180 Days: Operation AWESOME Smile

Operation Smile week was an amazing experience – one I will never forget.  I am truly ecstatic to volunteer with such an awesome organization – a fantastic opportunity to help make a difference.  Operation Smile goes to over 60 countries providing operations on cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.  Children who are born with cleft lips are often unable to speak, eat or smile and a forty-five minute surgery can fix that.  This year, Operation Smile South Africa made their inaugural mission to Malawi and provided 158 people with surgery (their goal was 125) and made even more people smile.

Although not 100% Kathi, since I was suffering from kidney pain (due to lack of hydrating during travel) and a possible giardia scare (still waiting on the results for that one), I still felt the awesome of the week.  I just wish I had more energy to give back some of the awesome.

Day 24 of Awesome

I had to be in Lilongwe by noon for the Operation Smile announcement.  I walked to the bus stop to find that the bus would not be running today, so I panicked and started walking.  A few hours later I got a ride to the spot where I like to hitch and got a ride (before I had a chance to open my coke) to Salima.  In Salima, I caught a ride quickly to Lilongwe and once I got to Lilongwe town, I got a direct ride to the hospital and arrived at 11:30.  The damage?  Four hundred kwacha (less than two dollars)!  I got lucky – someone was looking out for me – someone knew I was destined for this week with Operation Smile. 

I went straight to work filling out medical records for patients undergoing surgery the next day.  From there we made announcements to the families who were qualified for receiving the surgery (this can be an upsetting day for some, but usually the surgery cannot be performed because the child is too young or it is not the type of surgery that Operation Smile performs).  A day of excitement and madness – the patients cheered and rearranged their belongings (which took a lot of Chichewa translating, which is not my expertise) but finally everyone was in the right place.  I smiled at my amazing friends (Carolyn, Cassie, and Shelly) knowing we were in for a fun-filled week.

We then proceeded to eat an incredible Indian buffet at a fancy restaurant in Lilongwe – so fancy, I had never heard of it before.  I laughed and chatted with the Operation Smile team and felt great about the upcoming busy days.

Day 25

The first day is where logistics are born and it was quite hectic trying to get those straightened out.  I walked patients from surgery to the post-op ward where they would stay the night.  I only know a few phrases in Chichewa so I doubt I was much comfort to the relieved parents and drugged out children.  However, today, an 11-month old baby breast fed for the first time.  Immediately after surgery, the baby woke and her mother stood over her smiling.  The nurse told her she should breast feed her baby, but the mother was hesitant.  The nurse insisted and so she tried.  The result?  A happy mom and baby. 

Day 26

We walked through post-op this morning and I admired the little bandages covering tiny repaired lips – they looked like mustaches and made me smile.  Underneath those band-aid mustaches were tiny lips sewn together, relieving these children of ridicule and staring while giving them confidence and a smile.  It was brilliant, really and I felt giddy.

I spoke to several patients in Chitonga – which increased my sense of usefulness.  Not knowing Chichewa has been a huge struggle during the week.  I can’t help translate and I can’t provide kind words of reassurance.  I can only stare into the scared, confused eyes of patients and shrug my shoulders at the English-speaking nurses who want to know what’s going on.  However, I found my tribe – Tongas in the hospital!  I found two who thought it was amazing I could speak Tonga (as less than 1% of Malawi speaks this language) and we shared a bond.  I felt relief.

Day 27

Today I got to geek out as I scrubbed into surgery.  I sat in on a little boy with a cleft lip.  They knocked him out with gas, taped down his eyes, marked his lips for the incision, made the cuts, burned the flesh a bit to make the muscles fuse together (like my technical talk?) and sewed him up in 45 minutes.  Incredible! 

After surgery, a little girl in the recovery room reached up in the air and waved for me to come closer.  She just underwent surgery, had no signs of pain or discomfort; she just had her brave face on.  She merely wanted me to be closer and so I said the few words in Chichewa that I knew and she nodded.  Simple and sweet.

Day 28

A man from Dowa district heard about Operation Smile on the radio.  His community has many people with cleft lips and palates but were too scared that it was witchcraft.  He decided to go anyway.  He showed up in the afternoon and was immediately put through screening and operated on and low-and-behold, it was not witchcraft!  

Happy Thanksgiving!  We were treated to Thanksgiving dinner at Blue Ginger by one of the American doctors on the team, Elizabeth.  It was family-style Indian and it felt good to get dressed up for a fun night with good people.  It was a sweet treat and I know we were all grateful for the non-traditional, but very family-like Thanksgiving meal.

Day 29

One patient broke his mirror walking back to post-op.  He was busy gazing at his new smile when it fell from his hand and hit the concrete hard.  The mirror shattered and so did his smile...temporarily.  I picked up the glass pieces and promised to bring him a new mirror.  I returned with a brand-new mirror and caught him gazing at his smile once more with one of the broken shards.  I guess he held on to one of the bigger pieces of the mirror (probably half-expecting me not to replace it) and stuck it in his pocket.  With the new mirror he could see his whole face and that truly made him smile. 

BLTs were served at lunch and I almost wept.  Not to mention the pumpkin pie from the ambassador.  I felt spoiled! 

Dinner and festivities followed at the Crossroads Hotel where I received a certificate, a t-shirt and lots of hugs.  Operation Smile felt like a family.

Day 30

Happy Thanksgiving, again!  Our only day off from the busy week at Operation Smile was a Saturday and so we cooked at Irene’s house: chicken, deviled eggs, veggie salad with ranch dressing, mashed potatoes, stuffing and three kinds of pie (apple, lemon meringue and pecan) with vanilla ice cream.  We went around the table saying what we were most thankful for.  Me, myself?  I am happy and grateful to be having the Peace Corps experience I always wanted and to have amazing friends and family who support and love me.  It was exactly how Thanksgiving day is supposed to go – taking turns cooking in the kitchen while watching the Sandlot and lazily lounging on the couch.  Perfection.

Day 31

Post-op checking on the patients was not as busy as other days, but still rewarding.  We received a letter addressed to all the Operation Smile team members from the patients.  I teared up as I read how happy and grateful they are for having new smiles, more confidence and better lives.  They cheered for us, but I wanted to cheer for them.  One boy held my hand, looked into my eyes for at least one minute while he squeezed my hand.  That minute felt like the most solid connection anyone could have with another human. 

We went back to the hotel for swimming, pizza and beer.  A fantastic way to end one of our last days. 

Day 32

Last day of Post-Op was filled with happy tears – I am so lucky to have shared this experience.  Cheers rang out as patients learned that they could keep the blankets they were using at the shelter during the week.  Who would have thought such a simple gift would bring such celebration?  It reminds me to be grateful always.

Lunch was steak, potatoes and salad at the Copper Pot.  I wanted to yell out a cheer for this, as well. 

 

Thanks, Nici and the whole Operation Smile team for making the PCVs feel welcome!  We were so happy to join you on the very first mission in Malawi.

Thanks to Shelly, Carolyn and Cassie for being such a solid PCV team – you inspire me every day and I feel lucky to work beside you.  I’m proud of who you are and admire your constant enthusiasm.

 

More information on Operation Smile: www.operationsmile.org

Photos by Shelly Whittet: http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10101739854534447.3200117.8603023&type=1

Mid-Term Exam Answers from Form 1

Give examples of characteristics of someone with high self-esteem.

Boredom

Smoking and drinking beer

Laziness

 

What are 3 examples of values?

Right, wrong and idea

You are good, smart and kindness

Aggressiveness

 

What is the definition of qualities?

When something looks very attractive or beautiful.

 

Believe it or not, this answer was written on another exam – so I got suspicious and sure enough found some cheaters!  Hey, cheat off someone who knows the answers at least!

 

What are examples of skills?

Preying

 

I suppose it’s actually ‘praying’ but I like the idea of these kids ‘preying’

 

What is assertiveness?

Feeling of people worth

The process of doing people in society community

 

Two disadvantages of low self-esteem?

Kindness and workness

And...in an essay not related to this exam at all, one student answered the question of why water is important:

“Water is used for washing clothes.  People look attractive because of water.”

 

My job is a joy!  Stay tuned...final exams are in a month!

Happy Thanksgiving from Lilongwe!

This Thanksgiving I was given the opportunity to volunteer with Operation Smile in Lilongwe for the week.  Having had the most amazing Thanksgivings with family and friends back home, it's difficult to duplicate that here so I focused on being grateful and making other families happy.  I don't have many skills in life, but making people laugh is one of the few and I'm pretty good at cracking up my village - whether or not it is on purpose.

So, without further ado, bring on the smiles!

Letters from USA

I have received letters from students through the Coverdell School Program and I must say these are some of the best letters I’ve received while I’ve been here.  I will enclose some of the golden points that these students make.  One set of letters is from a middle school I visited before I left for Peace Corps and the other set of letters is from a class to whom I have been writing letters from a school I once attended.  So without further ado, I leave you with some priceless gems.

“Thank you for coming in to speak to our class about the Peace Corps.  Personally, it is something I would never do, so it’s a good thing you’re doing it.  You’re probably really tan right now.”

“What are you having to eat there?  Is it at least good-tasting?”

“So, I hope everything is well and I hope you’re doing okay.  But when you come back you should bring me a souvenir so I can have something to keep from there.” – ironically, this letter wasn’t even signed so I don’t know who I should give this souvenir I bought…

“Thank you for coming into our class to teach about the Peace Corps.  I always thought helping the less fortunate wasn’t my thing, but now I find it interesting and maybe I will try it out.”

“Dear Ms. Ackerman, how are you?  I don’t imagine you will return my letter but I do think a letter from home will keep you better sane.”

“Sorry when you came to our class everyone was so dumb.  Peace Corps sounds awesome!  Crap, this takes 4-6 weeks to get to you? That’s ridiculous.”

“You better be getting your tan on! [insert hearts and smiley faces] If you want me to send you American food, I will.  Hope nothing bad happens to you, even though I only met you one time.  Stay safe.”

“If you are not aware of the positive difference you are making in multiple people’s lives then let me tell you that you have inspired me and all you did was give a speech, so I can only imagine how you will inspire others on your mission.”

 “How is it working for the Peace Corps?  I want to get into computer animation myself.”

“I hope you are enjoying your luxurious stay in Malawi. I’m pretty sure in South Africa you are worth more than 4 goats so if you need a confidence boost, that’s your ideal vacation location.” – in school, this class learned about the Malawian custom of buying a wife for 4 goats…several students asked me if I had ever been courted for 4 goats

“Is there a McDonald’s?  That would be funny.”

“First thing that comes to mind is WOW! Or DANG! And WOW again. It surprises me that a past student is doing such extraordinary things like that.  It kinda makes you sound (no offense) old or dead, again no offense.  The only reason I say that is when our teacher read that letter that you wrote, I didn’t think someone young would do something like that.”

Stay tuned for upcoming blogs where I answer questions from this awesome kids!  There are some good ones…

Overfilling with awesome

Previous days that were awesome:

1-4
5-8
9-14
15-19

Awesome Day #20

Today was a 2 for 1 special of Awesomeness. 

First, I wrote a grant for the nursery school at Machilika Village.  We need 100 meters of plastic to cover the roof before we use thatch so that we can be sure there are no leaks for rainy season.  A simple enough fix, we just need the money.  I wrote and submitted this small grant through the APCD Fund to our stand-in APCD at 10:41 am.  I received feedback at 11:15 am confirming the grant has been approved and the money will be in my account during the next pay period.  I was blown away at the speed that this went through – I jumped for joy!

Secondly, I received a sweet surprise!  I guess you could call us a Glee Club or cheerleaders of the hospital.  We’re a welcome committee, feel-better-soon-candy-striper-type group.  I knew we were going to visit Howa who was recently bitten by a snake so I was ready to meet with her, show her some love and pass along some nsima flour.  I bafa’d, put on a black shirt and my women’s group purple and gold matching chitenje and went to Ama Chimbutu’s house to meet with the women’s group (all that Ama Chimbutu asks of me is to please look nice...)  I got there and Ama Chimbutu told me to go back to my house.  So I did, confused.  Ten minutes later the whole group showed up to give me a huge bowl of rice and to wish me well.  They were so cute and sweet!  They wanted to make sure I was feeling better (not to go into gory details, but I’ve had a bad case of the di-di for days and of course everyone knows).  It was so generous and thoughtful, I feel so lucky to be a part of such a kind community.  Best of all, the women joke with me.  I feel less like an outsider these days and it’s such a wonderful feeling. 

Day 21 of Awesome

Field Trip!  Form 4 went on a field trip to Dwangwa to visit the Ilovo Sugar Factory.  We loaded up the mini bus (which was only an hour late) and all the students began singing and cheering and chanting “Form Fourlo” over and over.  When we got to the factory we watched a video (twice because we “needed to really appreciate sugar” says the tour guide) and then we went on the factory tour which lasted nearly two hours.  We split into groups and my group of 10 just so happened to be some of my favorites (are you allowed to have favorites when you’re a teacher?) because they are the sweetest – making sure I got a chance to look at the machinery and explaining things to me (a lot of the tour was conducted in Chichewa) and of course, ensuring I received the complimentary handfuls of sugar (we received one handful of brown sugar, one handful of white sugar, a dollop of syrup, a pinch of powdered sugar, plus any bags of sugar that broke during packaging were free game).  After the tour, we waited for the second group to finish where we played outside – taking photos and raising havoc (I probably should not be a teacher in real-life – I break too many rules).  We went on a brief tour of the sugar cane fields where workers showed us how they irrigated the land – really interesting, but a lot of the students headed back to the bus early as their sugar rushes were starting to wear them down.  Just a fun-filled day with my favorite kiddos, what can I say?!

Awesome Day #22

Elizabeth came to my site to lead two women’s health sessions where we discuss feminine hygiene and created reusable pads.  In Malawi, there are almost no resources in villages for women who are menstruating.  The products that are available are usually in bigger towns and are expensive.  Because of this, many girls miss school when they are on their monthly gem.  Elizabeth did some research and found some great patterns and organizations that have started hygiene programs for girls.  She is a phenomenal teacher with incredible enthusiasm.  The first meeting was Friday afternoon and only four women showed up, but they were eager to learn.  They were not embarrassed to ask questions and they were kind enough to help me with my sewing.  It was a lovely day and afterwards, Elizabeth and I were just so pumped we celebrated with a visit to the market with Ama Chimbutu where the three of us bought dresses and shirts and made a big scene.  Plus an amazingly unhealthy dinner of home-made brownies and wine – we worked hard, we deserved it!

Day 23 of Awesome

To piggyback on yesterday, three of the women who came to the training showed up for the Saturday morning training designated for secondary school girls (most were from my Girls Club).  Eighteen girls came (almost completely on-time!) and listened excitedly as Elizabeth worked her magic at the front of the room.  They were engrossed in the lecture and participated after a few jokes broke the ice.  The girls began sewing diligently right away – most of them have been sewing for years so it was just a matter of learning the pattern.  The women who came the day before were helpful in getting the materials organized and all the girls to finish well-before lunch time.  They sang as they sewed (mostly GLOW songs, as the two girls I sent were big leaders in organizing this training) and helped each other – it was such a whirlwind experience being surrounded by these happy girls who were making products that will keep them from being absent from school.  We have already started planning more trainings (as soon as I can get some materials) and we’re considering making a small business out of it. 

But that’s not all!  Steven returned from the Peace Corps sponsored natural medicine (anamed) training that I sent him to at the beginning of the week.  He got off transport and met me straight away.  He showed me his books (some of which he won for being the best participant at answering questions correctly) and posters.  We discussed some ideas – he was so excited – and then he went to talk to the Medical Assistant in charge of the hospital.  In thirty minutes he returned to tell me: 1) we were given a plot of land near the borehole where we can start our demonstration garden and 2) he has a friend who will build a fence for the garden for free.  He is on his game!  Then I heard from the leaders of the anamed training that Steven was an all-star and everyone really enjoyed him.

So pad trainings and anamed trainings are what I have to look forward to next!

 

5 more AWESOME days!

Awesome Day #15

A brief trip to Nkhata Bay for a re-stock, project shopping, ample time on free internet and of course some tasty cuisine left me feeling happy and full.  I spent the morning at Nkhata Bay Honey Producers packing honey with Christian, George and Lesnsen at the honey co-op.  At 8 am, the little room was already boiling since we had to keep the doors and windows closed to keep bees from smelling the sweet treat and crawling into our jars.  We made an assembly line:  George tested and cleaned the honey (that had already been boiled the day before), Lensen bottled the honey by pouring large buckets into a bucket with a spout, I helped with sealing jars, Christian fixed the jars that I was sealing and then I moved on to labeling with stickers (way more fun).  It was really cool to see the whole process from start to finish and after an hour I realized we had a lot further to go to be ready for the next honey sales trip to Lilongwe.  We bid adieu to the hard-working co-op (as others arrived and we had business to take care of) and headed into town.  We met up with Ian for lunch at our favorite restaurant followed by some cold beer at Aqua Africa, a diving joint on the water with a gorgeous view and free wi-fi!  I took advantage of the free internet getting as much work done as possible (success – I may have everything lined up for Operation Smile – more information coming soon!) and then we headed to a place called Kaya Papaya, where Bloody Marys and Mojitos are just 500k on Fridays.  Conversation was lively with the boys and I was feeling so great about getting my work done!  We moved on to Mayoka, a lovely lodge where the owners Katherine and Gary welcome us like family.  We met up with Stacey, Rob, Mike, Ryan, Adam and Nelson for braai dinner – all you can eat bbq with tasty salads made from their vegetables from their garden – such a treat!  I talked with Nelson, who runs the Natural Medicine trainings.  He is such an amazing soul – we talked about artemesia and how he is looking for some people to continue his work in the North.  I can only hope – it’s really incredible.  My favorite part of the night was when Christian and I sat with Katherine and Luani, her recently adopted son.  He is adorable and really adjusting well to his new life – looking healthy and happy.  Katherine radiates joy and it’s so great to talk with her.  Good friends and good food!  I was stuffed and pleased and as were we getting ready to go, Gary said he wanted to pay for our tab.  Christian and I argued that we couldn’t accept that, but he insisted and wouldn’t let us leave if we did pay.  Grateful, as always, Katherine and Gary are too good to us, we promised we’d be back soon.  Of course we would – Friday Braai day is my favorite!  A wonderful day had by all.  I love successful work/play days!

Day 16 of Awesome

A day of taking it easy – Christian came back to my house so he could travel to Blantyre the next day.  We lounged at my house, eating junk food (which I bought in town – my favorite treat to myself) and watching funny movies.  It was a nothing day, but a lovely day nevertheless.  I like just sitting with my best friend and vegging out.  I feel like we don’t do this often enough!

Awesome Day #17

I never quite know what to do with my Girls Club.  I usually wing it that day.  As 2:00 was approaching, I decided to make some play-dough: 3 cups flour, 2 cups water, 1 cup salt and a few drops of food coloring (I had pink and blue).  Now how do I make this educational?  By talking about vaginas, of course!  I outlined a quick lesson on women’s health – I pulled out my drawings of a vulva and uterus that I had been diligently working on for days.  When the girls came, I gave them a thorough lesson on women’s health, including menstruation (as we will be making reusable menstrual pads next week) and then we finished the lesson by molding vulvas and vaginas out of play-dough.  Do you know how fun this is?!  One girl giggled for 5 minutes saying she was so happy and I asked why and she said “I am making a vageena!”  They were able to label and explain the parts after they finished sculpting and took time to draw the diagrams in their notebooks that we created last week.  They were so proud of their body parts (as they should be!) and I emphasized that this is their property.  No one can try to abuse their property.  Sex should wait and you should never feel pressured.  We practiced saying no to unwanted sex and then it was time to go.  A classically awesome Girls Club winging, if I do say so myself.

Day 18 of Awesome

I met with Machilika Nursery School to check on their progress.  A few days earlier I dropped off sheet plastic that would be used in creating a waterproof roof.  We tried to get metal sheets for the school building, but it looked like the building would need to be re-built in many ways to hold the sheets so a temporary fix will be the plastic sheeting.  It turns out, they have made little progress, as fertilizer was distributed in my community and many people went right to farming (completely viable excuse and I do not hold it against anyone) so the roofing has been suspended.  It was no problem for me.  An excuse to play with the kids?!  I taught them “head, shoulders, knees and toes” the last week and they remembered it and sang it to me.  They taught me some games in Tonga, mostly shaking your booty and singing and clapping.  They also like “duck, duck, goose” which was a huge hit.  They like playing games in English – they’re so eager to learn!  In just one term, they are incredibly fast learners.  This has been my favorite project so far.

Awesome Day #19

Ama Chipalasa asked me to come over to show her how to cook something that she received that had directions written in English.  When I got there, I was surprised to see an MRE from the Malawi government (given to police during trainings – Ada Chipalasa’s cousin is a police officer who passed it off to him).  Oh wow, this is going to blow your mind.  I explained to her that not all American food is like this (even though a stamp with the American flag and “made in USA” was written all over the package) and we do cook in real-life.  I followed the directions – open package, add water to water-activated heat source, insert food package, wait for 10 minutes.  Ama Chipalasa giggled.  Ada Chipalasa was skeptical.  Ten minutes later, I pulled a steaming plate of food from a plastic bag.  They clapped and e tasted our beef and rice dish.  "So delicious, so delicious" – they couldn’t stop swooning over it.  Fula, their child, came running back and forth from playing with her friends to grab more bites.  She sang “Chop my Money” and danced around with meat sauce all over her face.

The best part?  The conversation!  Great news – most people do not transfer during rainy reason because they do not want all their furniture getting wet.  So if they do not get a truck to Dwambazi from Lilongwe in the next few weeks, there won’t be a transfer!  That means, Ama Chimbutu, Ama Chipalasa and Mrs. Nkhosi will be staying here with me until the end of rainy season, which is roughly when I will be heading back to America anyway.  Call me selfish, but I want this!  However, with the rains comes disappointment – I need that roof on the nursery school and I need to build 60 pit latrines pronto.  This rainy season is a double edge sword!

Awesome Days 9 - 14

Day 9 of Awesome

As I’ve mentioned numerous times, traveling is never fun.  It’s difficult, often time-consuming and exhausting.  I traveled back with a friend from VSV and I must say, we were just on the same page – it was excellent!  We woke up early, hopped on a mini bus to the M5 hitching point and got a ride right away.  We ate snacks, we chatted up our Malawian friends and – the best part – we got home just after lunch – unheard of!  Just a solid day of sitting in the back of a truck with the wind in our hair and the sun shining on our faces.  Home sweet home! 

Awesome Day #10

Girls Group Sundays are some of my favorite days in the village lately.  Although not timely, the girls do enjoy meeting and chatting about different topics – women’s health, sex, baking, everything!  I let them choose the topics and we go from there.  I like having arts and crafts, especially.  These girls are incredibly creative.  This week I put on some Girl Talk and we be-bobbed while we made journals.  I bought some inexpensive notebooks and had the girls decorate the outside with construction paper, pipe cleaners, pictures cut from magazines and glitter.  When more girls came and a lot of the materials were used up (sometimes they layered the stickers on thick – stickers upon stickers covered from top to bottom), I decided to recycle some of my greeting cards from family and friends.  I figured I probably wouldn’t pack them to bring home and the girls always admire them hanging on my walls, so I cut out the images of kittens and flowers and hearts and put them on the table for the girls to use.  They chose not to use the pretty images, but glued those pretty card sides down so that the messages were face-up on their covers.  I thought it was an innocent mistake, but then I realized it’s even more special - six girls have letters written by my loved ones on the covers of their notebooks for all to see.  For some reason, that makes me really happy (I hope no one minds that I recycled my cards – they went to a good cause)!  And the best part, everyone cleaned up the mess they left behind.  My house was almost spotless when the girls left excitedly with notebooks in hand.    

Day 11 of Awesome                                                                      

I heard women mid-day singing and hooting it up as they walked by my house.  I knew something was up with my women’s group, so I grabbed my matching Women’s Group chitenje and followed the sounds.  They were meeting outside Ama Chipalasa’s house under her big mango tree.  I had heard rumors that her husband was transferring and it was only a matter of days when they would be leaving. The night before she gave me a drinking glass to remember her and I was filled with so much sadness – “So it’s true?!” I asked her in Tonga and she said she would miss me very much. 

I sat down next to the other women on reed mats as their singing died down.  They passed around a giant bowl full of mangos soaking in water.  Each woman took a turn in saying good-bye.  My Tonga lacks everything I wanted to say to this woman, so I kept it simple: “I will miss you so much.  You are a good friend and you made me pretty because you braided my hair.”  I handed her a chitenje I bought in the market.  It was teal and green and one of my favorite designs.  I showed her how I had two – one for her in Malawi and one for me in America.  She laughed and slapped my hand hard.  Then someone yelled “DJ! Za kuno!”  (DJ! Come here!)  and music started belting from inside her house.  It was “Chop my Money” the most played song in Malawi right now.  I love it – it has a great beat – but if I hear that song one more time...

The DJ cranked the song as we danced around Ama Chipalas throwing money at her (it’s tradition and it looks exactly how I said it – we throw money at people [usually in a basket] who are celebrating, dying, marrying, leaving, etc) and passing her gifts of buckets and a chitenje – all purchased by the women in our group.  The music stopped and we said some more good-byes.  Someone yelled DJ again and the same song started again...on repeat.  And we danced some more, each woman singing the words as she shuffled back and forth with their children bopa’d on their backs or stomping in the sand next to them.

The best way to go away is to have a party like that one.

Awesome Day #12

Teaching became one of my most favorite things over night.  I have my good days and bad days but most days are really amazing.  I walk out of the classroom feeling great – and truly most students get “it” – the ones who don’t are struggling with English and with practice they will do better next term.  This day was exceptionally good.  Participation was high, my students were on-point and paying attention – it was just a nice day.  The best part?  As I walked out of the classroom thinking, hey, not bad, Teach, one student ran up to me, shook my hand and said “Thank you so much, madam.  We are so lucky to have you as our teacher.  You teach very nice things.”  It feels good for a pat on the back!

13^th Day of Awesome

I was invited to a birthday party from one of the women in the women’s group.  I had never been to a birthday party in Malawi – I never knew they celebrated – so I was excited to go.  The party was next door to a grocery store.  There was a DJ with large speakers and the room was decorated with toilet paper streamers.  There was a large room filled with chairs and little kids synchronized dancing.  I showed up over an hour late, yet I was still early.  The kids danced for a while but they seemed bored so I started a game of musical chairs.  It was a hit! 

When more people arrived, the MC (yes, there was an MC at a 6-year old’s party in my village) started the festivities.  We sang “Happy Birthday” several times to Shakira and then she stood at the front of the room with a basket.  We took photos (there were two photographers!) and I was in a lot of the pictures (I guess because I’m the clown at this party – awkward, but whatever floats your boat.  I will happily play the part of the token azungu).  The MC called out names of people to go to the front and pass along money and gifts.  Music played (Guess what song? “Chop my Money!”) as people danced to the front and threw money at this little 6-year-old with a purple bow in her hair.  She looked bewildered.  This took almost 2 hours.  Then her mother cut the cake and we passed around cake and mandasi and fantas.  Sugar-rushed and sweaty from the lack of ventilation in the room plus intense dancing, I walked home with my women’s group friends.  We chatted and laughed and I felt so lucky to be a part of this amazing community.

Day 14 of Awesome

More school stories!  In my Form 3 Life Skills class, we are talking about Stress and Anxiety.  My students can babble off all the buzz words they need to know for the exam (Come on, they’ve been learning this stuff since 5^th grade!) so I like to throw them an actual skill for life (that’s what life skills are all about – so important to teach the skills of life)!  Pumped from my VSV meeting the week before where we learned how to meditate, I decided to try it on my class.  I explained the process and my students were skeptical.  I began.  “Close your eyes, but don’t fall asleep!  Keep your head up, good posture and focus on your breathing.  Don’t think of anything else, just breathing.”   My students giggled and chatted amongst themselves.  I made them open their eyes, shake out the sillies, told them to stop being rude, and they apologized, so we began again.  This time, it was silent.  I let five minutes go by and then told them to open their eyes slowly.  Some of them gasped “Whoa!” and they looked around the room, stunned at how peaceful they felt.  We talked about it – one student wondered if it was dangerous – could he suffocate?  I said no, as long as you keep on breathing.  He seemed reassured.  They all said they would like to try it again.  They were so pleased with the exercise and I was impressed with how open they were to learning it.  I love my job – watching the amazing happen right before my eyes!

Days 5-8 of Awesome

180 Days of Awesome continues!  I'm finding myself very much at peace as these next five months fly by.  Taking in the sights, sounds, smells and love from everyone around me...one day at a time!

(Check out Days 1-4)

Day 5 of Awesome

I woke up early to lesson-plan for school and realized I had to give an exam on Friday.  Reviewing for exams has always been tricky – grades, homework and tests are not really emphasized like they are in the States.  So I took a deep breath and decided to wing it.  This is not typical Kathi behavior – I recently started winging it and have found that many things turn out just fine, but I’m also a basket-case waiting to see the results of the winging.  Just as my class finished greeting me and I told them to sit down, the panic set in.  In seconds I was at the blackboard writing out teams and creating a game.  The students were intrigued – quietly whispering (amazing!).  I just let it happen.

The game was simple.  Each Team (8 teams of about 10 students) had the chance to earn points by answering a question correctly.  If that team could not answer the question completely, the next team could take the points if they could answer.  Not complicated and not very exciting, in my opinion, however, the energy in the room was like that of the Price is Right.  I’m sure if Bob Barker was around, he would have been impressed.  The best part was, they knew the answers to most of my questions and always attempted to answer some of the trickier bonus round questions.  I was so happy to see that someone was paying attention!

I walked out of the classroom at the end of the class (students begging me to continue playing) feeling recharged – like I was the one who won the game.  I have so much fun with my students and I know this is what I will greatly miss when I go home.

Awesome Day #6

Traveling to Lilongwe is never a fun journey – unless you have the cutest 3-year old as your travel companion (truly)!  My neighbors asked me to take their daughter, Rehanna, down to Lilongwe with me.  Since she’s little, she can sit on my lap on any type of transport for free.  I agreed, hesitating at the many worries that come with travel.  What if the bus doesn’t come?  Will we try to hitch to the city? 

The morning we were to leave on the 5 am bus, my neighbors had set their clocks incorrectly and were running 30 minutes behind.  We ran to the bus depot (Rehanna on her dad’s shoulders, her mom with a suitcase on her head and me booking it as soon as I heard an engine start) and I was mildly surprised to see a bus (it is literally a 50/50 chance – I’ve taken the bus as many times as it has just not shown up) and rushed on to grab a seat (what?! It’s on-time, too!?).  Rehanna had a few tears before saying good-bye, but as soon as I let her listen to my mp3 player, she fell fast asleep.  She sweetly slept on my lap for hours, resting her head on my chest, it was peaceful.  I bought her treats (I couldn’t say no!): fanta, cookies, chocolate, chips – she was buzzing on sugar for a while and we had many a bathroom break.  We only had one bus break down about half-way to Lilongwe and we waited for almost 3 hours for her grandparents to pick her up (another story altogether) but she got the chance to meet some amazing Peace Corps Volunteers in Lilongwe who spoiled her with love and we had a good time dancing to music and washing our hands (I made her do this constantly – she couldn’t keep her finger out of her nose).  It was weird playing mom.  I think I did a good job for my practice run.

Day 7 of Awesome

After a busy and exciting meeting of VSV (Volunteers Supporting Volunteers), I was feeling quite drained.  The rain was coming down hard in Lilongwe so Ellie, Mary, Katie and I decided to splurge on some cheese and make paninis at the lodge for dinner.  It was quite the treat – cheese, French bread, tomatoes and a zany spread that Katie shared with us – delightful!  There’s nothing like cooking a tasty meal with your best friends and devouring it over chit-chat and laughter.  I sat there with a full belly and three lovely ladies and felt grateful to have found such amazing people on my adventures.

Awesome Day #8

A full day of VSV with an incredible vibe!  The energy was incredible – we have some amazing new members who have so much to contribute to the changes we want to implement at VSV.  I was impressed with everyone’s input and left feeling giddy about our upcoming plans.  We received trainings in meditation, grief counseling, cognitive therapy, assault, active listening – plus, so many great ideas for spreading the word about VSV and training other PCVs on these issues.  That night, we ate family-style at a fancy restaurant.  I was so happy to be with these positive, excited VSV members – it’s an honor to work with so many great people.

**** my Peace Corps Life

Dear Fellow PCVs,

Check out: http://www.fmpcl.com/

A humorous little ditty from PCVs all over - enjoy!