I've been living at site for almost a week and still have a week to go before school starts. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate having ample time to get settled, and having been sick most of the week I'm very glad school did not start right away...but the idleness is letting homesickness creep in. So it's time for a blog post to let those people at home that I've been thinking about so much know what I've been up to!
After my last post, which was during site visit, I returned to home-stay for a few more weeks. I think it was a little weird for all of us to go back to being kids when we were all so ready to start the real work and live as independent adults, but aside from that, the last few weeks were great. We spent a lot of time with friends, and felt less obligated to spend time at home with our families. In my case, my family was reduced to my abambo and his brain-damaged brother-from-another-mother, seeing as how my amayi walked out on him and took her kids while I was gone. (Abambo was really not too torn up about it. I think some Malawians marry for love, but this was definitely just a marriage of convenience; something like a business agreement.) So while I love my abambo, I was not too keen on spending unnecessary time at home with two older men...I don't think the chief even knew about my situation, or I for sure would have been forced to move.
Then last week, after passing all our end-of-training assessments and bidding farewell to the families and the villages, we packed up everything we had and went to Lilongwe for swearing in and the all volunteer conference. Most swearing-in ceremonies are done in the home-stay villages, so being sworn in in the capital, with all the current volunteers watching, was really special. Plus, the global director of the Peace Corps personally swore us in. Earlier that day, at one of the conference sessions, she gave a little speech about what it means to be a volunteer, and it was really nice to hear right before taking the oath (which by the way, is the same oath the President takes). Then after the ceremony she personally stood there and handed out cake. I'm definitely a fan of hers; super nice lady.
The next day was the celebration for the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps' service in Malawi. It was held at the state house (aka Joyce Banda's palace) in a tent that could hold two circuses. Her Excellency, the President Dr. Joyce Banda was the guest of honor, while the global PC director, the US ambassador, Vanessa Kerry, and others also spoke.
That night there was a 'no-talent' show at an amphitheater by the hotel bar. It was a great way to be sent off into the world of volunteerhood. My site-mate did a fire dance without catching his dreds on fire, there were guitars and singing, some juggling--exactly the kinds of thing you would expect from Peace Corps Volunteers. Then we partied.
The next morning we were shipped off in groups of 3 to our sites all over the country. The first night, I sat alone in the dark with my headlamp eating carrots and bananas for dinner (which actually I really enjoyed since my diet was like 80% starches/carbs for the last couple months). Since then I've been practicing cooking on my baula (it's like a metal bowl with ventilation that you put charcoal in and rest your pot on top), and it's definitely easier than the three-stone fire I was using at home stay, but I'd still rather use a stove.
Hopefully I will be getting electricity soon, though! The PTA seems very proactive about getting it for the school. They say ESCOM (Malawi's PG&E) keeps giving them lame excuses, so they are going to bring it up to the president when she comes to town.
Today a couple volunteers are going to visit me on their way through town, so that should be nice. And tomorrow I have a wedding to go to! No idea whose, but that doesn't seem to matter...
So that's what's up! Peace!
Are you now living alone or with whom are you living? How large is your school, and how large will your classes be?
ReplyDeleteHi Beth! I am living alone. The school has a few houses set aside for teachers. Once school starts, my neighbors will be self-boarders (students who live too far away to commute every day). The school has 4 classes, each about 70-80 kids, one section per grade. They have 12 teachers, so I won't be teaching too many periods per week, but I want to talk to them about the possibility of splitting up a class or two next year. There are a couple unused buildings that could easily be fixed up into classrooms if they made it a priority and everyone was willing to teach a few more hours. They have a fairly low pass rate for the MSCE, which is like a combination of the high school exit exam and SAT, and I personally believe that halfing the class sizes would help, but it still might be a hard sell. We'll see.
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