Papaya Season

The papaya tree in my yard has been bursting with big papayas this year, but so far I haven't had any. I let the kids badger me into picking a papaya they swore was ripe about a month ago, but when we cut into it, it was hard and bitter. When we cut it open, they sheepishly admitted their mistake. It was really cute. They ate it anyways.

When I went away for MST I told my some people they could have any papayas that ripened while I was away, but there was a miscommunication and they ended up eating all the ripe ones for the next few weeks! There's that language barrier again.

That left one big papaya ripening on the tree. I had been watching it to look for colour changes, and I called dibs on it to my neighbors. I saw some orange patches and it felt a bit softer, but I wanted to be sure. Today when my neighbor kids came over they assured me it was ripe and ready to eat.

I took a chance, cut it open and... it was ripe! The knife slid right through, and the fruit flesh was soft and sweet. We ate it right out of the peel with a spoon. Mmmm...

I made them wait and pose for a photo before we started eating.

As we were finishing up, a whole group of kids came by so we let them have the rest. Fanny ate the fruit down to the peel, as we do in Malawi, then decided to wear the peel on her head like a hat. She is so funny!

Tsiku la bwino la Halloween

I love Halloween. Obviously they don't celebrate it here in Malawi though. And while I am all about sharing our American traditions with my Malawian friends, somehow I don't think Halloween would translate. Plus I have been told there is still a belief in witchcraft and magic in a certain part of the population here, so Halloween might get a little too real.

So what's a Halloween-loving PCV to do? Celebrate it in Malawi style!

I give you, the Jack-o-Paw Paw (in Chichewa they call it a papaya, but in English they call it a paw-paw here. Not sure why. I'm just going with it).

And what would Halloween be without a costume? My little care package buddy decided to get into the Malawian-Halloween spirit with a pineapple costume.

Add a Snickers bar from the Boma and my traditional Halloween episode of This American Life (Episode 319, "And the Call Was Coming from the Basement"), and I've got a pretty festive little celebration. I even ate dinner by candlelight so it was kind of spooky.

Now I just need a photo of my adorable niece in her Halloween costume to complete the holiday.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Mwezi Imodzi

It's been just over one month at site for me kuno ku Malawi. What better way to celebrate than with some fresh papaya? I cut open that big pawpaw and ate my fill. Of course, there was still plenty left over to share with my wonderful neighbors. And they in turn shared some nandolo (pigeon peas) with me, which were quite yummy!

In honor of my first month, I also bought a small pot with a lid (see photo). You would not believe how hard it was to find one though. Now I can boil my drinking water in the big pot and cook my oatmeal in the little pot. Ah, simple pleasures!

The heat here in Malawi is getting more noticeable. Even the locals say so. I've been feeling really tired in the afternoons, Iike the heat is sapping my energy. You know it is hot when you go to put your clothes on, and they actually feel warm to the touch.

This is the fourth week of the term for my students. Today I did a plant pigment chromatography activity with the class. We separated the leaf pigments from some local  plant leaves-- papaya, banana, mango and avocado. I had them try to guess the pigments beforehand based on the color of the leaves, then identify the actual pigments based on the what they saw on the filter paper. This is part of our unit on Photosynthesis. We'll be finishing that up next week and then moving on to Transport Systems in Plants. There are a lot of cool activities we can do in that unit too.

My new favorite meal is eggs and toast with sauteed tomato and onion on top. I cannot get enough of this right now. I found a place in my local trading post that had brown bread too, which makes the meal even better. Tastes more wholesome now.

And lastly, a one month at site update would not be complete without a lizard mention. They continue to be active and underfoot. One fell on me yesterday as I was reaching up for something. I think I was just as surprised as he was! I noticed they make this clicking noise sometimes, maybe when they feel threatened. I actually saw two fight a bit in the corner of my bedroom. A lot of clicking and swirling tails, but it was over quickly. And they both scampered away intact. I'm looking at one right now, paused in the act of climbing down my living room wall. Every time I look up he is a bit lower down the wall, but I never see him actually move. Kinda like the Weeping Angels on Dr Who, only not evil. Don't blink!

So far, so good. And off I go for month two...

Hot Season

While the Northern Hemisphere goes into Fall and Winter, it is getting quite warm down here in the South.

In Malawi, they say there are three seasons: Hot season, cold season and the rainy season. And it is officially the hot season. October and November are supposed to be the hottest months, so I am looking forward to that...

I don't have a thermometer, but that is probably a good thing because knowing the number is not going to make me feel any cooler. It's not so bad right now, though I notice I drink more water than a few weeks ago. (Although I really miss ice.)  Mostly it is just difficult to sleep at night. I got a tip from a PCV to sleep with a wet handkerchief over me to cool me off, so I tried that last night. It worked pretty well too.

The heat has some benefits though-- tropical fruit season is coming! I got a bunch of bananas (nthochi) yesterday for really cheap. And my neighbors gave me this from their tree:

Papaya! Now I admit I am not a huge papaya fan, but when in Malawi...

Stay warm, Northerners!