Greatest Day Ever!

My birthday was better than could have ever been imagined! We met a fellow volunteer in Salima (Tim) and we hung out awhile then went to one of his favorite shops where he knows the owner and he gets him special request products like olives… When he found out it was my birthday he suggested we go to the lake, Sanga Bay. Before we could argue he said he knew a guy who manages a lodge on the lake and he had the phone in hand calling him. So it happened that this guy was on his way to Salima! So he took us back with him and we ate the amazing food at the restraint and then they surprised me with a cake his wife made! And if all that’s not enough they gave me a puppy! That was the best day ever!

So here are some pictures of the puppy and our cat. They are about the same age and get along great! The dogs name is Mphatso (M-pot-so) meaning in Chichewa Gift. Her father looked like Benji and her mother was what I would call the most adorable village dog in the world but Bryan says she is some sort of English Breed, so who knows.

Sharpvale has become very very hot… Of 100 F during the days and not much lower at night. We had to swich bedrooms because the sun set on the side of the house we where sleeping on. We work early mornings 5 to 11 then rest read or hang out in the shade until 3 to 5 when we can work again. Our mango trees are getting riper… still not ready to be eaten but we are daily given one from other trees in our area.

Our gardens are mostly complete as far as the double digging and we even planted out our strawberries in a round raised garden. Our neighbors gardens are doing great! Better than ours even, he has squash, yard long bean, pumpkin, mustard, spinage, cabbage and more!

Bryan and Mr. Liwonde invented a new addition or remodeling to our chim. We no longer have to squat over a hole, now we can sit… I did not take a picture of the finished project but here is what it sort of looks like.
Also as promised here is a picture of our three sheep and our chickens… only now we only have one remaining… we will try again this November.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I think they came true...

Keah's Big Day!

Well, It’s Monday, October 01, 2007! Keah’s ¼ of a century old today! We’re in Salima to do a little re-supply and hope to get on a bus back today, but if we miss a bus we’ll stay here and go back tomorrow... which is what I’d like to do anyway... it’s nice to be back at site, but it’s been hard to do anything special for Keah at site... We didn’t do anything special for our 2 year anniversary and then we didn’t have anything planned for her birthday...

I hope to take her to Liwonde National Park soon to visit another PCV and also to kinda do a little celebration for the two we’ve missed... Liwonde is supposed to be on par with any of the really amazing game reserves in other countries but just not very well known... on an international scale at least... that seems to be how it is here... This place is like a lost paradise that no one seems to know about and I think that’s part of the beauty of Malawi... It’s not overrun by tourists... Well, maybe at the Lake but that’s it.

This place has amazing climbing all over the whole country and it’s very unknown... I’m riding down the road going through Dedza district and my mouth is watering seeing all the granite rock... my mouth is watering and me with no ropes! It is a very, very sad situation, let me tell you! I’d love to put together some climbing trips throughout Malawi! Another amazing situation is the face of Malawi’s largest mountain is the largest rock face in all of Africa!

Check out Mount Mulanje! It is an amazing place! As soon as my knee gets worked out I hope Keah and I will go do a little hiking there! They have Cabins at hikeable intervals all the way up the mountain and around the top of the mountain. Some PCVs go up the mountain for a week or two and hike the whole time...