Busy busy

Hello all! I'm sure you've been wondering, "Gee, what's Allison up to? She got that fancy schmancy smartphone yet still disappears for weeks at a time!"

I guess it's sufficient to say that I've been busy. After I got back from my surprise 2 week trip to Lilongwe, I've been trying to work hard and still be able to visit with friends on the weekends, some of whom are leaving soon. It's part of the PC/volunteer expat culture that there's a constant rotation of people entering and exiting the country (cue "Circle Game"), but it still bums me out that some of my friends are leaving, so I want to see them as much as possible!

Other than that, I've been busy at site. Term 2 is nearly over, which means we are already in a whirlwind of preparing forms 2 and 4 for their national exams in a few months. I've been trying to come up with creative ways to teach such riveting subjects as organic molecules and the phylogeny of organisms to non-English speakers (first step: not using the word phylogeny). Aside from that, I still have the odd Mothers' Support Group and PTA meetings to attend at school, and have been having more meetings to get involved in a local HIV community-based organization and the Catholic Relief Services project in my area. Recently, I've gone over a grant proposal they were preparing to submit and prepped a few activities for a training they want to do with primary school prefects (confidence, effective communication, teamwork). It's nice to get involved in projects I'm interested in after all the stress that comes with working at a school that lacks teachers, resources, and often motivation.

That being said, exciting news at St. Mary's CDSS! We have a new female teacher! The head teacher was so excited to tell me that I won't be alone anymore because there's another lady teacher. So far, she seems very nice and chatty with me, so I hope I can get to know her better.

In other news, it hasn't rained in about a week, and even though it's been sunny, it's slowly starting to get cooler. Amazing! Maybe one day in a few months I'll get a blanket. Also, my local market has been having more and more vegetables, like carrots, green peppers, and green beans! It's amazing. Although I still miss mango season, these veggies, plus avacadoes, guavas, and the occasional pineapple help a lot.

Most exciting, though, is the news that in a few months, I am officially travelling to meet my parents in Paris! I am sososo excited to see them and drink coffee and wine and pretend I remember my high school French. It's mostly been replaced by Chichewaat this point.

For now, I leave you with the following conversation which happened a couple weeks ago in the staff room:

A form 3 student wearing a blazer walks into the staff room and chats with another teacher for a few minutes.
Malawian Teacher: That's a nice jacket. Why are you wearing it?
Student: Because it is swag.
MT: What?
S: Swag. Ask Madame, she knows.
And that's when I nodded and explained the concept of swag to some fellow teachers.

That's right, my students have swag.

Tiwo, nonse!

Nthawi Yamvula - Rainy Season

What's up, readership? It's been a busy past couple weeks, with a trip to Lilongwe that turned from 4 days into 2 weeks. It was fun, expensive, and I got to hang out with lots of important PC staff people (see Mom? I'm schmoozing to improve chances for a better letter of rec in a year. I'm planning for the future!). Unfortunately, the low point was a weekend spent in agony over crippling stomach cramps, followed by the PC dr handing me a cup and requesting a stool sample by 2pm . . . But as they say, it wouldn't be Peace Corps without a rogue bacteria or two.

Anyhow, what's done is done. I realized today that I hadn't done justice to explaining rainy season, so I thought I would try to paint you a picture of it! With words, of course, since I have some serious technological handicaps.

To clarify: during rainy season, it doesn't rain everyday, or all day when it does rain. Some days aill be clear and bright, a blistering memory of hot season. It's always humid, so even when it doesn't rain, your clothes still won't dry.

The following are a collection of 100% true things that have occurred during rainy season:
-The field in front of my house and the church has been transformed into a field of maize. Where there is no maize, grasses grow, until someone like my night watchman cuts them down, because there are snakes. "don't worry," he told me in Chichewa, "I slashed the grass and they all left."
-While this kind-hearted slashing was occurring, my guard left the gate open . . . And my kitten escaped. I miss it and remember ot fondly.
-Even though the area in front ofy house is clear, it still feels like I'm walking on a jungle path when I leave to go to school everyday.
-Planting is growing season, so lots of students stay home from school to help plant and farm. Or they show up an hour or more late. Today in my form 3 class, only about 20 students were present, although there should be about 50 of them.
-Speaking of teaching, have you ever tried to teach while rain is pounding on a tin roof? It's hilarious. Thank goodness I'm loud.
-Today was the first day in about a month I got a sizeable amount of laundry done, due to frequent travels and storms.
-Storms = blackouts. As soon as I hear thunder, I look at my dinner cooking on my hot plate and wonder if I can finish it before the blackout begins.
-Still, that's better than the time there was a blackout all day and I had to put on rainboots before going outside to cook over my little charcoal stove.
-Mangoes, tragically, have left the market, and I miss them astronomically. The current combination of guavas, cucumbers, and avacadoes isn't cutting it, although it's helping.
-I have continued my crusade to be the most casual member of staff at school by teaching in rain boots. Unprofessional? Perhaps, but at least my feet stay dry.
-Everyone at school is sick, teahers and students alike. Most of them sound like they just have nasty colds and coughs, but that's probably because if they have malaria, they're staying home.
-The cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes that live in my chim swarm out any time I lift the cover. Today I also saw a scorpion there.
-There are more bugs, spiders, and lizards living in my house thab I have ever seen in my life. It's remarkable.
-Bread has gone moldy after about 2 days at my house.

All things considered, though, I think I prefer wet season to hot season. Many nights I now sleep under a sheet and enjoy it!