Happy New Year!!!

Sorry for the absence this past week.. We have been celebrating the holidays with family... It's been great to have familiar faces around, see the country and play euchre!!! I will post more about our time and have photos up in the next day or so.. Jacob , Bob and Rebecca leave tomorrow so we have one more day to enjoy ..  Everyone here is safe and sound.. We have seen more snakes, monitor lizards and monkeys around a poolside than I'd like to, but it's been a great holiday.. Ill write more in the next few days... But for now, Happy New Year!  We miss everyone at home... Cheers!
In the meantime, here's a few photos!

Frances in front of our camp and a huge baobab tree

River Safari

Ngala Lodge poolside

Giant monitor lizard.. poolside as well.

No news = good news

It is currently 10 am here, 3 am in Cincy.. I know that Jake, Bob and Rebecca's flight was a bit delayed, putting them a little behind schedule when the arrive in Addis Ababa, but I haven't heard anything yet, so I will take this as a sign that they have made the connecting flight to Lilongwe..
It's funny... there's a thing called "African time" which means if something is supposed to occur at 1pm, it usually will get started around 3 or 330... But when it comes to planes and flight schedules, they usually are spot on schedule.. (at least my experience)..

We will head out to the airport in a few hours.. Which means with family coming into town, my blogging may be a bit sporadic.. I will try to blog a bit here and there, but not sure when..
We leave Tuesday for a safari at Liwonde National Park http://www.malawitourism.com/pages/attractions/the_attraction.asp?AttractionsID=35

Will be staying at Linwonde Safari camp - http://liwondesafaricamp.com
Hope to take in some serious wildlife there, while sleeping amongst the animals in the African bush..
On Wednesday and Thursday I'm sure we will be making Merry during the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.. Then we take off Friday to camp again in the bush, followed by 3 days of relaxation at Lake Malawi .. staying at Ngala Beach Lodge  http://www.ngalabeach.com.. 
Needless to say we will be enjoying the company of family..

Below are two photos.. one is of the kids we sent to Jake before he departed DC... just letting him know we were anxious to see him... can't you tell??
The second is Jude, me and a gentleman named Isaac.. When we stayed at Kasungu, this man took care of us and after a while, we came to find out we each had 5 children, and exactly the same ages...
He called Jude his best friend and made sure to give Jude extra special attention.. Jude thinks it was because Isaac couldn't remember his name, and that might be true.. But Isaac was a prime example of the kind of people you meet while traveling through this wonderful part of the world.. He was so genuinely kind and peaceful and just a damn good person. These are the type of people that make us love living here..

If for some reason I don't get a chance to write this later, I want to wish all our family and friends at home a Merry Christmas.. We miss everyone dearly.

Anxiously awaiting!!

My Malawian twin with me and Jude

Holiday season starts

We are now counting the hours until family arrives!! They leave this 10:30 am US time and head to Ethiopia, then to Lilongwe and should get here around 6:30 am US time on Sunday.. We can't wait.

Things here are good.... Last night we were invited to a Christmas party at a friends' home with several other families.. It was a nice, familiar holiday party that revolved around families having something to share with everyone. Some people sang songs, performed beautiful piano solos, while the Eckerles led a sing a long to "Must Be Santa", followed by the "try and eat a cookie placed on your forehead without moving it with your hand game".. thanks Cathy.. Needless to say, we came across as a little pretentious with our high browed ways..

After that, the kids participated in a night swim (not something we would ordinarily do during this time of year at home)... As strange as things feel here during the Christmas season, this was a wonderful way to start this Christmas week.

At Michelle's work yesterday they had a Christmas party as well. Michelle had asked me to photograph some of the event as well as take photos of the area of the hospital where she works... I was unable to get permission to go into the ward to take photos, so I will go back soon to really capture the place she works..

If you know Michelle, she hates having her photo taken, but I was able to manage a few snapshots of her at work..
I have to say that it was good to see her working.. It is at times difficult to have her gone for such a long time due to the current situation she is in, and I needed to be reminded of why we are here.. She is making a difference. If she didn't put in the long hours here(along with a few other physicians) children would die.. It is a difficult situation.. The hospital is understaffed, people are underpaid, there is limited resources and children here are very sick. I know nothing about medicine, but I do know that the situation here is tough. And Michelle is in the throws of it and her services are needed every single day.
So, it was good for me to be reminded of this.. When I feel like I haven't seen her as much as I'd like (i really enjoy hanging out with my wife),  this is a good reminder why..

The Christmas Party was a huge event.. they had all the workers come for a grill out, several performances and apparently after I left, they made all the American doctors(Michelle included) dance. Now, for Malawians and probably all Africans, there is nothing more hilarious than watching white people dance.. Michelle tells me she was a part of the comedy relief.. The women in the photo below did a wonderful dance.. 

Aside from dancing, there was beautiful Malawian singing.  Videos are below as well.. 

Please check them out for a taste of the local culture... 

Heading out shortly for a quick run to the shops in preparation for everyone's arrival... Safe travels Jake, Bob and Rebecca.. as they say here... See you this Side!!

sorry the writing seems a bit rushed.. have lots to do before tomorrow! Cheers everyone

s

rain

It has rained twice in the last two days.. just enough to make it steamy and even more sweaty.. It seems like the drought may be over...

Yesterday I put a  stop to the blogging because a gentleman had knocked on our gate wanting to speak with me. His name is Ronard and I have purchased many baskets, mats, etc from him. They are handmade out of grass and they are quite nice. Anyway, he came to me asking to buy some mats and to borrow some money for materials. We talked for a bit and came to an agreement and as we were talking , he kept getting stranger and stranger.. complaining he was sick and short of breath,etc..  As soon as I handed him the money, his eyes rolled back in his head, he began to foam at the mouth and fell backwards, convulsing. Some people walking by stopped and walked over as I tried to position him so he wouldn't hurt himself. This was my first experience with a seizure and my immediate reaction was that this man was dying right before my eyes... some of the locals told me he "Had a disease and he would be better in 30 minutes..  One of them told me to get a plastic plat

e.. so I scrambled inside all the while wondering what the hell we were going to use a plastic plate for?? When I returned the men had moved Ronard to a safer place. When I handed him the plate, he just started to fan Ronard off.. I gave him a cup of water and he threw it on his face..

I called Michelle, she came, checked him over and it was concluded he was ok.. But he should go to the hospital.. But in Michelle's words.. "Not today, because the scanner is not working and it would be a waste of time"..

After about 45 minutes, Ronard came to, I gave him some bread and he was on his way.. As he was drinking his water, he looked at the plastic cup (a basic plastic cup that costs maybe 50 cents in the US ) and said he wants to buy a cup like this for his home and for his children.. He wanted to know how much it cost and where I bought it.. I told him he could take it home.. A plastic cup..

I have attached more photos from the trip only because I don't know what else to do with them...
I may eventually post some video of sunsets, sunrises, etc..

We have a Christmas party to attend this evening and it should be fun.. Tomorrow we prep for the coming of our son and Bob and Rebecca.. Looking forward to it.
Hope all is well at home.. Happy Friday everyone..

Kate Panorama #1 (view of Zambian border)

Kate Panorama #2.. 

another soccer field

way to Kazungu

Black Rock view of Zambian border

Elephant sighting on our walk... Maura's face says it all.. it's hot and bright!

Kasungu trip

Ok, we have made it back safe and sound from our overnight to Kasungu.. I will write today, add photos of the trip to the park and the add more photos tomorrow from our trip. The kids took most of the photos so I have alot to sift from. I just wanted to update the blog and keep you in suspense until tomorrow. 

A quick thing before i talk about our mini trip. 

The night before we left for our trip, we went to the swimming pool .. It has a great bar, restaurant, etc. I purchased a few beers and soft drinks and gave the gentleman a tip (probably 2$)… As mentioned before, tipping here is not necessarily expected.. I think coming from the US it is engrained in our head to tip, so I usually tip.. Anyway, I gave the gentleman the tip and he said.. “thank you sir, this will be used for transport.” which means he will be using it to catch a ride home on a minibus..  I thought to myself…..i can’t imagine going to work each day, uncertain as to how I am going get home. I get upset if there’s a problem with my car, or there is too much traffic, or god forbid, there’s no gas in my vehicle and I have to stop to refill.” But to go to work each day resigned to either hope that I get some money for a ride home, or that I’ll just walk home, is beyond my way of thinking..  

The kids and I left Lilongwe about 9 am on Tuesday… Before we took off, I stopped at the ATM to withdraw about 300USD, which takes about 5 transactions … it’s kind of embarrassing, and you leave the machine with a giant wad of cash.. thank god each ATM has a 13 year old guard dressed in uniform, sometimes sporting a billy stick.. 

We stopped at the 7 eleven to pick up 2 bags of ice.. I realized I only needed a bag and a half and had some leftover ice.. Now at home, I would have dumped in the parking lot and been on my way.. Here, I had several workers around me in the parking lot, sitting in 90 degree heat with nothing.. I couldn’t possibly throw this ice on the ground in front of them.. .. So, I walked up to two of them, asked them if they wanted it , and the excitedly took the bag out of my hand..  As I was pulling away, I thought the two young men would use all of the ice for themselves, and I felt horrible that I left a few of the other workers out of the mix… But as I was pulling out of the lot, I saw the two young men running over to their co-workers with some ice and a few recycled bottles they found trying to divvy up the ice for everyone..  moral of story…. don’t waste your ice. 

On the road to Kasungu the kids and I had a great time… we played music off of my “cheese” playllist, then listened to Kate belt out her tunes, which includes One Direction and more One Direction.. Around 2 1/2 hours into the drive, we found the turnoff for the National Park .. After a mile or so on pavement roads, everything turns to dirt.. and for the next hour and a half , we were driving on unmarked dirt roads that traveled through very remote small villages… It is incredible to see these places..  Families living in these beautiful handmade homes with grass roofs, children running around yelling “White man!” at you as you dart through their neighborhood.. I stopped to ask a few elder women if I was on the right road to the National Park, but before I could get a chichewa phrase out of my mouth they pointed down the road and nodded.. Why else would a white guy be out in the middle of nowhere but to go check out a bunch of animals that they live with every day?? side note. in one of the photos are the dreaded Gule Wamkulus(see earlier post)... they freak my kids out.. 

We arrived at the entrance to the park(photo below) and met by this man who’s name escapes me but in Chichewa it means “Whip” or “to whip”.. after he told me that, he said.. “but I only get whipped when I’m bad”..  The kids were laughing at me as I got out of the car to meet him because apparently my back was soaked in sweat.. he greeted the kids and opened the gate and we were on our way..  

Road to Kasungu

Road to Kasungu... firewood

Entrance to the park.. just like Kings Island

Kids taking in a game drive

Gule Wamkulus... scare the hell out of Maura

Our destination.. perched right next to a hippo infested lake.

It is difficult to describe the experience of being out in the African bush. As someone who has only done it a handful of times in my life, it is always an amazing experience..  Otherworldly I think may be the best way to describe it.. the dark , the quiet, the sheer feeling of being in the middle of nowhere is really surreal. I think the kids are now old enough to really understand that as well..  We took a hike, did a drive through the bush, camped out on the edge of the lake, stargazed and were treated like royalty by the staff.. While the wildlife was scarce due to how dense the area was around the lake, the experience was still really incredible.. Ill post more about our trip tomorrow as a man has just had a seizure outside our gate.. Ill explain more tomorrow...  that's a great way to end a blog post! Don't worry , he is ok.

Jude tests negative for malaria/ jazz night..

Will keep it short and sweet today.. Michelle gave Jude a malaria test yesterday and it ended up negative.. We were pretty sure he was ok, but we always want to be sure.. Today is hot, sunny and dry !! (surprise).. I have fallen into the habit of zonking out around 930 each evening on the couch.. This place and its heat are exhausting..  The wait for rain continues.

We are packing today for our excursion to Kasungu.... We have a rondavel rented on the banks of a river there in the National Park, and hope to take in some wildlife..  I will post pictures and video if possible when we return.. Should be late Wedensday.

I think that's it.. Last night we headed to Four Seasons to check out some live music, have cold beverages and eat freshly made pizzas.. It was a very cool scene.. Sort of like a music in the park sort of deal, but the diversity of the crowd was really nice.  Nice to mingle with a good mix of Malawians and ex-pat community.

Ok, gotta go.. kate wants to get her ears pierced again, so we are heading to the salon.. Will be back on Wednesday!

Cheers!

Boredom, heat sets in fast..

You know how after about 5 days on Holiday break everyone gets a little bored and kids start lying around complaining there's not a thing to do?? Well, that came at about 15 hours into our 1 month long holiday break... My kids looked me square in the face and said, "we are bored". I , being a responsible, creative and wonderful father, told them to find something to do.. I gave them the long speech about how being bored is good, how being bored breeds creativity, how "when I was your age, we didn't have computers, iPods, etc.. ".. so I made them turn off all their devices, find something to do and within 20 minutes, we were all laying on my bed bumming around... I eventually fell asleep and took a 30 minute nap.. We couldn't help it.. it's just too hot to do anything.. We rattled off a few ideas, but none of them sounded good to anyone.. We didn't even eat dinner last night it was too hot...

On a side note.. I get to grow my beard back this month.. I feel like a Cincinnati red from the 80's.. The facial ban is not in effect during the school break so I'm letting it loose!!

I woke up this morning and reminded myself that I am lucky to have this time off with the kids.. that I need to step up the parenting game and make this time off worthwhile for the kids..One of the great perks of being a teacher..
 Or, we can do what i did as a kid and lounge around, fight, play games and watch tv.. We'll see how it goes..
Our kids are doing great though.. Kate has a tight knit group of friends, Jude had a few friends over Friday for a sleepover and Franny and Maura really love their school. So, all is well. I think this could be a long month though, considering there really isn' t much to do.. We will probably do a ton of swimming until family arrives.. which we all are very, very excited about.

The weather is causing some havoc with the natural order of things.. Usually by this time , it has rained enough and people have planted their crops and all is well.. No one has planted anything yet.. fields are prepared and ready to go, but everyone is awaiting the rain.. Michelle said that when the rain comes, the hospital empties out, because everyone goes to their fields to plant.. It doesn't matter how sick you are.. People don't seem desperate, but you can tell they are worried.. We receive warnings from the Embassy stating to keep a watch on your personal property and when going around town.. Obviously with this type of problem, petty theft/ crime rises as people try to make ends meet.. Let's hope for some rain..

Michelle is working all weekend. She was at the hospital until 10 last night, then was called back in at 5 this morning.. Don't know when we will see her today. She is doing procedures and medical techniques that she's never tried at home, and I think really enjoying the challenge.. I think she loves the work..  It's very taxing though and I think the commitment in time there can be too much. I'll be glad when she gets a few days off and can head to the lake with us over the holiday.

Kids are showering now.. might have to shower again later.. Jude has been running a high fever for a day so we may end up testing him for malaria as well. He seems better this morning though. He peeled off an inch of dirt off of his chest last night and showed it to me.. "dad, what's this?" i told him it looked like a weeks worth of dried sweat.. It's hot here..

This afternoon we will head to our swimming club, have some chips and a coke, then meet up with Michelle (hopefully) at a jazz concert out at a local bar/ nursery..

We were supposed to go see "it's a Wonderful Life" last night at a local pub, but apparently they have put a halt to many of their events.. Rumor around town is that a group of Americans got into a bar fight with some locals at the place, so they've toned down their events.. Leave it up to the Americans to spoil it for everyone.. Too bad , the place is a cool little joint that we'll frequent when Bob,Rebecca and Jacob get here.... Peace Corps volunteers are not allowed to step foot in the place (order of Peace Corps)..


Ok, all for now I think.. Photo is a typical side road outside of town.. Happy Sunday everyone..

Christmas break!!

The kids are beaming with excitement as the christmas break has finally come. We had an all school Christmas pageant last night and it was so cool to see so many different types of people fill a gymnasium.. A really great mix of expat community with Malawians.. . The program of course did not go smoothly as it was interrupted by 2 power outages and unbelievable heat.. But the kids did great and had a good time. We went out for Chinese food afterward and Jude and Maura were falling asleep at the table. The heat here is exhausting. Michelle and I fell asleep on the couch last night and woke up about 130 in the morning, drenched in sweat with hands on our computer as if typing..

A few things.. big news around town is that we have a brand new Shoprite opening right next to the school today!!. Shoprite is a grocery store, but it is situated in a mall they are building, and have been building for 5 years.. The rest of the mall will have restaurants, other stores, a theater and I read somewhere an 8 lane bowling alley!. Unfortunately , this part of the mall won't be open for quite some time.. things take time here.. a lot of time.

Jude is having a few friends over this evening and we are planning a grill out and a trip to "Creamy Inn" for some ice cream... Creamy inn is no Graeters,  but it's all we have .  Tomorrow night a cool pub called "Harrys" is running "it's a wonderful life" on a big screen outside.. So, we'll head to that, Ill probably fall asleep mid movie, only to wake up for the best part. It is on of my top 5 favorite movies, so I'm pretty excited to see it.

Tuesday next week the kids and I will have an Malawian excursion and head north to Kasungu.. There is a lodge there in a National reserve call Lifupa .. http://www.lifupa.com .. apparently elephants are a plenty and I've reserved a few rondavels.. We'll take in some animals, have an evening in the bush and enjoy some game drives..

We are greatly anticipating Jacob , Bob and Rebecca's arrival.. really looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing the little of what we know about our surroundings here.. Michelle has to work nonstop straight up until Christmas so she's looking forward to her break which will happen just after Christmas Day.

Clouds are moving in, looks like rain.. but it has looked like this all week and nothing.. People here are getting restless about the rain as they have tended to their fields and wait.. Apparently this is a tough time of the year and we've received warnings from the Embassy that theft is on the rise during this time as people are struggling... Plus, they know Christmas is here..

Ok, all for now..

Shoprite santas handing out adverts

Last day of school before Break!! dress down day

throwback Thursday

As I write this , the campus is filled with the sound of children singing Christmas carols as they practice for the pageant this evening..  The wind howls through the trees outside my classroom and an occasional rooster will cackle as they walk about the campus as well.. It's very surreal as everything seems out of place.. Christmas carols when its 90 outside? Roosters on campus?? It's nice.

I have found a great place to get my haircut.. Salon Mystique in the Crossroad hotel just down the street from our home.. I know I've mentioned them before, but they do a great job and the price is right.. yesterday I went for a cut.. As they were cutting my hair,, the power went off.. The salon became pitch black..  as soon as the power cut off, the stylists start wheeling all of the customers out into the hallway where they could see better..

At home, it seems that our water problems are finally coming to an end.. but I can't say for sure.. the water is working, but is sporadic.. .. You flush the toilet and hope that everything goes down the drain.. It did when I left for work this morning and I was able to eek out a shower.

Since the tradition amongst hip young kids is to post a "throwback" image or video or something on Thursdays, I thought I'd put  an image and audio clip on the blog from our last time in Africa..

This image was taken on the day we busted open girl scout cookies that were sent to us via Ellen Lonneman .... We ate everything in one sitting..  Kids were a little smaller.. I remember the concerns in Botswana were day to day, minute to minute with the twins.. the whole house we lived in was tiled and the twins always fell.. Every edge was sharp, the electric outlets would kill you if you stuck anything in them... Jude was always up to no good, and Frances would try and climb out of her crib, landing on the hard ceramic floor.. I'm grateful we don't have to worry about that stuff this time around..
The audio clip was recorded by my brother in law Bob when he visited. It's our friend Celeste telling a story in English, translated by her cousin.. The African language is Ndebele, a language that can be found in Zimbabwe and in South Africa. If you want to hear a beautiful language check it out.



We have a christmas pageant tonight , then I am officially finished with school duties for a month.. I have no idea what we will do with our time off, but really looking forward to it.. The kids will enjoy not being awake at 5 30 in the morning, and I will try to work on some photography (I hope).  Michelle will be very busy for the next few months as malaria season is upon us.

The rain is near, but we haven't seen a lick of it .It has rained twice since I arrived in early August. It gets sweltering hot during the day and it feels and smells like there will be a storm, but never comes to fruition.

Hope you enjoy the recording.. Cheers everyone.

Still no water..

Let me start this by saying how much I love living here.. Each day brings a new experience, new adventure, new perspective... etc.  Having the ability to make adjustments, roll with the punches, do without... and see the world in a different perspective are all great things.. I love living in Africa, but sometimes I could do without some of its frustrations..
We still have no water and we are getting gross.. The shops don't have water, the hospital doesn't have water, the restaurants don't have water (so some have closed )..  Yesterday after school I went home to find out the water was still not working..I drove back to school hoping to find a tap that was working.. I also had plans to get some out of the swimming pool.  I asked the guard about a working tap, he told me to go to the tap under the mango tree and get some.. It was well water, looked like mud.. but , it was the only tap around working, so I filled up several containers.. In the meantime, Kam our gardener asked the neighbor if we could have some of the water out of a borehole source.. they helped fill up some buckets. Kam told me to NOT bathe or drink any of the water (i had no intention ), so I boiled water all day.. We have enough to last us today and then we'll have to start it over.. I used alot of the water to flush the toilets( 2 days without water can make for a smelly house).
The water came on for probably an hour last night.. then turned off again and followed with a power outage.

water into wine!!

Jude has the sick bug as well and was pooped yesterday. He skipped swimming, hit the bed and slept about 4 hours in the afternoon and was sweating profusely all day.. this morning he was totally fine.

This picture of Michelle sums up how we feel right now.. It is scorching hot, there's no place with a reliable water source and the water you can have access to looks like mud. Patience and being resourceful is the name of the game. Telling Kate she can't wash her hair twice a day is the biggest obstacle..

The photo below of Michelle has to be one of my favorites of all time.. If you think she looks pissed, you are correct..  This is the photo of a person who has had their patience stretched to its limit.. Michelle was trying for the longest time to get a working visa, etc. through the immigration department here in Malawi.. She went to their offices on 8 separate occasions and was told that she needed to fill out a stack of papers an inch and a half thick..  She filled out the forms only to have them tell her she didn't need them anymore..  She went back to turn in other paperwork, only to stand in line while the immigration officer finished watching a movie. You gotta love this place or you'll permanently look like Michelle in this photo..

Keep your fingers crossed for water..  It'd be nice to get a shower, have some clean clothes.. At least the beer and bottled coke and fanta are still available.. and the power is working presently so they are cold too!! All for now..

no water

It seems as if a long stretch of consistent electricity and water supply has come to a screeching halt.

We have been without water here for about 24 hours and the house is starting to get gross.. We have no reserves as they were used yesterday, so now we use the filtered water for washing face, drinking etc.. 

The power was out the other night for a very long time as well.. Things are becoming very African , very fast around here.. Apparently this happens during the month of December and we will need to make a better plan to be prepared..

So when you can't get running water or keep up with dirty dishes because you have no water, this is what happens after about 15 minutes.... good thing there is this product called "Doom" that you sprinkle over areas and it immediately kills anything it touches

I had the truck worked on a few days ago.. I have found a reputable place to take our vehicle... and one of the great perks is they take credit cards! One of the other wonderful things about having work done to your car here is that they clean it from head to toe before turning the keys over to you.. I opened up the hood to look at the lights and what was once a dirty, dusty engine was now pristine.. 

Photo below is the waiting room.. with crates of cokes for customers. 

The other photo is of the Zambezi river.. Maura took a snapshot of this on her way back from south Africa...  Other photo is Joseph and Jude playing some soccer last evening.. 

Hope all is well, and I hope your toilets are running at home.. because they aren't here.. 

boxing...

Went to a boxing match yesterday with a friend of mine.. It was a great cultural event.. It was held at the Lilongwe Community Center.. which is basically a giant open field with a grandstand. They had women on the side frying up potatoes and sausages, coolers full of beer and sodas.. The ring was outside and the bouts were scheduled to start at 1pm.. We tailgated a bit, hung out at the Sinama Hotel and arrived at 2.. and waited until 3 for the first bout to start.. I think we watched 4 fights, each lasting 4 rounds each.. It cost me 1$ to get and the beers were 1$ as well.. just like a bengals game.. Totally entertaining and totally worth the 5 hours spent in the blazing sunshine. We were the only foreigners there and stuck out like a sore thumb.. That is pretty normal here.

Below is a photo from the bouts and a video of some of the action.. The picture of the blue plastic bags is the order of chips(fries) and sausage I ate at the boxing matches.. they were good.. but served in a bag.. Also below is a photo of a note I received on Friday night from our server at the Chinese restaurant we frequent.. The policy here is that tipping is greatly appreciated as waiters don't make any money whatsoever ... so if you do tip 10% is adequate..  I don't think most people tip at all.  Anyway, the server slipped me this note, asking me that if I wanted to tip, to put it under the tablecloth.. If his manager/ boss sees that he receives a tip, they take it away from him..  Absurd, but true..  I slipped his tip under the table as we left.


Ok, busy week this week as we finish out the first semester before Christmas break.. needless to say, kids are excited.. I'm not sure what we are going to do with a month off, but it'll be fun.

Hope all is well back home.

note from waiter..i think the gist of the note was.. please be discreet with possible tip

View from the grandstands

Fries and beef sausage..

back to normal..

Picked up Maura and Michelle from the airport last night... Michelle had a bag of goods from South Africa that made the trip worthwhile (Bombay Sapphire Gin)..  Maura looked great and back to normal...  We are grateful for all the help we received throughout this whole process.
Got home about 5 30 last night, just as they sun went down..

The photo above was taken just outside the city.. We were headed to a little village area called "Kumbali Village" .. it's a great place to visit and stay just outside the city... Madonna stays there, but I'm really not sure where she would stay , as it is just like a village.. It's gorgeous and out of the way and totally immersed in the bush.. Jude told us he stayed up til 2 looking at the stars and the moon, listening to hyenas laugh and watching some of the kids in his group of friends try to burn a snake with a lighter and mosquito repellent.. good times..  We picked him up at 4, sunburnt to a crisp and in need of a shower... and he feel asleep in about 10 minutes..
We planned to watch a Christmas movie last night, but everyone fell asleep by 8pm (including myself).. we'll have to pick it up this evening..

One side note.... Michelle and I were rehashing the whole experience of Maura's illness, etc.. one of the highlights that was kind of mentioned was the car breaking down on the way to the airport... Michelle apparently rolled into the police station near the airport, hitched a ride to the airport... while there and rushing through the immigration, a local policeman ran up to her just to make sure that her husband had an extra set of keys in order to pick up the car. He ran all the way from the station just to check this small piece of information... I guess two things come to my mind when writing this...

1) I can't stress how nice people are here... and one of the great things about living in a place like this, is we get to witness it firsthand.. They are so caring and considerate and don't do it for money.. they genuinely care.. from people giving michelle and Maura a ride to the airport, to the cop running to the airport to make sure I had a set of extra keys..

2) if the guy is a cop, why didn't he drive to the airport??  Cops here don't necessarily have cars.. case in point... we were driving yesterday to pick up Maura and Michelle from the airport and we noticed two cops get into the back of a pickup truck to catch a ride into town..

Today brings a major event... I am going to go check out some local boxing matches here in town with a friend of mine.. Can't wait!!. should be an extremely great cultural experience..

Ok, we have one week of school left before we get a whole month off for the christmas holiday.. One of the many perks of going to school in Africa.. Many of the teachers will head back to the US or South Africa for the break.... we will stay here and host family.. really looking forward to it...

All for now.. kids are up early tending to our new bunnies we just received from our friends.. Kam built a pen for them to hang out in and I think they are driving the dog crazy..

Thanks again for all the well wishes, etc regarding Maura.. as stated last post, we learned alot from this experience.... and will be better prepared in case of an extreme emergency.
Hope all is well back home...

thumbs up for Maura

it appears that all is well with Maura.. Michelle took her on a 2.5 hour flight to Johannesburg where they were met at the airport by a driver (apparently sporting a Mercedes 2013). They were transported to a local Pediatric Hospital where Maura received excellent care.. They ran a bunch of tests/ scans , etc on her and it seems she received a clear bill of health.. They are boarding a plane to bring them back to Malawi, should be arriving in Lilongwe around 10:30 am Cincinnati time.

We learned alot in the this whole experience, and we now have a very clear picture of what to do if anything very, very serious were to happen to our children.  The MedVac insurance company we worked with her fantastic.. as were the people at Children's Hospital.  So, thank you , thank you , thank you..  The best part about all of this is that since Michelle has gone to South Africa, she is able to do a little shopping for us at the airport.. Maybe some 1st world treats are coming our way!!!
Maura was able to grab some chicken nuggets and fries from Mcdonalds last night, so she was very excited about that. And probably gave her body another virus.

Last night the girls and I went to the Chinese Restaurant down the street, then came home and sat on top of the truck and gazed at the stars and moon.. It was really great.. The sky here is always amazing.. Then I fell asleep watching about 8 MASH episodes... mostly from season 3.


Today brings some weekend relaxation once we are all reunited. Jude is still camping out with friends..  He will be so sunburnt when I see him, I hate to think of how he will feel. There is a grill out at our pool/ club this evening... and we hope to hang there for a bit. .I am currently trying to download Home Alone for the kids, so we can watch another Christmas show this evening. We are supposed to get bunnies today as well. We have built an enclosure in the backyard.. I'm just hoping our dog or a big snake doesn't kill them.


One last random side note... Michelle missed seeing Madonna the other day due to the fact that Michelle took a rare break and had lunch.. but, the other day she met the actor who is currently playing Dr. Who, Peter Capaldi... Apparently Comic Relief in England is doing a huge series on the hospital where Michelle works and have been around several weeks filming... There's a good chance Michelle will appear in some sort of Comic Relief film.. so that's kind of cool. I'd still rather meet Madonna and maybe box her ears.. ok, all for now..

Thanks to all those who sent their well wishes and concerns for Maura.. Looks like she is going to be just fine..

weekende ya bwino!! that translates to  have a good weekend in Chichewa..

Maura

Sorry I haven't posted anything in the last few days.. We've been dealing with Maura's illness.. Yesterday Michelle took her to a friend of ours to get checked out.. Michelle had stated before she left the house that the worse case scenario would be if Maura had appendicitis.. They did a scan, found something on her appendix and said we should head to South Africa as soon as possible..We spent yesterday getting our ducks in a row and making certain we had our medical evacuation insurance in place.

It doesn't feel like an emergency and Michelle's feeling is that it isn't... but the possibility of something like this, plus lack of quality care here, means a trip to the emergency room... 2.5 hours away by plane.. they are currently in the air headed to Johannesburg..

It has been a bit of a headache these past few days trying to take care of things.. and trying to decide what to do.. This morning, we were slated for a med evac. plane to come and pick her up, but it really didn't seem that urgent.. So instead, the Med Vac insurance booked them (1st class) on a commercial flight and arranged for someone to pick them up from the airport...

I have to say thank you to the people at Cincy Childrens... we called there, asked a few questions re: coverage, insurance, blah blah.. and they were in motion answering our questions and telling us to do whatever we felt we needed to do. They were efficient, patient and kind...

So, this morning we packed Maura up and she is headed to SA for some follow up. Again, we don't think this is anything major, but if we lived in the US right now, we would send her to the ER.. It just so happens that the kind of care we are used to , is 2.5 hours away by air.

Funny thing.... Michelle and I went back and forth as to whether I should drive them to the airport or whether she should just drive herself.. We opted for them to drive themselves and... the car broke down just outside the airport.. They hitched a ride and were able to make the flight on time.. You have to roll with it here..

I will keep everyone posted once I hear from Michelle.. Im a bit jealous.. If you've ever been to South Africa.. it is like visiting the United States.. All the comforts of home readily available.. tarred roads and Mcdonalds...  I would recommend everyone visit South Africa sometime in your life.. It's a beautiful place.. but not to have your appendix removed.. you can do that at home.

All for now.. I've just picked up my kids from school... they had a big swim meet today.. Now Jude is going to a birthday party/ sleep over.. it runs from 1 pm today - 4pm tomorrow afternoon.. It's a marathon of a party.. they are camping out as well. Needless to say, Jude was very excited.

Hope all is well.. please keep Maura and Michelle in your thoughts.. Happy Friday.

still home..

Another day of high temperature.. I may have forgotten to mention that it was Maura who is ill. Nothing too serious, but when there is a high running temp, I think the biggest concern is malaria.. We will be testing her for it this afternoon.. She seems ok though, just not well enough to go to school.

Today has had a really productive start ... This morning we took the truck in to have it serviced (oil change, slight leak in oil, filter change, etc)... I dropped it off, they told me it will be ready this afternoon AND they take Visa!!. Now, will it really be ready this afternoon is the question...
Then when I got back home, there was a man here servicing some electric issues we've had with our secutity lights and he fixed a problem we had with the water heater ... it's been unbelievable..

one thing I noticed is that any time workers come into the house, they always take off their shoes.. it doesn't matter the situation..  Kam, Joseph and Cosmas do not like to come into the house and disrupt what is going on.. They usually stand at the side door and say.. "Hello" if they need something.

Prior to Cosmas leaving this morning, I asked him if there was anything he'd like for Christmas. I told him it was a tradition to get friends gifts during the holiday season... He told me that he would like rice and cooking oil.....

Michelle was telling a story yesterday about a nurse at work who she had asked to help her draw blood from patients for her research project.. the person Michelle has hired to help draw blood was having a difficult time, so she pulled the nurse aside, offered her about 2$ to lend a hand.. The nurse refused the money, but helped anyway.. The next day, Michelle gave her the money, insisted she take it since it was extra work for her... she accepted the payment and said thank you. She then proceeded to tell Michelle how grateful she was for the money .. she said she had absolutely no money, was at her wits end,  because she was a widow tending to many children who rely on her for everything.. She had nothing.. Funny thing is she refused payment for her services initially.  I asked Michelle if the other nurses were beating down the door for an opportunity to help out , and surprisingly she said no..

My attitude towards giving money to people here that seem in need has changed. In the beginning I refused to give out cash, but if someone seems to be in serious need and I have something that will help them get food, I usually try to help out.. the need is great here. There is limited work here and if you are handicapped, there is no chance of finding a job.. I try to imagine living here and not having the opportunity to move forward in any profession.. Those people who are doing odd jobs around town or jobs that most of us at home would associate with high school / college students.... they aren't people looking to make an extra dollar or save up to buy a car or kill some time until the real job they want opens up.. ... they are people who totally and completely rely on that job to survive.. If they lose that job, they will struggle.

Presently, Maura is sitting on the couch making things for an advent calendar.. Tonight we decorate our majestic Christmas tree that is straight off the boat from China and we will try to stream Rudolph ...  We haven't been able to stream Netflix or Pandora or Amazon videos because these services aren't available outside the US.. So now I pay 6$ a month for a service that allows me to connect to various places in the US, thus tricking the service into thinking you are actually in the US.. It's a nice service for streaming Audio, but video is tough.. I tried to watch James Garner and the Rockford Files the other night, but i may have made it through about 2 minutes of the show..

Hope all is well at home.. Photos below are of "America Cookies".. saw these at the store.. they look horrible... The other photo is of students walking home from school.. around 4 in the afternoon the streets are flooded with children walking home.. the ages vary from as young as 5 to these high school aged young adults.. Many stand on the side of the road and try and flag down rides to the villages.. Can you imagine the uproar at home if kids were walking miles a day back and forth to school ... and hitching rides with strangers??

home with a sick one...

I can't say that I'm upset for having to stay home today... it's kind of nice.. I am catching up on a few items  and enjoying a day at home.. 

 Life here is good..  Besides Michelle's crazy work schedule, me missing my job and our family and  friends, but there's something about this place that makes you feel alive. Probably because things seems so real here.. I'm not sure how to express this in writing..  People here have a vitality and a aura about them that is different from home. Just driving to school every morning is a moment.. You see so much going on around you that you can't help thinking... 1) where the hell am I ? and 2)   this place and its people are incredible...  When I think that we have it tough and are trying to balance things here on a day to day basis, I have to check myself and look around me.... 

SIDE NOTE--- one thing me and Michelle have realized being here is that for all of our faults and our quirkiness, we love being American.. We meet so many people from so many different parts of the world.. And I have truly felt proud to be where I'm from.. I'm not sure why.. This is a feeling much different than when we lived in Botswana.. Maybe it is age? I think I have come to appreciate our culture in general, our kindness to others and our ability to laugh at ourselves..  We are perceived as fat, greedy, over consuming , ignorant and somewhat needy.. But overall, we are kind... and not overly serious..  The kids and I play a game as we drive around town called "American Alert".. if we see someone who is 1) white 2)wearing something that looks like they bought it at the market 3) has a big backpack 4) is carrying a water bottle... we scream "American Alert"!!! We have no idea if they are American or not, but they fit all the criteria.

Being home today affords me an opportunity to talk to Rabina and get a sense of what happens around here when i'm gone.. I am realizing again that we are a wasteful lot..  for example, I went to throw away some crust from Maura's piece of toast.. but the garbage liner was gone... Rabina dumps the trash , washes the bag, dries it on the line and puts it back in the can..  she also does this with all of the small plastic bags we use.. We can't recycle here, so we sometimes throw things in a plastic bag and place it in the trash... She dumps the garbage, cleans the plastic bag and clips it to our kitchen curtains to dry..  The only time I've done anything like that is when I was too lazy to get in my car and go to the grocery store to get more liners.. Instead, I would fill Kroger bags with garbage, put those in the outside garbage can and reuse my liner.. only being more wasteful in the process.. 

We have asked the workers what they would like for Christmas.. with family coming in town and another visitor from children's Hospital arriving, we have an opportunity to have some things brought over for them..  Our guard Joseph would like backpacks for his children... for school. Rabina and Kam requested black school shoes for her children.. For Cosmas( he is single) I am going to help repair his bike and get him a portable CD player.. I bought him a country music CD the other day and he was so excited he could spit.. but he has no way to listen to it, so I'll have to get him something.. I am also hoping to take family portraits for all of them as well.. 

My kids want iTunes gift cards, legos and comic books. I'd like the complete series of MASH.. puts things in perspective.. 

Last night we were able to go shopping for Christmas decorations.. Where else would you go in Lilongwe but "Santa Plaza"... it actually is pretty awesome store because they kind of have everything.. sort of like a mini walmart... without all the people.. best of all, they take VISA, one of a handful of shops that do that.. As we got out of the truck, one of the kids asked if we could buy something, Kate said "sure we can, they take Visa!".. she was right.. we bought a fake tree, some ornaments, lights , a giant santa face and a few other knick knacks.. We hope to decorate in the next few days..  When you are here and there's nothing to do except hang out in your home surrounded by a wall.. going to the store to get decorations was a big deal for the kids! 

All for now.. photo below is of a young boy (probably jude's age) waiting for someone to pick him up.. He was at the "petrol station".. he's wearing a classic school uniform that all children wear to school here.. They vary in different colors and patterns for each school.. Just like catholic schools at home.. the other photos include a broken down bus.. these are the busses that everyone takes in this country.. they are always full with people barreling down the road, usually teetering to one side or the other.. riding tires that look like they are about to bust.. The other photo is a group of women on the side of the road selling mangoes, avocados, litchis , apples and bananas.. i bought some airtime for my phone.. as I walked up, they grabbed my hand, shot me a smile and asked .. "how are  you my friend?" i respond in broker Chichewa... "ndilibwino" which means I am well.. Not even sure if i spelled it correctly.. Happy tuesday. 

waiting at the gas station

buying airtime for my phone

Santa Plaza!

December 1

Monday brings a cool breeze and little sun. Kids had a rough time getting up this morning and wined about having to go to school. As December hits us here, they are anxious to have a school break. Here, the breaks are long and I'm not sure exactly as to how we are going to fill the holiday. We are officially off school for 4 weeks.. which is wonderful.. Unfortunately Michelle is working alot so we will have to be creative and take some day trips here and there.. The talk this morning was heading south for our first official safari. We'll see. I am a little concerned about driving long distances with our truck.. breaking down in the middle of Africa is a little different than at home... there's nothing out there except villages that are usually ill equipped to take care of a broken down car. But this is part of the adventure...  Trips here take lots and lots of planning and consideration... You must stop and get gas anytime you see a station.. You never know when you 'll see another station , plus they might not have gas in the first place.. Always wise to check and "top off" whenever you can.

Michelle was pulled over again yesterday and fine 10000 kwacha for speeding (was 4km over limit).. she had to drive all the way home to get the payment.. I'm certain they just pocket the money.

We watched "Christmas Vacation" last night as a family to start off the Christmas season. It doesn't feel anything like Christmas and I think we'll have to coach the kids through the next four weeks. I have a feeling that emotions will be all over the place as we creep towards Christmas.. Need to stay positive and enjoy our time here..   Kids are doing great, just very susceptible to missing home right now.. We look forward to the familiar faces of family visiting in a few weeks.

below is an audio clip from Sunday Mass at the local cathedral. I'm not sure if the audio clip does it justice but give it a shot. Wonderful , uplifting singing in its simplest form.



Gotta go.. 7th graders coming in the door.. Happy Monday everyone..