January Update....

Dear friends and family,

Greetings from Malawi. I hope that the holiday season has been joyous for all. Christmas and New Years were very enjoyable here, albeit very different from the norm. It was strange to be away from family for my favorite holiday but with the help of friends, we were able to make the best of it. Eleven of us headed to the house of a volunteer in Nkhotakota on the lakeshore for our three days of approved leave. It was nice to reconnect after our first few weeks at our sites and I am sure the children in her village got a kick out of twelve ‘azungu’ (white people) wandering around. They were got a great deal of joy watching us do normal tasks like brush our teeth and cook dinner. Some days it feels like I live in a zoo. Regardless it turned out to be a great visit filled with lots of laughter, walking, and rain! We even had a fun “white elephant” gift exchange with what items we could find around our homes, in care packages, or at the local markets. It made some fierce competition for the “best” gifts but we all enoyed.

In other news, school has been going well but continuing to be very challenging. Not only am I challenged by the large class (about 140 students in form 2), language (the range of ability in English is very vast), and lack of resources (only one of my over 200 students has a copy of the book, and two have calculators), I have become increasingly frustrated with the education system as a whole. Classes are often not held when they should be, or cancelled all together for things like manual labor or sports! Considering the school year is so short this year (running from Dec 7 to Aug 6, with national exams beginning in June) it seems incredibly irresponsible to be missing class for sports! Also frustrating is the increasing absence of many of the teachers. They will often leave after a few minutes at school saying they need to go to town (Lilongwe) or to run errands. As I am the only person at my school who has ever used a computer I have been given the task of typing all the school records for the upcoming national exams. Although this task isn’t exactly challenging, waiting for the lists from various committees and hierarchies at the school and traveling back and forth to Lilongwe during the school hours (as we have no electricity or computer at school) has been frustrating. It’s difficult to set a good example to the other teachers and students about being on time and consistent in attendance when I have to be gone for a simple task! Another strange aspect of the Malawian education system is the dependence on students to do things like making tea for teachers, planting flowers, going to the store for units (phone minute), or even cementing the staff room! I can’t imagine how American students would react to being told they need to clean a teachers desk or run errands for them! Although I don’t take full advantage of the students willingness to run my errands, I do enjoy when the students fight over getting to erase the board for me or carrying my bag to school!

As far as life in Malawi is going, it is nothing like my life in America but it’s getting easier everyday. I am able to get my charcoal burner going in a few minutes, wake at 5am with no problem, bake a decent loaf of bread using two fires, sweep and mop my house everyday with some ease, and have come to accept my very cold bucket baths every morning.
After struggling with trips to the boar hole which included a long walk of greeting people and making small talk, waiting for my turn to pump water, pumping water for about 20 minutes, and then making my way uphill to my house with 20L of water on my head, I have decided to have some help with it. The two hours I used to spend at the boar hole everyday will be much better spent lesson planning, making friends with neighbors, and cooking. I have hired a senior from the school to help me three days in exchange for paying her school fees. Although the fees are only MK2250 (about $15), the girl is an orphan and has struggled to pay for a few years. It has been strange having someone help me around the house but I think overtime I will get more used to the assistance.

I have also begun supporting another orphan with boarding and school fees in exchange for 5 hours of Chichewa lessons per week, and he will maintain my garden and fields. I had high hopes of being able to maintain my garden alone but after one day of strenuous work trying to weed, I realize it makes more sense to help a student with fees and avoid being sun burnt and sore everyday! I have sort of inherited him from the previous volunteer who seemed to have taken him in as a son. Although I was skeptical of taking over where she left off with him, he has been working incredibly hard working and his Chichewa lessons are very well planned and interesting. He also has come to think of me as his mother and calles me Mum when we talk. Never thought I would have a 16year old Malawian son! It is difficult to see so much suffering and not simply open my wallet to him, I think he realizes he will have to work hard to maintain the support I am able to give him. It helps that he is incredibly grateful for the support and motivated to finish school. It has been difficult to help these students without the other students knowing I am helping them. Jealousy runs rampant here, and any sign of help can lead others to blame witchcraft or bring harm to the person. It’s difficult to not laugh when Malawians tell me they are ill because they have fallen victim to witchcraft, when malnutrition, dysentery, malaria, or cholera are the likely culprit.

I think that about sums up the last few weeks here in Malawi. Although it isn’t easy, I am enjoying my time here immensely although there are lot of ups and downs. The amazing beauty of the land and the people makes it much easier to get through the difficult times! Please keep your news and letters coming! It’s really wonderful to hear from you all!

With all my love,
Jaimie