Ebola in the News

As you have probably heard, there is an Ebola virus outbreak in Northwestern Africa. Peace Corps Volunteers have been evacuated from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. I will be praying for the people in that region and for those families affected by the outbreak.

Here in Malawi though, there are no cases of Ebola. Malawi is located in Southeastern Africa, which is very far from the outbreak.

If the virus did reach Malawi however, all trainees and volunteers would be immediately evacuated. Peace Corps is closely monitoring the situation and they send us updates. So don't worry, we trainees are okay down here in the warm heart of Africa.

The CDC has more information about the Ebola virus on their website:

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html

Kuyenda ku Malawi

It's week 8 of Pre-Service Training. For the first month my group was transported by Peace Corps vehicles when we needed to visit the Boma (district center) or visit a local Community Day Secondary School. However, I knew the day would come when I had to travel by other means. That day was a couple weeks ago.

After receiving language training in bargaining and transportation, our group split up into pairs during Week 6. Then we were dropped off at various points along a road, in the company of a language trainer. Our task - get to the local msika (market) by catching a ride in a mini-bus. I was so nervous about it beforehand, and when the mini-bus actually stopped it was so chaotic that I forgot to use my Chichewa. It worked out though. My mini-bus partner Bill and I were sandwiched in the second row between the conductor and another passenger, and after about six more stops we reached the market. Success!

Since that day, I have travelled by mini-bus quite a few times, as well as by  several other private transportation methods. (There is no public transportation system in Malawi that I have seen.)

As a Peace Corps Trainee/Volunteer** in Malawi my transportation options are:

- Walk: this is my preferred option, but it isn't practical for longer trips, obviously

- Bicycle: Peace Corps issued my group bikes and gave us training in how to maintain and repair them. I am not really a bicycle person as I prefer to walk most places if I can, but it could come in handy. PCVs are always required to wear a helmet when riding a bike.

- Bike Taxi: this is another transportation method that you see all over Malawi. Typically the bike is decorated with bright colors and there is a cushion on the back for the passenger to sit on. There is also a second set of handlebars for the passenger to hold into, and little footrests, although I heard as you go north it is less likely the taxi will have handlebars. Typically women sit side saddle due to the skirt. I am not that brave though, so both times I rode on a bike taxi, I just sat facing forward and pulled my skirt down over my knees.)

- Mini-Bus: for short to long-distance travel, this is a readily-available option in Malawi. Typically the vehicles are designed to seat 12 people, but they usually have a minimum of 16. I heard the PCV mini-bus record was something like 32, but I'm skeptical. So far mine is 18. At my site this will be my primary travel method besides walking.

- Hitchhike: This is discouraged by Peace Corps except in emergency situations, but in a lot of rural areas this may be the only practical option. Sometimes they let you ride for free, sometimes they might ask for money. It just depends. Regardless, you should always ask before you accept the ride. Hitching here is much safer than in America because it is so common here, but it is always wise to use common sense when employing this option.

- Basi: This is a good option for long-distance travel, and considered very safe by Peace Corps. It is travel by a large private bus. Prices vary, but you get what you pay for. I paid about 3000MK for a bus ride going South to Blantyre, but the bus waited for hours before leaving to fill every seat (and even have people stand in the center aisles). It also stopped very frequently, and didn't really offer any bathroom stops. Going back North, I took another Basi which cost about 6500MK, but it left closer to the actual scheduled time, it had music videos on a TV at the front of the bus (lots of Celine Dion, as per usual in Malawi), and stopped only at a few bus depots so it was much faster. It also made two bathroom stops, although I heard it was less a toilet and more a urination trough for ladies. On bus travel days, it is best to drink minimal amounts of water.

In the last few weeks I have travelled by a variety of different methods. Soon I'll be a pro. While in Malawi I would also like to try traveling by boat (on the lake) and by ox-cart (which is less about function and more just to try it). Special thanks to Ryan, now a RPCV, for showing me the ropes with a few of these travel methods during my site visit. I was really nervous about traveling in Malawi, but he loves it so he was a good person to go around with. I hope I can embrace travel here as well.

**Note - Peace Corps Trainees and Volunteers are not permitted to drive vehicles, nor to ride a motorcycle.

Model School

Last week we started Model School. Each of us trainees teach a 40 minute period everyday for eight days at the local Community Day Secondary School (CDSS). I am teaching Form 3 Biology, which is equivalent to the High School Junior level in the U.S. The topic I was assigned to cover is the human circulatory system. The kids are out of school for the summer, but are voluntarily attending our sessions. My class averages about 40 kids.

The purpose of Model School is to provide training in the classroom before we start our actual teaching assignments. It is a time for us to practice teaching, try new techniques and observe each other. Besides fellow trainees, we are also observed by our trainers, our Resource Volunteers (Hi Susan and Tyler, we miss you this week), and Malawian teachers. I find being observed a bit nerve-wracking, but I've learned a lot from the feedback and suggestions I have received.

Part of what we are practicing is how to focus on student-centered learning. We are encouraged to incorporate critical thinking into our lessons, and to accommodate different learning styles.

We have limited resources, as the school does not have electricity and there are very few supplies, so we have to be creative. We have flip chart paper, a few markers, masking tape, chalk and erasers. The students do not have textbooks, so I have to provide everything including definitions, diagrams and homework questions on the board. I spent a long time drawing a huge diagram of the heart last week. Thank goodness Andrew, my partner in lesson planning, brought markers from home. You can't draw the inside of the heart without red (oxygenated) and blue (deoxygenated).

Since we are teaching our classes in English, which is a second language for the students, we are encouraged to speak slowly and clearly, avoid vernacular, and write things on the board.  That takes a bit of practice as I tend to talk pretty fast, but I'm working on it.

Tomorrow is the last day of Model School. It has been a great experience. I have learned a lot, and I really enjoyed getting to teach the kids in my class. They are smart, hard-working and have been good sports about all the new activities I have been trying out with them. We are going to do a Gallery Walk review tomorrow to go over all the topics we have covered. Hopefully it will be fun and they have learned something too.

Eating like a PCT

Here is a look at a day's menu from homestay in Malawi and homestay in Moldova.

Malawi

In Malawi, the food is heavily salted and cooked with a lot of oil. Sugar is expensive, so my host family uses it liberally in their tea, but otherwise uses it sparingly. Typically my host family adds salt to their food before  eating as well. Sometimes they add hot sauce too.

Breakfast - plain white rice and tea

Snack - plain white rice

Lunch - nsima (maize flour and water cooked into a thick porridge) with boiled greens and chicken

Snack - bread and peanut butter*

Dinner - nsima (maize flour and water cooked into a thick porridge) with boiled greens and chicken.

The nsima is freshly made each meal, while the ndiwo (side dishes) are usually cooked in the afternoon and the leftovers eaten again at lunch.  There is no electricity and therefore no refrigeration, but the ndiwo are covered and placed in a cool room between meals.

* Peace Corps supplies Malawi PCTs with two loaves of wheat bread and one jar of peanut butter each week. This is to supplement the meals provided to trainees during homestay. They also provide some fruit for us trainees, usually bananas, apples or oranges. PC also provides  our host families with chicken twice a week, beef once a week, eggs, soya pieces, sugar and salt. Otherwise we would probably not have much protein during homestay.

Moldova

Breakfast: eggs cooked in pig fat; placinte (pastry) filled with oily pickled cabbage & cheese; bread

Lunch: pasta w cheese swimming, LITERALLY, in oil; bread

Dinner: salad swimming in oil; soup in chicken(?) broth; fish fried in oil & cornmeal; & of course bread

There's a little cup of salt ALWAYS sitting on the table to dip whatever u want in it (which they do to like everything)

Childhood, All over Again

This photo has nothing to do with this post, but I know people like photos so here you go. This is one of the many roosters in the village, which love to start crowing about 3am and continue throughout the day.

Okay, back to the point of this post. Being a Peace Corps Trainee is a bit like being a kid all over again. Let me explain. I live at home, with my (host) family. I have chores, like sweeping and cooking. My amayi often wakes me up in the morning, and tells me when it is time to bathe. The amayis try to get us trainees to walk to "school" (training) together, even though it is only a ten minute walk away. If one of the trainees leaves a little early, the amayis hurry us and tell us we will be late for school. They pack us snacks, and we go home to have lunch. My amayi tells me to sweep my room and my abambo tells me to clean my lantern. Also, I have to ask them if I can go out, and I'm not allowed out after dark. All of this is kind of awkward for an adult in her 30s.

That being said, it is all in our best interest. We are new to this country, this culture and the language. Our host families are teaching us how to live in Malawi, and keeping us safe. I really do need someone to teach me how to cook over an open fire, clean the lantern, carry water on my head and give me an estimate on the price of a mini-bus. The being out after dark prohibition will actually continue during my service too.

So thank you to my host family for helping me learn to live in Malawi. Now I have to go sweep my room.

Happy Independence Day, Malawi-Style

I had my first American holiday here in Malawi. On July 4th we celebrated with a cross-cultural cooking demo here in the village between the American Peace Corps Trainees and our Malawian Trainers and host mothers. We each prepared locally available foods according to our cultures. So us PCTs made guacamole (they grow avocados here, and they are HUGE), mashed potatoes, potato curry, veggie kabobs, fruit salad (they grow bananas here too) and chocolate cake (the cocoa was imported, but it is chocolate so it is okay). The Malawians prepared potatoes in several different ways, including a potato salad with peas that was really good, pumpkin leaves with sinjiro (ground peanut flour), African bread (similar to  cornbread) and lots more. Everything was cooked over an open fire, even the cake (you put the lid on the pot and then put some smoldering sticks on top so it cooks evenly).

The amayis (host mothers) were amazing and even the food we cooked was only possible because of their help. They helped us start our fires, find kindling, and always seemed to know what we needed before we did, whether it was fresh water or a potato peeler. It is like an amayi superpower. So thanks to all the amayis for the delicious food!

Also part of the festivities-- four PCTs slaughtered chickens for the meal. Those chickens ended up on the grill, which was manned by Americans and Malawians. You can see that there are chicken intestines wrapped around chicken feet on the grill. There is also a head too. And no, I didn't try any of that.

Kuno ku Malawi

I've been in Malawi for almost three weeks now. The first week was spent with the other PCT (Peace Corps Trainees) at a training center. Then we relocated to a rural village where we will be spending the remainder of our training.

I am living with a host family in the village. We have no electricity or running water. The house has several rooms, including a living room and a grain storage room. I have my own room, which includes a mosquito net, water filter and a twin-sized mattress, all courtesy of Peace Corps. There are three separate buildings which are all part of the house too. These are the kitchen (with a built in henhouse), the bafa where we bathe and the chimbudzi (pit latrine). Then there is an area for dry corn storage and an elevated pen for the mbudzi (goats).

A typical day starts with kusesa (sweeping) outside. We use branches which have been tied together to make a pretty effective broom. I also sweep my room. My amayi (host mother) is always up first, and has usually already gone to the well and gotten water for us. She usually has the moto (fire) going too, with a pot of water boiling for tea. She heats water for me to bathe each day, so after my chores I take my bucket bath in the bafa. Then I get dressed and have breakfast with her and my achemwali (host sister). My achimwenes (host brothers) have school on weekdays and usually leave before me. Then I head to "class" with the other PCTs. We have class all day, with a break so we can go home and have lunch with our host families. In the evenings I might visit with the other PCTs or spend time with my host family. There is always chimanga (corn) to de-kernel so that is a frequent evening activity for everyone.

Corn is so important in this village. The kernels are ground into flour to make nsima, a staple food. We eat it everyday, usually for lunch and dinner. The corncobs are used to make the cooking fires, or burned for light in the evenings as we work on the corn. Here is a photo goats on a neighbor's maize pile. Goats are everywhere here.

It gets dark at 6:00 so we eat dinner in the light of the lantern. Sometimes we go over my Chichewa lessons together by flashlight and my host family helps me practice. We had fun drawing different animals and labeling them in Chichewa.

Stuff I have done this week: swept, lit the lantern, carried water on my head from the well, washed my clothes by hand, washed dishes with my amayi, helped prepare the nsima and masamba  (vegetables), and stripped countless kernels from their corncobs.

I'm learning a lot, from language and culture to technical training and household tasks. I usually go to bed pretty early, exhausted from the long days. It's challenging, but rewarding too. Sometimes I look around and just wonder at how much my life has changed in just a few weeks. All in all, it's pretty amazing to be here.