Learning about history and life in Malawi

Good morning from Malawi! It is just before 6am and Ellen and I are the only 2 up. The birds are singing and I think coffee is brewing (I hope). Today will be a big day for the group and they are all excited to finally get to meet the children at Mtendere Village.

Yesterday we spent time learning about Malawi's history and government. We drove to visit the monument that honors Malawi's first president which just opened in 2007 and then traveled up the road to see his mausoleum. We were lucky to have a local historian there to go into great detail about Hastings Kamuzu Banda and his life. We were also able to see the new parliament building that was completed a few months ago.

The next stop for the day was the local market in Lilongwe. This is the market where the local people shop for vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, spices, rice and all the other things they need. Because the market was so crowed it was impossible for the group to stay together. We were able to split up into small groups and wander through the market that way (Ellen and I are loving the walkie talkies). Everyone really enjoyed the sights and sounds and especially the smells coming from the booths there. There is an energy in a local market like this one and I am glad the group was able to experience it. Leaving the market we drove past the mini bus station and were all surprised at the chaos there. All those buses and all those people and everyone seeming to know how to get where they needed to be. It looked to us like a mass of confusion, but some how organized if that makes sense.

The day was bright sunny and we had beautiful blue sky all day long. We ate our lunch outside and everyone took a bit of a break just to enjoy the weather and chat over lunch about the morning.

After lunch we decided to tackle the local wood carvers market. This is always a fun experience especially for people who haven't experienced what its like to barter. Once we all walked up we were approached by a crowd of vendors and then quickly each led to a stand where we were encouraged to make our purchases. Its hard to put into words what that is like, but it is really fun and always makes for some great stories. After 2 hours of shopping in the market and everyone getting what they wanted or what the vendors told them they "needed" we got back in the bus and compared purchases. This is always interesting because it is very rare that 2 people pay the same amount for the same item. There are always cracks made about who was the best barterer of the group and who was the most naive :) I won't give away who was who, but I will say this group for sure had both.

With our first day at Mtendere being on Saturday we wanted to meet as a group in the evening to talk about our plan and what we would be experiencing while there. We ordered pizza (yes folks there is pizza in Malawi) and had a "pizza meeting" in one of the hotel rooms.

Pizza was handed out and our discussions about what we had done and what we were going to do over the next few days began. I was excited to see how well this group was able to come together and talk about their experiences and expectations. Everyone was talking and listening and seemed very comfortable despite the wide age range we have. Its always great when the moment happens that you feel the team has really come together as a family. Last night was the night we were able to see and feel that as a group. Our meeting lasted 2 hours and when we were done everyone decided to meet at the restaurant and continue to chat. We had a table of people playing cards and a table of talkers, but soon the two tables were joined and the talking went on until peoples eyes began to get heavy.

This is an amazing team and what was accomplished even before we arrived was big. There are great plans for the money that was raised and I know the team is excited to get their hands on some mattresses over the next few days!!!!