Sunday, March 29, 2009

Grounded

I'm not sure what's been happening lately, the awe factor of living in a village in Malawi has definetley rubbed off but right now I am content in the fact that this is my life. I have 6 months in and 20 or so months to go and although I wish the excitement and awe factor were as strong as they were when I first arrived, I can happily say that the challenges and moments of realization that i'm dealing with are most welcomed. My 6 months here have caused me to ask myself more questions then I thought possible in such a short time. The idea of going home before my time is up does not really linger in my head because really, it's not a possibility. I've made a committment to the people i'm serving along with a committment to myself that no matter how tough it may get, i'm strong enough and determined enough to stick it out. Life is not bad here, learning about yourself, what you're capable of, putting trust in the unknowns you wouldn't have put trust in before, and in general just being is the most challenging part for me.
I received a prayer calendar in the mail, by far the most helpful thing I have gotten. I took down all the verses and each day I will randomly select a verse, look it up in my bible, and try to focus on what that lesson is. I can't how amazing this has changed my perspective, my ability to cope, and my ability not to lose focus on the bigger picture. It never seems to fail that the verse I randomly choose is so fitting for what i'm feeling at that moment. I have always viewed religion as a personal thing, I have my views you have your views, and really when it all comes down to it, it doesn't matter what your views are because i'm still going to have my views at the end of the day. Reading and reflecting passages has allowed for me to learn and question the actions I have towards those around me. I feel that we all have things that we need to work on and everyday is a constant learning experience, but learning about yourself and challenging yourself by far is probably going to be the biggest thing that I take from here.

Prior to coming to Malawi, I have always been a planner. I knew from my freshman year in college I wanted to be a Peace Corps volunteer. I made it happen and just as I have made this happen, I know that whatever I decide to do in the future it will happen but for now i'm going to enjoy this ride we call life that i'm on, stay in the moment and stay grounded.

Friday, March 27, 2009

R.I.P Christopher Abeyta

A friend of my mine from middle school was recently killed while serving our country in Afghanistan. Please keep his family and friends in your prayers.



Chris-forever a hero. you will be missed, thank you.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Headed back to site on Saturday only to find out I couldn't get there...

Carolyn and I left Lilongwe Saturday morning, amped up to get back to site. We head to area 25 and about 20minutes get picked up by a nice British woman who was a former VSO(British Peace Corps) in Malawi in the early 90s. We get to Salima the turnoff point for the road going north to our sites around 10 and decide to eat lunch in Salima before heading home. We were making great time and didn't feel the need to rush. About 11 we head back to the roadblock that has the road going north and wait. About 15minutes pass before a police officer informs us that there is no travel up the M5 as the bridge has been washed out along with parts of the road. Hmmm....well Carolyn and I are bummed but figured out our back up plan. We hitch back to Lilongwe with a nice guy that works for the electric company and decide to head north to Mzuzu. We may not be able to go up the M5 but we could come down, hopefully. After 5 rides we finally make it to Mzuzu around 7:30pm. Our plan to sleep there at the Peace Corps respite house and then leave early the next morning. We head to the AXA bus station the next morning and are told that no buses are going down the M5 due to the roads. We dismissed what they said and decided to try our luck anyway. We get a hitch to Nkhata Bay which is the turnoff to the take the M5 south. The police officers told us that no one is traveling as far as where we need to go, but then again people could be wrong. We wait about 2 1/2 hours, no traffic, and realized that maybe they were right. We call our supervisor who told us that if we could we should come back down to Lilongwe and we can figure out a plan once at the office. So Carolyn and I, head back to Mzuzu. We stopped in the store and luckily ran into the guy that gave us a hitch to Mzuzu the day before. He was heading back to Lilongwe that day and said that he would give us a ride. Perfect! We travel comfortably back to Lilongwe. Today Carolyn and I, talked to the our other boss and was told to take the Kasungu rd(which technically is off limits because it goes through the wildlife reserve and we're not allowed to go there but I guess it's ok in this circumstance)so tomorrow we are going to try our luck again and take that route over to the M5. After travelling over 1000 kilometers(which may not seem like much but try doing it relying on rides from other people), paying 390kwacha total in transport(free rides most of the way!), lack of sleep, stability, and solid meals, I have learned a valuable lesson. I will never complain about being stuck in traffic because at least there is a road to be stuck on. Next time you're stuck in traffic remember this story. I'm not sure when the bridge will be fixed and once I can get to site it won't matter much anyway. :)

Love,
Court


p.s please laugh it is quite funny that out of the two people who are stuck OUT of their sites, it's probably the two people who would want to be stuck IN their sites.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Rants and Raves...and some good things too :)

1. Why don't we see more minorities participating in service-related things?
2. The whole world is currently like a dirty toilet, we all just need to give it a good flush. Quit complaining and do something.
3. Why does everyone look to Barack Obama to be a one-man show? The last time I checked there were over 6 billion people on the planet. i.e we must work together.


Ok...see not many. But damn, these things have been on my mind more than usual lately.
Think about it.




Keep thinking.





Ok. quit thinking and start reading. Life in Malawi, is great. People are really friendly for the most part and my village is great. I wish I had more to say but life is simple, chill, laidback, etc. Time is passing quickly and i'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing just yet. If you have questions, ask otherwise check back later for more juicy material.

peace.love.hugs
from the warm heart of africa!