A Rainy Day During the Dry Season?

Good Morning!

I hope you're all doing well. We are sitting in Zomba waiting for the rain to stop. It's supposed to be the dry season, but there was a torrent of rain this morning. We were supposed to visit the orphanage this morning. Because of the rain, the road to the ophanage was too dangerous. We will try again at 1:00.

In other news, we visited a safari camp this week. Mvuu Camp was full of hippos, a few elephants, crocodiles, lizards, and various deer-like animals. Unfortunatly, we saw no rhinos, zebras, or lions.

A Blog At Last!

Hello All!

Did you think I was never going to post? I had almost given up. If it's cloudy, no internet connection. If the power is out (which happens twice a day at random except the last two days when members of Malawian Parliament were staying with us), no internet. When I did get to the internet cafe, not a short walk, I had myriad other problems. So, here I am, two weeks into my travels and I'm hoping this works.

The woman in the picture is shucking corn at Freedom Gardens. Try a google search of Freedom Gardens, Malawi for more information. The agriculture methods here are quite inspiring.

I've had a wonderful yet disheartening experience so far. Life is very different from home in some ways, but very very similar in many other ways. The best description would be the United States 150 years ago.

Agriculture is a way of life here. The only people who seem to travel to market for any food are tourists and hotel staff. Most grow their own using a combination of old and new organic techniques in farming. It's very healthy here as far as food is concerned. There are also plenty of opportunities for exercise.

Well, I should end here for now because it's getting dark and it's dangerous to be out. I'll write again soon! Leave comments if you would like!



Also, I'd like to thank Philip for being my webmaster and best friend.

Moni! Introductions

http://www.malawienergy.net/4.html

Hello family, friends, and students. I decided to create a blog for you all, should you choose to follow my work in Africa. I will be departing the country from Washington D.C. on June 21 and touching down for the first time in Ethiopia on June 22, where I will take off again. My final flight destination is Lilongwe, Malawi. From there, I will spend a couple of nights and do some sightseeing. On June 24, I will travel to Zomba Town where I will live for five weeks.

While in Zomba, I will travel to Domasi to assist local teachers in one of three local schools each morning: Domasi Government School, Domasi Demonstration School, and Malemia Primary School (I will most likely be assigned to Malemia Primary School). Three colleges (Radford University - me, Virginia Tech - Mrs. Hash, and North Carolina State) will be represented and each will be assigned to one of the three schools.

In the afternoon, I will travel back to Zomba where I will attend a graduate class for Radford University through the Malawi Institute of Education (MIE). I will be conducting research and analysing local short stories using a feminist/post-colonial theoretical eye. This should prove interesting work.

Finally, once this work is complete, I will return on July 18.

Please feel free to communicate with me here or via e-mail at cgardner@grayson.k12.va.us.

Also, if you'd like to keep up with Mrs. Hash on our journey, she is blogging at http://hacklerhash.blogspot.com/


Banner photo: http://www.malawitourism.com/Pages/Accommodation/South%20Accommodation/infomulanje.html