Hey guys,
I wanted to share the exciting (terrifying, overwhelming, absolutely insane, completely brilliant) news with everyone. I received my invite in the mail yesterday, and I've been invited to Malawi on September 26, with my two-year term beginning December 10th. (I'll be in training in or around the capital city of Lilongwe in the interim.) Malawi is in the southeast quadrant of the continent. Mozambique runs down the southeast coast, and Malawi is a tiny country that lies along the inside border of Mozambique. It's about the size of Indiana, with a population of approximately 11-13.5 million people. It's one of the most densely populated countries in the world, as well as one of the five poorest countries. Between Malawi and Mozambique sits Lake Malawi, an enormous fresh-water lake larger than New Hampshire, home to more than 85% of the world's freshwater fish species. Hippos and crocodiles (yikes!) are two of the most prominent animals found in the area, but there is, of course, a wide variety of wildlife to be seen.
Known as the "warm heart of Africa", Malawi is known for its kind people and love of singing and dancing (perfect, right?). Unfortunately, it is also known for its exceedingly high HIV/AIDS rates; I have been warned to prepare myself ahead of time for the likelihood that people around me will die while I'm in country. Other health hazards include rabies, malaria, and waterborne parasites, so I have plenty of vaccinations to look forward to, and I think the Peace Corps is even going to show me how to test myself for malaria. Ok, so it's not all glamorous, but that's no surprise.
It's most likely that I will live in a rural village and that I'll live on school grounds. I'll be learning an indigenous language (probably Chichewa, I would think, but I'm not sure yet). I probably won't have electricity, running water, or cell service, but I think I heard somewhere that the lost art of letter writing is making a come-back, right? The most common staple food is nsmima, which is a corn porridge-type substance. Starches make up a large part of the diet, especially corn, sweet potato, potatoes, and rice. Fish is also important, with the proximity to such a large body of water, as are beans and seasonal vegetables. Imported foods are expensive. Fortunately, groundnuts are plentiful, so my love of peanut butter will help me through. I will admit that I have seen both a picture of ceremonial grilled rats on a stick, as well as a recipe for dried caterpillar skins, and I'm scared. Very scared.
Malawi is famous for being the country from which Madonna adopted (and from which she was infamously accused of having stolen) her African orphan. In spite of Madonna's visit, Malawi is a very religious country, mostly Christian but with a significant Islamic population, as well. All of the religions in the area, of course, have been influenced by traditional belief systems, as well. It's a very conservative country, and although women have recently been granted the right to wear pants in public, I'm restricted to skirts and dresses. This happens to work uniquely in my favor, though, as I love skirts and dresses anyway. As for carrying 20 liters of water on my head in a skirt, though? Well, we'll see. I did see someone with a rigged-up bike handlebar used to carry water, and I'm looking into to crafting my own such contraption.
I am likely to have between 50 and 100 students in my classes and no desks, chairs, or books. I'm told, though, that this is normal and that I will find creative solutions to work around these obstacles. Temperatures range from about 35 F on top of Mt Mulanje in the cold season to around 95 F in the grasslands during the warm months. I won't be assigned a site until I'm a good bit of the way through training, so I have to prepare for anything. I think it's probably one of the safest Peace Corps countries, as all of Malawi's boder countries (Zambia, Mozambique, and Tanzania) are peace countries also served by the Peace Corps, a seemingly rare event. the only wild card is that Malawi has some pretty strong economic ties (which is not saying much, necessarily, considering the state of the country's economy) with Zimbabwe, a country which has become a world-news mainstay in recent months for its significant politcal unrest.
I haven't officially accepted my invitation yet, as I received it on a Saturday, but I intend to do so tomorrow. I had to sit in silence for a few hours yesterday to really let the idea completely soak in, but I'm getting used to the butterflies-in-my-stomach feeling which I can only presume will grow over the next two months. Now, if only I can figure out how, exactly, to fit the next two years into my strictly-enforced 80-pound luggage limit. The camera or the skillet, extra hiking boots or extra books? I'm already in contact with one girl from my training group who, oddly enough, graduated from Vanderbilt in '07 and still lives in Nashville. There's also a guy from Middle Tennessee State class of '05 in the group. Very strange, indeed.
I've seen blogs from current PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers), and they all have a wish list for care packages. The list usually includes boxed mac and cheese (probably not so good without butter or milk, but it's gotta beat an hour of grinding corn after work), seeds (I'm currently looking into buying up as many as possible to start a much-needed garden), drink mixes like crystal lite and gatorade (treated water isn't so tasty, I suppose), etc. I'm not sure what my can't-live-without-it American item is yet, but I figure about one month in, I'll have no trouble identifying it. I will send all address info. later. Letters take around a month to arrive; boxes take more like six months and only maybe arrive. All letters should be numbered in case one gets lost, and they'll be more appreciated than you can imagine. Anything else: if you can squish it in an envelope, there's more chance it will be treated as a letter and arrive in "timely" fashion. Also, if asked to declare a value on the shipment, always write $0, or it for sure won't make it to my little corrugated tin roofed hut.
More importantly, I'm looking into hooking up with some local charitable organizations here to help fund projects while I'm in Malawi. One idea is organizing a book collection to start (or continue to support, depending on the site I receive) a library in my village. A woman contacted me this morning about a similar project her brother has started in a village in northern Malawi, and her website (http://www.pulverpages.com/CalebLibraryPages/CalebPagesMainPage.htm ) details a cheap book-shipping method. We'll see how it goes; I'll let you know how things progress on this front. I'm just in the brainstorming process now, but it seems that having connections to potential fundraisers here in the states really helps PCVs implement their projects.
I'm sure that's plenty of information for now; I know that it's far more than I can process at the moment. I look forward to talking to each and every one of you before I leave, as well as to keeping in touch with you while I'm abroad. I appreciate more than I can express the encouragement everyone has given me throughout this long and uncertain application process, and I hope that I can send back pictures and stories that will enourage all of you as much as you've encouraged me. I want to send out an extra 'thank you' to those who sent glowing recommendations for me--Peggy, Claudia, Erika: I absolutely couldn't have gotten here without your kind words. Also, a special 'thank you' to Sue, who has agreed to have her 7th/8th grade class in Brandon, VT, correspond with me through the Paul D. Coverdell World Wise Schools Program, which is an effort by the Peace Corps to work towards its third goal of bringing PCVs' newfound cultural knowledge back to the U.S. If anyone else is interested, I'd be happy to sign up with another class, as well.
I'll probably have a blog that I will update when I make trips into the city, but I haven't established that yet. Again, 'thank you' to all of you who have joined me thus far on the journey; now the interesting part really begins.
Love,
Jenn
P.S. I love visitors. (Hint, hint) If you want to make the trip, I'm sure it will be worth it. Every one of you has accommodation of some sort in Malawi for at least the next 27 months. If you've got the resources, please come see what southern Africa has to offer. I'll even cook for you (no rats, I promise).
A couple of the beautiful things I hope to see (in case you think I've lost my mind): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDRoHoQldqc (AIDS orphans make music using found objects.
Those of you who know me well know that I am not particularly religious, especially not openly so, that I tend toward the cynical, and that, although I'd rarely admit it, I'm a sucker for a sweet story. Part academic, part bleeding heart, I find myself now walking the line between caring too much (gushing) and not caring enough (the stoic stance). I read recently, I think in Anderson Cooper's biography, about an aid doctor who said to his new nurses something along the lines of "You do not cry in front of the patients. They have not come for your pity; they've come for your skills. If you have to cry, fine, go somewhere alone and cry. But don't let the patients see you. It will only scare them, and that is not your right." It seems harsh, but he was one of the best, most effective doctors in his field. And not just efficient and sterile, either. By not pitying his patients, he was able to stay clear-headed about his purpose and not get too hardened or depressed to continue. He was able to help. I don't know yet exactly how to walk that line, but I think that's the goal. I'm working on it.
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