Gotta see video!!!

Last night was ABC's talent show.. And while the acts were very impressive, there was one that stood out.. Kate's basketball team performed their version of the "get your head in the game" from everyone's favorite movie "High School Musical"... Check it out below... Kate starts out in the bottom right corner of the video #9 on her maroon jersey, #1 in your hearts..

I was pied in the face by Jude at the conclusion of the event.. They basically put some melted ice cream in a metal pan for Jude to plant on my face... Jude put it to my face and the melted ice cream just ran right down my shirt and into my lap.

Michelle arrived safely yesterday from a successful trip to Cape Town.. We reaped the rewards as she bought the kids some 1st world items, me some belgian ales and a great book...  Not much else to report.. We have a couple get togethers this weekend and I will probably hit the pool with the kids after school today.. Life is rough.

By the time everyone back home wakes up we will be officially on spring break.  Listening to "The Band " to celebrate. Hope all is well back home..

*** side note, I got up early to check out live college basketball, UK was up by 40 I think so I made some coffee...

swimming officially over, 2 more days til break.

"And next we have Jude Eckerle, who was a joy to coach and has the personality of a 35 year old man." That was the highlight of the evening as we celebrated the conclusion of a successful swim season. I don't know if Kate will admit it, but me making her swim might have been the best thing that happened this school year. She was able to socialize with lots of kids from the school, stay active and find out she actually is pretty damn good swimmer. I told them all last night how proud I was of them for the way they have handled this year.. 

Kate is in total mourning right now as her favorite band (One Direction) is losing one of their top members... She woke up this morning in tears and woke up everyone else in the house with the sad news... I tried to console her by telling her about how devastated I was when KISS broke up when I was a kid.. When they lost Ace Frehley, things just got all out of whack. It happens... Good bands break up.. Not sure if it was a great parenting moment, but I tried. 

Last night was a wonderful evening of awards, food and kids being kids.. It was a lot of fun.. The banquet was held at the school pavilion , which is basically a giant thatched roof covering.. The beautiful thing about having events here is just about everything is outside.. As they were giving out the awards, I looked out and the sun was setting in the distance ... It never really gets old.... 

Michelle heads back to Lilongwe today and back to reality.. I think she enjoyed her time in Cape Town and picked up a few 1st world items for us.. She deserved a day of hot yoga, and beach lounging..  She thinks she did well enough to pass the board exam.. Is that something you want to hear from you physician?

All is good here otherwise.. Looking forward to break. Below are photos of the kids with their friends, their coaches and a photo of the morning commute ... fog rising in the morning.. Hope all is well back home. 

Notes for Wednesday

Remember how I told you how efficient car care was here in Malawi?? Well, I was wrong .. After two  and a half days of waiting, my oil change/ new battery work is finished... It was done well and they called several times extending the pickup time, but it took a little longer than what they had told me.. Which is about par for the course here in southern Africa.. I have now been trained to be patient and wait... so it really wasn't a big deal. I remember some advice that was given to me when I arrived here in August.. "However long it takes to get something done at home, multiply that by 4 and you'll have Malawi time." this is absolutely correct.

As I write this Michelle is in the midst of taking her boards so hope test is going well.. yesterday her plan was to "walk".. and I think that is what she did.. Apparently she hiked to the top of Table Mountain , went shopping, etc.. She said after about an hour of feeling very strange that there were shops, restaurants, etc... she felt right back at home..  I hope she got something very nice for me. It's been very difficult to talk/ text, etc...

Apparently , there was an article in the Fort Thomas Matters online paper (is there a hard copy somewhere??) and it featured an article written by a good friend/ colleague of mine... Chuck Keller did a piece in the paper and asked for my help.. So feel free to check it out when you get a chance.. here's the link

IT"S NOT WHAT WE HAVE


Sunny and beautiful here today... We have an end of the year swim banquet to attend this evening , then only 2 days left until break.. Tomorrow there is a talent show here at school in the evening and as a fundraiser they have asked the kids to vote for which teacher they'd like to see get pied in the face... each student can cast a vote and puts money into a box with the teacher's name on it... Apparently my box is overflowing... So I may be getting pied tomorrow night..

Hope all is well back home...

Below is a few photos... One is of the parking lot of the auto shop, while the others are taken from Michelle's hospital. One is the lunch line , laundry day at the hospital and a staple lunch that michelle eats some days at the hospital... Ntsima, rice, greens, sauce and a coke.. Want to know how they make Nsima here?? Check out the video below..

Auto mechanic... My truck is in the back with the roof rack. 

Laundry at hospital

Lunch

Classic Malawian meal.. Nsima, greens, beans, rice and tomato sauce.. and of course a coke. 

Michelle roughing it in Cape Town, thank you Bruns Family!!!!!!

Got a message from Michelle that she was headed to hot yoga this morning.. in Cape Town...  Without going in to much detail, Cape Town is the most beautiful place I have ever been to in my life.  It is as most people here say.. "Africa easy" as it doesn't really feel like Africa at all.. They have hot yoga classes and as Michelle told me last night, restaurants that have guys in them playing Leonard Cohen songs...  I'm sure it's a nice taste of home and Michelle needs a break from this place. I'm glad she is there without me.. really I am.  To show how unjealous I am here's a few photos of the time we spent there back when we lived in Botswana.. I was only there for a part of the time in Cape Town, but the place is such a great mix of things.. It is truly unbelievable...

The kids and I are doing fine in Michelle's absence. I received a note from the post office yesterday that there was a package waiting for me at the post office.. This is an adventure in and of itself as the post office is strategically placed directly behind the wood carver's market... So as soon as you step out of your car, there are guys in your face asking you if you want buy cloth, wood carvings, pot, you name it.. They'll sell you anything.. I also realized that whatever Goodwill cannot sell, they ship to 3rd world countries.. I kind of knew that, but this reinforces the notion that our unwanted items come here to live a second/ third/ fourth life.. That explains why I've seen Bengals tshirts, Pokey Reese jerseys and enough OSU tshirts to clothe Columbus.. 

Anyway,, when you go to the post office you must have the official package slip as well as your passport..  I walked into the post office and was greeted by two women who were sharing a bowl of rice and greens... They asked me in Chichewa to join them... Then they continued speaking in Chichewa to me.. There were two gentleman behind me taping a large box together laughing hysterically , so I figured I was being toyed with, so I just asked for the package... 

You never know if things will come intact, and the woman who went to retrieve the box couldn't lift it so she just kept kicking it across the floor.. They gave me a receipt in between bites of their rice and smiled kindly as they gave me the box.. As I'm walking out, I can hear all of them laughing, probably at my expense.. I wish I knew Chichewa. 

The Bruns family sent us a wonderful package of all the things we don't can't get here.. Needless to say, most of it is already gone... Last night , we busted open a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies and shared them with the visiting residents from Cincy Children's Hospital..  I am munching on pistachios now, so thank you again!! 

Lately the women on the side of the road have been selling boiled peanuts and I usually get two bags worth to eat during the work day... cost is about .75 cents.  

That's about it.. I'll take the kids out to eat tonight as Michelle will probably be sipping on a wonderful South African wine, celebrating the conclusion of taking her board exams.. Please send good thoughts Michelle's way as she has to pass this exam or she has to pay another 2000$ to take it again..  

Other photos below are the wood carvers market, and Jude and Joseph playing their daily soccer match before dinner.. Turns out , Jude is undefeated against an full grown African man.. who plays soccer like nobody's business.. That's sweet of Joseph to let Jude win, but he should keep him honest every once in a while.. 

Market in front of post office

Final score- Jude 10- Joseph 7

YESSSS!!!!

Michelle off to Cape Town, the joys of the Malawi Airport and the joys of having your car break down.

As I write this, Michelle is finishing work and heading out to the airport to catch a flight to Cape Town. And as Michelle gets to spend a few days taking her boards (medical test of some sort) and seeing a little of the most beautiful city I've been to in my life, me and the kids get to hang out together in ..... Lilongwe.. It just doesn't have the same ring... We are all looking forward to spring break.. We really, really need some time off....

Not much else to say, so Ill just highlight a few things.. Air travel in Malawi (or at least my experience) is really great.. the airport is so small, you can arrive about 30 minutes before takeoff, get through security and board the plane... And usually, they plane takes off exactly the time it was scheduled..

When you go out to pick up someone from the airport, you can take go up on the 2nd floor and have a drink while watching the planes land..

This morning our battery died in our truck so I had a local company come out and give us a jump. They came in 20 minutes, jumped the truck and escorted me to the shop. When we arrived, the mechanics looked it over, told me it would be ready this afternoon and drove me back home.. If all goes well, I will get the truck back today, and it will be spotless as it is customary to clean it top to bottom...
Some things here are very, very efficient .. planes, airports and car repairs.

With Michelle gone, chances are i'll treat the kids to a few dinners out.

For Monday, i've attached a few videos.. One is of some baboons on the deck just outside of the bedroom Kate and Frances slept in during our most recent trip to the beach..

The other is the lake front and a giant storm brewing... Looking forward to going back to the lake.
Hope all is well back home.. check out the videos.

R.i.p Indy and another successful South African braai

A wonderful weekend weather wise , but Friday brought some sadness . After school the kids and I came home to find our puppy , Indy , in the side yard really struggling.  It had been going on for a week and he had a wheeze / cough since we got him . No one realized the severity of his illness until this past week . Anyway , he looked awful and we took him into the vet . I kind of knew what the verdict would be but we hoped for the best . Turns out the best was to put the poor thing out of its misery and put it to sleep . The kids were distraught and had a rough 24 hours . Nothing that a few empty promises and some ice cream can't fix . Honestly ,

It was pretty sad .

The vet (an American) said it was probably distemper and the dog would have only had a 20% chance of survival back home . That made the kids feel better . Yesterday we hung out at the pool and in the evening had out South African Friends over for a braai of boerwurst  , steak and chicken .

It was a great time and the really felt like family . This was filled with looking for golf balls in snake infested holes since I can't keep my drives in the fairway . Michelle came to pick me up , got pulled over bull the cops and was fined 10000kwa for something . I've never seen Michelle this upset here. The cops told her she needed a receipt for the payment and that she had to give the officer a ride to the police station to fill out paper work .. Michelle told them she didn't want a receipt and they should just take our cash .. They disagreed, the cop was about to get into the truck and Michelle said "no , just take the money . I am not obligated to give you a ride and I don't need a receipt ". That's just unheard of here as you need a receipt for everything . They finally let their guard down and now have plenty of money for a good lunch . Not much else going on .. Weather is perfect so we ll head to the pool and hang there for the afternoon . Michelle is getting ready to head to Cape Town tomorrow .. I'm a little jealous . Cheers to everyone back home. We miss our friends and family . Photos are the kids at the pool just about to jump , the other photo is the sky the other night . It was amazing . I've never seen anything like it . This is the sky opposite the sunset . Then below is our friends . Great people 

very sick puppy

Lazy weekend ahead of us here in Lilongwe . Michelle has the weekend off, so I'm not sure what we will do. Michelle heads to Cape Town next week to take her boards (I'm a little jealous), so she has that to look forward to.

On a sad note, our new dog Indy is in very bad shape.. He is clogged up with some type of bacterial illness and he just can't seem to shake it. We've taken him to the vet earlier in the week, got some new medication for him, but I think he has gotten worse. Having a hard time standing, breathing heavily and is not eating very much.. I'm not sure what will happen, but I don't think it is good.

We may never get another pet again.. 2 bunnies have been eaten by our dog and now this puppy is not doing well...  I think we'll just wait to get home to take care of any more animals..

All for today.. Hot, sunny and hot.. and more hot.

Happy Friday.. Weekende ya bwino!!!

Throw back thursday..

This seems to be a very popular theme in social media so I'll go with it..
Yesterday I went to the offices of DSTV to pay our cable bill.. Yes, we have cable here and it is pretty good and pretty reliable.. I was waiting in line and started thinking about how frustrating this experience was back in August/ september when I first arrived. I recall writing all the time about the way things were so backwards here and was on the verge of pulling my hair out. But now, I don't mind waiting in line... while 3 employees check their phones and eat their lunch.. I don't mind being cut in line by locals who claim they were there 10 minutes ago but needed to leave for a bit. I don't mind while the gentleman slowly and methodically fills out a 2 page receipt by hand. I don't mind paying for a service and having him say.. "now, is the cable box on at home? Because if it isn't, the service may turn off, and you'll have to call our customer care service to have it turned back on."

It is all routine and now a part of our daily lives. I think it's part of the complete and total culture shock that comes with moving to a place like this.. It just takes time and some patience. People here have a lot of patience.. We are the ones that need to adjust. And we have.. And now that these things seem normal, I will have the re-entry culture shock of landing back home and having things so readily available that it will probably feel very strange.. And maybe sad.

I remember when I came home for my dad's funeral when we lived in Botswana.. I was landing in Atlanta and I could see a McDonald's outside and everything came back to me... When we entered the airport, the smell of Cinnabon and bacon filled the air... I knew I was home.

Another gorgeous morning here as we take on Thursday. Kate informs me we have 97 days left.. You better soak up these wonderful blog posts while you can.. The days are dwindling..
Having a few doctors over this evening to empty out our freezer.. We have about 20 pounds of homemade boerwurst left..  

Photo below is the sky about 330 every day here.. Just around this time, the clear sky clouds up with these giant cloud formations.. They are spectacular.. It produces a few rain showers here and there, then clears up for the night..

St patty's day dinner, Mzungu grocery store..

We celebrated in style last night with starch, starch and more starch.. Gotta love Irish cuisine.
I went to a small grocery store call Bauer's very close to our home. This is a shop that some Malawians I know call the "Mzungu shop".. translation= White people shop..
It is a specialty grocery store where you can find things salsa, really good cheese, specialty meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, nice wine, olive oil and Guinness!!!
 I stopped there yesterday to get some Irish potatoes, onions, sausage and beer.. the place is like a Whole foods shop in Malawi.. And it truly is the white people's shop.. i usually see one or two other Americans when I go there.. Yesterday was no exception...

After picking up Kate from basketball practice we were driving home and a white man with an Ireland rugby jersey was walking down the street.. I yelled to him "happy st. Patrick's day"! and in a wonderful Irish accent he yelled back.... "Same to you Laddy!" He may have been acting as if he was Irish, I 'm not sure..

It seems we have survived the rainy season and are now moving into calmer, warm beautiful weather... Blue skies during the day and clear , star filled nights...

.. Photos... dried meat (south african biltong ) at the local shop, my feet hanging out under blue skies, and bangers and mash , soda bread and beer for St. Patrick's day.

Happy HUMP DAY!! Kate is currently counting the days until we return.. I think we are at 98.. She did state to me that she will miss this place. Her favorite memory so far?? The drives to school every morning..  I reminded her that this is something we do all the time at home..

Biltong.. fantastic

notes for tuesday

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We will celebrate with some mashed potatoes, sausage, soda bread and hopefully a guinness( If I can find them)... This was one of my mom's favorite days.. She used to put green food coloring in everything.. mashed potatoes, the biscuits, etc..

Helping out with a project here in town editing some photographs that were taken by Malawian children.. I hope you can click on the link below.. The photos are fantastic and give a great perspective to daily life here...

Children's photos

Michelle and I  stepped out last evening and went down to the Sunbird hotel for a beverage.. It was good to sit down and talk, especially since she had a weekend from hell. She told another story about a boy who really captured her heart.. I think he was just a very personable child who could speak eloquently and asked Michelle lots of questions.. like whether or not sodium was a bad thing for him to eat.. His mother motioned to him to tell Michelle that she bikes him to school every day because he has a hard time walking (he has a serious heart problem). He is the #1 student out of 300.. After their discussion , Michelle immediately told the mother that she would help pay his school fees.. Michelle's kind of like that I guess. The mother cried and thanked her... offering up many "god bless you, god bless you , god bless you"...
We've offered to help alot of people here... It's really hard to say "no". When you weigh the options, it's hard to deny people something that you totally take for granted.. like school or clothes or food..  We were told many years ago when we first did our time in Botswana,  you should always say no, because once you say yes, you'll never stop..  Well, we haven't stopped..

I told Michelle that it would be neat to see what happens to that young boy in the next 15 years or so.. wouldn't it be nice to see what has become of them?? She told me, the boy will be dead by then.. but should enjoy as much as he possibly can.. especially with a brain like his..

This is what Michelle deals with, I am teaching international kids how to trace circles...  and a bunch of them are about to walk in my door.. Biting and pushing each other.. and asking to go to take a "wee".. their cute, but...

Nothing else today ... Beautiful day here in Malawi.. sunny and 75... We all need a break.

Kids waiting for dad to get finished with work.

Hand carved Bao game(mandala) .. Cost was 9$.... 

Michelle works all weekend, gives cops a lift

Not much to report... as me and the kids relaxed poolside yesterday, Michelle put in a full weekend at the hospital. I think the hospital and the non stop barrage of illness, death, etc was alot for her.  I won't share any specifics, but the stories are heartbreaking. .... As I've said before, be thankful for what you have.

On a classic Malawian note.. Michelle was coming home from the hospital about 4 am Sunday morning... She was flagged down by two police officers.. They walked out into the middle of the road and made her stop.. Then asked if they could have a ride to the police station.. what was she going to say, "no"?  So she picks them up, heads toward the station, and sees a few more policeman walking on the side of the road. The officers in the car tell her these are their friends, so naturally Michelle picks them up as well... 4+ cops in the car at 4 am in the morning..

Nothing else to report.. Went to a St. Patricks day party at the Sunbird Hotel on Saturday night and it was a very good time.. I think the whole expat community was there, plus guinness beer and irish music and dancing.. I was surprised how great the turnout was... Ill post a video of some singing tomorrow..

In honor of UK getting the first seed in the basketball tourney, I've put up a photo for my UK fans..  Here's my banana man... I'm pretty sure he doesn't know anything about UK athletics, but he sports this shirt just about every day..

Want to see where Michelle works??

Good morning ,
Last night we headed to India's High Commissioner's house for an Indian feast. It was fantastic...
Now the kids and I are doing a wonderful job of doing absolutely nothing..

Last night, Comic Relief from England posted their video from Malawi. They raise money for areas in need and focused on KCH hospital here in Lilongwe.. It's a 4 minute video and Michelle is not pictured in the video, but this is where she works everyday.. Please take the time to watch..
I think it does a better job highlighting what she sees everyday better that me writing about it..

Feel free to donate to the cause if you feel compelled.. Peter Capaldi is the man in the video.. He's the current Doctor Who.. Hope all is well back home..

Hard to comprehend

Hands down our favorite restaurant in Lilongwe is Noble China.. It's about a stones throw away from our house..  I think it is run by the Chinese mafia.. I will miss it when we leave..  I picked up Michelle from work yesterday, we stopped by the restaurant, ordered a few drinks and some "take away" and sat and talked.. Probably one of the best memories of this place... Anyway , Tawonamo is the waiter who takes care of us every time we go.. He's a sweet guy and hopes to get married within a year.. He doesn't have a girlfriend yet. When we tip him for his service, it feels like an illegal operation.. We have to look around and make sure the coast is clear before I slip him the money... What a strange and sad thing.. He says the owners take their tips.

While we were sitting Michelle told me one of her many stories from the hospital... A young child passed away yesterday because someone had unplugged the oxygen machine they were one , in order to charge their phone.. it seemed horrific . But as Michelle described it, it wasn't surprising due to the disarray of the place.  It also shed light on the complexities of this place..
First of all, the child who was on oxygen support was sharing a bed with 4 other children.. So, the fact that the child was no longer being supported by oxygen was difficult to see.. Secondly, many of the people here do not know how to plug things in and not sure what runs of electricity , etc.. How could they possibly know that the machine supporting this child relied on electricity ? They don't use electricity in the villages. Third, is the lack of help within the hospital. They just aren't enough people to make sure all patients are being taken care of.  This is the atmosphere that Michelle is working in on a day to day basis.. Very, very different from home. The people here deserve better...  If you want to hear sad, depressing stories about loss of life, illness,etc.. send Michelle a note... she's has plenty of them... Be thankful for good healthcare.

The weekend brings work for Michelle.. She is on call tomorrow, therefore will probably be busy all day. Jude has birthday parties out the wazoo and I have nothing.. I am going to a St. Patrick's day party set up by the Irish High Commission (or something formal like that).. This happens Saturday evening..  The weather is perfect, my classroom door is wide open and there are lizards at my doorstep. Much to be thankful for..  The kids and I jammed to Boston on the way into school and ended with "Thunder Road" by the Boss...  I told Kate it might be the perfect rock and roll song..  discuss amongst yourselves.

Happy Friday folks.

Photos for today include a Malawian police officer.... You're not allowed to take photos of police/ military here, so I snuck one.. Little girls walking with a little one on their back.. This was taken right after taking the photo of the policeman.. This is very common.. Mind you, the road is the main highway through the country.. These little ones are basically walking on the equivalent of I-75... by themselves, with no parental guidance.. Sounds so different from home.. I'm not sure if I would let my kids walk on the highway with my 11/2 year old strapped to my back.. The other photo is eggs at the shop.. You can get eggs just about anywhere and they are usually packaged like this.. They are delicious and they stink.. Eggs are never refrigerated here... Lastly, a photo of Kate's basketball game.. Streetball here in Malawi.. Kate's team lost by two.. but I don't think anyone was really keeping score..

COPS

Kate's basketball game.. they lost by 2

eggs at the grocery store.. they are delicious and still smell close to the source

I got nothing... looking forward to a break.

Cape Maclear

Mt. Mulanje

Zomba Plateau

I have nothing new to report this fine Thursday morning.. I think the kids are getting antsy to 1) see spring break come and 2) get home..

There are moments here when things are fantastic.. When the kids couldn't be happier and thriving.. If you give them a little too much time to themselves with nothing to do, they tend to let their minds wander and drift back to home.. The good news is, we are inching closer to departure.. But, there is plenty of time to enjoy what we have left here..

We are all very excited for spring break to come.. Michelle heads to Cape Town, SA to take a test on March 23.. when she comes back, me and the kids start a two week vacation..  We are in need of a good vacation ..  We will take the first week of that break and putz around Lilongwe and the surrounding areas...
Then , we head to Cape Maclear for 3 days, then head south to see the third largest mountain in Africa (mt. Mulanje) for 2 days, then head to the Zomba Plateau for a night, then probably back to the coast for two more nights..

The beautiful thing about this country is the fact that nothing is that far away.. 4 hours here, 4 hours there... Nothing is a huge trek.. which makes traveling with the kids really easy. They just have to be willing to have snacks they don't like, pee in pits and never see a rest stop.

Here's the places we are staying.. click on the links below.. Two of the places are cottages rented out by church organizations.. They are self catering, but the price is about 50$ a night for the whole house.. and the views are fantastic..

cottage at Zomba plateau

cottage at mulanje

Thumbi view lodge at Cape Maclear

We also hope to try our hands at horse riding while at Zomba.. here's the site for that..

Plateau stables

Ok, got to go... 2nd grade class coming in to my room.. Hope all is well back home.

Frances makes the National newspaper!

Basketball is on the bill for this afternoon as Kate plays against the only other team in town.. Bishop Mackenzie.  2:45 this afternoon.

One of the swim coaches stopped by my classroom yesterday to inform me that Frances had her picture in "The Nation", which is the national newspaper here. It was kind of exciting, and i know Franny was pretty happy to see her photo in the sports section.

The weather is turning here and getting cooler in the evenings.. It is still clouding over throughout the day, but I haven't seen a good rain storm in a while.  Last night was a clear and beautiful and the sky outside our home was amazing.

Not much else to say except a big thank you to the Sheets family for sending a few indestructible soccer balls. Our plan is to take one of them to Mkanda, the village where St. Thomas has built a few homes, and then take the 2nd one with us on our travels and drop it with someone in a more remote village.. As we were driving the other night, there were Sunday night soccer matches all over the countryside with locals crowded around watching the action.. I didn't see many Adidas balls flying around, so a durable, reliable soccer ball with be well received.. I will send pictures once I have delivered them..

Hope all is well back home.. Baseball is around the corner.

thatched homes on the side of the highway..

Frances in bottom left corner in maroon jacket and gold cap

 

Great weekend trip....swim season is finished..

Well, this weekend was a hit and I know the kids (at least they've admitted) are a little sad that the swim season has come to a close. I think we would have gone crazy if it wasn't for the swim team. It gave the kids something to do, physical activity and most importantly, gave them a social outlet and a chance to know alot of the kids from their school... Plus, they did very well this year and grew as swimmers... The Eckerle clan did not break any records, nor did we qualify for the Malawian National Team, but we swam well and looked good in our swim gear.

The drive to Blantyre was about 4.5 hours through rolling hills and beautiful scenery.. It never gets tiring. Blantyre has a much different terrain than Lilongwe and kind of looks like a town you'd find in the hills somewhere in West Virginia. Plus, they have KFC.

We stayed in a nice little lodge that had "air con" as well as 4 cable TV stations... Our first night there, we had what was quite possibly the worst dinner I've had in my life at a local Chinese restaurant. Service was good , but the food was no where near Chinese tasting. And my beer tasted as if it had been on a fishing boat.

We were up every morning at 6 am getting ready for a two day event that had around 160 events...They would stop after about 20 events or so and give out medals for the previous events..

During one of the breaks, they decided to have some local boys jump in the "big pool" for the first time.. Well, they probably should have checked to see if they could swim, because one of the young men struggled and had a hard time holding on to the lane lines and had to be helped by an adult who jumped into the pool to help.. It was so strange.

The swimming galas are somewhat surreal.. The only difference between a gala here and one at home is location... There are mostly expatriate families who participate in the events.. Which is good for us, because we see lots of friends and acquaintances, but you never really feel as if you are witnessing anything Malawian..

We finished up the meet about 130 on Sunday, grabbed some "take away " from KFC and hit the road.. The goal- get home before the sun set... You do not want to be on the road in the dark so we set a good pace and made it to the edge of the city just as the sun was going down. Again, not to be disappointed , the scenery throughout this country was stunning and we took in one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. Which was a plus.  We also were able to witness the President's caravan and all police force in the country were stationed on the highway, forcing pedestrians/ drivers/ bicyclists to pull over and make room for the convoy... People waited up to 30 minutes for the Presidents' crew to drive through the countryside at about a 150MPH clip. I wanted to get a video, but it is illegal here to take photos of military/ political personnel and I was under the surveillance by a local policeman.

By the way, we picked up 2 speeding tickets on the way down to Blantyre as I was driving too fast through a 50KM area(this is not true).. I had no way of knowing how they knew I was driving too fast.. I think they just see you are a foreigner, wave you to pull over and kindly tell you to pay 5000 Kwacha.. On the highway, just like home there are speed traps where you have to slow down through residential / village areas... Just as you pass through the town there is usually 4 or 5 officers there , standing in the middle of the road, waving drivers through or telling them to pull over.. The first time we were pulled over, I felt like I could make an argument about the ticket, then realized it wasn't worth it.. The officer asked me where I was headed, with classic African charm told me "You are in a hurry and were speeding.. You must pay the fine of 5000Kwacha"... So i decided it was best to just pay the fee.. I had to park the car, walk across the highway to a small parked car.. In the car was a woman with a receipt booklet and an envelope full of cash.. I gave her the money, she gave me a receipt and we were on our way.. about 30 minutes later, we were greeted by another officer, named Andrew .. I asked him if he would let us pass since we were born with the same name. He didn't think that was a good idea.

It was a great weekend that felt "normal." Michelle was off work, the kids were surrounded by friends and we had KFC.. What more could you ask for?? As we were driving home, Michelle said something to the effect of...  this was one of those weekends where you feel content.. Where you know your time here is temporary, where you'll never get to know the people or the culture see everyday in this beautiful place, and are grateful for the experience.. You are grateful for the time here, for the blessing of getting a glimpse of it and seeing a part of this world. It is an amazing place and we are grateful for our time here..

Sidenote- I have said this before , but as the swim season comes to an end, I am so proud of my kids.. I don't say it too much, but they have done so well with this experience.. This includes our son Jacob , who has been left to his own devices back home. Everyone has risen to the occasion and has done exceptionally well. Kate, who was pulled away from her great school and great friends back home, has taken the experience by the reigns and done well.. yes,, she has a countdown app on her ipod for the day when we return home, but has really embraced her time here.. She admits, she will really miss this place and the friends she has made.. She even told her coaches that she is glad her dad made her swim this year... Maybe it is healthy to live vicariously through your kids and make them do things you wish you would have done when you were younger??? I am grateful to all of them.. this could have been a disaster , but it has turned into a great year for them..... We have  4 months left, but they will fly by .. As we move closer to spring break, we are starting to plan a few more treks through Malawi.. This time, we will hit the tea estates and the ominous Mt. Mulaje.. We will probably hit the southern coast of the lake as well, and may try to take in some game viewing.. Let's hope our purple rimmed 20 year old truck can make the trip..

This photo was taken right before Michelle screamed at the kids to put on their seat belts.

Almost home.

Kate during her 50m freestyle event.

battery shop we parked in front of waiting for the President .. 

Headed out

It's 8 am here and we head out about noon. Should be about a 5 hour drive depending upon road blocks, goats, speeding tickets and other things.. There's an oasis of a rest stop about halfway between Lilongwe and Blantrye where you can stock up on beer and beef.. Drinking and driving is totally legitimate here and if you get a ticket, a good bribe is a bottle of "Green".. which is what everyone calls Carlsberg here..  This is also why it is best to be off the road at night...

All the kids are swimming about 9 events this weekend so I think we'll be at the pool all day long for the next few days...  Here's to hoping the kids do well, but not well enough that we have to go to Angola for another swim meet.. That could be expensive.

It's great to see the Reds are back in action.. Summer is around the corner folks.

Cheers from a perfect day here in Lilongwe... Sunny and about 62 degrees. High of 75 I think.

Below are some random photos for you.. Maura and our new dog "Indy".. apparently they dubbed him "Indy" because he is always trying to get IN to the house.. my kids are so clever.

worker at Michelle's hospital KCH

Maura in Art class

Chinese food night with the power out!

Maura with puppy Indy

Headed to Nationals, Basketball season closes out, Frances gets MVP

Lots of sports stuff going on right now, which feels alot like home. We head out tomorrow afternoon for a giant swim meet in Blantyre(about 5 hours aways)..  The kids are swimming in just about every long distance event there is, so they should be exhausted after this weekend. Kate swims in an event today as well.
Yesterday, the little kids finished up the basketball season. I didn't really report too much about the basketball, mainly because I didn't see any of it. It took place on days that I teach until 2:30 and all basketball games/ practices go from 1:30- 2:30.  Yesterday I let my students out a little early, but still missed the final basketball games of the season.. Jude's team pulled out the first win of the season, while Maura's team beat Franny's  team for the 4th time of the season.. I think Franny's team won three times so this was a tie breaker. Frances did not take any losses this season well, but everything was forgotten when her coach gave her the MVP award for the team..  Franny doesn't like to lose and loves to cheat.

That's it for now.. photos of the teams are below.. as well as a great photo of Cam and Joseph. They had requested uniforms for work so we were able to purchase some for them. I was surprised as to how excited they were when they put them on. I guess it makes them official..  I also bought them a kettle to heat water for tea, etc.. and an extension cord. I gave them sugar, tea and milk to use and said they could use it anytime. The weather is getting cooler and i thought it would be a good thing for them to have..  Joseph and Cosmas had no idea how to use it.  They don't use electricity at home and I didn't realize an electric kettle would be such a luxury.

I think that is all for now.. I'll try and update the results of the swim meet while we are there.. As said before, if the kids do well, we get to go to Angola!

Hope all is well. Missing all the snow back home, but enjoying swimming!.

Joseph and Cam

Franny and teammates

Maura and team

Jude the dude