One of the best things about having your hand held absolutely all the time as a trainee is all the free rides in Peace Corp's fleet of rough and tough land rovers. We've gone to and from Lilongwe for just a few hours' hanging out at the bank or checking e-mail at the office (it's a 75 minute trip each way). Here's a hint: I actually read my e-mail so send me some pleeease! Lilongwe seems kind of like a crappy city at first because it's so spread out you can't really see where the cool stuff is at, but after getting the tour of old town while in search of a tailor to get some super-awesome national wear made (picture a head to toe fitted top and skirt ensemble in some of the loudest patterns fathomable-- some replete with matching head wrap) I now know where to pray, meet some rastas, buy tanzanian goods, or get shady "vitamins" sold in unlabeled glass jars. Jealous yet??
But when we all rolled up to the American Ambassador's house for Thanksgiving, all 120 PCVs in Malawi, it was like we had teleported from Lilongwe to another world entirely: enter the posh. In a country lacking in running water and electricity, here I was padding around barefoot on a ticklishly soft grassy lawn among flowering trees, tennis courts, and a bountiful potluck feast to celebrate the harvest season. I'm still getting used to the constant heat of the tropics so it was a little weird to jump in the pool and show off a (borrowed) bikini before hitting up the chilled beer (on tap!) and roast pig. Don't worry veganoids and vegetarians, I balanced my continuing foray into the land of nyama with plenty of roast veggies. It was a teensy bit hard to justify partaking in that kind of excess but it only happens once a year. Another hall mark of excess was the behavior of other volunteers: most people in my education class were completely overwhelmed by the rowdiness of both boys and girls doing three-tiered chicken fights, throwing n00bs into the pool (sorry Alyssa!), and just drinking far, far too much.
The transit houses are one feature that PC does really well in Malawi for traveling volunteers as a place to stay, bathe, wash dishes, cook for yourself, and just chill. Upon visiting the house in Lilongwe which was just stuffed with folks in town for Thanksgiving -- tents pitched up and down the huge lawn and many half-naked boys throwing the frisbee around-- more being overwhelmed ensued. There's another house up north in Mzuzu and one down south in Blantyre for folks who are a little farther afield from the capital and they're probably a little cleaner and well-kept. All of them have excellent lending libraries, btw! I've already hit the LLW house up for some Joyce Carol Oates.
The last interesting trip we've taken was down south to Zomba for PC's summer camp for the best 2 students from each school with a PCV teacher. Next year we'll be running the show so it was a really good chance to see first-hand how sessions are conducted (and how well these students responded -- classes went like a dream!) and how the camp-wide theme of career development was really helping some talented students achieve their goals. Some of them really did have some worthy goals, eg. becoming accountants and doctors. We got to hear from some of the 2nd year campers, called Junior Counselors, and they had a lot of great feedback for how PCVs can succeed in the classroom as well as to help young Malawians find a real career, via camp sky or otherwise, when students are coming from the village. It was also just great to see fellow PCVs in their element and to pick up some tips from their teaching styles.
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