Ekwindeni Primary School

Right then, sooo much has happened since my last post!
We were given our placements soon after I put my last post on, Me, lucy and sian are at Ekwindeni Primary School! (though the kids and teachers cant say sain so her name is now Sharon or Sharoni!! - basically whatever takes there fancy! Sian tried to teach them at first but has now given up and begruggingly excepted sharon!!) The other 4 girls are at St Michaels and then the 2boys and 2new girls are in Endongleni (probably spelt incredibly wrong but o well!)
Right so we slept our last night at Mzoozoozoo and went on to our schools in the afternoon after buying all our food from the market! so much fresh produce its unbeliable a whole row of people just selling bannanas!! not that I like them but Its all very intresting! They are also very fond of dried fish or chamba (meaning fish!)! It smells disgusting and how anyone doesnt get ill from it is unbelivable as the store holders just let flies land all over it!
We arrived at our schools early tuesday afternoon and were incrediably dissapointed, the headmaster had made other arrangements! so we were left sitting very aqwardly in his office for almost 2 hours with locals who kept talking tambuka! We then got taken to our new home!!! well I say home at this point it was a room with the base of the bed in it! no electricity and not much else! Least to say we were very very dissapointed! Melissa the team leader came at about 7 though and metephorically kicked arse! We were found beds and a lady (whos name we dont no so we call her mumma- meaning lady in tambuka!) cooked us a meal! We had rice, some greens and nsima (which is like smash if you add too much hot water!!!- most people would probably judge it inedible!) we also had to eat with our hands and mumma and her two nieces thought we were all hilarious! and told us we ate like 3 year olds!!! She then told us she would come get us in the morning and teach us how to wash!! We were petrified!! we thought she would want us to bathe naked with her!!! :S!! and she wouldnt tell us a time for some reason and said she would wake us up!! So after an restless night were some pesky shmuck of a mouse spent the whole night attempting to get through the door! (he chewed all the way through a curtain!) Mumma came to get us one by one! lucky she just told us! and we were spared her having to see our naked bumskis!! Malawians wash squating (they love squatiing!) and splash water over themselves! We then had breakfast round mammas house and headed to school! The children were sooo excited to see us which was lovely! and we had to greet them and then they repeated our names back! my name is Liz (spoke very high and quickly!) or Rizzieeeeeeeee!
We had our first lesson with standard 5! whos ages range from 9 to 13- though as they dont move up till they have passed the class! the older cooler kids at the back blatently lied about there ages! as they look about 20 some of them! the younger kids think its very funny and take the mick!! We had an awful lesson!! the kids were really excited! and there english isnt too good at all! Hopefully when we start teaching the older classes there english will be better!
The next day we taught them the DRSABC! which its the first thing you do when you find a casuality and this class went really well as did teaching the recovery position! The locals have been really friendly two women from marys meals (who provide porridge to the children) came and brought us water! and a teacher from the school invited us to her house! she is very western compared to the other teachers and we had a lovely time she showed us the river and her house and we met her children! she said to pop by any time! so might take my photographs round to hers when I see her next time as she was very interested in our way of life!
We now have a stove and mumma neice came to light it the other day! she set fire to plastic bags and then swung the stove backwards and forwards! (like if you put water in a bucket and swing it!) was fascinating! but there were kids around and scared the life out of me!! They were soooo close!
Id love to leave you with some pictures of the kids at our school playing with bubbles but the internets soo slow!! Got so much more to say but people are waiting!!!
will write again soon!

Greetings from Africa...

My first blog from Africa... well iv arrived! Im currently in an internet cafe in the town of mzuzu! Its a very busy lively town. We have been to the market today to buy wrap skirts! The malawian people find us all very funny! They shouted Nazunga! Nazunga!! which means white person! and like to point out there mates! apparently they all want white girlfriends so the lads are doing a brilliant job of being all our husbands!!
Everythings so cheap! We went out for tea last night to an indian and then to a sports cafe! Cost about 7pounds!! We all got money out at the airport and they preceeded to give us a great big wedge of cash!! So anyway about the journey... the flight was long, not quite as bad as two people who had to wait for 13hours in Nairobi!!! They were so knackered by the time we go there! The plane from London City to Amsterdam was so bumpy!! Was very scary!! but got brilliant views of london! I then flew to Nairobi and then on to Lilongwe! In Lilongwe we camped for one night had my first cold malawian shower, was lovely to meet everyone, there is a group of 9 of us at the moment, with two arriving wed/thurs! We travelled from Lilongwe to Mzuzu yesterday took about 7 hours! Was the most interesting bus journey Iv ever been on! saw people selling rats on sticks! and they try and sell everything imaginable through the windows too you!! They are all out to make a quick buck too! wanted me to pay for a photo I took! I showed them it wasnt of them! then they wanted a photo and me to pay them!! They all speak pretty good english so the language barrier isnt much of a problem as long as you speak clearly and dont use adjectives! We had a wee (im with with some scotts!! hehe!) langauge lesson last night and they dont have a word for please!! (please is seem as begging!). Were staying at Mzoozoozoo which is a lodge! our rooms are very shack like!!! and there are quite a lot of bugs! though we have nets and were also lucky as its not mozzy season were all pretty scared! The showers pretty scary too (I havent braved that one yet- thats for tonight!!!!) Well we find out about our placements tonight! who we are with and everything so its going to be really nice to get know that! Cant wait to meet the children and the people we are staying with apparently in true Malawian form there all sooo excited to see us!!!
Will let you no more soon! and try to maybee put up some images!! its reallly weird today its poured! and im wearing 3 layers! and im still cold!!! not like the africa you see on the tele!!!
best be off!! Iv been on 21 minutes and its at 105kw which is less than 50p!! (told you it was cheap!!! and the exchange rate is mad!!) speak soon!

Apologies

My Sincere Apologies for my complete lack of attention to my blog.

The leggy caramel dog was having a bit of a snooze in the sun!

But anyway she must now put her long caramel leg back out into the world...

So today I moved house, to a lovely georgian house with some lovely ladies and we shall proceed to have a lovely time!! for it is lovely! I cant wait for september!!!

Anyway the purpose of this blog is about to change quite considerably and will become the trials and tribulations and probably tell you every nook and cranny and every moan! As I am about to embark on a trip to Africa after a much needed rest in Spain.

I am travelling to Africa for 6 weeks with the humanitarian Organisation First Aid Africa, teaching children in schools or orphanages first aid, as they have a severe lack of medical services over there. I must take this opportunity to thank all the exceptional people who have been sooo soooo generous with donations and made the trip possible and also all those who have given me much needed support!!

Wish me luck! and If anything really unfortunate happens live long, enjoy every second and dont for a second be sad- Iv had a cracking time!! hehe!!!! (Thats my optimism poking through!! but those of you who no me really well no how accident prone I am!! so all these eaten by lions jokes arent probably that far from the truth!!!)

On a lighter note you should see the amount I have to carry! If I manage to squeeze it into my backpack I will be very very very surprised!!! Wo betided anyone in customs who fancies opening it up!! no doubt they will do though the amount of tablets there are in it!! Get everything for this and for that crammed in there!! lets hope the customs officers in malawi understand us foreign travellers! they must thing we are paranoid fools or drug mules!!!

Also one more injection (end of my pin cushion arms!) to go tomorrow morning!! and to get antimalaria tablets and Im pretty much set to go!! Iv got my garlic tablets on the go to ward of any unsuspecting vampires and also mosquitos!! hehe!!

Well I might not write again for some time as with going away before hand and then one day in the uk before the big trip...I will try but the next time I right on here I might be on a big old Malawian dial up internet contraption!! haha!! speak soon...