Cheers to 2009

I had a good 2009. As far as a chunk of 365 days are concerned, this was a pretty good block of time. I laughed, traveled, explored, finished TFA, ran a marathon, and ended it in Africa. It seems as though every year goes by faster than the previous, I can only imagine what 2010 will bring.

We had the last week off of school because of the holidays so I spent a few days at site planting seeds in my garden, building a shelter for my compost pile, and playing way too many games of memory with Vinny and his brothers. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the babies (Denise and Derrick-age 9 months) spend most of their time sans clothes (I don't blame them!) or diapers-clearly we were not paying enough attention to them because they peed on the cards. No more memory.

New Year's Eve Jesi and I traveled north to Nkhata Bay to ring in the new year with about 20 other PCVs. The trip up the lake shore was not easy, it ultimately included 5 different vehicles, but it was totally worth every uncomfortable minute. As we were driving I kept expecting dinosaurs to appear from the bush, it was so lush and green and beautiful. We arrived at our hostel prepared to camp but ended up staying in a chalet with an amazing view of the bay. We rang in the new year dancing outside to a mixture of Malawian music and some old school Beyonce and Rihanna. New Years day was spent swimming in the lake, reading on our porch, and generally being thankful for being put in a Peace Corps country that is also a tropical paradise. I am still thinking about my resolutions, but I am certain 2010 will not disappoint.