Lake Malawi

Last weekend was my first trip to Lake Malawi, which is about 2 hours away from where I live in Lilongwe.  Lindsay, Heather, and I thought that we would have to take the minibus to get to the place where we were staying, but we were thankfully offered a ride from a friend of a friend named Matt.  The trip out to the lake was nice because I was able to see some of the Malawian countryside with its rolling hills and lush greenness.  Matt mentioned how brown and dusty it is here during the dry season, and I felt luck to be here now instead of in September.

At the lake we stayed at a lodge that included one huge house and a smaller, round structure just outside of the house.  The lake itself is beautiful and very warm (which is required if I am to swim).  The water was a bit brown, I assume because of the rains, but was still refreshing.  There is a sand beach and huge rocks all around.  I've attached some pictures above.

All in all, things in Malawi are going well.  I am still really enjoying my work here.  In addition to the two women's support groups that I am facilitating, I have taken on 6 individual clients and plan to begin a children's support group next week.  I'm grateful to have the opportunity to work with both children and adults in this placement.

My frustrations continue to be the same, though, namely my lack of mobility and the sense that there is so little to do here.  Yesterday Lindsay came over to watch a movie, and we arranged for a cab to pick her up at 10:30.  Only at 10:30, the cabbie had turned off his phone, and he never showed up.  We called a few other "cabs" but they had all either quit working or refused to give Lindsay a ride because they would not make enough money in the process!!  It was a frustrating night to be sure, especially for Lindsay.  She ended up having to sleep on my floor, which I can assure you is not very comfortable.

I am constantly thinking of whether I could do this kind of work long-term.  I think if I were staying here for longer, I could invest in some creature comforts which would make my stay more bearable.  Most people who live here for more than a few months have cars and cute apartments in which to entertain.  I could live here happily if I had those things as well, I think.  The other concern, though, is being so far away from friends and family.  I could not stay here more than a year or two because I would miss them too much.