happy friday

It's getting hot.. and we are only in September. We have no air conditioning at school or at home.. fortunately we have access to many , many swimming pools.. In Lilongwe, there are of course, no swim clubs or a Coney Island.. But you can pay about 1$ per person and enjoy the comforts of a nice hotel pool. Also, as mentioned, ABC school has one we can access any day.  The heat here is oppressive.. as Matthew Broderick says in Biloxi Blues.. "It's Africa hot!"... and we just started spring. I have been here since the beginning of August and have not seen a rain drop..  The temperatures don't appear to be bad, but the sun is so bright, there's no clouds in the sky, etc. You will see several people huddled under one tree to escape the sun.

Kate may turn into a muscle machine after this year.. She is practicing soccer three days a week and swimming at least an hour a day for 4 days a week.. they are putting her through some serious workouts.

I was able to step out of class today and catch Maura lead Jude in a dance during chapel here.. they go once a week to chapel, so I was invited to check it out.. Video is below. .

The saga of our van...... Well, we are screwed.. that's it.. But I am working with a reliable guy who has advised me to... sell my van "as is" and purchase a new one.. or replace the gear box with a new one... which will cost about 1500$.... Michelle and I are shopping both options. Mario Real is the guy I am working with now, and he is a family friend of the interim principal of the school. If you are ever in Lilongwe and need work on a car.. I would recommend him. He's great and is very honest. He deals with the ex-pat community, puts buyers in touch with sellers, handles the cars himself, and helps make the deal. In return, he hopes you 'll patronize his garage and then use him to sell your car when you leave. He's had a business here for 28 years..We may splurge, buy a sweet African style vehicle and have a reliable car for our time here.. then have him sell it when we leave..  We realized last weekend that it is probably important to have a all terrain vehicle.. alot of the places to go and see this beautiful country are either on dirt or sand.. When the rainy season comes, it may be rough to get to in a van.

We have several people working to sell the van for us, and the good thing is, is that the van is not yet in our name... so , if need be, I could just walk away from this debacle if I wanted with no strings attached.. just losing a significant amount of money.. Mario told me he sees this happen all the time to foreigners and said it's difficult for ex- pats to find a quality car, etc. ..without strings attached. I have learned my lesson. Ok, no plans at the Eckerle Malawi Abode this evening, but we have to go to the Lilongwe SPCA dog show tomorrow from 9-1 pm ... it should be awesome .. With nothing else in the whole city going on , this should be the social highlight of the weekend... maybe the month!. full bar and food starting at 9am.. gotta like it..

All for now. Happy friday!