It's funny how me sitting outside on my front porch studying development materials can quickly turn into a gaggle of kids in my yard playing. My cute toddler friend Macy comes over to chat with her sister, a few neighbors kids join us, then she gets her "Malawian jump rope," more kids come (in their purple uniforms because they're on their way home from school), and before I know it, my yard has because a playground. Even though it can be frustrating when I actually need to get things done, sometimes being in the center of the village, surrounded by activity, a highly frequented produce stand, and children, can be a blessing.
It’s been a whirlwind of a week. A giant tropical storm slammed the southern region of Malawi a few days ago with multiple feet of rainfall in 2-3 days. Considering homes and buildings are made of sandy mud bricks around here, lots of rain can weaken these walls and cause walls and entire structures to collapse. Thankfully I was not in my village when the storm hit (I was staying with a friend who knew the storm was on its way), so I was safe. I watched the storm bend palm trees and flop big branches from the safely of a large front porch that overlooked the tea estates. The rain came in waves usually of ridiculously hard rapping on the roof to light drizzling, and we had phases of thunder and lightning. One thing was for sure though—it didn’t stop raining for three days straight. The only discomfort I experienced though was temperamental electricity (which didn’t bother me since I’m used to not having it anyway). Besides that, I spent four days working on lesson plans for programs in...
