A Birthday in Malawi

I turned 26 this year. Sometimes that feels really old; sometimes I feel like I have the rest of my life in front of me. I am not really sure how I feel about being 26--but I can say I had a really wonderful birthday. Meg made the most delicious cake in a mud oven (yeah, she is that amazing), Alexis led a yoga session on the beach, we swam and tried to run, and ate some more cake, we crammed lots of people in a room meant for 5 and it was wonderful. So, in honor of my 26th birthday I have compiled a list of 26 things I have learned this year and bits of wisdom I have tried to embrace.

1) Life really is a journey--not just on t-shirts and coffee mugs, seriously it is

2) You can fit 23 people, 6 chickens, 2 goats, 7 bags of maize, and countless pieces of luggage in a mini-bus meant for 12 people--it is possible

3) Food can typically* last overnight

4) Expiration dates are mere suggestions for deadlines

5)Who you are as a person is far more important than what you do

6) Patience-I have learned a whole lot of patience. Patience for sitting in a minibus for 4 hours to travel 70km, patience for my students to critically think about anything, patience for Malawi to start to rely on its own abilities, and patience for myself to be wherever I am

7) Frogs are not smart. (this is not meant to be offensive to frog lovers-I just have a lot of frogs living in my house and they are dumb animals)

8) The people that matter don't mind and the people who mind don't matter

9) My family is amazing.

10) I have incredible friends in Malawi and America and those friends make all the difference.

11) In the big scheme of life 2 years is not that long

12)How to carry 20L of water on my head

13) How to boil and egg and cook rice (yes, I didn't know how to do either before...no excuses, just embarrassment)

14) When you try to explain Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy to Malawians you end up sounding very foolish

15)You should always be wearing an 'adventure sandal'-you never know when an adventure might arise so you should always be prepared

16) Being self-sufficient is satisfying, but not as satisfying as eating in a really good restaurant and being pampered (just a little bit : ) )

17) How to sew (sort of) and knit (kind of)

18) Fanta is an invaluable teaching tool

19) how to start a decent cooking fire

20) How to make a compost pile and garden

21) How to diagnose malaria, giardia, shistos, dysentery and a variety of other pleasant ailments

22) In chichewa 'want' and 'need' is the same word: kufuna. More languages should celebrate the similarities

23) I have learned to sit and be still. Some people (my mom) might find this hard to believe, but I really can just sit and be for a long time. A big change from my former super scheduled life (at a moment I was working with 5 minute blocks of time). Most Malawians tell time by the sun. Meetings are scheduled by talking to a person and them saying "when the sun is somewhere over there we will meet." (Picture a person pointing an ambiguous place in the sky) Do you think this would work in America?

24) In Malawi it is a compliment to be told you are fat. My neighbor tells me I am fat everyday. (literally, I come home from school and say hello and she says "Elisa-so fat in malawi! fat, fat, fat!) At first it was frustrating so I tried to compromise and explained the word 'medium' so we decided I could be medium. That lasted about a week, now I am trying to embrace the 'compliment' of being fat.

25) I really like doing things the hard way. It always makes for a better story in the end.

26) I am so blessed and lucky.

*You should not try this at home if a refrigerator is available

Thank you all for the sweet messages, phone calls, letters, and thoughts. I appreciate them all SO much. I love and miss you all.

loads of love,

elisabeth