Livin' without soap (and towels, a radio, shampoo, shoes...)

This week has been emotional, and so I wasn't really fair when I wrote last Monday. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about Malawi, or especially my community. Yeah, it sucks when half of your belongings (the useful half, mind you) gets stolen, but I was never directly threatened or harmed, and my dog was unmolested. Maybe amongst the burgled, I can be considered a winner? My neighbors have been awesome, the night I discovered the break in happened, one family let me use their phone to call Peace Corps, and another even brought over a pile of papayas and dinner for Hector (usipa and nsima- alias minnows and starch patties). The Peace Corps community has also been really helpful, I have had two friends call me at great expense (phone time here is expensive), and the office has helped me out a lot too. Hector, our safety and security officer, and my dog's namesake, even called the police station to yell at officers. Oh Hector.

So how am I? I've been better, but my mom has been mobilizing friends and family over in America to help send over replacements for things I lost and, more importantly, give me phone calls so I can catch up on gossip, and have someone to cry to. My cousin Gracie and I talked for an hour, running her a bill of about $250 before she called the phone company to sort it out. That's some cousin love right there, but I advise skype or phone cards- I don't have skype, but you can use it to call me on my cell phone, my number for the time being is (011265991334472) until I recover my old number, I'll let you all know when it changes back.

This week I've been down, so I've just been reading a lot. It took me a while to clean my house (or leave it for that matter), so on Tuesday when my APCD (associate Peace Corps Director) came over when I was expecting him on Wednesday, I was surprised. I just opened my door in my pajamaed glory and was like 'oh hi- um, usually I don't leave garbage all over the place- and normally I shower... and wear professional clothes... and brush my hair'. He was cool about it though, and he brought me goldfish crackers and oreos. We went to the police station, where one of the cops was named 'major'- which made me think of Catch 22, and made me laugh, which was the first sign that my sense of humor was coming back. I don't have much faith that my stuff will come back, but who knows?

I'm getting back to my old routine though, today I sorted papers in the library (and yes mom, I apologized to Mr. Simkonda). I'm just going to relax this weekend, and then get back to things on Monday.

So for any Peace Corps Malawi recruits out there reading Peace Corps Journals- please don't worry, you probably won't have a break in, but if you do, it's still worth it.


****Well-Wishers' Wish List****
-macaroni and cheese (the kind with the powder- you can even just send the powder to save space)
-coffee
-chocolate
-oreos
-books
-jeans (last I checked I was a size 6 in Gap, but you know how sizes go- if it is stretchy, go with the 6, if not, the 8)
-a yesterdog shirt
-any MSU shirts
-Sunglasses
-shoes (size 7.5 or 7 depending on the fit- and some cheaper tennis shoes would be cool- flip flops are already here)
-shampoo, soap, deodorant (yup, they stole that too)
-summer sausage and beef jerkey
-protein bars (why you gotta steal a girl's protein bars?!)
-velveeta cheese (doesn't need refrigeration, so what if it isn't technically 'food')
-a towel (yup. stolen)
-stuff you think will make me smile
-a letter from you (the best part of any package!)

My address is still:

Melissa Small
Box 44
Chintheche, Malawi
Central Africa