So this is Christmas...

Here we are again, I know we told you that we would not have internet access for the first 3 months or more but fortunately we are very close to Lilongwe and by close I now mean a 3-4 hour drive in these mini-buses that aren't so bad once you take enough Benadryl to knock yourself out. The rainy season is upon us which means that the roads are flooding. I learned that it takes 8-9 Malawians + Kris one whole hour to dig us out of the mud which is surprisingly worse than getting stuck in the snow.

We started teaching last week and the class sizes are very large. We have started opening the library every afternoon and the response has been pretty rewarding. The students that come in for extra help are a pleasant surprise and we are enjoying getting to know them. Last week I started to try to organize our science lab. They have an incredible amount of resources but they just do not know how to use them. Fortunately the chemicals that I arranged for storage have not blown up.. yet. It will be interesting to re-teach myself chemistry and physics so that I can help these teachers actually use the materials.

I would have finished cleaning the lab and it would be ready to go but unforunately for me something I ate or possibly the anti-malaria medication made me a little sick. By sick I mean unbearable indigestion, water coming from my butt and yes, it was me... I was the first one in Africa to poop in my pants. It is difficult when the hole in the ground is 10 feet from your house. We have at least kept a bucket in the next room so that we do not have to run all the way out there to pee in the middle of the night but Kris has designated it only for number 1. Maybe the other spare bedroom we have should be for number 2. I wish I had some better stories for you than that but things have been pretty chill so far as it is a few days later and I am almost back to 100%.

Kris and I have still decided to carry on the tradition of fondue on Christmas Eve and are hoping that the charcoal stove that we have will keep the oil hot enough. Cooking on our own has probably been the biggest challenge. Kris is getting really good at keeping a fire long enough to boil water but we are both still a little afraid of the goats and cow meat dangling in the market so it has been eggs, beans and lots of peanut butter in our home. When we go to Lilongwe though we sometimes splurge on Ramen noodles and even attempted to make a package of cheese sauce. Unfortunately these things are expensive ($2 a piece) and when you are living off of little it is not often we get these treats! We fully intend to stock up on veggies in the capital market because it is no joke like a whole foods, more fruits and vegetables than you could ever imagine.

I think that is about all that i have for now... unless we get sick again, there still will not be another post until March, so cross your fingers! Love you and miss you all, I hope you are enjoying the snow as much as we are enjoying the 80 degree weather!