7 quick takes...

1. Good morning! I hope you are well. I am, because my day started with a smoothie...  Last week, I wrote that our blender broke, and we really missed our smoothies. Especially now that it is mango season, it just felt like such a waste to not be able to turn them into smoothies. We went to Lilongwe this weekend and were happy to find a good blender. I wasn't sure if that would be the case. It seems as if, after all the corona border crossings, food supply is back to the old level but the shelves of the appliance shop are still pretty empty. But there was a blender, and we are happy because smoothies are life.
2. Sometimes people say that a constant background noise can be soothing. I disagree. We  haven't had power since yesterday evening and the generator is on. There is nothing soothing about that noise, even though it's constant. It's loud, headache inducing and when I concentrate on it, it drives me nuts. I hope that the power is back soon. The power cut couldn't have come at a worse time. Since we went to Lilongwe over the weekend, our fridge and freezer are filled with items that will last much longer when they are consistently cold. We had just packed the fridge, when the power went away. The past months, power had been quite stable but since a few weeks it's very unreliable again. It's only going to get worse in the next weeks and months as rain season is coming and every heavy storm is an attack on the power line.
3. Lilongwe was good. We had good food, hung out with friends, went to church and relaxed in places where not everybody constantly points out that we look different. It was great to be there, but I am also glad to be back home. We have unlearned to be in big cities. It's funny, when we lived in Cape Town our life was filled with people, traffic, shops and activities and it didn't feel terribly exhausting. But after a long time of a mostly calm and quiet routine in Malawi, a few days in the city charge us in one way but drain us in the other. I am sure we can get used to it again But I am not sure if I want to.
4. Another good thing about Lilongwe was the pile of books we got. Books are a luxury in Malawi as bookshops are few and far between and usually very badly stocked. Also, when we moved to Malawi almost three years ago, the girls were in a very different age, and they have outgrown the books we packed them. Fortunately I am part of a homeschooling WhatsApp group and when families leave the country, people often use the group to sell their books to other families. Last week I spotted some nice books about history, maps and the human body and the girls and I are delighted about all the new things we will learn.
5. It's the end of the day and the girls and I are in the lake to cool down. It's been hot and the cold water feels amazing. Suddenly we see Isa, one of the gardeners running towards us. He screams and gestures that we need to come out. I get a fright; what could be wrong? We rush out of the water. Isa points to the right and there, about 150 meters from where we were swimming, we see a big reason to not stay in the water. Two or three big hippos are appearing now and then on the surface. Hippos are cute, but also deadly and going with them on an afternoon swim is a bad idea. The girls and I walk on the beach towards where the hippos are. A small crowd has gathered there already. It is known that there are hippos in Lake Malawi but to see them in our village is very rare. The big grey mammals follow the coastline towards the north and the crowd of children and a few adults follow them from the beach. 'Can we go? Can we please please go?' Sophie's eyes are shining with enthusiasm. I guess following hippos is the Malawian equivalent of following the ice cream truck. So we follow. After a few minutes, the hippos swim exactly there where we were swimming when Isa called us. A shiver runs down my spine, I am grateful that he called us. We follow them into the next bay. A fisherman on a small dug out canoe peddles past, he doesn't know what's going on but the children on the coast inform him quickly. 'Mvuuuu' they scream. It's Chichewa for hippo and the panic on the man's face shows that he understand. He moves his boat as quick as he can and all the children cheer when he makes it past the dangerous spot. We climb the rocks and follow the hippos until the sun sets and the hippos are out of sight. I hope it will stay that way. Although I loved seeing them, I would rather not have to worry about them every time we go into the lake.
6. The hippos were a welcome distraction; especially for Sophie. She has been complaining lately that her days are a little boring and always the same. I can understand her. Since covid came, we no longer have family visits or trips to family to look forward to and those are always the things that fill our cups. If people come here, Sophie and I thrive when we plan the things we want to show and the places we want to take them, we have fun in advance while we think about the fun we will have when they are here and for weeks afterwards, we smile at all the memories. Now that's all gone and not being able to see the people we love most and the cancellation of the visits we were expecting is weighing us down. I hope that things will change soon. At least there is a step in the right direction; you no longer need to quarantine when you enter Malawi. So, my question is, would you like to spend your winter in this lovely warm place where corona is mostly gone and where life is back to normal? We will welcome you with open arms.
7. Fortunately we have a small trip to look forward to. Hartmut will stay on the site camp and work the whole weekend to fill in for one of his colleagues. Since he won't be there anyway, the girls and I might as well take a trip to our favourite island; Likoma! We have booked a cabin for the journey on the ferry, and I am looking forward to the sense of adventure that the trip will bring. Right now, it's time to wrap up. I am still in my sweaty running clothes, so I will take a quick shower. The girls are playing Squla, a Dutch school-app with educational quizzes. They love it because you collect coins and you can turn the coins into vouchers for real shops. When we got our suitcase from the Netherlands a few months ago, they got a lot of craft supplies that they had bought with those vouchers. But since they have figured out that you can buy LEGO with it, they are even more motivated to play because is there anything better than LEGO? Have a great week!

 

When you dife to the bottom of the lake, you need to show proof ;-)