immigration

Into Lilongwe for our visa renewals…Got another 60 days! So now I’m good here through the first of july. Then I’ll be looking at how to get through the next 6 months but I’ve got a little time now :)

lemons

So I’d been carrying these oranges (clementines) in my purse since Sunday or even Saturday when we went to the market. The thing about citrus here is that they are all green in the market. Even when ripe…oranges, lemons, limes. I think grapefruit is the only thing that is the right color. But I’d been buying oranges from one guy in the market and they’ve always been good. So I get back from dinner on Wednesday and decided that I would clean out my purse and in the process decided to eat one of the oranges instead of putting it in the kitchen. So I peeled it, took a section and popped it in my mouth. And cringed. It was a lemon and very juicy and very sour…tears sprang to my eyes as I emitted a cry. Rhona just started laughing and I can’t blame her as I rushed for the kitchen…only in Africa really…

tues/wed

More equipment dropped off and installed. Really just making it so much harder to keep the kids attention in class. You can tell they are just excited about it all though. so new and so different from anything they have at home—similar to the way they play with the legos in class. Sharing is still one of the hardest things to do as they aren’t sure that they’ll be able to play with it again. and just the fact that “it’s mine!” Tire swing and climbing bars that they could play on Tuesday but the wooden house had wet paint on it so that had to wait until Wednesday before it was inundated with more kids than I would have thought could fit in. letters M and N in class—the book Messy Mark is a hit with his room so messy that he gets caught under his bed while looking for his bat. His parents will only help him out if he cleans his room. Feels like what I would like to do to get them to clean the classroom. Wednesday I decided not to fight the kids in getting them to come in after break…it was also well timed with another delivery of bars so we cleaned up the toys in the sandpit and balls around the grounds and sat on the wall to watch them unload the bars. All in a rapt line just watching 5 men unload and move around some bars—amazing attention. Then one of the boys turned to me and said “it’s like watching a movie” What??? Then I realized it was just like that…they sat in a row and stared straight in front of them—could have been a tv screen. Though the workers were quite aware we were watching as they kept glancing over and laughing some.

waterbuck & impala

monday

Once again it is Monday. Had a pretty good day with the letter M for mom, messy, me, mad. Still having trouble coming in from break with the swings and I think it is only going to get harder as more playground equipment is getting put up this week. The workers putting up the equipment get all the kids attention when they drive up even when the kids are in the classroom—a mass movement to the doorway. You’d think they’d never seen a truck before…

acting out

One of my village boys is starting to act out somewhat violently and I think it is because he doesn’t understand. A couple of the other kids were doing that at the beginning of the year but have seemed to have moved on (hopefully to understanding but I guess you never know). The other is acting out through climbing on all the furniture (desks, tables and chairs) and jumping off as well as chasing the other children but not fighting (usually). They both have these big brown eyes that they watch everything with and it really looks like they want to be there and learn and be good. My new student seems to speak some English and doesn’t seem to have that wide eyed innocence but then I know that he doesn’t understand everything but also wants for me to see what he is doing (I know this because every time he does anything I hear, “madam, can you see?” usually repeated at least twice. The other kids are picking up on it but it isn’t as annoying as the “and me also” that I think I haven’t heard in quite a while. And madam is a change from teacher jess.

the rest of the week

Was crazy! Lawrence, the school assistant (has been my assistant since the school hired a second to learn preschool teaching with Dorothy) was off on Wednesday and then sick on Thursday and Friday. It wasn’t as bad as Monday but a whole classroom on your own is really difficult to maintain any semblance of order. Monday group time wouldn’t work (well nothing did on Monday), Wednesday center time wasn’t working. They were all fighting each other and running around chasing and yelling but group time worked great so we spent extra time there doing ball activities, reading stories, listening to music and singing songs. Thursday was similar with the added bonus of someone coming in and working on installing a sink for the classroom…winding down at the end of the day was not done…the toys were everywhere (though again not like Monday) and then they wouldn’t sit to get dismissed…not a huge shock since they weren’t listening anyway… Friday they had put the swings in on the playground! Great idea—I was only worried because there were only 4 swings but it worked out wonderfully! There was no reporting (tattling) or fighting…the first grade teacher Mirriam told them that they would get 10 swings and then it was someone else’s turn. I thought that 10 was a very low number but figured we could try it and we didn’t hear a thing about it. the only problem now is getting them to come in for assembly in the morning and after break. As the swings are spread out it is hard to herd them away from both at the same time (being only one person). But it is doable after a little while. I’m glad it was Friday because I needed a little break and because Lawrence should be back on Monday!

giraffes!

rhona, gerwim, jessi

Toilet Tuesday

The kids were great. Fine. Did what they were supposed to (as much as they do at 5). Played quietly and mostly cleaned up when asked. Thank goodness because another day like yesterday and I might have needed to come home.

They finished the toilets! They have been working on them since I got here…well the building has been there and there have been workers on and off but they got them hooked up today. I’ll tell you that leaving for school at 7 and not getting back til after 12:30 is rough when there is no bathroom around. The kids just go outside but that doesn’t really work for us adults…so we’ve been watching what we drink at breakfast and then hurrying back home just about everyday.

I’ve been having stomach issues ever since I got sick on Friday. Otherwise I feel fine just that sometimes my tummy starts rumbling and moving and getting weird. Hasn’t been a problem enough to stop me from doing anything yet (fingers crossed). Today though I needed a bathroom. Breaktime hit and I told Dorothy that I was going to the nearest house (dr from the hospital). Slightly awkward as I hadn’t met their workers and the first thing I did was ask for a bathroom but you do what you have to…when I got back I was told that the toilets were done at the school (a little late but still). Not completely finished—still some tile work and cleaning to be done but the plumbing was in and working. Good thing as my stomach wasn’t done with me for the morning and I got to be the first person to use the Ebenezer school toilets.

new address

So I did get one package! It was quite exciting as it was a valentines day mailing that got here only 2 months late. I’m still not really convinced with the post system here…but I’ve got another address you can try if you feel like sending me something…sending to the hospital seems like playing Russian roulette as the post office gives slips for packages to messengers who may or may not deliver the slip so that you can go to pick up your package. And I don’t know what happens to letters…the messengers might just keep them if they don’t find you.

So I’ve been allowed to use one of the missionary family’s personal box so that at least if it does make it to Nkhoma I’ll be more likely to receive it but still no guarantees...

Jessi Stitt
C/o Vietch
Box 50
Nkhoma, Malawi
Africa

Malicious Monday

What a horror! I know that there are going to be off days but seriously…I had absolutely no control at all. 12 kids for the first time…it was a Monday…I was the only one in the room (I often have an assistant now)…they all had speed for breakfast…take your pick of excuses as I don’t know which one might be right. There were toys all over the room—legos (normally stay close to their corner), cards all over the floor like a flower girl walking down the aisle, kids running and screaming…even during group time when I usually have control even for just 3 minutes—nothing. Couldn’t get them to sit down or sing songs or anything. No tears though so I guess that is something. My new student must have had a good time as he gave me an enthusiastic wave goodbye and said see you tomorrow.

my class

vic falls (first view)

malaria?

Friday I also wasn’t feeling great. Not bad but as soon as the kids left at noon I deflated. Went home and laid on the couch…not hungry just tired. Decided I should eat something but it didn’t help and I went back to lying on the couch. When Rhona came home for lunch she said I should get a malaria test…I was achy and tired and my insides were rumbly. She offered to bring one home but I felt like I could get to the hospital. She pricked my finger and got the blood she needed and went to take it to the lab. I sat on a chair and got extremely faint and nauseous and then sick. Home to await the results. Katie (med student) came over with malaria treatment and said the test had come back positive but that didn’t necessarily mean anything since the lab person always gives azungus positive results because they are afraid of getting it wrong in the other direction. So I could take the pills and assume malaria or come back for another test. It is a lot of pills so I decided to go back and try again. another prick and a negative result so no pills (no malaria!) for me I just have to wait whatever it was out. Home again where I got sick again and then lay down for the rest of the day. I was fine as long as I didn’t move.

I was much better Saturday. Not well enough to think I could take a trip to the lake with the rest of the crew but well enough to leave the house for the market and to collect a computer so we could watch some movies. Sunday was even better—church and a long walk to the river Lintepe and dinner with the returning travelers…seems like a full recovery! 24 hour bug or something (probably caught from my kids) i'm almost 100% now...still some funny gurglings from my stomach but no worries.

the week in review

It was a good week. Tuesday was crazy and I’m not sure of the reason for that. Usually I find Mondays and Fridays to be rough but then there doesn’t have to be rhyme or reason for behavior now does there? Wednesday was really good. Centers went well—very little reporting (tattling) or fighting. The swing sets were going up (the poles anyway) and they were intrigued to watch the men putting them in the ground—trying to get underfoot but wanting to stay out of the way so they would be done faster. After break we had rest time, music time, played with our knitted balls alone and with partners (passing back and forth and naming colors), then we did a “challenge course.” I put the balance beam down and then made a bridge using the blocks to see if they could walk along and then crawl through without knocking the blocks over. They love it and are getting much better at it. the first time we did it I think they all knocked it over. This time it was only 4 of them. Stickers came out because they were so good (this makes them even more attentive). Today (thurs) also went really well. We practiced writing our letters (the whole alphabet), recognizing the “o” sound in words, picking up bottle tops with clothes pins, legos, blocks, puzzles and more…after break we had rest time, music time, more centers and then clean up. I thought we would have time for some more balance activities but they cleaned up so well (and took so long) that they had run out of time after our story. Not bad—I think the group activities after break are really good for them and it keeps their attention well. I am still a little leery about Friday as they are usually more rambunctious than “normal”.

Friday went well. During break they climbed all over the swingset poles as we don’t yet have the swings. Helping each other to climb up to stand on the crossbar—I was impressed with the cooperation. They also built two swings of their own just out of rope around the crossbars and took turns very well. I don’t think I once heard “teacher jess, it’s my turn…so-n-so won’t let me go”. Peaceful.

an end

The school let go our preschool (reception) teacher. She was great when she was at school—knew the kids, could really connect with them, but she was often just not there. Late, not showing up, no explanation, or a completely outlandish and untrue explanation. We didn’t know from day to day whether she would be there or not. She was given her letter of dismissal on Monday. We were able to hire a teaching assistant who has no formal training but has been teaching Sunday school for years and is interested so Dorothy has taken over the reception class with an assistant until a new teacher is hired. Double duty of administrator and teacher…

back to school

I was so excited to go back to school. I’m not sure what changed but I missed my kids and couldn’t believe that it had been 2 weeks since I’d seen them! Monday was a pretty good day. Two of the kids shared their snacks with me (2 cheeto looking things and a cracker)—so cute. This week we’ve worked on writing our names, writing lines and cutting them in different patterns, shapes and colors. Still relatively the same stuff but I feel that they have absorbed lots of it…Before break one of my girls couldn’t recognize her name…just picked up every paper until I read her name off of it and now she is picking the right one the first time and looking very proud of herself. I wasn’t around for the breakthrough but I’m still so happy.

waterfall (not vic falls)

the rest of mom's visit

Stayed close to Nkhoma for the rest of the visit. Hour long trips away—to Dedza the pottery place, and Lilongwe for last minute shopping…of course we had to take the local transport—minibuses which weren’t quite as spacious as the big buses we took to the falls…for example as I’ve said four bench seats in a minibus…at home that would hold maybe 15 people…on our way to Dedza we managed 25 and a bicycle in the bus. Only two were infants. (and mom still got on one more minibus during her stay)

immigration

Not again is all I can say…we were warned when we left the country that we would have problems coming back in because this was not the proper way of extending our visas. However, this was what we were instructed to do in Lilongwe but since we had no proof of that (who takes a tape recorder when going to talk to immigration?) it was our fault. When we asked what we could do to avoid trouble he shook his head and then said to come back through either Thursday morning or Friday afternoon. We couldn’t tell if we would be better doing that and dealing with him or avoiding that and taking our chances with someone else…we opted for doing it his way and hoping that his “power” of getting us back when he said would help us through.

We arrived back at the border (after a dodgy taxi ride of too many people in the car and getting stopped by the police, paying a “fine” for “impounding” the taxi and then letting us drive off with the same number of passengers) Friday afternoon. He looks at our passports and says again that we’re going to have problems. “What did I tell you when you left?” “That we’d have problems” and mom added “and that you’d help.” Our conversation went in circles for at least 10 minutes. We were evidently supposed to apply for temporary employment permits from the government which would be good for 6 months, not just leave the country to get our free 30 days again. He then invited us around the back to enter the office (possibly the time to pay him off?) and so we went and sat in the chairs, had the same conversation again and then he finally stamped our passports, told us not to do it again or he would kick us back to Zambia, and let us go on our merry way. Aahh it was nice to be in Malawi again. (and really it did feel nice to be back in Malawi, comfortable and like we knew what we were doing)

game drive

Went on a game drive through the Mosi-oa-Tunya park (mist that thunders aka Victoria Falls Park). Vervet monkeys, zebra, giraffe, buffalo, impala, crocodiles, birds, termite (hills), the top of one hippo, waterbuck, all made an appearance for our viewing pleasure. Our guide was very knowledgeable and gave us all kinds of facts about the wildlife. Examples: impala can put their pregnancy on hold if conditions are unfavorable for up to 4 times the normal gestation period…giraffe don’t need much water and what they do need is normally gotten from the leaves they eat because the pressure of the blood if they lower their head below their heart for any extended time would kill them…also, they only sleep about 8 minutes at a time (for the same reason)…sadly no rhinos or elephants or large cats (they don’t have any large cats due to the size of the park).

Zambia

My 90 days ended on Saturday so we high tailed it out of the country. Gerwim (dutch, hospital renovator), Rhona (English doctor), mom and me. Long, long, long bus trips across Zambia (two full days of buses) and we arrived in Livingstone after dark on Sunday. Monday we visited Victoria Falls and it was amazing. There is so much water as we are at the end of rainy season that the mist had been upgraded to a deluge. Our view of the falls was never quite complete since there was so much spray but it was awe inspiring. As you passed the first lookout there was a stand to rent ponchos, raingear and plastic shoes but we decided that it probably wouldn’t help anyway. You could see the mist coming toward you and getting harder. I was wetter than I ever thought I could be. Completely drenched would be an understatement. At one point you cross a bridge and the water comes from every angle—up, down, sideways and you can’t see anything. There were many rainbows from all angles. I don’t know what else to say. At the top of the falls there are signs that warn you about being careful if you feel like trying to cross the river—no barriers just a warning sign…

malaria

Had my first run in with malaria that Friday mom was at school. One of my girls from the village was sticking very close to me which in a way was normal but then she crawled into my lap. She normally doesn’t touch me, she just stays close. I went out to sit at break and she curled up next to me with her head in my lap and didn’t move even when the other kids were crowding around and pushing. I took her inside to see if she wanted to lay down and she started heaving. Ran outside just in time to get her over the edge of the porch. Poor thing. I didn’t know what to do. We sat in the sun as she was shivering and the other kids went inside (well, when I could get them to stop staring). Lawrence went to get her dad as I didn’t have any contact numbers for her. (she’s back at school and doing well—not sure how long she was out as I was gone all the next week). I felt so helpless.

school days

Mom came to school the next morning and as excited as the kids had been about her coming they wouldn’t talk to her. But I could tell they were checking her out. And by the first hour she was able to ask questions and get answers (sometimes). It was obviously a Friday as the kids were a little more rambunctious than usual. By break time they seemed pretty comfortable with Mom and when we went outside they surrounded her as well as me—trying to plait her hair as I quickly nixed that idea. I was also trying to show Don about teaching in centers as he was going to take over for the next week while I left the country for my visa extension and felt a little bad that it was such a chaotic handing over. He had the class for 2 weeks before I came and gave me a nicely laid out plan of what he had done and covered in class. I gave him some worksheets and showed him the centers and different options and then asked if he had questions…he came and observed and helped in class on Friday so I guess he got some idea. The last 15 minutes I set up the balance beam and had the kids walk forwards, backwards, hop and dipstep down. They loved it and it seemed to bring a little order to the end of the day.

mom's arrival

I left my class in the hands of Lawrence and two teenaged helpers when I went to pick mom up at the airport! The last one through customs as one box had not arrived; I had started to think that she had missed a connection somewhere when she walked around the corner! Yeah! A few errands in Lilongwe and a nap on the way back to Nkhoma, she made it through meeting everyone at the guesthouse over dinner and then to bed. So happy she came!

drying in the warehouse and the finished product before it is put in crates

tobacco drying

birthday party (at home)

Invited all the missionary families in Nkhoma for the joint party. Gerwim’s birthday was the day before mine so we joined parties so as to conserve our resources…birthday parties here consist of lots of cake and sweets and tea and coffee. With over 15 kids and 25 adults that can be lots of preparation and but we had plenty of hands and cakes. The party starts at 4 and the young ones are of course the first to arrive. Our gardeners had just cut the grass and had 5 piles of grass cuttings around that the kids combined and spent at least half the time jumping into and spreading around…they are never hard to entertain with the imaginations they have. Good visits with everyone out on our covered patio. Plenty to eat and drink (though we were running low on the water toward the end). Everyone goes home around 6 so that they can eat dinner (and we can clean up). It was a wonderful day.

birthday party (at school)

When we went over the calendar at the beginning of the morning they were all very excited. I told them that I brought cookies in to share with the class at the end of the morning and the kids were so well behaved all morning. (happy birthday to me!) At break time as they went outside they all said, “I am going to my home” which has become a common occurrence and I’m not sure why as they never go farther than the steps to eat their snack. Today I said ok but you’ll miss out on your cookie. “oh then I’m not going.” More play/work time after break and then we sang songs with Lawrence. I got to pick my song last and of course I picked Happy Birthday—everyone sang and then we got our cookies. Big hit. With about 5 minutes left in class I set up the ramp (we’ve gotten new equipment—2 sawhorses and some modified planks—we can set up ramps, balance beams, and seesaws) and had the kids walk up and jump off the end in different ways. It looked way to easy for them but they loved it—showing off as they strutted up the board and taking a bow after jumping.

new students

I got two new students on march 22. Grant and Frank are from one of the nearby villages and they had been in first grade at the public school but as they have very little English they are in kindergarten at Ebenezer. They came in to class and stuck together and for the first two days I kept calling them by the wrong name (I think I’ve got it now). They have the same wide eyed expression that my 2 girls from the village had but have much more energy and less inhibitions about trying new things or getting started even when they don’t know what is going on. I think it will go well as they both seem to want to learn I just have to figure out a way to keep them interested and learning as well as keep the rest of the class moving while I catch them up. It has been very helpful to have Lawrence (school assistant) in the classroom much more often as translator both for my directions to the kids and for what they are trying to say to me but don’t have the English for yet. At the end of their day one I wasn’t sure what they got from school (if anything) or if they liked it but they both said very enthusiastically Tu onana mmawa (see you tomorrow!)

tobacco

So being from NC I thought I’d seen tobacco growing…and then I arrived in Malawi where the tobacco plants are taller than I am and the leaves are absolutely enormous. We’ve just gone through the harvest season and have seen them hanging up in shacks to dry all along the roads. Sometimes the structures are just for drying tobacco and other times it is under the roof on the porch of a house.

One afternoon I got the opportunity to go to a tobacco warehouse. We were warned before we entered that it would be hot and that all the nicotine in the air would sting our lungs even though it isn’t actually burning. It was hot when we walked in but the first breath was fine and then it hit—stinging the throat and lungs with every breath. Wow. We walked straight across to an open door and stepped outside for some fresh air. Then back in to walk the row in between all the racks…as you walk down it gets hotter and hotter as the heat is coming from the other end. The tobacco is extremely brittle after drying so they wet it a little and then dry it again which helps it to keep (I think). I can not imagine working there…walking up and down the rows constantly in the heat and burning in your chest. It took a while to feel like I was breathing normally again after we left.

market stall in a bus station

james and two tagalongs

making a canoe

salon visit

Our school assistant plays the guitar. Yeah! And so we get music time on the good days. We sit in a semi-circle on our mats and each child gets to pick a song to sing. I’m learning some new songs (and some new lyrics to songs I thought I knew)—twinkle twinkle, a butterfly is beautiful, jesus loves me, jesus loves the little children, miss polly had a dolly, a couple of chichewa songs, joy to the world, he will make a way, come to jesus. It is very cute to hear and watch them sing as they have movements and can sing very well when they want to. The only problem is that I then have the songs stuck in my head for the next 3 days or so…

visits and birthdays

So far none of my kids have had birthdays during the school year. Mine was the first one coming up. We do a calendar every morning where we go over the date and day of the week—I can’t tell how much they understand what we’re doing but they can repeat it and point at the right words as they say them (random pointing still happens often). So I made a picture of a birthday cake and put it up on the calendar. What is that? I asked. Cake! It’s my birthday! Many of the kids responded. No, it will be my birthday on Tuesday, I corrected. So we had lots of discussion about what happens for birthdays and if we like cake and friends coming over. If I listened to them they were all coming to my house on my birthday but I thought we would have our party at school…

I also took in a picture of my family and told them that my mom was coming to visit. They were so excited and everyone wanted to meet mom. I put the picture up on the Friday she would be here and told them that she wanted to come and meet them and see what they did all day at school. Each day after that we counted down to the two big happenings before easter break. I think the attention spans during group time were getting a little bit longer (though I really try not to push it too much)

rest time

So lots of my kids (out of 11 if 4 are doing it I think it is lots) are on occasion coming to me during break and laying with their heads in my lap. Completely comfortable and seemingly exhausted. I’ve had some conversations with Dorothy and she and I agree that 4.5 hour mornings of school is long for kindergarten and even at the weekday school in Gastonia she was at they had a rest time. We’ve gotten the mats for the kids to sit on and I use them for group times to set the kids roughly where I want them to sit. The challenge is to get them to sit on the mat without moving it…we’re working on that—they seem to like to sit right next to each other but then they can’t help but poke at each other. I decided to implement a rest time. When they come in from break I have the mats spread out on the floor and I ask them to put their head on the mat. Most of them will do it and some of them are even quiet for 3 minutes. The others sit and fidget and are somewhat calmer than they were before. While rest time doesn’t last long (5 minutes max right now) it does seem to help break up the day and give the kids a little down time…the mats still get moved quite often so I occasionally think about duct tape or superglue but I haven’t resorted to that yet.

fish riding on the bus
fighting a croc and having tea

weekend

I was doing so well at keeping up the blog and now it’s been almost 3 weeks…here we go to get back into it.

A weekend at home—we went for a walk through some villages. We just started walking down a road and kept on going. We were followed by Shadow and Sarky (2 dogs that like to come visit our house) we don’t mind having the dogs but the Malawians are scared of dogs. Sadly the dogs don’t listen when we tell them to go home. And today they decided to chase goats as we walked to the river. Not nice for the goats though the dogs just wanted to get a rise out of the goats. If the goats ignored them they lost interest quickly.

When we got back we found that while Dorothy was in the kitchen some kids had come into the living room and taken a small pretty wallet and the candy that had been on the table. We figure it was kids as all our electronics (ipods, cell phones, and computer) were also in the room and all still there. Not a good feeling to know someone has been in and taken things. We are much more careful now about keeping the doors shut when we aren’t in the room. The kids were getting much more aggressive as well—pushing their way into the kitchen while Rhona was cooking and then yelling at Maralyse when she told them it was time to go home. (we haven’t seen them for a while now which is a relief)

Sunday we got a ride in another direction to go swimming at a waterfall. 40 minute drive (11 of us in a jeep) then 40 minute walk followed by at least 20 kids (who pointed us in the right direction on occasion). The river was up and the waterfall was powerful with spray that wet the rocks just enough to make them slippery. Climb up and jump off to be whisked downstream. There is a high jump spot and a higher jumping spot…I did them both though convincing myself to actually jump was a little difficult (climbing back down would have been very difficult.

weekend

I was doing so well at keeping up the blog and now it’s been almost 3 weeks…here we go to get back into it.

A weekend at home—we went for a walk through some villages. We just started walking down a road and kept on going. We were followed by Shadow and Sarky (2 dogs that like to come visit our house) we don’t mind having the dogs but the Malawians are scared of dogs. Sadly the dogs don’t listen when we tell them to go home. And today they decided to chase goats as we walked to the river. Not nice for the goats though the dogs just wanted to get a rise out of the goats. If the goats ignored them they lost interest quickly.

When we got back we found that while Dorothy was in the kitchen some kids had come into the living room and taken a small pretty wallet and the candy that had been on the table. We figure it was kids as all our electronics (ipods, cell phones, and computer) were also in the room and all still there. Not a good feeling to know someone has been in and taken things. We are much more careful now about keeping the doors shut when we aren’t in the room. The kids were getting much more aggressive as well—pushing their way into the kitchen while Rhona was cooking and then yelling at Maralyse when she told them it was time to go home. (we haven’t seen them for a while now which is a relief)

Sunday we got a ride in another direction to go swimming at a waterfall. 40 minute drive (11 of us in a jeep) then 40 minute walk followed by at least 20 kids (who pointed us in the right direction on occasion). The river was up and the waterfall was powerful with spray that wet the rocks just enough to make them slippery. Climb up and jump off to be whisked downstream. There is a high jump spot and a higher jumping spot…I did them both though convincing myself to actually jump was a little difficult (climbing back down would have been very difficult.