My control issues

Has anyone else noticed the significant amount of plane/helicopter incidences that have happened this summer? Maybe it's just Kristina and I noticing, but there seems to have been a lot.

I've tried to block it out of my memory because, to be honest, I've since become pretty scared to fly considering all these planes dropping. But the time is soon approaching where I'll have to be in the air for 28 hours (not all at once, of course) just to get back to Canada. There was one point in the summer when I was so afraid of this day of flying again, that the thought actually crossed my mind that there is still the 'ship across the ocean' option. Okay, I know, it was that bad. I was feeling like it'd be safer to take a ship home rather than fly. So, I've tried to block out all these memories of all the plane incidences just so I could better prepare for boarding one again.
And then today, at church, someone stood up and announced "I want to praise God that we are here safely because the flight yesterday from South Africa was a ROUGH ride". I thought to myself "Oh...must be Air Malawi and it was probably a bit of turbulence". After the service, I was talking with this woman and she said it was actually South African Airways (read: BIG JET for Blantyre's little runway) and the pilot clearly wasn't thinking straight and realized at the last minute that he had to land... He was still very high and going so fast, that he just dropped a bit, kept going, dropped some more, and then when they hit the tarmack, the plane was still going too fast that the plane started bouncing off the tarmack. Imagine: dropping in a big jet from the sky and then hitting the tarmack hard and bouncing this massive piece of metal off the tarmack hoping that the plane will be able to slow down enough before it gets stuck in the neighbouring field.

After such a rough landing the pilot said "well, you win some, you lose some" and that was all he had to offer as an apology. I asked what his name was in hopes that I dont have him when I fly out on South African Airways on Wednesday, but the lady didn't know his name. Not that I'd be able to do anything... "excuse me, I heard you had a rough landing the other day, perhaps I should HELP YOU land this plane". Obviously, I have no flying expertise to offer, but atleast I'd feel a little more in control. You see, every time I fly, I realize that I am not in control. That's why I love small bush planes or helicopters because I can see the pilot, and if need be, I can easily be in arms reach of all those control buttons. Again, even if I could reach the control buttons... I still wouldnt be able to do anything anyways.

But this is a good reminder. There are clearly times when we KNOW we're not in control and it's hard, but there's absolutely nothing we can do about it... so we throw our hands in the air and say "Alright God, I guess you really ARE in control of this situation anyways, so I'm just going to trust that it'll all be okay". And then there are other times when we THINK we are in control and it makes us feel safer... and this is bad because we start trusting in ourselves and our own abilities instead of God's more-powerful abilities.

So, this being said... I'm still scared about flying out on Wednesday but I guess there's nothing I can do about it anyway!

Meet the WatSan team

From left to right: Thomas, Khumbo, myself, Victor, Pearson

Gender balance at its finest.

My African Solo

Lots has happened since my last post. An overly adventurous trip to the lake, getting bit by a dog, reaching a new level of exhaustion, saying goodbye to my two amazing roommates and the guy who saved my life, trying to understand Portugese with a new Brazilian girl, and having my peanut butter stolen. Of course, this list could go on and on... especially considering each of these items is a blog post in itself.

And now begins my African solo.

I said goodbye to some great people and now I'm on my own for the remaining 2 weeks. Before people left, I was not ready to return home and I feared not ever being ready. And as much as I was dreading spending 2 weeks living by myself, I was hoping that these weeks would better prepare me for returning home. Although I get lonely very easily, I'm hoping I'll be able to spend my time reflecting on the past few months and mentally prepare for re-entry into the homeland.

As for work, I've decided to spend as much time as possible with the WatSan guys, which means lots of field days! In the past few weeks, I was more concerned about doing research and writing a paper that would benefit WatSan. But over time I realized that this task could easily be done in the evenings and on the weekends and that my time would be more valuably spent if I invested the remaining few weeks into the relationships I've built here in Malawi. It's been good.
In the field, we've started lining shallow wells which is exciting! And I've been doing lots of water testing.

Last night, when I arrived home from work, my night guard opened the gate for me and he was holding a machete. I had never seen him with a machete before... normally he bikes to the house, sits at the front door all night, we chat for a few minutes when I give him some tea and toast before bed, and that is all. So I asked him what the machete was for and he responded with "it's my weapon, madam". So I teasingly asked "have you ever had to use it before?" to which he responded "yes, madam". The joking then stopped and I was like "really? You've really used it before?". Then I realized he had misunderstood me. I guess I should feel safer, right? My small-framed, soft-spoken, polite night guard atleast has a weapon now.

(Create your own caption for this picture!)

Places you should NOT set up your tent...

#1

#2

And if you do set up your tent beside the sign that says "Beware of Hippos and other wild animals" and close to fresh elephant dung... then you're guaranteed an interesting night!

Who knew the animals would actually come THAT close to our tent?! Well, they did. And yes, that is our tent in the pictures above. I will never forget this camping experience... especially looking out the tent door to see Pumba staring right back at me. Or hearing the loud rumble of the hippos and finally realizing "there are hippos right outside our tent!" Or having to go pee but being trapped in your tent because the animals are surrounding it and not knowing if it's even safe to leave the tent!

TIA

Waterfall at base of Mount Mulanje

Plans change a lot here. It's Africa. TIA (This Is Africa). It's cool, it happens, just go with the flow. Or atleast this is how I used to handle the lack of planning and bad timing. I've recently realized how much easier it was to deal with this when Mike (azungu project manager) was still here because he was good as explaining things to me so I knew what was going on at all times. This past week, I've noticed my 'impatience-o-meter' has almost maxed out. I'm on my own now with the WatSan guys which means I have to ask about 50 questions every hour just to know what's going on since plans...well, let's be honest: the word 'plan' is pretty much moot in Africa. Today was one crazy day.

-a 2 hour meeting turned into a 10 hour day
-20 people in a 10-seater vehicle
-19 people in the 10-seater vehicle are talking really loudly all at once for many of those 10 hours
-everyone in the truck needed to run an errand at a different location

It wasn't until I got home that I realized that I need more patience. It's only Wednesday and I'm already wondering how I'll survive the rest of the week...I NEED to be patient again when TIA days come. I came across this verse:

-- May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. -- Hebrews 13:20-21

My first reaction was "God, EQUIP me with patience...don't leave me hanging here! I can't handle this lack of sense of time and poor planning! Seriously, give me patience." And then I remembered that He already has equipped me with everything I need for doing his will. He's given me the best of everything I need. He's given me Himself. I just need to keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25), which is impossible to do in my own strength... hence how I've come to my last straw with being patient with TIA days.

I realize this post is quite different than my previous posts, but I'd be dishonest to portray that being in Malawi is ALWAYS fun and exciting... although (thankfully)...it is mostly AWESOME.

Atleast one collage uploaded...

There's too much laughing going on over here!

For some reason, I'm having trouble uploading pictures but TIA (this is Africa) so it's no big deal. I'll figure out a way to post pictures later.

So this blog is two lists. I've been having some serious writing block...must be the high altitude! No, but seriously...I can only seem to think in lists instead of sentences.

Things that make me happy in Malawi:

-being able to have 3 minutes of HOT water
-no matter how hard I scrub, my feet are permanently dirty
-CANDLES AND MATCHES
-being able to cook on the stove
-bananas
-being able to sleep until 8am (which has only happened once!)
-openly talking about bowel movements
-the mountains
-riding on the dirtbike and the back of the truck
-getting so close to babboons that you're scared
-drinking a fanta after a long hike
-the mass amounts of singing and dancing
-perfectly ripe papayas with lemon
-digging with a hoe
-lights
-the man with the massive gun at the bank to keep you safe
-getting a free extra scoop of kidney beans at the market
-last but NOT least...NALI HOT SAUCE!!!

You know you're having a good laugh when:

-you cant sit/stand up straight
-your gut is hurting
-your eyes start to water
-everything else seems funny
-you start gasping for air
-your face muscles start to hurt
-you feel like you've just burned a million calories