Last Thursday I arrived back in Malawi after a brief but wonderful vacation in France. Since this blog is about my Peace Corps experience I won't go into too much detail about how awesome Paris, chateaux, wine, and my family are, but let's just day it was a much-needed break from life in Malawi. And surprisingly, I sort of missed the village and the country as I flew off. Although I may miss French cheese more now.
Anyhow, somewhat to my surprise, I didn't experience too much culture shock either in France or upon returning back here, although I did notice a couple surprising things:
France seemed really, really clean to me. I don't think I even once saw litter.
When I returned back to Malawi I stayed in Lilongwe for a couple days, at a lodge I've stayed at before. Only now did I wonder about the stacks of tires in the middle of the hallway. No clue why they're there. Before my trip, although I know I saw them, I didn't even think to question them.
Also, as soon as I saw my neighbor, the catechist's wife, she asked what I brought her specifically for masweeties (candy) or mabisketis (cookies). I may have told her there weren't any.
