The south really does know how to do it…

...everything CAN be fried.  This is one thing I've learned during my first 2 weeks at my new site.  Within the last few days I have fried potatoes, potato skins, pumpkin seeds (be careful, those pop like popcorn!), and bananas.  I'm sure there is a lot more I will learn that can be fried here, but I've got to start somewhere.  Mom always hated frying things in the house when I was younger, but this is my house, and it's my turn to shine!  Okay, maybe that's just the popped hot oil on my skin, but here, when the coals are hot you sit and think "what else can I make?" and crazy ideas like fried bananas with dusted sugar and cinnamon crosses your mind.  That tries to satisfy a burning desire for something sweet back home like ice cream, candy bars, grocery store cupcakes, a bowl of cereal, and more...  Whoever figures out how to FedEx ice cream and it arrive in a solid form will win something, my choice!

These last two weeks have been a ride, let me tell you.  On April 28, 2010 the original 21 of us who departed Philadelphia on February 28th officially swore in at the U.S. Ambassadors house as Peace Corps Volunteers.  For me, it felt like graduation!  Another milestone in my life, not customarily on many people’s short list of things.  Heck, as I think of it, two years ago yesterday (May 10th) was the day I graduated college.  Who would have guessed I would be sitting at my house in Bwanje, Malawi two years later?!  That’s right...the doves outside my back door.  They knew.  I can see it in their eye..s, depending on which way they are facing ;)  But really, it was such an awesome experience and I seriously could not quit smiling through it all.  I had completed my first two months of Pre-Service Training and was getting ready to have my leash cut….off I go!

After the ceremony we ate tons of food that made our bellies hurt...and then proceeded to the Country Director’s house for a feast that quite closely made our bellies explode.  I never thought I’d be so excited for macaroni and cheese as I did this day...and then I spent two months in the middle of Malawi.  Not quite sure how it’s going to feel after 2 years though!  Doesn’t hurt that mac and cheese is my all time favorite meal!  Yep, your tummy starts craving foods you never thought you would miss before...like quiche, it was there too.  Thank you, everyone, for the amazing feast!

That night, the (now second year) Environment Volunteers put together a fun gathering for the 21 of us *new* PCVs (that’s right, when you send letters and packages ;), you can now use PCV instead of PCT) when we returned from Lilongwe.  It was such an awesome feeling having the support of the second year volunteers while having an opportunity to share in the excitement and anticipation of the next two years to come.  Wrapped up in the fun, for an evening we forgot that the next morning we would pack up our belongings and be dropped off at our sites.  That entire day, night, celebration, everything will forever be marked as one of the best of my life to date.  

Morning of April 29th, we all somberly rolled out of bed, showered for the last time until who-knows-when, and threw the last remaining odds and ends into whatever space we had left.  PC transport arrived with enough vehicles to take all of us, 2-3 to a car.  Our original bags from the US were thrown into the back or inside of trucks, stacked with our new mattresses and *shiny* new mountain bikes as well as other odds and ends (including the brick bag of PC books we accumulated over the past 2 months as well as 14,000 kwacha worth of goodies to start us off at our new homes).  The man that packed Justine and my stuff was so rushed and high strung that at one point I had to tell him to chill out.  Stressful enough for both of us (all of us new PCVs, really), that the last thing either Justine or I needed was someone telling us how the day was going to roll.  Some tears rolled as people said good-bye and cars drove away.  Near the middle of the pack, Justine and I bounced into the back of our truck and off we went.  

Down windey roads we took the Eastern route to our sites, down towards Salima, which was a new one for both of us.  It still blows my mind how quick the landscape changes here in Malawi.  You can have your view blocked by trees and mountains to one side, and the next moment be able to see miles and miles off into the distance.  It’s unbelievable, and at times it still hits me “holy cow, I live in Africa!”  However I’m partially sad to say that those moments become less and less as this once foreign country is now becoming my home, but more excited that this is my home.  

Justine was dropped off first in Sharpvale, just north of my village.  The three of us (driver included) helped to quickly unload all of her possessions.  I had a brief chance to see her house, meet the dog that she didn’t know she had (that’s what happens when COS (Completion of Service) Volunteers don’t leave detailed notes for the replacing PCV...surprise!,and try to front a rooster that wouldn’t stop roosting.  She has some 10+ roosters in her backyard, and still to this day I’m unsure of how she lives with them.  I’d, for one, go absolutely nuts.  The one at my house is enough in the morning!  I specifically keep rocks on my window sill to throw in his direction when he decides 5.30am is time for me to get up.  Sometimes I want to hit him...buuuut then I’d have to buy my neighbors a new one and that’s just too much hassle

A 5-10 minute drive to Bwanje was much shorter than I had anticipated, but was nice realizing that Justine and I are a shorter distance than I first thought.  About a 30 minute bike ride would get me there and due time!  Now the two of us threw everything quick in my house and on the front porch and the driver was off.  “Yoouuuuuu’ve just won a two year stay in Malawi!!!  What are you going to do now?!”  The reality sets in very quick once you can’t hear the sound of a car anymore, and you look around at faces you hardly know but who have just become your new Malawian family.

Giving a day-to-day play of my life here would, honestly, bore many of you back in the big city.  Things here are not exciting in the same ways they are back in the states.  But with that disclaimer I will give you an idea of how my days play out.  Peace Corps has us all at our sites for the first 3 months simply settling in and not starting any projects.  I hadn’t fully appreciated this (and quite honestly was mentally fighting the first 3 months) until I had an opportunity to really live it here.  It’s challenging trying to get settled in my daily routines, as it takes a while to see what works and what doesn't; what needs to be done with what frequency and also what doesn’t; what I can put off until tomorrow (ha, which wont ever change, I’m sure).  In all seriousness, I’ve simply had to learn how to live again.  Without running water and electricity, things take much much longer.  Yes, dad, I’m beginning to understand “systems” for things!

So here we go….  Typically I wake up around 5.30am, but if I’m lucky I manage to sleep in until 6ish (thank you, rooster!).  I’m too stubborn to get out of bed this early so I usually turn on my iPod and watch an episode and a half of Battlestar Galactica (yes, I’m still geeking out…Season 4 now!).  Around 7am I crawl out from my mosquito net, and begin my first decided chore: to sweep the house out of the dirt from the day before as well as the bugs (and ants devouring them) from the night before.  I’ve actually come to be fascinated watching ants eat bugs...yes, one of the many things I would not have had patience for back in the States but is my new hobby here.  Next I hand wash all my dishes from the day before if I didn’t have time to do them before sleeping.  It’s meditating, really, and so I enjoy the morning dishes while I smile and greet my neighbors.  Around 7.45-8 I go retrieve some water from the well in my back yard (literally I throw a bucket down a brick well and crank it back out full of water), lift the 20 liter full bucket to my head and walk back to my bafa to kusamba (bathe).  With a pail in hand I simply rinse off which is a great start to my day.  The really good days are the ones where I get to wash my hair ;) 

Once I feel presentable for the day, I lift my bike out of my back storage room, wrap a chitenje (“1001 uses for a 1 meter cut of fabric” is what it should be called) around my waist, and ride into town to buy food items for the day (typically: 2 scones (aka. bread rolls), 2 eggs, a pile of tomatoes (about 4-5 in each), some onions, and 6+ bananas (they’re much smaller here!)).  I’ve found that dividing up a scone and spreading peanut butter and slicing bananas to put on top are a delightful way to begin my day, as it’s the closest thing to an “American Breakfast” as I can muster without having to start a fire.  

Up until lunch time I fill my day with anything from laundry (which is an entire day activity), reading, hand sewing new curtains to adorn my window frames, taking a nap, listening to music, finding new places for my belongings (yes, George, every‘thing’ has its place, I know), chatting with my neighbors, and more.  Within the last few days I have found that cooking a meal for lunch (and possibly having leftovers for dinner time) suits me just fine.  So when I feel ready to tackle building a fire, I head out back, pile some charcoal (yes, I know I should know be using this, I am in need of getting some new parafin and a stove that wont blow up in my face; see last blog!) on my mboula, and spend the next 15 minutes lighting paper, blowing, and fanning a plate to try and get the charcoal to catch fire.  I refuse to use plastic bags, and somehow this makes me feel a little bit more proud when I successfully start my fire with just paper.

I cook anything from rice, soya, eggs, nsima (working on the perfection of this...long way to go!), tomatoes, onions, lentils, and add any sort of spices to make it all taste like some great culinary creation.  Gosh, cooking school would have done wonders for me out here!  Alas, I’m here to fend for myself ;)  Back in the states I’m a baker, not a cook, but I suppose there is time for everyone to learn!  The entire process of making a fire and cooking takes me at least 1-2 hours depending on what I’m cooking.  Ha, if I feel like having fun making mashed potatoes, later frying the skins, and making a curry with soya pieces it can easily be a 2 hour task.  But it’s satisfying, especially when I have a delicious meal to enjoy.  As said in my last whitty post, I’m eating it regardless of what it’s like but it sure is a delight when it turns out well :)  If I am in the mood for tea I throw on some water and enjoy it out of a handmade cup that was given as a housewarming gift...elephants and Baobob trees on the sides with an African colored sunset.  I’ve seen Baobobs and sunsets, just need to mark those elephants off my list...

The afternoons are filled with much of the same as the mornings: continuing work on my curtains (it takes a day and a half to hand sew one, I have found), reading my book (currently a switch between The Time Travelers Wife and The Lost: The Search for Six of Six Million, depending on my mood) on my front porch as the sunsets.  My favorite time of day is around 4.30-5, as the sun and the shadows are absolutely stunning.  About this time I take the remaining water in my bucket and do a quick rinse off in my bafa and hang out in my chitenje (aka. towel, purse, skirt, everything you can imagine...but this one is just for the bafa) until I’m dry.  As 6pm comes closer, I break out my headlamp and light a candle for my last minute chores around the house before crawling under my mosquito net, journaling about fun things that I accomplished in my day or new realizations about myself that I have discovered.  

I close my day with an episode of Battlestar Galactica, or if I need a break I watch one of the 6 movies I have on my iPod (said favorite is Lord of the Rings, of course).  Nothing compared to the big screen of movie theaters back home, but it has become comfortable and I enjoy it.  I listen to the dogs outside, the kids playing, and my neighbors eating dinner, and cockroaches bouncing around.  My American eyes have not yet adjusted to the dark like Malawians can, and thus I don’t wander around outside unless its close to a full moon, which then is simply like the Universe’s personal flashlight for the land.  Some PCVs have said that being under a mosquito net makes you feel like you are invincible.  Yes, yes, this is true.  Once I’m under it I am quite confident no cockroaches, mosquitos, scorpions, snakes, or spiders (of considerable size, at least) will be able to penetrate through the net.  It’s nice :) I like it.  And when I’m too tired to keep my eyes open, which comes around 8pm, I power down my iPod and put it on the upper right corner of my bed, waiting there to greet me in the morning when the rooster outside decides its time for me to wake up.

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I’ve come to realize quickly that it can be quite exhausting to simply live.  This is not something I appreciated back in the USA, as I’ll be honest to say I had it quite easy.  Doing laundry was a side task while reading or doing homework: here, it needs my full dedication or it simply does not get done.  Making food in the states could be as simple as pulling out a bowl and a box of cereal, milk from the fridge, sugar from the cabinet: here, I have to begin a fire to make anything, as everything as to be cooked, and I have to plan my meal because leftovers hardly keep a day without a fridge.  There are some days I go to bed and my body simply sighs with relief of not having to use muscles anymore.  And I quite enjoy this way of living, to be honest.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, it can be exhausting and I would love the option of pulling a tub of ice cream out of the freezer, but it’s given me such a great appreciation for how hard people work here, and how hard our ancestors used to work before all the modern technology.  It can be a lot to take in and process at times, but I don’t have another option.  It can be overwhelming, and quite honestly some mornings I groan at the work I know is ahead of me.  Some nights I have been too tired to cook dinner, and those nights I went hungry...no other option.  But I wouldn’t trade it.  I know what it’s like back in the states, but here I have to and get to create mine each day.

I have more I want to write, as usual, but I think this entry is enough at the moment.  It is the time of day where I am getting ready to turn on a head lamp and escape the buzzing mosquitos around my computer.  Next time I’ll tell you more about my village, neighbors, and some people I’ve met thus far.

Also, one last thing.  When the 21 of us were still together during PST, some people said family and friends had found my blog and were reading it.  It thrilled me!  It’s so nice to know I’m not writing for empty space out there.  Some said their parents didn’t want to make me feel weird by having unknown people “following” my blog.  But I would be more than delighted to know all of you out there who are reading.  So please, it would make me happy to have you not follow anonymously :) but rather have joy to know that I have people out there reading.  Thank you!  Comments are welcome from anyone, about anything :)  I’ll be honest to say I journal about just about everything here and my blog is for all of you at home, so that I am able to share my experience from afar.  I would love to know who all is enjoying this cross cultural experience :)  

Until next time, try to fry some things back where you’re from and give me any tips you might find helpful ;)  Especially all of you in the south ;)