There's no place like Malawi for the Holidays...

No, I'm not dead... I'm just not yet a faithful blogger. With time I will get better. I have now found a reliable, fast internet source in Mzuzu, so I now have access to the world outside Malawi. Yay! I can't believe how much has happened since August. Where to start?

We swore in on Sept. 1 at the ambassador's house in Lilongwe. Afterwards we had the best meal I'd had since the states (and have had since) at the country director's house. Macaroni and Cheese, pulled pork sandwiches, beer, brownies, it makes my mouth water just to type it. Shortly after, we were kicked out of the nest to become individual volunteers at our new home. My home is awesome! It's fairly close to the main road, so transportation isn't too difficult, and it's near a small mountain range. It's quite beautiful despite the fact that everything is brown and crusty. I can't wait for the rainy season when everything turns green!

I have been teaching now for about 2 1/2 months! How frightening is that? I'm teaching Form 2 (Sophomore) Math, and Form 3&4 (Junior and Senior respectively) Biology. I wish I could tell you which class I enjoyed more, but I love them all. Almost every day at least 2 students come to my house to play Bao (a local game), UNO (which I taught them), or to chat and ask me academic questions. I also taught them how to play bacci ball. They're now addicted to it, which is understandable - throwing colorful balls at other balls is a blasty blast. I have a group of young girls that frequent my house daily and don't speak a smidgeon of english. Because of this language barrier we usually dance or sing songs. Sometimes I get out a magazine and we look at pictures. I also taught them how to play hopscotch. They are wonderful people, and such hard workers even if it's not in the classroom. The people here amaze me!

Other than my headmaster being a difficult person to work with, the teachers at my school are very nice if not completely competent teachers. I have no place to talk; I've never been a teacher, and was thrown into being one here. The beginning of this week marks the end of term exams followed by a nice month long break. I'll havel to find someone to take care of my cat during that time. I have adopted a cute little kitten (white with black spots). Her name is TALULAR - it's an acronym for "teaching and learning using locally available resources". This concept was beaten into our heads during training, so I figure why not? Most of the times I call her Tal (shout out to Tally Ross). I'm trying to fatten her up with local fish and bread, but she still looks like a skinny village cat.

I celebrated the most unconventional Thanksgiving ever by buying my staff Fantas and making banana chocolate chip bread (kudos to Mom for the chocolate chips!). We then went around the staff room and said something we were thankful for. They thought it was a wonderful celebration. I thought, "Wow, I'm in Africa for Thanksgiving drinking Fantas and eating banana bread" This thought was quickly followed by "... and I love it."

The rest of my Thanksgiving shenanigans consisted of traveling to Livingstonia. It was the most beautiful place I've ever been aside from Swan Valley (obviously the most beautiful place in the world). It has a waterfall which unfortunately I couldn't climb, but got to climb into a cave behind it. I am drawn to them like magnets. I then proceeded to Mzuzu where there was a party. I missed most of it, but caught the end to get some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Obviously I was there for the important part. Every time I have access to ice cream, or even ice for that matter - I take advantage of it... I found a soft serve place in Mzuzu with sprinkles. Enough said.

After spending my Friday in a bus to get to Lilongwe, I chatted with the 80 or so volunteers who also came to celebrate. Saturday brought with it a shmorgasboard of food. No turkey or pumpkin pie, but there was a whole roasted pig, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and apple pie. I love American food! I can only take so much nsima. I'm staying at the boss's house on a real couch, and he has satellite tv on a 17'' screen! Doesn't sound like much, but the PCVs are all mesmerized by the awesomeness that is TV, a house with electricity, running water, carpet... I'll be so thankful for simple things when I get back to the states.

As for Christmas, I haven't made any set plans. I have IST (inservice training) coming up in a few weeks, and since I'm already in the south-central part of the country for that, I might go farther down to visit my friend Garrett in Mulanje and Blantyre. While there I may or may not visit the Carlsburg beer factory :) There's just so much to see in Malawi, and I feel like I don't have enough time to do it all!

I should probably mention that I had malaria a few weeks ago (2+). I was admitted to a health clinic in Mzuzu and stayed there for a few days. They had to hook up an IV, and i received 7 litres of fluid during my stay. I received 3 litres before passing urine, which just shows how dehydrated I was. I thought I was going to die. Luckily I have good friends that take good care of me here. Other than the malaria and a few times of possible intestinal bacterial infection or gastritis, I'm doing great. Unfortunately, the malaria attacked just before the 1/2 Marathon I was going to run in Lilongwe. I didn't get to participate, but there's always next year.

I am loving my life right now. There's nothing more I'd rather do with my life. The volunteers are amazing people. The natives are so kind and helpful. They make me laugh. I hope to blog more often, but no promises. I love you and miss you all! Nkhumutemwani chomene!