I decided to move to Kabula lodge this weekend and therefore spent the weekend in Blantyre. Kabula lodge is a pretty place in the hills above Blantyre that houses a lot of students from around the world. This morning at breakfast I met a few of them. There were two from England, one from Scotland and one from Sweden. Two were doctors, one was in Environmental Health and one was a fashion design student. Pretty interesting group of people. They love traveling around and do so quite often. They are planning to climb Mount Mulanje (the third highest peak in Africa) in two weeks. I am not sure whether I will climb it with them (because honestly I dont know whether I am in good enough shape) but I will probably at least go and see how far I get. It makes me a little nervous because I keep hearing about people getting lost on the mountain. I think that they are mostly people who don't take guides with them so maybe I am just making excuses. In any event, I am glad to be in a place with lots of young, friendly faces.
On Saturday, I went to lunch at Kay and Vince's house. They are this really nice American couple that I met at the gym. They also invited their friends Eugene and his wife Jennifer as well as their 22 year old daughter, Camille and another Malawian friend, Chiwoza. It was a really nice lunch and I felt good to be a part of a community. Kay and Vince are about my parents' age and it felt good to be looked out for a bit. Plus, the food was fantastic!
On Sunday, I moved into Kabula lodge. Etienne, a guy that I met at Doogles, had nothing to do that day so after breakfast, we loaded up his truck and he helped me move my stuff to the new place. He also gave me a tour of town (which was nice since I dont always have access to a car) and pointed out some nice spots for me to go. He was so generous to do all of that and I felt really lucky to have found someone to help me like that. It wasn't the easiest to leave Doogles. I had made friends with the kitchen staff, the cleaning ladies and the bartenders. All of them had been nothing but great to me and all said how much they are going to miss me. I promised to come back and visit. The Doogles staff are great but the owner and the ambiance isn't the best for me.
After my move, my coworker, Effie, invited me to her daughter's graduation party. Yandura had just completed college in Zomba and they had a small get together with her friends and some family. It was a small group of people but it was nice to get to talk to Malawian girls my own age and dance a little too. Everyone was really nice and I was exhausted when I got back to my place. Had a GREAT night's sleep in my queen sized bed.
I just sat down and came up with a list of the weeks that I have left and some of the traveling that I want to do. I am planning to go to the Lower Shire Valley this weekend and to one of the wildlife parks there. Some guy that I met at my last place has been staying there and has offered to bring me along and show me around. Free rides are always a good thing and he seems friendly but of course I will have my Mace in case he turns out to be creepy.
I am also planning to travel every weekend from now on. I have trips planned for Mulanje, Zomba, Liwonde National Park, Nkhata Bay and north (maybe Nyika Plateau) and perhaps Likoma island. Likoma may be a bit of a challenge because it requires a ferry to get there... Anyways, I am happy to be taking charge of my trip here.
I have decided to move my return to the United States up to November 21st which will make my trip 17 weeks in total. Just about four months here in Malawi. I am planning to return via Kampala, Uganda, where the Gates Institute is hosting a Family Planning Conference. I think that it will be extremely interesting and am looking forward to it. I am also still hoping to see Brent and take a trip to Zimbabwe and see Victoria Falls. Lots to do in just a little bit of time. Overall, I feel happy here and good about the rest of my time here (and my new living accommodations too!)
In terms of work, I have been put on the Malawi Couples Study now that transcriptions/translations of the Fistula work have been completed. The Couples Study offers a Couples based voluntary counseling and testing intervention as well as couples based family planning services to eligible couples in Mpemba, Malawi. We are interested to see how many of the couples utilize these services and will be monitoring closely for negative outcomes including domestic violence. I am really glad to be a part of the team and am excited for all of the time in the field. I am slated to talk at the counselor training about issues of confidentiality and consent in this study and am also glad to have this opportunity to be involved.
Missing you all but also enjoying life here :)
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