Emily and I had a conversation two days ago about our reluctance to over-share, but I'm now thinking that my blog writing and photo posting might defy this. Neither here nor there, really. I hope I'm not becoming annoying.
I'm live, at the moment, from the Ekwendeni guest house. I moved in here on Friday and had a restful first two nights. Have I articulated, dear reader, how ridiculous my circadian rhythm is these days? I'm regularly asleep in the 9 o'clock hour and ready to rise in the 5 o'clock hour. I'm sure this schedule will sustain for precicely 1 day once I'm back in the States before I'm clapping down hard on my alarm clock's snooze button.
To summarize, for the books, I had a wonderful time with my parents. We went from Majete National Park down south to Lake Malawi, then up to Lilongwe (in central Malawi, the capital). We concluded our time together in Mzuzu and Ekwendeni, where I have been stationed. A highlight: on our last full day together my parents accompanied Emily and me (and our interpreters Gladson and Elaina) to a focus group discussion. And an underline: Matt(hews) (as he goes by in Malawi), Emily's husband, was and is here as well.
It was really special to have everyone with us, particularly because this specific focus group took place at a school, where upwards of a hundred children were basking in their last full day prior to a 6-week holiday. Last days are universal. On top of that, there was also a mobile/outreach clinic being conducted at this site on this morning. Wrapped in a neat but Malawiesque bow (bright and loud and with infinite light), our guests got to see a little bit of everything.*
I'll note: my dear father, with a valiant and successful effort, drove us to this remote site. We crossed rivers and deep, deep pot holes that made more traditional off-road driving look crisp. Naturally, upon arriving at our location our Malawian interpreters got word of an alternative, unpaved but significantly less tumultuous path which we returned on.
After the focus group, we showed my parents the hospital (Emily gave a noteworthy tour), and then we all headed to Mzuzu to wander and read and ultimately have dinner (at A1, of pizza dough fame).
I have a lot of wonderful photos of my travels with my parents so I'll look forward to sharing those at a later time. Monkeys and sunsets and a startling vast array of out-the-window-driving-80-km-per-hour photos courtesy of my mom. Forewarn me when we're approaching an ox cart, she'd request. Finis.
This past Friday: Matt, Emily, our Malawian friend Alfred, and I trekked on foot to Luhomero. Recall: this is the village where Emily and Matt donated an ambulance (see previous post written around July 4th). I should have looked at a watch, but I believe the walk took us approximately two hours. Time flew, because Emily was educating me on Truman (her most recent read; see previous post entitled Bookworms), but it was not lost on us that this is a distance many residents of Luhomero and other remote villages are required to travel any time they have to get to the hospital. Pregnant. With diarrhea. Febrile. Dehydrated. Often, out of necessity, on foot.
We went to Luhomero to discuss with Alfred and Richard (the local health officer in the area of Luhomero) bicycle ambulances. More on that later, but it was productive, informative, thoughtful, and thought-provoking. I chose those four adjectives with care.
Alright. C'est tout. Now, I most definitely have to get reading done for our project. I'm skipping Sunday morning services, it's time to be productive.
Have a good day, thanks for reading,
Rebecca
*btw: no one extra sat in on actual discussion; we were separate. This is serious.
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