So I pretty much spend all of my work time now in the library sticking call numbers on book spines. Fortunately this work fills my heart with joy so I’m absolutely fine sitting there for hours on end without stopping. Brilliant. Spent a couple of hours doing that and then had 2 computer classes that morning. Went well – everyone remembered the processes which was awesome! Had some lovely summer hut time in between, chatting with the Chaminade crew. One more computer class in the afternoon which also went well and then returned to Miracle for a couple more hours of attaching call numbers. A day in the life… lol Pretty great. Stopped by the summer hut on the way home and had a lovely time. Actually ended up spending 2 hours there just chatting! Molly stopped by too which turned out to be great because it was only the two of us with the 3 young ones, Kalua, Banda and Kaunda… something which surprisingly has never happened. Normally we’re also with some old teachers so the conversations are different, but this was just us being goobers. Really nice. Kalua and Banda were in quite a mood, acting like 7 year olds which was fun to see since usually Kalua is not so goofy (Banda always is :)) Poor Kaunda was visibly stressed out and exhausted so Molly and I spent some time trying to cheer him up but the two rambunctious ones kind of impeded that as they just ganged up on him. Lots of talk about Planet K.A. again as we planned a trip for Saturday after Mr. Nyanguru’s farewell party. Also had a funny moment as Kalua was talking about a dream he had where he traveled to a very nice place… but couldn’t remember where. And Banda’s response was “Afghanistan?” Oh Molly and I died. Especially when he turned out to be right!

Wednesday was a pretty up and down day even though I started out being psyched because I got to spend the whole day in the library! Whoot! My favorite student, Allan, came back to school that morning so I was really excited about that! Glad to have him back :) Spent a few hours attaching call numbers and then decided to deal with the mess of withdrawn books. Because I had them all nicely stacked by subject but they got moved because the rain was hitting them. Totally fine. But when the students moved them, they just through them in a huge pile. Aaarrrggghh. So now I have the task of sorting and moving about 2,000 text books. Awwwwwesome. So I spent over an hour doing that which pretty much killed my psyche. Sweating profusely, covered in dirt and cobwebs, and doing it all alone was a recipe for disaster. Plus I got overwhelmed by the enormity of the task of reorganizing the library. I’ve been pretty positive all along but now that there are only 3 months left, I’m realizing that this being only a side job to all of my teaching pretty much ensures that it won’t get done. Frustrating. But I’m going to try my best still! Anyways, I got a little down thinking about that. But I salvaged the day by turning up some music (no one was in the library) and dancing around as I moved the books. Helped significantly :) Also gave up on moving textbooks eventually and went back to the call numbers which boosted the joy in my heart even more. Stuck to just doing call numbers after lunch too since I wanted to keep enjoying the day.

After not working for a week, the internet was finally up and running again but alas I spent an hour there without it working since there were too many other people on… so I was patient and finally got my turn. Got to talk to Brooke which was A-wesome! Haven’t talked to her in a long time and miss her dearly so that was fantastic. Had to leave prematurely though because we had supper with the Brothers that night so I couldn’t be late. Lame. Had fun at supper though like always. Got to hear J.P. tell his story about getting stung by bees…. Now he already looks like a big bear, so we nearly died of laughter imagining him looking like a bear that’s swatting away a swarm of bees. Took a nap after supper and then headed over to watch the Barcelona vs. Inter-Milan football game. Supposed to be a good one but it was actually very dull, 0-0. One of the IM players got a red card in the first half so I figured it’d be a pretty exciting game after that but nope! Pretty bored and tired so I headed home shortly after half-time.

Thursday morning was the usual – call numbers. Had my first English class of the term that morning. They were a little rambunctious because they’d just gotten news that they’d passed their national trade tests… but it was okay. One of those classes that seems pointless to me – we were covering telephone communication – but that had to be covered for the sake of the test. Bah. But a few students came up to me afterwards and said it was very interesting so who knows. Had computer class after lunch and then returned to the library for more call numbers. Showed Mr. Mughogho (librarian) how the withdrawn books should be organized so hopefully he’ll start helping with that. Called it a day and spent some fun times in the Chaminade staff room with Misters Banda and Mlotha just chatting. Genuflected in the summer hut, with my free hand on my elbow as I shook his hand, while I was greeting Mr. Nygangulu (all signs of respect here) and was told that I’m becoming Malawian. :) Walked to Gondwe’s with Chris although our walk there was somewhat different since a night school student latched onto us for the whole way there. It was nice once we got there though – had our quality talk time and then enjoyed watching Chris scribble math in the sand as we talked our way through the community’s financial budget. Had a finance meeting after supper and then I drifted in and out of sleep on the living room floor while Chris played the guitar. Nice end to the day.

Molly and I ended up getting to work early on Friday somehow…strange… we’re usually rushing in just in time or a little late. Didn’t quite know what to do with ourselves. I had 3 computer lessons that morning. They all went well though tiring from being back to back. Can’t imagine teaching a full day like American teachers! Had some nice snatches of time in the summer hut as I waited for the next group of students to arrive. Laughed when the teachers told us we couldn’t speak English anymore since vernacular is forbidden and they’re actually going to try to enforce that rule now. (Doubtful). Was vindicated as Tamala went to chat with Kalua so he finally knows who I was talking about when I gave him those papers all of those months ago (he knows her by a different name – common here). Did some typing for the Entertainment Committee since the secretary was nowhere to be seen and invites for Nyanguru’s farewell party needed to be distributed. Also learned that I’ve been spelling Kalua’s name wrong for the last 9 months. I like the way I spelled it better personally. More aesthetically pleasing with an “h” :)

Had a fairly crappy afternoon when I returned to work which I really wasn’t expecting since Friday afternoons are filled with club meetings and entertainment – nothing stressful at all. No responsibilities. Well I came back and had a meeting with Madame Principal about some issues that my roll call class needed handled. This meant that I ended up missing the Writer’s Club meeting. So when I did make it to the library I got griped at by the president of the club. I’m sorry but no. You guys handled things just fine before I came here last year, so man up and lead the club – I’m not supposed to lead, I’m just there as a liaison with management. And also I’ve spent hours of personal time doing stuff for them, so I’m sorry that I have other professional responsibilities that took priority over their meeting. Grumble. So I’m pretty sad that I’ve come to resent that club now. Hopefully it’ll get better?

Decided to work on call numbers rather than going to the disco which was a good decision. But you know how certain music can make you feel sad? Just like others can make you feel happy and upbeat? Well I listened to the wrong music. Stupid itunes shuffle :) So I ended up feeling lonely and missing home (especially Mum thanks to that Taylor Swift song, “Best Day”). Add into that that the real librarian was outside chatting away with friends while I’m anxious about finishing everything in 3 months… bah. I was on the verge of a meltdown.

So I hightailed it off campus as soon as the bell rang and went to the computer lab because I knew Kat and Ily were there. Got a hug from Kat but she is just entirely too skinny for good hugging. So genius Ily decided that if the two of them stand together and I hug both of them, it just might work. And it was better :) Maybe a bit too wide at that point but better than alone lol. Plus they gave me a cookie :)

Went to find Kalua to guilt him into coming out with us that night since I really just needed a fun night. Didn’t even have to use my prepared guilt speech though as he agreed right away! Whoot! Molly happened past soon afterwards so I got to have a venting session with her. The great thing about this was that I realized I just need to get over it. Because these are things that have bothered me for 9 months and are not likely to change. But I just move past them and focus on my own self and my own actions. And that way it’s fine. Do my best to shape things but if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. No point on fixating and being angry about things that are beyond my control. And just like that, I was feeling better.

Had a lovely afternoon shower (much preferred to my usual morning ones where the water is freezing and I end up shaking from the cold) and then had some hammock time with Chris which only improved my attitude. Fun times were had after dinner as it was Brother Charles’ birthday so we planned to surprise him with a cake and a song. In Japanese. Go figure, considering Chris was in charge of song selection. :) So we spent some time practicing “If you’re happy and you know it” in Japanese (we’ve got it down now) as well as various choreographed positioning. Lots of laughter. But alas when we went over, we realized that the place was deserted since they’d gone out to dinner to celebrate.

After a couple of games of football in the house, Chris and I met up with Kalua and Banda to walk to the airport to meet Kat and Ily. Had a fun walk and got to hear about the different things Kalua doesn’t like about Malawians, namely their lack of timeliness and pointless, inefficient meetings – it was like listening to an American. Also got it out of him that he practices dancing in his room. Oh we are quite the awkward dancing pair (I also practice in the room when Molly’s gone). :) But alas we soon realized that the airport was closed so we ended up at that sketchy roadside bar that we always pass by because they don’t have cold drinks. Well I don’t think we’ll be going back there again because let’s rank the level of sketchiness for the 3 drinking establishments I’ve been to thus far. 1. Airport. Frequented by fairly respectable businessmen and is usually nearly empty so we are not bothered by people. 2. Planet K.A. Has a strong population of creepers but normally you can either dance away from them or just walk away to the sitting area or outside. Enough places to escape them lol = a big bonus. 3. Roadside bar. Sketch-McGee Central. This is where the hardcore drunkards hang out. I’m talking “passed out on the ground” kind of crowd. Eek. So yeah don’t think we’ll be going back there, especially since they bugged us the whole night, trying to be friends. Nope. I’m all about chatting and making new friends, but not when you reek of alcohol and can’t complete a coherent sentence. We were able to have some fun though as we grabbed a bench and just talked. Had a fun photo shoot that involved tickling since the Malawian boys were unwilling to smile. Vicki (our cook) was actually at the neighboring shop chatting with her friend, so we also got to talk to her for a while too. Headed home fairly early though as everyone felt pretty out of place. So really the walks to and back ended up being the most enjoyable parts, just chattering and laughing our way home. Because really neither Kalua nor I are as quiet as we claim to be and Banda and Chris are always endlessly amusing.

Leisurely morning on Saturday. Started off watching “Overboard” (thanks Laura!) but switched to “The Proposal” because the community was watching the latter together. Had a fun time with Molly – switched our usual cynical and swooning positions. I’m usually the swooner at all the cheesy moments while she rolls her eyes and fake gags. But for some reason we switched that day. But by the end we were back to normal :)

Clifford fixed our door handle so we can finally close our bedroom door without getting locked inside – whoot – so we also got to have a nice lunch with him. Headed over to the football pitch around 3 to watch the Chaminade game, but found no one. Called Mum while I waited and had a lovely chat until her phone card ran out. People were around by that point so I chatted and watched for awhile but then Kalua called, needing help with the Nyanguru farewell party preparations. Because apparently everyone else on the planning committee disappeared so he was going it alone. Felt bad for him since he looked like his head was going to explode/ he was going to pass out from exhaustion so I spent the afternoon helping him, running around getting bowls and spoons, finding presents, drafting and typing the program, and trying to secure a sound system – which turned out to be most stressful since the students were having a disco that night, leaving us musicless. Laptop requests were turned down by Molly and Kat as well as several other teachers and had 2 chats with 2 different brothers trying to borrow Miracle’s – no go, broken – before good old Muyila agreed to let us use his personal cd player/speakers. I also got to help cook nsima for the first time! Really I just stirred for about 30 seconds but I was pretty proud of myself when the teachers’ wives said I was doing it right – they have a unique way of holding the spoon which I was nervous to try. So with all this running around I was pretty much exhausted by the time the party rolled around, but still glad I helped since most of it was a fun time.

Ran home to change and then headed back to the party which had just started. All of the outer seats were filled so I spent some awkward time in the middle before Nyondo and Molly joined me. We all scattered at the first possible moment though to squeeze into the outer circle lol so I ended up by the sound system with Sirs Kalua and Banda. The party was pretty typical – lots of speeches (some more entertaining than others), an MC who failed to follow the program but just chattered away (whoot B.B.M. Ng’ambi), and good food and drinks, served around 9 pm lol. The official party ended around 10:30 and then dancing began. But alas by this point I was exhausted and hadn’t had a drink so I still too self-conscious to dance. Sat around for a while watching everyone else dance. Was highly amused as the Madames stepped back in unison to cross their arms and judge the drunken men who were hogging the dance floor. Horrified as one of the cooks was giving his baby beer – Kat went to “play” with the baby pretty quickly. And smiled as Chris danced Malipanga and Matt chose Memory – Nyangulu’s 9 year old daughter – as his dance partner. Too cute. Unfortunately I discovered that I still get overwhelmed in those crowded party circumstances, for all of my new bonding with the teachers. I’m sure it would have been fine but none of the ones I know well were free and I didn’t want to dance. So I had to step out for awhile to re-center. No problem. Chatted with Beams for awhile who was also outside but then just decided to call it a night.

Nice Sunday of playing Bao by myself, updating the blog, and cooking – an avocado/tomato sandwich for breakfast (doesn’t get much better than that) and my patented potato/onion skillet for lunch. Alas the potato onion dish did not go so well since I had to do it over the fire. I’ve done that before but this time I had to build the fire myself. So I’m out there working on it and Abraham (former Chaminade student who hangs out with us all the time – awesome kid) comes out and decides I’m having trouble. Which I wasn’t really – if I’d had a few more minutes I would have gotten it because I was going to do the exact same thing he ended up doing. But anyways, he helped me with the fire and ended up making it way too big. So the potatoes burned. Fail. But he was sweet enough to eat half of them with me as a “thank you” for helping lol. Walked to Gondwe’s with Chris in the afternoon because I needed some units for my phone. Enjoyed our time as always, talking about Rastafarianism and accidentally calling him P.J. (the name of one of our dogs). :) Came back in time to cook supper. Kat and Ily were coming over so there was a lot to prepare. I ended up being in charge of cooking the beans over the fire which turned into cooking the chipate (tortillas). We also made rice and a huge community-sized quesadilla – all over the fire! ‘Twas very fun. I’ve decided that I like cooking over the fire once it’s built. Seems more natural and peaceful. Plus the four of us were gathered around the fire in the dark, talking only when something came into our heads but otherwise just calm and quiet. Very nice. Had a great meal with Kat and Ily – it’s always nice to have guests to liven things up! I went over to the Brothers’ house afterwards to ask to borrow a car for the next day and ended up sitting with Beams for a while and chatting. Came back to watch “Dodgeball” with the group and then called it a night!