Last days and Goodbyes

About three weekends ago, the middle school and its teachers (including yours truly) spent two nights camping on Nkhoma Mountain. We honestly had a blast. Despite no sleep the first night (the four ninth grade girls in my tent ate enough sugar to fuel an all night gab session), the trip was one of my ten month highlights. It's amazing how much students confide in an adult they trust. I felt privileged to struggle with their theological questions and personal doubts while sunbathing (fully clothed-it was FREEZING up there) on the rocks, cleaning dishes with well water, and cooking over a dutch oven (imagine a metal bucket full of glowing coals with a grate on top). Lorliee MacLean, my co-teacher, sits left of me as does Nate Leboff (Blue shirt further left, and Kellen Hiroto, history teacher in black tank top far left behind red and white shirt). Jake Bray, science and math teacher, is hiding behind the boys in the back (which is hard to do considering his at least 6'2'' frame). This picture was taken immediately before hauling all our camping gear back down the mountain, which took about an hour. As you can see, the bamboo polls in the left of the picture were used as levying devices to carry the coolers and other awkward items. Kudos to the men who hauled 40 liters of potable water up the mountain side. The middle schoolers who decided not to bring any water for a 48 hour hiking trip were particularly grateful as well. The planning of the trip alone at the end of the school year was a feat, much less the physical enactment. I am still in awe of the teachers and parents that organized it.
At left are two of my favorite Navigator missionaries, Pam Forster, from Ireland, and Danny Neumann of Colorado. We were enjoying coffee at Buchanan's the night before Pam left around May 17th.


Gail Goncalves, the boisterous second grade teacher from South Africa, and I are enjoying a moment together at the farewell banquet for several of the staff, including myself. You can see a few of the teachers in the background, behind Gail, sitting on our beautiful benches in the garden of the Academy. Just to the right of Gail, out of the picture was the lovely spread of food catered by a Lilongwe expatriot. As you can see, the sun here is intense. And I'm even in my winter clothes for this country! (Note the long sleeves). Dan Linsz helped organize the lovely lunch and surprised me with a Malawian survival pack consisting of a wooden sugar canister, bug spray, hot sauce made locally, coffee, tea, and a map. It's ironic that I received it after having survived ten months here, but appropriate that the "tools" were presented in the sugar carafe. Malawians can't live without sugar. I've never seen coffee or tea taken as it is here. They literally have about 4 heaping spoonfuls of sugar with each cup of tea. And if a Malawian must define tea in its minimalistic state, he would not reduce the condiments in it, but rather would consider a cup of hot water with milk and sugar tea before a cup of hot water soaked with tea leaves minus the milk and sugar!