Probably the worst travel experience I’ve ever had:
•Almost missed my flight out of Lilongwe because I wasn’t paying attention.
•Had the middle seat on the 2 hour flight to Joburg.
•The guy on the aisle was all over the armrest.
•Got into Joburg 10 minutes early!
•Stood in the immigration line for an hour and forty-five minutes until my flight said it was boarding on the screen.
•Asked an employee to help me get through because I still needed to get my boarding pass, go through security, and find the gate.
•She helped me but kept asking me to buy her lunch – but not there, only past security where there was food.
•She got me through immigration and dragged me to the check in line.
•She took me to Botswana Airlines, not South African.
•The lady at South African Airways told me I was too late and couldn’t check in. They could book me for a flight two hours later if I paid or put me on the 6:10am flight the next morning for free.
•I’m not paying.
•The lady who got me through immigration took me to security because I still didn’t have a boarding pass.
•She stayed with me past security, to where the food was and kept talking about lunch. “Or maybe just a drink.”
•I left her in the elevator because she couldn’t go any farther.
•Bought the cheapest watch I could find – about USD 28.
•Bought a book I wasn’t really interested in to keep me busy – about USD 40.
•Contemplated getting an airport massage.
•Staked out the best place to sleep.
•Bought dinner, called my parents, called Austin, called Erin.
•Walked around aimlessly.
•Looked in every shop for an alarm clock because my cell was out of batteries and I had to be up at 4am to check in.
•Typed up emails I couldn’t send without internet.
•Tried to sleep but couldn’t. So I read.
•Had some yummy chocolate!
•Finally went to sleep. Slept for a solid two hours, until about midnight, when I woke up shivering. I wasn’t at all prepared for the freezing airport.
•Woke up every 20 minutes until 3:30am, when I decided to walk around until check in at 4:30.
•Finished my book.
•Walked back out through security, where the doors were open to the outside so it was even colder.
•Was told the check in counter didn’t open until 5.
•Shivered for 30 minutes.
•Had a security guard ask for my number, and then email address when I wouldn’t give it to him.
•Checked in and was interrogated as to why I hadn’t flown out the day before.
•Went through security.
•Couldn’t buy breakfast because nothing was open.
•Found my gate.
•Loaded onto the bus that would drive us to the plane and shivered in the wind.
•Found my seat on the plane – a window seat with no one next to me!
•Slept until the last 20 minutes, when I found a boxed breakfast waiting for me.
•Had to take the meat off the croissant.
•Forgot to take my malaria meds.
•Shivered.
•Landed and had to walk through the wind to the airport.
•Filled out immigration papers and got hassled by the lady who didn’t believe I was here to study. She made me show her documentation to prove it.
•Didn’t see my bag on the conveyer belt.
•Checked with the information desk, who pointed me to the SA office.
•The lady told me to wait twenty minutes for the guy with the keys to come, she’d come let me know.
•No one from Pitzer in sight, even though they were supposed to meet me at the airport.
•Thirty minutes later, I returned to the SA office where the lady was eating with the entire luggage staff. I looked through the window and she held up one finger, telling me to wait, and then pointed to her sandwich. “Until I’m done.”
•A man came out to help me, still munching away.
•No sign of my bag, so I filled out a missing luggage form.
•Still no sign of anyone from Pitzer.
•I went back to the information desk to ask about a pay phone so I could call to see if someone was on their way.
•There was no public phone and the women didn’t have airtime – no way to call.
•20 minutes later, a woman walked up with a Pitzer College sign.
•20 minute drive to the place where orientation was taking place.
•I was given 5 minutes to freshen up before classes started.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Malawi Wrap Up
It’s been a ridiculous amount of time since I last posted. But know that it’s only because I’ve been so busy with incredible tasks. Since my last post, we went to the lake, went on safari, went to three more schools, did a one day camp at Dzaleka Refugee Camp (where we went last session too), sent all the volunteers home, finished up the session, and flew to South Africa! Well, the intent was to fly to Botswana but I missed my connection in Joburg and am now spending the night. But that means some unexpected free time to write up a blog! Since so much has happened, I guess I’ll write a few memorable moments.
I went to a meeting at the Ministry of Education with Jesse, one of the founders of World Camp. We met with a few different people, just checking in on what they expect from WC and what direction we can go in the future. I was disgusted at the piles of old computers in the hallways of the Ministry. They were no longer being used in the building and were being saved to be sent to schools. But they weren’t stacked neatly; they were literally thrown on top of each other. It’s amazing none of the screens had broken, or maybe the broken ones had been thrown out. Tires were piled up to the ceiling in another hallway on a lower floor.
Another surprise at the MOE: there’s a new school calendar being implemented in 2011 with a break that spans the three months we’re in country. On first thought, a nationwide break would make it hard to teach classes. But, a new idea is to just run “summer camp” like classes. That way, we have free reign to teach how we want. It might be a little more difficult to get students to come in though. A plus? The new calendar takes farming and religious holidays into account. The harvest season is a break, and days are off if there is a popular religious holiday (both Christian and Muslim).
Safari was, of course, wonderful. We saw elephants, hippos, monkeys galore, giraffes, cervils, hares, lions, and 2 leopards together, which is incredibly rare since they’re normally solitary animals. I was completely frustrated and literally had to bite my tongue when some of the volunteers asked to leave as we were watching the leopards. They were bored and only wanted to see lions. Our guide said we had to stay until another car came and was able to pick up the cats. Once we found the lions, we watched for a few minutes and the volunteers were ready to go again. Why not sit and enjoy looking at such incredible animals for a few minutes? Sunset was incredible. By far one of the best ones I’ve seen. But, since the guide had been pestered so much that we just wanted to see lions, we had our sundowner drinks on the go as we drove on to find the big cats. Then the volunteers complained they hadn’t been able to enjoy the sunset. ARGGG. I just wanted to scream.
The next morning, the six volunteers were going to go on a drive on their own. The plan was for them to make their own breakfasts from the food we’d brought before their drive left at 6. Turns out there was an elephant in front of the room with our food and they couldn’t eat. I would’ve been excited… how many people can say an elephant stood between them and their food? But no, these guys complained. Then they complained because their drive started at 6:30. But that complains legit and completely my fault.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my volunteers. Sometimes I just forget they’re in high school. I certainly hope I was never bored when my parents took us on safari a few years ago!!
Since I was with Y2Y, I only spent one night at the lake this time. That was probably a good thing, because their attention spans are sometimes a little short. I just wanted to relax for the weekend, but they wanted to do stuff. Since they can’t go anywhere without a coordinator, I walked down the beach in both directions. Of course, it was with two different groups because they can never decide to do anything at the same time so it’s only one trip for the coordinators. I also took a small group into the trading center. That was fun, since it’s certainly different than the villages that aren’t close to Lake Malawi. I also went banana boating with three of the girls. Originally, they were going to go on the banana and I was going to ride in the real boat and take pictures, but when one of them was happy after two rides, I happily stepped up. The first night, we preordered a vegetarian meal for all. It was a full loaf of bread. The middle had been cut out and it was stuffed with a delicious bean and vegetable stew. Only one person finished.
And now it’s on to Botswana! I’m still not very sure what to expect. We were all supposed to arrive Aug. 10, but I’m obviously a day late now. I should get in around 7:30 am though, so I don’t think I’ll ruin plans too much. I think we have a few days of orientation in Gaborone (the capital city, pronounced Hab-or-o-nee) before heading out to the village for our first homestay. I think I’ll have internet the first few days while we’re doing orientation, but then don’t expect to be online for at least 5 or 6 weeks. I’ll be getting credit for four classes total: Setswana language intensive, Contemporary Socio-Cultural Issues in Botswana, Field Work Methodology in Botswana, and a final research project.
There’s a Levine family reunion going on in Tahoe this weekend.... Hi to all my family! I know you’ll all have a wonderful time!! Make sure an extra hand of bridge is played for me!
And Grandpa, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
Tionana!!!
Karen
I went to a meeting at the Ministry of Education with Jesse, one of the founders of World Camp. We met with a few different people, just checking in on what they expect from WC and what direction we can go in the future. I was disgusted at the piles of old computers in the hallways of the Ministry. They were no longer being used in the building and were being saved to be sent to schools. But they weren’t stacked neatly; they were literally thrown on top of each other. It’s amazing none of the screens had broken, or maybe the broken ones had been thrown out. Tires were piled up to the ceiling in another hallway on a lower floor.
Another surprise at the MOE: there’s a new school calendar being implemented in 2011 with a break that spans the three months we’re in country. On first thought, a nationwide break would make it hard to teach classes. But, a new idea is to just run “summer camp” like classes. That way, we have free reign to teach how we want. It might be a little more difficult to get students to come in though. A plus? The new calendar takes farming and religious holidays into account. The harvest season is a break, and days are off if there is a popular religious holiday (both Christian and Muslim).
Safari was, of course, wonderful. We saw elephants, hippos, monkeys galore, giraffes, cervils, hares, lions, and 2 leopards together, which is incredibly rare since they’re normally solitary animals. I was completely frustrated and literally had to bite my tongue when some of the volunteers asked to leave as we were watching the leopards. They were bored and only wanted to see lions. Our guide said we had to stay until another car came and was able to pick up the cats. Once we found the lions, we watched for a few minutes and the volunteers were ready to go again. Why not sit and enjoy looking at such incredible animals for a few minutes? Sunset was incredible. By far one of the best ones I’ve seen. But, since the guide had been pestered so much that we just wanted to see lions, we had our sundowner drinks on the go as we drove on to find the big cats. Then the volunteers complained they hadn’t been able to enjoy the sunset. ARGGG. I just wanted to scream.
The next morning, the six volunteers were going to go on a drive on their own. The plan was for them to make their own breakfasts from the food we’d brought before their drive left at 6. Turns out there was an elephant in front of the room with our food and they couldn’t eat. I would’ve been excited… how many people can say an elephant stood between them and their food? But no, these guys complained. Then they complained because their drive started at 6:30. But that complains legit and completely my fault.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my volunteers. Sometimes I just forget they’re in high school. I certainly hope I was never bored when my parents took us on safari a few years ago!!
Since I was with Y2Y, I only spent one night at the lake this time. That was probably a good thing, because their attention spans are sometimes a little short. I just wanted to relax for the weekend, but they wanted to do stuff. Since they can’t go anywhere without a coordinator, I walked down the beach in both directions. Of course, it was with two different groups because they can never decide to do anything at the same time so it’s only one trip for the coordinators. I also took a small group into the trading center. That was fun, since it’s certainly different than the villages that aren’t close to Lake Malawi. I also went banana boating with three of the girls. Originally, they were going to go on the banana and I was going to ride in the real boat and take pictures, but when one of them was happy after two rides, I happily stepped up. The first night, we preordered a vegetarian meal for all. It was a full loaf of bread. The middle had been cut out and it was stuffed with a delicious bean and vegetable stew. Only one person finished.
And now it’s on to Botswana! I’m still not very sure what to expect. We were all supposed to arrive Aug. 10, but I’m obviously a day late now. I should get in around 7:30 am though, so I don’t think I’ll ruin plans too much. I think we have a few days of orientation in Gaborone (the capital city, pronounced Hab-or-o-nee) before heading out to the village for our first homestay. I think I’ll have internet the first few days while we’re doing orientation, but then don’t expect to be online for at least 5 or 6 weeks. I’ll be getting credit for four classes total: Setswana language intensive, Contemporary Socio-Cultural Issues in Botswana, Field Work Methodology in Botswana, and a final research project.
There’s a Levine family reunion going on in Tahoe this weekend.... Hi to all my family! I know you’ll all have a wonderful time!! Make sure an extra hand of bridge is played for me!
And Grandpa, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
Tionana!!!
Karen
Saturday, July 10, 2010
a typical drive
So much has been going on. But I realized I’ve never written about the typical things I see – only the extraordinary or unusual. So I decided to write down what I saw on our 45 minute bus ride to Mitundu FPS; everything normal and regular. And then I realized just how astonishing it all is.
A police truck that drops off policemen who will stand in the middle of the road waving cars to the shoulder. They don’t have squad cars to follow anyone driving, so they stay stationary. The newly emptied police trucks give locals rides around town, whether for free or a price I don’t know.
A woman with two feet of bananas carefully piled in a tub, perfectly balanced on her head.
Coffin street: hundreds of beautiful coffins and ribbon decorations in every color for funerals that haven’t been held yet – and I barely notice. Death is different here. John, who works in the World Camp house, told us that we fear death too much. It’s a natural part of life that is accepted and even embraced here. Ten minutes further down the road: stone tombstones. And you’d be hard-pressed to find one without a cross on it.
A mother who carries a boy, maybe nine or ten, on her back as she would an infant because he has casts on both legs.
Full goat carcasses hanging from stands on the side of the road fully exposed to car emissions, flies, and the sun.
A group of women pumping water for the day – enough for drinking, cooking, and washing.
I’m shocked to see a young girl, maybe 13, jumping on and clearly flirting with a boy about the same age.
Glad we didn’t get stopped by the police today, even though I know we have a licensed driver and a properly insured bus.
Men pushing their bikes with wood stacked eight feet high because it’s too heavy and unstable to ride.
Waiting at a red light next to a begging man with shoes on his hands because he cannot stand upright and walks on all fours.
Billboards in English next to billboards in Chichewa advertising safe driving, Carlsberg beer, female condoms, Bingu’s new agricultural policies, and paint brands.
Girls in pants remind me of a quote from yesterday’s Nyassa Times: “There is a growing tendency among girls in the country to wear miniskirts, exposing thighs, which force men to rape them.”
Signs advertising for plumbers, electricians, and key makers hand painted on large pieces of wood and nailed to trees: PLUMBER tel: 099725673
Barber shops, where I know kids fear they’ll contract HIV.
Two women, each with a child on her back and a bundle on her head carrying another huge bag between them.
All while I sit in a dirty bus that I’ve complained doesn’t have a tape deck that burns through diesel as if Malawi wasn’t experiencing a fuel shortage.
Telephone lines that run along dirt roads.
Children run beside our bus as long as they can, always chanting azungu.
Brick homes with tin roofs, brick homes with straw roofs, brick homes without roofs.
People chewing sugar cane and thinking it’s cleaning their teeth.
Beautiful cloth blowing on clotheslines.
The line of eight women with their faces hidden by the massive bunches of brush they carry on their heads; at least ten feet long and three feet in diameter.
The village drunk that stumbles along the road.
The flat bed truck with at least forty people crammed in for the ride.
A group of ten sitting in a dust brown field picking ground nuts.
Goats.
Chickens.
Cows.
Dogs.
Donkeys.
Pigs – for variety, and only if you’re lucky.
AVOID AIDS GUYS handwritten on the back of a road sign.
Barbed wire around Bingu’s farm with more than twenty workers picking maize.
Taking the same detour we took in January – will they ever finish the road?
Stopping in the middle of the road to wait for a herd of unattended goats.
A line of three men on bikes with woven baskets on the back.
Forty minutes outside Lilongwe and there’s still telephone wires next to the road. I don’t know where they’re going; no one has any use for them out here.
Kids that wave, although I’ve done nothing to win their admiration.
Traditional skirts. Western shirts. An AYSO jersey.
Trash.
Piles and piles of burning trash.
A graveyard.
And we’re here. A quick 45 minute drive and it’s time for Day 4 at Mitundu FPS.
A police truck that drops off policemen who will stand in the middle of the road waving cars to the shoulder. They don’t have squad cars to follow anyone driving, so they stay stationary. The newly emptied police trucks give locals rides around town, whether for free or a price I don’t know.
A woman with two feet of bananas carefully piled in a tub, perfectly balanced on her head.
Coffin street: hundreds of beautiful coffins and ribbon decorations in every color for funerals that haven’t been held yet – and I barely notice. Death is different here. John, who works in the World Camp house, told us that we fear death too much. It’s a natural part of life that is accepted and even embraced here. Ten minutes further down the road: stone tombstones. And you’d be hard-pressed to find one without a cross on it.
A mother who carries a boy, maybe nine or ten, on her back as she would an infant because he has casts on both legs.
Full goat carcasses hanging from stands on the side of the road fully exposed to car emissions, flies, and the sun.
A group of women pumping water for the day – enough for drinking, cooking, and washing.
I’m shocked to see a young girl, maybe 13, jumping on and clearly flirting with a boy about the same age.
Glad we didn’t get stopped by the police today, even though I know we have a licensed driver and a properly insured bus.
Men pushing their bikes with wood stacked eight feet high because it’s too heavy and unstable to ride.
Waiting at a red light next to a begging man with shoes on his hands because he cannot stand upright and walks on all fours.
Billboards in English next to billboards in Chichewa advertising safe driving, Carlsberg beer, female condoms, Bingu’s new agricultural policies, and paint brands.
Girls in pants remind me of a quote from yesterday’s Nyassa Times: “There is a growing tendency among girls in the country to wear miniskirts, exposing thighs, which force men to rape them.”
Signs advertising for plumbers, electricians, and key makers hand painted on large pieces of wood and nailed to trees: PLUMBER tel: 099725673
Barber shops, where I know kids fear they’ll contract HIV.
Two women, each with a child on her back and a bundle on her head carrying another huge bag between them.
All while I sit in a dirty bus that I’ve complained doesn’t have a tape deck that burns through diesel as if Malawi wasn’t experiencing a fuel shortage.
Telephone lines that run along dirt roads.
Children run beside our bus as long as they can, always chanting azungu.
Brick homes with tin roofs, brick homes with straw roofs, brick homes without roofs.
People chewing sugar cane and thinking it’s cleaning their teeth.
Beautiful cloth blowing on clotheslines.
The line of eight women with their faces hidden by the massive bunches of brush they carry on their heads; at least ten feet long and three feet in diameter.
The village drunk that stumbles along the road.
The flat bed truck with at least forty people crammed in for the ride.
A group of ten sitting in a dust brown field picking ground nuts.
Goats.
Chickens.
Cows.
Dogs.
Donkeys.
Pigs – for variety, and only if you’re lucky.
AVOID AIDS GUYS handwritten on the back of a road sign.
Barbed wire around Bingu’s farm with more than twenty workers picking maize.
Taking the same detour we took in January – will they ever finish the road?
Stopping in the middle of the road to wait for a herd of unattended goats.
A line of three men on bikes with woven baskets on the back.
Forty minutes outside Lilongwe and there’s still telephone wires next to the road. I don’t know where they’re going; no one has any use for them out here.
Kids that wave, although I’ve done nothing to win their admiration.
Traditional skirts. Western shirts. An AYSO jersey.
Trash.
Piles and piles of burning trash.
A graveyard.
And we’re here. A quick 45 minute drive and it’s time for Day 4 at Mitundu FPS.
2 happy stories and 1 sad
Story 1: Visiting William was incredible. He was so nice and informative. I know Blessings, his country manager, from working with World Camp in January. I arranged with Blessings for our group to come to a ceremony at Wimbe Full Primary School, where William went. I thought they were having a sort of “handing over the keys” ceremony for a new windmill that would power the school. Expecting a two hour drive, we were really antsy when we finally arrived after three. There also wasn’t a windmill in sight. Turns out the ceremony was to hand over the keys to a brand new (solar powered!) building built by an NGO and William’s organization, Moving Windmills. Also to our surprise, the people filming William’s documentary (also called Moving Windmills) were there to film. It was their final day of filming after five years. And a group of 18 azungus was definitely going to disrupt the natural chemistry of William’s small village. So they asked we not be present for the ceremony. We agreed, but asked that in return we could see the school, expecting to quickly poke around ourselves. Instead, William and Blessings gave us a full tour. We saw the new bathrooms (one for boys, one for girls, which actually does a huge amount for keeping female enrolment high), new buildings, solar panels, and even the library where William studied windmills after he was forced to drop out of secondary school. William answered all of our questions and was incredibly kind. He just graduated from secondary school in South Africa and will be attending Dartmouth this fall. He hopes to study mechanical engineering. I asked him quite a few questions about the windmills, but was also pretty star struck. (I also had him sign my copy of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, which I just happened to bring with me.)
After the tour, we asked to see the actual windmills. Gilbert and Geoffrey, William’s two best childhood friends, walked with us to William’s home and gave us the full tour. We saw the very first windmill he built, which no longer works but is still standing. The second windmill generates power for his home. The third is the biggest; it pumps water to irrigate his father’s fields. The electrical windmill now powers every house owned by a member of William’s extended family.
We met William’s mother as well as his younger sister and brother. I didn’t get to but the rest of our group went into William’s house to see the switch pad that controls the electrical flow. It was incredible to look up and see such beautiful windmills that empowered so many people, all created by one young man.
Story 2: In January, I worked with teachers at the last school we went to, which happened to be really close to the school we were at this week. There were seven teachers total, two of which I became quite close to. One was about five months pregnant. Her name was Ellina. When I told her my sister’s name was Elena, she said we would be sisters as long as I was in Malawi. On Monday, Ellina recognized our Rovers and came to the school we were at. She saw Jaren, another coordinator, and asked for her sister, Karen. It was wonderful to see her again. I can’t describe how surreal it was to see her – and to meet her beautiful two month old son Vincent. I honestly never thought I’d get to see Ellina again, and there she was, standing right in front of me. We talked and caught up for a few minutes before she left. Wednesday, Ednah, another teacher from the same school, also stopped by. It was great to see her too – and find out how she’s been since January. Ednah remembered everyone’s names from the session and asked how we were all doing.
Story 3: My cell phone got stolen at camp yesterday.
After the tour, we asked to see the actual windmills. Gilbert and Geoffrey, William’s two best childhood friends, walked with us to William’s home and gave us the full tour. We saw the very first windmill he built, which no longer works but is still standing. The second windmill generates power for his home. The third is the biggest; it pumps water to irrigate his father’s fields. The electrical windmill now powers every house owned by a member of William’s extended family.
We met William’s mother as well as his younger sister and brother. I didn’t get to but the rest of our group went into William’s house to see the switch pad that controls the electrical flow. It was incredible to look up and see such beautiful windmills that empowered so many people, all created by one young man.
Story 2: In January, I worked with teachers at the last school we went to, which happened to be really close to the school we were at this week. There were seven teachers total, two of which I became quite close to. One was about five months pregnant. Her name was Ellina. When I told her my sister’s name was Elena, she said we would be sisters as long as I was in Malawi. On Monday, Ellina recognized our Rovers and came to the school we were at. She saw Jaren, another coordinator, and asked for her sister, Karen. It was wonderful to see her again. I can’t describe how surreal it was to see her – and to meet her beautiful two month old son Vincent. I honestly never thought I’d get to see Ellina again, and there she was, standing right in front of me. We talked and caught up for a few minutes before she left. Wednesday, Ednah, another teacher from the same school, also stopped by. It was great to see her too – and find out how she’s been since January. Ednah remembered everyone’s names from the session and asked how we were all doing.
Story 3: My cell phone got stolen at camp yesterday.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
another long catchup!
i promised i'd write about the refugee camp, and now i finally will! only 2 weeks later. we didn't bring any of our own field staff because the majority of the refugees we worked with were congolese and didn't speak chichewa. we invited them to come anyway as participants, which turned out to be a wonderful idea. three field staff came and were incredibly involved in our conversations and great resources during discussions. when we first drove in i could see into houses. at first i was glad that most houses were incredibly sturdy and stable. they're made out of bricks with really durable tin roofs. there were beds much nicer than the ones we sleep in during rural homestays during the session (where there often aren't any beds at all so we sleep on reed mats on the floor). then i realized they're so permanent because none of the refugees are expecting to leave anytime soon. we heard later how hard it is to earn money (they're not allowed to hold jobs) and actually get out of the camp. we worked with a church-based group in the camp. and it turns out that the translators they provided spoke a lot of french! i could pick out some of what they were saying. in the morning, we worked with all adults - some members of the church, some hiv+, and some in a care group. we covered the basics. what hiv is, how it's transmitted, what it does to the body, and how to prevent it. we also did both a male and female condom demonstration. during the female condom demo, a woman stood up to ask a question. i've never seen an adult woman ask a question about any sort of condom before. i was so glad she was able to.
we saved the last 45 minutes for a discussion of the camp. we had broken into two groups and my group's discussion was less successful. it morphed into the refugees asking for help. we offered all the information we could, but can't provide jobs or supplies. it's just not what we do. it was heartbreaking to hear them ask for food. the other group of volunteer got a lot more out of their discussion. the refugees in their room told their personal stories of how they had fled their homes and ended up here. i would have loved to have heard the stories, although it would have been incredibly difficult to get through. but i'm almost glad i didn't have the chance to pry into their lives and bring up memories i'm sure they'd like to forget.
jaren, another coordinator, and i also met with five hiv+ women after our discussion was over. it was a very quick meeting - they wanted to thank us for coming and invite us back themselves. they said discrimination is horrible in the camp and asked that next time we come back we fight stigma.
in the afternoon, we were expecting to work with orphans in the camp. it turns out the church is really involved with a village down the road that has a large orphan population. so we all (11 volunteers, 4 coordinators, 3 field staff, about 10 refugees from the church) loaded into our bus and drove about 15 minutes to a nearby malawian village. no one here was a refugee. we sang songs with the kids first. there were way more than we expected. there were also adults who had come to learn from us, although we'd been told there would be kids only. so rachel (another coordinator) and i, talked with the adults. we again went over the very basics of hiv, but they were interested in malaria. they wanted to know if we could bring bed nets and what they could do to stop malaria in their area. we offered all we knew - long clothing, fill in puddles of standing water with dirt - cover windows, but they wanted more. it's frustrating that we did all we could and yet it's not enough.
we're going to go back to the camp next session. we'll expand on what we taught this time and hopefully go a little more in depth. and we'll address stigma. but discrimination is something that we can visit and talk about, but change can't come from us. that's definitely one of the most frustrating things i've had to deal with while being here.
the next week we did homestay one night. rachel and i tented at the school while the volunteers stayed in houses. i tried sugar cane, smashed corn to make nsima, watched volunteers make relish, and carted water. the school planned dances for us that night. they brought out battery powered lights and there was a dance party in the middle of the field under the starts. they made sure all of us got up and danced around the circle.
the next morning, before camp, we played a game of futbol against all the kids we worked with. we lost. but only 1-0. it was a great game and we all really loved playing. i think the students loved watching us try to play too.
last weekend we stayed at the lake. it was super windy the whole time. we had planned on taking a boat out to a little island where there's great cliff jumping, but they wouldn't let us. we went swimming anyway. i went 3 times. the waves were bigger than most i've been in in california. and it was wonderful. we also walked down the beach by all the boats. and we went into town one afternoon. we watched a soccer game for 20 minutes. the men were adults and there were over 100 people watching.
we walked through the market where everyone knew Baker, the founder of world camp. it's amazing that he's literally known throughout malawi.
this week we only did 3 days at the school because volunteers are leaving friday and we wanted to give them a day off (thursday) to pack and hang out. except that an incredibly opportunity came up for tomorrow and it's going to be a packed day anyway. william, a malawian boy who built a windmill from scraps he found in his village and powered his house is dedicating a new windmill to wimbe primary school (where he went) tomorrow. blessings, who was a translator in january who i was very close to, is william's country manager and invited us to come to the ceremony. it starts at 9 and is two hours away, so we're leaving at 7. it'll probably go until around 1ish. then we'll stay and meet william and his family. i also really want to see the first windmill he built for his house. he has an incredible story and i'm excited to meet a real celebrity tomorrow!
other than that, everything has been great. i've been crazy busy organizing stuff and going to camp everyday, but i still love it. i've gotten to go back to the fabric market a few times, as well as the vegetable and wood markets. morning songs at camp everyday are great, and student presentations on day 4 make what we do worthwhile. volunteers start to leave friday and the house will feel so lonely! new volunteers start arriving the 26, and then second session starts! no down time at all!
i finally updated pictures to facebook! check 'em out!
we saved the last 45 minutes for a discussion of the camp. we had broken into two groups and my group's discussion was less successful. it morphed into the refugees asking for help. we offered all the information we could, but can't provide jobs or supplies. it's just not what we do. it was heartbreaking to hear them ask for food. the other group of volunteer got a lot more out of their discussion. the refugees in their room told their personal stories of how they had fled their homes and ended up here. i would have loved to have heard the stories, although it would have been incredibly difficult to get through. but i'm almost glad i didn't have the chance to pry into their lives and bring up memories i'm sure they'd like to forget.
jaren, another coordinator, and i also met with five hiv+ women after our discussion was over. it was a very quick meeting - they wanted to thank us for coming and invite us back themselves. they said discrimination is horrible in the camp and asked that next time we come back we fight stigma.
in the afternoon, we were expecting to work with orphans in the camp. it turns out the church is really involved with a village down the road that has a large orphan population. so we all (11 volunteers, 4 coordinators, 3 field staff, about 10 refugees from the church) loaded into our bus and drove about 15 minutes to a nearby malawian village. no one here was a refugee. we sang songs with the kids first. there were way more than we expected. there were also adults who had come to learn from us, although we'd been told there would be kids only. so rachel (another coordinator) and i, talked with the adults. we again went over the very basics of hiv, but they were interested in malaria. they wanted to know if we could bring bed nets and what they could do to stop malaria in their area. we offered all we knew - long clothing, fill in puddles of standing water with dirt - cover windows, but they wanted more. it's frustrating that we did all we could and yet it's not enough.
we're going to go back to the camp next session. we'll expand on what we taught this time and hopefully go a little more in depth. and we'll address stigma. but discrimination is something that we can visit and talk about, but change can't come from us. that's definitely one of the most frustrating things i've had to deal with while being here.
the next week we did homestay one night. rachel and i tented at the school while the volunteers stayed in houses. i tried sugar cane, smashed corn to make nsima, watched volunteers make relish, and carted water. the school planned dances for us that night. they brought out battery powered lights and there was a dance party in the middle of the field under the starts. they made sure all of us got up and danced around the circle.
the next morning, before camp, we played a game of futbol against all the kids we worked with. we lost. but only 1-0. it was a great game and we all really loved playing. i think the students loved watching us try to play too.
last weekend we stayed at the lake. it was super windy the whole time. we had planned on taking a boat out to a little island where there's great cliff jumping, but they wouldn't let us. we went swimming anyway. i went 3 times. the waves were bigger than most i've been in in california. and it was wonderful. we also walked down the beach by all the boats. and we went into town one afternoon. we watched a soccer game for 20 minutes. the men were adults and there were over 100 people watching.
we walked through the market where everyone knew Baker, the founder of world camp. it's amazing that he's literally known throughout malawi.
this week we only did 3 days at the school because volunteers are leaving friday and we wanted to give them a day off (thursday) to pack and hang out. except that an incredibly opportunity came up for tomorrow and it's going to be a packed day anyway. william, a malawian boy who built a windmill from scraps he found in his village and powered his house is dedicating a new windmill to wimbe primary school (where he went) tomorrow. blessings, who was a translator in january who i was very close to, is william's country manager and invited us to come to the ceremony. it starts at 9 and is two hours away, so we're leaving at 7. it'll probably go until around 1ish. then we'll stay and meet william and his family. i also really want to see the first windmill he built for his house. he has an incredible story and i'm excited to meet a real celebrity tomorrow!
other than that, everything has been great. i've been crazy busy organizing stuff and going to camp everyday, but i still love it. i've gotten to go back to the fabric market a few times, as well as the vegetable and wood markets. morning songs at camp everyday are great, and student presentations on day 4 make what we do worthwhile. volunteers start to leave friday and the house will feel so lonely! new volunteers start arriving the 26, and then second session starts! no down time at all!
i finally updated pictures to facebook! check 'em out!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Things have been beyond crazy at the WC house. I stayed home from camp today to get work done, and end up writing a blog post! But it’s a great chance to take a quick break from logistics and do something else. I’ll work backwards…. Today’s Day 4 of our third camp. That means presentations and solar ovens – definitely some of my favorite things, and I wish I could be there. I also stayed home yesterday to work on a packet for Field Staff orientation that I’m putting together. I got a lot of work done on that, plus learned how to do some accounting.
Today, I’m planning tomorrow’s outreach project. We’re going to Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa District. There are ten nationalities represented at the camp, but the group we’ll be working with is primarily Congolese (which means they speak Swahili, not Chichewa like the Malawians we typically work with!). So the organization is providing their own interpreters. In the morning, we’re going to work with a group of 45 adults. 10 are staff members, 15 are members of an HIV/AIDS awareness club, and 20 are HIV+ people. They asked for basic education because the camp is really far behind in terms of awareness and information. Malawi as a whole has been doing really well recently in raising awareness and increasing education, but the camp is about 15 years behind the rest of the country. While HIV rates are lower than they are in the rest of the country, the camp is considered high risk because it’s closed.
In the afternoon, we’re going to work with 85 kids who were either orphaned by AIDS or are HIV or AIDS positive themselves. They’re ages 7-15. I’m trying to figure out what to do with them right now, and can’t decide if games and teambuilding activities would be more beneficial than education because of the age variance, or if teaching basic information would be better. I’ll definitely post about the day tomorrow or Sunday.
Last weekend we went on safari in Zambia. It was wonderful. We stayed at a place called Flatdogs that I hadn’t been to before (and that has delicious food!!). We camped in tents and had to be escorted to bed each night by guards because hippos walked through every night. We were really close to the river, so they’d come out at night and keep the grass short. Elephants walked through all the time too, so we had to make sure there was enough space between our tents for an elephant to fit. It was crazy to wake up in the middle of the night and hear hippos chomping on grass. They’re incredibly loud eaters. There were also a number of monkeys that would grab any food or items left lying around. When I was sitting by the pool one day, I left my watch on a table. I got up for awhile to throw a football and when I got back it was gone. Luckily, someone found it in the grass, but I’m pretty sure it was the monkeys. I also saw a HUGE monitor lizard in the middle of the camp ground. I was by myself and didn’t have a camera. It was 3-4 feet and I was pretty scared, it watched me walk by.
I went on one night drive and saw some amazing animals. We saw a herd of buffalo, a single male lion, tons of impala, giraffes, hippos, water buck, elephants, zebras, kudu, lots of birds, baboons, velvet monkeys, crocodiles… it was great. With 14 WC people on drives, we took two cars. We met up for sundowners and took tons of pictures while we watched the African sunset. It was great.
The week before I went to camp every day. We were at a great school that was really excited to have us and the students were all wonderful. I do miss being in the classroom though. Now, I get to sit in on classes and watch the volunteer teachers and Field Staff interact with the kids. Plus I get to sit in on teacher meetings, which is incredibly interesting and informative. They’re always so open and willing to discuss the issues.
On the third day of camp during Empowerment (where we split up male and female students), one of the classes heard that a girl at the school had been impregnated by the head teacher and had left. I’m not sure what to believe – the head teacher was a wonderful man who asked us to come and teach at his school. All he talked about was change and education. I know that stuff like that happens throughout Malawi, but I’m not sure it happened at this school. It was kind of a reminder of why we’re – to help the kids learn about HIV and environmental degradation, and what they can do to stop the issues, protect themselves, and raise awareness.
Working with the teachers is supposed to increase the sustainability of our programs – if the teachers know the information, they can continue to teach it. I only hope a man who requests WC comes to teach his students really does have their best interests at heart.
So that’s about it for now. Pictures from the session are up on WC’s facebook page, plus I think a volunteer is going to post about safari tonight on the WC blog, so check that out too. If the internet was any faster, I’d put pictures up myself.
Elena’s newest discovery: right now, the four Clark family members are on 3 different continents!
Today, I’m planning tomorrow’s outreach project. We’re going to Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa District. There are ten nationalities represented at the camp, but the group we’ll be working with is primarily Congolese (which means they speak Swahili, not Chichewa like the Malawians we typically work with!). So the organization is providing their own interpreters. In the morning, we’re going to work with a group of 45 adults. 10 are staff members, 15 are members of an HIV/AIDS awareness club, and 20 are HIV+ people. They asked for basic education because the camp is really far behind in terms of awareness and information. Malawi as a whole has been doing really well recently in raising awareness and increasing education, but the camp is about 15 years behind the rest of the country. While HIV rates are lower than they are in the rest of the country, the camp is considered high risk because it’s closed.
In the afternoon, we’re going to work with 85 kids who were either orphaned by AIDS or are HIV or AIDS positive themselves. They’re ages 7-15. I’m trying to figure out what to do with them right now, and can’t decide if games and teambuilding activities would be more beneficial than education because of the age variance, or if teaching basic information would be better. I’ll definitely post about the day tomorrow or Sunday.
Last weekend we went on safari in Zambia. It was wonderful. We stayed at a place called Flatdogs that I hadn’t been to before (and that has delicious food!!). We camped in tents and had to be escorted to bed each night by guards because hippos walked through every night. We were really close to the river, so they’d come out at night and keep the grass short. Elephants walked through all the time too, so we had to make sure there was enough space between our tents for an elephant to fit. It was crazy to wake up in the middle of the night and hear hippos chomping on grass. They’re incredibly loud eaters. There were also a number of monkeys that would grab any food or items left lying around. When I was sitting by the pool one day, I left my watch on a table. I got up for awhile to throw a football and when I got back it was gone. Luckily, someone found it in the grass, but I’m pretty sure it was the monkeys. I also saw a HUGE monitor lizard in the middle of the camp ground. I was by myself and didn’t have a camera. It was 3-4 feet and I was pretty scared, it watched me walk by.
I went on one night drive and saw some amazing animals. We saw a herd of buffalo, a single male lion, tons of impala, giraffes, hippos, water buck, elephants, zebras, kudu, lots of birds, baboons, velvet monkeys, crocodiles… it was great. With 14 WC people on drives, we took two cars. We met up for sundowners and took tons of pictures while we watched the African sunset. It was great.
The week before I went to camp every day. We were at a great school that was really excited to have us and the students were all wonderful. I do miss being in the classroom though. Now, I get to sit in on classes and watch the volunteer teachers and Field Staff interact with the kids. Plus I get to sit in on teacher meetings, which is incredibly interesting and informative. They’re always so open and willing to discuss the issues.
On the third day of camp during Empowerment (where we split up male and female students), one of the classes heard that a girl at the school had been impregnated by the head teacher and had left. I’m not sure what to believe – the head teacher was a wonderful man who asked us to come and teach at his school. All he talked about was change and education. I know that stuff like that happens throughout Malawi, but I’m not sure it happened at this school. It was kind of a reminder of why we’re – to help the kids learn about HIV and environmental degradation, and what they can do to stop the issues, protect themselves, and raise awareness.
Working with the teachers is supposed to increase the sustainability of our programs – if the teachers know the information, they can continue to teach it. I only hope a man who requests WC comes to teach his students really does have their best interests at heart.
So that’s about it for now. Pictures from the session are up on WC’s facebook page, plus I think a volunteer is going to post about safari tonight on the WC blog, so check that out too. If the internet was any faster, I’d put pictures up myself.
Elena’s newest discovery: right now, the four Clark family members are on 3 different continents!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A quick link to pictures!
Since I can't reasonably upload a ton of pictures to this site, check out World Camp's facebook page! (not a promo, i promise! although becoming a fan is always an option!) There's an album called "LYLAS: Malawi 2010" that will constantly be updated with new photos from my session! I've taken a few that are up there, but they're from all the coordinators and volunteers! Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
