Someone Learned the Language

They say the fastest way to learn a language is to be surrounded and immersed by it. I can honestly say that is absolutely true for one member of our household. Remus, our 5-month old German Sheppard puppy seems to only understand Chichewa commands. It seems that Remus has decided to stay in touch with his African roots by choosing Chichewa over the English that his Azungu owners try to speak to him in. 

I’m not exactly sure how our puppy came to learn Chichewa. The woman that works with us loves playing with him and she talks to him in Chichewa, as do our students when they play with him, but a majority of the time he hears English. 

It was only after I was frustrated in his lack of response that the idea of trying commands in a different language even occurred to me. Luckily I know the Chichewa word for come here, so I decided to try it out on him. Much to my surprise his giant ears perked right up after I said “Iwe tabwela” (hey you come here) and he came trotting right over to me. My jaw just about hit the ground. 

I now am feeling an even larger desire to learn the native language here, not only to communicate with the people around me, but also with my puppy.  I also can’t allow a puppy to have better Chichewa than myself. I would write more, but I have to go look up the Chichewa phrase for roll over. Wish me luck, and pray that my Chichewa is better than Remus’s soon. 

Meet My Students, Part 2

Name: Mbumba Hanjahanja

Age: 14

Home village: Blantyre

Favorite food: Pizza and Chips (French Fries)

Favorite Subject: Biology

Hobbies and Activities:  I like listening to music and I like chilling with my friends.

Siblings and Family: I have two sisters and one brother; we live with our mom and dad.

When you grow up:  I want to be a surgery doctor.

If you could have anything what would it be? I would like to be number one in our class.

If you could go anywhere where would you go and why? I would like to go to New York because I would like to meet famous people.

Something you wish you could change about Malawi: I wish everyone had enough food so we could end world hunger.

Something you want Americans to know about you: I like people that are nice; I like being nice.

Things you are thankful for: I am thankful for my family, for my friends, for my teachers, for my school and that we have peace here in Malawi.

Teacher’s Notes: Mbumba is a great student. She seems to love being in class and is always engaged in the lesson. She likes to answer questions and be involved. She is a hard worker and is very determined.

Name: Vincent Mlandu

Age: 12

Home Village: Mulanje

Favorite Food: Spaghetti

Favorite Subject: Physics

Hobbies and Activities: I like to run around with my friends

Siblings and Family: I stay with my mom. I have no brothers or sisters and my father died many years ago.

When you grow up: I want to be a scientist.

If you could have anything what would it be? I would like a laptop

If you could go anywhere where would you go and why? I would like to go America because there are more scientists there so I could learn more about them. 

Something you wish you could change about Malawi: I would like to change the power outages. I want to make a super battery that charges itself.

Something you want Americans to know about you: I want them to know that I want to become a scientist when I grow up.

Things you are thankful for: Education. Wisdom. My Teachers. My school bag. Life.

Teacher’s Notes: Vincent is a quieter student but has a huge heart. You can always find him smiling and laughing with his fellow classmates and he is always attentive and eager to learn during biology. 

Name: Janet Phiri           

Age: 12

Home village: Blantyre

Favorite food: Chicken and Chips (French Fries)

Favorite Subject: Biology

Hobbies and Activities:  I like to play games, sing, study and chat with friends

Siblings and Family: I have one sister (Madalo) and one brother (Innocent) and we stay with our mom and dad.

When you grow up: I want to be a doctor.

If you could have anything what would it be? I want A’s in all subjects.

If you could go anywhere where would you go and why? I want to go to India to see the way they dress.

Something you wish you could change about Malawi: I would make sure everyone has food, protection, power and education.

Something you want Americans to know about you: I like singing, dancing and playing games. I am in Form 1. I am number 7 out of 73 students. I love my biology teacher in Form 1.

Things you are thankful for: I am thankful to God for the things that He did for me, He gave me parents, a brother, a sister, education life, food and friends.

Teacher’s Notes: Teaching Janet is such a joy. She works so hard in the classroom, always giving her best, which shows with how well she is doing. She is so young and is conquering tough subjects without a problem.

Name: Alinafe Hendrenson

Age: 14

Home village: Blantyre

Favorite food: Chicken and Chips (French Fries)

Favorite Subject: English

Hobbies and Activities: Singing, watching Korean Movies

Siblings and Family: I have one brother and two sisters and I live with a family that took my siblings and me in.

When you grow up: I want to be a doctor.

If you could have anything what would it be? I would like a computer.

If you could go anywhere where would you go and why? I would like to go to Korea to see how the people of Korea live.

Something you wish you could change about Malawi: I would like to change Malawi from having electricity problems; I want Malawi to have electricity like other countries.

Something you want Americans to know about you:  I am good at singing

Things you are thankful for:  I am blessed to have my family, to learn at St. Andrews, to have friends that I have, to have my teachers, to have my relatives.

Teacher’s Notes: Alinafe is such a sweet girl. I love seeing her and her friends talking and joking around outside of the classroom, but also helping each other and challenging each other inside the classroom. She is a joy to have at this school.

Backyard Beauty

Mulanje Massif, more commonly known as Mt. Mulanje, is the tallest mountain in Malawi. The mountain’s maximum elevation is 9,849 feet at the highest point which is Sapitwa Peak. Mt. Mulanje measures approximately 13x16 miles and can be seen jutting out of the surrounding Chiradzulu Plains for as far as the eye can see. The mountain is covered by a combination of rolling grasslands and deep forested ravines. The forests consist of the Mulanje Cedar trees (which is the National Tree of Malawi). These trees, however, have become limited due to deforestation of the mountain, and efforts are being made to plant, protect and restore the forests on the mountain.  

 

The mountain is home to native wildlife and is also a large tourist attraction for those who wish to climb to the top. (I will be doing this at some point this year; stay tuned for that blog entry.) Due to the elevation of the mountain, rain clouds easily form around the peaks, making it a large source of rain water for not only the villages surrounding the mountain, but also many of the rivers that flow throughout the entire country. Out of curiosity, I looked up if there has ever been snowfall on the mountain. To my surprise I read that snow is very rare but is possible; the last major snowfall with ground accumulation was in June 1954. I’m still holding out some hope that I will be skiing down Mt. Mulanje later this year. Another fun fact I learned while doing a little research about my new backyard, is the mountain is rumored to have been inspiration to J.R.R Tolkien as he wrote the Hobbit … this mountain really is magical.  

Recently I was going through all the pictures I had on my phone and I couldn’t help but notice that almost every day I take a picture of the mountain. In Pittsburgh, when coming home from a trip out of town, I know I’m home when I can see the beautiful skyline of the steel city in the distance. Here in Malawi, I know I’m home when I see this magnificent mountain rising from the plains. There is not a day that goes by that I am not grateful and that I don’t feel blessed that this unbelievable structure is in my new backyard. 

Watching the sunrise breaking over the mountain or a full moon rising above its peaks will be something that I will remember forever. Seeing a rainbow stretch across the sky framing the peaks and valleys of this massive formation will always take my breath away.  They say pictures are worth 1000 words, if that is true, here is  short novel of pictures I have collected about my beautiful backyard I am now blessed to call home. I hope that its beauty brings you as much joy and peace as it does to me daily.

Meet My Students, Part 1

Over the next few weeks/months, I will be posting a series a blogs introducing you to the unbelievable students I am blessed to work with. I hope this gives you more insight as to the truly amazing children they are and how much they have to offer this world. They continue to teach me on a daily basis and I am so thankful I get to teach them. I'm so excited for you to meet them!

Name: Benedict Magwira-Mulele

Age: 12

Home Village: Mulanje Mission, boarder at the school

Favorite Food: Chips with any kind of meat

Favorite Subject: Biology, Physics and sometimes Mathematics

Hobbies and Activities: When I am home I like watching movies and cartoons. Here at school I like playing with my friends.

Siblings and Family: I have one sister and two brothers. I live with my mom and dad and siblings

When you grow up: I want to be a scientist

If you could have anything what would it be? A skateboard, a bicycle and a laptop.

If you could go anywhere where would you go and why? I would go to the United States of America to go to school there. 

Something you wish you could change about Malawi: I would vote for a President who would think of others, who is not selfish.

Something you want Americans to know about you: I would want them to know how my family goes and how I perform in class.

Things you are thankful for:I have both parents alive. I have a good life. My biology teacher Miss Merry. My friends. I passed my classes with good grades.

Teacher’s Notes: Benedict is currently the top student in Form 1, because of this he has earned the nickname Mr. Number One to go along with this honor. Benedict has such a giving heart and is always helping other students in the class who need help. He also is always the student I count on to answer questions if no one else knows the answer. I think Benedict has a very bright future in front of him.

Name: Grace  Chilongo

Age: 13

Home village: Kasungu

Favorite food: Chicken and Chips

Favorite Subject?: English

Hobbies and Activities: I like listening to music and hanging out with friends.

Siblings and Family:  I stay with my mum, 3 cousins and my one sister.

When you grow up: I want to be an accountant after school.

If you could have anything what would it be? I would like to communicate with my friends so I would like a phone.

If you could go anywhere where would you go and why? I want to go to the United States because I love the way the teens live their life, mostly I love their lifestyle.

Something you wish you could change about Malawi: I would mostly want to change the education situation. We need to improve our English

Something you want Americans to know about you: I would like them to know I like to joke around and make friends.

Things you are thankful for: I am thankful for my mother and sister, for my friends, for my school, for my biology teacher (Miss Merry), and for my grandparents.

Teacher’s Notes: Grace is an excellent student. She is currently in the top 5 of Form 1. I have encouraged her to keep striving to be at the top. She works very hard in class, but also knows how to relax and enjoy time with the many friends she has made here at school. She is a joy to have in class.

Name: Fortune Captaim

Age: 13

Home Village: Mulanje

Favorite Food: Pizza

Favorite Subject: Biology and Computer

Hobbies and Activities: I like drawing.

Siblings and Family: I have one sister and three brothers. I stay with my father.

When you grow up: I want to be a teacher

If you could have anything what would it be? To pass all my classes.

If you could go anywhere where would you go and why? I would like to go to the United States of America because it is a fun and beautiful country.

Something you wish you could change about Malawi: I would like to change the poverty.

Something you want Americans to know about you: I want them to know about our beautiful country

Things you are thankful for: I am thankful for school, life, our beautiful country and God’s creation. 

Teacher’s Notes: Fortune is a strong, independent, confident young student. She is always raising her hand to answer questions during class. It has been such a joy to be able to learn more about her while I tutor her with other students after classes.

Name: Tadala Muula

Age: 13

Home village: Balaka

Favorite food: Chicken and Chips

Favorite Subject: Biology

Hobbies and Activities: I like to sing and play volleyball.

Siblings and Family: I have one brother and one sister and we live with our mom and dad.

When you grow up: I want to be a medical doctor.

If you could have anything what would it be? I want to be top of my class.

If you could go anywhere where would you go and why? I want to go to India because it looks like a beautiful place.

Something you wish you could change about Malawi: I want to change many girls from dropping out of school so they can become the leaders of tomorrow.

Something you want Americans to know about you: I love science.

Things you are thankful for: I am thankful for my family, for my opportunity to go to school, to have really good teachers, to have both of my parents, to have a really good mother.

Teacher’s Notes: Teaching biology to Tadala is so fun. She loves science so she is always willing to participate in class and answer questions. She is always asking questions and pushing herself to learn more. She is a great student and is certainly on the path to being a great leader of tomorrow.