2 weeks now

It is hard to believe it has been 2 weeks since we left- as of tomorrow that is.  As always, the time is so packed full of experience and people that it seems impossible that we haven't been here for a month.

We are settled in Ekwendeni and enjoying the company of our good friend Flemmings Nkhandwe as well as three doctors from Washington State who are doing a needs assessment to see if they can help with child mental health.  They are so energetic and enthusiastic about trying to help schools, hospitals, the College and others with training for mental health issues.

Yesterday was the farewell party for Flemmings Nkhandwe who is leaving his job as Principal )Dean in US terms)of the College of Health Sciences here after 17 years.  He has provided amazing leadership in that time and transformed the tiny nursing and midwifery college offering certificates for about 10 students a year to the College of Health Sciences with over 200 students in certificate and diploma programs.  This fall they will start their program for Clinical Officers who function very much like doctors here.

The shortage of health care professionals is huge and the College has dreams of offering a Bachelors degree in the health science field as soon as they can upgrade their infrastructure and curriculum.  In the past 5 years they have moved their campus, built dormitories, classrooms, a library with internet service (where I am sitting right now) a food service and they have plans to do even more in the next 5 years.   They need to build housing for 90 more students and 5 or more teachers in addition to increasing the education level of teachers.

Our project is helping them assess where they are on the strategic plan that ends in 2014 so both the board and the incoming Principal will have this information.

Here is a photo from last nights celebration with Flemmings giving his speech.  Rather than taking stretch breaks during the proceedings, we took dancing breaks.  We need more of that in the US!!

Days in Ekwendeni

After returning from a leisurely 1 mile walk back from the Library at the College of Health Sciences where we did our internet work today, we had our lunch and started working on our evaluation project for the College. 

Since yesterday’s meeting with the Acting Principal we have been zeroing in on a vision for this report and today we set up a format and some tables corresponding with their 17 Strategic Objectives so we have a way to report status on each.  We took our computers out onto the khonde(cement porch) at our guest house and as we worked we could hear a cow or 2 bellowing nearby and children playing down the hill.  For a time, there was some kind of musical group practicing close by – the music was loud, but they had wonderful voices. 

The seats on the khonde are a little hard, and it does get hard on the back to sit with your computer on your lap – but it was worth it for the ambiance. We can’t see a lot of our neighbors because our guesthouse has about an 8 foot high brick fence around it, but we can see the hazy hills in the background. 

I have missed the sights and sounds of Africa.  In addition to the cows today there were children laughing and playing all afternoon within earshot. Right now I can hear what sounds like a soccer game somewhere down the hill from us – lots of voices, yelling and cheering.  Maybe it is because there is no airplane and little vehicle noise that the people noises become so prominent here, but I know I love it.  There are almost always the sounds of talking and laughing in the air.

The air is very hazy this time of year.  It is the end of their winter and dry season.  The rains will start in another month or 2 and until then there is dust everywhere.  Plus, the practice here is to burn off the fields before planting begins so there is extra smoke beyond the usual cooking fires since almost no one has electricity.

Here is the view from our Khonde

In Ekwendeni

We have finally settled somewhere long enough to unpack and not live our of our suitcases and it is wonderful!

We decided to phone Innocent, the taxi driver we used when we were here in 2008 and who our Norwegian friends have stayed in contact with, for a lift over to Ekwendeni from Mzuzu.  We had used a different taxi driver that another friend had suggested when we arrived last Tuesday, but the rate he charged us for a short trip to our hotel was quite high.  That trip was only about 3 to 5 kms and cost 2000 of the local currency (about $8) and Innocent only charged us 5000 for a trip of 20+kms.  Plus it was wonderful to see him again!  We told him how many times we had repeated something he said in 2008 about the departure of our Norwegian friends.  He is a very wise man.

Our friend Flemmings Nkhandawe arranged for us to stay at the Chizotera Guest House in Ekwendeni which is owned by his brother Sangster.  It is a very comfortable and quiet location, and to our surprise last night we were joined by 3 women who we met briefly at the Nkhoma's celebration.  They are child mental health specialists from Washington state and were recruited by the Kirk's to come and do a needs assessment with the College of Health Sciences.  The area they hope to specialize in is mental health techniques especially in dealing with orphans, and the grief that can cause problems for them.  There are over 600,000 orphans here, some due to HIV/AIDS, others to TB which has made a resurgence in drug resistant strains, malaria, and very high maternal death rates.  It has been a treat to get to know them better!

We had a wonderful meeting with the Acting Principal at the College of Health Sciences yesterday and feel reassured that we will be able to complete our project without too much trouble in the short period of time that we have.  The guesthouse is some distance from the offices and from the library which has internet, so that is a bit of a drawback.  We figured it was about 1 mile walk in each direction and we were able to get a lift over this morning from the Washington women who were coming for meeting and will only have to walk back home - hopefully with fairly cool temperatures this morning.

Weather has been good - maybe a high near 80 so very pleasant compared to what we understand is happening back home in Minnesota with temps near 100.

We haven't taken any photos since we arrived but I wanted to post this one the other day in Livingstonia and wasn't able to do so because of the internet.  This is me giving some backpacks filled with coloring books and things my Mom got for our Malawian son David Mhango's girls Ellen and Susan (born 2008 and named after me).  David's wife Naomi looks so beautiful in her Malawian dress.

I tried to upload a video of the traditional dancing from the Nkhoma's but it did not succeed, though I think it still appears below.  The internet is just not capable of doing this I'm afraid.  Maybe when we get home I can put some of the videos on. 

Monday Monday

Last night we had a great dinner with Gome Mkandawire and his wife Susan at our favorite Indian restaurant.  Not a lot of Malawians are adventurous enough to try foods that are different, but we are going again tonight to "stock up" on different foods as we will be back to rice, chicken, tomato and greens again tomorrow.

Today has been a bit relaxed as we have no where to travel and will not start our project until tomorrow probably.  The challenges of the day have been - no hot water this morning for a shower, and this afternoon there was water running out of the ceiling in the hallway, no electricity and no internet at our hotel.

We've been sitting at an internet cafe, a new one which is quite nice and in trying to charge my laptop while we sit here, my plug with the adaptor won't stay in the wall tight enough to charge so I now have my chair jammed up against it.  Soon it will be dark and we'll head home to our hotel where we hope to have electricity.

In the meantime here are a couple of more photos from yesterday.  Tomorrow we move to a small guesthouse in a small town about 10 miles away where we may or may not have hot water and don't know how far we will need to walk to find internet.

So in the meantime since I couldn't post these on the last update here are a couple of more photos from yesterday.

People gathering on the lawn at Nkhoma's

Matiya and Mariya Nkhoma joining in the traditional dancing.  I was hoping to post a video but the internet speed won't allow it. 

Nelson Nkhoma, our PhD student in Minnesota joining in the dancing. 

Sunday in Malawi

What a day it was!!

We were invited to a church service, memorial, and celebration at the home of Rev. Matiya Nhkoma - father of PhD student and Malawian son Nelson Nkhoma.

The we drove about 2 hours to a place called Chinteche, which is on Lake Malawi - one of the great lakes of Africa and the one that we had such a beautiful view of from our little home on the Livingstonia plateau in 2008.  It is a beautiful drive down from the highlands of Mzuzu, which sits about about 4200 ft elevation to the Lake, which is the color of Caribbean blue.

Chinteche is the village where Nelson grew up and where Matiya and Mariya Nkhoma have their main home.  People here are much more tied to their homelands than we are used to in the US.  If you ask someone where they are from, they will tell you the name of the village where they grew up.  If you as them where they stay, they will tell you where they are living now, and most people have a piece of land and have built or are building a home in the villages where they were born.  They will visit those homes or keep them for when they retire from work.

We attended a church service that lasted for 3 hours but which was filled with the most amazing music from the local choirs.  The service was about love and was quite delightful.  At the end Rev. Nkhoma told the history of involvement for each of the 25 or so foreign visitors who were at the 10th Anniversary celebration.  Each was recognized in front of the congregation and thanked. Here is a photo of the congregation with the Women's Guild in their black and white uniforms.

After the service, there was a brief graveside memorial for the mother of Jenny Kirk, who with her husband Henry of Chehalis Washington, helped found the University 10 years ago.  Jenny’s mother died when John and I were here in 2008, and they held a memorial service for her as she had come to love Malawi through visits from the Nkhomas to the Kirks and from the Kirks stories of their time here.  John held up a cell phone for Jenny at that 2008 service so she could hear, and her Mother requested to be buried next to the little church in Chinteche where she had helped to support orphan care.  It was very touching as those of us who played a part were given small bouquets of bouganvilla and other flowers to place on the grave.  Both the Women's Guild and the Mzuzu church's choir (in brown) paid tribute.

We were then taken to the home of the Nkhoma’s where 30 or 40 people were present, all the visitors from Mzuzu and the foreign visitors like John and I.  Matiya introduced his family – Nelson’s youngest brother Andrew was there as was Matiya’s 84 year old sister.  The Nkhoma’s house is large and the land is beautiful and just a short distance from the Lake, but does not have running water although there was electricity.  So the local women prepared food for around 50 – 60 people at an outdoor kitchen with no running water.  And it was delicious!!

When the food was eaten we walked the short distance to the lakeshore where local villagers had gathered for traditional dancing and music.  It reminded me a bit of a powwow in the US with various drum groups and dancers taking turns.  They had carried down the big chairs and loveseats we were sitting in outside at the Nkhoma’s so the honored guests would have comfortable seating.  Children were crowding around greeting us and one little girl wanted to hold my hand while we were walking down.  John said that one of the men we had been talking to up at Nkhoma’s took his hand when they were walking down and he was glad that he knew what was happening as men holding hands is a very normal sign of companionship and affection here.

We remarked that a percussionist would have a field day listening to and working with these musicians because the rhythms are so complicated.  Several of the foreign guests joined or tried to join the dancers but the foot work was quite complicated too – I thought about it but there was only one rhythm I could make sense of so I decided to sit it out. We managed to leave just in time to get back to Mzuzu before dark as the roads are quite dangerous after dark with people, cows, goats, chickens and people all on them – and potholes or other damage harder to see.  We almost hit one chicken looked like he was crossing the street but then stopped in the middle and changed direction.  Since it was getting close to dark the chickens were going home to roost and the goat and cow herders where moving their animals back home too.

The singing and dancing was still going strong and I’m sure lasted well into the night.  It was quite a magical day that we felt privileged to be invited to be a part of.

I'm going to publish a separate page with some photo's of the celebration and dancing at Nkhoma's.

As usual, an eventful couple of days!

Yesterday’s graduation was wonderful to see, almost 120 students – 3 or 4 times the number as when we were here in 2008.  The valedictorian was a woman and that showed some real change in attitude, just as we were remarking on the fact that a woman did a bible reading at the Baccalaureate service – we didn’t see women in positions of respect like that in 2008.

The graduation started about 3 or 4 hours behind schedule but I’m almost used to that by now, except that we were standing in our robes for that whole time.  Here we are waiting with Atusaye.

After the ceremony we had our first free time and walked over to where our old house was in 2008 where we found our housekeeper/cook Smelton Mkandawire who we loved and trusted so much.  He heard we were in town and was hoping to find us.  He told us he has only worked a few times since we left because there is only one volunteer house now where there were 2 then. But he will have some work for the next 4 months or so with one of the volunteers who will be teaching a course and staying in one of those houses which is occupied by a professor who is away right now.  Here are John and Smelton.

As we were walking back to Atusaye’s house we ran into the Vice-Chancellor Matiya Nkhoma, Nelson’s (the PhD student) father.  He had mentioned trying to organize a gathering at his village home by Lake Malawi this weekend and asked when we were heading back to Mzuzu.  We were waiting to hear from him or someone else with the University about transportation and he said the University’s bus would be going down to Mzuzu in about an hour’s time.  We were feeling pretty fortunate that we had bumped into him as we would not have known otherwise.

All the plans had changed from what we had last heard and from the sounds of it there would be no other transport until Monday if we didn’t do take the bus now so we decided we’d have to run home, tell Atusaye we were leaving and pack up.  The University’s controller overheard our conversation and said  that he had a car at the bottom of the escarpment and would be leaving at 10 or so today if we could get down there as the ride he was getting down had no more room.  He suggested that Atusaye may have some ideas of who to call for transport but we only made it a short distance when he ran up to tell us he had found someone who could take us if we would pay fuel cost of about $20.  That seemed worth it not to have to rush or to have to tell Atusaye we were leaving on such short notice.  So home we went, where we had a lovely evening with Atusaye chatting and just hanging out confident we were all set for this morning.  Atusaye is such a delightful and bright young man and we were so honored to be invited to be his guest - plus it gave us more time with him!

The only other loose end was our desire to see Smelton and give him some gifts and money, but since our transport was to pick us up around 9am today we figured we’d have time this morning to run over or stop on the way down.  When I awoke, John was making plans to go over to give Smelton our gifts, but when I walked out our bedroom door, Atusaye had some news.  He had phoned to check on our transport and learned that the person who was to take us down the escarpment didn’t have any fuel.  Atusaye had been trying to find someone else and come up dry so suggested we phone the vice chancellor to see if the University’s vehicle could take us down, then we phoned the controller to see if we could still have a lift if we could get to the bottom.  After about 4 or 5 schedule changes before 8am, we finally got transport arranged and ended up with a full car load down the escarpment road with about 15 minutes notice to departure – during the day so we could see some of the improvements on the road, just intended to keep it from washing out and isolating Livingstonia – still the most challenging road I have ever seen.  The controller had other transport arranged to get down the escarpment and would meet us there for the 10am departure. 

Atusaye and the driver waited with us at a little store in the village at the bottom of the escarpment until about 11:30 when the controller arrived.  Atusaye was going to ride with us, but there wasn’t enough room in the vehicle when all the luggage was loaded so he ended up taking a bus to Mzuzu.  Here we are waiting at that little store watching the action including the mini-bus stop with banana sellers.

Right now, we are in the northern regional capitol of Mzuzu, having made it to our old favorite hotel The Mimosa Court.  The rooms have wireless internet now, the location is just around the corner from 2 banks with cash machines so we stocked up on money and went to a convenience store to buy cold drinks – it felt like the Ritz.  It always felt like the height of luxury to stay at this hotel with a hot shower, large rooms, a nice restaurant and breakfast buffet – they even do laundry so we gave them our first weeks worth to be ready for next week.  It wouldn't make the 1 star list in the USA but it is luxurious here. 

So we arrived, enjoyed our hot shower, got some internet time and met Atusaye’s friend – maybe girlfriend but he is trying to decide about that – a Peace Corp volunteer who is posted a short distance away from Livingstonia.  Atusaye came down to Mzuzu to meet her after she has been gone for a month in the capitol city.  And we just got a phone call to say that our plans for tomorrow have been changed and we are being picked up at 6:30 in the morning rather than at 10am as we last heard.  All I could do was laugh!  Flexibility is the name of the game here!!!

Leaving the plateau tomorrow

It's been a crazy couple of days with constant reminders that we are in Malawi where things don't work and the schedule is always flexible.

When we left Atusaye's house yesterday we thought we would arrive just at the end of the Baccalaureate ceremony so we could hear some music and then go to a dinner we were invited to that was to follow the ceremony.  To our surprise, when we got there they were just waiting for the ceremony to begin - 4 hours behind schedule.  Then shortly after the service finally began, the power went out so we were sitting in the dark until some battery operated lights came out, followed by some candles.  The service went on for about 30 minutes before the power came back on and the local people never batted an eye because it is so normal.

Then when the first singing group came up to perform a young mentally disabled woman got up and tried to join them.  Shoeless, dressed in rags - again the local people didn't bat an eye and just let  her join the group.  John and I remarked that at home she would have been wisked away.

So the service got done at about 8 or 9 pm and then we headed to the hall where dinner was to be served.  After about another hour of waiting we had dinner, and then presentations that were still going on when left at about 11pm to walk home on the dark and bumpy pathway in the dark.  We realize that our night vision is completely spoiled because of all the street lights at home but thanks to the trusty flashlight app on our iphone we made it safely.

I will update today's graduation and post some photos soon.

Some photos and an update

This is the bus depot in the capitol city of Lilongwe

When the bus stops, people come selling food and snacks which you buy by opening the window of the bus and ordering.

The above photos are from our trip up on the bus Tuesday but today is the first day I thought the internet was fast enough to upload then.

Malawi continues to be an amazing experience. Being back on the Livingstonia plateau is amazing.  Everywhere we turn we see old friends from our time here in 2008 and it is wonderful to see them.  The early principals of the University of Livingstonia spoke at the 10th Anniversary celebration meeting this morning and it is truly a miracle that it has worked out the way it has.

The first class that we saw graduate in 2007 had 25 students or so, and the class tomorrow will have over 100, but there are challenges.  Having a private University like Livingstonia is a wonderful thing to educate people who can help Malawi lift itself out of extreme poverty, but the economy is not growing fast enough to employ the graduates.  Most of the graduates tomorrow will have teaching degrees.  The government is the largest employer for teachers, but they do not have the money to employ all who are graduating despite the fact that elementary schools regularly have more than 100 students in a single classroom.

Our friend David Mhango came to call this afternoon with his wife and children, including my little namesake Susan and I am exhausted so will rest now and post more later.

Getting to the college

Yesterday was a long travel day that reminded us to be patient and was like a trip back in time to when we were here in 2008.

After our long bus trip up from the capital city on Tuesday we arrived at the University's office and leaned that there was a large vehicle traveling up to the plateau where the college is located.  We relaxed knowing that we had transport and headed to our little Inn to relax and reconnect with Nelson Nkhoma, our Malawian son and friend who had come back to Africa more than a month ago to work on a research project for his PhD advisor and then to return to Malawi to start on his thesis research.

We went to bed tired but happy to be here and begin reconnecting with old friends and awoke early as we had been told that the vehicle would leave for the college at 9am an we didn't want to miss it.  We assumed that it would be late as that was always the norm, but one never knows and I wisely didn't even bother to bring a watch on the trip so I could let go of my need to worry about time.

Old friends were everywhere and we delighted in greeting them as we waited for the bus to leave.  The office was abuzz with activity as they prepared for all the festivities over the next few days Anniversary Celebration and we were told that the driver had 2 very long days and they told him to come in late so he could rest.  The bus would be delayed for at least an hour or so.  Not unusual I thought, since we never left on time to go to the plateau when we lived here.

As the hours dragged on we got an update that there was some paperwork for insurance and fuel, and cash that needed to be obtained so John and I decided to wander around town and purchase some "units" which is what you scratch off to use on your cell phone.  We returned after noon and it didn't look like much progress had been made but continued to enjoy talking with old friends and meetings some new people who we had known of but never met.

Around 3pm we finally started off for the plateau with the small University bus loaded to the roof - literally - full of suitcases, materials for the graduation and food for those staying in homes where they would need to cook.  Our amazing driver Joseph, an old friend from 2008 made the trip on the beautiful but sometimes treacherous roads.  As it started to get dark in this equatorial country around 6pm we started our climb up the escarpment road - the famous Gorodi, with it's 20 treacherous bends.

It is an unimaginable road for most Americans, full of huge rocks which actually are a good thing because it provides traction on the slippery or mucky clay during the rainy season.  The road is 17 kilometers(10 miles) but takes about an hour and a half to drive.  We noted improvements in that they have put concrete on the bends themselves to give them some stability.  I had never gone up it in any thing but a 4 x 4 and Joseph got the small bus up masterfully.  If anyone else had been driving my fear of heights would not have allowed me to go I don't think.  But I trusted him with my life each time he drove us in 2008 and I knew his skill level.

We arrived at dear friend Atusaye Kayuni's around 6:30 pm and he had our dinner almost ready to go on the table when we walked in the door as we had phoned to let him know our progress.  It was amazing to see him again in person and to stay with him is a pure joy.

It is now breakfast time on the 22 and I need to go as I hear him in the kitchen again.  I hope to post more soon - this morning the internet is quite fast so if that continues I may be able to put up some photos too.

We are here!

I tried to post yesterday but apparently it didn't work so have a couple of posts and photos if I can get them to upload.  Our internet is quite slow so I will wait and put up some photo's tomorrow or the next day.

Monday 8/19/13

I’m sitting in the airport transit lounge at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after our 14-hour flight from DC – waiting for our 4 hour flight to Lilongwe, Malawi.  So far this feels much easier than our previous trips that involved making a connection in Europe and then another connection in Africa – usually in Kenya or South Africa.  But there is no getting around it this is a grueling trip, and 14 hours is a long time to sit in an airplane seat.  Can’t say I’m looking forward to 4 more hours either but 20 hours of total travel time beats the other routes by a long shot.

I would have no hesitation in recommending Ethiopian Airlines.  The plane was new and had adequate room for coach seats on a flight that length, services and food were good.  I was no different than flying any American Airline for sure – at least we didn’t have to pay for food or baggage check.  And the airfare was significantly less than if we flew Delta and Kenya Air, or Delta and South African Air.

Addis looks very green – the rains must come much earlier here than in Malawi where it will be very brown.  There are beautiful mountains surrounding the city, 4 lane paved highways that I could see from the air.  Very prosperous looking in comparison with Malawi.

Hopefully we will board soon and I’ll time to make an entry in Malawi and then send this yet today before I collapse.

We have now arrived in Malawi and I do want to collapse but we are going out to dinner tonight with the former Principal (Dean in the US) of the nursing college who picked us up at the airport today. 

Can’t get one of our phone cards to work and can’t get the free internet at the hotel to work.  Welcome to Malawi where things only work some of the time.  We are so spoiled at home!!

Tuesday August 20, 2013

Our good friend Flemmings Nkhandwe, the former Principal of the Nursing College picked us up at 5:45 this morning to take us to the bus depot.  He was concerned since the bus company had one published schedule and another that he got when he called so we were not sure where the bus left from or the correct time. 

Turns out the new AXA bus leaves from the same terminal as the former one, and no you can’t reserve seats as we had been told we could – nor does the bus only fill the seats it has. The 7am bus left at 7:55 and had about 6 to 10 people standing in the aisles for the 6 hour trip.  Welcome back to Malawi – this is the way things work here. Fortunately we had gotten there early enough to get seats which was great as both John and I slept a good part of the way.

Traffic in the capital city of Lilongwe is horrible with many more cars than 5 years ago, but still only 2 lane badly damaged roads and no traffic lights.  We saw one very bad wreck on our way out of town with a car turned over in a roundabout plus traffic was backed up behind a huge truck breakdown blocking a lane.  Lilongwe has about 500K population now and I guess prosperity must be up since there are so many cars, but decent housing is scarce and traffic horrible.  Flemmings has a temporary rental home for his family and since it only has poor quality solar power there electricity is unpredictable and his wife has had to go back to cooking over a fire, which she hasn’t had to do for many years.

It is the dry season so is very brown, smoky and my eyes are very irritated, but otherwise health is good.  I’m not sure I have the stamina or temperament to make another trip like this though.  There was an 82 year old man who came to talk to us on the bus as he had gone to school in California and Colorado in the 1960’s and since John and I were the only white people on the bus, or at the bus depot for that matter, he came to ask us where we were from and how much he liked the US.  He was strong and energetic and had just come from Blantyre which was another 6 hour trip.  I am finding the uncertainties and difficulties exhausting – more so then when we were here in 2008, but then we have a lot more uncertainty this time too.

The bus was quite nice compared to the old bus we took in 2008 with this company and you pay extra to ride it since it only stops in 3 places on the way and has 2 x 2 seating with pretty comfortable seats.  They still run the old bus, but it stops many times and take more like 8 hours rather than 6. Mini=buses are the lowest rung on the transportation ladder and are broken down vans that wait in certain places with a sign in the window saying where they are going.  The have no schedule and leave when full.  Actually the lowest rung on the transportation ladder is a Matola which is a truck, from pick up to ½ ton sized which fill up with people sitting or standing in the back.  I was aware that this bus that felt so difficult to me was the height of luxury for the Malawian’s on it.

We have arrived at our Inn, will have dinner with Nelson Nkhoma the Malawian PhD Student who we helped apply to the Master’s and PhD programs at the U of M, and who stayed with John’s sister while working on his Masters.  He will be here for the next year or so staying with his family while doing the research for his Thesis.  It will be great to see him again.

Tomorrow we know what our transport is up to the Livingstonia Plateau and we I am grateful for that.  The stress of having so many unknowns for transportation here has worn on me.  I wonder how everyone here seems to know how things work, or they know who to ask since there is not a transportation system like we know it.

Almost underway

We're on the plane and awaiting takeoff.  Delayed by 45 minutes so far, something you don't want on a 14 hour flight but looks like we are off soon.  Had a horrible headache last night but the drugs worked.  I was worried I might not be able to get rid of it - and then what?  Too much sun yesterday I think but lots of fun with our friends in DC.

Pet trauma

Here is a picture of Jack a few minutes before we took him to dear friend Elizabeth Brandt's house.  I was close to tears at this point thinking that we were terribly selfish to "abandon" him for 5 weeks while we go galavanting off.

He yowled the whole way 30+ miles, even longer today because there was road construction and we missed an exit.  At least he didn't puke like he did when we took him to Elizabeth's in 2008 for 6 months.  Fortunately, he seemed to kind of remember the place and looked quite comfortable exploring every corner while we sat and chatted.

She wisely suggested that we bring a bunch of things that we wear or he lays on (we as overachievers brought both) so her cat could get used to the smell and Jack would have familiar things. He did curl up on my bathrobe while we were still there and Elizabeth called an hour or so after we left to say he had eaten and curled up in the same place for a nap.

The real test will come probably tonight when her cat (named Malawi so that is good) wants to come in from his days exploring and hunting and finds Jack there.  He has attacked previous guests, and Elizabeth is prepared to keep him outdoors only if it happens again since Jack has no claws and to truly more a lover than a fighter as you can see.

48 Hour Countdown to Departure

Feeling pretty anxious today - just 48 hours to go.  I was snuggling with Jack the cat this morning and wanted to cry because he looked so sweet and content.  I told him his world was about to be rocked - and realized that mine will be too.  I know we'll love seeing everyone and being there, but there have been so many changes in plans and are so many unknowns on this trip compared to previous ones that I cut myself some slack for feeling so stressed out this time.

We did a "test pack" last night to be sure we could fit all the gifts and still be under our 50 lb weight limit each.  Looks like we'll be fine so that helped with the nerves.  Tonight I'll get the rest of my stuff packed and then tomorrow morning Jack moves to dear friend Elizabeth's house where he stayed in 2008.  The difference is that Candy was with him then but has died, and her two cats Noah and Isaac have died too - and there is a new cat on the block who may not be so hospitable.  Since his name is Malawi it has to go well - right?!

Just a few more days before we leave and most everything is done here - I'm sure I'll feel a little panicky in the next few days. - but I'm satisfied that it will all get done.

We are having our first lesson in flexibility having learned that the project we are going to work on and our housing situation is different than we thought it would be.  When we finally reached Flemmings Nkhandwe, the Principal of the Health Sciences college we learned that he no longer works there.  We are very happy for him as he has been with that college for a long time and it so capable, but we are sad that we won't get to work with him. It is a loss for the college too as he was a visionary and accomplished so much during his tenure.

When it happened we were reminded that things don't often turn out the way we thoughts they would when we were there before and likely won't this time either. Right now, rather than having a small house  of our own housing will be at a guest house (like a bed and breakfast or small inn here) so space will be just a bedroom, we won't be able to do our own cooking, and will share a bath. Regardless of that, we are very excited about the upcoming trip!