Morning Fog

Woke up to an unfamiliar sight here in Malawi.. Fog had spread throughout the city.. It was quite nice and reminded me of home. Michelle and I sat and had coffee while the kids beat the hell out of each other getting ready for school.. Our yard is incredible and is home to so many different birds.. Within a minute I saw 4 different birds outside our window that I haven't seen since we've been here. I'm sure if I took the time to really look at our surroundings I'd see many more. Each morning the home is filled with different calls.. But the one that gets me the most is the one outside our bedroom at about 430 am.. It has the ability to increase its volume while calling.. I've never heard anything like it before. It's like it is toying with you .. I think I've spoken about this before, but here is some audio for you.. He is pretty consistent.. around 430, he sits next to our window and plays with my head while Michelle rests peacefully through the whole thing.   I sent the audio file to my brother who has a Phd in ornithology, and he didn't know what the bird was.. sorry I couldn't put the video on sound cloud for some reason so i had to make a movie.. the bird can be heard while perusing random photos of our yard and our kids in the yard..

On another note, we have been advised to get another dog for the house.. I didn't necessarily want to, but it seems like a good thing for the property.. As Cosmas told me this morning, " I will train it and it will add security for the property"..  So we will head out to the LSPCA (yes, there's actually an LSPCA here) and find one.. Or, if we are lucky, we will buy one from the vendors on the side of the road who stand on the highway all day long holding out the cutest puppies to sell.. Whichever one comes first.

I am heading out to Mkanda village today to see the finalization of the home for Felista Jolofani. We were supposed to go out yesterday, but the rain kept us away.. We have been told by the chief of the village that the home is complete. We will start on the second home "straight away" as they like to say here..

Tomorrow will bring a weekend off of work for Michelle.. We will take off for the lake "straight away" after school and get up to the shore before dark.  Hopefully we'll have enough time to settle into our room before they cut off the power. We hope to snorkel on Saturday and enjoy some time with the kids..  Keeping our fingers crossed for some nice weather.

I just finished teaching my kindergarten class, and one of the students complimented the the other by saying " you've got mad skills"..

ride to work

family in Gisepo