Now that term 3 is underway, things are back to normal- I have been recruited into helping a new group nearby as they apply for the US Ambassador's Self Help Fund, basically, they needed an American, so I joined. I'm pretty excited about the group actually, the man who contacted me about it is a retired former NGO worker who decided that he'd rather start a community group than 'sit around at the bottle store drinking beers' (his words). He is a really cool guy, and since he is a Malawian, he is able to navigate a lot of the cultural issues that trip me up. We decided that each week, I could make a little presentation to the mothers in the group about how to prepare their children for school, for instance, I wrote letters on the backs of bottle caps and showed them that the kids could use them to practice their ABC's and could work their way up to making words. I also want to talk to my carpenter about making blocks for their pre-school. So far, all they have is a tiny mud brick shack with a thatched roof, but that's what we are working on fixing.
The Umoza group is starting to pick up again now that the rainy season is over and people have free time from gardening- next week we are going to make pj pants to sell at the big 4th of July party at the Ambassador's house.
Piotr's visit has been going well- we have been hanging out at my site a lot, watching TV on his computer- a lot of The Simpsons, Modern Family (which I love), and Chuck season 1 (which Pi is hooked on now). It is fun to have someone to hang out with at site. He will be leaving next week to go to Zambia for a few weeks, but we'll meet up again in Lilongwe for the 4th.
That's about it! Stay safe, I miss you all!
Beeb
4 comments:
Beebs, would you like me to send more scrabble tiles for your pre-schools moms?
How cold is cold?
How long does cold season last? Hector can keep you warm. Izzy had her first professional grooming. Zach had it done for Ed's Father's Day present. She looked so pretty.
cold is relative of course, so maybe it'll get into the 50s at night? maybe the 60s in the day? It is just windy and rainy- maybe like October is at home
As for the scrabble tiles, writing letters on the backs of soda bottle tops is working well
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