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7 quick takes...
- 1.
It’s Monday afternoon. The girls are making crafts.
Hartmut and I are sitting at the table.
He is doing admin and I am writing a blog. My heart is feeling a bit heavy as
it is the first day of the last week that we are together all day every day. Next
week will be the first of July, the day that Hartmut starts his new job. He is
excited, and we are excited for him. From that day we will also do
homeschooling a bit more structured than we have done so far. Our new normal will be good, but we have grown
so comfortable in our old normal. The one in which we get to spend so much time
together, the one in which we never have to rush, the one in which we get to
shape our days and plans. We will enjoy this week, every minute of it, before
we start a life with more routine and structure, one where we will have big
stories to tell each other at the end of the day because we experienced
different things during the day.
- 2.
She couldn’t sleep. Of course she could not; you
only turn 5 once and there was just so much to think about! She called me, for
the umpteenth time. ‘I have a plan. Pappa and you are still awake anyway. Can’t
we wake up Doris and do a ‘birthnight’ instead of a birthday? I just cannot
wait and I promise that I will sleep the whole day.’ I had to laugh but we did
not do a birthnight because she did fall asleep, but only to wake up early again
and start the carefully planned day. As agreed, Doris gave her gift first. Then
the girls made toast and while they did that, we had to prepare a treasure hunt
because that’s how she wanted to get her presents. After the treasure hunt we
would unwrap the gifts and the girls could play with the presents while I made
breakfast (Wrap with scrambled eggs, avocado and tomato). We had strict orders
to not decorate the house in the evening because the birthday girl wanted to
help us to do it and it had to happen after breakfast. And that’s how all the
food we eat, activities we did and every breath we took were pre-planned. There
was a piñata cake, a birthday picnic in the garden, a movie night, minestrone soup
with olive bread and lots of party games. Sophie loved it, and has now started
to plan her sixth birthday, which will be even bigger and better.
- 3.
We are a little bit like new parents; all four
of us. We are delighted with every little movement, every squeak. We grin with
goofy smiles and tell each other about every new thing we see them do. We fuss
over how much they eat and drink, how comfortable they are at night and if they
have enough stimulation during the day. I never thought that this would happen
but these 4 ducklings, that were intended to give us eggs and end up in the pan
one day have stolen our hearts. The
girls just cannot help themselves; whenever I look for them they sit with one
(or more) on their lap, stroking them and talking to them. They take their new
role as duck-mothers very serious although I sometimes feel that the ducks won’t
survive because of them but hope that they will despite them. A few days ago I heard loud giggles from the
garden. I went outside to look what was happening and saw the girls running
around, both holding a bowl high above their heads. In each bowl was a rather
frightened looking duckling. ‘We are giving them flying lessons’ they said. ‘The
wings are still small but this way they at least get to experience what flying
feels like’…
- 4.
The late afternoon sun is sitting low, sending
its magical rich light that paints a warm halo around everything it touches. A
kid goat is drinking by his mother, a mother hen scratches with her 6 chicks
through the dirt and plastic on the side of the road to find something to eat.
I feel a hand in my hand, when I look down a little girl looks up at me with a
smile, she doesn’t speak but her hand makes clear that she wants to walk with
me. She does so for a few meters until her mother calls her back. In the
distance I hear the sound of a maize mill. I see how the miller chases some
goats out of the building, the women who are sitting outside waiting their turn
laugh at his attempts because the goats are stubborn. A woman is setting up a
little shop in front of her house; she sells deep fried potatoes to any hungry
passer-by. She asks me if I want but I politely decline. Her oil isn’t very
warm and I don’t fancy greasy undercooked potato. From the back of our house is
a long dusty sand road that leads to the main road where the market is. A
motorbike taxi offers me a ride but I prefer to walk. I like smelling the
smells of the food and the animals, feeling the hot sun and the loose sand that
makes it hard to walk. I like being here, really being here and taking it all
in. This place may not be as tranquil as the place we came from. It’s louder,
dirtier and busier. But there is lots to love and I am falling for it.
- 5.
Most stalls on the market sell dried beans. The
way they are displayed; in big white fabric bags or on woven baskets, looks picturesque
and I am always tempted to take pictures. Most people sell two or three
different kinds but as I stroll past the shops, one stall draws my attention. The
entire shop front is filled with bags. I count 12 different kinds of beans. I
ask the owner about them and he tells me, very helpful, the names of all the
different beans. ‘We call this one ‘small bean’, and this one as well but it is
a bit bigger than the other small bean.’ He points at another bean. ‘This is a
dark bean, and that one too but they taste different.’ I am mostly interested in his soy beans. Now
that I have my own kitchen and a little bit more tools I am on a journey to
explore how much meat and dairy we can give up because it’s better for the
planet. We have been forced vegetarians the past year and it’s quite easy to
not eat much meat now that we can buy it again. Now I have started to make soy
milk (it’s surprisingly easy and much cheaper than normal milk) and I am pleasantly
surprised. I also made tofu (huge success), vegan brownies from the byproduct
of soy milk production (close to the best brownies I have ever had) and soy yoghurt
(not great but not bad either, worked well in a smoothie). I am loving all the
things I learn and grateful that my family is not too picky when it comes to
food because of all the weird and new things I put in front of them.
- 6.
A few weeks ago Malawi went to the polls to
vote. It took a long time for the results to come out and right after they came
they were disputed because there were irregularities and claims that the
elections had not been as free and fair as the electoral committee wanted the
world to believe. The old president had won and he and his supporters say that
it’s nonsense, that the opponents are just sour and jealous because they don’t
want to accept the fact that they lost. However, more and more reports of lost
ballot boxes, voting districts with more votes than voters and other things that
just don’t add up are brought to the light and the opposition is becoming
angry. So angry that many cities, Mzuzu, the city where we used to spend a lot of
time, being one of them, saw riots that quickly turned ugly and violent. Enough
is enough; they say. The protesters ask for new elections and for the head of
the electoral commission to be removed. We will see where this goes but hope
and pray that a solution that works for everybody, will be found sooner rather
than later. For now I don’t expect any
problems here in Senga Bay because we’re in the central region which is a
stronghold for the current president.
- 7.
When the girls heard that most kids go on school
trips and excursions they also wanted to go on a trip to learn things (because
on normal trips they don’t learn?). When Hartmut and I heard that the Ilala
(ferry) was in a dry dock in Monkey Bay we wanted to go and see it. So this
week we are going on a ‘school trip’ to Monkey bay to introduce our transport
project for school next week. It’s not too far from Senga bay but we have never
been to that part of the lake so we are all looking forward to see the country’s
biggest harbor and some new sights. Have a great week!
