Simple pleasures

I've been in Malawi for almost 20 months. This second year has been tough because it is hard not to think about the finish line-- going Home. Especially now that my group received our official Close of Service (COS) date-- July 29th. So the countdown is on!

Still, the best way to be content as a PCV is to stay focused on the present moment. I feel incredibly lucky to have had this opportunity to live and work in Malawi as a PCV. I still have about five months left, and I want to enjoy every moment during the rest of my time here.

Sometimes the work, living conditions, language and cultural barriers can be frustrating. When that happens, it is important for me to take a step back and appreciate the simple pleasures here in Malawi. Things like the neighbor children coming over for English lessons and proudly sharing a new English word they learned in school with me. Or one of my student's asking a really thoughtful question in class. Or being able to buy fresh pineapple in my trading center, and then plant the top in my yard to hopefully grow my own plant. There are so many wonderful things about life in Malawi that I am going to miss when I leave. These simple pleasures make life really special here.

The countdown is on, but I still want to stop and enjoy the sunrises and sunsets while I can. Because they never cease to amaze me.

Sunrise over Mulanje

I woke up at 4:30 this morning to this:

It was a long night on tossing and turning (and sweating) in the heat. You know it's bad when it's not even cool in the morning. It's probably at least 75 or 80 degrees F even at that time.

Recently my PCV friend and I were discussing which was worse, the humidity or the searing heat. The heat from the sun shining all day bakes my brick house so that at night I feel like I am in an oven. When it's humid it is usually more overcast so the walls aren't as hot, but then there is that damp sticky heat that still makes it difficult to sleep. So it's a tie. But it's okay-- Rainy Season is coming!

Besides, if it wasn't so hot I might have slept right through the beautiful sunrise this morning. So there is always something to be thankful for.

How my day started...

God woke me up to this beautiful sunrise this morning! Today is my 1st day back to teaching, and what a wonderful way to start it off right!! Thank You Jesus!!!

This is the view from my closet:

This is my walk to school:

I'm trying some new things this semester. I created a "comportamentul scară" (behavior ladder) and made a "sac bunătăți" (goody bag). There are 10 steps on the comportamentul scară and 5 clothespins - each a different color - representing each of my 5 classes. I explained to them that if they are good in class - meaning they listen, participate, and respect each other - they will go up a step. Once they reach the top, for the next class we will do something fun of their choosing (within reason, of course, and the "fun" class will be decided while they're still on the 1st step) instead of having a lecture. I had 2 classes today - 8th and 5th grades...8th went up a step, 5th remained on the bottom step...sigh. I'm hoping that the obraznic (misbehaved) classes will be motivated to be better once they see the more well-behaved classes moving up the ladder...time will tell.

Then i showed them my sac bunătăți and explained that if one student is particularly good during class, they can pick a surpriză (surprise) from the bag. No one was particularly good today, so it has yet to be utilized, but i have some cool stuff in there ranging from snacks to scarves to soap. Hopefully it too will become a motivation for them to be better behaved...again, time will tell...