GREETINGS FROM EARTH

The opinions expressed in the blog are solely mine and not representational of the Peace Corps or the United States Government
Greetings from earth everyone,
I am in writing again as I make my way back from Lilongwe (the Capital) from a week long trip. Every able bodied American was invited to the Ambassador’s home for a 4th of July barbecue (Malawi’s independence days is July 6th for the record). His home, for the record, is unbelievable and it felt like I was back in America for a few hours. We got to eat hot dogs and hamburgers, drink beer, and be Americans for a day. The ambassador read Obama’s 4th speech which got the crowd really excited especially the Peace Corps crowd since he is very supportive of our organization. It is the first time in a few months that I got to see all my friends that I went through training with and I had a chance to meet almost all Peace Corps volunteers in country along with other Americans in country doing different types of work. Also I hitched back to Blantyre with 2 friends on Sunday the 5th. Hitching here is pretty common and every time it seems to be a new adventure. This particular ride scored me a bunch of African music I downloaded from the driver and also a sing-along of Michael Jackson’s ‘It doesn’t matter if you are black or white ‘. I have officially been at my village Misomali (which I found out translates to "small nails" for 2 months.
It has been a pretty good few first months. First off Malawi had a successful and peaceful election and the current president was reelected in a fairly convincing fashion. It was fun to be around to see another country go through the process. The president reelect has really re energized the nation with development and the Malawi’s people seem really positive about the future or at least the next five years which is how long his term will last. So as for me the Peace Corps does not really want us initiating any projects until after our 90 day training session which is next month. So the first few months I have been moving around with my assigned counterpart for the Malawi forestry department Mr. Phillimon getting a tour of all the villages in the area we will be working with. I have been introduced to many Chiefs and other village leaders who will hopefully being doing different projects with. I have been only working with him a few hours each morning and afterwards the rest of the day I have been meeting and chatting with many people in the village and just exploring. My Chichewa is slowly getting better, but many people speak English so I am always able to get by in one language or another. I have read a ton of books the Peace Corps has given me and on quite a few books other books for personal entertainment. With no TV or many other entertainment reading books has become something I have come to enjoy more than ever.
I enjoy the day to day life here. I get up between 5 and 6 a.m. everyday and I am in bed by 8 p.m. every night. I am exhausted by the day’s end and with no electricity to give me mindless entertainment such as TV or movies combined with all the movement and exercise I get all day I am staying up until 8 p.m. is about all I can manage. The village has been very good to me and I have made a good many friends. I have joined a men’s soccer team which practices a few time a week and plays games against other villages every 2 or 3 weeks. It has been a ton of fun but the training is a lot of hard work. I have never been a big soccer fan, but I am finding I really enjoy playing. In the first game I played about 20 minutes and when I entered the game people watching went crazy yelling Azungu. That is a name I am called many times a day and it is what they many people call white people in the country. It is not negative by any means and I have learned to get used to it very quick but many people do call me by Pat or Patrick. The second game I got knocked out by an elbow and fore arm to the jaw and temple. I was down for about 20-30 seconds before they pulled me up off the ground and slapped my head and face to get me to come to. After I got my bearings I was told I saved us from being scored on. I was dazed and my ears were ringing, but I refused to come out until it was halftime. My ears rang for hours, my jaw hurt for a week, and I trouble eating the first few days after but I earned my teams respect that day which made it all worth it.
I also went to my first funeral. Culturally everyone goes to funerals for people in their villages. It was quite a day. It started with me going with a friend to give condolences to the family as well as a financial donation to help with the cost of the burial. Men and women sit in separate areas at the family’s home and the body is in the home. Only close family and all women go and view the body. After we spoke to the family we went to the graveyard (which is sacred and not gone into without permission from the Chief) where a good many men chat and dig the hole together where the body will be laid to rest per say. After we watched the hole get dug (I did not help even though if I wanted I am sure I could have) everyone goes back to the family’s home so the coffin can be taken to the grave site. This was a sad day indeed and the person who died was only a 25 year old young man who was HIV positive and died from such complications but…….as everyone assembled and the body was getting ready to be brought out so a people could say some words before we walked the coffin to the graveyard. I happened to be one a few people who was given a chair and I was sitting with all the chiefs from my own and other local villages I happened to move to greet a friend and I was partially on a hill and the chair was not in good shape and lo and behold I fell over. I had on nice clothes and they were very dirty and everyone was trying to clean me off. All eyes were staring at me and I could not help but smile and laugh a bit even though it was in appropriate. As I was giggling at myself I looked over at all the chiefs and they were laughing at and with me. We all quickly regained our composer and things continued. It was a unique experience but a funeral is still a funeral and to be at a funeral with where a 25 year old is being buried is a sad.
I have been trying to do everything possible like going to funerals among other things to let people know I want to be a part or their culture here in Malawi. I also have been attending 3 different denominations of Christianity Catholic, Presbyterian, and Seventh Day Adventist. For those of you who know me this is probably a bit shocking. I am not a very religious person to put it kindly. But as Richard Dawkins may say it is tribal and for me it is a good way to meet a greet many people (by coincidence I just finished his book the God Theory). The Catholic service has live drumming during hymns which I enjoy a lot. The first time I went to the Catholic service the priest in mid service introduced me to the entire congregation and switched over to English for about 10 minutes to give me a brief synopsis of the sermon that day. I appreciated the nice gesture but I was a bit embarrassed to the say the least. Overall I do not mind going for a few hours every Sunday. I enjoy the music and since I am still learning the language I understand little of what is going on so I just go inside my head for a few hours and just relax (for the record women sit on one side and men the other at all 3 churches). Also to note I recently had lunch with the 2 Catholic priests who live in my village and they served me goat intestines and goats blood (they cook it in some way to solidify the blood). That is my only new food adventure since my last post. I keep being asked by people to try mice which they say is very good so I imagine it is only a matter of time.
Other parts of my spare time have been spent working on my home. I hired so 2 men to build me a fence so I can grow some food and plant some tree seedlings. Without a fence, goats and cows which roam free often in my village would eat everything. I wanted to help so I worked with them on most days. It was quite a job. It required the 3 of us to go twice a day about 1 kilometer from my home to where there is a river to cut reeds down. They grow in the moist soil where the river has receded due to the dry season. We would cut reeds for a few hours which may seem simple but they are covered with thorns. I got cut, scratched, and pricked more times that I could count. The 2 men I worked with spoke little English and since I speak little Chichewa our conversations were limited. However, by the end I learned the Chichewa word for thorn is mwina and by my constant use of a four letter word that begins with the letter F they think the English word for thorn is well you can figure it out. So needless to say after we bundled up the reeds into three bundles we carried them back on our head which is the common way to carry things here. They weighed somewhere between 25-35 pounds and it was quite a journey twice a day. People were shocked to see me doing such work but they were impressed. It is funny most people here think Americans never do hard labor but I try and convince them we do such things in the U.S. but I am not sure they believe me. On that note also my neighbor and I just finished digging a fairly big hole to build our new toilet. Recently on a trip out to my pit latrine I stepped inside and the floor gave. Luckily I pulled back in time or I would have fell 2 meters into a pool of foul unpleasantness.
Things are well and I am enjoying and having fun. I look forward to starting my real work soon but for now I am enjoying my spare time and trying to take advantage. Also the 4th of July was the first time I had a beer in two months. People do drink local beer at the village but I do not want to get involved with beer unless I am with other volunteers at a major city. It has felt great to not drink and my body I feel has been thanking me and I have lost 6 pounds. I eat a good bit at sight but it is low fat and high in carbohydrates so I burn them pretty quick. I am curious to see what my weight will be after 2 years. I have also started taking care of a cat my neighbor owns. I have named him Karl in honor of the volunteer I have replaced. Animals here in Malawi are not treated to well. The dogs will not even come near me. Most are not fed to well and people kick them, throw rocks, and etc. It is hard for me to get used to but it is something I will have to learn to live with. I do however enjoy seeing all the goats, cows, chickens, and guinea fowls around my village. They often hang outside my house and I just sit and watch them and my neighbors and friends think I am crazy. All the animals hear get along well for some reason and never bother each other.
Well I feel I am rambling so I bid you a fond farewell. I wish all a happy 4th of July to everyone in the states. Take care all and my good times and smiles be upon you Also for those of you who have asked about my number it is 011 265 884932509
Explanations of pictures
Malawian’s in line for voting
A typical view from my window
Some of the reeds we cut and carried on our heads. We ended up needing over 40 bundles
Working on the fence
Karl the cat hanging out with a chicken
The opinions expressed in the blog are solely mine and not representational of the Peace Corps or the United States Government