Frances Hoffman

Roosters, and bells. Malawi has loud and really early mornings. We started our day (well we had breakfast) at 7:30 this morning. Most of us were awake before thanks to Mr. Rooster outside the cabin doors. The place we stayed at last night (Dedza Pottery and Lodge) was quite posh.

Weather report: warm, but not too hot! It gets really cool at night, which I thought being the raddest snowboarder in all of Calgary that it wouldn’t be a problem. It’s much more humid, though. Malawi smells like a constant bonfire, which I guess it is. People are constantly burning the remnants of harvested crops. Also surprising is how green the vegetation is. At the moment, it is the most green the landscape will get (the wet season just ended, so the most rain the country will get . It is absolutely breathtaking. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, I’m not even going to try. Here’s a picture from the backyard last night.

So then guess what we did. Got back in a bus. We have finally arrived in Zomba, and unpacked at Annie’s Lodge. Also beautiful.

This afternoon we had an exciting trip to the market, where Chris and Paul organized a little “scavenger hunt” for us. They gave us 6 articles to find Chichewa and bargain the best price for. Winner paid the least and got all the correct items. Apparently years past some people were tricked by the vendors, and incorrectly translated the items to something that they sold. Winner of this years’ competition is still to be announced.

As you would expect, it was small and narrow alleyways and quite dirty. The people were very nice, many people eager to help us on our quests. There was everything from live chickens and dead cows hanging up, to screws, mops and plastic plates. What else is there to say about the market? Definitely worth exploring.

And a big shout out to the 04.25 Club! I love you so much Jamie and Dave. Happy birthdays! I got chocolate cake 🙂 Thanks Paul and Helen

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