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I'm still here!

Hiiii friends!

 I have been the worst blogger ever the past few months! Sorry for that. Although my crazy life has become so normal in my mind, I can't count the number of times that I've been asked, "So what are you actually doing over there?" So here's to the next 8.5 months and posting more updates on my work, Malawian culture, and life in Bondo village.



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The Mud Pit

 Perched atop a mountain of dirt and next to a stuck truck with 'God's time is the best" written across it's back, the komatsu excavator whirled back and forth. It's mighty engine was the only machine running outside of the occasional motorbike, as all of the cars waiting on it's progress had long since shut off their motors and settled in. When we had approached this spot in the road, we assessed the situation. Then"good time" truck blocked the road to the left, another sat in the middle of the mess, and a big truck was teetering on one side, barely upright on the right side of the pit. A dumptruck hauled out the middle truck, but then the komatsu went straight in, after being filled with gasoline, and went to work. Groups of men sat around the heart of the action, closely observing the incredible work of such a powerful machine. Young kids helped motorbikes push their way through the giant muddy mess, jumping out of the way of the big y...
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"Bland" American Food

Here in Liberia, more than I've ever experienced, people talk about America. The linked history these two nations share creates an intriguing dynamic. Many people go to America to study, to buy a house, to find a job, to visit family, or simply to see the place. And this is normal. Now, across the globe everyone eats right? Food brings us all together across cultural, socioeconomic, and geographical barriers. I often get the question from people curious about America and wanting to travel there, 'what do Americans eat?' In Liberia, people eat rice every single day. It is their staple food, and they cannot go without it. (They also ask me if there is rice in America.) Sometimes I answer by going into descriptive detail when explaining that Americans don't necessarily have a “staple” or traditional food and that our food culture tends to reflect our varied melting pot society and geographically diverse environments. The ones who have visited the State...
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Simple Daily Reflection

Orange spots of sunlight gleam between the bluegum trees as I watch the world disappear behind us in the fingerprint-speckled rearview mirror on the mini bus. To our left, Mulanje mountain glows purple as it always does at this time in the evening when the sun sinks below the earth, putting an end to the hot day. A faint, yet almost full moon floats above the mountain, almost in the center of the elongated rock structure.   Along my way from the capital city, I'd seen so many depressing as well as incredible sights that, despite having been here for over 20 months, still touch my heart. Child labor at its finest as kids dig up dry fields to cultivate and struggle to carry buckets of water on their heads. Diminishing forests next to piles and piles of charcoal. Then there are the pristinely wild looking mountains and hillsides and cute lines of chicks waddling along the sides of the roads. I think about how new and shocking this all was when I arrived here; debating whether it...
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