Catriona in Malawi: Apparently I am doing a monthly blog

7/4/13

Eeeee, when did I last clock in? 10/3/13? Okay, what’s happened since then?

Well, it’s the school holidays at the moment, so there’s been no Nama Simba for two weeks. This unfortunately coincided with our Project Trust Desk Officer visit. So we couldn’t show her the work we do at the nursery. We did still take Kate to TST, however, and showed her where we live. It was really great to see her again and give her our feedback on our year so far.

Kate’s visit happened to be right after my parents came to Malawi. After I met my Mum and Dad in Lilongwe, we spent two nights in Central Malawi at the Tongole Wilderness Lodge – luxury with a capital L. An entire ‘River Suite’ to myself, complete with a bath the size of a small swimming pool. The lodge was built near an elephant river crossing, so it was not uncommon to see elephants going for a dip. I even got to see a wild leopard tortoise! Since I’ve been fascinated by tortoises for as long as I can remember, it was definitely the highlight of the trip. I then took my parents to Blantyre to show them around, before we went down to spend two nights at a tea estate in an area called Thyolo (Cho-low). It was hard saying goodbye to my family knowing I wouldn’t see them for another 4 months, but my current mantra is ‘less to go than has already been’.

Our friends who we used to refer to as the ‘Nancholi girls’ have all moved out of Nancholi. It is the nearest village to Baluti so we could really easily see them, as they were only a 30 minute walk away. However, as Matilda has moved in with some friends she works with and Steph has gone home to England, Georgia has moved in with Lou and me. It’s really nice to have her around, and she also shows her gratitude towards us by buying us doughnuts and jelly beans. J Georgia will be leaving us soon, however, to go back to the orphanage so volunteers at in Tanzania. It will be really hard to see her go – the ‘Nancholi’ girls have been our closest friends while we’ve been out here and she will be sorely missed.

This Easter Sunday, Georgia and I went with Louise to church. She goes to a Pentecostal Church in Blantyre that also runs a project for street children that Louise helps out with. I’ve always said that I could come along just for that, but when I looked in and saw a tonne of kids who had run away from TST, it was so demoralising. These are children who couldn’t take living in an institution, because of the routine or the rules or any other restriction that they don’t have to deal with on the streets. I tried to convince each of them to come back, but they all had ‘good’ reasons for leaving and couldn’t be swayed. It won’t stop me trying, though.

Speaking of TST, we’ve been pretty busy this week with the kids being off school. The kids just shout ‘MASAMU’ (Maths) as soon as they see us nowadays and we are often swamped from the minute we get there until the minute we leave. It’s such a contrast from the first 6 months – it makes me wish we had had only been spending the afternoons there from the beginning. At least next year’s volunteers will find it a bit easier to find their feet with our advice.

This week has been tough water and security-wise, but we should get it sorted before I next write a blog post. However, this month I did find a chitenje I’ve been looking for since I came to Malawi, which was great. I was so happy, it was unreal. The simple pleasures…

I know I joked that I would hopefully get another video of the house up before April… but I have failed. I apologise. It’s been a busy month etc. etc., but the main reason is that I hate editing and I couldn’t be bothered. HOWEVER, I do have some adorable pictures of our new kittens (well, 7 month old cats) called Lightning and Mantha (Chichewa for cowardly). ENJOY

Okay, I will do a blog post in 2 weeks. I have told you now, so I actually have to follow through with it. Otherwise, you must all berate me and make me feel small.

TTFN

(Btw, everyone who hasn’t already should watch Pitch Perfect – it’s hilarious. Other films I have watched this month that I recommend are Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Taken (because it’s hysterical) and Amelie. That is all.)