my first week

I arrived at my new home on Saturday, August 1, 2009. I started by cleaning each room, then started unpacking and arranging and organizing my stuff. I put up pictures of my family and friends, trying to make it like home. I have settled in well and I started going out to villages on outreach clinics with the hospital staff. I have been perfecting the art of cooking on a charcoal stove...I cook once and eat that food for a day. I have made friends with a few people. My house is the water source for my neighbors and so there are always people outside, coming and going. Last night I woke up to a terrible shaking. at first i thought it was someone trying to get in my house, but then I realized that it was an earthquake! I jumped out of bed and went to stand in the door frame. I had no idea what to expect...I was just hoping that my house did not fall down. Thankfully it stopped after about 10 seconds or so; and I'm glad to say that my house is fine. This caused the dogs to start hawling and I also heard women wailing....I wanted to wail but i was in too much shock! I heard later that it was a shock wave from an earthquake in the Indian ocean that registered around 7 in the rictor scale and that this happens about once a year...so I have a couple more to survive.

Good times

Hey everyone!
I went to visit my site and it went well. My house is nice...I have an indoor toilet and shower! I will live in Mhuju at a rural hospital. I am heading back to Dedza to finish up with training and I will swear in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer on the 29th. I have a PCV about 10K from me and I went to visit her at her house. I will be receiving my mail at the Rumphi District Hospital because the ambulance from Mhuju goes to Rumphi daily.

This morning I ate at this really nice restaraunt....I had a Mushroom omelete, salad, coffee, and potato chips, it was delicous! Last night I had vanilla icecream...mmm...I will take my final language proficiency interview tomorrow ( I'm learning Chitumbuka) so wish me luck!

I have been getting around Malawi pretty well...I got a free ride from Mzuzu to Lilongwe yesterday...and in a few minutes I will be hitching to Dedza.

I miss everyone!

First Few Weeks in Malawi

6/7/09
Today we are moving out to our villages for homestay. The name of my village is Chapatali and there are twelve of us that will be staying there. The other eight people will be living in a nearby village. I received my language assignment yesterday... I will be learning Chitumbuka along with three others: My current roomate Bonnie, Chad ( a nurse), and Ray. Chitumbuka is spoken in Northern Malawi so at least I have an idea of where I will be placed. Bonnie and I might be neigbors! (neighbor is a word usedd loosely here......HAHA)

We went to market to get things for homestay... Such as toilet paper, peanut butter, and Chiterije- a peice of material that has many different uses. My new last name for the next five weeks will be Chimwala - it has a nice ring to it. It is dry season here. The roads are very dusty! Sandy. It has been unussually warm so far - I am waiting for the cold to hit. It is chili after the sun goes down - sweat shirt/pants or leggings needed. The trainers have been very thourough in everything...they even taught us how to make a bed!

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” - Martin Buber

Hi everyone!

I will officially begin my journey with the Peace Corps on May 28, 2009. It has taken a long time to finally get here (I applied in November 2007) but it has been worth it. I received my invitation to serve in Malawi as a Community Health Adviser on January 21, 2009. My staging information arrived in the end of April: I am scheduled to fly in to Washington D.C. on May 28th at 9:10am. I will be meeting the rest my fellow volunteers at registration at 2:00pm where an intense afternoon of training will follow. We will fly out of D.C. Friday evening; arriving in Johannesburg, SA Saturday evening. I am not looking forward to the 18 hour flight. We will spend Saturday night in Johannesburg and fly into Lilongwe on Sunday afternoon. From the Lilongwe airport we will bus to Dedza where our nine weeks of training will begin. The seasons are opposite in Malawi so I will be able to enjoy two winters in a row.

I am currently trying to think of everything that I need to pack...I have lists galore! I have put a pad of paper in my purse so that when I am walking down the street and it starts to rain; I can write down that I need to pack an umbrella. I wish that I could just throw some stuff in and go, like I usually do, but I am packing for 27 months! It is a bit overwhelming, so at times I have to remind myself that if the people in Malawi can live without it so can I.

I cannot wait to discover each secret destination that this journey has in store for me; I am so excited about the change of pace and experiancing the different culture. I will do my best to keep you all updated, whether it be writing blogs or having my family post letters that I send by snailmail.