Now Joey and I are used to the way things work over here, but to bring along my brother on a total of 5 days of travel on stuffy, crowded buses from Lusaka to Mkushi to Northern Malawi and back down to Lilongwe, Malawi was a big jump. Nate handled it well and experienced transportation as a Peace Corps Volunteer living in Africa. We had reserved bus tickets given away, scheduled buses not show up, and a bus that was so crowded we all had people practically sitting in our laps. We were even following the news carefully, as the people were planning demonstrations to be held country-wide. However, as they always do, things worked out and we made it to our destination safely!
We spent 6 lovely nights on Lake Malawi while staying at Mayoka Village. We rented a stone cottage built right into the rocky cliff above the water. We enjoyed snorkeling almost daily (many aquarium fish come straight from Lake Malawi), time exploring the Lake on an old row-boat, watching a pair of fish-eagles feed right next to our boat, eating lots of home-made pizza, and spending most sunsets on our private porch overlooking the water and working on cross-words! We also explored the local town, Nkhata Bay, and pick up a few souvenirs. We even found a place that served milkshakes in town! However, after we asked how they made their milkshakes, the man replied, “We use bananas and milk.” Well, that was enough for me, I passed. However, Joey decided to try it and it really did turn out to be warm milk and bananas mixed together.
Before our beautiful get-away to Lake Malawi, we spent 3 nights in our village. Nate attended my adult literacy class, observed Joey’s maize cob burner demonstration, visited my school, and got to read in our wonderful hammock! We also made bon-fires every night while eating a local nshima dinner. Time in the village is always our favorite part of having visitors because we get to share the home we have created and the work we are doing.
When our 2 weeks together was up, we made our way down to Lilongwe for a night before Nate’s early afternoon flight the following day. Before Joey and I had left the states, my grandmother had given me the contact information of a young American woman living in Lilongwe who was from her hometown in Maine. So, we called her up and met for dinner! It was fun to meet up with another American and share our different experiences in Southern Africa. On August 19th, Joey and I sent off Nate in true style: a taxi that was just barely running, with a cracked wind-shield and only 2 working doors. As always, we made it to the airport and Nate took off without a problem. The 3 of us had a wonderful adventure together and it is a time we will never forget!
