Malawi Trip Tracker

Saturday, March 31, 2007

i'm going home (-ish)!


i need a holiday. i deserve a holiday! i am going on holiday! i head to namibia bright and early tomorrow for a two week trip. it should be fantastic. i lived there for 3.5 years, and its been nearly four since i left. i don't plan to do anything except sit under a tree and eat lots of goat. yummy!


i don't know what to expect. i know that things in namibia change so rapidly - a function of both development and disease. that sounds odd, and is difficult to explain. but true. and i know that i have changed so much, the product of the challenges of grad school, the joys and strains of relationships, the newness of life in malawi. i wonder what i will be like there, how i will be received. i anticipate nothing short of a wonderful, moving experience - i just have no expectation of what that is!


i would say that i will be more out of touch than usual, but feel like i have been out of touch anyways. so, as usual, i will be out touch. but hope to come back with a fun update of adventures from my home away from home.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Name that fruit...

Ok, just to spice the blog up a bit, we are going play a fun game of name that fruit. The first person to email (bethhedt@hotmail.com) me the correct name of this fruit will receive a hand written letter and a little malawian goodie, within the week of the response.

so here are some (not so) helpful clues... my roommate bought it from someone selling it on the side of the road for about $1.50 (probably really worth $.20). it smells and tastes very sweet and is a tad sticky (ours wasn't too bad, but heard that can be). its huge, very heavy, and a "prickly" surface, without it being painful to the touch.

ok, back to work. kisses, b

Monday, March 05, 2007

Huh? Did someone say something?


i can't hear!?! ok, i can partially hear, but i went swimming in the lake yesterday, and now my left ear is completely clogged. and on top of driving myself crazy, i think my roomie is going nuts having to yell to get my attention. not the first time someone has had to yell to get my attention, but the first time i can attribute this to loss of hearing. i've got some icky smelling drops in my ear now. if that doesn't work, then its back to the doctor for me!


malawi continues to be wonderful, in a very busy, exhausting kind of way. i enjoyed my time on the road with two great women (Nellie and Kundai) who continue to become better and better friends. overall, our site visits went very well, and the first days of sample collection are off to a successful start.



now, back in LLW, i am trying to catch up with the work that didn't stop while i was away and with people who have been as on the go (if not more than) as me. on top of the work (that i am sure you are tired of me whining about), i've been enjoying other comings and goings - we hosted a ladies cocktail hour on friday. so nice and relaxing, about 15 women from all different types of work and family situations, sitting around chatting about anything and everything. saturday i did nothing, absolutely 100% nothing, until 7pm, when i went to b-day party. yesterday was the lake, just for a few hours, but much needed. i realize that i need a vacation, but actually taking two weekend days all to myself has helped.


and i continue to enjoy the garden, which per my mom's request, i have photos included here.



and in case you have tried to call me lately, well the phone lines (for one company that carries most of the plans) are out in Malawi, for the foreseeable future. probably for the best, since i cannot hear anything.