.liwonde town.

I’m sweating in bed tonight listening to the rains and Christmas songs, with all the changes in the past two weeks it seems like I forgot that Christmas is a week away!! So weird. This will definitely be the hottest Christmas of my life!!

So I finally left Lilongwe. After training and then waiting to get fuel for the Peace Corps transport, I ended up staying in Lilongwe 3 extra days. By the time that Wednesday rolled around I was good and ready to leave Lilongwe. It wasn’t always the capital (it used to be Zomba) and for that reason it feels much like a village they have tried to create into a capital. The town is terribly spread out and makes it mandatory to own a vehicle or rely on public transit. We headed out late afternoon to Dedza for a PC training.  We only spent one night there in a Forestry college with the other 20 Education volunteers. It was great to meet more volunteers. Dedza district was breathtaking. I’m lucky enough to arrive during rainy season; the passing scenery was lush and radiating. We went for a walk to a nearby village the following afternoon and honestly I was in awe with what I saw.  It felt like I had stepped into a Nat’l Geo magazine,  the rolling hillside scattered with brick/mud house with thatched roofs, the fields of corns for as far as the eye could see, the passing girls with buckets of water on their heads, and children yelling “Azungu!!!” (foreigner) as we passed. Then Thursday we made it to Liwonde. And my first impression is, HOT HOT HOT. It’s almost indescribable how HOT it really is, the sun burns your skin and the 90% humidity leaves you sticky even minutes after a shower. My new site mate/temp roommate Kate is a ER Nurse from D.C. She’s full of energy and really warm. The next challenges are trying to find housing and do some work before the holiday break!

 Malawi is gorgeous and I am grateful.