7 quick takes

Yup, Lilongwe makes us happy.

1. Good morning! Is anyone interested in how to make a 3-tier Moana cake? Or do you want to know which YouTuber has made her own line of doll-cake pans? I can tell you, because that’s something I have learned this morning. Hartmut left for work very early, the girls weren’t even awake yet. So after they woke up, they cuddled in my bed a little longer, and we indulged in our guilty pleasure; watching cake movies on YouTube. There is something so satisfying about seeing skilful bakers create cakes while they explain how to do it. We know that we will never be able to replicate them but that doesn’t matter although, I shouldn’t speak too fast. While I am typing this, the girls are making elaborately decorated cakes out of play dough. Maybe not as tasty, but certainly fun.
2. We needed a calm start of the day after a fun but intense weekend. In our corner of the world, we don’t get a lot of social time with other people, so when we get to have it for an entire weekend, it’s full on. Friends had rented the holiday cottage next to ours and it was amazing to spend time together. We drank cocktails on the beach, swam (well, all the others did, I thought it was too cold) did a braai, had great chats and now it feels like my batteries are charged for the next while. These friends are Dutch and it is just amazing how easy it is to talk when you have a shared background. It's such a luxury when you're immediately understood without having to explain the details because you grew up in a similar space and time. This weekend filled my cup and was just what I needed.
3. This month it’s 15 years ago that I got on a plane for the first time. When I left the Netherlands, I was fairly sure that that was the only place where I could really feel home and that it was the place where I would spend the rest of my life. The year in Kenya that was ahead of me was just that, a year. But when I set foot on Kenyan soil about twenty hours later, I suddenly wasn’t so sure of that. In the days and weeks that followed I fell in love with another way of living, another climate, another future. And I started to feel another calling. As years went by it became clear that this continent would become my home. Meeting Hartmut who is born and raised here, was obviously a big part of that. I moved several times, grew roots and uprooted myself again. But I never failed to feel home because this is the home I was made for. In all those years, I have never felt homesick, until now. I dream about spending time with family, about the places I would like to visit, about cycling past the river and through the forest. Seeing pictures of the Netherlands makes me emotional and I feel a longing that I haven’t felt before. It’s not that I want to move back to the Netherlands, but I really want to go to a visit. I think there are many factors at play. It’s been long, almost 3,5 years, and I really want to share the joy that the girls bring me, with my family and friends. My sister is about to have a baby, and it hurts that I haven’t even met his/her older brother and the children of my brother. And probably also, mostly, the fact that going is almost impossible. The journey is complicated, and much more expensive than normally. And is going for a few weeks really worth it if we need to be in quarantine for the first 10 days? Hanging out with people would be the main reason, but how will that work when you need to keep your distance? One always wants what they can’t have, but not being able to have this really hurts. I will bake a cake for every airport that opens and throw a party for every travel ban that gets lifted!
4. Have you ever felt a deep joy and gratitude because of a door handle? Every time I look at ours, my heart makes a little jump and I get a smile on my face. Every time I open or close the door, it feels like sheer luxury. The door handle itself isn’t very pretty or special, but it’s existence in our house is a novelty for us. A few weeks ago we were somewhere and I asked Sophie to open a door. She struggled and didn’t know how to do it. It was then that I realised that we don’t have any door handles in the house. All the doors have locks and bolts that you can only open and close from one side. I don’t think that this gap in Sophie’s skill set was one that we needed to urgently solve, so that in itself wasn’t the reason that we decided to install one. The reason is the monkeys. I have written before that this is their hunger season, and they will use any opportunity they get to enter our house to steal food. Leaving a door open is the biggest mistake we can make but always closing them means that you have to lock people up inside. Definitely not ideal. So now we have a shiny silver door handle, we can open and close the door from both sides and the girls have learned how to use it and life has gotten a little better.
5. What also makes me happy is a full fridge and cupboard. We went to Lilongwe to stock up on supplies and it’s just great to have what you need while cooking. The first week after a stock up we always live like royalty, with nice fresh bread, fresh ‘luxury veg’ like broccoli and bell peppers and good chocolate. It’s always a good week. It’s not that we are starving the weeks after that, food is still good and I try hard to always make nutritious and delicious meals. But the ingredients are a little simpler. That’s not necessarily bad though, it’s probably better for our bodies.
6. ‘I don’t think we can go right here’ he said. ‘I think it will be fine, just do it.’ I said. Hartmut turned right. Two seconds later we were stopped by the police. It turns out that I was wrong. Hartmut should never listen to my advice when it comes to driving. The police walked around the car to check for any other obvious violations and then ordered Hartmut to get out of the car. When that happens, you know what comes next. The police will tell you about your offence and you need to start arguing but it always ends in a fine. However, for some reason, this time it didn’t. Because of Covid-19, police officers aren’t allowed to touch your driver’s license and that has robbed them from a very might weapon. Before, they would take it and only give it back after you had paid the fine or ‘given them something small’. But without the fine in hands, it’s a lot harder to argue. Not that Hartmut did argue this time, he even admitted that what he did was wrong. But there was no traffic sign, only road marking, so he wasn’t sure. Then the police offered to ‘write a fine with his left hand instead of his right hand’ (I sometimes wonder how many euphemisms people have come up with to cover up corruption) but Hartmut did not want that. And then, for some reason, the police just let him go. Awesome. Fines are always a sour way to lose money.
7. This week is going to be a busy one. From Wednesday to Friday I will be away to document another project for Red een Kind. I am really looking forward to meeting more amazing people, and hearing more empowering stories. I feel so privileged that I get to do this and it will definitely help to make me feel happier that I am here. So now I need to go and prepare food so that Hartmut and Tryson don’t have to worry about keeping those ever hungry tummies full. Have a great week!

We got to share our weekly cocktail with a crowd. Amazing!

One of the most magical corners in our garden. A perfect spot to listen to an audio book. 

There are many artists in Malawi who depend on the tourists. Now that they are not there, they really struggle so the girls get to expand their art collection every time we go to Lilongwe. Here they are choosing what to buy while Hartmut loads the car. 

This is the one they picked.