Mt. Mulanje

Mulanje

 

The weekend of May 18^th, Nina, Naemi and I headed to Mulanje. Friday night we stayed in Mulanje Boma with two other German girls. These girls, Lena and Christina have been volunteering in Mulanje for the past 10 months on their gap year. The German government gives them a small stipend for living expenses and free accommodation. I was extremely jealous of their situation and hope that someday in the future the USA will get on the Gap Year bandwagon).

 

Early Saturday we headed to the forestry office and acquired a guide. Having only two days to hike, we decided to climb to Chambe Hut on the Chambe Plateau Path and return on the less steep Chapaluka Path. The way to the plateau was difficult. A constant steep incline had us out of breath and taking many breaks. We all cheered when we finally reached the plateau. Once we caught our breaths we were in awe. The scenery was outstanding. Chambe Peak rose to the north and wildflowers covered the ground. Clouds were at eye level on the west edge of the plateau. We trekked on until we reached Chambe hut. I was pleasantly surprised to see a hut similar to those owned by the Potomatic Appalachian Trail Club that I have stayed in with my family. It was a small cabin with two rooms: one smaller room with bunk beds and a large room that served as the living area with a fireplace. A front porch allowed us to sit and have a great view of rocky Chambe Peak and the rest of the Chambe Basin. A watch man helped us make a fire and warmed water for us to take bucket showers. After making dinner on the fire, we sat around laughing with our guide George and eating Smores (shout-out to the friend that sent me all the Hershey’s, graham crackers and marshmallows)! As the fire died down a bit, we sat on the porch steps wrapped in thick blankets under the full moon. Everything seemed a bit eerie after listening to George tell us legends and ghost stories about the Mountain. Exhausted from the climb, the 4 of us headed to bed early piling on the blankets and sleeping next to the fireplace to hiding from the cold.

 

In the morning, I woke up and could see my breath. Sneaking out of the cabin quietly, I looked around and smiled. I love waking up early and seeing the world awaken. The brisk air and my surroundings gave me memories of chilly mornings spent with family at cabins around Thanksgiving. To be honest, I couldn’t get enough of the landscape. Around 7 am, we started to head down the Chapaluka Trail. This path was much different than the first one. We walked through a jungle and were surrounded by the morning mist. We had to scramble over boulders and cross the river three times. This path was definitely more adventurous. As we came closer to the bottom, we stopped at small waterfall and then headed to a local restaurant to refuel before our mini bus ride back to Mountain View.

 

Mulanje was gorgeous and two days was not enough time for me to be satisfied. I hope to climb to the highest peak sometime before I leave and spend more time on this beautiful mountain.

Chambe Peak

A Second Home

Everyday seems to fly by. I wake up and head to school and then before I know it I am pulling the mosquito net around my bed and slipping into my sleeping bag. Time used to play with my mind, tease my emotions and make it feel as if I was stuck in a time warp at Mountain View. Now the days have decided to run away from me.

Yesterday, the two German volunteers, Nina and Naemi headed off and started their journey back home. Catching a glimpse of the inside of the airport and the security check point, I realized how bittersweet going back to the USA will be. Mountain View and Malawi feel like home. Because of this, in recent weeks I have struggled to keep up with my writing. At first, I thought I was just being lazy but learned I struggle to write because everything is… well….ordinary. And this is not to say that ordinary is bad. I have become so accustomed to Malawian culture and am not surprised when things are slow, chaotic and just a tad unorganized. I am not fazed when there is no water and the electricity goes out. Ruby and I just pull out the candles, light the charcoal burner, fill buckets of water and laugh, wondering how long the power will be out this time.

The simplicity of life allows you to enjoy the long walks to the market, heartfelt conversations with people and the generosity of the community. I have learned that a lot of things that seemed a big deal at home are almost meaningless. Looking at facebook and seeing people worry about their unknown roommate and what color their prom dresses are I just have to laugh and hope they see the bigger picture.

On a lighter note, I have been spending a lot of my free time with Grace Mahere. While her mother is away at a teacher training course and her father is often in Blantyre, she has been the head of the house. Having just finished secondary school and is waiting for her exam results, she takes care of her younger brothers, cousin, the house work and chores… all at the age of 17. Last week we laid all the maize out on mats in the yard to dry and then gathered it in bags before it became dark. She has taught me to make African cake, as well as carry buckets on my head. Everyone has become used to seeing me in the Mahere household. Charity, Grace’s cousin who lives with the family, just smiles hello when she returns from school. She sings and dances around me as I help around the house. Trust, age 5, runs around yelling my name and speaking Chichewa hoping I will play with him. The Mahere family in a way have become my second family. Ammie loves to have me over for dinner and is someone I can go to if I need a “second mom”. Recently, I have even thought of remaining at Mountain View when school ends on July 12 until my flight on July 29th. These two weeks would allow me to spend more time with the Mahere’s and the community at Mountain View, something I may not get a chance to do again.

Busy Busy

The past couple of weeks have beyond busy. Here is everything is brief:

The weekend of April 27th, after helping with a yard sale fundraiser for Standard 8, I spent the weekend in Blantyre with friends that I originally met in Livingstone, Zambia. It was great to catch up with these boys and made me miss hanging with friends from home.
That following Tuesday, May 1st, we headed back into Blantyre to celebrate Ruby’s birthday. We met several new people and I also had a crazy small world moment: I met a man whose uncle owns Kennersley’s Farm in Churchill, MD and was off to visit the good ol’ Eastern Shore in a weeks time. Ruby, Jack (a peace corp we met) and I also stumbled upon Narnia: a glorious food court at the Malawi Sun hotel with an ice cream shop, bakery and fast food.
May 3rd we took our Standard 8 learners to Liwonde National Park and on a boat trip for their graduation trip. After a stressful week of trying to get things organized in a timely fashion we were able to pull of the visit.
That same weekend, Ruby and I headed to Blantyre to see a national football game at Kamuzu Stadium and spend time with some Malawian friends. As we stood in line to enter the stadium I noticed the swarms looked like a colony of ants heading for their nest. Everyone was extremely excited for the rival red and blue teams to compete. It was great to feel the energy and excitement of all the devoted fans around me.
This Friday, we had a graduation celebration and took the sports teams to the Catholic Institute in Blantyre to compete.
Oooopfffffhhhh. It makes me exhausted just thinking about the last few weeks.

Today, I was finally able to take a break and catch up on rest as well as my writing. I was oh so happy to wake up and see a clear sky with a hot Malawian sun shining. A breeze cooled down the bright rays. Everyone was outside enjoying the warmth and avoiding the cold concrete buildings. The weather has been changing and most days are rather chilly. As I hear of the warm days in the United States, I prepare for a cold June and July. I have become accustomed to putting leggings under my long skirts and expecting to a long sleeve, especially if I see the rain clouds coming. In the most recent weeks, I have gone to the extent of sporting the sandal and sock look. It is a good day if I decide to wear my neon orange socks!

With the seasons changing, I am realizing how long I have been in Malawi. A couple of weeks ago I struggled with major homesickness. The type of homesickness where all I wanted was home, family and familiarity. It was the kind of homesickness that aches. It was the first and only time I really felt I wanted to be at home and to leave this adventure behind. All of this coincided with a terrible migraine and difficulties teaching my students.

Having tackled the monster of homesickness, I have been feeling time run away from me. Standard 8 takes government exams this week and then are heading home. Before I know it, I will be on a plane heading home as well. I am nowhere near ready to leave Malawi behind. I am cherishing the last months as much as I possibly can. The times when I am not eating, sleeping or writing I am outside of my room playing and teaching with the children. I hope to travel to Mulanje this next week and see Zomba soon.

PS. Sending love home for Mother’s Day! Fun Facts: Mother’s Day in Malawi is not celebrated until the first weekend in October and oddly enough they do not have a Father’s Day.

Harvest Season

We went over there to bake a crumble. I wanted to see if a banana crumble would taste any good. Coming around the corner and into the dim back hallway, I stepped over maize rings, garden tools and a straw sack. I noticed a giant wheel barrow full of pumpkins. I lightly knocked on the door and turned the handle.

Now imagine you are on a set of a movie production and they have created a setting in a building that has been attacked by a sand storm. Piles of sand everywhere and grains of sand in every inch of the room. (We all know how sand seems to crawl into everyplace it can get). Once you have this in mind replace the sane with maize. Ammie’s entire house, living room specifically, was filled with maize. The place her dining room table used to sit was replaced by hundreds of maize cobs. All of the couches and chairs were surrounded by maize. Kernels spilling everywhere. So this is what harvest season is like…

Ruby and I were invited to scramble through the mess to find a seat. Ammie explained how every year they harvest all of the maize and well…store it in their home. During the next weeks they will pull all the kernels off the cob and lay them out to dry. As we waited for dinner and the crumble to bake, we gathered round chatting with our hands busy picking at the maize. Weeks later and the blisters on my hands are just beginning to heal.

Note: I originally wrote this in the end of April. Maize is still being harvested daily but most of the farm fields have become barren and soil is being turned over.