Global Vagabond

  So this last week we took our first vacation to Myoka Village, Nkhata Bay, Malawi.  If you cant guess from the pictures we are literally ON lake Malawi which looks like an ocean, and gets some oceanic like waves too.   Getting there and back was an adventure in itself, and utterly exhausting, but once there its literally paradise.  Way too many 10 hr bus rides in too few days.   Sunny and perfect 90 degrees everyday with the warm waters easily accessible for all day festivities.  There was a group of 8 of us (Kate, Chris, Luke, Lucas, Mark, Grant, Travis, and myself) all of whom are RAPers and we flew into country together.  Its been almost 4 months since weve last hung out so this was a great break from vill life and to be reunited with my original Zam-fam.   Chris has a friend in PC Malawi so she came down with about 10 of her Malawi crew so it was great to hang with other PCVs and make a ton of new friends in the process.  Also, i...

    Ok, so many of you have been asking "where do you live" or "whats your house look like".  Glad to say that Im answering your question, because heres a snipet of my life in the vil.      Typically, Im up by 6 am - but I try to shove Mojo back to sleep for another half hour/hour.  Start my fire, get some water boiling, while Im waiting Ill sweep the hut, put my plants outside, water them, feed Mojo, sit around for 10 mins or more until the waters kinda hottish.  Make some oatmeal and tea, and play with Mojo. Oh hey its like 8 am maybe 830 if Im moving slow.  Head out and dig some ponds or talk about fish to some people.   Thats the usual.  On my off days I run in the morning while the waters going, take a walk with Mojo, hang out with villagers, play football/frisbee, mani-pedi days with the kids, read, and or make bread/scones.  Now heres a run down of my hut. Roughly, 14x19 feet (total) with two rooms and a porch...

Finally! MY 33 month stint of no internet and communication is over! From this point on I will be able to update at least once at month, hopefully twice a month since Im allowed to use the provincial house.   Which means internet, electricity, and hot water! Crazy! As for vill life Ive been super busy.  Ive dug at least 7 ponds, and surveyed probably double that. Dosent sound like a lot but it really it.  The building of ponds includes survey and site visit, dig visits, and composting/water visits that can take weeks. Other than pond digging Ive been digging my own garden around my house, working on funding for the agriculture co-op here, talking to the ministry of health, getting to know the area better, and really just strat digging ponds and talking to farmers who are interested  in ponds. As for those of you who havent heard I have a new man in my life.  Hees blonde with a black face, amber eyes, we go everywhe...

So this will be my last post for a while, roughly sometime in August, since I will not have internet until then.  After that Ill be able to update every 2 - 3 weeks so I am sorry for the lack of contact after today On May 2nd, we were officially sworn in as Volunteers and no longer Trainees.  It was actually a huge blast of a ceremony at the ambassadors house in Zambia, the headmen and chiefs from multiple villages came, and some of our host familys (mine!).  Lots of food, we all dressed up in our best icitenge outfits, which was hilarious and colorful, and this was the first time the RAP group (rural aquaculture promotion) and the LIFE group (linking income food and environment) group have seen each other since we all flew over on the plane/spent that intro week in Lusaka.  The festivities continued with shopping for supplies for our huts, then an all you can eat indian buffet, a instrumental circle (drums, flute, banjos, guitars, ect)  and late night festiv...