Almost half way...

I have spent the entire weekend at the house and am now feeling very lethargic, need Monday to come around quicker so I can re-energise!

Tomorrow I am spraying more houses for the malaria project and also at the wound clinic again in the afternoon. It is Izzy's 19th birthday tomorrow so we will be finishing up at 4pm and heading out for a second sunset cruise before the two new arrivals get here.

I have been doing some one-on-one english lessons with the teacher at Chilombo orphanage, her name is Esnart and she understands more than she is able to let on - I think! I have been to this orphanage more than the others and now know a handful of children by name and face, there is so many of them, this is a lot harder than it sounds. My favourite at this place is a 3 year old called Tait, pronounced Tai-ee-ti. I daren't ask if she has lost just one or both parents.

The children turn up wearing the same dirty ripped clothes most days, they bring some food if they have it - this is usually a small bag of nuts or the more well off kids have a packet of crisps. Not what we would consider a filling or nutrional lunch but it's better than nothing. Some kids do turn up with nothing but the others will share with them. Malawi is definitely the sharing culture that was explained to us when we arrived.

We had a poker night on Friday which ended a hard morning nicely. A couple of us decided to have a dip in the lake...lesson learnt, it doesn't matter that hippos have never been seen near this shore - DO NOT go in the lake after dark!

I am looking forward to starting the weeks work again, mainly because there is so little to do other than lesson planning or reading at the weekends. Next weekend we will be heading to Cape Maclear on Friday afternoon, a four hour boat trip with snorkeling and dorm accommodation at Fat Monkeys - a guide book favourite.

I want to write more about the state of living here but someone needs the extension from the office to power the water pump! Ah Africa!

I will try and write more in a few days - I am really really homesick at the moment and maybe I will paint to much of a depressing picture of life here if I write whilst feeling this way!

Tionana xx