Running, beaching

I miss reliable Internet. And my friends and family. Otherwise, things are going swimmingly here in Mzuzu.

The teaching is amazing. I feel that what I'm doing is important...and I love it. I have never felt this way before about a job, and I'm not even getting paid for this, so it's a great feeling.

Right now this is my schedule:
-Wake up at 5:30 to run (more about that in a minute)
-Get ready, eat breakfast, finish up lesson plans
-Get driven to work (20 minutes)
-Teach from 8-10
-Get picked up from work. Go home, take a nap, or maybe go to town and buy things for class
-Eat lunch, start working on the next day's lesson plan
-Get picked up again at 2:30 and teach from 3-5
-Go home, eat dinner, finish lesson plans or write, maybe go to the hotel and use the internet or maybe get a drink with Anna
-Bed by 9:30

So basically it is like real life but in Africa. It's nice to finally have a schedule. I spend about an hour and a half a day in the car so that is kind of annoying. But I'm not complaining (my dad is laughing right now).

So yeah, I did run for the first time here this morning! It was so nice. I was worried that everyone would stare at me but then I realized they already stare at me anyway. Plus no one's out at 5:30, and I finally know my way around so I'm not worried about getting lost. One man riding by on his bicycle did say, "Taking exercise, Madame?" How lovely. I'm looking forward to getting these runs in more.

Also, Anna and I went to Lake Malawi yesterday and it was a beautiful. We had such a lovely, relaxing day on the beach. Apparently it rained all day in Mzuzu so we picked the right day to take a day-trip.

Walani playing this crazy stick-jumping game

Walani and Isaac doing some acrobatics, NBD

You probably all think I'm kidding about running away with a Malawian child

Lake Malawi





Malawi is pretty.

OK, two more things:

1. See more pictures here. I'll try to take more of the kids in my classes, too.

2. Shameless PSA: please consider donating to Maloto. We really need funds now. Mzuzu Academy, an internationally-accredited secondary school for Malawi's poorest and brightest students, is opening in the fall. It needs to be fee-based in order to be sustainable, and although the tuition is not huge on our end (about $1,500 a year), it's a pretty large number in Malawian terms. The more donations we get, the more money available to give scholarships to potential students. The kids that I work with are so gifted, and they come from so little. Please consider donating, even if it is just a small amount. (If you are feeling really generous, and you have the funds, you can sponsor one student's entire tuition for $1500. Please email me if you want to learn more about it.)