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!
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.
