I have officially completed my first year as a volunteer. It seems so bizarre to think last year at this time I moved into my house at the turnoff-scared, excited, overwhelmed, nervous...yes, mostly nervous. This has been the most intense, trying, inspiring, frustrating, wonderful year. Here is a recap:
December 2009- Arrive at site, it is so hot I think I might die. It takes 2 hours to scramble eggs because my fire keeps going out. What does a teacher development facilitator really do? I read a lot of books and wonder what I am doing in Malawi.
January 2010- This entire year will be spent in Malawi. Hmm. Active Youth in Development is formed. The rains come and I think I might die from the flooding.
February 2010-Starting to figure out being a TDF- but really, what am I doing here?
March 2010- We have been at site for 3 months-training in Dedza. Climb Mt. Mulanje.
April 2010- Start teaching at school. Start planning Camp Sky. This isn't so bad.
May 2010-Happy Birthday to me! Camp Sky is going to be a lot of work. AYID decides to make soap. Being busy is so much better.
June 2010- Winter arrives at the turnoff. The cool weather is amazing.
July 2010- Meet the president of Malawi, celebrate the 4th at the ambassador's house, write a grant for a youth group building, camp sky is next month!
August 2010- CAMP SKY!
September - AMERICA!
October 2010- Search for elephants. October is Typically my favorite one, this one seems never ending.
November 2010- Teaching a lot more. Weekend trips to the lake. Youth group building is started. I buy lots of cement, timber, nails, and other stuff to build a house.
December 2010- I made it. A full year! There were plenty of days I didn't think I would. There were lots of sad, homesick days-but there were plenty more great days. Now I am applying to grad schools and have about 6.5 months left. (this is not official because I will probably have to leave early to start school, but I will be able to finish the school year) My family is coming, AYID's building is going up, we are painting a world map school, and we have another training in January....and then it will be 5.5 months to go!
I hope you are all having a very merry holiday season. Love and miss you all!
love,
e
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Being Thankful
Thanksgiving has arrived. While I do wish I were at home mashing potatoes (the extent of my turkey day responsibilities) there are so many things to be thankful for in Malawi.
1) My family. They are flying around the world to go to the bathroom in a hole in the ground and eat nsima. That is love.
2) My friends. In Malawi and in America. Emails, letters, packages of encouragement and support make me believe I have the best friends in the whole world.
3) Health. Maybe it was the chemical burn in eye or watching Sarah's courageous battle with cancer but out health is so precious. You never know when you might misread a contact solution label or go through a scary doctors appointment.
4) The rains. Rainy season is here in Malawi. While it will soon become a swampy, muggy mess I am currently thankful for the reprieve it gives from the heat. I am also thankful for the reminder that all seasons are temporary.
5) My Malawian family. I am thankful for the hugs I get from Dennis and Derrick every morning before I go to school, watching Derrick's body explode into a crazy wild spasm when he is so happy he can't control himself, for Vinny's songs when I come home from a trip, for Innocent's earnestness and perceptiveness, my Amayi's constant concern. Well, sometimes I am not thankful for that but it is really nice to have someone to make sure I am okay. Or, to let me know when I am getting fat.
6) Malawi. While it has taken my patience and occasionally my sanity and made me speak in an awkward bizarre accent constantly misusing words and switching my 'l's and 'r's while writing and speaking it has the lake. And millions of smiling faces and generous spirits, and crazy adventures, beautiful sunsets, hundreds of lessons, and a lifetime of memories. Fair trade.
7) The future. I am currently applying to graduate school. I have no idea where I will end up but I am so excited that next year at this time my life will be completely different. That is awesome.
8) Cold Fanta
9) My students. I love teaching again. My form 4s (senior year) are witty and clever, and hardworking and make me laugh every day. I will miss them. a lot.
10) Learning how to live alone. In a village in Malawi in Africa. This was and continues to be the toughest lesson. Being alone can be a scary thing-I am learning to embrace it and even crave it. I am thankful for that.
There are lots of other things I am thankful for like nutella, post-it notes, good books, Glee, etc but these are the big things this year. I am hope you take this time to be thankful too.
loads of love,
e
1) My family. They are flying around the world to go to the bathroom in a hole in the ground and eat nsima. That is love.
2) My friends. In Malawi and in America. Emails, letters, packages of encouragement and support make me believe I have the best friends in the whole world.
3) Health. Maybe it was the chemical burn in eye or watching Sarah's courageous battle with cancer but out health is so precious. You never know when you might misread a contact solution label or go through a scary doctors appointment.
4) The rains. Rainy season is here in Malawi. While it will soon become a swampy, muggy mess I am currently thankful for the reprieve it gives from the heat. I am also thankful for the reminder that all seasons are temporary.
5) My Malawian family. I am thankful for the hugs I get from Dennis and Derrick every morning before I go to school, watching Derrick's body explode into a crazy wild spasm when he is so happy he can't control himself, for Vinny's songs when I come home from a trip, for Innocent's earnestness and perceptiveness, my Amayi's constant concern. Well, sometimes I am not thankful for that but it is really nice to have someone to make sure I am okay. Or, to let me know when I am getting fat.
6) Malawi. While it has taken my patience and occasionally my sanity and made me speak in an awkward bizarre accent constantly misusing words and switching my 'l's and 'r's while writing and speaking it has the lake. And millions of smiling faces and generous spirits, and crazy adventures, beautiful sunsets, hundreds of lessons, and a lifetime of memories. Fair trade.
7) The future. I am currently applying to graduate school. I have no idea where I will end up but I am so excited that next year at this time my life will be completely different. That is awesome.
8) Cold Fanta
9) My students. I love teaching again. My form 4s (senior year) are witty and clever, and hardworking and make me laugh every day. I will miss them. a lot.
10) Learning how to live alone. In a village in Malawi in Africa. This was and continues to be the toughest lesson. Being alone can be a scary thing-I am learning to embrace it and even crave it. I am thankful for that.
There are lots of other things I am thankful for like nutella, post-it notes, good books, Glee, etc but these are the big things this year. I am hope you take this time to be thankful too.
loads of love,
e
Monday, November 22, 2010
Elisabeth Goes on Med Hold
I am not known for my direction reading skills. I prefer to figure things out in my own way. This week I learned an important lesson on reading directions-they are there for a reason.
Last Sunday I came into Lilongwe to go to the bank and run some errands. My plan was to be here less than 24 hours. That was my plan....
I wear contacts. I have worn contacts for years and don't enjoy wearing glasses. Peace Corps advises volunteers not to wear contacts because of the risk of infection. In order to avoid infections I have been using no-rub solution which requires a special case. Maybe you are familiar? In my hasty packing I forgot my contact case. When I realized this I didn't think twice to find some cups and let my contacts soak in the cups overnight. Now, this goes back to my lack of reading directions: on the bottle it says 'use only the lens case provided'-but living in Malawi has made me believe expiration dates and directions aren't totally necessary. Monday morning I woke up to go for a run and put my contacts in like I do everyday. I put my right contact in and felt intense fiery pain. My eye immediately pinched closed and it took my prying fingers to remove my contact. I ran into the shower and hoped my eye would stop spazzing. Unfortunately it did not. Luckily, I was in Lilongwe so I was able to visit the doctors. The doctor irrigated my eye and gave me goop (medicated eye drops) to put in 4 times a day. And then he told me I had to stay in Lilongwe until Friday...
Friday became Monday but now I am finally on my way back home! Lesson learned-read the directions on your contact solution bottle. They are not lying.
loads of love,
e
Last Sunday I came into Lilongwe to go to the bank and run some errands. My plan was to be here less than 24 hours. That was my plan....
I wear contacts. I have worn contacts for years and don't enjoy wearing glasses. Peace Corps advises volunteers not to wear contacts because of the risk of infection. In order to avoid infections I have been using no-rub solution which requires a special case. Maybe you are familiar? In my hasty packing I forgot my contact case. When I realized this I didn't think twice to find some cups and let my contacts soak in the cups overnight. Now, this goes back to my lack of reading directions: on the bottle it says 'use only the lens case provided'-but living in Malawi has made me believe expiration dates and directions aren't totally necessary. Monday morning I woke up to go for a run and put my contacts in like I do everyday. I put my right contact in and felt intense fiery pain. My eye immediately pinched closed and it took my prying fingers to remove my contact. I ran into the shower and hoped my eye would stop spazzing. Unfortunately it did not. Luckily, I was in Lilongwe so I was able to visit the doctors. The doctor irrigated my eye and gave me goop (medicated eye drops) to put in 4 times a day. And then he told me I had to stay in Lilongwe until Friday...
Friday became Monday but now I am finally on my way back home! Lesson learned-read the directions on your contact solution bottle. They are not lying.
loads of love,
e
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Thinking of Sarah
"Most people don't know there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don't get too comfortable and fall asleep and miss your life."
-Brian Andrea
My friend Sarah needs your thoughts, prayers, wishes, hopes, and every positive vibe you can send. She is getting married on the 27th of this month (well, she and her husband, Eric, already got married but this is the one with the bigger dress) and deserves a perfect day. Plus, she is such an amazing person you can help but not be inspired by watching these blogs.
Loads of love,
Elisabeth
Monday, October 25, 2010
Elisa the Builder?
Every Peace Corps volunteer struggles with the idea of development, specifically sustainable development. What does development look like and how can you make it effective in the long term? Some volunteers refuse to build anything, determined to make their service entirely composed of a transfer of technical skills. Some volunteers raise thousands of dollars to build schools, toilets, houses, and offices. I was not planning on building anything as I was more of the first opinion, building stuff doesn't solve problems. But....the youth group I work with wanted a youth center. Really, really badly. They proved their work ethic for 6 months so I wrote a grant (mostly just to appease them, I really didn't think it would go through)...the grant came through!
So now we are building a youth center with a library. While I was away the group (AYID) burned 20,000 bricks. Yes, they got the sand, the water, they mixed it together, they burned them, each individual brick...20,000 times. The funny thing about building stuff in Malawi is that there are no codes or regulations, you just kinda build. If you have read Three Cups of Tea it is a little like that- you just meet people who know people and then things turn up. There are no guarantees with anything, I am constantly surprised when things go as planned, but somehow they always do. We have a builder, last week we opened our bank account (a 4.5 hour process), next Friday we are going to Nkhotakota to buy 100 bags of cement and lots of timber (among other things). We made another batch of soap (which sold like hot cakes!) on Saturday to help pay for our 25% of the grant, the land is being cleared this week, and now it is a race to finish before the rains. The coolest thing is that things are happening...quickly. Two things that are not a guarantee in Malawi.
The Saturdays spent at Habitat for Humanity are coming in handy. I am learning about types of cement and how to lay a foundation and the difference between a roofing nail and other kinds of nails. This might not be the safest building (as we are following zero codes) or the prettiest (the layout was a hand drawn copy of something the chief and the director sketched out in the sand) but it is our building. And that makes it pretty cool.
loads of love,
e
So now we are building a youth center with a library. While I was away the group (AYID) burned 20,000 bricks. Yes, they got the sand, the water, they mixed it together, they burned them, each individual brick...20,000 times. The funny thing about building stuff in Malawi is that there are no codes or regulations, you just kinda build. If you have read Three Cups of Tea it is a little like that- you just meet people who know people and then things turn up. There are no guarantees with anything, I am constantly surprised when things go as planned, but somehow they always do. We have a builder, last week we opened our bank account (a 4.5 hour process), next Friday we are going to Nkhotakota to buy 100 bags of cement and lots of timber (among other things). We made another batch of soap (which sold like hot cakes!) on Saturday to help pay for our 25% of the grant, the land is being cleared this week, and now it is a race to finish before the rains. The coolest thing is that things are happening...quickly. Two things that are not a guarantee in Malawi.
The Saturdays spent at Habitat for Humanity are coming in handy. I am learning about types of cement and how to lay a foundation and the difference between a roofing nail and other kinds of nails. This might not be the safest building (as we are following zero codes) or the prettiest (the layout was a hand drawn copy of something the chief and the director sketched out in the sand) but it is our building. And that makes it pretty cool.
loads of love,
e
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Playing Soccer With Elephant Dung
Most people know I am not exactly an animal person. I like some on an individual basis, but if you want Dr. Doolittle please see my sister. However, I have been on a mini mission to see an elephant in real life. I felt like seeing an elephant would complete my experience of living in Africa; seeing Dumbo makes this Peace Corps thing a little more real....
So, every year a few of the environment volunteers are in charge of the game count in Liwonde National Park in the south east side of Malawi. National parks in Malawi are not exactly the mecca of the big five as far as game parks are concerned; but as far as I am concerned warthogs are almost as cool as lions. Maybe not--but they did make laugh every time hoping I to see a meercat riding on its back a la Lion King. I digress, my quest for seeing an elephant became magnified when I signed up for this game count. This was my opportunity!
Saturday Ben, Jordan, a guide, a navigator and I set off for a 14k trek through our assigned quadrant of the park. We were dropped off in a village and had to army crawl under the park fence. I realized then our chances of seeing an elephant drastically decreased because a) they aren't going to visit the gun-toting villagers and b) herds are led by females so it is not like they are going to get lost...ha, bad joke. We walked and walked and walked and saw lots of poo. Finally, we saw Impala, a few Livingtonia things (like mini foxes/rabbit things), two kudu, and lots of warthogs--but no meercats and certainly no singing. We saw some wild pigs, those were my favorite, they had some crazy mohawks and looked like they should be in a rock band. We walked and walked and walked right into the 'leprosy tree.' I was intrigued by this 'leprosy tree' because of the stories our guide was sharing. Apparently they stuffed people both dead and and alive suffering from leprosy into a small hole in a tree. 'No way,' I thought. Well, that tree is the stuff nightmares are made of. We climbed up to look in the small hole and saw bones and skulls staring back at us. Our guide was not kidding.
In an effort to make things a little more lighthearted over what we just saw and the fact that we didn't see any actual elephants we played soccer with elephant dung all the way home....
The next day we were in a 'hide'- I use this term loosely as were were sitting on a giant mound of dirt in the middle of a very open plain next to the river. It was more like a 'here I am!' And there we were sitting in the middle of a termite mound in the middle of a national park in the middle of Africa watching animals everywhere. A herd of 150 water buffalo march to the water, hundreds of impalas and water bucks and wart hogs scampered around, and finally the ELEPHANTS CAME! We saw about 20 different elephants in different groups trekking to the water. (They are just as big and beautiful as they are in the zoo.) It was in that moment I wondered how my life became so far from in the middle.
loads of love,
e
So, every year a few of the environment volunteers are in charge of the game count in Liwonde National Park in the south east side of Malawi. National parks in Malawi are not exactly the mecca of the big five as far as game parks are concerned; but as far as I am concerned warthogs are almost as cool as lions. Maybe not--but they did make laugh every time hoping I to see a meercat riding on its back a la Lion King. I digress, my quest for seeing an elephant became magnified when I signed up for this game count. This was my opportunity!
Saturday Ben, Jordan, a guide, a navigator and I set off for a 14k trek through our assigned quadrant of the park. We were dropped off in a village and had to army crawl under the park fence. I realized then our chances of seeing an elephant drastically decreased because a) they aren't going to visit the gun-toting villagers and b) herds are led by females so it is not like they are going to get lost...ha, bad joke. We walked and walked and walked and saw lots of poo. Finally, we saw Impala, a few Livingtonia things (like mini foxes/rabbit things), two kudu, and lots of warthogs--but no meercats and certainly no singing. We saw some wild pigs, those were my favorite, they had some crazy mohawks and looked like they should be in a rock band. We walked and walked and walked right into the 'leprosy tree.' I was intrigued by this 'leprosy tree' because of the stories our guide was sharing. Apparently they stuffed people both dead and and alive suffering from leprosy into a small hole in a tree. 'No way,' I thought. Well, that tree is the stuff nightmares are made of. We climbed up to look in the small hole and saw bones and skulls staring back at us. Our guide was not kidding.
In an effort to make things a little more lighthearted over what we just saw and the fact that we didn't see any actual elephants we played soccer with elephant dung all the way home....
The next day we were in a 'hide'- I use this term loosely as were were sitting on a giant mound of dirt in the middle of a very open plain next to the river. It was more like a 'here I am!' And there we were sitting in the middle of a termite mound in the middle of a national park in the middle of Africa watching animals everywhere. A herd of 150 water buffalo march to the water, hundreds of impalas and water bucks and wart hogs scampered around, and finally the ELEPHANTS CAME! We saw about 20 different elephants in different groups trekking to the water. (They are just as big and beautiful as they are in the zoo.) It was in that moment I wondered how my life became so far from in the middle.
loads of love,
e
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Crossing the 1000 meter mark...
If you rowed this makes sense. If not, let me explain. Crossing the 1000 meter mark of a 2000meter race is a euphoric combination of exuberance and dread. Exuberance because you are half way, you hit your stride, the home stretch is coming. Dread in that you have to do it all over again. The best part of the last 1000 meters is that is goes by quickly.
I am sounding negative. That is not my intention. I love rowing, much like I love Malawi. I am a different person because of these experiences; however, that does not mean they were/are easy. In fact, if they were easy I am certain they would not be so profound. I could never be a college athlete again, and at this point I will most likely never be a Peace Corps volunteer again. I still love to row and I will still need to travel and have crazy adventures. Just in a more toned down masters group/summer vacation sort of way.
The best part of coming back to Malawi was that I was coming back to my life. Coming back to my house, my job, my community, my projects. How incredible to have established a life in Malawi!
Last weekend I hung around Lilongwe to finish a welcome book for Peace Corps Volunteers. VSV (volunteers supporting volunteers) -the committee I am part of- is putting together a book with volunteer profiles, travel tips, a language reference guide (Chichewa is the official language, but Chitumbuka is spoken in the north and Chitonga is spoken in the Nkhata Bay area along with various other Bantu languages specific to the tribe of the area), health tips and coping mechanisms, and other helpful notes. The book, titled Tilipo (we are around), will have to be updated regularly but hopefully will be useful.
On Monday I traveled back to site with all of the my goodies from America. My kitchen is stocked with processed goodness, I have a proper towel for bathing, and a yoga mat. My life has improved drastically. It is now a mad dash to eat all the chocolate before it melts in the oven of my house...well, that is what I am telling myself. I have been added to the teaching schedule and will be teaching much more than last year, but still will have time to focus on workshops and other projects.
Without much time to get comfortable, I left for my friend Jerrod's site on Thursday. Alexis, Chris and I were invited to do a workshop at his site in Mzimba district in the middle of the country and about 10 feet east of Zambia. Friday morning Alexis and I taught Form 2 and Form 4 girls about menstruation, how to use a condom, and entertained enlightening questions during an anonymous q & a session with questions that were both honest and refreshing. It should be noted that there is 1 female teacher at this school and like most Malawians she is very uncomfortable discussing her body and sexual activity. A year ago this session would have made me uncomfortable and blush excessively. Now, if the girls make the boys wear a condom or they think twice before having sex it has gotten past that point, now I realize it can be a life and death discussion. And that is certainly nothing to blush at.
Jerrod was a lovely host, his site-about an hour off the road in the middle of ths bush was absolutely beautiful. It was so much fun to work with Alexis and Chris on a workshop on a subject I love-reading.
Next weekend I am going to Liwonde National Park to participate in a game count. Here's to seeing elephants!
miss you all!
loads of love,
elisabeth
I am sounding negative. That is not my intention. I love rowing, much like I love Malawi. I am a different person because of these experiences; however, that does not mean they were/are easy. In fact, if they were easy I am certain they would not be so profound. I could never be a college athlete again, and at this point I will most likely never be a Peace Corps volunteer again. I still love to row and I will still need to travel and have crazy adventures. Just in a more toned down masters group/summer vacation sort of way.
The best part of coming back to Malawi was that I was coming back to my life. Coming back to my house, my job, my community, my projects. How incredible to have established a life in Malawi!
Last weekend I hung around Lilongwe to finish a welcome book for Peace Corps Volunteers. VSV (volunteers supporting volunteers) -the committee I am part of- is putting together a book with volunteer profiles, travel tips, a language reference guide (Chichewa is the official language, but Chitumbuka is spoken in the north and Chitonga is spoken in the Nkhata Bay area along with various other Bantu languages specific to the tribe of the area), health tips and coping mechanisms, and other helpful notes. The book, titled Tilipo (we are around), will have to be updated regularly but hopefully will be useful.
On Monday I traveled back to site with all of the my goodies from America. My kitchen is stocked with processed goodness, I have a proper towel for bathing, and a yoga mat. My life has improved drastically. It is now a mad dash to eat all the chocolate before it melts in the oven of my house...well, that is what I am telling myself. I have been added to the teaching schedule and will be teaching much more than last year, but still will have time to focus on workshops and other projects.
Without much time to get comfortable, I left for my friend Jerrod's site on Thursday. Alexis, Chris and I were invited to do a workshop at his site in Mzimba district in the middle of the country and about 10 feet east of Zambia. Friday morning Alexis and I taught Form 2 and Form 4 girls about menstruation, how to use a condom, and entertained enlightening questions during an anonymous q & a session with questions that were both honest and refreshing. It should be noted that there is 1 female teacher at this school and like most Malawians she is very uncomfortable discussing her body and sexual activity. A year ago this session would have made me uncomfortable and blush excessively. Now, if the girls make the boys wear a condom or they think twice before having sex it has gotten past that point, now I realize it can be a life and death discussion. And that is certainly nothing to blush at.
Jerrod was a lovely host, his site-about an hour off the road in the middle of ths bush was absolutely beautiful. It was so much fun to work with Alexis and Chris on a workshop on a subject I love-reading.
Next weekend I am going to Liwonde National Park to participate in a game count. Here's to seeing elephants!
miss you all!
loads of love,
elisabeth
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