My Wildlife Sanctuary

My garden is so colorful right now! The marigolds are all blooming in oranges and yellows.

More cucumbers are ready to harvest, and I've got my first peas coming in.

There are all kinds of bugs and birds and reptiles and amphibians hanging out in my yard now. I saw a toad in the grass this morning and a little frog in my garden. Someday I'll post all the cool insect pics I've been taken.

A little songbird was in my yard today. It must have fallen out of it's nest. The neighbor kids were over and saw it first. They immediately went for it, but I know how the kids treat living creatures here, and it is not kind, so I shooed them away from it. They kept sneakily going after it, and told me they cook and eat them! So it was clear it was time for them to go. No judgments about the food choice, but I never let the kids kill or catch anything in my yard. Not spiders or lizards or grasshoppers or bees or now fledgling songbirds like this one.

My yard might be the only safe place for wild creatures in the whole village. It's like my own little wildlife sanctuary.

Lilongwe

I meant to post about Lilongwe while I was there last December for my PC In-Service Training, but for various reasons it never made it to the blog. However, I just passed through there earlier this week on my way back from Camp Sky, so here it is, at long last.

Lilongwe is the capital of Malawi, and is located in the central region. Lilongwe is also the name of the district, which is divided into different areas that are each assigned a number, like Area 25 and Area 23. The city of Lilongwe has government buildings, shopping areas, restaurants, a hospital, hotels and of course the PC Office. It also has lots of outdoor markets and shops.

One of the best things about being in the city for a PCV is the food. Particularly pizza.  This was my first meal when I arrived in Lilongwe last December. It was from Sana, and it tasted as good as it looks.  Which was very good.

The outdoor vegetable market in Lilongwe is amazing. They have everything! Except I don't cook when I am in the city because I am usually staying at a hostel with no kitchen facilities.  Oh well.  It is still nice to look at.

As PCVs we can't afford new clothes from the shops, so we buy used clothes from the markets (although there is a used clothing chain called DAPP that we frequent also). The Lilongwe clothes market is HUGE!  To get there you have to cross a rickety wooden bridge and pay a small fee. Here is a photo I took of the bridge last December.  Back then it cost K20 to cross the bridge.  However, the bridges collapsed during the storms we had in January, so they had to rebuild.  Now it costs K30, and is hopefully much more stable. I walked across it in February and it seemed pretty solid. There were a few wobbly parts though.

Used clothes shopping is more like pile diving. Piles are usually divided by gender and article of clothing.  I was looking for skirts for teaching the last time I was there, but I didn't have any luck that day.  I did find a few cute shirts and blouses though.

You can buy shoes there too, though so far I have only bought cheap, new ones.

Lilongwe also has a wonderful chitenje market.  To get there you have to walk past the clothing market and then wander through a maze of vendors, often jumping over mud puddles and walking through dirty alleys. Good times. But it is worth it. When you get there you see a narrow aisle with a huge selection of chitenjes and the best prices I have seen so far-- K1300 each. The first time I went I bought one to make into a skirt, and one for a PC bandanna swap my group was doing at our IST. (I ended up with some really cool patterns after the swap).

Guess what-- there is ice cream in Malawi! Which is great because it is so hot here. And also because ice cream is delicious. You can find soft serve at a few restaurants, but sometimes you come across something special. Like this place, which has milkshakes!  I can't remember the name of the place, and I only went there once in December, but I definitely want to go back. Here is a photo of me having my first milkshake in Malawi.  (I had been up since 5:30am and spent hours on a bus earlier that day, so I was exhausted, which you can see in the photo.)  All the more reason to enjoy a delicious treat with my PCV friends.

The accomondations in Lilongwe are really nice.  It costs more than the place we stay at in Blantyre, but the rooms have their own bathroom and they have air conditioning. Some even have refrigerators.  I feel like royalty when I stay there.

So going to Lilongwe is a nice treat after being in the village for a while. It's a chance to eat some familiar foods, speak English, hang out with the other PCVs, do some work at the PC Office and just enjoy a hot shower, a clean bed and a toilet. Lilongwe is pretty far away from my site, so I'll probably only go there a few times a year for trainings. But I will definitely enjoy being there when I go.

Happy Equinox

Colii reminded me that today is the equinox. For all you northern hemisphere folks it is the spring equinox, but for us southerners it is the fall equinox. So happy Spring/Autumn to everyone!

Here are the sunrise and sunset times for our PC posts:

Chisinau, Moldova

Sunrise - 6:06 am

Sunset - 6:16 pm

Blantyre, Malawi

Sunrise - 5:43 am

Sunset - 5:51 pm

Garden Goodness

My garden has really taken off. With all the rain, sunshine and manure, my little plants have been really happy here.

I've got my first cucumbers ripening up

And some radishes as well

My marigolds really like growing in Malawi. They are the tallest things in the garden! I expect the first flowers within the next few days

There is a bit of Swiss chard and carrots growing, and the peas are making their way up the wall. I have some volunteers too-- amaranth and something that might be sweet potatoes.

Here is the whole garden in all its wild splendor.

Look, it's the next crop of papayas starting

The other day my neighbor cut the grass near our houses. No lawn mowers here-- he did it all with a machete. These people are amazing! I asked if I could have the grass clippings for my garden (instead of him burning him which is waft would normally happen to the clippings). Now I have a nice mulch to keep my soil cooler on those hot days. Plus it should help with the weeds.

I am already making plans for next year's garden which I'll plant in late November. I want it to be a bit more orderly and I am going to include herbs as well.

The garden also provides lots of wildlife to amuse me. I saw a little toad yesterday, and I've seen tiny frogs in it as well. There are worms in the soil, some ants, lizards and today I found a snakeskin. The kids were all a bit scared when they saw it.

Can you spot the toad in this photo? You can just make out his little eyes.

And that's my little garden. Thanks for the seeds, Paul! I'm putting them to good use.

The joys of travel kuno ku Malawi

The day started off super hot and sunny. It has been like that all week. Not quite Hot Season hot, but walking out in the bright sun is not pleasant, and pretty much whatever I do I will be covered in sweat. There have been some thunder rumbles the last couple days, but no accompanying rain.

So off to the Boma I went this afternoon, to meet up with a couple PCV friends and discuss our plans for World Malaria Month next month. While we were having lunch, it started pouring. Of course. But by the time we finished it wasn't so bad. More a light sprinkling.

There weren't many mini-buses about, and I hate sitting at the bus depot waiting for the mini-bus to fill up, so I decided to take a bike-taxi. The easiest way to catch one is to start walking. They'll ride by and ask where you are going. So I start walking towards the next village. You know what happened next, right? Yep, it started raining. So at this point my only options are to a) wait it out at a shop, b) try to catch a mini-bus or c) keep on going and catch a bike-taxi.

Well, I'm not afraid of a little rain so I decide to keep going, and soon a bike-taxi guy stops and picks me up.

We go flying down the hill, and the rain starts coming down faster, and we are both totally soaked. People are laughing and pointing at us as we go by because apparently I am the only person in Malawi that would take a bike-taxi in the rain without an umbrella. And I can't keep my eyes open because the rain is hurting them, which makes me wonder how the bike-dude is keeping his eyes open, which I really hope he is, and I start to get kinda scared and I wonder if this is how I will die. But then we slow down as we approach the destination, and I get off and all is fine. Soaked, but fine.

After I ran my errands in the trading center, it was time to take a mini-bus home. I had to negotiate a bit to get the normal price because the conductor wanted to charge me the Azungu-tax (as in they charge me a higher price for being a foreigner cuz they think I don't know any better), but I was firm and he gave me the real price.

There were already a few people on the mini-bus so I opted for the third row which only had one man in it. He had stuff next to him, which he wasn't moving, but I moved into the row so he picked up the stuff and held it on his lap. Then a man gets on the bus, takes the stuff from the guy in the seat next to me, and angrily says to him, "You don't speak good English". Then he sat in the row behind me which already had two men sitting in it. So I guess I inadvertently took his seat, and he was blaming the man next to me for not saying anything. I would have felt bad, but it was kind of funny too.

Later a woman hailed the mini-bus down and there was a bit of a discussion. She only had K100, but it was K160 to get to her destination. I think she was on the way to the health clinic so she was probably sick. The driver and conductor decided to let her on for K100. That was really nice of them. Of course they made her sit in the first row facing backwards in the seat that isn't really a seat. But it was still nice.

Another day of traveling in Malawi. I think I will be able to handle any and all public transport when I get back to America.

and the birthday gifts keep coming!! :o]

Well, it's official, i have the BEST brother, sister-in-law, and nephew in the WORLD!!! Look at all the cool stuff they sent for my birthday!! The group on the left is for my goody bag at school and the group on the right is ALLLLLL MINE!!! :oD

My students are gonna LOVE this stuff!! 

And i LOVE this stuff!!

I got a bunch of Trader Joe's and Starbuck's goodies!!! YAY!!! Also, Elliot made me card and they sent me another hilarious card! 

This owl is sooooooo cute!!! It's for my backpack, which i attached it to immediately! Trista said she wanted to make sure i got it and to let me know it wasn't for the students. I told her, even if it was, i was gonna take it anyway ;op

The BEST kind of card - the HOMEMADE kind!! 

THANKS ELLIOT!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

I love and miss you all!! Thanks for EVERYTHING! (My students thank you too!!)

Malawi vs Moldova - School

This post is the first in a series we will be doing on our blog, with direct comparisons between our sites in Malawi and Moldova.

Malawi

Public or Private: my school is a Community Day Secondary School, which is funded by the community as well as with student fees. Teachers are paid by the Malawi Government.

Supervisor - The school is run by the Head Teacher, with assistance by the Deputy Head Teacher.

Staff - We have 15 teachers including myself. Plus we have two priests that teach Bible Knowledge as well as a student teacher that is with us for one term. Half our staff are female, which is unusual for Malawi.

Number of students: about 290, including about 95 females

Class Size: 50-100. Officially the maximum number of students per class is 40 in Malawi, but there aren't enough schools and teachers, so the actual maximum is 100. My classes have about 90 in Form 1 and 70 in Form 3.

Number of Subjects - they are required to take six subjects (English, Chichewa, Math, Physical Science, Biology and Geography). We also offer electives (Bible Knowlege, Agriculture, Life Skills, Computer Studies and Social Studies).

School Terms - Three terms between September and July.

Proficiency Exams - The students are required to pass an exam to enter secondary school. Then they take the Junior Certificate Exam (JCE) to advance to Form 3 (equivalent to 11th grade), and the Malawi School Certificate Examination (MSCE) after secondary school to qualify for higher education as well as many jobs.

Fees - Primary School (1st -8th grade) is free, but students must pay for Secondary School (9th -12th grade). My school costs about K4000 per term, which is equivalent to about $8 US. They must also pay for the two required examinations (end of 10th grade and end of 12th grade). Students that do not pay are dismissed from school.

School Layout - Four classrooms plus a spare classroom, a library, an office, a staff room and a laboratory. Each grade has one classroom where the students have all their lessons.

School Day: 7:30am to 2:00pm with a 20 minute break in the morning and a 10 minute break in the afternoon. Students typically eat before they come to school and then again when they return home afterschool.

Transport: Most students walk to school, while a few ride bikes.

Religion: My school is on property owned by the Catholic Church so we observe Catholic Holidays, and all assemblies conclude with the Our Father prayer and making the sign of the cross. We also start staff meetings with a prayer.

Moldova (sorry, no pics for this one)

Public or Private:
Public - I teach "gimnaziu" which is middle school. It is overseen by The Ministry of Education. These days, a lot of Moldovans (especially younger Moldovans) move to other countries for work. This migration has caused dramatic decreases in school populations across the already tiny country, including in my school. 

Supervisor:
There is the main director of the school, which is similar to a principal back in The States, and 2 adjunct directors. All of them are also teachers at the school.

Staff:
We have about 25 teachers - all but 2 are women. One man teaches a computer class, the other one teaches PE. We also have a Director, 2 Adjunct Directors, Librarian, and a Secretary to the Director.

Number of Students:
I've been informed that my school used to have 800+ middle schoolers...now we have apprx 200 students, including Primary School students, which didn't used to be at my school.

Class Size:
5th grade: 28 students
6th grade: 26 students
7th grade: 18 students
8th grade: 26 students
9th grade: 25 students
If they all show up to class is another story...

Number of Subjects:
Required: Romanian, another language (either Russian or English at my school), Math, Physical Science, Biology, and Geography.
Electives: Religion, Computer Studies, Knitting, Dance, Art, Music, and Health (my class).

School Terms:
We have 2 semesters per school year -
     Semester 1 is September 1 - December 24
     Semester 2 is January 12ish - May 31.

Proficiency Exams:
They take proficiency exams, but i'm not sure what they all mean. 9th grade here is treated how we treat 12th grade in The States. Most kids don't go beyond 9th grade, so their 9th grade year is full of events surrounding graduation. They even have a yearly Middle School reunion where the current 9th graders perform songs, poems, skits, dances, etc for the staff and previous people that have graduated from that school.

High School here is more of like a trade school. Kids go there to learn a trade for their future careers. At least that's my understanding.

Fees:
I don't know about fees.

School Layout:
Over half the school is closed off because there aren't enough students to fill it. The building we all teach in is 3 stories. The 1st floor is Primary School, Biology, the gym, and the cafeteria. The 2nd floor is the Director, the Adjunct Directors, 2 staff rooms, Geography, Art, and Physical Science. The 3rd floor is the library, the computer class, English, Math, Music, and Health.

The Primary School stays in their same classroom all day. The Middle School students rotate classes depending on subjects.

School Day:
08:15 - 15:00 (they use military time here). There are 10 minute breaks inbetween classes and one 15 minute break from 10:50 - 11:05, which is when the Primary School students are provided lunch in the cafeteria, but not the Middle Schoolers.

Transport:
The students that live in the village where the school is walk to school. There is also a minivan that picks up students from other villages around the area.

Religion:
Eastern Orthodox. On September 1st - "First Bell" - the Priest blesses the school.