The Former Optimist

Hero's Day

2012-02-04T13:37:00.000+02:00

February 3rd is Hero's Day, a national holiday that mainly celebrates the legacy of Eduardo Mondlane, leader of the fight for independence (killed on Feb 3, '69).

I was invited to spend this special day with a march from our village to town where we would gather around the monument then head on over to the praza where we would listen to speeches and watch local musical artists perform. Shawn and I sorta skipped the first few things and just showed up at the praza where we were invited to sit up front with other "dignitaries". Well, I wasn't exactly invited to sit up there but there was plenty of seating available so I just made myself welcome knowing that it's sort of expected that foreigners like us get front row seating.

Socializing

2012-02-04T12:31:00.000+02:00

Last weekend our family drove up to Lichinga for some much-needed socializing. It was a packed schedule as we had a 9AM-3PM "kids fun day" arranged by a short-term team from Australia. Something like 40 expat kids turned up for that... who even knew there were so many in Lichinga? Then that evening, it was youth group for 3 of our kids + the rest of the crew from the area.

Saturday we visited other good friends while readying for the afternoon/evening's program of celebrating a double birthday with the Cranes. Naomi and Heather whipped up some amazing food and other guests brought yummy stuff too (cake, iced tea with geranium leaves...)

To keep the kids busy while the adults had their fun, they set up a surround-sound projection film in the back yard dependencia.

A few big bonuses from the weekend came in the form of a client for our car. This guy was checking out another car for sale my friend Kyle is trying to sell as his family prepares for life in the U.S. After looking at his double cab, the guy wanted to test drive my car and told me on the spot he'd take it. Only I'm not yet ready to sell, so we've got a bit of time to make sure it all goes through smoothly. If it's this easy to sell my car, I'll be stoked! Good news is I should break about even for the purchase price I paid 2 years ago.

Heather and Jonno celebrating their double birthday

Mandimba's resthouses: Pensãos Tanzaniano, John, Cupiha and Fernando

2012-01-26T08:20:00.000+02:00

If I had another career lined up, I think it would have to be in the tourism industry. I just love telling people about places to stay. Since I'm based here, I figured yesterday morning why not update my wikitravel page on Mandimba and add some new info about places to stay in Mandimba?

Mandimba is on the border with Malawi, so there's a lot of people passing through. Nobody tends to just stick around here, unless you live here of course, so there's a good number of resthouses to take care of any traveler's budget.

Here's a roundup of the four I visited yesterday (with 4 others also available that I didn't visit yesterday: find their info on the wikitravel page). I can just see you all dialing your favorite travel agent right now to book a trip to our fair destination.

Pensão Tanzaniano

100MT/night (7 rooms). Located along the side road where the minibuses congregate, just inside the market along the side street next to the pool table.

Pensão John

15 rooms available at 250MT/night. Simple rooms with fans, nets. No restaurant. Shared bath. Located on the corner of the main road where the minibuses drop off/pick up. They are still doing construction, so nicer quarters are planned for the future.

Pensão Cupiha

normal room with shared bath outside

slightly nicer room with fan and shared bath

the fanciest room with its own bathroom

in the fancy room

toilet in the deluxe rooms

restaurant

restaurant from the inside

Pensão Fernando
Offers 10 rooms at 1200MT/night (self-contained with bathroom, desk, TV, mosquito net, double bed, fan, etc.) 4 rooms available at 750MT/night (shared bath).

looking toward the deluxe rooms

inside a deluxe room

bathrooms in the self-contained quarters

deluxe room

simple room, shared bath

Clay Play

2012-01-25T21:27:00.000+02:00

There's worse ways for Emily and Mika to be spending their free time... these little creations are all lined up in front of our kitchen window sitting on the front porch.

Friday pics

2012-01-22T14:39:00.000+02:00

I've been visiting the villages alone this week, something I am saddened to be forcing Shawn to do later on as our family vacates Africa for 8 months. My expectations have been pretty low lately. I realize most people will be in their fields each morning. One guy I usually visit has headed to Lichinga to look for manual labor jobs in the fields, at least for a few days or weeks. Several other regulars are just nowhere to be found for whatever reason.

Biking alone has some merits. I can visit for as short or as long as I want (usually for me that means shorter visits as my emotional energy can run dry more quickly). I visited a funeral for a chief friend's wife's family member on Tuesday, then stopped by again 3 days later for a remembrance ceremony.

As 2012 gives me only a few short months before wrapping up my time here this year, I'm trying to force some projects to completion that our team has been assisting with. There have been two meetings this week for the community library project, the first visit just to ensure that the books still do exist and haven't been eaten by termites and rats (thankfully, everything was in order). Then the decision of what needs to be done still to open the place up as a real library. It needs a front porch, for seating, and a bathroom with small water tank. So we're *please help* putting together *please help* a budget *please help* to see what needs to be raised (subliminal message now lodged deep in your psyche).

Then there's that darn little school in the village nearby that used to have a roof, then didn't for a good few decades, then did again for a few days last year, then didn't thanks to a strong wind and shoddy workmanship. I met with the chief and his carpenter there at 7AM yesterday morning to find out exactly what resources still need to be provided in order to get that done. Finally. And hopefully in a way that won't end badly again.

Partly to amuse myself and party to appease the masses, I took my camera out on Friday and here's what I came up with.

The first photo subject I came across. The lady on right is a friend we refer to as "Smiley Lady". She's friendly and always is smiling. She lives next door to Janet's place. The lady with her is her landlord's wife. They are carrying mangoes home from the field.

Posing for me, refusing to have a sack on her head. She wants to look pretty, after all.
Whereas we from the west think "oh isn't that cool and so African to have a sack on her head",
she's thinking "Don't you dare take a picture of me with something on my head!"

And here's Smiley Lady pretending to talk on the phone which she borrowed off of her sister-in-law

Not knowing it when I took the picture, this is the wife of my former night guard who I fired 2+ years ago after he informed me one morning that my car window had been broken at night but he didn't know about it until morning. It never was replaced properly.

Some dude with an ugly birthmark on his nose. So I took the shot from the more flattering side.

My ex-guard's kid, I think

Someone else somehow related to my ex-guard

Preparing the meal

This pretty lady ran inside to get changed into her best clothes then was all happy to pose for me.
She's even got her pink-hot chili pepper earrings in.

I'm so tired of taking pictures of moms with babies. But I do it anyway 'cause how can I refuse?
Man... if these two don't look related! I'm telling you.

Village mosque

Village mosque water pitcher

Village mini-shop keeper

Finally heading home

The Reluctant Ambulance Driver

2012-01-22T13:12:00.001+02:00

What happens when a guy catches another guy doing things he shouldn't be with the first guy's wife? He walks away initially at the shock of it all (at least for the sake of this true story) then tracks down the offender a bit later and beats him to within an inch of his life.

A few weeks ago, just before we left for Malawi for a bit of a getaway, a few young men showed up at my house requesting my assistance. They wanted to know if I could transport a sick person to the hospital. This was a weekly request we'd get in Malawi, due to the system that had been set up there long before we arrived, but over here this was among only a handful of similar requests. I immediately took it seriously, but just to be on the safe side I said "take me there" and hopped on my bike; I wanted to make sure this was legit.

As I ducked my head and walked into a darkened two-room hut, the answer was lying there, unconscious, right in front of me. Lack of transport to the hospital is a normal, though sad, problem throughout Africa. It's not like you can call 911 or something. Some NGOs have tried to solve this problem by creating wheeled stretchers that can attach to a local bike. We had one of those in Malawi, but it was rarely, if ever, used. But if we had one here, it could have been used to get the guy to the local hospital. Instead, I drove him there, along with a slew of family and friends, then came home.

The next day, I had another request at my door from the same group. This time they came armed with a hand written request from the big chief of our village, proving that this was now really serious. They wanted to have him transported to a hospital in Malawi that is popular with folks from our area (a private-run Catholic hospital). I acquiesced, unsure of how I felt about becoming the village ambulance.

The trip itself took longer than expected. The police had to write a letter of clearance for transport to Malawi, as this man was part of a criminal investigation. The hospital had to clear him to leave their charge. The family had to arrange themselves, collect firewood, make plans as to who would stay with him while as many as could fit in the vehicle would simply just go along for a free ride somewhere, anywhere, but home. Still unconscious, Mr. Cheater was checked in and I left for holidays.

Upon my return, I was surprised to hear that he had been transferred to Mangochi in Malawi and was now back home and doing fine. I dropped by earlier this week at his house to see how he was doing. He wasn't home at the time, but did pay me a courtesy return visit along with a woman and one of the cutest babies on earth. The visit was just long enough to get to know each other a bit and enough time for me to snatch this baby out of the arms of her mother and carry her smiling, pudgy, booties-wearing body inside to show her off to Naomi, Mika, Emily, Tessa, Gabe and our visiting friend from Lichinga, Hannah.

As if to prove my suspicions, two more requests came in short order.

One guy, looking just a bit desperate, showed up on his bike asking me to transport a lady to the hospital who was walking towards my house but still on the other side of the river (where I can't go with my car due to the bad road). I told him I would take her IF she could get to my house, so he set out to make that happen. Thirty minutes later, he was back to say that she had given birth under the tree just up the road and everyone was fine. She was already on her way back to the village with her baby. The other request came from another young man whose sister was having complications several days after birth. She, too, was on the other side of the river and again I told him I would take her if she got to this side of the river and did it before noon. I waited around all morning, but they never showed. Days later I would find out that they managed to get her to the hospital without my help on the back of a motorcycle, even though he told me that she couldn't even sit upright at the time he was asking for my help.

More power to them, I say. I don't want to be the village ambulance, but I know it's not all about what I want to do. As long as there are boundaries. I want to be compassionate, but not for the sake of my sanity or providing a service that means people don't have to rely on their own abilities by going with the easier.

From the old days in Malawi, this was a photoshopped creation that poked a bit of fun at 1) being the village ambulance, 2) importing cars and seeing them released much later by the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA)

Naomi's Christmas gift

2012-01-11T17:37:00.002+02:00

This past Sunday while Naomi was away for a bit, I rigged up a project that I had been working on for the past few weeks. As in most things here in Africa, when I say "I" I really mean "a guy I hired to do the work". In this case, it was a welder in the market who took my raw materials and welded where I pointed. In the end, a lovely, slightly rustic pot holder the envy of any fashionable gourmet cook.

Materials needed:

flat bar cut to the right length (and bent in several spots to make a basic rectangle with curved edges)
4 or 6mm iron bar cut to the appropriate length
much thinner metal bars to weld cross-wise so the pots on top don't fall through the openings
chains long enough to reach the rafters
S hooks to attach the chains to the pot holder
spray paint to make it all look pretty
other hooks (couldn't find S variety) to hang the pots on the pot holder

Here's what I bought today for $37

2012-01-11T17:22:00.003+02:00

Dish detergent +
2 sprites (for Gabe's malaria comforts) +
3 packets of popcorn from Swaziland +
8 containers of yogurt +
olive oil from Portugal =
$37

Parting shots from Zomba

2012-01-07T19:05:00.001+02:00

Our final two nights in Zomba were spent at a lovely cottage we had previously been unaware about... until now. While I wrapped up my chores in the city, Naomi single handedly moved our vast amounts of stuff out of the one cottage and somehow managed to cart everything down to our new residence. I'm pretty sure the kids helped too, but I was amazed to simply show up from the city and be in a new spot!

When I walked in the front door of the new place I was greeted with not one, but two photographs hanging on the wall of the Queen Mother. (What a welcome change to Bingu's mug.) I thoroughly enjoyed one more full day before it was time, sadly, to pack up and come home on Saturday morning.

Mika milling around near this awesome tree with a fantastic view of the valley below

Emily sits with 2 friends also staying up on the plateau (a Brit and a South African)

Hail to the Queen

Just look at this porch!

British cottage

Radiators and Rastas

2012-01-07T15:46:00.000+02:00

While the rest of the family enjoyed the cool, wet climes of Zomba Plateau, I headed to the city for some much-needed car repairs and grocery shopping. It has been more than three months since my last trip to the city. I've been holding off on visiting, mainly due to the high cost of goods and services in Malawi. That means I've been trying to limp along in a car that has radiator issues. The mechanic near me did his best but didn't resolve the issue. So I was in good spirits to see that my Irish mechanic in Blantyre seemed to hit upon some type of resolution, though granted one that would never be tried in the rich West.

Radiator overheating in Africa is just about as common as finding a fly in the fish market. When I first got this Mitsubishi Delica import from Japan two years ago, I knew that finding parts could be a challenge but took some solace in the fact that major ingredients of the car were also found in the garden variety Pajero which can be found everywhere here. But then it turned out the Mitsubishi dealer rarely had what I was looking for and could only order parts that would arrive in a few months' time for a massive markup in price. Thank God for an online company out of Australia who was able to order parts for me and ship them to Malawi via post of DHL for a better price--and faster--then could be found through the local dealer. That kept my problems at bay for the past six months or so, but then the radiator decided to start leaking a few months ago and this brought about experiments with steel putty. Multiple--failed--experiments.

The eccentric Irishman, well versed in African "make do" ideas as he's been around since '83 or so, suggested we take out the radiator and have it sent to his guy who would take off the plastic top and fashion a metal top (the rest of the radiator is aluminium). That done, the first go showed a leak still and so the thermostat was removed to allow the water to flow more freely through the system. A good trick for Africa, and one that we also had to do with the Land Cruiser we had previously. Supposedly that relieves pressure on the system and can also prevent leaks from forming on the radiator itself as the pressure may not build up so severely.

But unless you're a fan of NPR's Car Talk (which we are, I have to admit), I fear I may lose my loyal readership so let's move forward to the last task I had in the city before rejoining my family in Zomba after 3+ days away: replacing the wrongly-sized spare tire rim with the appropriate size.

I swung around to Limbe, Blantyre's nearby but more rundown city, to try my luck at the auto spare parts market. A neatly stacked row of second-hand rims gleamed in the sunlight and I knew I had come to the right place. A group of young men met me immediately after pulling up and asked after my needs. Before I knew it, the car was jacked up and my tire off. Another rim was brought out and my defective rim removed from the spare tire so that I could be all sorted out in the case of a blowout or flat tire. All in all, it took about an hour I suppose.

Now came the negotiation process, an interaction which would teach me a lot about very local politics and means of making a living in cash-strapped Malawi. This is where we meet the Rasta Mavuto. Mavuto is the local, VERY local kingpin of tire rims. His dreads rolled up under his woven beanie, Mavuto smoothly switched between Chichewa with his underlings and Chiyao and English with the white guy (me). With his eyes permanently half closed, effects of his preferred method of relaxation no doubt, I was offered in a short amount of time precious stones, diamonds, rubies, and more.

When a guy pulled up in a crotch rocket not common to these parts of the world, I inquired as to how someone would have such a nice and fast motorcycle like that. The rider, I was informed, sells "white sh*t". Do I know what "white sh*t" is? Assuming, quite cleverly, that it wasn't the feces that exits from a "white" person, I ventured in a know-it-all attitude (as if I deal with it every day) "oh yes, crack/cocaine" (said in a whispered, questioning tone since I was purely guessing).

Mavuto's head nods, along with those of his loyal underlings privy to this insider information. As the work continued, Mavuto invited me over to his office: a bench seat removed from some old minibus placed on the opposite side of the road under some tall pine trees. It was a shady, most comfortable spot. With the two of us in the lead, three others came to mill around. Mavuto's younger brother, also a Rasta with hair pulled up under a beanie, sat on a rock next to us while two others leaned against the base of the pine tree. I heard about the woes of the poor Malawian. The problems with the current administration. The things people have to do just to survive. Like sell smuggled diamonds from Zimbabwe, I wondered? This was all vital information for me to know since we would soon be talking about the price I would pay in cold, hard cash for my new used rim, replacement nut and another replacement stud.

The price I was quoted was more than I had been expecting, but not really when I look back upon it now. 18,000MK for the rim, plus 1,500 for the stud set and 500 for the nut. I knew I was being ripped off, but what could I do? It's not like I could go anywhere else for this service. These guys had the market. If I went to Mitsubishi, they would punch something into the computer and tell me they could get one for me for probably $500 and it could be here in 2 months. I decided to go a little crazy and half the price, usually a good rule of thumb to go by when in negotiations like this. Mavuto ("trouble" in Chichewa) balked. He continued to balk and his underlings became completely silent as we negotiated.

At one point, I returned to my car to move forward just a bit as something had become lodged underneath the car (the thing that holds the tire up under the car). I made the mistake of speaking to one of the guys there, who was promptly silenced by Mavuto. We were called back to the office throne room under the pines and I was informed by the king that that other guy drinks too much and, while Mavuto allows it because there are few things in life in which joy is to be found, he's not the guy to talk to about price (regardless of the fact that we weren't discussing price... as it turned out, I don't know what the guy wanted to talk about because I couldn't understand a word he said).

All in all, I was stuck at 17,000MK ($101 at the official rate, or $65 at the black market rate... I was working off the official rate since I had run out of cash brought from Mozambique). I paid my dues and was more than ready to rejoin my family when the photo shoot request came. Don't I have a camera in the car? We should certainly get some photos, shouldn't we? Why not, I thought. I brought my camera to town, as I always do, and left it sitting without use (as is often common when I take it to the city where it becomes harder and harder to find subjects that look interesting, since it all seems so common to me now). Taking out the camera, still with the 50mm lens attached, I backed up and backed up and continued to back up until I was a shouting distance away so I could fit in the suddenly large group of smiling Malawians. They wanted a second take, so switching to my wide-angle lens we had another go round. Then Mavuto took the camera from me so I could be in the picture, thanking me and saying it was my gift to them.

As I drove away heading toward Zomba, I couldn't help but think I've learned a few things over the years. Life here has a way of making you get involved in other people's lives. You meet Rastas like Mavuto who will take care of your needs for a little payback, all smiling and friendly even as a hefty portion of my income transfers into Malawian palms.

Then I think, life is good. My car radiator is fixed, albeit in its bastardized version. I've got a spare rim that should now fit all four locations on my car (my previous rim could only fit on the front due to clearance issues, making me only accept flats on the front). And, if I had wanted, I could have been driving away with some lovely Zimbabwean diamonds for my beautiful wife.

Horse Riding in Zomba

2012-01-03T21:38:00.001+02:00

Naomi asked Emily about two weeks ago what she'd like to do for her birthday. I wasn't around for the conversation, but I imagine Emily must have said something about how it would be fun to ride horses on her birthday up in Zomba. And so we thought why not celebrate the end of the year and the ringing in of a brand spankin' new one at one of our favorite spots on earth?

Saturday the 31st started out just grand, but it didn't take along until it became pretty obvious that Naomi just wasn't well. We suspected malaria and, being the good self-diagnosers we are, started her on treatment right away. We were all settled in at the cottage in the cool, wet pines by late afternoon and Naomi was flat out in bed for the next few hours.

The trick would be staying awake WAY past my normal bedtime. I didn't manage last new year's, since it was my turn to be sick with malaria. How would we pass the time in our own company? A Dutch friend recently stopped in at our place in Mozambique and mentioned that one year they marathoned the Back to the Future movies. We didn't have the first, but why not go for #2 and #3? And so that's what we did. Even Tessa managed to ring in the new year while Naomi slept on.

Sunday was very low key. Tried going out for a hike to a waterfall we like, but got stuck in the rain and returned home drenched and ready for a midday warm bath. Monday morning at 9, I joined with the kids for an hour-long horse ride. Simply amazing, was what I kept thinking. But then my butt started to remind me it was a bit uncomfortable. And my feet didn't like pointing in the unusual direction they were in. And my knees weren't happy either. THEN the rains started. Fortunately, we were only a few minutes from the end of our ride and with an encouragement at trotting, we arrived back at the stables only mildly soaked. Batch #2 of wet clothes now hang on the railing.

As a special surprise treat, Chloe (in town for a bit) brought up her sisters Andrea and Nadine to celebrate Emily's special day. (I think our bringing 40 liters of diesel to sell them from Mozambique helped sweeten the deal). It was great to get caught up on all the news and Emily enjoyed having some friends along who were invited to sleep over until this morning when I drove them in to the city as I work on car repairs.

Getting soaked on Sunday

Heading down to the stables on Monday

Tessa thrilled to get on

Gabe just as excited

Clean shaven sexy cowboy look. Got it goin' on.

I call this ride-by curio shopping

Horses happy to grab a snack of maize leaves along the journey

Christmas croquet

2011-12-31T07:27:00.000+02:00

Our Christmas day was very low key this year. We invited over Shawn & Dierdre's family along with the FOB (Fresh Off the Boat, so to speak) Ken and Carla and family who will be working in a city a few hours away. Carla is Dierdre's sister. The morning was very nice as we just opened presents and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the morning. (Sorry, no pics. We don't usually dress up for such occasions and the morning was still fresh and new.)

Emily holding Ken and Carla's newest baby, Cameron.

Naomi with Joy

Mika set up a course of croquet that most everyone participated in

Ken (in hat) and Carla (holding Cam)

Eggs, Apples & Milk (what's it cost)

2011-12-31T07:12:00.000+02:00

Flat of eggs, imported from Malawi. 30 in a flat.
We buy 2 at a time (60) and go through them in about 2 weeks.
Cost: 150MT ($5.55) each flat. 5MT ($0.19) each, or $2.28 for a dozen.

Apples, imported from South Africa.
Cost: 15MT ($0.55) each.

Milk, both powdered and "fresh".
Powdered is a staple for cooking and making liquid milk (especially when we run out of the expensive boxes).
Cost: about 850MT ($31.50) for the cheaper Milgro brand imported from Malaysia (1.8KG size=14.4 litres).
(Nido brand from neighboring South Africa costs more).
"Fresh" milk, sterilized long-life UHT processed from South Africa.
Costs about 85MT ($3.10) per box (1 liter).
Or if I really plan ahead, I can get it for about 55MT/box up in Lichinga.

On Being Sporty (bucket list)

2011-12-29T07:03:00.000+02:00

I'll be the first to admit I'm not a team player, at least not when it comes to sports. It's not that I hog the ball when it comes my way. It's just that I don't keep it long enough to pass it to any teammates before it is ripped right out from under my feet. I'm not a complete loser when it comes to sports, but let's just say it has never been my strong suit. Watching my son Gabe, I feel like I'm watching myself at his age just a bit.

Guys like us feel pretty drawn toward individual sports like running and biking. That way we're not letting down those who put their faith in us, like the soccer guys I played with in Arizona on an adult league just before moving to Africa. Or the young, fit Malawian guys I practiced with a few years back who exhausted me in more than just physical ways (with their constant requests for shoes, shirts, rides, balls and whatever else they could squeeze out of me).

I'm gonna split my "being sporty" bucket list post into two sections: let's call them "sporty stuff I've already done" and "sporty stuff still to do".

ALREADY DONE

Play a team sport. (My rule: the ones we're all forced into during grade school don't count.)

I think I tried playing soccer in 2nd grade when I lived in Rhode Island. My career ended horribly due to the onset of asthma. Not good. I played again in 4th grade I think. And 7th or 8th. Usually stuck in the fullback position since that's where the youngsters get put to fill up space and hopefully get between the ball and the goal. Track and cross country don't qualify well as team sports, so let's skip that here. Volleyball became something I felt moderately good at. Good enough to try out for my high school team. But with 2400 students in three grades, I didn't stand a chance. So that became an intramurals activity during college that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I know there's a lot we can learn from participating in team sports, but I'm not really into that whole scene of trying to figure out exactly what those things are. Frankly, I think most cultures are horribly obsessed with sports and idolize people just because they can move around gracefully. Who cares? The recent issues of sport-leadership-scandal-coverups (i.e. Penn State) start to make things fall into perspective if you think about it. People cared that much about sports that they were willing to let a perv go on for years getting off on innocent children. Sick, I say. Rant over.

Run a half-marathon. It's been 2 years now since my first half-marathon attempt. I placed second with a time of about 2 hours. But, if I must confess the truth, there were only two runners. Myself and my coworker Shawn. I worked up a fever the latter part of my run and ended up sick that night into the next day. I was so thirsty (it was hot season) that it was killing me. The water stations were a well we passed along the way and some poor soul's house who had a cool clay pot of water they were willing to share with me. Next up? Hopefully something in PA in May of 2012. Or anywhere else along the way.

Mountain bike. A lot. I thoroughly enjoyed some great rides in Arizona. Perfect spot for mountain biking! In Africa I do this regularly. Sometimes for fun, mostly for transport needs. I had a dirt bike as a kid that gave me that awesome feeling of complete freedom! I'm sure I didn't wander far from home, but it sure felt like I was world away. When I was old enough, I used to ride my Schwinn street bike alongside my dad as he would jog. Good times.

Run a 5K. Run a 10K. Done, done, and done. Last official 10K was in Arizona in 2006. I'd love to give it another go and see if I've improved at all.

Ride a jet ski. Cebu City, Philippines. Very cool! Maribago Bluewaters Resort. Highly recommended!

Go kayaking. Most memorable experience comes from Kayak Africa, Cape Maclear, Malawi. A few years back I went out with Shawn and Keith and we kayaked from the mainland to the island (I think that was about 7KM), then the next day we spent all day kayaking around the island and snorkling. Awesome stuff!

Go white water rafting. When Naomi and I first got married WAY back in 1995 and found ourselves on our honeymoon in Bend, Oregon, we bit our tongues at the outlay of money to go on a trip down the Deschutes. SO glad we went! Despite the cold feet, it was one of the most memorable things I've ever done. Can't wait for my next white water rafting experience!

Learn to water ski. This is something I thought was just for the rich folk. That's why it's helpful to get to know people who own a boat and waterskis. Living in Mozambique has it's privileges! Now ski camp comes around every year and so far 3 or 4 kids have learned how to waterski. My next challenge is single skiing. (Wakeboarding is very fun too.)

Golf. Really suck at it, but enjoy it anyway. When I was about 19 I worked on a golf course as a caddy (about three times in total) and was usually stationed as a valet for the rich club members. On Mondays the place was closed and employees could take advantage of the beautiful Ohio course. I bought some clubs, traded for some concert tickets, and hacked away. Fast forward nearly 20 years when I get to know someone in Malawi who is an avid golfer and kind enough to invite me along a few times. It's got my interest in the sport rekindled and I'm always game at joining along. Most fun I've had recently on a course was with a fellow hacker playing in Simon's Town (Cape Town) with penguins wandering around the course.

Racquet ball. A great way to relieve stress during college.

Fishing. Often during my summer vacations as a kid. Deep sea fishing experiences tend to come from high school when we would go to the Jersey shore. A great experience, though we never participated in the money pool that would go toward the person who caught the biggest fish. (I was led to believe that it's a form of gambling...but is it really?)

Bowl. When I was in junior high, I got to join in on handicapped privileges and go with my brother Ken to his special olympics bowling league. I'm pretty sure I played with "normal" kids, siblings of the handicapped, but I'm not quite sure anymore. The memory gets foggy. Maybe that's why I felt like my score wasn't so bad. Who was I playing against, after all? But who am I kidding. My brother could still beat the socks off of me.

Go snow skiing. There was a total of 2 times in high school that I gave this a go on some slopes in PA. On one occasion, it was at the end of the season and prices were quite low. Maybe the occasional mud patches were an indication that the white powdery stuff wouldn't be overly impressive. I would love to try this again and take the whole family, stay in a lodge, do the whole nine yards.

Ice skate. My mom and dad both grew up in PA where ice skating was popular. They got us out there on the frozen-over ponds and I got competent at it. Not something I'd care to do on a regular basis however.

STILL TO DO

Skydive. Jumping while attached to a professional is just fine. To be done preferably in a pretty spot, warm.
Bungy jump. It looks so fun on all those "Amazing Race" episodes. I think I'd prefer to try it at Victoria Falls or somewhere in southern Africa, given that the experts really are just that.
Run more half-marathons. I'm too much of a wimp to do a marathon. I don't see the point and think I'd rather die. So why not stick with a challenging distance that can still be fun?
Shoot Bambi's dad. I've never gone hunting, but I've taken three hunter safety courses in my younger years. I've been military trained in weapons operation and qualified as a marksman. Doesn't that qualify me for something? (Let's skip over the part where I recently chopped off my finger tip with an air rifle.) Honestly, I don't know how I'd feel about shooting Bambi's dad. I guess I'll never know until I'm in the position to see what it feels like. I'd love to get the chance in '12. Utah, anyone?
Get cut. Doesn't that sound cool? When I was in high school and weighed 115 pounds, I did a bit of weight lifting but I couldn't say I was ever cut. I'm working on it now with this program called Body for Life. No news yet... only on my second week. But I'm gonna get cut by my 12th week! Of that I'm sure.
Become a good swimmer. I suck at swimming. Really. It was so blatantly obvious a few years back when I participated in a family triathlon in Malawi. Man was I sucking air, bobbing in and out of the water while everyone else seemed to glide by in perfect form. I'd like to blame it on the goggles. I got some new ones though and so now I can't use that excuse. A few months back, I did this super long swim in Lake Malawi (maybe 400 yards I'm guessing). I took it slow, but man was I stoked! My problem comes down to possibilities: how can I learn to swim well when I don't have access to a pool or large body of water nearby? Not even a bathtub.
Learn to surf. It just looks so fun! My first memory of surf-related stuff comes from the Navy base we used to go to in Virginia Beach. At the entrance to the exchange there was this little shop in this mall-like place that had some surfboards and surfing equipment for sale. I still remember seeing these containers of sex wax and wondering what that was all about. I came close to surfing in Cape Town, but the house we were staying at had loaned out the wetsuit that I was hoping to borrow. And you don't exactly want to surf down there without a wetsuit. That'd be just plain crazy.
Learn to scuba dive. I'd love to swim with the fishes and explore old dive wrecks. But who has the money to learn to scuba dive with a real instructor? My best chance is probably Africa, maybe Kayak Africa at Cape Maclear.
Learn karate. I've never been in a fight in my life. It's not that I run away from fights, but I guess they just never really come my way. Well, one day I found myself in a fighting situation. I was in high school and playing street hockey with my peeps. I kept blocking these shots this one guy was working on and he got so upset he came over to kick my little cocky buttocks. That's when my other peep, Anthony, showed up. He was a black belt and told me he'd take care of it. I went home, shaking at my near miss with death. So, yeah, I guess I did run away after all. Peace and love incorporated.

In Portugal, 1990, first overseas experience. Mainly a support role on our sports ev trip.
It's where I met my first Mozambican... way back then. A war refugee child. I'm crouching on the lefthand side.

Yet another support role. Me with the running club that Janet and I helped form in Malawi circa 2005.

Running with my dad in Tyler State Park, PA.
I didn't know it then, but it's probably the last time I will go jogging with my dad as his knees now bother him.
I caught the running bug from him. He was always so supportive of me making that my sports outlet.

I'm the guy on the right with the hidden white head. Support role mainly (big shock).
Soccer team in Malawi, 2007 or so.

Aspirations of shooting birds, biking all over creation on my Huffy, painting and playing paddle ball. Oh, and being a marionette. The annual "let's pose now with all your presents" pic from around 6th grade I think.

Biking in Prescott with David, around 1997.

Biking in Malawi with Ian (he's the one taking the picture and I'm holding his bike)

Hillview Triathlon, Malawi. The running part that I can actually do OK in. Encouragement from the sidelines.

Acrobats of Chirombo

2011-12-24T06:53:00.000+02:00

While on our mini getaway to the lake, I read through Stephen Carr's fascinating "Surprised by Laughter", his account of decades of experience working in Africa (Southern Sudan, Uganda and Malawi mainly). His book really caused me to think a bit about my own outlook on life here in Africa. I'm feeling challenged to really celebrate the African outlook, a main point of the book pointing out the admirable quality Africans have for finding joy in the difficult and mundane chores of daily activity. And it's true. As we hear groups of women pass our house, perhaps coming back from picking up firewood in the mountains, we can often hear them coming from a long ways away because they are singing! Yes, they might have 100 pounds of wood on their heads. Yes, maybe they've been walking for an hour or two already, but they are still singing and happy.

I think I've bought into the outlook we westerners often share of seeing the financial poverty here as an all-enveloping poverty in life. But as Stephen pointed out, poverty is multifaceted. Quoting from pgs. 61-2, Mr. Carr shares a story that causes me to think:

After we left the Sudan in 1962 we spent some months in England and during that time watched a programme on television which gave a snapshot of a half an hour in the life of a single mother living with two children under four in a two roomed flat on the fourteenth floor of a high rise building in Glasgow. She owned a gas stove, a small fridge, a radio, a reasonable range of furniture and had adequate resources with which to feed and clothe her children. But she was locked into a pattern of life in which she seldom spoke to other women, all through the winter the children could not go outside to play and they had no friends in neighboring flats. As we watched this woman, living on her own and dealing with fractious children hour after hour we thought that here was real poverty, and realized just how fortunate were our friends in the Southern Sudan. I had a similar experience many years later walking one evening through the back streets of Monrovia in what was then a peaceful Liberia. I was with an English friend from the World Bank and we passed two women outside a shanty-like house pounding the food in mortars for their evening meal. Their children were playing happily with others round about them. They sang a responsive song in time with their work, and this was frequently interrupted as friendly passers by stopped to chat with them, 'How terrible it is that women have to live like this,' said my companion, focussing on the house.

I could not believe my ears. 'But think of all those women in suburbs in London and Washington locked in by themselves with small children with no-one to sing with, no-one to talk to and no other children to relieve them of the burden of amusing their own toddlers. Or what about elderly women sitting in loneliness in some high rise building, frightened to go out because of uncontrolled teenagers dominating the halls and lifts. Do you really think that these two women have a poorer quality of life?

I'm determined to work on my perspective. To see the joy that my friends see in the mundane. To celebrate more (rather than grumble...I'm growing in this) when people show up on my doorstep to chat. That really took me a while to get used to. In our culture, we have a program and like to stick to it. Once I saw that my program was to be with people, interruptions no longer became a nuisance.

While at the lake, this crowd of boys gathered to watch our kids swim. We couldn't communicate, as they didn't speak the languages I spoke and I don't speak Chichewa. When I saw them doing flips over a rock in the sand, I just had to grab my camera and celebrate the joy they were finding in the mundane. They were surrounded by good friends, each other. They were living along a beautiful lakeshore. They turned a rock into a playground.

So don't ever feel sorry for us living here. Yeah, life can be hard but there's joy to be found all around us. My kids have a life unparalleled to anything they'd be getting in the States. And as Christmas approaches, we've been truly blessed to have the season stripped down to nothing, helping us to focus on the simplicity of a poor family giving birth in a barn two thousand years ago.

Croc farm

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000+02:00

Koma Croc Farm is an unassuming tourist spot located just north of Nkhudzi Bay in Mangochi District along the lakeshore. There is a small sign along the highway pointing out where the turnoff is (the same one heading toward Norman Carr cottages).

I last visited the farm in January of 2001 on my first visit to Africa as my hosts in Malawi brought me along with my friends Ryan & Kelly. I guess I'm not too surprised to find that the place looks exactly the same after 10+ years. There's not much to do other than look at crocs and wander from the croc nursery to the croc adult care area. After about 30 or 45 minutes, you'll be back on your way. But it's well worth a visit and chances are you'll never get closer to a croc and live to tell about it.

Gabe loving every second of it

Emily and others hold a five-month old croc

Chisomo being brave

Gabe poses next to the 55+ year-old grandpa croc on the farm

Mika sporting her crocodile tooth necklace

At the office entrance to the farm

Chirombo Bay

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000+02:00

Chirombo Bay is a place, like thousands of others along the lakeshore, I had never heard of before until receiving notice about a house available for vacationers. I did a google search and found that it was just 6KM south of Monkey Bay, so well within our range of visit. I rang up the owner and set up our chance to experience another private cottage (our 4th, I think, that we've stayed at along the lake).

Our family used to stay at the more well known resorts and, while they are nice for some things, the prices these days just put them out of reach for even people who do have a bit of money at hand to spend. (And I expect it will stay that way until the economy gets back into normal shape and the Kwacha is set to float to the dollar once again).

Chirombo Bay is located just opposite the turnoff to Cape Maclear. If you are heading from Mancoghi, keep going past the police roadblock where there is the turnoff that takes you towards the Salima highway. Head towards Monkey Bay and you'll see the filling station on the left. Turn to the right where there are a bunch of vendors selling wooden carved toys, then continue down a few kilometers towards Alcon Cottages. There will be a turnoff to the left that will take you up the hill. Keep to the middle road and you'll find the quiet little house that we stayed at. (If you get to the Alcon cottages, you've gone too far).

We loved the house, the great grass yard with ample trees, and the proximity to Alcon (just a quick walk from the beach) for access to the pool, restaurant, and bar. But the water itself wasn't as pristine as other spots along the lake. It didn't stop us from swimming, however, and we enjoyed it immensely.

Shot with my zoom lens after I had walked a little ways from the cottage heading toward the village.
This guy is removing grasses to prevent hiding spots for the resident croc couple.

Chisomo went along with us

Tessa got in lots of swimming time

Just look at that yard!

The cottage

Sprinkler fun

2011-12-22T17:21:00.000+02:00

We took a quick trip to the lake on Monday after finding out about a great little cottage just perfect for our family of 6 (plus a friend who tagged along at our invite, Chisomo). The lawn was just massive and lush with amazing green grass... something we love! Another surprise was the sprinkler system! Fun for the kids with no danger from the resident crocs in the water.

how LOW can you go?

the Spider Man jump

Emily & Chisomo

Hey mom, what's for dinner?

2011-12-21T21:53:00.000+02:00

It's that time of year again. During the early part of the rainy season, usually by the 3rd or 4th heavy rain, the sleeping winged termites known locally as ngumbi emerge from their earthen wombs to rise up in the wee hours of the morning and find a mate before a quick death envelopes them.

If you're wise and live in the village, you'll be up at those wee hours and find a place to collect thousands of these insects in an hour or twos time. I was reading yesterday a book that talked about a system used in the past (and probably still today) in southern Sudan in which villagers would create holes in the ground that they stick a torch into. They light the torches and the termites are drawn to the light, where they instantly fall into the hole dead and are ready for an easy pickup by even a young child. If you have too much to eat right away, these can be stored in a ball form for a few weeks if you dry them first.

If you didn't get the chance to read the Malawi cookbook, ngumbi make an excellent snack. Now don't laugh, guys. What's wrong with eating insects? They make a great source of protein. Just ask Bear Grylls. Here's a recipe you may want to try:

Inswa (Chichewa translation). Method 1: Heat a pan and fry the ants dry. Remove from the pan, dry in the sun and winnow them to remove the wings. Pick over carefully to remove any stones. Heat the pan with or without a little fat, add the flying ants and a little salt and fry until done. Serve with nsima or as an appetiser. Method 2: Wash the flying ants in water and leave to drain for a short while. Add salt and fry them without oil, stirring all the time, until he wings are burnt. Remove them from the heat and keep them in a warm place for about 5 minutes to dry completely. They may be fried again in oil if desired. Variation: if oil is used, add a little chopped onion and chopped tomatoes to the pan. Groundnut flour may also be added. (pp 17-18)

from a batch Gabe's friends graciously offered us

after Mika fried them up; delicious!

Out West: Still to See & Do (Bucket List)

2011-12-21T21:01:00.001+02:00

I'm a big fan of the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. I had never heard of it until visiting Mozambique Island, however, but since then I've learned that I can check online for the list from any country to see what the United Nations deems important and amazing enough to help fund the restoration & promotion of.

In the American West, UNESCO lists a bunch of places that I've narrowed down to the following spots of interest that I'd love to one day visit or explore in much greater detail:

Mesa Verde (southwestern CO) I've never been within 3 hours from Mesa Verde by car. But that will soon change as it just so happens a cousin of mine now lives on the doorstep to this amazing spot. And that I didn't even realize until chatting with him on Facebook last week. So guess what I think we're just going to have to do over the summer of 2012?!?
Yellowstone (located in WY/MO/ID)
Grand Canyon National Park (AZ). I'd particularly love to raft the Colorado (though hiking sounds great too). I've heard there's a waiting list years long for the chance to head down the mighty Colorado, so I'd better book now! Maybe one day I'll get lucky and find a friend who has booked and just happens to have an open slot for me. :)
Redwood National Park (north of San Francisco, CA), home to those mammoth-sized Sequoia Redwood trees that I remember seeing pictures of cars being able to drive through (frowned upon today)
Yosemite National Park (northern CA). We will be just hours from there in 2012. Could we swing through and take a gander at the awesomeness of the place? Maybe while visiting our coworker Janet... who knows.

What else is on my list for the West?

Live in Oregon
I don't know if this is a pipe dream or not, but one day I think it would be cool to live in Oregon. Probably near Eugene. Or Portland. Or Bend. Or Sisters. Or somewhere on the coast. (I guess this would all depend on what kind of a job I would have and if & when we may have some family moving into Oregon.)

While Naomi calls Eugene one of her homes (like the Seattle area), there isn't really any super close family there anymore. There are friends, but uncles & aunts and grandparents have all died and/or moved along. This might not be the case forever, and we're not exactly looking at moving back to the U.S. any time soon. Still, it's nice to think about the future sometimes and Oregon is certainly a state that holds a high regard for us. I'm just not sure I could put up with all that rain, though I can put up with all the coffee shops and literary interest that comes out of northern Oregon especially.

Also spend time at:

Our little family in 1999 visiting Mickey Mouse

Lake Powell (AZ). I had a coworker once who traveled to the lake quite a few times each year to hang out on her family's boat there. When I subscribed to Arizona Highways magazine, they always gave ample coverage to this beautiful spot. Really got to check it out.
Slot canyons, like Antelope (near Page, AZ). A must-see for photographers. Pack the tripod and wide-angle lens.
Zion National Park (UT). Now that I've got friends in Utah who seem to be settled there on a permanent basis, we make trips there each time we're in the U.S.
Disneyland. Yes, again. Last time I was there, Mika was being pushed around in a stroller. Don't think she'd go for that again, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to get her and the three siblings she now has to enjoy this magical place.
cruising, in a boat, to Alaska. This made the shortlist for potential honeymoon activities. We ditched it for my first visit to Oregon, however.

Reads

2011-12-17T10:57:00.001+02:00

Since bringing back the Amazon Kindle in April of this year, I've had access to a whole lot more reading material. SO much, in fact, that much of it sits there completely unread. I certainly don't feel that need to rush to Lilongwe to trade in/sell my used, read books for more used, unread books. Or borrow, borrow, borrow from other expat friends like I used to do.

My favorite Kindle reads of late include my twice monthly (I think) issues of Newsweek that help me to feel in touch to some degree with what's happening in the U.S. and world in general. Mainly coverage on the latest pop star the Republican party loves momentarily before ditching them for someone equally as unexciting. Even though I'll be in the U.S. during elections next year, I just don't know if I'll be able to muster the caring attitude to cast my vote. For now, I'm not wishing a second term for Obama (though I did wish him a first) and I just can't fathom Gingrich for Pres. I think I'd go with the Mormon if I really had to. (They make great friends and neighbors if I can judge based on my experience living among thousands in Mesa, Arizona).

Naomi has been enjoying "Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals" and our family has been going through these about once a week over breakfast. I'm currently working my way slowly through my second Jodi Picoult book, "The Pact: A Love Story". The first of hers that I've read, "19 Minutes", was captivating enough to give her another go.

Probably the best read of late has been "The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom". It is a first-person true story that unbelievably details Slavomir Rawicz' escape from being a political captive in Siberia during the 1940s and walk all the way to India. I guess there is a movie due to be released just now, or maybe it already has been? Too lazy to google it.

Cookbooks and how-to books abound on the Kindle and they are pretty cheap too. I downloaded a whole slew of stuff to try for nice coffee recipes "88 Refreshing Coffee Recipes" & "The Ultimate Starbucks Coffee Recipes", plus a lovely older book to further educate me about this passion: "All About Coffee" by William Ukers & Lyle and Valerie MacPherson.

What's really got me downloading e-books these days is a daily email I get from Pixel of Ink that recommends free or really cheap reads ($.99 or 1.99). While a lot of them tend to focus on the fantasy genre, I can just skip that weird stuff and look for the more interesting titles. I have picked up for free "The Most Popular Chinese Cooking Recipes", "The Red Suit Diaries: A Real-Life Santa on Hopes, Dreams, and Childlike Faith", "Judgement" by Fergus Bannon and others, "The Pocket Linguist" by Gregg Miller (as I hope to glean further ideas on moving ahead in language study), "Over Fields of Fire: Flying the Sturmovik in Action on the Eastern Front 1942-45" (a true story), "Unconvential" by J. Hebert, "The Fallen" by Mark Terry and paid just a bit for "Mudbound" by Hillary Jordan.

Now, to find the time...

Go West Young Man (Bucket List)

2011-12-13T08:28:00.000+02:00

with Tiff & Jeff (and Tiff's family) enjoying
a Brazil world cup match obviously

Maybe it was a subliminal message straight from Michael W. Smith, the Christian recording artist my parents reluctantly allowed me to listen to. It was high school and I was actually attending his "Go West Young Man" tour. Should I be embarrassed by admitting that? I had the shirt to prove it, for a while, and the blessing from my youth pastor Bill who was the one partly responsible in the first place for introducing me to this music called CCM (Contemporary Christian Music).

Something about the west called my name, but I wasn't fully aware of it until along came college and with it (yeah, you've guessed it again) a certain young lady named Naomi Jensen.

My first actual memory of Naomi comes my first week of sophomore year. We were in chapel, I think it was night probably after the message had ended, and along comes this skinny 19 year old who plops herself down horizontally on the pew in exhaustion from her shift at the college cafeteria. I happened to be good friends with her best friend from Brazil (or one of many, so I was to learn), Tiff. Tiff and her husband-to-be, Jeff (an MK from the Philippines) and I hung out a lot. I immediately took a liking to missionary kids my first year of college. They were fun loving folks with great stories you just couldn't top. Jeff usually came around with Todd, another MK who grew up with Jeff in the Philippines as they both attended Faith Academy together. By choosing those friends my freshman year, I unwittingly was destined to meet Naomi my sophomore.

I had a new appreciation for college as I began schooling my second year. I took off of school early my freshman year, signing up for the U.S. Air Force Air National Guard (part time Air Force) out of Springfield, Ohio. I had 6 weeks of boot camp in Texas followed by 4+ months of technical training school in Biloxi, Mississippi (that's just so fun to spell) to undergo before starting again in the fall (September '92). What the Air Force gave me during my time away was a renewed desire to be back in the bubble, the Christian bubble that was Cedarville. I recognized my inadequacies and waverings in my own Christian walk as I was thrown into the big bad world and longed for that cocoon I had grown up in. I guess what I was hoping for was three more years of spiritual shoring and formation before college graduation and job searches and "real life" began. And that would come.

My first adventure out west came one Christmas break during college. Naomi and I had been dating for a while now and we were pretty serious. Grandma Stromberg graciously offered to pay our way out to Mesa, Arizona where she hoped I wouldn't be able to resist her unique charm and the lovely (during winter, which was strategically when she brought us out) land that we would eventually call our home. She was right. It was the best few hundred bucks she could have spent as it would mean I was hooked on the west. Our days and nights were spent attending the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes at ASU Theater, driving through multiple communities of Christmas lights, dining here and there and everywhere, hottubbing, swimming, hiking, and doing Christmas stuff in the overwhelming floral print of her condo living room.

Our next opportunity to visit the west came courtesy of my parents who were paying for our honeymoon in Oregon. It was June of '95 and, while it was still chilly on the coast, it was an amazing time for me to see Eugene where half of Naomi's family was from. We also hit up an island near Portland along the river, Cannon Beach, Bend, Sisters, Florence and Tillamook cheese. I was lovin' it! It wouldn't be until many years later that I would add Seattle to my experience (the place where her other family half hails from). As we would return there over the years, I would add hiking Rainier, Pike's Place Market, visiting Victoria, British Columbia (that's Canada, folks), going to the original REI store, and traveling by ferry to my memories.

FAVORITE SPOTS OUT WEST I'VE VISITED

Arizona

Grand Canyon
Superstition Mountains
Tucson and surrounding area
Sedona
Flagstaff
rock climbing with my friend Todd

gorgeous country! near the border between Utah and Arizona

California

Berkeley and the science center
Disneyland
San Diego
driving up I-5 near Mt. Shasta

at the science center, Berkeley

Colorado

driving through Denver
staying in Boulder
visiting Loveland
Garden of the Gods
Focus on the Family center (great fun for the kids who love Adventures in Odyssey)

downtown Boulder, CO

Idaho

Twin Falls

Twin Falls with my cousin Jamie

New Mexico

rock climbing with my friend Todd (north of Albuquerque)
drinking coffee in Taos
visiting Cerro

just north of Cerro, NM on the Colorado side

Cerro, NM

driving through Taos

Oregon

Eugene
Crater Lake
Sisters
white water rafting down the Deschutes
Newport
eating at Mo's
Bend
the lava beds near Sisters
Yachats
Canon Beach
a visit to Tillamook Cheese
shopping at Powell's world of books
berry picking

Three Sisters, Sisters, Oregon

lava beds near Sisters

Mo's in Newport, OR

Newport

covered wagon at the settlers museum

enjoying a blustery Yachats

Washington

Seattle
Pike's Place Market
hiking Mt. Rainier
going to the original REI store
traveling by ferry

on a ferry en route to see where Naomi's grandparents used to live on an island nearby Seattle

Emily & Naomi at Rainier

hiking Rainier with Tessa

British Columbia

Victoria

at Victoria

The Bucket List begins

2011-12-12T22:19:00.000+02:00

Over the next many posts, I'd like to completely bore you with my (perhaps) vain aspirations and try my best to brag over the awesome stuff (ha) I've been able to accomplish so far in these first 4 decades (nearly). In all seriousness, I guess making a bucket list has helped distract me from some of the boredom that comes from living in an African village.

The idea comes from the movie with the same name. I just watched it the other night with Naomi. Maybe you've heard of it? Starring Jack Nicholson (ever the freak) and Morgan Freeman (sophistication defined). The story has the two old men, one white and wealthy and one middle class and black, forming an interesting friendship as they recover side by side in hospital. They hatch a plan together to do all the stuff they never had done yet, knowing that time is of the essence. While money might not have been an issue for them, it is for me and so my list doesn't tend to go heavily into the überpricey. (Travel aside, cause that can add up but every now and then you get the chance to visit somewhere on business and fit some fun stuff in. Or win the lottery.)

My bucket list, also referred to online as a "life list", looks a bit different now than it did when I was 18. When we're that age, we rarely resemble the person we become. I didn't have too much in mind other than to go to (and hopefully graduate from) college [check], meet a beautiful woman and get married right after college [double check--that's a common dream for any normal adolescent Christian kid who wants to, uh, you know, do "stuff" before the rapture occurs], have kids [check times 4], travel the world [yup, been working on that], learn another language [check twice], work in Christian ministry [multiple times], help the poor [however poorly I've done that], and serve in the U.S. military [Air Force Air National Guard, 6 years].

I think most of what I've been able to knock off the list has come through the choice to marry Naomi, honestly. Otherwise I'd probably be a perpetually cold suburbanite somewhere in the northeast of the U.S. thinking that life is pretty much at its pinnacle when I've got a home in the 'burbs, kids in the house, 2 cars in the drive... the basic American middle class dream. Instead, I hook up with a globe trotting American who grew up in Brazil and so here we are bouncing from the midwest to the southwest to Asia to Africa and anywhere in between.

No regrets, baby!

Awww... aren't we cute (and young)? Pre-marriage visit to Mesa, AZ.
Does this count as a bucket list event? Sure, why not.
"Ride a tandem bike". [check]

Malawi for a night

2011-12-10T08:08:00.001+02:00

What kind of a friend am I? I come over to my friend's place in Malawi not only to use his mechanic and attempt to fix my leaky radiator (and while there also my tire, random rattles, battery and undercarriage cover) but instead of taking any pictures of them, I take pictures of their coffee. I know... I just can't resist the coffee. Maybe that's my real reason for coming here.

Getting here wasn't as easy as it could have been. I just so happened to mention to a friend of mine that I was going to Malawi. He had just come to my house Friday early morning to drop off some clay pots I had bought from someone in his village (for planting flowers on the new porch). He was immediately game and asked if he could go along. I tried to discourage him by saying I wasn't sure when I was coming back. Could be in the afternoon. Could be next day. No worries!

We got across the border just fine and helped some university students get all their bags from the Mozambique post to the Malawi side of things. Once on the road again in Malawi, a broken down truck left many passengers stranded and they flagged me down. I figured what the heck? I've got space. I knew a few of them anyway. Several climbed in until we were packed, THEN the matola driver came running over screaming at the passengers to give him more money. Turns out several hadn't paid anything even though they had a small drive and it wasn't going down well with the driver. It got into a shouting match and the driver even threatened to steal my diesel by placing a firm grip on one jerry can. Some more money was coughed up, he relented and begrudgingly disembarked from my car. I immediately sped off before any other possibility of theft or barroom brawling could happen.

I wasn't expecting an overnight, but the welding glue substance did need to dry overnight properly and so I didn't mind grabbing pizza with the family and others and watching a South African dog classic: "Jock of the Bushveld" featuring the music of "the white Zulu" Johnny Clegg (who blatantly defied apartheid by joyously celebrating his racially-mixed band internationally).

And now, car fixed up, off I return to Mozambique for Tessa's 7th birthday party. I hope I make it in time. My little baby is 7!

Around home

2011-12-08T07:15:00.001+02:00

Around home these days, Emily is pretty excited to start using the sewing machine she bought (Aunt Pam in Seattle shipped it out last month). Our coworkers picked it up in Blantyre at a friend's house where it was delivered and so these pics are Emily on Sunday night going through the DVD tutorial of how to operate her new machine. We expect this will consume her for the next few years most likely. That means, sadly, that she's not going to be doing as much art (see her blog here). That has already fallen off a bit as she's been getting more into photography these days.

The other major news around home is the long-ago envisioned porch is now finally a reality! Thanks to the efforts of an Australian carpenter friend, our porch was built about 2 weeks ago but only yesterday could we track down a builder to put in the concrete on the posts. So now it's officially complete! I also laid a brick pathway from the driveway to the front door so we don't have to 1) walk on mud this year during rainy season, 2) use a bridge to cross the moat that collected at our front door. Progress indeed! This week we also planted grass and added tobacco clippings as natural fertilizer to help conserve the moisture. Rains seem to be coming only once a week so far, so we're desperately trying to keep everything alive until the rains really start well (when I say "we", I mean Naomi).

back porch; last year's plants look great this year and you can see our grass patch from last year also doing ok

Caving, Climbing, Canyoneering, Collapsing

2011-12-04T06:01:00.001+02:00

Back when we first moved to Africa in 2003, it seemed the right thing to do to pack my climbing equipment. I didn't own much, so space wasn't too much of an issue: a second-hand climbing rope (since relegated to towing broken-down cars), an old harness, a few carabiners and a pair of 5.10 climbing shoes were pretty much all that I had to my name. In other words, not enough to be a real climber but just enough to bum off of one.

I suppose I had dreams that there would be a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer living close by. And while that did happen in Malawi, he wasn't the climbing type though he was gifted at a lot of other things. And so I waited. And waited.

A South African friend, Keith, lived near me in Malawi for a few years. He was a jack of all trades, so to speak. I've since learned that it's pretty standard fare for most South African guys older than 30 to know how to fix and do just about anything. So we gave a shot at abseiling (rappelling) and both of us came within centimeters of losing our lives as we didn't really know what we were doing and our rope nearly burned straight through our harnesses.

Then along comes Jonny, an Aussie builder with climbing & canyoneering experience, about six years later. Time to dust off the 5.10's and have some fun. Saturday morning, already withering at the heat rising above 90F and due to reach just shy of 100 by mid day, we set off on the motorbike for my friend's place in the village. He would act as our guide to the caves we had heard about and would, as it turned out, fearlessly join us on our climb up the rock face.

Our hike started in the village of Mpelembe, roughly 10KM from my house in the village down a dusty dirt track well used by thousands who live in the area. As I had prearranged with Candulu to guide us, he was waiting for us near home and we shot off 3 on the motorbike to the village closest to the mountain. We began hiking through fields of maize, freshly planted but wilting in the hot sun, ever closer to the rocks. In one field, we came across some youngins eager to guide us to the entrance of one cave, though upon our arrival there we realized it was an in-and-out again type (with a bit of bellycrawling). We explored another cave or two, again without much to show for it other than a porcupine quill and some leftover animal dung (most likely hyena). Baboons and monkeys kept a safe distance from us as a teenage boy with his hunting dogs searched for fresh meat in the caves.

Satisfied that there was little to the caves, we searched for a good rock to climb. We came across one, but while it was impressive we couldn't find a good way to the top to tie off and abseil down. But shortly after, we chose a neighboring rock and began the process of safely preparing for the climb. (When I say "we", I mean Jonny did all the work while I sat back and watched dumbly).

The view was simply amazing from up here. One could look out and see about 5 villages in the distance, most of which I felt to know quite well after over a year of weekly visits. I felt at home somehow, not simply a trekker in the middle of wild Africa.

A few hours later, it was all over. It was already after 2PM and I had promised to return around 3 so as to take 6 kids to the river for a swim. (We were also watching Barak & Havilah as the Dollars were out of town). And so, in sheer exhaustion upon our arrival home, we were off again after a quick bite of pizza and guzzle of coke. But the river was an amazing, refreshing time. We lazed around and enjoyed the cool waters on a scorching day.

In one day, I had caved and climbed in the mountains, then "canyoned" at the river with the kids before collapsing, exhausted, in bed that night.

arriving in Mpelembe village where we would park the motorbike and begin our hike

our destination in the background

getting closer!

from the top; about 6 kids, bored by planting with their families, joined us for the afternoon

shot from inside the cave entrance

not much to this "cave" but a few holes

Candulu exploring the cave entrance with a spear in hand, just in case of hyenas and porcupines

not a bad view

Jonny exploring some rocks

trying to do the same, just not quite as gracefully

finally on our chosen rock face, rappelling down

finally at bottom, next comes the climb up

I had a new world record for fastest time climbed (as I was the first ever probably),
until Jonny shimmied up it in about 1/4 my time

Candulu nearing the top

Candulu at the top as Jonny belays

a successful climb!

Jonny on his way back down
Since I was belaying, I wasn't taking pics of his climb up

Yard sale

2011-12-02T06:02:00.001+02:00

I'm a huge fan of yard sales. Always have been, always will. I'm the kind of guy who loved nothing more than going out for a Saturday morning jog (in the U.S.) and stopping by all the yard sales I come across in the 'burbs as I run through the streets, following signs and traffic. There's always those annoying early-birders too that irk people like me. You know the type. The sale opens at 7AM, but people show up at 5 so they can pick through the crap while you're setting up. Come on people!

In Mozambique, our South African friend Bronwyn invited a bunch of us to all join in by dropping off our stuff for sale (yeah, mostly crap too). But as she reminded us, one man's treasure is another man's trash. My goal was to come away with less than I brought and I think I may have done that though it's a pretty close draw mainly because I got a South African BMX-style bike for the kids that will replace Emily's very old and poorly-working locally purchased bike. It's a pet peeve of mine I guess to have a bike that doesn't work well. I love biking so much I figure all my kids should too!

So here we are all. A bunch of expats looking through each other's stuff. In this pic, I can see Andrew, Ian, Alfred, Tracy, Janice and others. Americans, South Africans, Australians and others enjoying a relaxed time. Aside from the bike, I walked away with a cookbook that shows me how to clone some of America's favorite dishes from famous restaurants. Will be fun to try!

Thanksgiving bliss

2011-12-02T05:26:00.001+02:00

It's easy when you don't live in America to forget all about the upcoming favorite holiday if you don't make plans in advance to do something special. This year we joined forces with friends in Lichinga as well as our teammates to have a great day together in the cooler, wetter climate up north.

It was a lovely time with Thanksgiving morning keeping me busy as I ran back and forth to the auto parts dealer trying to find the right fit for an A/C fan belt I needed to replace. But the day got much nicer as afternoon approached. The ladies did an amazing job with all the food and we even got a surprise visit from some other American friends we had invited who popped in for the evening.

Shawn carving the meat

Hanna B., not feeling too well that day but enjoying it all anyway

Barak & Micah ready to eat

Caleb biding his time just a bit until it's time to dig in!

Mika & Hannah C. with Hanna B. in the background

yeah, we had a few kids present (15 between 4 families)

Mika & Emily: "studio" headshots

2011-11-28T20:54:00.001+02:00

We returned Sunday afternoon from 4 days away in lovely, cool, wettish Lichinga (our provincial capital city) where one of the events on hand (aside from Thanksgiving festivities) was a birthday party for our good friend Hannah C. (not "the Hanna with no h at the end" who has been helping out for the past few months).

For her 13th birthday party, the girls all got together to dress up and look pretty while getting professional makeup application from Wendy D. They, of course, all looked fantastic and since I was around we managed to throw a yellow bed sheet onto a door and find some good available lighting for an impromptu "studio" shoot.

Emily

Mika

Hannah (on left) with friends

Tim the environmentalist?

2011-11-24T06:51:00.001+02:00

I like trees. A lot. I've started liking them a lot more since I moved to Africa. I get upset when I see people cutting down a tree. That happens a lot here and I've started to feel that the whole situation is a bit hopeless. How does one convince someone to plant 100 trees for every tree cut down? Or even a much-easier 1-to-1 planting ratio?

It's not hard though to understand why tree felling is a national pastime. If I were poor and had no access to electricity, nor any concern for my impact on the environment (though I'm sure my carbon footprint is SO much drastically larger than any of my village friends no matter how many trees they cut down in their lifetime), perhaps I'd be doing the same to get by.

What do people use wood for here? Commonly, it's to make fires. Fires for cooking, heating water, etc. Young trees are used as posts for making fences, building roofs on houses, making pens for animals (and I've been a frequent customer, truth be told). Older trees are cut down and made into planks for more substantial building projects (again, guilty). Large trees are also cut down and burned underground in order to create charcoal to sell for cooking (yup, I buy into that too for my barbecue).

In our part of Mozambique, trees are more commonly visible than they were in Malawi (where the population density is higher and the war didn't force people to evacuate for decades and let trees grow). That's one benefit of war I guess. But I read a report recently that stated that southern Mozambique (where there's higher population density) is in danger of complete desertification. The trees are leaving much more quickly than the planting will help with.

That's why it becomes a personal mission for Naomi and me to do what we can by plating loads of trees on our 2-acre property and letting the indigenous trees grow, grow, grow. But as a South African friend recently told me, planting trees is a selfless act. It's not like we get to directly, immediately benefit from that planting. But in some years time, who knows what our property will look like? I can tell you this: it'll be far better than the present.

But I digress. My point here is to show what's happening in our forests nearby. Last week as I was out biking a bit further than usual, I saw further signs of deforestation. There is one Chinese-owned company that has been paying the government to cut down and take away the old-growth hardwoods in our district. They are exported to China no doubt for use there. The government has talked with the chiefs and told them they all must do their part in planting hardwoods for the future, but I'm not sure if that just comes from their desire to keep on selling to the Chinese in decades to come, or because there is any concern for the environment.

this could be tree clearing for gardening purposes
(when people want a new field, they find a forest and cut down a few acres because the soil is prime for planting)

a Chinese company tractor evily motoring down the rural road looking for trees to devour

Love & Baby Phat

2011-11-24T06:29:00.001+02:00

It used to be that twice a week I would carry along my Nikon when visiting the villages that Shawn & I frequent. I would have some fun, take some pics, let folks pose and demand my attentions. But it doesn't take long before that gets a bit old because each photo that turns out is virtually a guaranteed free photo for whoever is posing in it. That can start to get pricey, though I am happy that those pics are loved and shared for many, many years. (I saw this one guy the other day who pulled out a photo from 3 years ago that I had given him. He proudly waved it in front of his other guests and talked about that lovely day when I showed up with my friends for a visit.)

When we pass on bike through some villages, kids come running after me demanding me to give them a picture. Seems they believe that I just randomly whip out photos and hand them out. Us the strange, strange white people.

These are some shots from last month when I was out and about. I handed the camera over to my friend in the village for him to learn how to use the camera. We set it on autofocus and let him have some fun for a change. I've included below my favorite of his, post-produced just a bit in Lightroom.

my friend, the new photographer, posing with his wife

here's my favorite capture that my friend took in the market that day... this guy is a tailor

my friend's wife again;
she dutifully cooks for us whenever we show up around lunch time

random dude I've only seen once at my friend's place

random dude posing like he's my closest buddy
(btw, guys holding hands here is perfectly normal, so don't start to worry)

What is it?

2011-11-09T12:09:00.000+02:00

Come on, give me a guess. What do you think this looks like? I saw this idea in a National Geographic recently and thought I'd give it a try. For a first time, didn't turn out too badly.

First Rains

2011-11-09T11:22:00.001+02:00

It has been a bit of a strange time of year. We thought the hot season was going to skip us entirely several weeks ago, as the rains were already coming bit by bit. But they weren't the "real" start of the rains, and heat definitely hit us for a few weeks at least.

Then, on Sunday night, the rain began. Clouds were building up on Sunday and the rain kept on coming down all day Monday morning into the afternoon. It was a deluge, much to our delight, though we could have done without the 20 leaks in our roof. Guess what we have to fix this week before the rains continue on?

We've got nothing to complain about though when we hear from our friends in village how their houses were faring during this rain. Their resident rats were literally drowning in the raftors so abandoned ship for other locales closer to the floor (ie bed, table, etc.)

Looking forward to planting a lot of grass this year and seeing our fledgling trees even more rooted.

Fixing up the place

2011-11-07T18:25:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we had a South African friend pop in from Malawi. He lives close to us, but on the other side of the border. He was sharing with us his tales of woe at being unable to get fuel in the country... he and millions of others who'd like to be able to get around. He was recently waiting in a cue for 30 hours, at 50C degree heat (122F), then when he finally got to the front of the line everything was sold out! Even with the 20-litre-per-car rule. And the "no jerrycan" rule too.

I met him in town and showed him the ropes. We went to the local bank where his ATM card worked like a charm. Money was spit out and he drove to the filling station where there was only 1 motorcycle in line ahead of him. He filled his Land Cruiser, all 180 litres, and wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. It had been literally several months since his car was full.

Over here, I've got little to complain about. Yet I still find myself in a slightly depressed state of mind. The heat over the past few weeks has been hovering in the high 90s (F), or around 35-37C. That, coupled with the electricity problems where we've only had power about half the time, some days out for 2 days in length, has made for some unpleasant sleeping experiences. But this year we're pretty stoked just to have access to power. Hey, we can make ice! We even got a water cooler in the market the other day and throughout the day we add a big block of ice so we can drink ice-cold water without opening the fridge (especially nice when the power is out).

We've been trying to work on a few projects at home these days before the rains begin. A few months back we completed our gazebo area, making a lovely looking (and dry) spot for visitors to sit and chat with us in a culturally-appropriate manner (you never really invite someone into your home here). Our Malawian carpenter also just finished up creating window awnings last week... and none to soon as the rains came down hard and heavy today. Our first big rain of the new season! (We counted 20+ leaks in the house and were busy moving couches, keyboard, tables, chairs and more to avoid the wet as much as possible. Guess we gotta get that fixed now too!)

Last year's rains created a moat around our front door, so this year we worked at putting in a front porch. The cement is down and now we are just waiting on a friend to come and put up the tin roof overhead so that the rains don't come in the front door. Like they did today.

Finally, we've been working on landscaping a bit so that we have areas set aside for lots of grass planting. We managed to find a guy in his 60s who has lived for the last 40 some years in Zimbabwe working in landscaping. He was a joy to work with and took his job so seriously. He absolutely loved turning our land into something that will look so much nicer once the rains begin and we can plant, plant, plant.

our herb spiral, at night, with one of our new cats sitting atop at right

Naomi enjoying a book at night outdoors during one of our nearly-nightly power outages (too hot inside)

our only truly-thriving garden area due to the copious amounts of runoff water it gets from the clothes washing

loving the new well wall!

and here's our new awnings

some of our banana trees starting to produce fruit; fenced off to protect from thieving goats

staking out our area for planting grass in the front

area to chat with visitors (this is used off and on throughout the day)

Gabe exploring the ever-growing termite mound

this year our chicken has become infected with fleas
(locals tell us to brush some diesel on the affected areas and the fleas will leave)

front porch area

Tom & Jerry, Mr. Bean, cake & ice cream: Gabe's 10th birthday party

2011-10-23T11:23:00.001+02:00

This past week Naomi has been away in Blantyre with Dierdre. Tessa accompanied Havilah too, so it was a quiet (though busy for me) week--especially as Mika and Emily were sleeping over at the Dollars to keep Hanna company (the wonderfully-helpful short-termer schooling assistant). That just left Gabe and me until the morning when Emily and Gabe would bike back to start school.

As Gabe's birthday is just a day after Naomi's, we find it is usually best to have his party over and done with in good time so we don't have to hear too much about his pending day of amazingness and eclipse Naomi's day in the sun. This year especially is a biggie: he turns 10 on Wednesday and that means it's a whole new world of opportunity open to him. Access to youth group in Lichinga. Occasional youth outing events (like the waterski weekend, camping, etc.). Another 15 minutes added to his bed times (Mondays he gets to stay up until 8:30PM!!!... I know, we're just such the generous parents. He occasionally doesn't even manage to stay awake that long).

In Naomi's absence, and certainly with her excited blessing for me to run the show, Gabe and I created a Denver Chocolate Sheet Cake on Friday and then Emily helped me ice it on Saturday after Mika biked into town for me to buy some more icing sugar. Gabe then decorated it with candy Naomi brought back from the city (she did get back in time). In earlier interviews, Gabe suggested he'd like a Lego or "Gods Must Be Crazy" movie-themed party. We thought about it for a while, settling on the "Gods..." theme and thought we could maybe do a scavenger hunt for coke bottles outside and at least watch the movie with friends. But when we looked at our copy, a digital one not so good quality-wise, I decided to ditch the idea and we went with something more simple: watching Tom & Jerry cartoons followed up by episodes of Mr. Bean, both funny programs in which an understanding of English isn't necessary. It turned out to be a good idea as we had Ya*o, Portuguese, Makhua and English speakers hanging out together.

For his party, Gabe invited a few local village friends. Barak was unfortunately tied up in his village for the afternoon with more unyago festivities. Mika, Emily and Tessa had a few of their friends from town come, along with one of Gabe's friend from town too. I even had our day guard Alberto and our painter in for cake and ice cream. (Now they really enjoyed the ridiculous Mr. Bean.) Usually it brings up a lot of jealousy issues when you combine village kids with town kids. I don't know why, but they don't tend to like each other. Maybe they are fighting over who gets to be friends with the azungu (us). In this case, it all turned out okay and the day finished off with a big water fight in the hot outdoors: boys vs. girls.

singing happy birthday in a few languages

Mika & Lucinda

Sandra

Tessa & Eva who was celebrating her 7th birthday on Saturday

Gabe's cake he decorated himself with a big "10" in the middle

Gabe with Futuwe (town friend)

A few of Gabe's excited village friends with day-guard Alberto and our painter behind

waterfights commence

Em & Gabe at the Hillview Triathlon

2011-10-16T18:21:00.001+02:00

There is an annual event held each October in Limbe, Blantyre, Malawi affectionately known to us simply as the Hillview Triathlon (named after the school where it is held). It's a great day with a great spirit about it... family-oriented and all the money raised goes into education at the school.

This year, while our family bowed out of attendance due to costs, difficulties finding somewhere to stay, and the fact that we were recently in Blantyre, Emily and Gabe tagged along with some friends from Mozambique and joined in on last Saturday's events.

Emily with the Mozambique crowd, Hannah and Shenae

Gabe with teammate Josiah

Emily and friends cheer along Nadine

Gabe doing the biking portion of the triathlon for his team

passing off to Josiah who did both running and swimming

Gabe needing a bit of first aid after a minor bike accident

Gabe at the awards ceremony (they won 2nd place for their age category)

Emily about to begin biking

Emily's teammate Andrea completes the swimming portion

passing off to Shenae

awards ceremony where Emily's team (Andrea M., Shenae S.) grabbed 1st

A Reason to Smile

2011-10-14T17:16:00.001+02:00

Here in rural Mozambique, access to decent health care services is virtually non-existent. There is the rare case when experts will come to the village and do some short term work (as is the case from time to time with a U.K.-based charity called MaMA that works in the area). One of the roles we sometimes play has us linking people in need physically with the experts that can help fix those problems.

Back in April, we began making plans to get a child in the village into the "big" city of Blantyre in Malawi where we had hoped that the Beit CURE Hospital would be able to help fix a cleft lip birth defect. Let's call her Augustina. (That might not be her real name, but it's close enough and it'll make the story a bit easier.) Augustina was born looking different from most as her upper lip was malformed. Within the past few months, even she shows signs that she knows it's unattractive. It has begun to affect the very core of her being in how she sees herself.

We began contacting doctors in Malawi to book a surgery, provided for free at CURE, for Augustina. The plan was to have a surgery on October 3rd, but upon check-in at the hospital and after a blood test it was confirmed that Augustina was sick with malaria. She would have to be put on treatments and wait a week until she is healthy once again.

waiting in the hospital

Augustina's young mom, just 18, and a first-time visitor to Blantyre

We're happy to post the good news! The surgery was a success and this afternoon we received a visit from Augustina and her mom, recently back from Malawi. Tomorrow some family and friends in her home village are throwing a party to celebrate the amazing change and future this gives her.

Mount Mulanje

2011-10-07T12:36:00.000+02:00

Last week, I joined with Mika and a mixed group of Americans and Aussies for a 3-day trip up Mulanje Massif, Sub-Saharan Africa's third highest peak. I was already on my way to Blantyre to drop off a patient scheduled for a cleft palate surgery so what better time to throw in a little bit of fun I've been meaning to do for the past 8 years.

It was an experience, for sure. I have so much to say about the place, I don't even know where to start and haven't even begun writing up my experiences for posting. But I'm not sure if that will ever come... so isn't it better for me to post the pics I have and let them speak for themselves?

Jon contemplating a way to absail on this rock (if only we had our equipment)

Ariel, Hanna and Caleb

these barefoot wood carriers made the mountain look so easy!

Mika taking a breather

after 2 hours of steep hiking, finally on the plateau and headed for camp for the night

awesome! that Mika with our guide

Jon

Chambe Hut

resting at the creek, Chambe Hut

Mika challenges Ariel to bao

bunk beds at Chambe Hut

Day 2 early morning hail and rain made us call off our summit attempt

Day 2, lots of early morning card playing while we waited for a better time to hike

reading, day 2

bathing houses, Chambe Hut

Day 2: finally moving on (to Lichenya Hut)

Caleb, Mika, Ariel

Jon and Sam

racing for the third-highest peak on Sub Saharan Africa's third highest peak

Sam, Jon, me, Ariel

uh oh! Hanna sprains her ankle

but she's in good spirits

icing the ankle, end of day 2

Lichenya Hut

Headed down. Caleb on day 3.

taking a break on our way down the mountain

Sam, Jon, Caleb

Ariel, Hanna, Mika

Jon, Caleb, Sam, me

Likhubula Pools offer a refreshing end to a hot hike

A different kind of unyago

2011-10-07T10:58:00.000+02:00

A few weeks ago, our family was invited along with Shawn and his family to join with friends from a village we frequent each week for the end of the month-long initiation ceremonies called unyago. You're probably sick of me posting about it, but it IS that time of year though this could be my last post this year related to unyago (we shall see). Our family and everyone packed into our car and out we drove to the village (a longish roundabout trip that takes a while to do by car; a much straighter shot by bike).

In all my years celebrating unyago with the Y*wo, I've never come across a celebration so pseudo Islamic as this. It's called unyago waislamu as opposed to the unyago wang'oma (unyago of the drums). It's pretty obvious which version most people prefer, as only 3 kids were (probably forced by their parents) celebrating this type of unyago. I didn't know whether to feel sorry for them, that their family is so much more religious than the others, or be happy. But regardless, our family and everyone had a good time hanging out and our volunteer 18-year-old even went along on her first village experience in Africa. She was totally unfased, the sign of a true third-culture kid (grew up in Brazil).

the lucky three

plenty of Islamic-style chanting

giving of gifts, small amounts of coins or food

happy dancer, a family-member no doubt to one of the lucky boys

the kids trying to cool off after long hours in the sun

Mmmm... chips!

2011-10-07T10:32:00.000+02:00

From my last biking trip to the village before I went off for a week to the city of Blantyre (21 Sept). Shawn and I were hoping that, by switching to a Wednesday, we'd be able to find more friends around and have more success in meeting with them. While that did prove true to some degree, it didn't translate into a more profitable time together. But it was still great to see our friends and share a market day with them (something they're all quite proud of).

I can't resist freshly made chips

Posing in front of the chips stand. I was teaching my friend how to use the camera.

Unyago time in our village

2011-09-19T08:21:00.003+02:00

Select kids have been sequestered away in makeshift grass fences (for the boys) and at homes of women-in-the-know (for the girls) for the past several weeks, receiving important training on what it means to be a man--or woman--and learn other critical things about the culture and respect among the Ya*o.

Unyago season had to wait just a bit this year due to the timing of Ramadan, a dilemma I remember wondering about years ago while in Malawi. But nobody seemed too bothered by the convergence of these two important events on the annual calendar and yesterday it was party central on our side of the village. (Next week will be the big chief's follower's side whereas this week the "new" chief and his followers had their unyago "coming outs".)

After fixing my water pump, for the third time in a month I think (this time requiring me to 1) retie the rope that had broken which had been holding it suspended several meters above the water, 2) dig out the mud that got stuck in the bottom of the entry side of the water pipe, 3) retie and remake my makeshift filter to keep out the junk from the bottom of the tube, 4) get the air out of the pipe, 5) reaffix my old pump that I switched out a few weeks ago that, thank God, still works, 6) lift the pump just a bit further)... we headed out for a bit of face time in the village.

We have several friends whose kids were coming out ("coming out" means something different here obviously), and it is an important time for us to visit the festivities drunken or not (for us, "not" but for many...)

In the past month, our family has visited 2 other unyago parties (on each side of the border) and this next few weeks our schedule is full with invitations. It's proof that we've made a LOT of friendships this year as compared to last year (where we didn't really get any invites).

The action close to our home...loudspeakers set up and the party raging

men dancing together in suggestive fashion, mimicking what they'd like to do with a woman if that were more possible during daylight in this Muslim culture

DJ Russel lookalike and his crew

drunken guys hamming it up

At another home where bunches of "coming out" kids sit, this drummer leads the group in dancing

it's like Halloween as everyone who can gets dressed up in anything they fancy (this guy isn't really military, to my knowledge)

some of the kids fussed over

in front of each child, a bowl of money contributed to by wellwishers

Dona Laura, our neighbor who washes clothes for us, celebrating the coming out of two of her sons

(her boys are the two on the left)

Laura and her husband

the drummer

he works in the market when he's not being hired to do this DJ side gig

more drunks

This is our local village mentally handicapped lady with her gorgeous daughter (the mentally ill here are sadly often taken advantage of sexually). This lady always gets so excited when she sees us and often proudly grabs her daughter and lifts up her shirt, trying to get her daughter to feed, to show us how much she loves to breastfeed. I had to beg her to put her shirt back down so I could get this lovely picture.

A visitor to unyago

Another unyago visitor preparing to walk home to another nearby village with her newborn baby

Flashback: Remember Sweetie Ann from the Philippines?

2011-09-16T21:23:00.002+02:00

Way back in 1999-2000 when I used to blog by coding HTML from scratch on my website at www.cowley.addr.com, I shared stories about a certain young Filipina girl we were concerned about called Sweetie Ann. Her plight really struck a lot of emotion in those who followed our journey as Naomi was trained in midwifery in the slums of Cebu City.

I wanted to see what I wrote about Sweetie Ann 11 years ago and went back in time through the Wayback machine. Sadly, I could only get back to 2001. So let's skip what I wrote and just look at a photo that may or may not look familiar to you if you know who I'm referring to:

Sweetie Ann in Cebu City, Philippines (1999-2000)

So how's she doing now? I posted that very question on Facebook last year and our friend Vicki heard about it and sent me a photo of a 2007 visit she had made in New England with Sweetie Ann and her brother. They're looking marvelous, thank God! Always super cool to report good news.

2007 in the USA

Through Pam's eyes

2011-09-11T20:09:00.001+02:00

Aunt Pam is back safely in the U.S., but I couldn't resist the opportunity to upload some of my favorite "slice of life" images that she took while here.

Mika playing bao with friends in our new gazebo

the girls at the end of our mini-forest walk

homeschooling

Gabe duels with a friend

Tessa proud of another lost tooth

always trying to work on clever ways of keeping the goats from eating everything we grow

Gabe and friends

down the termite mound...

Tessa & Havilah

shopping for lettuce in the market

yummy fresh bread is available at a local restaurant after 4:30PM

Tessa on the swing

the usual scene most afternoons on our property

taking Mika out to harvest some pond water for a science experiment

in Zomba taking shots of Gabe crossing the stream

in Zomba--Barak & Gabe at top; Emily, Tessa & Mika with me

heading to celebrate Eid with friends in the village

showing off some Eid shots

Joy Naomi with a friend

Mika during Eid

During Eid, later in our village as the dancing starts at the mosque

A favorite old great-granny friend of ours

Mika fixing up her house

off to Eid celebration in the back of the truck

Emily warms herself next to the fireplace in her play house

Mika's 14th birthday party

Dicey bridges on the way out to ski camp

Ski Camp 2011 Day 2

2011-09-08T06:59:00.003+02:00

Tahlia up and enjoying the morning of day 2

castaways

Daniel wakeboarding

Caleb on the single ski

Sam & Alan

Martyn

Mika & Hannah on the raft

Gabe & Josiah

absailing

Caleb coming down the rock

Mika enjoying a birthday morning single skiing

the whole crew, Monday morning

the first group packs up the boat to head home on Monday morning

Ski Camp 2011 Day 1

2011-09-08T06:50:00.000+02:00

This past weekend our family joined with a number of other families and teens for the annual Ski Camp held in Meponda, Mozambique. It is usually the highlight of the year for the kids that get to go along (10 and up) and a great chance for them to connect with each other and enjoy some same-culture interaction. That all sounds pretty boring though and I'm sure not what the kids picture when they think about the ski camp. It's all about the watersports: skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, rock climbing, games & relays, chores, and even some spiritual input with talks given this year by Seth M., an American who grew up in Malawi and had a lot to offer as someone who can relate to these kids quite well.

an early-morning Mika with friends from the "older-girls" group

and this is how day 1 began... the girls holding on to the raft

around the camp pre-breakfast, Naomi chats with Megan, Andrea and Heather

some of the younger guys enjoying a ride on the tube

Seth holds on for dear life

he's just about lost his grip as Jonno tries his best to throw him off

a custom-built raft the kids all enjoyed

Hannah lookin' like the expert ski master

Mika brushes up on her mad skiing skills

double-team, Mika & Hannah

whoops, there she goes

at it again

lovin' life!

Emily & Shenae practicing

Seth skims the surface on the boogie board

Emily & Shanae still at it

the boys enjoying some rock time

Andrea & Natanya sun themselves as others get pulled along on skiis

Emily getting that hair wet on a hot day

devotional time

Seth's got rapt attention from the kids with his stories

notice the cool yellow t-shirts, specially produced for the event

some games

one group resting after a game

Heather & Jonno grabbing a moment to relax

sand sculpture competition

Emily adds some finishing touches to the starfish

the winner! a sea turtle

more relay games

night falls on day 1

Celebrating Eid

2011-08-31T20:50:00.011+02:00

On Tuesday, we joined with Shawn & Dierdre & family to celebrate Eid, the end of Ramadan. Other Muslims celebrated on Wednesday (it is based on the sight of the new moon rather than a calendar day already set out).

the crowd was so large that prayers were held outside of the mosque

with the men in front

Dierdre and a friend

Naomi and Pam with a friend

as prayers went on, the sun grew hotter and some sought to make their own shade

the sheik and chief

Shawn sitting with some of the village & mosque leaders

a good friend of Shawn's and advisor to the chief outside of the mosque

with the chief

baskets of food prepared and ready to distribute (Shawn provided a sheep for the village)

looking out from inside the mosque

getting ready to eat inside the mosque

Gabe playing outside

Naomi and Pam with Dierdre and others enjoying their meal on the women's entrance of the mosque

Gabe eating ugali (and liking it)

Barak

Shawn

the ladies sticking around in vain hope that the dancing would start up... it never did while we were waiting, so we left for home where we got to catch it there (so Pam could experience the joys of sikili firsthand)

A birthday weekend in Zomba

2011-08-29T18:21:00.006+02:00

Over the weekend, we piled into the Delica for a quickish trip to Zomba. Pine trees. Mountain streams. Fireside chats. In short, bliss and a great way to spend my birthday weekend. We joined Shawn & Dierdre & kids there (as they had already been there for some days) and had the extra reason to get away as Aunt Pam's 30-day visa was due to expire before she was ready to leave the country for good. So we needed to export and reimport her too!

Gabe & Barak on one of our many walks

Pam looks behind at me as we head up the hill toward the falls

up, up, up towards Williams Falls

one of the smaller -VERY small- falls below Williams; trying to make the flowing water look flossy without the use of a tripod

Issy enjoying the creek

Dierdre with Isabel at Williams Falls

inverted photo of the kids exploring the dammed area above the falls

Aunt Pam!

Gabe & Emily exploring

Barak & Gabe rockhopping

captivated by an episode of "Planet Earth"

prime real estate

Gabe

Mika enjoyed shooting a lot of photos with the D50 while Tessa played in the cold water

Pam (on right) as we hiked down a smaller path

Thursday's village pics

2011-08-25T19:29:00.003+02:00

Mika went along today for our ride to a village about 12KM away

holding a little one that Shawn & I named recently: Hawa (a Muslim's version of Eve)

shaking hands over fish

with some friends in village I

a friend of mine playing around... Mika always gets plenty of marriage proposals whenever she's out, so if things don't work out in some years time she'll have no difficulty here

Mika chatting it up trying to explain who Pam is

this guy is just super cool... he flew to Jo'berg, South Africa back in '71 and worked in the mines for a few years; always a joy to chat with

Tuesday's village visits

2011-08-25T18:39:00.006+02:00

Folks, we're in for a special treat. Aunt Pam is here (that's Naomi's aunty) and she's been photographing all of us like it's going out of style. The treat? Pics of yours truly, a rarity since I'm the one behind the camera usually. Proof that I'm actually out and about.

hitting the trail; one of the granny's Shawn & I often stop and chat with

passing out photos I shot in weeks gone by

this little guy/gal was just too cute

getting my baby fix

with a chief friend who is checking out the photos of other chief friends

I'm once again trying to learn how to spin this top

one easy way to match the photos is by looking at the clothes being worn on both the day I took the picture and the day I gave them a copy

yeah, another one

this guy they call Bin Laden because of the beard... he was pretty stoked to get his picture

another chief friend who was telling me about the fact that his village is host to a new market day

Pizza time!

2011-08-25T18:32:00.003+02:00

I've been trying to kick it up a notch at home so I can provide more help to the family, especially Naomi. Wednesdays are my turn to make the midday meal. Went with a fabulous pizza that was simply amazing! The tomato sauce was completely homemade, which I'm convinced made the difference.