Happy Fourth of July from Malaw

Happy Fourth of July from Malawi
July 4, 2009

It’s Saturday. With really the first day off we have had (other than planning lessons or working on their papers) some students slept late; all have traipsed to town at some point! They’re feeling quite at home here.

The electricity went off before breakfast this morning at 6:30. Sitting in the dining room, Ann and I heard the groan that went up in the kitchen. It just makes life hard for them. After breakfast Ann and I went early to town to buy some more fabric and to use the Internet café. Of course, Deanna and Caroline raced to town ahead of us and “opened” the place at 8 o’clock. More frustration with the Internet. After one hour and 15 minutes, I read three e-mails and responded to two, the third response never went through even after 30 minutes of waiting.

We went to the tailor shop that is next door to Annie’s Lodge. Here, Levis runs a good business from her home atop a hill. She has three tailors, all men. She looks forward to our coming each year because we get so many dresses and shirts made. The guys are getting African shirts and “jams” made. The women are getting dresses, skirts, tablecloths and napkins and whatever they can dream up. The shop is located on the open-air porch of her home. Three machines run from 8 a.m. until 4 or 5 p.m. Fabric scraps dot the floor. The iron is always hot ready for pressing. All of them are wizards with fabric.

It’s really overcast and raining lightly. There have been some breaks this week when the sun shone, but mostly the sky is filled with heavy dark clouds. Zomba Plateau has been shrouded most of the week. I can’t imagine what it’s like up there – very dark and even more rain. I’m glad we’re at the foot of the plateau at Annie’s. I’ll try to get my blogs posted on WiFi here, but the connectivity is spotty. Even sitting side by side, one person will get on and another won’t.

I have an American flag that my husband Bill put into my back pack the day I left. I’ll take it to dinner for the centerpiece so that we can remember the freedoms we have at home and be thankful for the quality of life we have. I think it goes without saying that students are reassessing their lives in the midst of so much need. I’m very proud of them: their hearts are good and their minds are analytical. More importantly, they are – and will continue to be – good ambassadors for our country.

Three young woman, one from England and two from Canada, have come seeking our students. They had met Moses in the market and he invited them up. They’re in the bar now with the Parliament members and some of our students. The international contacts the students are having are making an important difference.

Tonight members of parliament are coming to Annie’s to stay because the big Independence Day celebration for Malawi is in Blantyre on July 6. All hotels in Blantyre are filled and Zomba, the old colonial capital, is the nearest town. Everything in Zomba will be filled by tomorrow night. I met a newly elected member of Parliament from Kasunga. His name is Cornelius; he has studied in Canada and has worked for the World Bank, among other things. It’s going to be a busy evening.

Several people are keeping blogs, but Ann Roberts (Radford U advisor) is a great one: annmaryroberts.wordpress.com