A cat overlooks Old Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock from a wall on the Mount of Olives.
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A cat overlooks Old Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock from a wall on the Mount of Olives.
Making plantain chips with @jacquelinecalos !!!
I came across this picture I took a few weeks back and it made me a little sad. Our home looks a lot different now, as we've given away all our houseplants and most of the books, along with lots of other things. I'm going to miss this wonky old house. Luckily we get to keep the big dog, best souvenir ever of an incredible two and a half years in Malawi. #rhodesianridgeback #healyhouse
With our departure from Malawi so close we can no longer deny it mental space, I’ve started to see some of the little things I will miss about life here. I’ll see or hear something and then feel sad, knowing that I’ll only experience that thing for a couple more weeks. Things like my chickens pecking around the yard, kids walking home from school in their uniforms, the woman who walks through our neighborhood selling produce and yelling “ONIONS AND TOMATOES,” and buying phone airtime from the lady by the Shoprite who raises her eyebrows in place of a verbal greeting. I will also miss the amazing plants in our yard, which have helped our house feel like a little paradise amidst busy, dusty Lilongwe.
Travel: Majete National Park pt.2
Our second day at Majete began at 5am with a walking safari. We did our first ever walk in a game park on our trip to Liwonde National Park and both Kyle and I loved it. It’s a totally different perspective of the landscape and the animals and I love how you can really hear all the sounds of the bush. Sunrise is the best time for a walking safari, as all the animals are just waking and you can beat the sun. This morning, however, it was drizzling heavily so I opted to leave my camera behind. I’m glad I did because the drizzle turned into rain and we were all soaked by the time we made it back to the lodge! Despite the rain, we loved the walk and were able to see quite a few animals as well as some unique plants. The highlight was seeing four different species all grazing together on the airstrip within the park: zebra, warthogs, impala and waterbuck. A baby warthog was running circles around its mother and siblings and a young zebra began darting around the field, bucking and rearing up through the herd of grazers.
After drying off and changing clothes, we enjoyed an amazing breakfast and then took a nap in our big comfy bed. We were all tired from our early morning wake up so the nap felt amazing. Kyle and I read our books on the patio and enjoyed the view of the river below. Because every good vacation centers around food, we ate lunch and then ordered iced coffees, which were such a treat. On our game drive the day prior, we saw that there were a few “hides” around the park. A “hide” is basically a little fort built in an inconspicuous location where you can quietly sit and wait for animals to pass by or stop at a watering hole. One of the guides told us this was the best, albeit one of the most boring, ways to see animals, including rhinos. He suggested spending four or five hours at a hide, but we opted to spend about 45 minutes. While we didn’t see any rhinos, we got to watch a family of warthogs and a herd of waterbuck slowly meander into the watering hole for a drink and some bathing. It was fun to observe the animals without them being aware of us and to see more natural behavior.
Travel: Majete National Park pt.1
Last weekend, Kyle and I traveled down south to Blantyre for what we called our “last hoorah.” It was our final holiday trip before we leave Malawi and it ended up being a multi-purpose adventure: visit Majete National Park, spend time with our good friends Andee and John and say good-bye to our church plant. It was a wonderful, though bittersweet few days.
We stayed at Ngona Lodge, which was just outside the national park. When you drive from Blantyre to Chikwawa, the town where Majete is located, you descend steeply into the Rift Valley and almost immediately you can feel the temperature rise. When we arrived at the lodge and got out of the car, we couldn’t believe how much warmer and more humid it was, after only an hour’s drive from mild Blantyre. The heat made the pool even more glorious than it already is with its view of the Shire River below.
After enjoying lunch and a swim, we entered the park for a game drive. Majete is “Big Five” Park, meaning it’s home to lions, leopards, rhinos, water buffalo and elephant. The park actually has 16 black rhinos, a population that started with rhinos brought over from Liwonde National Park in 2003, which is very exciting as rhinos are an endangered species. Unfortunately we didn’t see any while on safari, as they are a very shy animal, but was cool knowing they were “out there.” We did get to see lots of different species of antelope, quite a few elephant, baby warthogs, hippos and some zebras. Again we were reminded at what a gift these experiences are and how lucky we are to see such amazing animals and landscape with our own eyes.
Two Sundays ago Flood Lilongwe got to celebrate the baptism of seven young people! Baptisms are very exciting and always make me tear up because of the beauty and transformation it represents. It was really cool to start the year off with a powerful visual of God’s redemptive work in our lives.
I've become hooked on this green tea with mint while living in Malawi. It's the first thing I do after getting out of bed each morning. I just to figure out how much I can fit in my suitcase to bring home mext month... #satemwatea #malawitea
Christmas on Zomba Plateau
Kyle and I were so lucky to spend three days on the magical Zomba Plateau in the south of Malawi. This place is a dream! We spent a few days in Zomba earlier this year and were pleasantly surprised to find out that the same cottage we rented in June was available for Christmas! It felt really nice to be in a familiar home and location to celebrate the holiday; Christmas and comfort go hand in hand. The weather was cool and cloudy with on and off rain, about as wintery as you can get in the summer in Malawi.
After arriving to our cottage on Christmas Eve, we took a walk down to the dairy farm to get some fresh milk and cream. I realized it was mistake to bring my camera. With two dogs, a pitcher of milk and two jars of cream, we had no hands for taking any photos! While we are at the farm, the cows took an extreme interest in our dogs and were crowding around the fence to get a good look at them. The dogs of course were also very intrigued, but managed to keep it together. The cows walked along the entire length of fence, straining to get as close as possible to Samson and Ruby. It was the strangest thing! And I wish I got a picture of it.
We spent lots of time on the front porch, drinking tea, reading, watching the rain, looking for monkeys in the trees and enjoying wine and cheese. The air in Zomba is divine and so we tried to spend as much time outside to enjoy it.
Travel: Senga Bay
At the start of Christmas week, we traveled to Senga Bay with our friends Andy and Jennie for a couple days of relaxing at Lake Malawi. Senga Bay is about two hours northeast of Lilongwe in Salima district and while we’ve been to Salima several times, this was our first time in Senga Bay. A Flood family owns a house right on the lake and we were lucky enough to snag it for a couple days before Christmas. Their home was absolutely beautiful and the perfect place to relax and enjoy the beauty of the lake.
As if being right on the lake wasn’t enough, there was also a pool shaded by huge trees, perfect for the sunburn-prone like myself.
If we weren’t in the pool or at the beach, then we were probably in this indoor/outdoor room with a view of the lake. The room was attached to the house, but all the windows had screens rather than glass so you still felt like you were outside. Having never been to their house before, we were so surprised at how lovely yet comfortable it was!
One of the best parts of going to Lake Malawi is access to amazing, fresh fish! We don’t eat much fish in Lilongwe because it’s expensive, but at the lake it’s cheap and delicious. A fish salesman stopped by the house and we bought a half dozen chambo.
When you’re far away from family and it’s really hot outside, it takes some effort to make it feel like Christmas. Malawi isn’t nearly as Christmas-obsessed as America, so you don’t hear Christmas music every time you enter a store and you don’t see lights on houses or decorations in yards. This means that you don’t have constant reminders that it is in fact Christmas time. Part of me enjoys being away from the commercialization of Christmas, but another part of me misses it. I know that Christmas is ultimately about Jesus coming into our world to make a way for people to be children of God. You don’t need a tree or tinsel for that truth to fill you joy and wonder and awe. But, Christmas brings a lot of traditions and nostalgic memories that create a sense of home and celebration. Our friends Andy and Jennie stayed at our house for a few days and while we weren’t able to recreate all of our favorite traditions, we still managed to make it feel a little more like Christmas time.
Decorating cookies is one of my favorite traditions. Typically my sister Ashley and I would spend an entire day baking half a dozen varieties of cookies and then the evening would be spent with all my siblings decorating the ones cut into shapes. I didn’t have any cookie cutters or fancy icing tools so we settled for plain round sugar cookies and white icing in ziplock bags. It was still a lot of fun and we listened to the Charlie Brown Christmas album which makes any holiday activity a hundred times more Christmas-y.
Andy and Jennie brought a Christmas ornament making kit that was sent to them by family all the way from the UK. Had we still been living in San Diego, I highly doubt we ever would have sat down and made paper Christmas ornaments, but since we live in Malawi and such things are not available here, they were novel and interesting and fun. And I do think they added a little Christmas cheer to our kitchen windows.
To round out the festivities, we turned our chalkboard into a nativity scene, though probably not the most traditional as it included a snowman and a wiseman in a Santa suit.
Living in Malawi has taught us how to be creative in entertaining ourselves. I remember when we first moved here, I was overwhelmed with how frequently I felt bored. No parks, no nighttime walks, no coffee shops, no movie theaters, no testing two dozen eyeshadow colors on my hand at Sephora, no netflix, and many times no power or internet. It was a big adjustment. Though I still have my moments, I’ve come a long way and I love that we’ve had the opportunity to learn how to enjoy life even when it seems boring. This skill has been especially valuable around holidays like Christmas.
Last Sunday we put on Flood’s first ever kids’ Christmas play! It was a lot of work, but in the end the children did really well and even more importantly, they all said they loved being a part of it.
Better than TV. #malawi #godblesstherainsdowninafrica
How to Survive a Power Outage on a Hot Malawi Day
Unlike the Malawian people, Americans have become largely detached from the knowledge and skills that have enabled humans to live without such conveniences as electricity and grocery stores. In the event of a worldwide zombie apocalypse, we Americans will be among the first to go. Very few of us know how to farm anymore and I dropped out of Girl Scouts too early to learn how to start a fire.
Why am I telling you this? Because there have been frequent power outages across Malawi and I am but a weak, dramatic American who has admittedly not gotten used to this normal occurrence. We are very fortunate to have electricity here in Malawi, as only 8% of the population has power. Outages have been aplenty over these past couple months, which happens to be the hottest season in Malawi. Typically it is out for at least eight hours every day. Besides not being able to cook or heat water for tea/coffee, our home becomes quite uncomfortable with no working fans, while our hot metal roof laughs at its sweaty inhabitants. But don’t despair! Here is a tried and true guide to passing time during a power outage on a very hot Saturday.
First, decide to use the power outage as an opportunity to practice your photography skills. This will help you to stop feeling sorry for yourself and lend a sense of purpose to these hot, powerless hours. Take some still life photos of things that make you happy; my houseplants are the perfect subjects.
Second, keep good company around you. Being hot, sweaty and hungry can make you irritable and grumpy so surround yourself with people (and animals) that you really enjoy, just like Kyle has done here with Ruby.
Third, don’t let your mind waste away in the heat and boredom. Read! If you are fortunate enough to have some charge on your tablet, you can use that, but an ordinary hard copy book will work just the same. It will also take your mind off how sweaty you are and keep you from constantly wondering how much longer until the power comes back.
You can see that Kyle looks quite comfy while reading on his tablet. While I do recommend getting comfortable while reading, do not spend too much time laying or even sitting on a couch or any upholstered surface. This will raise your body temperature, as the heat between the fabric and your body cannot escape, resulting in more sweat. Spend some time laying on the tile floor instead, as shown by Kyle and Samson.
Cuddling is also a great way to pass the time and keep your mood light. Just like getting comfy on the couch, use this tactic sparingly, as it can also cause an increase in body temperature. Dogs’ bodies run at 102.5 F! Intersperse the cuddling with times of laying flat on the floor to maximize the surface area of your body that touches the cool tile. Kyle and Samson are pros at this survival strategy.
Check in with each other periodically to make sure everyone is okay. Ruby is great for moral support and knows when to come by for a nice smooch on the mouth to lift your spirits.
Limit your movements to those only necessary for survival. The more you move, the hotter you will become so think like a statue. Samson and Ruby demonstrate this technique below.
Don’t become too dazed that you miss the power coming back! Keep alert and listen for the low din of the refrigerator that tells you you’ve made it through!
And when the power returns, celebrate! It’s okay to jump around and dance because the fan is on now and you can get a cold glass of water from the fridge without spoiling all your food. Recognize that is a privilege to have electricity if only for a couple hours a day, and admit you’ve been a drama queen about something that is very normal for most people around the world. Then sit down and write a self-deprecating post using all the photos you took while wallowing on the tile floor.
(I should note that Kyle is much better about the power outages than I am. I think I’ve heard the man complain twice in the entire time I’ve known him, none of which have been during a power outage. It’s actually kind of annoying, but I love him anyways.)
Enjoying our wonderful backyard on this very warm December afternoon. All four of us will be missing this space when we move in February. #rhodesianridgeback #malawi
It's mango season! These yellow beauties came from the trees in our backyard. How lucky are we?! #malawimangoes
Celebrating Thanksgiving in Malawi
On Wednesday we woke up before the sun came up and set off for Blantyre, the commercial capital of Malawi. We made really good time, likely due to the fact that we weren’t stopped at any police road blocks (a small miracle), and arrived just after 9am with plenty of time to enjoy the day and prep for all our cooking. We stayed with our friends Andee and John, who moved to Blantyre from Lilongwe about three months ago. Their home was beautiful! It is not easy to put together a house in Malawi as there are no furniture shops, no second-hand stores and no Target/West Elm/Crate and Barrels. You either have to buy it used from someone who is leaving the country or have a local craftsman or tailor make it, which can be quite time consuming. Andee is a magician, as you can see in the photos, and we loved spending time in their lovely house.
After catching up a bit and taking a home tour, John came home from work and we went to the Mandala House for lunch. The Mandala House is the oldest remaining structure in Malawi, built in 1882 as a trading post. It’s surrounded by a nice garden and made for a very enjoyable lunch.