What do you get when you throw together 25 people from three different colleges, Malawi, a few locals, and Domasi schools? A trip to Africa you will never forget!
Our trip began on June 12, 2011. We were in the air for 20+ hours (June 12-13). Although quite grueling, the travel is a necessary part of the adventure. To get 8,000 miles from home takes some effort.
We stayed our first night at Annie’s Lodge in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. This small, quaint setting allowed us to take a breather and relax before the whirlwind of a day that was to follow.
June 14 was an amazing day! We visited Freedom Gardens, of which I cannot even begin to explain fully. Daniel, our guide for the visit, was the son of the man who started the completely self-sustainable farm with just 100K, $1 at the time. What he told us about his father’s start was something that we can use in every aspect of our lives: start small to succeed. His mother served us delicious chombe (tea), coffee, and lemongrass tea, along with homemade rolls, scones, and peanuts. For lunch, we had a traditional Malawian meal of rice, beans, spinach, fried chicken, and nsima with a tomato sauce prepared by the ladies of the farm. Following this, I had one of the wildest experiences of my life in the marketplace in the city. Absolutely nuts. It is so exhilarating to have to bargain for goods. They start high, and you bring them down. It is actually a very difficult process. It did not stop there, though. In fact, we did not realize that it was just the beginning. Peter, Annie’s son (yes, Annie as in the lodge owner) threw us a party with selected people at Kumbali, the lodge where Madonna stayed when she was adopting her child. This was amazing! We had another traditional meal and got to see actual traditional dancing, which completely captivated me. All of their dances tell a story. From the poetry readings, to the dancing by us that followed, we had such a phenomenal evening. The wine and Carlsberg beer was pretty good, also!
On June 15, we traveled form Lilongwe to Zomba. It took us eights hours to travel what it takes a car three and a half because of the bus. But, we have found that playing road trip games and looking at how pretty our surroundings are can really take up some time. This day held a couple delights as we visited a pottery place that served very good food, and a venture into a rowdy market on the border of Mozambique and Malawi was enthralling. So many beautiful vegetables!
We arrived at our home for the next month, Annie’s Lodge in Zomba, around 7:30pm.
June 16 held the biggest treat yet! We were able to visit all of the schools that each of the three colleges will be split up and teaching with. The children were AWESOME. They are so full or life, excitement, and general innocence and kindness. The conditions of the schools varied, although only a mile or two apart. Most of the students were so willing to hug you or “pound it” (touch fists together like a handshake). This was something new that we did with them. There will be so much more to tell regarding all of these visits after we get into the schools and start teaching. I will have so many stories to tell. Anna and I will be teaching Theresa’s Standard Six class at the Domasi Government School. I’m very excited.
June 17 was a day of observation and learning for me at the school. I became totally and completely aware that this was going to be a marvelous experience, but also a challenge. Standard six is equivalent to about 5th or 6th grade in America, but the ages in the class range so much. Their English is very good, which is fantastic since it will allow us to actually teach. Anna and I start taking over the whole class and teaching on Monday, June 20. The students are so full of passion and excitement. They dance and sing for hours if you let them. So full of life! I have many videos. We actually have a small class (about 60). Most are around 100-150, which would make finding enough supplies difficult. The actual classroom is about the size of a small America classroom, but with only 16 desks that the children share. They also share books, and most have notebooks, but some of those are shared as well. They are so willing to do whatever you ask them. There is no back talk or saying to no to a request. Since everything is so novel, their interest is heightened to the max! It is not just the novelty, but also the genuine fullness of their hearts and desire for more. Everything is just so different and interesting.
Saturday, June 18, was supposed to be a day where we ventured to the market and got skirt material, but we found a place on Ku Chawe Mountain along the Zomba Plateau where we could ride horses. So, that is what I ended up doing! Maggie and Brian (the stable owners) were such nice people. They had us all straightened out and ready to ride in about an hour. We split up into two groups, one of nine and another of eight. It was so nice to see the area atop Zara, my beautiful dark brown horse. Following this, some of us went to eat at Tasty Bites in town. It was very good and relatively cheap for what I got. I tried the chicken samoosas and chips (Malawi’s version of french fries). Samoosas are a type of pastry filled with a chicken mixture. You can also get them in beef or cheese. They were very good! And, guess what to go with my chips? Ketchup! I went to the store and bought it while waiting on the food. You just don’t realize how much you take some things for granted.
Only a few days ago, we were saying that we had only been here a few days. Now, it’s been a week, and I cannot believe it! I already have so many stories and pictures for everyone. I am looking so forward to making my lessons and teaching all next week!
Katlin Wohlford
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