Not in Kansas Any More

Well, it has been about a week since I touched down in Malawi. I can now officially say as I look around, Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore. As I have stated in previous blogs, one thing I’m excited about is being able to share my experiences with all of you reading this, and hopefully be able to teach you more about this country I love so much. My hope is that as you read these blogs, you learn more about my life in the United States, verses what my life will be like here in Malawi.

Home Sweet Home

Heather and I are fortunate enough to own a 3 bedroom house in Scott Township together. Our Little house has everything we need: a nice kitchen, 1 and half bathrooms, a garage, nice neighbors, a beautiful lawn (that I hope Heather is taking care of), and a nice big living room where we love to hang out with all of our friends and family. Notice when I am describing my house in Pittsburgh, I didn’t have to mention it has clean, drinkable, running water and electricity. We are so blessed in the United States that we often forget that we live in a world where those two things are not a right but a privilege we (myself included) often take for granted.

 

Here in Malawi, I am again fortunate to live in a beautiful 3 bedroom house that has electricity, running water (most of the time), and we will even be hopefully getting hot water soon. The house is located on the same grounds as the St. Andrews Church and the School I will soon be teaching at. Right next to our house is the home where the headmaster and his family live; I have been enjoying getting to know his beautiful family. I have a nice kitchen with an electric stove. Our refrigerator is in our dining room along with a nice table that meals can be eaten at. I have settled in nicely to my new bedroom which has a big closet and I have even managed to hang up some pictures. I sleep under a mosquito net every night which hangs above my bed. We have a living room with lots of seating for when we have visitors from the church or school. My favorite part of the house is our porch which is right next to huge tea fields that lead up to the base of Mt. Mulanje. I have been enjoying hanging up hammocks and reading while I marvel at the amazing view that is now right in my back yard.

I would be doing a disservice to you if I told you the way I am living in Malawi is how everyone here lives. I will be the first to admit we are living very privileged lives here. Most Malawians live in very simple houses, which are often over crowded with family members. Many people do not have the safety a mosquito net provides at night and instead have to simply lay a mat on the floor. Electricity and running water are often not part of these simple homes and women will sometimes walk for miles for the closest source of water. Most cooking in Malawi is done on small charcoal stoves as opposed to our electric stove, and meals are eaten seated on a mat on the floor instead of at a table. Around almost every home in Malawi is a small garden where the family will grow produce to help feed their families and if they have extra, sell for a small profit. 

I hope you do not read this and feel sorry for Malawi and its people; that is not why I am writing this, and that is not why I am here. I do hope that you read this and maybe say an extra prayer for injustices in this world. Maybe read this and be a little extra thankful when you flip on a light switch later today, or when you go to brush your teeth later with clean running water. Learning to be thankful for what I have been blessed with just because of where I was born is a lesson quickly learned here in Malawi. I’m starting to think I’m going to be doing more learning than I am teaching this year…