sorry this is so late. i'm not getting online often or for very long when i get there. i'll see if i can't do better!
I arrived back in Malawi on a Sunday—so maybe a weekly thing will be possible…though I can’t promise timely uploadings so we’ll see. Jet lag is a 7 hour change and I think I did pretty well though it seems to get harder each time I travel—or maybe I just block out the memory of the last bout…met a woman on the plane who works for USAID and lives in Lilongwe who offered to wait and make sure I had a ride from the airport but I knew that I would because my friends here had been counting down the days…the 3 planes that come into Lilongwe all arrived at the same time so the baggage carousel was a nightmare but both of my bags arrived safely though it took at least 3 trip on the belt before I could get to them. Isabelle had come through security to find me and get the first hug. It is good to be back.
I moved back into the cottage where isabelle, rhona and I lived and isa’s been since we left. She is only here for this week and her plane ticket expires next Monday and she should be home before that. Not a pleasant thought of her leaving…dreading it all week.
Monday was easy…Tuesday I couldn’t get out of bed—to dizzy each time I tried so I slept until noon…then of course I couldn’t sleep that night. Wednesday was better—definitely back in Africa with power cuts (ours lasted from Tuesday evening to Wednesday night but then ESCOM fixed it).
Jumped in Thursday and went to a training on Sunday School teaching. There were about 80 people there interested in learning. It was mostly in Chichewa but was all about different things you could do to keep kids attention and how important children’s ministry is—when you grow maize you start with seeds not mostly grown plants… and interspersed with games and songs and lunch…ah nsima again (maize porridge that you eat with your hands with no taste of its own).
Friday was back in town to see the youth department offices and remeet all the people there. It is rainy season here—all is green and lush and everyday the heavens open and everything becomes muddy and flowing. So far I haven’t gotten caught out in it but I did realize that I didn’t bring anything to combat the water (rain coat or umbrella) and every time I go to the market it is sunny and I forget to buy an umbrella…one of these days
