End of CampSky...into Thanksgiving

23 November 2008

And CampSky is officially finished – all the kids and volunteers left Zomba yesterday, heading back to their respective parts of the country. Well, at least the kids – all the volunteers spent the afternoon at the ambassador’s cottage up on the plateau and then drove to Blantyre. It was possibly one of the more interesting matola rides I’ve been on…sitting on the back of a flat bed truck for two hours perched precariously on various bits of luggage, stopping for plums and jackfruit along the way.

Some favourites from Camp:
- One of the volunteers was teaching English and had the kids write similes about their other camp teachers; here are some of mine:
Madame Keller is as intelligent as a boy. [wasn’t sure how to take that one..?]
Madame Keller is as bright as a sunflower.
Madame Keller is as shiny as the sun.
Madame Keller is as kind as a horse. [also this one…are horses kind?]
- In class I randomly taught the kids that in the States we say ‘Bless You’ when someone sneezes – and later that day when I was tutoring one of them in maths and I sneezed, she said ‘Madame, Bless you’, which I thought was really cute.
- The students chanting ‘Madame Keller! Dah, ta, ta, ta, ta! Coming from America!’ as they walked to my class.
- Having a disco on the last day of camp and having a blast dancing with the kids J!

I decided today that I would spend an extra day here in Blantyre because the house is just so calm and I know that the house in Lilongwe will crowded full of people drinking and letting off steam until thanksgiving on Thursday. Today we went to the ‘bend over boutique’ [used clothes market] and I found the most amazing jeans and linen pants…and I have a travel outfit for Germany J. Hurrah for warm trousers. And then got my hair cut after I cut two other volunteers’ hair.

26 November 2008

I just finished my end of term report for the Peace Corps office and it forced me to think about what I’ve been doing at my site this past year now. And to be honest I had to admit to myself that outside of a pretty hefty teaching load I haven’t done much [in terms of any secondary projects]. Instead I have spent the year learning a new language, understanding my community and the people that make it up, I’ve learned more about myself and my leadership ability and I now have a starting place for any secondary project we want to start. One is already in the works; that is the electricity project…and I suppose the calculator loaning program. As I am here in Lilongwe [having some distance from my village] I am hopeful that I can start a fine arts club at school [to teach paper making, jewelry, painting, drawing and such] as well as a girls study group to encourage the female students in their studies AND to encourage them to encourage EACHOTHER! So I suppose I could call those my New Year’s Resolutions.

As this year starts to come to close [or at least my first year in Malawi] I find myself far more at peace with who I am [still not with my body…but at least I am at peace with who I am in spirit and heart]. My skin is gloriously clear [probably connected to the whole ‘at peace’ thing!] and I find that I am far more capable than I ever thought possible. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be fearless as I stood in front of a hundred people to give a lesson or instructions, I would have laughed in their face. But here I am. I find myself able to lead in a way I was far too timid for in the past, and to my surprise people actually listen and respect what I have to say.

I am interested to see my family in Switzerland to see if they have a different perspective on how I have changed…even Rebecca; I have changed even in the three months since she visited me here. I am not at all ready to leave Malawi and head to the States at this point but I am excited to see how my life will be different when I get back, how I will be different, how I will handle situations in new ways, will I be perceived differently than before? We shall see I suppose.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and all volunteers are invited to the Ambassadors house for an expat celebration…on the pretense that we bring a side dish or dessert to share. So that’s the program for today…baking and cooking for that. The transit house in Lilongwe is ridiculously full and there are people everywhere. But at the same time it’s wonderful to see everyone again – before everyone starts to meander off for their close of service [COS] or for Christmas holiday. And we will all be together again in January of 2009.