Welcome to the Warm Heart of Africa!
Not sure if the nickname for Malawi is referring to the heat or the friendly faces. But either one, they hit the nail on the head.
I am beginning to learn some of the the native language, Chichewa. Here’s what I have so far:
Zikomo! Mulibwanji? Ndiribwino. Dzina langa ndine Jacqueline. Ndachokera ku America. Ndabwera sabata yatha.
Here’s a translation for you:
Hello! How are you? I am fine. My name is Jacqueline. I come from America. I came here last week.
It looks good on paper, but let’s be honest, I’m lucky if I manage to squeak out one of those words with proper pronunciation. I tend to stick to Zikomo and use it in all contexts. Hello, thank you, goodbye… It works for pretty much everything.
So far this month I have eaten a lot of Doritos chips, and guacamole. It just so happens to be avocado season, so I’ve been getting my fair share of the delicious green diamond. Tomatoes and onions are pretty much the only other vegetable you can find, so put all three together and you have yourself practically a whole Mexican feast! (Mexican food is my favorite and this is the closet I can get to it)
We have the luxury of staying in an abandoned hospital on a lush plantation far from civilization. I share my sleeping space with spiders the size of small puppies and I crawl into bed as soon as the sun goes down, which is about 6pm. There’s not too much to do once the sun light is gone…
I wake up with the sun, first opening my eyes around 5am, then hop out of bed for a sunrise run at about 5:50am. Along the way I wave to morning villagers who are already riding their bikes down the long dirt road going somewhere… Beats me.
Then at some point in the day, my team and I will pile into the bed of a pickup truck and head down the dirt road, often times veering off onto a narrow dirt path, and make our way to the village for ministry.
We are always greeted by beautiful songs sung by the village women and children( sometimes men) which also include a dance. I’ve enjoyed playing soccer with the kiddos, and telling bible stories in the village.
So far, that’s what my days look like here in Malawi. I wear a beautiful fabric around my waste everyday called a wrapper. Can’t show too much skin. Spent some time at Lake Malawi, also called the Lake of Stars. Not because you can see the whole Milky Way (which you can and it’s amazing), but because at night the lake is covered with fisherman who go out on small boats with a single light on each. It looks as though they are the stars’ reflection on the water. Beautiful.
Certainly enjoying these last few weeks in Africa. Nowhere else in the world I’d rather be right now than right here.
Sending my love from the warm heart of Africa!
XOXO
Jac Jac
