Village life

Hey guys! (or at least the 3 people that consistently read this)

I have officially moved into our own house here in Malawi. We were staying in the president’s house while they were finishing up some things at our house but they are finally done and we have moved in and settled. I don’t have internet out here in the village so it has been hard to find time to post, or keep up with anyone actually but I have a local phone with whatsapp if anyone needs to get ahold of me. Message me for the number. 

Our house consists of a brick wall and a gate giving us a cute courtyard, we have three rooms with doors that you access in the courtyard, and an extra room we are using as a kitchen. Across the courtyard we have a shower, which is a brick room with a drain, where we take our buckets of water to shower, and two toilet rooms, basically two rooms with holes in them that you squat over. I was a little weary at first about this living situation but I actually really like it. It is like camping. I am getting really good at starting a charcoal stove for us to cook with. We boil water for showers when it is cold, hang our laundry on the line when we need to.

It has been fun living here, walking to an from school everyday takes about 15-20 mins walking to and from the village. All the village kids yell and wave when we walk around. It was cute at first but now I know they are making fun of us and the older kids dare each other to come talk to us, then they laugh and laugh and laugh. It’s all part of the experience I suppose. I have met some really cool people walking to and from the village every day however, some of the students at the University live there so we have found ourselves walking together. 

I really like my work here, I am working with some social media for the university as well as creating them a new website. It has been a lot of fun and I work with the greatest guys. They have welcomed me into their IT family and we have a lot of fun. They are trying to teach me chichewa, which is actually a lot harder than it should be. I can’t seem to remember anything. I can say the words but when I need to use them I can’t remember them. Anyways, I am slowly learning thanks to their help. They have affectionately given me an African name. Nadzambiri. It is apparently a clan name and a way to honor a Malawian lady, which is why they giggle every time they call me that. The white girl with the Malawian name, plus I think they find it hilarious I have a hard time saying it. oh well. 

Time seems to me moving too quickly I find myself loving it more and more here. It has only been two weeks but I really only have 6 left which seems like a shame. There are so many things I want to do still. Not to mention I still have a lot of homework to get done. haha. Africa is very quickly stealing my heart and the first day we were here my boss told me out of the three of us, (my classmates and I) one would be back because Malawi is addictive. I now understand why.