So it's my turn to post, and I get to talk about everything that happened today, which was really a pretty eventful day.
This morning while helping with activities for the kids, I realized that there is a pretty significant language barrier with the younger children--those who have not been in the village very long. The most commonly spoken language in this area of Malawi is Tumbuka, so that's the first language everybody learns in the home. As they get older, most of the children begin speaking English as well, but the really small kids haven't gotten that far yet, and Emily and I don't know any Tumbuka. Thankfully, the teachers speak it, so everybody pretty much knew what to do. Some of the mamas offered to teach us some Tumbuka, which is really exciting! I'll be glad to be able to communicate a little more directly with the kids.
In the afternoon, working in the clinic we helped Dr. Tan with another group of children.
The last group of three children in the clinic were older, about 6 years old, and they read a story to me, which was really impressive, especially since English isn't their first language! They read as well as most American kids their age, and probably better than some.
We also went into town today for the first time. Dr. Tan wanted to show us the town of Mzuzu- the largest town north of Lilongwe. For some perspective on that, we drove 4 hours north of Lilongwe to get to Mzuzu, and it's about another 4 hours' drive to the border. Also, I think Mzuzu is only about 4 or 5 city blocks long. The town itself is very different from my conception of a town, but I'm not really sure how to explain the differences. Next time, we'll take pictures, which will probably explain better. In our encounters with Malawian people, both inside Rafiki and in town, the people have been very friendly for the most part.
For dinner, we ate a common traditional Malawian food called Nsima, which reminds me most of grits cooked within an inch of their lives. It tastes almost exactly like regular grits at home and pretty good, too, but we're pretty sure if you dropped it, it would bounce, so a curious kind of texture.
We're learning a ton just from listening to everyone on the staff. The national mamas love to share about Malawian culture with us, and the Overseas staff continue to educate us about this country.
We promise to put pictures up soon!
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3 comments:
Hey, ladies - Your message was fascinating -- how far is the Village from Mzuzu? About how many people live there do you think? What are the houses and streets like there? Do you see many other vehicles, or are folks moving around by foot or bike, as you'd said earlier?
It's really terrific that you can learn a little of the children's native language. That will help them so, because I can just imagine how scared they must be when they first arrive in the Village. No parents or family any more, no more "home" as they knew it, in a new, strange place -- goodness, we will never truly understand how difficult all that must be, especially to a young child. It is indeed encouraging, though, to hear about the children's development and growth.
Y'all sound wonderful, and seem to be relishing this unique and wonderful opportunity. Keep the great updates coming, and yes, we'll love pictures!
Deep love to you both,
Mom and Dad Acker
The Mzuzu is about a 10-minute drive from the village. Most people going into the village were on foot or riding bicycles. There are no houses in the middle of town, but we drove through a "suburb" and saw some common houses. Closer to the road, the houses are more middle class- those houses had tin roofs and glass in the windows. Poorer houses usually have thatched roofs, but the houses are all about the same size, and very small. The residential roads were not paved.
The middle of town where the shops are is crowded with lots of small buildings, all jumbled together. There is one store for new clothes in Mzuzu, but there is a huge market where people sell clothes that have already been used. The only large buildings like what we would see at home are government buildings, like the post office.
It's hard to tell how many people actually live in Mzuzu, since most people live in rural areas, but everyone who needs to go to the grocery store or buy things from a town must come to Mzuzu, so there is a lot of traffic (mostly on foot and bike) to and from the town every day.
Danielle & Emily,
I'm enjoying your blog tremendously and am so pleased you're settling in well, whatever "settling in well" means in a place with so much change. Continue to do good and do well. We think of you everyday.
Dr. Wilson
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