This week has been busy but not particularly exciting, so
I’ll try to find something to say about it.
We have decided to go to TST in the afternoons now, rather
than the mornings, as there are more children about and therefore usually more
for us to to. To fill this time, we have been helping out at Nama Simba more as
the children usually get sent home around 1.30pm at the latest. It has been
earlier this week however as, due to the maize shortage, the caregivers have
only been able to supply one meal for the children, rather than two. The
children are becoming more manageable as time goes on and we spend most of our time
playing with them. They all love the ‘Round and round the garden, like a teddy
bear’ rhyme and when we do it once the children shout ‘Ine! Ine!’ (‘Me! Me!)
for a good 15 minutes, demanding their turn. Since my Chichewa has improved,
I’ve been able to pass a ball around the kids. This sounds simple, but it would
have been impossible 4 months ago without knowng ‘dikirani’ meaning wait, ‘ayi
Iwe, apa’ meaning no you, (stand) here, ‘osamenyana’ meaning stop fighting and,
of course, praise words like ‘eya, wakhoza’ and ‘zili bwino’.
At TST, we’ve been providing Maths help as usual. Juniyo
struggles with writing, so I tend to get him to copy out simple Chichewa words,
their English translation and draw a picture. One day he came to me looking
rather dejected, which was sad to see as he usually greets me with a smile. I
asked him if he wanted to do some Maths like the others (ukufuna Masamu?) but
he said no and that he wanted to play a game. So I taught him a paper game, not
sure what it’s called. The aim is to have won the most boxes at the end, gained
by being the one to finish to box, drawing one line at a time. Anyway, he really seemed to like it, but was hindered by his
desire to make the page look symmetrical. Not the most competitive kid I have
ever met, but such a sweetie.
We did manage to to buy a 5 kg bag of maize flour this week,
so I have been able to feed my phala addiction. As we haven’t been having lunch
at TST anymore, and the lunch at Nama Simba tends to be served with this
minging fish that we don’t like, we haven’t been having any nsima. I have
missed it more than I had anticipated. Nothing fills you up like nsima and I’ve
found that a lunch of banana on toast just doesn’t leave me satisfied. To make
up for it, we cooked nsima and soya ndiwo for our dinner a couple of nights
this week. It’s really tasty and filling, and we feel very Malawian for it.
I have also become quite good at balancing things on my
head. The African stereotype that women carry buckets on their heads for miles
and miles is bang on – it is completely sociably acceptable to cart any manner
of things around on your head, even if you’ve got two empty hands and no baby
on your back. The balance of the Malawian people is absolutely phenomenal; I
have never seen anyone wobble or drop anything – not even very young children.
I am nowhere near as good as the locals, but I give it a good go from time to
time.
So, I have 2 videos for you this week! Do enjoy. The internet connection I am using is really slow, so I'll post the links here if and when they are completed.
http://youtu.be/mB1xusn-n5k
http://youtu.be/s4OwmZHjZBc
TTFN
Notable Event
This week, we went into town to shop at our favourite cash
and carry, only to find it absolutely empty. We have no idea whether it has
moved premises or closed down… but it makes me sad. We’ve been going there
religiously for 5 months, and they had the best and cheapest pasta. RIP Sana
Cash n Carry.
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