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I remember the first time I visited New York City.My friend Emily picked me up at Penn Station and took me to see Times Square.As we picked our way through the crowd, I thought to myself, there has to be some free space.I couldn't believe a city could be so jam-packed with people that to get anywhere meant constantly weaving around others.
Yesterday was my first experience driving through Malawi, and my thoughts were exactly the opposite.I thought to myself, there has to be a city somewhere.But there's not - not what we as Americans might think of as a major metropolitan area, anyway.
Right now I'm sitting in the Peace Corps transit house in Blantyre, Malawi's biggest southern city.After spending five weeks in the village of Sukasuka (see Sara's update) and completing nearly all of training, we were finally assigned individual sites where we will spend the next two years living and working.I am being sent to the village of Magomero, which from what I can tell from the map is about halfway between Blantyre and Zomba, Malawi's former capital.Tomorrow I will get to see it for the first time.I'm excited and a little nervous, but if there's one thing I've learned by now it's not to set any expectations.Running water would be cool, but I'm not holding my breath.And I've gotten pretty comfortable with bucket baths and using the "chim" anyway.
My parents should probably stop reading at this point as I describe how I got here.It involved a series of mini-buses, a matolo, and an 18-wheeler.The cheapest way of traveling here is hitch-hiking, and PC insists that it's very safe.Generally, if you look American or European Malawians assume you're a volunteer and are more than happy to assist you.So yesterday, two of the other girls also assigned to the south stood on the side of the road with me and flagged down a ride.Actually, four rides.First, a pickup truck or "matolo" stopped for us and took us maybe 15K.Unfortunately, he was turning off and heading east so we hopped out.After about half an hour of waiting, we managed to get the truck to pull over and let us ride the rest of the way to Blantyre in the cab.Finally, two mini-buses through the city later we had arrived.Today is Malawi's Independence Day, so there are a ton of current volunteers staying here as well.Last night they took us to get burgers and ice cream, and this morning I took my first real shower in weeks.Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty good right now.
The rest of this week is mine to check out my site - I have the name and telephone number of the District Health Officer (DHO) and another volunteer who is stationed near me, and somehow I'm supposed to find it.On Saturday, I have to make my way back up north to the town of Salima for a week of intensive language training with the rest of my group.We head back to our training hub on the 18th, discuss any last minutes concerns we may have, test the level of Chichewa we've acquired in language proficiency interviews (LPIs), and finally - almost eight weeks after this whole adventure began - we will be sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers.
I have to say that I'm really starting to enjoy life here - I feel very inspired.We've learned so much during training, and it's incredibly practical.I expected most of the technical sessions to center around the broad, theoretical aspects of development in Africa.But we've been taught how to survey a community in order to assess health issues such as poorly ventilated kitchens, a lack of hand-washing facilities and poor water sources.We've discussed how to address HIV/AIDS in our villages by forming youth clubs where we can facilitate conversations about prevention and starting support groups for people living with the disease.Our trainers have also suggested possible income generating activities (IGAs) we can suggest to the women.
I am also finding that I have enough down time to do a fair amount of reading, and the books that our group is passing amongst ourselves nicely complement training.Three Cups of Tea, The White Man's Burden, and The Tipping Point are just a few of the books I've been reading so far.Next up is Things Fall Apart and (special thanks to the wonderful Meg Allen!) Mountains Beyond Mountains.And Roddy, you should know I just about cried when I got your package with Time, The Economist and Newsweek.I love being able to choose topics and pursue my own areas of interest.
Running is a bit of a challenge here, just because everyone wants to stop and talk to "azungs" (foreigners).Also, Malawians don't really exercise - why would you if you're using all your energy to draw water, walk to the market, and grow crops? It's very strange to them to expend energy otherwise.There's the obvious point, too, that I'm a girl - it's odd to see a female wearing pants.Still, I've learned to deflect the stares by politely greeting everyone with "Mwadsukabwanji?" (How are you this morning?)and waving.I try to get in 4 or 5 miles each morning, and I've picked up yoga at night.
Overall, I'm happy and (thanks to malaria medication and plenty of shots) still pretty healthy.I can't wait for the next time I have Internet - by then, I'll have seen my sight and be able to share all the details.
Thanks for all the love and support so far - your letters have meant the world to me and kept me motivated during the tough points of training.
Until next time, "Tiwonana!"
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