Rain, bugs, and mental illness

The next morning, we awoke early to a sudden FWUMP of rain. We both jumped up and closed all the windows and put on our raincoats. We explored the new landscape being made in the roads, and admired the durability of the missionaries creations. Most towns and places in Malawi do not have drainage- you simply dig a canal around your area and hope you are not low ground. The towns in Likoma had been designed by missionaries around 1900, and they put drainage everywhere in the town and especially around the cathedral.

And then the bugs came to distract us from losing both our friends at once. Small insects with wings the length of a knuckle took to the air in force once the rain slowed. During class that day, a beautiful grasshopper the size of a fist sat in the front of the Form 2 classroom. Ryan told Sasha about it as he walked out of math and she walked into Chemistry. It was a fun day introducing acids and bases, she found lemon juice, vinegar, and milk of magnesia for the students to try. The reactions were priceless but halfway through Sasha heard a large crunch from under her foot, and then pained shrieking. Then there was this grasshopper writhing on the ground. The students all got up to see while one of them grabbed a broom to sweep it out. After class, Ryan grabbed it and brought it home to the cat, who cheerfully ate the whole thing minus the wings. That night, bugs were everywhere. A large black one the size of a thumb crept out to stand in the middle of the floor. Its mandibles looked very fierce. Ryan stomped it with a loud CRACK and the cat refused to eat it.

Cassidy, on the mainland, sent a photo of these odd red balls of fluff promising they would soon be in Likoma. Sasha showed a photo to the Biology teacher, who said their already here. There are many on his walk to class but he does not know the name. The next day, he brought a pair in a plastic box. They are fascinating- just a tiny red pom pom with legs sticking out. With some googling we learn they are rain bugs, or red velvet bugs depending on where you are from.  And again, they are neither insect or spider! They eat termites, and so we put them in one of the many termite holes in the walls. Turns out they do not eat adult termites.

We were preparing to learn recipes and try them out for Thanksgiving and introduce it to some teachers, when we learned that the Diocese was not going to be able to get our visas in time and we must leave the country. Our visas expire on the 4th and so we must hurry out- no time to prepare a feast. So we had pasta with 3 small pieces of steak for Thanksgiving, and then splurged on opening a pasta sauce. We shared a can of peaches for dessert.

The next day we went to teach our classes as usual, and Sasha planned to grab a truck and visit Ulisa bay to finish up the painting of the pots. Over lunch, one of the form 4 students came to say hello. She has come to chat before, but this time she was straight from the hospital. She told me about her boyfriend who was in the army, and how he loved her so much and encouraged her to work hard in school. She tried on some sunglasses and took some photos. She sat in the hammock and we listened to music.

She complained about the medication from the hospital, and how it gave her rashes on her skin. The rashes did look painful, and seemed to bother her so when she asked for a shower I said yes and showed her how to work it. She stripped to her underwear with me still there, but the shower did seem to help. When she was done we went back up to school where lunch was being served. One of the teachers talked about how Martha has gone a little crazy in the past, taking her shirt off and running around in a way that suggested there was one incident years ago.

The truck came to take Sasha to Ulisa bay, and Martha decided she wanted to come to. They argued for a bit but Martha was an adult, and it was after school hours. So we headed off in an exciting bouncy ride to Ulisa, and meet Chris to decorate pots. He is a tall red headed man in his late 60s married to a beautiful woman from the capital who is only the second person we have seen here rock an afro. He walks us through the glaze process, and then leaves us to sit in the adjoining office. We paint happily but slowly Martha seemed to be thinking in circles. Saying she was hungry, but refusing to eat saying she needed her boyfriend. We got halfway through when she started scratching at her skin and took her shirt off in the middle of the pottery studio. She urgently starting asking for help from the doctor, and then lunged at Chris begging for help. “Look around you! It’s a pottery studio. He is not a doctor.” Chris sat stunned at this tall girl reaching for him and repeated again he is not a doctor. This seems to calm her down, and we decide it may be time to finish with the pots. Luckily a delivery man is headed back to town, and so we hitched a ride with him.

Once we got back, Martha lead us to the hospital. Apparently, she has her own room there. Her room is locked. The doctor has gone home. We ask around and the only response is “Really? It shouldn’t be locked”. We go back up to the school, and there is someone who can contact her brother. Martha is getting agitated again, pulling Sasha back to the hammock. She says to send the brother to find her there, and Martha sits again in the hammock while Ryan types. She listens to music, and the kids start coming by. Sasha tells them to go, which they never listen to. Martha says to have them stay, and so we have a small dance party as the sun begins to set. She starts complaining of her skin again, and Sasha grabs the small spray bottle we have which seems to help but she still begins to take her shirt off. Sasha tells Ryan to make the kids leave and ends up waving a stick at them which they just laugh at. The brother comes by, he is a slight man that seems very used to this. Some of her friends come by, and she seems to be doing better but then half lunges from the hammock. We catch her and find cushions to put underneath, though she snaps back too and hides back in the hammock blasting the calm music. She keeps calling “Sasha help me” and refusing to go home, and so we decide to go inside so they can distract her. Our cooks and the watchman come by to watch, and she charges topless into our house and into the bedroom. Her brother is very polite and will not follow, but we invite him inside and he enters our room to chat. Shortly a large man arrives and follows with a chitenje (piece of colorful cloth). All is quiet for a bit and they open the door, to Martha with the chitenje tied tightly around her chest screaming to be left alone and that she is not crazy. As soon as she leaves our cook runs through the door and lock it to prevent her from coming back in – very little empathy there. She is pulled into the night yelling for help, for Sasha, and that she is not crazy.

We do not see her the next day, and her brother came around to look for her. The Chichewa teacher came in with broken glasses, Martha had been near her house and they talked. When she said Martha should go home, Martha grabbed her glasses and broke them. We learned today she has been taken to the mental hospital on the mainland. At the start of the year there was a staff meeting, where the teachers asked to be informed on the student’s health issues. We were told we would not be. Perhaps more could have been avoided if we knew the extent of her illness, but then again perhaps not.

While Sasha was off in Ulisa bay, Ryan had study circles for life skills. Many students had already left, and as he began writing definitions and notes on the board even more left so there were around 10 students. Ryan closed the door, and then pulled out his collection of ties. “who here can tie a tie?” a few raised there hand, but when they came to the front could not. The class started to get noisy, so students who had left tried to come back in. Ryan said too bad you left! And now each of those students has tied a tie.

On Friday Ryan was assigned to teach study circles. Just what the students wanted another hour with Ryan on a Friday afternoon! Ryan came in ready to review plurals and was immediately met with an intense screaming match in progress between half the class. He was able to get them to calm down and take a seat eventually and learned that someone had stolen another student’s notebook. The class started to get rowdy again and in the middle of the chaos a form 4 student comes in and says that all the students are to go home because the rains are coming. Ryan talks to another teacher outside who does not know anything about the students going home early so he headed back to class to sort out the notebook situation and maybe possibly even teach some English. Another teacher does eventually come by to say that the students should leave, but first everyone’s backpacks must be checked. 15 minutes later, the students have left, we have not found the missing notebook, its raining and no one learned any English. TGIF! Saturday we spent prepping for our quickly approaching departure and went to our first school dance, or disco as it is referred to here. It was quite amusing to see all of our drunk students on the dance floor in a strange combination of fantastic dance moves and the undercurrent of awkwardness that is present at any high school dance round the world. With every song, someone would start a fairly complicated dance and people would follow. Each student was a great dancer, and took delight in our less great dancing skills.

Christian and Cheese

CHRISTIAN AND CHEESE ARRIVE

We finish our morning classes and almost ran to the airport. We arrive at the scheduled time, then sit inside playing cards. The plane arrives only 40 minutes late. Our last contact with them had been when they had landed in Paris a few days ago. They had spent a day in Lilongwe while they waited for their flight. We stared through the fence, hoping that a pair of particularly pale legs would jump out. And finally. They did!

After a surreal meeting, we carried their bags outside to prepare for the trek home with layers of sunscreen. We shoulder their heavy bags, and are constantly interrupted on the walk home. Apparently, 4 azungu attract far more attention than 2, especially when we are carrying backpacks. We are pulled into a conversation with the Bishops brother, who held firmly onto Ryan’s hand for the duration. Once we finally made it home, we showed them the beds and they fell asleep.

The next day we slept in until 6am, while they somehow slept until 10. With the heat, we find that impossible. So we were able to leave, teach classes, and get back before they awoke. We gave the tour around the cathedral. We wanted to climb up the tower with the clock on the outside, but found it infested with bats- as they said it would be. The usual kids came around, and delighted in meeting new azungu (yes, even the Japanese Cheese is considered a “White foreigner”). They pronounce it like “Trees” which is very cute. When we got on the move, they all followed. Through town, their number doubled. Multiple children tried to grab each hand and we laughed and spread our fingers. When we arrived at Cassidy’s, over 20 swarmed us. She asked a local man to ask them to leave as they will not listen to us. They are of course charming, but after many hours it is good to be free. We swam at Cassidys chalet (pronounced Cha-LET, no silent French letters here) and watched the sun set.

The next day Cassidy had organized a boat to Chizimulu, the other island. After classes we hurried over and set off. Christian and Cheeze wrapped themselves in Chitenjes and sunglasses, and we sped around the side of Likoma looking our for crocodiles. The water level has indeed sunk, and that’s clear as we look at the rocks around the island. Cassidy dared the driver to go over some shallow ricks, and he rose to the occasion. The boat soon ran aground and killed the engine. After a few moments of panic, we simply shoved our way to freedom, bullied the engine back to life, and continued. We arrived at the Tenaya lounge in the bay at Chizimulu. We ordered burgers and explored the rocky lounge. There’s hideaways and narrow stony steps to admire the view from. We jump on the water and bob in the waves. Once we go back to wait for food, Cassidy’s boyfriend Lackson teaches us a likoma card game remarkably similar to Uno, called knock. Christian found the game cupboard and opened it, to find a swarm of wasps. He shrank away and Sasha got up, now numb to the wasps. There was a scrabble game that just contained cards. Upon return she lay down the games and felt a touch on the back of her neck. She calmly asked Cassidy to check for wasps, who shook out her hair and promised there was nothing more. We went back to preparing the game when she felt legs reach out to grab her face. A surprised Cassidy waved away the wasp with no harm done. Our hamburgers came out, and were simply thick well done meat in a bread bun with a tomato. The salsa was deliciously made on site, but the burgers where extremely disappointing. It was as if someone watched a burger being prepared once and then decided they could make it more cheaply.

We went to clean up, and Sasha put the cards back, deft among the wasps again. She returned and reached to repair the loose bun in her hair, when pain ran up her finger. Somehow, a free wasp had stuck itself in her hair in that short period. After slapping it away, her finger began to swell. Lucky shook his head saying those caused fevers. We sailed back along the other side of the island, admiring the beautiful Kaya Mawa, Mango Drift, and Andrews new place. Lackson suggested we stop by and he try to fix the electrical. Andrew came out to meet us and accept compliments of the beautiful place. Upon leaving, Christian remarked on what an unreal character Andrew was, somehow a deep stereotype and rare and interesting person at the same time.

The new Chemistry and Physics teacher came, C. Mofat. He is atleast twice the size of each teacher, and decided he would go by the name Mofat in a classroom of teenagers. As he approached for morning assembly, a few students chanted “Fatty”. The PC culture has not made it to Malawi. We sorted out classes with him (We had been teaching the Physics and Chemistry classes while we waited for a replacement teacher) and then collected Cheeze and Christian for another trip to Kaiko Beach. When we arrived, we were swarmed by children. When we got in, they simply took all their clothes off and followed, bananas swinging. Cheese inflated her giant blow up penguin, and children jumped over each other to climb all over. A young teenager noticed and charged out, chasing the children away and then riding the float at least a quarter mile off the beach. We played games with the children, picking them out and throwing them to deeper water. Sasha and Christian climbed over rocks to grab mangos, which ended with them poking mangos with sticks which were then shaken out by children. Many gave them the best mangos, which they carried to the beach with much struggle, and then handed back to the same waiting children. We attempted to replicate the same photo taken in Cancun, four sandy bums facing a beautiful ocean. Patient girls on the shore took photos, while naked boys ran circles around us. Perhaps not Facebook worthy?

Christian, being a proper ginger, got very sunburnt on his knees and hands. He poked the burn, showing how the color flees. Children excitedly poked it as well, entranced by the color change.

Eventually we did have to leave, and eager children helped squeeze the air out of the blow up penguin. We walked back holding many hands, and passed a few students on the way. It was dusk and everyone notices us easily in the dark, we asked one of the strange familiar voices to tell the students to leave (they only listen to Black Chichewa speakers. We may speak the same words, but they do not expect us to speak their language and so do not hear). Dinner was odd chicken bits and rice. Only Cheese would eat them, telling us what they were and urging Christian to try. We prepared for Cassidy’s going away party and walked down to Lackson’s bar. There, she set up Karaoke on the projector Christan had just carried across the planet, and we sang the American songs that we miss most. 

The next day, Saturday, we eagerly prepare to get to Mango Drift. They sleep in again until 10am, and we set out in the hot sun. It was a long walk but we eventually stagger in. We are greeted as old friends by new strangers, and settle in for lunch. We missed the power for pizza by half an hour and so settle in for sandwiches- another rare food. We were able to get the local rate and treated ourselves to the nicest room on the beach. The bed even came with flower petals on it! The pig that was a gift from Andrew to the son of the owners went for a swim. We sat playing cards speaking with a divorced German Engineer, who had wanted to travel Africa since he was a university student. Once his last kid left, he set out. The first employee who had applied for and received a sabbatical. We chatted with a pilot from the plane we would use later, and a pair of girls also from America. We had dinner together in the moonlight, watched the stars.  The next morning we split French toast and a proper English breakfast, and watched a storm approach. Neither Christian or Cheese had ever been snorkeling before, and we decided this was definitely the best time for it so we set them up and then pumped up our paddleboards. We paddled them out a ways to see the colorful fish lightning struck the other island a few miles away in the background, while we enjoyed the snorkeling in the sun. It did start to rain a little, we could lay down on our paddleboards and feel rain coming from one side while the sun beat down from the other. Chizimulu disappeared, engulfed by the clouds.

When we came back we collected their matching outfits. When we first went to buy the fabric, there were two students waiting as well. “You know how to buy things?!” one of the students asked, shocked we knew how to do anything without proper mastery of the local language. “yes- we just give them money and they give us things”. We had marched over to the tailors, gave measurements, and pointed at pictures on the wall that they liked. “Ahh like Sasha’s!” as Cheese picked a skirt. Then came an awkward moment as Cheese pointed to an area a few inches above the knee, where she wanted the skirt to end. But they made it! Now Christian and Cheese have perfect matching Malawi outfits, and we took photos of them outside. A woman from next door came to fix Christians collar. The tailor laughed the whole time at how excited they were.

We say goodbye and prepare for the trek home and to pack. Danfur, one of our cooks came by and we asked him to take a photo. He laughed and posed next to the 3 of them while Sasha took one of the most awkward photos of the year, then handed the phone to him and he took the last photo of the four of us. They left us some lotions, hand sanitizer (so far we’ve gotten hand sanitizer from each white visitor except one- who instead taught Ryans class), Christians sandals that were cut up leather with boxer lining tied to the back, and a whole lot of bug repellent to burn. They hiked through Jalo one last time, we bought them their last mandazi (the deep fried bread for 6 cents). We sat playing cards in the entryway, waiting for a plane that actually came on time. An Indian family and a woman who is the first truly in a rush person we have seen came out and found their drivers. They told us it was time. We hugged and said goodbyes, tearing up a little bit. The guard came to tell us to hurry which is truly the first time THAT has ever happened, and then they were gone. We walked to the side to watch the pilot give them the safety talk. There were only the two of them on the plane and so they really did have to pay attention. We watched them speed down the runway, and then they were gone.

Millionaires and Crocodiles

These past 3 week have been very fast-paced, which is out of the norm for us and so these posts will come all at once. We met Andrew, the crazy millionaire. He invited us and Cassidy to dinner, while we waited for her electrician boyfriend to arrive and fix the solar power. We happily drove over, and came to a paradise. Recycled materials and old fishing boats were used to a beautiful affect making everything from the bar to seats. He himself is like someone out of a story, with blue eyes, a British accent, and a rugged way of looking at the world. We returned the shorts his daughter had left in a hotel on the mainland (given to us by a backpacker in Mango Drift), and he slammed down a large box of snorkels and flippers and told us to have at it while he finished work. It became clear he must feed the fish, or something, as there were many thousands that swarmed us. It was the most diverse set we have seen yet on the island as well! He gave us a tour of his garden and the one his son had planned out. He has a collection of mango tree sprouts that he plans to plant along the road to town, to make it shady and full of food. Right now, it is miles long and in direct sunlight with the occasional Baobob tree. There was also a little family of pigs, and he picked up a piglet. The pigs went from calm to frantic as soon as the piglet was picked up. They squealed and one of the dogs jumped up to try and bite at it.

Widge Woosley was staying there as well, and it was excellent to meet her. She introduced us to Nandi who is the local who helps run all off the ruby cup education and distribution on the island and we talked shop. We had a beer and watched the sun set off a beautiful outcropping of rocks, and waited in the balcony off the honeymoon suite for dinner. You could wake up, and walk straight out to the balcony and see no one else around. A very expensive and perfect place for a honeymoon.

Dinner was very rare steak, salad (with ACTUAL lettuce), and potato wedges that did not drip in oil. Sasha almost cried a little. We listened to their stories of collecting the old boats, the legal issues with Kaya Mawa, and how lifejackets are optional in wooden boats. We walked halfway home when the truck found us, and we stood off the back dodging tree branches all the way home. Our bellies full of good food and excited to have finally met the mysterious Andrew.

In the next few days the three of us traveled to Ulisa bay, another lodge on the island. Cassidy and Sasha bonded over singing Girl scout songs, amused by which words have changed as the songs travel through the country while Ryan responsibly planned his classes. Andrew had emphatically suggested as well we visit Aslack, who is a carpenter who made a fantastic tiny chapel with a rope bridge leading to it. We asked directions and someone from the hotel, also named Andrew, showed us to his place. We walk by mangoes the size of our GMO mangoes back home (the ones we usually see on our side of the island are around the size of your fist), through women drying fish, and to a sandy garden. An old white man with a beard down his chest is working on carving something. “who are you” he aggressively asks. We inform him we’re friends of Andrews, who suggested we come visit his tiny chapel. “did you stay at his place?!?” no, we just had dinner with him. Can we see the chapel? After a little more rather awkward conversation he replied unenthusiastically: “its open.” 

We go explore a chapel that is no more than 5 feet long, with beautiful wood carvings and buttresses. There are carved shelves, and a beautiful cross. No rope bridge, however. As we come out we tell him the chapel is beautiful and his response “you know I am quite irritated. This is not a tourist destination. It is private property. You are not even friends with Andrew, you just had dinner.” We are surprised and apologetic, promising not to bother him again. We didn’t leave on a very good foot, but we have seen him around town before. Maybe we can catch him in a more neutral setting where we can apologize again for intruding. The culture of Malawi demands that you just drop in on people, with no warning so it was odd and somewhat refreshing to get a different response. We left and ate some huge mangoes, and when we told Andrew of Aslacks response, he just laughed. Was it a prank?

We stopped feeding Mtombe our leftovers, as the insects are getting bad again. A camel spider (the one that runs extremely fast and looks like your worst nightmare) ran onto her and she did not even flinch. Instead of going for our insect infestation, however, she caught one of the geckos that looks like it would glow in the dark. Once she killed it, she wasn’t sure what to do with it. In its belly were 2 large eggs the size of its head, which is probably why our huntress could catch it. Unfortunately she didn’t seem to interested in actually eating the critter. By morning it had been disassembled and carried away by our resident armies of ants.

Everything online and every other person says there are no crocodiles on Likoma – they were killed a few years ago after eating one too many children. Cassidys neighbor swore they do come by sometimes, and when we didn’t believe her, she promised to call when it came again. Sasha and Cassidy had finished swimming in the lake for the day, and were headed back to town and we got a phone call, the one we have been waiting for. “CROCODILE!!!” We sprinted down to the lake, attracting a lot of attention. White people running has a way of attracting many many curious eyes and a small mob of children in tow. Once we got to the water, we could not see anything and a swarm of boys that had found us shouted and laughed, surely scaring away any dangerous reptile. A few swore that was it over there, that line bobbing up and down. After much study we decided that was false and offered MK200 for anyone to swim out and grab the stick. They demanded 200,000MK so no one swam. This was lucky, as soon after as the sun was setting we saw it! About 5ft long, a people-nibbler more than people-eater but still thrilling. People threw rocks and it sunk away, with no more than a smudgy line in our memories.

Week of Hallows Week of Heartbreak

The Chemistry and Physics teacher Justice, that has patiently helped us pronounce so many words and understand so many cultural oddities, left to go back to school this week. It was also another teachers birthday this week (On Halloween; She was very surprised I remembered, as she told me a month ago), and so we brought in a cake to celebrate both of them. We used Nutella from Australia as icing, and added skittles in the first letter of their names on top. The teachers were all sitting outside under the tree to avoid the heat, and were extremely excited about the idea of cake. Birthdays are not really celebrated here, and Justice had not told anyone else he was leaving so it was truly a surprise for everyone. We played mixes of Happy Birthday and danced, while everyone got photos of the cake and the cutting of the cake from every angle. I was expecting an even cut for each person, but they cut out huge pieces for themselves that included all the skittles, then split the remaining third for the other 8 people. This is a way of sharing I will probably use with my birthday cake at home.

For Halloween, Ryan gave an exam (it doesn’t count as giving an exam on a holiday if they don’t know it is a holiday) and Sasha gave practice problems and did the spooky experiment- the sulfuric acid and sugar with the form 3 class. A student raised her hand in Sashas class (Martha- she is very sweet and hardworking, and the first to offer to help to carry Sashas books) and said she had heard rumors it was an American holiday today- was this true? Which was an excellent Segway to explaining the beauty of Halloween to a class of students who only mostly spoke English with only untampered excitement and a chalkboard. Once class was nearing the end, She grabbed the bag of candy and small chips and told everyone to say “Trick or Treat”, take one, and head to the site of the experiment. Of course this was soon a very hungry swarm with people coming for seconds and ignoring the move away idea. Eventually they gathered around to watch the experiment. It took longer than before, and they were not too excited with sugar turning black. Until it started to boil and grow! They carefully touched the side to feel the extreme exothermic reaction, and jumped back at the smell of sulfuric acid. A perfect audience! This time a few actually were interested in what was happening. In Ryan’s midterm, thanks to the help of some anti cheating measures the class was eerily silent and everyone got a candy as they left the class. The spookiest part was yet to come when the tests were graded, and Ryan found out how poorly they had all done. Good thing a 40% counts as passing!

It seemed unfair to only show Halloween to our own classes. So, during a free period, we grabbed some eyeliner to put a nose and whiskers, picked a Halloween playlist, and waltzed in to the form 4 and form 1 classrooms. We wrote Halloween on the chalkboard and gave a short explanation, then presented our large bowl. The aim was apple bobbing. But with mangos! The students were very excited about the game, they had so much fun that another teacher had to come by and tell us to be quiet. Sasha used white eyeliner on the students to look like cats as well.

That evening, Cassidy brought out a watermelon from the mainland and we carved it into a beautiful Jack-o-lantern. We presented it proudly while the theme to “nightmare before Christmas” played, and set it up outside the bar her boyfriend owns. They laughed and took many selfies with it. Exclaiming: “You people! You look ridiculous!”

Over the weekend we made our semi-monthly pilgrimage to Mango Drift for the pizza, and ran into a family with two young children that took 6 months off to travel Africa, and a couple that took two months off. The family and the couple lived 2 blocks from each other in London and had just met for the first time on the ferry to Likoma. With their two months, the woman (Katherine) taught medical students in Blantyre (a city to the South). The class took only three weeks so they were using the rest of their time to travel more of Africa. Thomas was an ex-English teacher that now wrote textbooks that was very excited to help Ryan put together a lesson plan. Thomas seemed to miss the classroom, so Ryan offered one of his lessons. Thomas happily accepted and began planning right away. Ryan was also excited to have one less class to plan and maybe actually learn how to teach from someone that knew what he was doing that was in a similar situation. The first step was to ask permission from the head teacher. We weren’t expecting much from the meeting considering he had hired both of us for our positions as full time teachers before we had even met him. When we arrived at his office it turned out to be a full on interview. Thomas had exactly one formal outfit which he was saving for the classroom, so he arrived in Katherines PJ shirt with a Polar Bear on it. He was able to answer all of the head teachers questions and it went well overall except for the part where the head teacher implied that they might be terrorists.

Thomas asked for a 2 hour block and I was able to wrangle an extra hour from study circles to get him an hour 40. He did a cool lesson that involved a lot of group work and moving around. It got very loud and it took both of us to get the class under control at times. Thomas almost made it a full hour before he said that it was too hot and asked if I could take over for the rest of the class. The students were unhappy to see him go, He brought a lot of fresh energy and passion in his teaching. Now he has taught in Vietnam, Japan, Honduras, and Malawi! It was affirming to hear him complain that our students are especially loud, and our classrooms especially hot.

Mtombe woke us early with a screech Saturday morning, and we ran out looking for her and the babies. We could find her nowhere, and her babies gone as well so we assumed she had moved them somewhere else because we had been checking on her all the time. The next morning the cat appeared as soon as we started eating breakfast as usual. She pranced around waiting for scraps and didn’t seem very guilty at all for taking our kittens away from us. We bumbled around, Cassidy arrived, and we prepared to go to the beach. Until Mtombe carried a tiny kitten from behind the closet, laid it at our feet, and tried to lick it back alive. It wasn’t even old enough to open its eyes, but its tongue lulled out of its mouth. We sat in a mournful circle around her, watching as the licks became more frantic. We saw a possible streak of blood and turned it over, to a bite under the armpit too small to be fatal. We listened at the closet, hoping for signs of the other. We pulled the closet out to find only a whole bunch of peanut shells and dust. She realized we could not help her, and disappeared into the neighbors window with the lifeless kitten. When we came back from searching the trash pit for a little box to bury it in, we looked around the front of the house and found both kittens lying outside. Mtombe was trying still to wake them, and we decided to give her some space and went for a swim at the nearby beach. We remembered why usually we walk the extra hour to visit a beach resort, as kids swarmed us and swam next to us laughing. They are always entertaining, but they never seem to tire and don’t leave much room for conversation or relaxation. When we came back, we learned the neighbor was tired of the cat bringing her kittens inside the house and had tossed them into the pit toilet. We sadly rethrew away the box we found, and gave her extra fish.

We still do not know what got them. perhaps she ate a cockroach we had poisoned, she had worms, the rats took a bite, or someone tired of cats snuck into our house and killed them. None of the locals really care either, so it is difficult to get answers.

That night the hospital threw an awards ceremony and Cassidy invited us to attend. The awards began at 6, the dancing was scheduled to begin at 8. Being experts at Malawi time we thought we were playing it safe when we arrived around 9, to find the awards had just begun. We sat on the beach and listened to the music and had a phone call with Christian WHO CONFIRMED HE IS VISITING!!! We chatted for an hour with our feet in the waves trying to figure out the logistics of bringing a snowball from Germany, when the awards show finally ended and the dancing began.

The chief, the mayor, and everyone else of note was sitting along one wall, and the rest of us sat facing them with a dance floor in between us. There is no possible more awkward way to set up a dance party. Still, we chatted with Francis who said Mtombe had one kitten before, which died at birth and who offered to take us on his fishing boat to a neighboring island. Cassidy and Sasha went to the bathroom, to find that the handle on the inside and the out had fallen off. So they moved to the mens as one person stood guard. The police officer, Bruno, came by to tell them to stop and use the correct bathroom. He added that there was a spoon that would open the womens bathroom from the outside. When asked about it, he disappeared for a few minutes before producing a dirty spoon. He seemed confused about why we didn’t love this plan.

We visited Mzuzu again in order to sort out some immigration issues. The couple that had taught at the school with us earlier in the week boarded the boat as well, and saved us a seat up top. They promised a room if we ever visit London, and then went to bed. Bruno came to chat, it seems everyone was on this boat! A man had gotten drunk and thrown a knife at his father, and Bruno managed to arrest him so this week he had to go to court. He is highly energetic and still didn’t get the hint when Ryan managed to go to fall asleep on the table. When we ran out of topics, Sasha started watching some Netflix. She shared a headphone with Bruno and they settled in a few episodes of the very wholesome “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (The only show he had a chance of enjoying after Black mirror, House of cards, Rick and Morty….). It was a very enjoyable 4 minutes until the very entertaining and very gay Titus walked on in leopard print. She had completely forgotten about this very prominent character. “That man- he acts like a woman!” He explained God made Adam and Eve, and we explained God also made gay people, and here is the science behind it. He patiently explained gay people were a punishment, which is why Malawi didn’t have any gay people. We explained 5% of the population is gay, they are just silent in fear about it. We both agreed to disagree and were able to part friends, but nobody left with a changed opinion. We figured it was best not to get in too heated of an argument with one of the only people who carries a gun on the island- although it is left at the office. There is no emergency number on the island, so we got his Whatsapp number so now we can call the police if there’s any trouble.

A church driver picked us up from the ferry dock the next morning and took us to Mzuzu, a very welcome change to the cramped discomfort of previous rides. We walked into a very welcoming Joy’s place, picked the best beds in the dorm, and enjoyed French Toast and a proper English Breakfast. There were a few things we absolutely needed: a mop, a hammer, a bottle opener, and vegetables. Whenever we attend sports at another school, or attend any event, they give us bottles. The Malawians open it with their teeth. Everyone has very good teeth despite this treatment (except many children, who have terrible teeth). The big grocery stores had the food, and we picked up some water guns as well. A man came by and asked what they were for, we told him to keep our students quiet. He suggested the tear gas the next aisle over would work better. Sasha grabbed some books of paper and pencils for the girls that come by. She draws them on her nice paper that is running out, and they want to draw as well! No bottle opener or mop in sight, we were informed to search the market. The market is a huge sprawl of shops selling everything if you know where to look. We do not. We passed rows and rows of fish before coming to a shop that was a solid mass of cords and small metal objects. After digging for a few minutes the shop owner produced a hammer with a blunt end. After digging a few more he found a proper hammer with prongs for nails. A man reappeared with a bottle opener that had the look of being very second hand even by Malawi standards. He probably had a friend with a bottle opener and told him some silly mzungu wanted to buy one. We haggled to save 1500MWK, and left very satisfied.

We met Justice in Mzuzu, who took us out to lunch to meet his girlfriend. While she was looking away, he asked Sasha for the cash to pay for the food we were about to get (he’s learned that Sasha is the one with the money). When his girlfriend looked back we ordered and Justice exclaimed “I am the boss, I will pay!”.

Dinner came around, and we enjoyed a proper hamburger and burrito. We had to try very hard not to tear up a little at the beautiful taste. Joys started to get somewhat busy, and we met another Peace Corps who told us about her struggles in the public schooling, and gave us some tips for handling the students. The innkeeper, Justin, came out to upgrade us to our own room “Like in everything, its who you know not what you know” as he lit a cigarette. He insisted people are spending far too much on Malaria research and prevention. Its no fun to have, but as soon as you feel ill you go to the hospital and get the cure. He’s only had it around 20 times in the past 5 years, and each time for him it is the same symptoms of headache and sore muscles. His wife gets diarrhea. You just know your body and get the cure. It’s like the common cold here. We were not convinced and will still be taking our very expensive Malarone.

We returned to the island too tired and too late to attend our morning classes, but were greeted by the beautiful sight of hundreds of ripe mangos everywhere.

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