My house orrr.. nyumba wanga in Chichewa

My first attempt at pictures using the Malawian snailnet... these are my "before" pictures. I'm planning lots of changes for the kitchen and curtains. Outside pictures to come once my garden looks better.

Living room

and

Guest room

Kitchen

and

Bedroom

Just another day in Malawi

Crazy world, crazy life. I spent the last 3 days moving and settling into my new home. I love it!!

I've never been in charge of a whole house before so I'm feeling quite domestic. Chores are a pain considering I have to walk up the hill to fetch water and once the sun is gone I have to rely on candles. I had a paraffin lamp, but then I exploded it, so I'm still getting up the courage to attempt the second one; perhaps by the time my hand heals I'll have worked up the nerve.

My list of things to do today

1. Wait for carpenter to come put new door on because I broke it as well. Katie in Malawi = Bull in China Shop

2. Meet with my gardener. It sounds fancier than it is. My landlord just doesn't trust me not to mess it up and I need a garden to survive.

3. Laundry down at the river

4. Hang up clothes line

5. De- Spider the outhouse. I had a unfortunate incident last night involving a spider the size of my hand.

Tell me what you're up to; any news from back home is big news!

Where in the world Is katie??

Hi to everyone. I know that my communication has been really
terrible. I promise that once things settle down I will be much
easier to contact. A quick update on my life:I've spent the past week traveling to visit my new home to
figure out what improvements need to be made, and get an idea of the
work I will be doing. For the next two years I will be living in the
village of Chiwali, in the Tycholo District, working at Malamulu
Hospital and nursing school. My job will be whatever I want it to be.
I'm thinking I will start with teaching Fundamentals of Nursing and
Community Nursing. My hope is to teach nursing empowerent and
community resposibility.
My house is big by Malawian standards with two bedrooms, a living
room, kitchen, and indoor shower room, and, of course, an outhouse.
There is no electricity, and no running water. I've actually learned
to live without these things, and I'm getting quite good at carrying
water on my head and building a fire.
I will be living in the middle of a 7th day Adventist community (not
sure what this is, so I have some research to do). On the whole I
feel very safe, especially since Peace Corps has insisted on hiring me
two guards to watch my house!
Once I'm settled in my village I will have internet at the college and
should be able to email and maybe even update my blog. The internet
is so slow in this country that I currently can't get the blog to load
at all.
In the meantime, I have a phone!! Please don't hesitate to call,
although I can't recieve texts (I'm working on this).
I THINK my number is +265992124528 (you have to use the + sign) if you
are calling from a cell phone, and 001265992124528 from a landline. I
sent this number out to several of you, but I suspect it may have been
the wrong format since I didn't hear from anyone. You can also try
calling from Skype for those of you that have accounts; the country
code is 265. If you try and call and it doesn't work please make sure
to email me and let me know so I can figure out the correct number to
contact me.
The mail system is terrible here, and I haven't received one single
letter from anyone, but please keep trying! It is very hard to be so
cut off from all the people I care about. I will keep sending letters, blog posts,
and emails as I can.
Everyone please be very safe and know that I am thinking of you, and
would love to hear from you!

Yep, I'm back on the 'net!

Hello to everyone!! I haven't been able to access internet for exactly a month now! I apologize for being so MIA

Update: I was living in the tiny, tiny village of mkemeko (outside of Dedza) for those of you ambitious enough to pull out a map. My hut is a little 7ft circle room; just enough space for a mattress, bedside table and stool. I wake up everyone morning with the sun around 5am; help my malawian mother make the fire to heat my water, take my bafa (bucket bath) behind a grass fence, go to language and culture class from 8-5, fix dinner and I'm asleep with the sun by 7pm.

I spend my evenings reading and studying by candlelight. Its quite a lifestyle adjustment, but it makes me proud with every small accomplishment I gain. Like yesterday I carried all my own water on my head, and today, managed to flag down a ambulance for a ride and get all the way to the major city to shop and get internet.

The language is slow, but I'm getting there.

In TWO weeks I get my phone back, and I make a more permanent move from training to my very own house. I don't know where it will be, but I know it won't have internet, electricity or running water.

I almost forgot!

IN MY DESPERATION TO GET YOU GUYS TO WRITE TO ME I REALIZED I FORGOT TO GET ADDRESSES FROM SO MANY OF YOU! IF YOU WANT A LETTER YOU HAVE TO EMAIL ME YOUR CONTACT INFO!!!

KATIESHEA83@GMAIL.COM

I solemnly promise if you give me your info I will write you a letter, probably two, maybe even more than that!

Malawi Bound, finally!

I actually made it, I made it through the absolute most whirlwind amazing month of 100,000,001 good byes, I made it to the airport, managed to squeak by with my 79.5lbs of checked luggage when I was only allowed 80, and at this rate I may even make it to Africa!

The past few weeks have been hectic... how hectic? Well lets just say my personal hygiene has seriously suffered. On the way to the airport my mother informed me my hair was hitting bird's nest like quality, and after closer inspection I discovered 23 bobby pins, 1 hair clip, three rubber bands, and a head band. Don't worry, the 23 bobby pins set off the security metal detector. Its interesting to get your head inspected by a gun totting security guard. I'm pretty sure he told me with his eyes that it was time to shower. I promise to clean myself up before I meet the people I will be confined in very close quarters with over the next 9 weeks. Have to make a good first impression!!

Will be in Philadelphia for the next 24 hours, then a shuttle to NYC, fly out at 10am Saturday morning, and arrive in Africa late afternoon Sunday.

Plan is to take it one step at a time. Current top priority is acquiring a cheese steak, the rest can wait.

Attached is picture of me in all my Malawi bound glory. I considered placing it all in a shopping cart and wheeling it in, but in my current physical state I'm pretty sure I would be mistaken for homeless.

Love is All Around Us

To quote Hugh Grant "love really is all around us" (just because I quoted him doesn't mean I like him; in fact, I intensely dislike him, but I really liked the movie, so I forgive him a little)

Throughout the last few months, and throughout this entire process I have had such a positive, albeit slightly erratic attitude about my upcoming departure and journey. I woke up with a heavy, sad heart this morning. As I ate my breakfast of various leftovers (currently boycotting grocery store, leading to hundreds of mystery Styrofoam clamshells in my fridge) I couldn't shake this overwhelming, and unusual sadness.

In the midst of my extreme downward dog in yoga it occurred to me, the much anticipated sadness of leaving is finally settling in.

The beauty of this sadness is that it wouldn't exist if I didn't have such amazing people surrounding me. As I sit here all I can think about is the incredible amount of love and support I have received from all of my family, friends, and community. I am truly surrounded on all sides by such overwhelming love from so many people. As I begin my final days in Atlanta I physically ache from love and appreciation for all the people around me. You have touched my life, made me grow into the person I am today, and shown me what true friends and true love are.

I love life for the beauty in all the things that surround me, from the gorgeous blue sky, to the sound of a piano playing, to the smiles of children; all are miracles we should cherish and appreciate daily. As a nurse I have witnessed both the miracle of birth and the pain of death. All of these things make us feel, and it is in this feeling that gives us our humanity, and our individual gifts as people.

My wish is that all of you know what gifts you are; both to me and to every life you touch. Enjoy this Valentines day filled with the love of your significant others, but also the love we create from within that surrounds us all, every day, every hour, every second.