stay with them, but knew that would be the risky thing to do. They had a garden, and were infact very isolated from the rest of Likoma. Cigarettes are very cheap here, so many Azungu begin to smoke far too much which is exactly what they should not be doing with an oncoming pandemic.

We told the policeman Bruno how we were nervous about the quarantine and he gave us a Malawi Military ration emergency preparedness kit. The evening progressed, and after eating the cake, we pulled out some sparkling grape we had been saving. It popped beautifully, and just like in the movies to lots of applause. We stared up at the stars with our feet in the water, before it was finally time to leave. We jumped back into the truck, Sasha standing up right infront. After she sat in the back months ago with an extremely sunburned back that was scrapped badly by a very bouncy truck, she will not be sitting again. Besides, it is more exciting to have to dodge the tree branches. We will miss the carefree feeling of riding a truck this way through the night.

Months ago, a child of about 8 named Precious accidentally stole our binoculars. Sasha asked Danfurd to get them back, and they appeared on the front steps the day after. He did not come around much afterwards, except to sell his Samosas. He never really spoke, but with time running out Sasha asked Danfurd to find him. The next morning, Precious was on the steps. Sasha gave him the binoculars he loved so much. He quickly ran away to look at things.

The next morning we sold all of our remaining things at excellent prices and lots of people came to say their goodbyes. Many were great customers, but some complained that the prices were not very consistent and other stuff. Ryan managed to download all 32 GB of Khan academy and upload it to the headteacher’s computer so that when the new computers came they would be able to upload it and make it available to the students during break.

We left on the Ilala and had lots of company for the voyage, from our friend John who has given us so much interesting fruit and the first 3 seasons of Grays anatomy, to Ian making Chiponde lodge, to Asante who grows chickens and is the math teacher at a nearby school. We stayed the night at Mayoke village and were held up by a gaggle of wealthy old South Africans on vacation. We marveled that they managed to navigate the very slippery and uneven steps and get lost, while ignoring our very simple directions or moving to the side to let us pass. Sasha rushed to the check in and while he did give her the wrong key the first time, she got it the second time and they had upgraded us to our own room. The South Africans had to wait until 1am before they finally got their rooms.

The next morning we visited the lodge next door to see Andrew. he was on the mainland collecting diesel and for a meeting with all of the other foreigners to discuss how they would all weather the coming storm. The bishop picked us up around 11 and took us to Lilongwe. It was a 6-hour drive along the lake and we had some interesting conversations, but by the end, we were both pretty ready to be there. To explain how he thinks Malawi will handle the virus, he told us a bible story. A group were starving, with a leper colony nearby. They could either go to the leper colony and eat, but possibly die, or they would die of starvation where they were. They went to the leper colony and ate well, and survived. If Malawi puts everyone in quarantine, many will die of starvation compared to a relative few who will die of the virus. They are still going to efforts to limit transmission, but as we went through Lilongwe, there were huge crowds still meeting. It is especially daunting to watch a disease come that has given wealthy countries so much trouble from a very poor country. If the wealthy countries can do nothing, what can a poor one do?

The bishop had told us that there was a KFC in Lilongwe. We were excited to give it a try and were happy to see that it was only a mile away from the hotel. We set out, walking through a busy taxi depot with very crowded cars and loud people. Weve ridden these cars before, it is much too cramped and unreliable, and as our destination was nearby, we elected not to get in one. It was getting dark so we could see no details of anyones face. A little further down the road we realized that we were almost alone on the street (an almost unheard of situation in Malawi) a girl yelled out the window of a passing car “you are so brave!”.

There are street lamps but they are not turned on, so it was dark. We did not want to use our phones as lights, as that could make us targets. Sasha tripped on a sharp rock, causing a large cut on her foot. We march on, wanting to get there as soon as possible and not be caught lingering outside.

We see movement to the side a man yell after us “Wait! Stop!” we waved him off assuming he was just a drunk, but he persisted “Hey! You white people! Stop now!”. We did stop, and turn to see a large man in the Army uniform (very respected here- much more than police) with a massive gun. He abruptly demands “Where are you going?” when we say the KFC he shakes his head and says it is this another way, that we cannot be out after dark. We are supposed to get a taxi or a ride. “There are Guns around here- have you heard about them? Guns that will shoot you and take everything you own. No questions. I am serious” So we thank him, decide we do not really need KFC, and we go home to a very overpriced pizza and phad thai. In stressful times, we are lucky Ryan got such a terrible haircut, as it is excellent comedic relief just to look at it. Sasha bandaged her foot, we enjoyed the luke warm shower, and then went right to sleep in beds as hard as rocks.

The next day, The bishop takes us first to the only drive-through in Malawi, the KFC. We get the milkshake ice beverage he suggested and take photos. Then we go to the airport. We were the first in the waiting room, and waited patiently. When we got on the plane, we sat apart although there were many empty seats. Sasha sat next to a very sweet Canadian woman who had been teaching at an international school in Lilongwe. It turns out, she lived in a town I lived in for a little bit. We both went to the same school for one year, though many years apart. She had spent a year in Lilongwe, and 7 years previously in Sudan, and before that in Japan. She told Sasha all about what Sudan was like- and now we must go visit! It sounds delightful. When we had a layover in Ethiopia, she bought us some of the famous Ethiopian coffee (Ethiopia claims to be the home of coffee, they have an entire ceremony) and we talked easily for hours. There was such a wide range of reactions to Coronavirus from everyone. Some Chinese people had full white plastic onesies and gas masks on, while most others had only a mask. Atleast half had nothing. Many used the free eye masks as facemasks, which looked quite amusing.

We got on the 17 hour plane ride, sitting next to each other in our own row, and watched many movies. From the sound and look of people, there were many people in our position that were living or teaching abroad, for it to be cut short. Many are in worse positions than us, with no idea where they can go and with no parents to fall back on. We are lucky to be doing this young. We stopped to refuel in Ireland, and then were off to DC. In DC the only difference we noticed was that they do not fully stuff the buses that transport you anywhere, as they usually do, and the border agent just asked if we had a cough. It took a very long time to decide what food to get, and settled on some Pizza hut. The crust was so fat and cheesy, it was a good choice after the thin pizzas of Malawi. On Ethiopian airlines they spoil you with food and drink; on whatever airline this was, they did not. The plane was only a third of the way full though, so they let us have one of all of the snacks and a full can of soda.

We walked off the plane in Seattle, grabbed our bags, and waited outside for our families. Meanwhile our friend disembarking in Canada was given a brochure on self-quarantine, had her temperature measured, and was asked in depth questions. The only way to tell there was a quarantine here was how few people were present.

We made it home and said our goodbyes to each other for the first time in 8 months. It will be strange to be apart, but that is part of the adventure.

Heres to many more adventures (after the quarantine).

Thank you for those who read the blog, and thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you all again.

And to our Malawian friends,

Tionana

Beginnings of Goodbye

On Sunday, we woke to find out that the Peace Corps have been pulled from all communities, worldwide. Before today, it was only China and a handful of countries nearby that were rumored to pull soon. But this was everyone. Our Peace Corps counterparts had 24 hours to pack and leave, with no chance to say a proper goodbye. Our friend in Vanuatu had 12 hours before a helicopter came to pick her up. She loved her place so much she was taking a third year, but she had no chance for a goodbye. Another friend in Vanuatu had only 6 hours. Throughout this trip, the Peace Corps had been something of a weather vane. this was not a good sign that they thought things were bad enough to evacuate everyone for the first time ever. We began to consider leaving as well. As a government organization, PC is always extremely careful, more than we need to be but this was a big blow.

Being on a small island has some downsides. One of which, is that we are very isolated and it can be hard to determine what is going on in the rest of the country. One of the benefits, however, is that everyone knows everyone and everyone is very friendly and talkative. We heard the telltale sound of plane motors fill the peaceful Likoma air and rushed down to the airport. This was one of the first planes we had heard come in since the rainy season had started. The pilots, Mike and Mike, had come from the Lilongwe airport and we were able to chat with them about the conditions in South Africa and the rest of Malawi. They were unconcerned with the whole issue, which was a little surprising given that their business relies on wealthy people coming to visit. They said they would do their best to come to the birthday party we had planned for that Saturday. There were some extra precautions being taken at the airport in Lilongwe, but so far no meaningful restrictions on travel. That reassured us a bit, maybe Peace Corps was overreacting.

On Tuesday, it was Sasha’s Birthday. Ryan came into her mosquito net and woke her with one of the cute little kittens and suggested a morning walk. We walked to the top of a nearby hill. We found a cat that was likely Spot’s father, a larger version of our only male kitten. He enjoyed getting under our feet as we walked, we had to keep throwing him into the bushes to make any progress. We looked at the beautiful view, with everything green and the fishing boats returning. Ryan, who hadnt slept very well the past few nights because of the continuous news alerts about Caronavirus spreading, turned to Sasha and gave her the worst birthday gift either of us has ever received, and hopefully ever will. “I think we have to go home, Canada is calling everyone home and many countries have started closing their borders”. We agreed and we began preparations to get home.

We told the headteacher, who took it well but seemed a little confused as the virus would be over by March 27^th. He sent us the video of a man from a prominent church in Lilongwe making the prophecy too prove it. “Modern medicine did not bring this, and so it cannot cure it. It will leave as quickly as it came.” We agreed that if it did manage to vanish by then, we would be back on the next plane and be here for the start of term three. It was somewhat distressing that the March 27th narrative seemed to be gaining a lot of traction as we heard it from several other people over the next few days. Hope is good, but sometimes it is better to think things through and face the facts. Perhaps many are somewhat numb to diseases, as Ebola was a huge scare that never came, and Malaria is so casually cured.

We began to inform the teachers, who were equally surprised. At the time, there had only been a handful of cases in South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya. Nowhere near Malawi. We planned a birthday/going away party for that Friday instead with all our friends and colleagues. later that day, a man came up to us in the market and introduced himself as the Headteacher from Wisdom Academy. This was full of the students who could not afford our school, or who had dropped out for one reason or another. The school had around 50 students, and fees were only K18,000 a term instead of our K51,000. We explained we would be leaving on Saturday and would not be able to teach. He explained that Corona will not come to Malawi because they have so much faith in god. We asked about everyone else that did too, but he patiently described how no one believed in God as much as the Malawians. All the same, we accepted to come and visit his school on Thursday.

On Wednesday we realized that in all of our time on the island we had never visited the famed Kaya Mawa (meaning “Maybe Tomorrow”). We decided that we had said “maybe tomorrow” enough and packed a bag to make the trek over to visit. We arrived and were greeted by a friendly electrician who offered to show us around. Many of the rooms were undergoing repairs in preparation for the busy season starting in April. We visited every room and were very impressed by the way the buildings were built into nature. Many were built with one wall made of a giant boulder and there were showers that had become a part of the trees over the years. After our tour, we walked a few hundred meters down the way to visit the creator of Kaya Mawa himself and say our goodbyes to Andrew. He was mostly his usual jovial self, and poured us a Shanty. He had just finished building a beautiful new lodge and planned to have the grand opening in early April. All of his international guests had canceled. He is very worried about the death rate of Malawi, thinking it will be as high as 10-15% because so many suffer from HIV/AIDS. “Maybe this will be the push I need to quit smoking” as he pulls another cigarette from his new bar. We collected bread and went snorkeling one last time in his beautiful waters. The colorful fish swarmed and explored all around us as the sun began to set. As we were leaving he offered to come any time and stay as long as we bought our own food. The three of us rode away on the back of his motorbike. We made it only halfway up a steep hill, so Ryan jumped off and raced us to the top. Andrew tried to speed off without him but Ryan jumped back on in the last second. He dropped us off at the crossroads, and we peacefully wandered our way home.

When Thursday came, we had a lot of extra stuff that we had planned to use or eat over the next few months, that now needed to sell or give away. We made a goodie bag of some of these items and challenged the students to answer questions in exchange for prizes. It was an odd assortment of items. Some students got cockroach spray, some got lights, others got a jar of peanut butter. George, the student Ryan had busted for fighting in class, somehow ended up with a hammer. By far the best reactions were to the canned goods. Norah got a can of peaches which disappeared when another student went to the bathroom. He came back with a sharp curve hacked into the top of the jar. Everyone was confused by the contents. they asked what it was and how they were supposed to eat it. After Ryan explained it they ended up being far more interested in the syrup and left the peaches alone.

Next on the Docket was to take Bruno up on his offer to tour the Police department. We met him along the road and walked to the group of buildings someone thought would be best placed on top of a big hill. A little bushwhacking later we made it up and saw the jail cells and offices of the Likoma Police department. He didnt let us see inside though. It was a smart collection of buildings with an excellent view, and just two jail cells.

We headed back to the school and finished talking with our students (they were perfecting the tongue twister about “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck…”) and we prepared to leave for Wisdom Academy. Natasha, his niece, and our guide, was very patient. We gave her a soda to wait with while we quickly packed. We had planned to find it ourselves, but the path was very narrow and winding and through many backyards. We would not have found it without asking a lot of people a lot of questions. We finally made it to a very cute house with steps made from smashed tile. Charles, the wisdom academy headteacher greeted us. We sipped coffee and he explained how he built this school earlier that year. There were two neat yellow buildings, with two rooms each. “Wisdom Academy, In God we trust” written on the side. And yes, he got that idea from US currency. Each room had a blackboard and some sort of bench or stools. A few had wide wooden chairs that had come from his home. Between them, a 3 wall hovel stood made of grass and found wood. Chalk on the short table labeled it “Staff lounge”. He asked us to send new volunteers to him to help teach at the school. It did seem that they needed us more than St. Peters did.

Once we had seen everything, Natasha showed us to the way out. We walked by her family who were busy braiding hair. Her neighbor wanted us to take a photo with her baby. We made our way through more backyards and cornfields, greeting everyone as we went.

She led us out near the airport, and we headed on to Chiponde beach. Allegedly, the most beautiful beach on the island! On it, Ian the Englishmen and his American wife were building a new lodge. He had found the place 27 years ago as a young hippy, and had been thinking about coming back that entire time. We got very close to the beach, but hit a dead end. An old lady sat cutting branches. We approached and asked her the way to Chiponde. She did not speak English, but knew that word. She shouted at someone and eventually gave up and staggered upright when they did not appear. She shuffled to the side of the house, beckoning us to follow. We pulled out some very nice chocolates that we brought from Australia, and as she waved us on we gave her a few to apologize for bothering her. She took a bite and a very confused but happy expression crossed her face. “Very sweet!”, but then a woman with a string of children appeared and saw the sweeties. They walked us the rest of the way to the beach- we were indeed quite close. Sasha gave up handing out the chocolates and just gave them the bag. We always dislike giving candy to children and setting that precedence but they probably aren’t seeing any more azungu for a long, long time.

Three men working on the site greeted us, and started to show us around. Giddian was the lead, then Christopher, and a landscaper. They all came from the Chiponde village, and were very excited to be working here, although none had experience with this sort of thing. They had all traveled far and come back to Malawi, and their English was fantastic. The chalets were one room, with a roof you can sit and look to the beach on. Giddian took sneaky photos of us, and Ian eventually appeared from the side. “Id offer you a beer but I have only one!” he said as he cracked his one beer and began to sip it. We took our second motorbike ride home and prepped for our last full Likoma day.

Friday we found out that the afternoon classes had been canceled so Ryan decided it was time to get a Malawian haircut that he had been putting off. In Mbabma he found the barber that had approached them a few months ago and sat down for a quick clip. 45 min later he left K2,000 lighter and with nearly the worst haircut possible (there were no actual bald spots). Immediately afterward, we had a meeting with the headteacher and Patrick who thanked us for our help and presented us with a chitenje with a map of Likoma and a tailored shirt and dress. They were wonderful gifts and will help us remember this wonderful island.

Final week of Peace

We are writing the following posts from home. We are finally home safe after a very stressful week, but here’s what we did before we knew we would be heading home.

We started to take the cats outside on little adventures so they could begin to get used to life other than a built environment. They were so nervous about the proportionally tall grass, but quickly learned to explore. They followed us as we went anywhere and always manage to be directly underfoot – too scared to be alone. If we ever did manage to get more than a few meters away from them they would panic and start squeaking incessantly. Eventually, they always found their way back to the safety of our room. We were exploring the classrooms together with the kittens when the headteacher saw us and laughed at the thought of putting so much time and effort into kittens. He was there helping work on the science lab- which is almost complete (that’s what we heard at the end of last quarter too)! Sasha was so excited to host class there beginning next quarter.

Ryan was tired of the large bucket of dirt with the mphalabungu (caterpillars) that Sasha was storing in the bathroom. especially since they wouldn’t emerge as moths for another 7 months. So Sasha had to dump them out and transfer the two insects to a far smaller container. They wiggled and squirmed around in the process, and a few of Sasha’s students were very excited about the unrecognizable mysterious forms of the pupa. She showed them where the wings would come in, where the antennae were growing, and how to tell if they are male or female. At first, most didn’t believe they would turn into moths, but slowly they have started to change their mind! The biology teacher now has the jar sitting in the library and promises to send photos when they do hatch one day.

We finally prepared an apple pie with few apples we had brought from Mzuzu, and even had enough mini pies to bring a few to Faith on her birthday! She thought it was a very curious dessert. We don’t think they liked it very much, but both of us enjoyed a slice of America even if it was not a la mode.

We started to sell the calculators, and students were very excited. One girl cut a hole in the box and left the plastic on so that she could use the calculator without it ever being exposed to air. Unfortunately, we ran out and many students are still without calculators.

The Adventures of Sasha on Chizimulu

We have competed against the other two schools on the island- time to compete with the only other school in the district, the school on Chizimulu! For most of the teachers it was their first time.

Ryan felt ill, so it was just Sasha that woke up at 4:45 to meet some other teachers at 5:15, to make it to the boat leaving at 6 am. We set off into the early morning and walked as the sun rose and the air was cool and fresh.

We arrive at 6:15 to a picturesque beach, with lines of tables to dry fish and women and girls doing yesterdays dishes. It was barren of both our captain and any students, and so while Faith and I found a nice rock to sit on, the men went to find the captain. They pointed out the boat- I said surely not; this must be the boat that will take us to our boat! I predicted perhaps 20 could fit, but 70 were supposedly going. One hour in, around 30 students appear with the captain and we board the boat. It was still roomy, with only a few sitting on the floor. We pray, and then set off for Chizimulu. Or so I thought. We just moved one bay over where another 40 people waited on the shore. Realization slowly set that yes, they all planned to get on this fishing boat with no lifejackets and one motor. We shuffle closer, and people wedge themselves in. There is standing room only, until the captain demands everyone find a seat or we will capsize. A baby next to me cries. We pray again and set off. They begin to sing, which helps pass the time of the hour long boat ride. The sun now was rising properly now, and it started getting hot. It was time. I had to pull out the sunscreen. There were stares and laughter as I failed to inconspicuously rub it into my skin.

When we arrive, most students immediately disappear to find their friends and family on the other island. The boat sets off to pick up the second round of students who will arrive around 11. We find a small shop, the teachers purchase crackers and soda and watch, ready to jump in as I purchase water and yogurt in a bag. Fishan (in charge of sports) exclaims “I am surprised! You manage to buy things without any Chichewa”. That is another crutch we have- most people know basic English so we never have to learn more Chichewa.

We share our crackers in a concrete market square when someone comes by to sell clothing and lays out a thick pile of clothing infront of us. We picked out silly clothing for each other, before Faith and I get serious. We find a Lulu lemon shirt, and a shirt with a pirate pirating a movie on another (The joke was not appreciated by Malawians, but it is now my favorite shirt) and Faith bargains the price down until its only MK600 each- around 80 cents.

The school itself is a half hour walk up a very sunny and steep hill, and when we make it we collapse into an office. They have 3 scales, and we have only one semi-broken one so I suggested to the other Chemistry teacher he keep one under his shirt so we both have two “No! That’s stealing!” So unfortunately we still have only one scale. The headteacher comes in, and as we spoke it became clear that Chizimulu would need our help more. They should have 8 teachers, but only have 6 as two are alcoholics that take their paycheck to the mainland and stay there. Each teacher has 3 subjects, and 28 classes a week. The legal maximum is 25. I have 8, and sometimes feel overwhelmed. The headteacher left us to our own devices, and I went to find a bathroom. I found a nun, who did not know the words “bathroom”, or “Bana” (Chichewa for bathroom), but did understand the universally known slight squat and ssss sound. I patted myself on the back for remembering toiletpaper, and enjoyed the view from the bathroom door.

Faith and I went to nap on another teachers balcony, and watched two girls pluck a chicken. The breeze and the view was perfect to recover. Two girls that Ryan had sent with my forgotten waterbottle came by. Eventually lunch was served for us: rice, the chicken we just watched get plucked, and a sauce. Faith came around with the jug and bucket and poured so we each washed our hands. “Ahh, just like my wife used to” lamented Fishan. He is 25, so it was shocking to hear. They divorced as she slept with his bestfriend. We discussed the evils of his friend until we learned he was only 15 as he married, and she 14. This is illegal, but common in the villages.

We head back down to the pitch. Madalisto (Biology teacher) and I prepare to go to the beach. “Be careful! There are crocodiles!” he warned. I said no worries, theres plenty of people around who will tell us if we are in danger. “They cannot tell you not to go swimming, you are azungu” I assure him people love to tell us if something is dangerous. I get in the water, and children that were not there before materialize everywhere, but don’t get too close as Madalisto is there.

I cooled down then we went to go sit in the shade. A student drunkenly swaggers up and sits next to me, asking if that’s my waterbottle. Another student casually moves my waterbottle away. The dentist also comes by “ahh how many teeth have you pulled today?” I ask. “fourteen teeth” “Fourteen? That’s a lot, those poor people” “No, FORTY, and more coming. But my arm is tired, I need a rest” He explained how most Malawians don’t go to the dentist until it hurts, and by then the only thing you can do is pull. Even if it were caught in time, it is a free clinic and the ingredients to fill a cavity are expensive. He will do a teeth cleaning, however, as long as the person buys the distilled water for MK1000 ($1.50). He wishes to open his own dentistry office one day, but needs a dentist chair. They cost a fortune here, but if one was from the states or another place it would change his life. Germans donated one to the hospital on LIkoma, but on Chizimulu patients must just lie on the ground. By the end of the day, 53 people were a tooth short.

The netball game finally begins, and I made it about 15 minutes in the sun before retiring again to the shade with a bright red arm. This place is unforgiving. A student, Harold Ng’uno (pronounced close to Harome) sits next to me. I admire his name and he explains his last name means cow. and asks if I could please give him K1000 for his trip across. He had not paid and they were threatening to leave him there. I agree to talk to the teacher in charge as I did not pay for myself. I figured I should pay for someone! When I do ask Fishan, he laughs, and explain everyone has paid but Harold just wants beer.

We must leave before the soccer game ends, and we pack back into the boat. Someone pulls out lollipops, and we start on our way. Once the captain gave instructions, the Gospel singing comes again. The waves got rougher and higher, and began to crest. The sun got lower in the sky. The captain was skilled, but a wave just a bit higher would overturn the boat and I have no doubt that more than a few people would die as very few could swim and panic would hit. But they sang through it, getting louder as waves soaked us all, and people dove for the sides of the boat to get sick. I did feel God on the boat then. The songs were in Chichewa, though I joined into Hallelujah. It was the most powerful rendition I have ever been a part of.

Two hours later, we make it back to shore and we cheer. Faith swears never to go to Chizimulu again. I search for my waterbottle, as the captain throws it into the water. I manage to scoop it up before it disappeared and we walk home. This is a plastic waterbottle we brought all the way from Greece so it is particularly valuable. The water was too rough, and so the boat would not set out again until very late that night. The other half of the school would not get back until 4am.

Ash Wednesday and Mzuzu

On Tuesday, we had just settled down to play some Civ when Andrew rolls by with a new person- Anna. She grew up in Lilongwe (the daughter of a Norwegian Diplomat) and was just visiting Malawi again after a few years away. We showed off our kittens and asked if they knew anyone who could give them a nice home. Andrew offered that his dogs were hungry. He invited us to dinner for Anna’s last night, we finished up some school work and got a motorcycle taxi over to his place just as the sun was setting making for a beautiful ride. We haven’t ridden a motorcycle since the rains had come, and there were some difficult parts in the road but our driver knew his way around and got us there smoothly.

We made it just in time for the sunset, and met the 3 guests that were working with the drone project and USAID. Unfortunately, the drone project was coming to an end to be continued at a later unspecified time. We spent the evening laughing and belittling Australia followed by a long walk home very early the next morning.

We woke up to prepare for class, and then went to church. We sat with the teachers in the back and had ash painted on our foreheads, before doing some praying and singing. We ducked out after half an hour to continue to prepare our room for the kitten onslaught of pee. As we had lunch, the cat threw up to reveal long writhing worms in her stomach. That just. Kept. Moving. We will be getting medicine for her in Mzuzu.

On Thursday, we helped organize donations in the hospital. People had kindly donated many, many things many of which are completely useless here. The funniest was a few fancy baby outfits, with no arm or leg holes but with large wings on each side. The dentist helping out showed it to us, to see if we could figure out what this strange outfit was. We figured it was to swaddle newborns. Completely useless here- they would just use a chitenje. Theres plenty of medical equipment that no one knows how to use, and so many expired medical supplies. Sasha did find a perfect exothermic reaction for her students- ankle heaters for newborns. You just snap a metal in the center and it gets warm. Fortunately it had expired and could no longer be used for medical purposes. But it worked great as a class demonstration!

On our way back we ran into a couple, Martin and Nicole, with impressively big cameras from the UK. We invite them up for cordial, and we heard about their travels and discussed our work here and at home. Martin was very good at getting interesting answers out of people so he was able to tell us some things about our own island including some tips on getting into Kaya Mawa. We showed off our school, and they confirmed it was very good compared to many that they had visited in villages across Africa.

Friday rained all night and into the morning, which is quite rare. It was just like home! Usually the rain is beginning to slow down- but climate change is messing with everything. The lake level has risen to almost what is was 15 years ago, which is very exciting.

Saturday we set out for the Ilala. We boarded with our fellow teacher, Faith. She had to go to the mainland as her laptop had been stolen. She was next door getting her hair braided, when someone walked into her home and stole a selection of valuables. The police came by and alerted all potential laptop fixers on the island that one had been stolen. Fortunately on an island there are only a few places expensive things can go and someone is bound to hear about it. By the next day, someone had come to try to get her latop cleared so they could bypass the password and the police were called. He was arrested, and swore he only bought it. They whipped him until he gave a name of who sold it. Then they arrested him too. He was (literally) tied to the boat, as we went across.

Every criminal arrested on Likoma is treated the same way. Tied, or chained to the Ilala. Last year, there were three rape cases. The first was an 11 year old who was sent to go cook (and had been since the age of 8) for the man that raped her. The next two were arrested at about the same time, one who had raped a four year old and one that had sex with a goat. (the first reported goat sex on the island) They were chained on the Ilala together, but the one who had raped a goat had a bag over his head so no one could tell his identity. The one who had attacked a child just sat quietly, no shame. All three are in jail and will be for a long time.

While we thought we had explored much of our island, we met Nicole and Martin again who showed us we really had not. They had found a factory for chandeliers and other workshops and some big houses we had never even heard of. For such a small island there is a lot we have yet to explore. We got to see them throw 12 barrels of diesel overboard off of the ilala as we left – enough to power the entire island until the next boat comes. 95% of Malawi is powered by hydro power from the bottom of the lake, and soon Likoma will be solar powered.

We sat between our new UK friends on one side and our Malawian friends on the other side, a remarkable contrast. We watched Martin walk around the boat and talk with many, many people. Nicole explained this always happened, and always manages to have quite intense conversations very quickly. Bruno, our favorite police man, came by. After many laughs and accusations, he brought over perhaps a 6 year old boy and introduces him as his son, Faith. Faith was very quiet and sweet. The head teacher from the other school came by as well, and was quite tipsy – smacking Bruno’s head many times and giving big painful handshakes. When we talked of something else, he got distracted and picked up Faith, pretending to throw him over the side of the boat. We got to see the policeman side of Bruno very quickly appear.

Faith (the teacher) purchased some fried fish, and we enjoyed a taste with salt. We made it to Nkhata bay around 11pm, where James from Mayoke bay came to meet the four of us. He led us out of the craziness, where person after person would try to step in front and offer to carry our bags or give us a ride. Then left us on a deserted street to get the car. “You must get very tired of the island to put up with all of this for just a weekend away” Martin observed as we waited. James came back with the small car and a driver, so we sat three in the back and three up front. When we finally got back to Mayoka Village, Anna was there sitting around with some friends! She jumped up and welcomed us, and introduced us to the dive instructor and a man from Montana who accused us of being Canadian.

Martin bought us a beer and we sat around for the next few hours talking about everything- mainly Martin and Nicoles motorcycle trip from Alaska to Venezuela. They pulled out wallet photos to show it, which is something we plan to do now. Far classier than pulling it up on your phone. We talked of life on the Malawi coast, and then went to sleep. When we awoke there was a bit of rain and the spirit of adventure.

Martin and Nicole kindly drove us to Mzuzu in a huge truck that they had rented in South Africa. We filled them in more on the struggles of the school and our lives in Malawi, and they told us we should write a sitcom. Though a sitcom like this would be very difficult, and things that are just life here may seem racist at home. We probably have lost touch with what is “PC”, but many differences are more from growing up in a first world country vs a third world one than a black vs white one. They drop us off at Joys, and take their leave. They donated some money to help us to buy some calculators for the students and invite us to stay in their town in the UK if we are ever back.

We relax with some delicious Korean food, and chat with some Peace Corps volunteers that are present. We sometimes are afraid we are not getting enough done, but they seem to be often struggling even more than us. Simon who we met 6 months ago and showed a dislike for the continuous handshaking, now fights a grimace every time he must shake a hand. But he does have even more movies for us!

The next day was spent finding the perfect chitenje fabric, finding deworming tablets, and grocery shopping. We visited our friend in the hospital, who is still unable to sit up. But we brought him more books so he can more easily pass the time. We navigated our way to “Phonewood”- Ryan by sensing the directions and Sasha by asking directions. We picked out a big pile of calculators for 1000-2000 each (40,000 each in shoprite) and went home. We packed everything together and talked with an Australian lady who lived on the coast who also invited us to come visit.

The Bishop sent us a car and we headed off to Nkhata bay. Ryan stationed himself with a nice view of the loading docks (it made for a great slow TV), and Sasha went to visit the shops. She talked with Beaura who lamented the complete lack of guests staying in the area now. Most of the bay is aimed at locals, but her shop is for the tourists. Sasha also went to the very local market and sorted through a pile of clothing to find something with a nice pattern. Soon, she had 5 women digging looking for a pattern for her as well. And eventually, we did all agree on a nice striped shirt for MK300- 50cents.

On our way back on the Ilala, we sat down below and purchased a mat to sleep on to watch everyone load. A French woman, Salome, and an older American man came to say hello- they had just met at the previous lodge and he was just walking her onto the boat. He worked business for 30 years, and is now living 3 months in Malawi, 3 weeks home, and 3 months in Malawi for many years doing volunteer work. He told us his friend was very quiet but he would leave her in our capable care and headed off the boat. She had just come from Kenya, where she and another girl she had met in the hostel rented a car for a cheap price. They wanted to drive to Nairobi and drop it off, and drove into the night. The roads became too treacherous with the rains, and so after 4 hours they decided it was impossible and so turned around. But the man had a GPS signal and so was able to cut the truck off so it stopped in the middle of the road. They tried to leave to go somewhere safe, but they were too far away and the area was dangerous. He called and demanded money for him to be able to come back. Nothing like this can happen in Malawi, however!

We went upstairs and shared a round of beers. Sasha finally got to meet Ian, who is making a lodge on Chiponde beach. He is American, and his wife is English. They tried living in England and then America, finding they weren’t getting far on their income and decided to sell both houses, and move to Malawi. 27 years ago, he came here as a hippy. He got off the beach and asked some fishermen were he should camp. They took him to the most beautiful beach he has seen before or since, and he had a fantastic few days there. He always wanted to come back, and 27 years later they did. With very little experience, they set out on this project. They have found some very good Malawians to help, and are very excited to get it done in June.

We stashed our things in Salome’s room, and then slept on the mat outside her door. Around 2am, we awoke to a deserted hallway and rain pouring down. Everyone had moved to the other side of the boat. We snuggled closer to the wall and pretended it wasn’t happening. Ryan stayed dry. Morning came and Chifundo came to say hello. She offered us a spot on her boat going back, and it was very exciting to see John round the corner in a massive blue boat. We loaded our things, and brought Salome along. We thanked them profously, and Christina found us on the dock and helped us carry everything back. She put the big bin on her head, and put the small piece of meat she bought on the very top.

We spent the rest of the day sleeping, before jumping back into teaching class.

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The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar; the story of the Mphalabungu and strange birds

An older student came in on Wednesday and told Sasha he had something he wanted to show her. She followed him outside, where he had a very fat caterpillar. One of many infesting the nearby mango tree. She asked if they were poisonous, and he instantly grabbed it to check. Luckily- nope! The history teacher walked by and explained how to cook them, by squeezing them like toothpaste until a large gut piece came out. Theyre called “mphalabungu”- which vaguely means edible caterpillar. No one knew a specific name for it, but luckily someone on reddit knew the answer immediately. Turns out, they are a valuable delicacy in Zimbabwe, and a staple part of many peoples diets in rural Southern Africa. Not on Likoma though, we eat fish here!

On a side note Ryan walked into one of his classes this week and was surprised to find that one of the students had a small brown bird on a string. After asking the student about the winged guest she conversationally replied that it was “relish” also known as a side dish that goes with your Nsima.

Anyone from Likoma was mildly interested in trying some. People from the mainland had either tried them before or were disgusted at the idea of eating a caterpillar. Nkhokota advised to ask the students what they thought. As one of his students left, Sasha lifted the lid of her makeshift container, only to have the student scream and run to fits of laughter from us all. Christina had a very similar reaction when we asked for her help preparing them.

We collected a few leaves and set up a little home for two, and made a bowl of the rest. Devota came after class to squeeze out the insides. It was quite a brutal process. She said Sasha could not do it because of the texture of her fingers (yes she is also one that teases us for being unable to pick up nsima the temperature of boiling water). Sasha boiled them for an hour, and tried to find a spot to sundry them thought the crows looked to eager.

Valentine’s Day

This term, we had organized midterm exams. One hour for each class Wednesday- Friday. 12 tests. All of the students were fresh and ready for Sasha’s Chemistry tests in the first and second time slots, but by the time it came to Ryan’s math test in the 12^th time slot there was a noticeable dip in preparation.

After Ryan finished his Thursday exam, we decided to go to the beach. When we woke that morning, it looked like the perfect day for the beach but as the day went on there was more and more rain. Ryan finished his exam, and it just rained harder. We waited and the rain got worse.

We decided to go for it anyway.

We donned our raincoats and umbrella (yes, both were necessary), said goodbye to the cats, and walked out to where it was raining Elephants and Whales. The roads turned to rivers, and we were soaked in minutes even through the raincoat. People waved from their verandas, laughing at the odd Azungu behavior. Some people were out, though they were more in a hurry than the average Malawian ever is.

We finally made it to the beach, took our raincoats off, settled down to some warm coffee, just in time for the rain to stop and the sun to come out. Other people were staying at Mango drift, which was quite surprising. Someone from the Netherlands had quit her job as a social psychologist, an Australian couple was backpacking, and three Swedish electricians were holidaying as well. They spent some time volunteering at three different sites across Southern Africa, putting their skills to good use. Their inspiration? After travelling all the time “There’s only so many perfect beaches you can visit before you want to give back”. They bought a car in South Africa and were driving to Kenya along the coast, and would sell the car there. Bribery is rampant most places they passed, but luckily not in Malawi. In Mozambique they were frequently stopped, but had plenty of cigarettes and half-drunk sodas that they could pay the bribe with.

In one of the many conversations we have with the other teachers one of the teachers asked why all the teachers from America taught Stem courses. Neither of us had really considered this phenomenon before, but upon reflecting we realized that indeed with some small exceptions this seemed to be true. The best answer we came up with was that Social studies, language, and history can very widely from region to region. While you can be pretty sure that Physics, Math and Chemistry will be the same anywhere in the world.

After Malawians did not know about Halloween, did not celebrate Christmas much (Easter is the major holiday), Thanksgiving (of Course) or even st Patricks day , we were surprised at the talk of Valentines day. We aren’t often invited to things, but this time had 3 invites! We went with the first one and had dinner at Ulisa bay. We went early to work on some pottery- Sasha still wants a nice big mug!

We relaxed on the rockier beach, splurged on a glass of wine, then watched the sun go down while eating moon eggs (what one calls deviled eggs in a religious place) and well seasoned dinner. Dessert was the first cheesecake we’ve had in half a year at least. A Likoma Chief dined at one table, while the owners dined at another. It was a very exclusive group!

On our walk back, 3 motorcycles sped towards us, interrupting a peaceful walk. “AHH AZUNGU AZUNGU” the lead one shouted. We were surprised until we saw the pale skin (as pale as one can be after spending 2 decades in the sun) of the millionaire that built all the nice hotels and hostels on the island was bringing a small mob of drunk people to party at Ulisa- perhaps we left too soon!

We spoke with Lackson about teaching us to play Bao, though we could not find a bao board to borrow. Instead, he found someone to make it for us. Sasha came back the next day to a carpenter finishing up the last few circular dips in the board. She sketched something on the outside to be carved as well; he just laughed and said he would bring it to someone in Jalo (the nearby larger town). We received a photo last night of a clumsy carving tracing about half her placed lines, and adding some very unflattering ones. Sasha, ever the artist, decided shoe could probably do a better job herself and wants to go find someone to teach her woodcarving.

On Wednesday, Nkhokota the math teacher had a Birthday. Sasha collected milk in a bag, fresh eggs, some margarine, and oil purchased in an old water bottle. After mixing them all together (with Christina watching closely and whisking away any finished dishes) we baked them. Christina borrowed more cupcake dishes from her mother, and we wished we had more brownie mix to share. As it was everyone that helped had a few (and the ones that stuck) and we were able to bring many up to the school. When Nkhokota got out of class we sang happy Birthday and ate brownies, while eating many brownies!

After class, we all walked to the Kaikho Beach an hours walk away. We blew up the volleyball ball on the way, and bought some sodas. A lodge is there, but no one stays there so we were able to take up the whole beach playing volleyball and swimming. It was a spur of the moment event, so people just swam in work clothing. Ryan was able to wear his swimsuit, and Sasha put leggings and a collared shirt over her bikini. She still had the most risqué outfit. We buried people in the sand, took many many photos, and danced on the beach. The next day, everyone complained extensively of hangovers although there was no alcohol. Perhaps that is just what you say after a party?

Sasha walked by herself down to watch girls netball. On the way, a man staggered by with a gin bottle. She slowed down hoping he would not see her, but no such luck. He almost fell in forward as he tried to move quickly shouting“Azungu!” and reaching for her. She did the usual fist bump and keep walking. He tried to follow shouting “Azungu come back! Azungu I love you!” Students also headed down looked back and at this last comment laughed until they cried. “Madame! Why didn’t you say you love him back?!?” they teased. Stumbling drunks seem simply an accepted part of life. People just ignore them and let them pass out somewhere.

On Tuesday it was extremely rainy, making class very difficult as the steel roofs make it extremely loud inside. A man dressed in a jacket covered in holes and dragging a fish net came into the office and asked for money. The teachers said they had nothing, so slowly he left. He came back a few minutes later, trapped by the rain and still wanting money. Eventually he just sat on a covered bench outside. On Thursday, he wandered into Sasha’s classroom while she was answering some questions. The students were less polite in telling him to leave.

The cats are starting to poop- a lot. All over Ryan’s shoes and on the floor. One peed in the shower. We made a litter box that unfortunately is very rarely used so far. As Sasha cuddled with mtombe as usual, the cat got up in the middle of the night, moved to the middle of the bed, and peed right next to Sasha. It was an aggravating night, with death threats (towards the cat – that Danfer declined to translate) the next day from Christina. We will not be surprised if one day we accidentally have cat for dinner. Ryan made lots of little toys for the kittens which they adore.

Halfway

Its February and we are about halfway through our little adventure abroad. Sasha has a bag of new underwear saying “Do not Open until February 1^st” on the advice of others, as good underwear is difficult to find abroad and new underwear makes all the difference. This is an exciting milestone, but we are also realizing how short our time is. We’re starting to think more of what we will do when we are back. Ryan is getting visibly more excited by the day to go back to work and be reunited with his beloved excel spreadsheets. Instead of clearing things up for Sasha the trip has opened up so so many more ways to live her life and make some money. The art has taken a backseat, while so many others jostle for front.

We could live abroad and run a place like mango drift, spend days greeting guests and growing food. The people there now have a 12 year old and the wife has a huge camera. We could run instead a place more like Joys in Mzuzu- the wife runs the hostel and the husband is a biologist who drinks with guests each night and runs a scuba diving internship keeping track of the lake. She could work for the UN- debating with people from all over the world or in Healthcare with her new x-ray knowledge. Or work for an NGO doing something similar, and helping people somehow in a more official capacity. Or perhaps in Tourism, and bring people to see the beautiful Africa. Or do more with Science education and the Pacific Science center. Or find a good stable job in an office like property management, and be able to do everything else on the side. Ryan loves construction and is pretty sure that wherever she ends up going there will be some sort of construction to manage nearby.

Our phones keep filling with photos of the kittens, who are getting better at walking. They continuously sway side to side, and often fall on their face, but it is always extremely cute.

On Tuesday, Sasha decided to risk a glass of unfiltered water, and spent the night throwing up. The next day when she left early from school to go back to sleep (around 9am- a very early day) everyone suggested going to the hospital. We cancelled plans with someone, who told us to go to the hospital. Later, the one who runs our house came by and told us to go to the hospital as it was probably Malaria. Sasha promised to go if it was still bad tomorrow and people just shook their heads. Yes its free, but its super awkward. The line is long, and they put us at the very front infront of far sicker people. It was also mostly gone by the next day. We stopped by the hospital administrators house to pick something up who said you can’t even get a positive Malaria test for at least 2 days anyways, especially if you’re taking anti-malarial pills. It seems like the fear of malaria here is so great that any one who feels even just a little sick gets malaria medication as soon as they can. From what we have heard it is a truly awful experience.

The hairdresser, Mercy invited us to her place. We walked with her past Cassidy’s Chalet (remember- pronounced cha-LET) to the place with an orange boat. We’d heard rumors about an old unreasonable man who lived here. Someone was allegedly rude to him on the Ilala and now he hated everyone on Likoma, and let no one use his beach. According to Davenport (the old priest from the east coast) a quite nice family lived here, who may let us use the beach.

Turns out it was all true, and Mercy lived there too! The house was huge, with knicknacks that would put any English grandma to shame. There was also a huge fan spreading a refreshing breeze. We met her cousin John, who was educated in a big city and referred to the island as Alcatraz. He had a very negative opinion of most things, but we had an interesting conversation and learned a lot about the island and some of the behind the scenes happenings. This guy and his family seemed to have their fingers in all the pies of Likoma. The Grandpa did indeed have an unfortunate event on the Ilala, something to do with not getting the level of service he was expecting. He is also doing his best to stop the Ilala dock from being made. Turns out they are putting it right over the water input for the whole island. Right now very little filtering must be done to the water, but once the ferry is there, and it dumps everything into the lake and the water will need far more treatment.

The grandpa was also on the board of education for our school. Months ago, they all met and we were told to come too. We met all 15 or so of them, said hellos and left. We asked how the rest of the meeting went later, and they said fine except it ended early because someone had a heartattack. Turns out that was his grandpa.

They also promised we could use the beach as long as we asked first and they were there to supervise. We’ll call it a win!

One of the most difficult parts of teaching has been trying to figure out what the students already know and what they have never heard of before. To prepare for class, he asked the math teacher if the students could graph. Mr Nkhokota assured him that they could and we even discussed the way they had been taught. With a sense of confidence Ryan went into his valuable double period and gave a brief review of how to graph a line. The students faces were blank and they did not respond when I asked if they understood. This was common so Ryan continued on with the lesson “Solving linear equations by graphing”. The class dutifully copied down notes and with about 20 minutes to go in the class it became apparent that no one had any idea about anything to do with a graph and were completely lost. Ryan quickly threw together a lesson on the spot which made them even more confused and wasted the double period. This has happened before with negative numbers. It seems like every now and then we stumble into a giant hole in their knowledge that can take several class periods to reteach and puts us way behind in the class.

On Thursday morning, Sasha was lead teacher. She gave the sermon, ending on a strong “We do this not because it is easy, but because it is hard” and was complemented on the clarity and simplicity of it. Our sermons are always around 30 seconds of pre-written speeches we find online that morning, while the average teacher has a 5-10 minute ramble. That day was club day so we announced what we would do origami and make fortune tellers. Students laughed hard when they saw it. Then it was announced since there was a game Saturday we would instead all be going to sports. Sasha usually attends the girls netball, but this time she meandered to the boys volleyball and football.

She watched volleyball and halfway through even served it. It was quite a good serve for not doing so in years, although it did go out of bounds. A student, Alfred, who no longer takes Chemistry watched with her. They talked about the fortune teller- apparently each Malawian knows how to make it, but it is used as an egg holder. She learned his father was trusted by the previous couple that lived here to bring them anything. “Yes, he is quite liked by white people like you”. Alfreds job prospects? He will drive a motorcycle as a taxi, or be a welder which are both pretty good jobs. She lent him a USB stick (with Avatar and Howls moving castle) which he’ll bring back with a Nigerian movie and a few others. Nigerian movies are somewhat popular, though quite predictable and we want to learn what all the rage is about!

One other guest stayed at the Mothers Union, a man who is the Construction Manager that is working on the solar panel project that will bring renewable power to the island starting in June of this year. (if things stay on schedule). With every guest its like having a new roommate, and its often awkward. He moved out a few days ago to stay somewhere more permanent and cheaper, but is also staying until July. He gave us a tour of the construction site so far. They were just pouring the solar panel foundations and putting up walls for the battery building, but it was cool to see the people at work and to pour over the plans for the construction. The solar panels themselves have been delayed over fears of the Coronavirus since they are being made and shipped from china. It is amazing how interconnected the world is even on this little island far away from literally anything else. He, like John, seems to feel a little trapped on Likoma. We wonder if the reason we don’t feel so trapped is that we chose fully to be here, or that we just like beaches a lot more.

We finally found a better way to filter our water more efficiently (see picture). Now we can just turn on the faucet and the bottles will fill!

After several attempts at trying to communicate and convince Christina that we didn’t want dinner tonight we finally got an opportunity to cook for ourselves and made pizza. Even Dunford and his sister liked it. He said “It was too tasty”. The couple that visited brought us some Mozzarella cheese (It was odd to ask favors from people you have never met, but we got over it) as well as a bag full of carrots and peppers, which has greatly enhanced every meal. Sasha followed Cassidy’s footsteps and bought dough from people making bread. This time was much easier, as the lady that spoke great English was back. They included some flour as well, which was extremely helpful. We mashed tomatoes and cooked them for an hour or so, with some garlic. We are practically chefs now.

We had a game on Saturday- our first home game! St. Peters beat Likoma Secondary in every single sport. Volleyball, Football, and Netball. It is always nice to see our students in everyday dress. Its their one time to show off their outfits so many get very… extra. They keep combs in hair, wear fake chains, bright skinny jeans, big jackets, the works. Each student at the other school did wear their uniforms, and on Tuesday during morning announcements (there was none Monday- it was raining too hard) they were told from here on they will wear full school uniform to which everyone laughed at.

Goodbye Malawi

Parties and Planes