Hello there

Just a quick update because I know you are all missing me terribly and dying to know what is happening. Now you will be able to sleep again. I didn't have a chance to write this up before time, so I'm kind of going by the seat of my pants right now.

Again, Mt. Mulanje was awesome. Three hard days of hiking, great company, amazing scenery. I returned to site for about 10 days before tramping off again to Mzuzu for a permaculture training. Permaculture is a "design methodology" for taking advantage of space, locally available resoures... basically it's about growing lots of stuff in a small space. It was a good training and I hope to take some of the information and practices back north with me. After the training, nearly a quarter of the volunteers in country went to the south of Nkhata Bay district to camp on the beach, swim in Lake Malawi, play games, drink a little beer and eat some good food. Two awesome days. Now I'm back in Mzuzu for two nights relaxing and getting a strong dose of electricity before heading back to site again for quite a while.

My upcoming schedule look something like this: Tomorrow, back to site. Halloween party in Chitipa district. Thanksgiving in Lilongwe. Christmas and New Year's somewhere (possibly back at the Lake). Then to Zambia for some hardcore travelling. Not sure when I'll get to email again. Thanks to everyone who's sent updates, letters, packages, etc.

The Guide to Mulanje Massif

We didn't say much in the back of the matola we caught a hitch in from Chitakale. After what we'd done, what can you say that others aren't already thinking? The tallest mountain in the country. Malawi's "Island in the Sky." Sure, it's no Kilimanjaro, no everest. But it's still a long way up. Three days of hiking, then the best pizza in-country, then a 700km trip from Blantyre to Mzuzu in one day. And I'm spent. I want to look at the horizon with eyes of chipped granite and say, "Yeah, I've shit in the woods." (Thanks, Mr. Bryson.)

I wasn't really prepared for this email session. I have good photos, but none prepared to email or post online. I should be back around technology in a couple weeks, so maybe then I can send some. Our IST was sub-par, but getting together with everyone was loads of fun. Now I've been away from site for more than three weeks. In another couple weeks I'll be back in Mzuzu for a permaculture workshop. Then Halloween in Chitipa. Then Thanksgiving in Lilongwe. Then Christmas and New Years (leaning toward Zambia). The new Environment '08 group will arrive the end of February. Mid-Service Training will be the end of April. Then it's a breeze. Wow, 6 months already.