did you know how close to thailand i am?? only a 15 min walk (evidently

Bingu was buried yesterday and so it was a public holiday. seemed pretty calm and i heard that there was fuel. we'll see if that keeps up and we are on our way to the future...

xxl?

so i brought the big one my first year...and this year the one with the XXL came with one of the girls from Holland...the biggest you can find there is about a normal size in the states...just find that a bit funny.

hunters

So I still have 4 cats…and they are still very entertaining to watch. They pounce on everything that moves (except for people—they shy away almost every time). Last week I found a dead mouse in my room…I threw it out and found them playing with it after…ick. And then 2 days later Amina, the mom, had a mouse in her mouth…I quickly threw her out of the house…
Saturday night I found the kittens hissing at each other and one of them had a little lizard thing…I tried to pull them off of the lizard and the lizard looked up at me with its mouth wide open and it looked extremely like the opening scenes of Jurassic park with the tiny lizard-like dinosaur…round open mouth lined with teeth…he was no longer running away when the cats stopped chasing so I have to admit I left him to his fate…I saw a picture later that evening and I am pretty sure he was a miniature chameleon…made me feel even more sorry for him…(other than that scary look like he wanted to bite me)…

swimming

Sunday afternoon many from NKhoma decided to get out and go for a swim. So into town to one of the lodges. Three families and 3 people from the guesthouse for a total of 21 in 3 vehicles…that in itself is kind of a feat. And it started off well with pushing into the water and throwing the small ones…wrestling and into the pool I was pushed still in my skirt…all in good fun I’m sure. Relays, water guns, pyramids…it was a beautiful day.

lake

back to school

School started again on Monday. I am teaching once again as we could only find one replacement teacher. 2nd grade on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Willeke is taking Tuesdays so I can continue helping at the hospital for the clinic. We’ll have to see how things go…Monday went ok though I was still taking money for school fees as headmistress as well as making sure that our new teacher was ok and to have 2nd grade going along as they should. I would say that it was a bit difficult in all of the roles I was playing. As soon as school was over I had about 4 or 5 people trying to corner me…I told them I was only able to do three things at once so if they would wait just a moment…
So I think it will go and go well with a bit more energy thrown at it, but your prayers are much appreciated…

govt change

As many of you have probably heard the President of Malawi, Bingu Mutharika, passed away the Thursday before Easter. He had a heart attack and died at the government hospital in Lilongwe and then his body was sent to South Africa. I don’t know why. On the Saturday his Vice President, Joyce Banda, (who he had thrown out of office about a year ago) was sworn in. it was a peaceful turnover and we are all grateful for that. We wait (somewhat patiently) for the changes to start. She has already been in touch with the NGOs that had pulled out last year and we think that fuel might start coming back.
Here is the obit piece and the news on the new pres. She has started cleaning house already…change of heads of police and many others…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/world-africa-17624072
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17662916

more easter lake

easter

birthday boy
On Good Friday we talked about what Easter meant to us. I recalled a service that the youth put on while I was in Cabot…3 disciples sitting around the Passover table after the crucifixion discussing what had happened and projecting what might happen soon. It ended with a shadow of Jesus on the cross up on a sheet at the front of the church and our youth director singing the song “Mary, did you know”. Something about that really hit home and made me realize that Jesus died for me…yes, he died for the world but specifically he died for me.
Reinette talked about realizing how much suffering was really involved. She is a midwife and has medical training and it had been explained to her as such an agonizing death. That your bodily fluids don’t separate unless the death is extremely traumatic to the body (when he was stabbed in the side). And the knowledge that crucifixion is asphyxiation—a crshing of the lungs slowly…and he endured that for us.
James said that we have to try to remember these things even though it is hard…we must try to act better and love one another. That this is the Easter message that we have salvation only through grace and the act that Jesus gave his life—his sinless life—for us.
He is risen!! And that is the best news we can ever receive.

cliff jumping
night silhouettes

easter weekend

I got invited to go camping at the lake with the Veitch family over easter weekend. We thought to get an extra long weekend and leave on Wednesday but of course it worked much better to finish up things and pack on Wednesday and head to the lake early on Thursday. Into the truck with four boys and a kitten (theirs not mine) and a trailer full of camping gear. The ride up was long but not too bad. Quick stop for meat in town and we found diesel in salima but the line was too long and they were filling jerry cans (illegal but if the police try to stop there will be riots) so we continued on. Got stopped at many police blocks but to no penalty (though they did ask about a fire extinguisher which every vehicle is supposed to have—we started to get it out but told the officer we were looking for fuel and he told us that dwanga had some farther up but we would need to hurry…and the search for the non-existent extinguisher was abandoned). We arrived at Nkhwazi Lodge in time to set up camp and go for a good swim…waves were up and the water was pretty murky (and a little cold) but so nice to be at the lake!
Up early (with 4 boys that is the norm) and the waves continued thru Sunday night. Rocks to climb on and jump off, front and back somersault wars in the water, the snorkels had been forgotten as had the oars for the blow up boat but I don’t think that we needed them…so much fun to be had…the wonder of kids in the water and playing on their own. Got a bit too much sun but am quite happy and relaxed now.
With the full moon the evenings were just gorgeous and Sunday night James, Reinette and I decided on a night swim. Oh the water was cold but it was so beautiful and completely worth it. especially with the warm shower after. Sunday afternoon the lake calmed and flattened. Made for nice swimming as I like to swim way out. And it also cleared up near shore (so snorkeling would have been great) but we could see fish and all the rocks we’d been kicking all weekend. Just lovely. The drive home was just as long as the drive in (surprise surprise) with a stop in town for dinner, but all was quiet along the way. Power cut when we arrived home—but then that made it easy to just go to bed.

police

Donated police blocks—by panel beaters (those who fix dents in cars)…many of the police blocks are sponsored by these…evidently we are not supposed to take pictures of the police or buildings as the officer came over to ask what we were doing…told him that our friends were very curious about what Malawi looks like since we like it so much and that we didn’t have the kinds of trees that we had just taken a picture of…it was right next to the police building…lucky for us he didn’t check our camera because the tree isn’t really shown…

passion

clockwise: butternut squash, avocado, sweet potato, red chili pepper, natchi (clementine), lemon, orange, passion fruit, and the middle (slightly green) guava


I don’t think I’ve ever discovered passionfruit or granadilla before. Fresh that is. And it is amazing. It looks odd. Since moving into Maralise’s I get at least 5 a day from the gardener (there is a tree just out back. They have a smooth yellow/green shell…though the ones that others are used to are often purple on the outside and wrinkled. And these wrinkle after a few days and I think those are a little sweeter (once wrinkled) but I often don’t wait…and the taste is tart and rich. It really just hits you.
Great in yogurt…with fruits in salad…and icing (maralise made some and told me to put it on a cake…but I ate it by the spoonful so I will try not to make that again)…
Avocados are still in season as well! makes me so happy.

missed meeting

Many of our parents from school haven’t paid school fees for the term that just finished…and as the end of the month was coming while we were over break we thought that we would give them 2 days (7-9am) during break that they could come to pay their fees as their child would not be allowed to start term 3 without being fully paid. I was therefore at the office for 2 hours on a Wednesday over break and no parents came…I did some other jobs so it wasn’t worthless but really. But then it was also before the last day of the month and things are often late anyway. So there was a second date on the second of april. I had gotten it into my head that the second was Tuesday…completely convinced. So Monday morning I woke up and it was pouring down. I was quite happy there was nowhere that I needed to be. Took my time and the rain let up so I went to the hospital to do some of the paperwork (found some emails that had been missing) and then at 9 (when the office hours would have been over) I got a text ALL IN CAPITALS (that is a normal Malawian way of writing) asking Reynier Ter Haar to let his wife know that people were waiting for me at school. But I couldn’t figure out who or why people were waiting for me.
I finally tracked down that it was a parent waiting at school and they had been there for ages…but of course no one tried to contact me any earlier…I looked at the announcement I had sent home and I was wrong…supposed to be there on Monday…oops. But then I also notice that people here don’t wait for azungu whereas they will wait for hours upon hours for Malawians. So I rushed over to school to find one parent there and he just wanted to assure me that he would pay as soon as he had gotten paid…also that there had been other parents there but they left. So I still collected no money. Willeke offered to be there on Tuesday morning so I sent texts to all the parents who still owed and I think 2 parents might have come to pay. So 2 down about 20 to go…

lake

Back at the lake for another overnight. It was over Ute’s birthday ( a good way to get out of a big cake party)…she was busy busy for the week with visitors from her organization and then a hospital board meeting on Saturday morning so I went in with her on Saturday and then did a few errands and then after the meeting we went to the lake. A late lunch at Red Zebra for fish and chips and a beer and then to the cottages where we were told there was another family in the big house but we didn’t see anyone that night. It was cloudy and the waters were cool but it was great. Watched the storms over the lake until we got rained up to the porch with guacamole, blue cheese, crackers and wine…spent Sunday sleeping, swimming and reading and sleeping some more. Brunch of pancakes. Only saw the kids from the house next to us and they were very quiet—wouldn’t know they were there. At 3 we were surprised at where the day had gone but decided since we had to get back tonight that we should get ready…so another swim, showers and pack up the car, even fill the car with petrol from the jerry can and we were on the road home by 4…we do travel well together.

bushwhacking

You are possibly tired of pictures and tales of my mountain climbing as it is all the same mountain (but they are short—and beautiful). So on Sunday after church I thought it would be good to get out again. But we came out after church and the mountain had disappeared. It was cloudy and low and there really was no mountain. So though I had mentioned the hike to a few people I figured it wouldn’t be a good idea. Went home for tea and then my options were limited…I would either go to sleep and hibernate for the day or get out and go. When I looked out I could see blue sky and the top of the mountain was visible again so I went for it. rounded up Ed and Rebecca (couple of English doctors here for a few months)and then Lillian and Anelin (dutch nurses) and Mattias (dutch med student) came too. So we were a good crew.
When we reached the mountain hut it looked like the clouds and rain were coming back but they wanted to carry on. So we rested a moment and continued up. Picnic lunch on top of the mountain and then I fell asleep while they did a little more exploring and peak climbing. We watched rains come through Nkhoma but they didn’t come up the mountain (everyone was shocked that we went up the mountain and didn’t get wet because it poured in the village). The way is quite overgrown and we got off the main track on the way down so I retook the lead and bushwhacked our way back over to the mountain hut. It was much thicker here even than our trek to Mbalabala and I am still sporting some of the scrapes and scratches…and I think I ran into some kind of poison ivy because my legs were itchy for about a week after.

in town

Saturday I went to town…got a ride in with Ute who had a dinner/cultural performance for her organization with donors and got dropped off at Miriam’s. we relaxed for a little while and then went for Indian food. The atmosphere was nil…loud and plain, but the food was quite nice. And then we went to Diplomats which is a bar that had been redone…all shiny and new inside…the walls were unfinished wood but the pillars and inside areas were shiny tile. The music was pretty good and it was a nice time. But they haven’t redone the bathrooms…too bad…well there were new toilet seats…

move

I moved back into the cottage when Barbara got back and felt good. I think I lived in all the houses I was going to live in in nkhoma. And then the Tuesday after I moved back (on Monday) I was asked again to house sit…and how do you say no when you’ve done all the rest of nkhoma…it took me 2 days to decided definitively that I would do it…had to take some time to get my head around moving again…Maralise has left for 2 months leave. And I am now living in the guesthouse…well closer than I ever have before (on the left side of the picturethe stairs lead to the guesthouse entrance and my porch)…strange though because I don’t know anyone in the guesthouse right now and yet it is full (of dutch people I think). So I’ve moved in and for the moment I have 4 cats (3 are kittens) who are very entertaining…playful in the extreme. Though with each other not me…they are the most skittish cats I think I’ve ever known. But they do pounce in the night.

rainy day

Craft time last week with third grade. There are two dutch girls who have been super helpful at school—reading with the classes, doing arts, doing PE, and doing office things (laminating, making books and memory games, checking that there are full sets of the classroom supplies). But of course they can’t be everywhere at once (though we try to be, and I might have to be next week when they are gone). So I did crafts…I found a cut out of a man in a raincoat with an umbrella and took that it…color, cut out, glue and even fold a bit to make it more 3d. as I was in explaining it to the kids I asked that they put in a background as well and all of the kids said oh yes it is for Valentines day! (it was the day before and I had completely forgotten)…so I think that mom’s probably got some pictures of rainy day scenes for Valentines day…but I suppose as we aren’t in the commercial places I won’t be stigmatized for sending those home.