Halva- quite possibly my fave Moldovan snack

Oh Halva, how do i love thee??!!! Enough to post you on our blog and sing songs of your praises!!

Mama-G introduced me to halva a few months ago, and i've been hooked ever since! It's not original to Moldova...i think it's a Middle Eastern treat! It's delicious! This is the 1st time i've seen it in a tub, usually Mama-G brings a block of it home in a plastic bag, similar to produce plastic bags in The States. 

I've heard there are different types of halva, so maybe how this one is more uniquely Moldovan is cuz it's made out of sunflower seeds!! That's basically all it is - sunflower seeds mashed into a paste-like consistency (although much dryer than paste) that is very slightly sweetened. 

When i 1st saw it, it didn't look appetizing. It looks like dirt and grass (and even has a dirt-like texture) predigested in a cow's stomach that it's since pooped out...but if you know me, you know i'll try almost anything, so i didn't even hesitate in trying this...and it was one of the best culinary decisions of my life! 

My favorite is coming home from school and having it with a cup of coffee. It's the perfect match because of the coffee's bitterness and the halva's very slight sweetness!! 

As you can see in this picture, i've already taken a few bites from it...that was yesterday...today it is over half gone! It's always "just one more bite (sip coffee), just one more bite (sip coffee), just one more bite (sip coffee)..." 

Care Package Love

I just picked up two care packages from the Post Office. One was sent in October and we were worried it would never arrive, but it made it. It's a Christmas miracle! The other was sent in November. So the average is still about three weeks for a package to reach Malawi.

So what was inside? Tea and almonds and instant oatmeal and chapstick and a ton of school supplies which I can use with my Malaria Education Club. And a lot more. But I can't think about all of that because I am distracted by this:

That's right-- real dark chocolate. 72% cacao. That is the first dark chocolate I have had in months. And it is just as good as I remember. And I haven't seen chocolate chips anywhere in Malawi, so these are like gold. If gold came in tiny edible morsels. I can't decide if I should try to make cookies on my hot plate or just keep eating them plain. (Cuz you'll notice there is a little tear in the corner where I opened the bag immediately upon spotting them. I am only human after all.) Also, holiday peeps! I've got big plans for these festive little treats.

Thank you SO much, Mom! I love you : )

Tea Break

I spent all of last week and a bit of this one in Peace Corps trainings. And if you go to a meeting in Malawi, there will be breaks. And they will be called Tea Breaks. And they are wonderful.

We had two tea breaks everyday (plus our three square meals). It was a LOT of food and drink. Which is probably why I started to get sick around Day 4, and still feel a bit off today. But I am digressing and you don't want to hear about my intestinal issues. You want to hear about tea breaks!

So most breaks, even at school, are referred to as tea breaks. That doesn't mean there will be tea though. At my school there is usually hot water, sometimes sugar. Which is fine with me since it was way too hot last term to drink tea at school anyway.

At meetings and workshops though, tea break is a serious business. There will usually be tea, Ricoffy instant coffee, Fanta and at the swanky places, Coca Cola. To go with your drink, there will be some type of snack meat (they served gizzard once this week) and a small pastry.

Black tea and a real biscuit

Instant coffee and "cake"

Even the bus I took to Lilongwe last week had a little tea break, with a drink and this little snack of chicken, a muffin and a mandazi (like a donut hole):

With beverages served at every meal, I was getting super caffeinated so I had to cut back to two cups a day by the end. But now I'm home so I'm back to water and a morning cup of joe. Except this coffee is special, as it was a gift from a PCV up North. He brought us all local Malawi coffee at our training as a Christmas gift. Thanks, Kade!

Blantyre

I just returned from Blantyre, one of the three largest cities in Malawi. It is in southern Malawi so it's my closest one.

Going to the city after living in the village is a bit of a shock. There are stores and restaurants and cars and a lot more people and noise than I am used to. But the toilets and running water are nice... when they work.

Here is a blurry photo I took while we were moving through Blantyre. I know it is a terrible photo, but it's hard to take photos when walking around. I usually try to keep my phone put away when we are in the city.

My favorite part about Blantyre is meeting up with the other PCVs. I've made lots of friends and acquaintences in the village, but nobody understands quite like a fellow PCV. And our favorite thing to do when we get together is eat! On Saturday we went to this amazing Indian food place where I had chana masala, garlic naan and this spicy cheese ball thing that tasted amazing! Full disclosure: I have eaten chana masala at that place three times in the past two weeks. It is that good. There also may have been a mango lassi involved.

My favorite thing to eat when we go out is pizza. I miss pizza so much! You can get pretty good pizza in Malawi if you go to the right places. Although admittedly my standards are a bit lower now. Here is a spicy veggie pizza I had last Sunday.

Love the thick crust. Yum!

After pizza we went out for gelato. That was kind of a big deal because you can find ice cream in the cities, but usually it is soft serve only. Which I do like, but it's not available in flavors like cookies and cream or mint chocolate chip. The gelato was really good, but then I was soooo full. Luckily we had a long walk back to our hostel. During which time it began to rain. But I had a hot shower waiting for me so I was happy.

Malaria Training

Today I finished my two day malaria training in Blantyre. I attended with a counterpart, a teacher from my school. The best PC projects always have a counterpart because we are supposed to focus on sustainability and capacity-building. After all, PCVs will only be here two years. If we want real change to happen, it has to be through the work of the people that live here.

The training was really great. I learned a lot about malaria, I learned about a planned mosquito net distribution that will be happening in Malawi next year, and they gave me a ton of activities to bring back to my school and village to help educate my community about malaria.

We watched this short video about the history of malaria. I learned a lot in just three minutes:

http://vimeo.com/m/17865263

My counterpart and I decided to start a malaria education club at our school next term. We'll meet once a week afterschool  to do a number of activities, like singing songs, making a book that can be read to primary school students, taking a survey about bed net usage, doing some grassroots soccer malaria activities and teaching then about bed net care and repair. It should be fun and educational, and I am really excited to start!

By the way, I need stickers for one of the activities I want to do with the kids, but I can't find any locally. So if you feel like sending me any, it would be much appreciated! All kinds would be great-- butterflies, rainbows, cartoons, cars, words, letters, anything. Zikomo kwambiri!

Lumini de Crăciun (Christmas lights)...Moldovan style

Today my partner teacher told me to go to the Primăria (Mayor's Office) at 5pm for the "foarte frumos" ("very beautiful") lighting and decorations...so i went...and this is what i saw:

I was expecting a lot of people gathered around with a possible speech from the Mayor...not so much...no one else was there (not even my partner who told me to go) and what you see in the photo is the whole shabang! Kinda funny. ;op ...O ya, and my partner told me to bring my camera, so i did! :oD

Had to add my gloved peace sign bunny ears for the occasion! ...and ya, it's this dark at 5pm...it's actually dark by 4pm, and it's only getting darker earlier...

mmmmmm...gwoodness from home :-)

Yesterday and today i've had the priviledge of eating super delicious wild rice and green lentils from HOME! Thanks to my very wonderful, thoughtful dude at home! Mama-G was away for a couple days, so i got to make my own food...and it was sooooooooooooooo good! And i ate it completely PLAIN...no oil, no salt, no sugar, no butter...NOTHING! And o how gwood it was!! Thanks babe!! :o]