Holy May!

Somehow it turned into the end of the month. I'm not entirely sure what happened but the days that used to go by achingly slow have somehow flown by. Here is a brief recap of this months adventures!

HIV/AIDS Training
In Senga Bay. Sweet. For better or worse this was one of the best Peace Corps trainings I have attended. For better because it was informative and inspirational; for worse because at this point I have one month left at site, it would have been awesome to know this stuff 20 months ago. It was a pretty basic workshop in that we learned about contacts to make in our Boma and discussed current HIV/AIDS programs-their successes and their flaws. The most exciting part was planning future events like medicinal gardens, fun activities to do with youth groups, and the basic biology of HIV. I am kinda bummed to be missing these future trainings but so excited they might be a reality for future groups.

The Perfect Day
Lots of people ask "what do you do everyday?" To be honest, I'm not always sure- it changes everyday. Some days I teach a lot, some days I work at home planning and organizing, some days I go to Lilongwe or the Nkhotakota-it's a pretty flexible job...but the other day I had a near perfect day, this is what happened:

Almost all of the teachers were gone (they were at the bank because they haven't been paid in like 3 months, but that is a whole other story) so I taught the Form 4s for about 4 hours. They got so into the lesson on phrasal verbs (not to be confused with verb phrases--I made that mistake) so we just kept going and going. I love the Form 4s- they are creative and clever and curious - all of the best qualities in students. In the afternoon I walked to my friend Gertrude's house about an hour away. Gertrude runs the positive living clubs for people living with HIV/AIDSand after the workshop I realized what a rockstar she is. Gertrude is one of those people that makes you feel better about life, she has been on the brink of death without access to ARVs and has since risen to become a beacon of hope transforming the way positive people are living and how they are treated in our area. She has a smile from ear to ear and a contagious laugh and the world is better for her being here.

After visiting Gertrude I went to visit Deckens, a friend of mine who attends Chancellor college (the only 4 year university in Malawi) and is blind. I gave him my old computer because it only worked when it was plugged in and that basically rendered it useless to me. He assured me he could update and fix it and install software that would read him the actions of the computer so he could write his reports and read word documents much easier. He showed off his computer skills proving that, indeed the computer was still kicking and he knew how to use it.

I think this day reminded me of so many good things: how much I love my students, that I have made friends here-real friends so unlike my friends at home, and that the simplest gift can make such a difference in a person's life.

Domasi College of Education

One of my friends has recently been transferred to Domasi to finish his service as a professor in the science department - a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me. He invited Jesi and I to do a 'foldables' workshop for one of his classes. Happy to oblige and excited to see Zomba we planned to do the workshop, hike up the plateau, and head out early Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, Monday morning Jesi got sick-really sick, so I did the workshop and we spent the rest of the day at a lovely clinic in Zomba. (photos are now on facebook) Luckily, we were able to travel back to Lilongwe Tuesday morning but the plateau still remains a mystery. I guess I'll have to come back to Malawi...

loads of love,
e