I'm Still Here...

In This Issue:
1. Christmas In The Village
2. New Year’s At Wiz’s
3. Zambia and, technically, Zimbabwe OR Peace Corp: The Toughest Vacation You’ll Ever Love
4. Back In The Warm Heart Of Africa
5. Second Years This Way
6. Loose Ends

“Where have you been?” you ask. “Why have we heard nothing for so long?” The best reply I can offer is that I’m doing my job. Kuchezga waka. Kwangara waka. That is, I’ve been at my site with no email (electricity, water, temperature control, microwave, cable TV, etc.) since we came back from Zambia at the end of January. This stretch of about six weeks is a new at-site record for me. And I feel pretty good that this month-and-a-half passed quicker than the five weeks run back in July-August. That said, sit back, relax. We have some catching up to do.

1. Christmas In The Village: A Malawian Christmas Carol
Twas the night before Christmas and all through my village
The people were finally showing some hint that they knew a holiday of some kind was approaching
People don’t snuggle up warm in their beds
The air is hot, using a blanket we dread
And Elihu in the guest room and I under my net
Went to bed earlier than you did, I bet
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I knew what is was so there was really no matter
People here start the festivities at night
And go until morning? Well who knows, they just might
Not even talk of St. Nicolas is heard
Red suit and reindeer, well that’s just absurd
Forget about snow, and a sleigh full of toys
People think only of Jesus, even the small girls and boys
Carolers come to you door in the wee hours of morn
Singing, asking for money, not corn
I didn’t hear them, as shut was my eye
The group, Elihu said, included one drunken guy
Even Christmas Day left much to be desired
But we ate lots of rice, and made our bellies tired
Staying in the village for Christmas was smart
But next time I think I’ll have a change of heart
While sharing experiences is good for Peace Corps
I think I missed Christmas, in the village was bored
I heard local exclaim “Merry Christmas” at all
So in 2008, you’ll find me standing tall
How far across the ocean can one person see?
‘Cause on the east coast of Africa is where I plan to be!


2. New Years On The Beach
I know I told some of you a bit about our New Year celebration, but I don’t recall if it was only family and friends. So here’s a quick recap.
Elihu and I took off from my site December 26. Over the course of two days we worked our way down to Mzuzu, meeting up with a few other PCVs on the way. With four or five days in Mzuzu and nothing to do, I did just that – ate chipati, watched some movies, drank some beer and hung out. A group of maybe 15 of us rented a minibus December 31 for the three-hour ride to Tukumbo in souther Nkhata Bay District, where Wiz lives. (If you look at your notes, you may be reminded of another beach party in September at Wiz’s.) There was camping on the beach, good food, a little booze, a broken ankle and lots of lake time. We even had fireworks at midnight. Not much excitement, but a really good, chill, time.


3. Zambia
Wiz, Jim and I took off from Nkhata Bay after New Years for our first excursion outside of Malawi since we arrive in this small country 10 months earlier. We took the lakeshore road to Lilongwe, then stayed in Mchinji – about 12km from the border – before crossing on the next day. In Chipata, we enjoyed a night at the PC Zambia house where they have huge beds with thick mattresses, a television and great movie collection and big walk-in shower and calzones for dinner (at least that night). The next day we departed for South Luangwa National Park and Flagdogs Camp, whose owners were kind enough to offer us visa waivers (which saved us each US$100). After waiting three hours, we finally caught a hitch on the back of a large lorry hauling two long, wooden electric wire poles and some other Zambians. The road from Chipata to South Luangwa (one of the countries biggest tourist destinations) was pretty sketchy in some places and we were happy to be traveling on a large truck. We would find worse roads as our journey continued.
South Luangwa – named for the river bordering one side – is generally regarded as one of the best game parks in Africa, and it’s not quite as touristy as some of the parks in east Africa. We pitched our tent on a platform in a tree for three nights, had baboons and vervet monkeys stealing our food and toiletries. I fell off a ladder when the step broke. This park is supposed to have one of the highest concentrations of leopards in Africa (1-2 per square kilometer) but we saw none. Dry season is better, they say. No rhinos live in the park. But we saw lions, elephants, one buffalo, zebra, Thornicroft’s giraffe which is found only in this park, impala and several other types of deer and antelope, hippos, lots of birds, some warthogs. In all it was good trip, though I’d still like to see a wild rhino and some more wild cats before I leave the continent.
Our few days in South Luangwa defined the rest of our trip. One afternoon, Jim had the bright idea of blindly pointing to a random spot on our map of Zambia, which would then become our next destination. With almost two weeks and nothing else planned except Victoria Falls we figured it would add some adventure to the trip. (Traveling in the deep jungle heart of Africa seeing wild animals and hitching rides through the bush on the back of lorry, of course we needed more adventure!) Jim’s finger landed somewhere northest of Kafue National Park. We went to Lusaka where camped at a hostel and ate Subway for dinner and met up with a local PCV we accompanied as north from the capitol city, through the Copperbelt, to Solwezi and another PC house. Then we really hit bush. During the course of about three days, we hitched to a small town in the boonies, then realized the road to our destined destination was too flooded and washed out to travel on, then hitched back to the main road on farther west, where the population becomes much less dense, and fewer people travel, which means waits can be longer between rides. The wind was carrying us west and the logical target was Mongu, capitol of the Western Province.
Usually NGOs (non-governmental organizations or non-profits in English) won’t pick up hitch-hikers because the company has rules against it. We were stranded in the rinky-dinkiest little trading center that I’ve seen with one expensive ride that could take us 100km. After two hours we’d seen no other vehicles was a 4WD pick-up flew by, stopped and offered to take us because they figured we be stuck if they didn’t. A ways up the road we had to cross a river on a man-powered ferry, then slip and slide through some of the best four-wheeling roads I’ve been on in a long time. Thank God for four-wheel-drive. Had we taken the small matola waiting back at the trading center I’m sure we’d have been covered head-to-toe in mud from pushing many times. Our friends zig-zagged us through the west to Mongu – a long ride on mostly crappy roads – for free, which was awesome.
In Mongu we tried to visit the Litunga – king of the Lozi tribe. Another big tourist event is the Ku’omboka ceremony each year in March or April when the Lozi people move the litunga from his dry season home in the floodplains of the Zambezi River to higher ground. We were too early for this, but thought, after reading Lonely Planet, we’d be able to have an audience with His Majesty. Alas, it was not to be and they wouldn’t even delivery the Cokes we brought as gifts for him. A shame, to be sure, but it was fun to try and see his palace and a little area of Zambia that many travelers skip.
Our plan, with stars in our eyes, and adventure in our souls, was to attempt to find a boat heading down the Zambezi River all the way (or at least as close as possible) to Livingstone and Victoria Falls. However we also were beginning to realize the need for some time management if we wanted to fit everything in. At Mongu, we took a taxi to the harbor, which is still a ways out from the river, but found no one going very far downriver. Had we more time, and a pocketful of kwacha, I’m sure we could have found something, but we are just poor travelers unwilling to part unnecessarily with funds, especially at the risk of being administratively separated from Peace Corps for being out of our country for too long if we ended up stuck in the middle of nowhere, which is almost where we were anyway. Instead we decided to take an overnight bus back to Lusaka, and have the entire next day to reach Livingstone.
Satan’s Christmas is what Wiz later dubbed our day of trying to reach Livingstone. The road heading south of Lusaka goes directly to Harare, the capitol of Zimbabwe. To reach Victoria Falls, a traveler has to turn off about 50km south of Lusaka. We were at that turnoff by about 9 a.m. We stayed at that turnoff for about seven more hours. Hitching is primarily how we travel here. Waiting for an hour, sometime two is not unusual. Being passed up a few times is acceptable. But when you see buses, mzungu families, nuns and EVERYONE driving by without hardly looking at you it can become a bit discouraging. Having taken the overnight bus and not slept well certainly didn’t help the situation. Long story short, we took two days to get to Livingstone instead of the hoped-for one.
This town is really cool and great for backpackers or families. We stayed at Jollyboys Backpackers, which is probably the coolest hostel I’ve stayed at anywhere – clean, nice bar, good areas to relax and $8 for a comfy bed in the dorm. Several fancy resorts have built up in the 11 or so kilometers between town and the Falls. There’s good pizza and, we heard, good seafood. Our first day we spent around the Falls. The experience of Victoria Falls – Mosi-oa-tunya or “Smoke that thunders” in the vernacular – is possible to describe but hard to do justice to. Telling the difference between rain and mist at time was difficult. You can wear a heavy poncho and carry an umbrella and you’ll still get soaked, so why spend the US$5? But we did. Some people say the view from Zimbabwe is better (not that Zambia is anything to sneeze at), but by the time we were at that entrance the time was past 3 p.m. and we didn’t want to pay the US$20 to enter the Zimbabwe side of the park. (We’d already paid US$10 in Zambia. Of course, there’s always that little voice saying, “When am I going to be in Zimbabwe again?”) We walked around the park, illegally jumped in the Zambezi maybe 30 yards upstream of the Falls, then took off to cross the border.
The walk through to border posts and across the bridge connecting the two countries took less than an hour and cost US$45 for a single-entry visa. Victoria Falls Town wasn’t as impressive as Livingstone, but I’ve since heard that just a few years ago it was the place to visit and Livingstone wasn’t much. We walked around a bit. I bought a carved rhinoceros for 20 Malawi kwacha (about US$0.15) from a curio boy who didn’t know what he was doing. Boy was he upset when he came back. Sorry, buddy, maybe you’ll learn a lesson. Jim and Wiz tried to change money on the black market, where the exchange rate is unbelievably better than at banks. Wiz, who has a seen a lot of the world, said it was one of the shadiest experiences he’s ever had. We at lunch at a pizza place. Three pizzas and four cokes cost us almost $50,000,000. No joke. You may know Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world. I’ve heard 7,000-8,000% recently. Thus, the Zim dollar is worth nothing. In fact, I’ve also heard their $10,000,000 bill is the highest denomination of any currency in the world. This all translates into $50M pizza.
The second day Jim and I went rafting while Wiz visited the Livingstone Museum. He said the museum was pretty good. We thought the rafting was pretty good. The raft never flipped, but we spent a fair amount of time in the water, anyway.
I’d definitely recommend South Luangwa and Livingstone to anyone visiting Zambia. The roads to each place are pretty crappy, but when you arrive you’ll have a great time. The country also has Mosi, a great African beer, though it’s a more expensive that the Carlsberg we drink in Malawi or the Tanzanian beers I’ve had. The population is mostly crammed into the Lusaka and the Copperbelt which leaves a lot of open bush to drive through. We received a 14-day visa waiver through Flatdogs Camp at South Luangwa. Other camps were willing to arrange the same, but I’ve recently heard that for Americans the visa was just raised to US$130 with no visa waivers accepted. If that is so, we went at just the right time

4. The Warm Heart of Africa
Back at site the past few weeks, things have been almost discouragingly slow. Not being able to speak the local language past the greetings and few other words doesn’t help the work progress, either. But this is Africa, right? I just worry sometime that I’ll get caught in a dangerous cycle not doing any work, wondering why I’m here and only staying so I can stay. But then I have a good day and think, “Man, I love living here and doing this!” No plans to leave early yet, but emotions certainly pull me in more directions than is easy to deal with.
Before I actually returned to site, some other PCVs and I were invited to spend an evening celebrating Burns’ Day with a British couple we know. The day honors 18th-century Scottish poet Robert Burns, who wrote Auld Lang Syne. Apparently the year after his death, some friends gathered in remembrance and the day has grown from there into a national holiday. The highlight of the celebrations is a meal, at which guests eat Haggis, boiled sheep’s stomach stuffed with ground heart, liver, mince and some spices. If you can get past the idea of what you are eating it’s OK. The flavor is intense, but bad. Jim liked it more than I did. Our friends also serviced a huge dish of beef lasagna which was most welcome. In fact that became part of our breakfast the next morning.
I also experienced American football for the first time since watching the Bears lose the Super Bowl in 2007. Some Americans are working at a Catholic secondary school near Karonga boma and invited several of us to watch this year’s Super Bowl with them. The game started at about 1:00 a.m. our time and we didn’t get to see any of the commercials because the game was broadcast on some international ESPN station. But a few of us made it through the whole game and were able to see the exciting ending. I hope to be able to talk them into letting us (at least me) come over this fall when the Cubbies are in the Series.
“But Matthew, what you actually been doing?” you ask. Football and Scottish holidays? We thought you lived in Africa! Well, yes, it’s true. As I mentioned site has been slow. The library project is on wait-and-see mode right now, while the U.S. Embassy sorts through all the applications. I expect them to visit our area sometime in April or May for a look-see and I’ll hopefully have more news after that. The student soap-making group is in need of a push, as they’ve also been on hold for some time. The teacher who is working with me on the project recently suggested we diversify into pig-rearing, which I’ll be looking into while I’m around Lilongwe this week. Speaking of soap, another group in my village is interested in making soap, so I’ll soon be training them, thought I’m a bit concerned with competition between the two groups. Speaking of soap Part 2, I also trained a group for a fellow PCV just last weekend. If making soap is the legacy I leave in Malawi that’ll be great for the people here, but I’m not sure how exactly I’ll use those skills back in America. And in my increasingly tight schedule and do manage to find a wee bit of spare time to do work around the house (in between books that I absolutely must read). I’ve finished a shade structure between my house and kitchen. Back in December I planted some passion fruit that will group up and fill in the gaps between the reeds to create a denser shade. I’ve also started working to make some ridges next to my house so that I can plant sweet potatoes. We’ll see if that actually happens. Finally, my cat ran off while I was Zambia so I’ve since acquired two new kittens. One is almost completely black; the other is mostly white with a black tail and spots. I’ve named them The Ghost and The Darkness.


5. Becoming ‘Second Years’
Does that not sound like I’m inserting myself into the new novel Harry Potter and the Volunteer of Karonga (or something like that)? For those of you who might be confused by what exactly I’m talking about, March 1 marked the one year anniversary of the day I arrived in Malawi. While my family remembers February 25 as the last day they saw me and Peace Corps doesn’t consider our group second-year volunteers until the end of April, we celebrated March 1 as the Big Day. This also means that the new group of trainees is in country. They arrived in Lilongwe and proceeded to Dedza for training February 25. And they are my reason for having a chance to send this email to you all, as I am heading to Dedza tomorrow with a couple other volunteers from my group to work with the newbies for a few days. I’m incredibly excited to meet them and I’m actually looking forward to hanging out in the homestay village for a while, too. (Mostly because the weather around Dedza is so cold and I’ll be able to eat Malawian cooked meals.)
The transition from first-year volunteer to second-year volunteers is interesting. We hear that you spend your first year learning how to live in Africa and your second year trying to figure out what to when you’re finished. That’s partly true. In between you try to do a few small things to make a difference with the people who have become your friends and neighbors. I’m also beginning to realize if I want to make that difference I either need to 1) Get busy, 2) Extend for a third year, or 3) Not worry about it, expect somehow everything will fall into place and enjoy my time in Africa. Right now I’m leaning toward No. 3, with heavy emphasis on No. 1 and I haven’t completely ruled out No. 2. (Hey, if I extend Peace Corps pays for me to come home for a month – not a bad deal.) Liz, my new site mate, described the transition as a change in mentality. As I mentioned I’m thinking more about projects. The newbies will be looking up to us, which doesn’t mean we have to act more mature, necessarily, just give them good advice. (Like being a senior in college.) And what else do I want to do in Africa while I’m still here on the U.S. government’s dime? And, yes, what do I want to do when I get home?
But I have at least 12 months to ponder those questions. More than enough time, right?

6. Loose Ends
As always, if you think I’ve missed something or if you have questions about what I’m doing, how things are here or whatever, please ask. I try to cover all the bases, but after living here a year some of the novelty has worn off and living the village is normal (more so, anyway).

Until next time, thanks for the support and keep in touch.