Uzungu

I got my refrigerator on Wednesday, so I went to the market yesterday afternoon to stock-up on groceries. I had to attend a meeting with Hyson before I was able to leave; he and I went over the budget for the preschools and for the TTD. He showed me how to fill-out the transportation form and the form that I used for non-receipt items “like vegetables and anything else we bought from the market.” We then tallied-up the totals and he and I both signed the forms and I turned them in to the cashier.

I was super excited to finally get my refrigerator so I could start cooking. I love to cook and have missed cooking… Back in the states James and I love to cook together and, you can always find my girlfriends and I getting together for dinners or what not at least once a week and we usually end-up at “Toxey St.”   So I decided to invite my DI friend “Tanya” who is from Bulgaria over for dinner. I made a nice salad with: lettuce, tomatoes and, avocado. Then for our main course I sautéed fresh garlic, tomatoes and, onions to put on pasta. The aroma from the ingredients made my mouth start to water…it was very pleasant to smell these familiar smells. Everything turned-out great and I felt very content last night as I got into bed…and slept the best I think I have since I have been here.

This morning I woke-up to a cool breeze coming in through my windows and, I know by now that this could only mean one thing “rain.” I knew that my day was going to be delayed because of the weather…..so I went and met the preschool supervisors at the same time we always meet “7:45 am” even though it was raining and we just chatted for a while until the rain finally stopped. I was actually glad to have this time with them because I wanted to brush-up on my “Chichewa”. It’s actually kind of funny because I feel that I’m trying to speak more Spanish here than when I live in Costa Rica…. I guess maybe being in a foreign country transmits a message to my brain to speak Spanish…anyways here is what I wrote down for myself to learn…

Hello                                   wawa or bobo                   How much?                        Ndalama zingati

Thank you                           zikomo                              you                                     inu

Thank you very much          zikomo kwambiri               I have no money                  ndilibe ndalama

How are you?                     Muli bwanji

i am good                            ndiri bwino

White people are called Uzungu

I hear this on the way to the preschools every morning and afternoon and to be honest there is nothing more endearing than seeing a group of four to six year old Malawian’s sprinting out of their homes to catch a glimpse of the Uzungu riding by. It’s always with a huge smile and sometimes you get a thumbs-up…they love to wave and say “bye Uzungu, bye, bye” some days they can make you feel like a celebrity…