First Week at Site

Hey all!

I hope you are so proud of me that I am updating my blog a second time in two weeks after failing to do so for two months. Perhaps this will show you how serious I am about my previous claim of becoming more regular in my posts.

As I write this, the sun is setting and despite all precautions to keep them out of the house, I am plagued by the constant buzz of mosquitoes all around me. At night I sit on the couch and if I have any bit of bare skin, I can almost guarantee it will be devoured by three or ten of the hundreds udzudzu in the house. Even when I sit in bed reading under my net I am harassed by at least one that managed to sneak in with me. Few things are more irritating than reading with a mosquito buzzing in your ear, let alone sleeping; thus I have been reduced to spending at least seven minutes a night in bed on my knees hunting for a needle in a haystack, only to miss squishing it when I finally get the chance. Standing outside of my room, you would think I was clapping for an encore. En contraire…

Currently, I am living at the house of an Austrian woman, Katharina, who is volunteering for the year as a teacher trainer for Help Malawi, the NGO who requested the presence of a PCV and who has built the health center I am assigned to, as well as the school I am staying at now. Every day this week I have been riding my bike 14 kilometers roundtrip to check on the progress of my house and to help clean the health center which will open on Monday. I think I will be able to move into my house Monday, as well!

In the meantime, I am keeping myself occupied with day to day activities and trying not to get to ahead of myself by looking at the days and weeks and months ahead of me. The other PCVs I have talked to this week have confessed feelings of boredom and listlessness but I am happy to report I have felt neither. Even when I want time to myself there are children coming to the door, Katharina showing up, chores to do, and Chewa to be spoken. My language abilities are admittedly improving, however slowly, and I continue to learn from my language faux pas. Example: the other day I was telling some Malawians about the work my dad does fixing bikes and cars. I was using the verb to fix but accidentally omitting the N that changes the meaning from to urinate, to fix. Only days later did I realize I had been telling people my dad pees on bikes and cars. Weird Azungu….

Despite those silly lost in translation occurrences, people continue to welcome me wherever I go. However, as an azungu (white/rich) woman, I am in the challenging position of having lived and worked in a man’s world while still being expected to cook nsima and wear long skirts. Straddling these two worlds will make integration a challenge, as men don’t accept me as an equal and the only lives the women know are that of marriage, babies, and the house. However, it is my wish that as I continue to speak and interact, the villagers will come to realize my sincerity and commitment to the task at hand.

And with that, I am calling it a night. Tomorrow I will post this inside Liwonde National Park and perhaps Katharina and I will have a chance to lay out by the pool. If I can’t live by the lake or swim in the crocodile infested waters of the Shire, I can at least have a swimming pool to enjoy once in a while. But shhhh don’t tell Peace Corps about this unexpected luxury.

As always, sending my love to you all. It’s hard to believe it’s already September; summer is over and a new season has begun! Keep sending me your thoughts and letters and know that I am out here showing pictures and speaking broken Chewa of you.

Xoxo C

P.S I am attempting to post some select choice pictures for you. If you are looking at them you know I have succeeded but if not, the internet is too slow.

finally, a new post after two months!

so sorry to all for not being a very diligent blogger. my internet access has been less than easily accessible and when it is, there are thirty five other eager individuals vying for some time. once i get to site though, my access will hopefully be more regular, less rushed, and i will be able to use my own computer.
oh, but so much has happened, the biggest news being that today i was sworn in as an official peace corps volunteer! we all wore red white and blue corsages and received special pins to commemorate the occasion. pictures to come, i promise.
in the meantime, i will be traveling to my village, Nandumbo, in the district of Balaka on friday. for those of you with a map, it is located between the town of Ulongwe and Liwonde national park, meaning i am close to the Shire River which is home to hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and a million kinds of birds. on my week long site visit i was even able to take a boat safari! however, the landscape around the park is as flat as a table, very hot and dry, and even the boreholes pump salty water. needless the say, the mosquitoes love it.
as for my site details; i am the first pcv to serve at this site and the health center i will be working at is just opening this week (or so they say). my presence in Nandumbo was requested by a NGO; Help Malawi, whose headquarters is located inside the park at Mvuu (hippo) camp. i have been told that malnutrition and malaria are problems within the community as well as maternal health and, of course, HIV/AIDS. my position as a brand new volunteer whose presence is coinciding with the opening of a new health center is unique, and i am excited at this opportunity, despite the daunting nature of the challenge that lay ahead.
my house, at the moment, is being worked on and will hopefully be finished in a couple weeks. it was pretty much in shambles when i saw it for the first time, but i believe that once it has been fixed up it will be a pretty sweet spot. the house is big with three bedrooms and a living room, plus a separate kitchen, covered batha and storage room in the backyard, not to mention my very own chimbutzi. i hope to start a garden as soon as possible and i will be lugging a couple of how to garden books, among many others, with me to site. in the meantime, though, while my house is being finished, i will be staying with Katharina, a young austrian teacher working for Help Malawi at a local primary school.
i am sending you all my love and hope all is well stateside. i swear to you my blogging will become more regular as my life becomes more of a routine and i look forward to your comments. i have love love loved getting emails, letters, and messages from you all, even if i have yet to respond. you make me feel so awesome and loved and i wouldn't mind if you kept it up.
talk soon and cheers! C