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Baobab juice ❤️

Highlights of the day:

I taught Judy and Ester (my 8- and 9-year old neighbors) how to use a Chichewa- English dictionary this morning. They still aren't awesome at it, but little by little I think they'll get it and it will be a useful skill for them in the future! 


At lunchtime, Judy came, as she has the past few days, with a plate of nsima to share with me. Instead of eating it on my porch like usual, I let her come in although my house was a complete disaster with materials for various projects strewn everywhere. Then of course her mom and little brother (Bule) came walking on in. Being in my house is like a treat for the kids because there's so much stuff everywhere to look at and touch. Usually I try to hide things away when I know people are coming over just so I don't look like a rich mzungu with all kinds of awesome to things in my house. This time though, I was exposed! Bule sat there the whole time while Judy and I ate, pointing things out-I was slightly embarrassed! However, with that came the best part of my day! He pointed out the malambe (baobab) seeds that I bought at the market because he wanted some, and my Amayi told me that she used to make juice from the seeds when they lived in Balaka (a district that actually has baobab trees-we don't have them in Mulanje). I asked her to show me how; she combined a handful of seeds, a few teaspoons of sugar, and water, stirred it around some, then let it sit for a few minutes. When it was ready, we all shared it, and it was delicious!!! I have decided that I will have to continue to buy baobab seeds at the market whenever I go! They're super high in vitamin C, calcium, and other vit/mins, and a whole bag of them was only 300 kwacha....so like $0.65. Gotta love Malawi-so many exotic/tropical foods and fruits for SO cheap!

After lunch, we had Day 2 of our SKILLZ Girl camp. A lot of new faces came today as well as others who didn't show, so it equaled out. We have a wide age range of girls doing the program (from 12-30), so it's an interesting dynamic. My counterparts did an awesome job facilitating again; just like yesterday. Honestly, they don't even need me there! The thing that kills me is that I can't quite understand what they're teaching. I want to be able to understand SO badly, but this curriculum has a lot of new Chichewa words for me. I'm sure they're doing a great job, but the control freak in me wants to know exactly what is being said and how they are explaining things. 🙈 This is a positive obstacle for me to have though because not only does it empower my counterparts, but it forces me to take a back seat and just go with the flow.

This evening, as per my usual routine, I brushed my teeth under a beautiful dark and starry sky. Then I saw such a bright star streak across the thick of the Milky Way that for a minute I thought maybe it was a bird or something. Nope, it was a star!! So then I of course had to grab a chair and sit and wait for more. As I leaned my chair back, I felt like I was in an Imax theater. Concluding my days with moments like these rejuvenate my passion for my life here. I might not have any idea what I want to do after this experience comes to a close, but I'll always have these memories and stories. I may sound like a broken record and like I'm always trying to end my posts on a positive note, but honestly that's just how my days finish-with a moment of self reflection and appreciation of the beauty around me. 

I also try to incorporate those moments into my day as much as possible by trying to see my surroundings through a different lens. Getting frustrated and overwhelmed by the little things is pretty common here, so it's essential (for my sanity) to take this time to breathe and remember why I joined Peace Corps and wanted this lifestyle. I wanted to challenge myself and live life in a different way- returning to the basics and the natural rhythm of life. Malawi makes it pretty easy to change my attitude if I just look around me because I'm constantly awed or humbled by the sheer beauty of the landscape, the compassion shown by my community, or the challenges that people here overcome on a daily basis.




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