Happy Thanksgiving

The opinions expressed in the blog are solely mine and not representational of the Peace Corps or the United States Government

Greetings form Malawi everyone and a Happy Thanksgiving to you. Life keeps rolling by here in Africa and it is hard to believe I have been here over 9 months already. I have 17 months left of service and I imagine it will go buy before I know it but as you get older it seems like days and weeks end up being months and years well at least for me that is. So it has been a few months since I last updated you on my life here. I am in the Capital for about a week and a in a few days all the Peace Corps volunteers in the country are assembling at the U.S. Ambassadors house for a thanksgiving cookout. It should be good fun and lots of food. Since my last post which was almost 2 or 3 months back I have been working just trying to get projects rolling along here. I have learned quickly that patience is the key and success comes little by little or as we say here pang’ono by pang’ono. My counterpart and I have been working hard with surrounding villages to try and get tree nursery established in villages. The Malawi Department of Forestry is constantly promoting villages to plant trees since deforestation is such a huge issue here. It is an uphill battle since most Malawians have no electricity and wood is essential for cooking among other things. We have maybe 5 villages right now that I feel confident we can make some progress with. On the average of community tree lot will house between 2000-5000 seedlings which grow in tubes and are transplanted to a permanent field when the rains come in the next month or less. I so far have been given a small plot of land by my chief to plant some trees. I had about a 125 tree seedlings growing in my yard but goats busted through my fence the other day and ate some of them so I am scrambling to get some need seedlings up and going before I miss the rains. That is my main goal with the Department of Forestry but I also am doing things on the side also.

I will soon be starting a condom distribution out of my house with the aim to help prevent the transmission of HIV and unwanted pregnancies. Government hospitals give out free condoms but the closest hospital to me is a private Catholic one which for religious beliefs does not allow contraceptives to be given out. For the record when I say hospitals it is very basic and services are limited. We have local health workers who work for the government but they are a bit apprehensive to give out condoms like they usually do around the country because they work often hand in hand with the Catholic Hospital. So as for me I have no allegiances to the Catholic Church or fear for that matter so I plan on giving out as many condoms as possible 24 hours day 7 days a week. No offense to the Catholics of the world but I finding myself wanting to go on a rant about these types of beliefs in a Third World country which suffers a massive HIV problem and food security issues due to huge populations. I digress now but in my opinion one should never take sex advice from one who does not participate in sex no disrespect to the Pope. We all know condoms suck but they serve a purpose to all of humanity.

I also have been working with a women’s group teaching them to make peanut butter. It has been a fun process and I have enjoyed working with the women. They have great energy and laugh a lot. They have been very appreciative towards me and often sing songs for me and dance after we are done meetings or making peanut butter. I hope to work with these women on a few different projects in the next 18 months. The sales of peanut butter can give them small profit margins but the extra money may allow for a healthier diet or even help go towards their children’s school fees. Up to 8th grade is free here and after that they must pay for the final 4 years which unfortunately a lot of families cannot afford. In the coming weeks I am going to teach them how to make cooking oil out of local seeds such as sesame and sunflowers along with peanut oil which should be fun.

My last big project I am working on for the time being is to fix the bore hole in my village which has been broken for years now. Most all of us go to a neighboring villages bore hole to water or during the rainy season people go to the river to get water. Lately the water is coming out at a very slow rate due to the dry season water table and at times I need to wait 45-60 minutes for a bucket or two of water but I just sit in the shade under nearby trees and read while I wait. It actually is nice at times and relaxing. Hopefully however all that will change if I can get grant money to fix our village bore hole I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

In October I got a do a game count at a park called Lengwe National Park which is about a 2.5 hour bike ride from my village (I try and ride my bike everywhere). It was a fun 3 days of camping and each day I was paired with people who work with the park for two three hours shifts of counting game in small shacks by watering holes in the park. The game at this park is not like one would expect in Africa. No lions, elephants, zebras, and etc. but it did have baboons, impala, wart hogs, nyala, and some other beautiful creatures. It was great times and very relaxing and when we were on breaks we got to swim in a pool at the park which is nice. It was in the dead of summer and the temperatures near or above 100 daily in my area. The only hiccup I had was one I first got there I put down a few bags to go and say hi to friends and some monkeys stole some of my food but I actually thought that was kind of funny.

Recently I took for my first and second trip to Lake Malawi to visit some friends who live near the lake. It was great I got there late in the evening the first night and a few of us drank a couple of beers and they showed me the lake and we did a little night swimming minus our clothes and I felt as free as could be. I spent a few days with different friends and the lake life is nice. You swim all the time, you take your soap and wash in the lake, you do your laundry in the lake, clean your dishes, and I am sure you get the idea. The lake is beautiful and I look forward to many more adventure along the way. The second trip was near Halloween and I was at a beautiful little rustic and remote lodge that had an island near it that was swimmable and uninhabited. The only bummer was I had a nasty foot infection that I am still dealing with. A beautiful German doctor happened to be staying and took a look at my foot and did some impromptu work for me. She wanted to cut me open but we did not have a scalpel available fortunately but she cleaned me up good and gave me a nifty pair of socks to wear over my bad foot. She was 31 beautiful and unmarried but I was too concerned about my foot to realize what I had in front of me. I could not swim that weekend but my friends pushed me on a tube to the island which you will see in my pictures. It was a blast and I do not think I could ever get tired of the lake. A group of us are already planning to spend Christmas up at the lake which should be a blast.

Culturally I have also learned some more about Malawi. I recently was with a friend and a good size snake had gotten into his chicken coup. A group flushed the snake out and beat it to death which I knew had to be done but I felt bad for the snake. After it was dead I was picking it up and examining it and trying to see what kind of snake it was and they thought I was weird for picking it up. I never did figure out what it was and they did not know either. However they told me they always have to chop a snakes head off after killing it because if they did not it would come back to life and return to the place where it was killed. I could not stop laughing but they kept telling me it was true. Anyhow I am told once the rains start I should be prepared to see snakes a lot more often which to me seems exciting even though we do have some very poisonous snakes around us. I am also told by many people that witch craft is real and is very prevalent in Malawi. I even ask very educated people and they believe the same it is crazy. They claim witches (men or women) can fly, change people into crocodiles and hyenas, cast spells, among many other things. I tell my close friends that they are nuts and I have told them if they know any witches I openly challenge them to cast a spell on me or turn me into a crocodile. If someone is accused of being a witch it can be very difficult for that person. They police or village will search their homes and if evidence is found they can be arrested, beat, or even banned from the village. It has not happened in my area and I only know of one volunteer who has seen a trial of some sorts so it does not happen often. I however cannot help but laugh a bit because whenever it is talked about I think to the scenes from Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail. I should probably be more culturally sensitive. I also become aware that Malawians have no sense of time. Whenever I have a meeting I bring a book or something to read. If you say 8 a.m. people if you are lucky may show up at half 8, maybe 9, or even 10 this is just the way it goes here in Africa. I have always been very punctual thanks to my Dad (sorry Mom you are always late) but I have just learned to roll with it hear. Other cultural notes o interests are that when you shake hands a good amount of people will grab their right wrist with their right hand. This goes way back to early tribal days and it is to let the person know you come in peace and carry no weapon in hand.

Lastly we finally got our first rain storm in months here. It was beautiful and many of the children in the village got naked and ran around and played in it. It was so much fun just watching them but after the rain left humidity game and we had 3 or 4 days which were incredibly hot. In the morning I would have salt on my sheets from sweating so much and it was quite a bit of fun. The real rains are due soon and with them some relief in our triple digit temperatures. I am told by mid December the daily rains will be here and the world of green will start to come to life.
So once again I hope all is well with everyone in the states if anyone has any exciting news from their lives please e-mail me so I can keep up on major life events. I am unhappy to also say the my Phillies lost in world series do the Evil Empire of New York Yanks but two years in a row in the series is pretty impressive. I love and miss everyone. Take care your friend Pat

Pictures
The monkeys eating my rice at Lengwe
The view from our game count hut
Me with my killer socks floating in Lake Malawi
The women's group I am working with near my village
Taking a walk with my friends as they show me their dimba gardens


The opinions expressed in the blog are solely mine and not representational of the Peace Corps or the United States Government