Excuse the pun, I couldn't resist!
Team Malawi are back in Lilongwe very briefly after 3 days of training in Blantyre! The week started with a bang with a drive through the Liwonde National Park on Sunday where we saw lots of animals including Impala (stripy bums), Waterbuck (circle bums), Warthogs, Monkeys, Hippos and Elephants! It was amazing to see the animals we only get to see in zoos out in their natural habitat as it should be and we got VERY excited about the herd of elephants trampling past our minibus. Our mini safari was amazing although it did cause a few travel sick GOLDies with all the bouncing around bumpy roads in a hot minibus!
Our hostel in Blantyre (Doogles) was lovely and we were all in one dorm together which was challenging but nice! The bar area had a swimming pool and the showers were hot and had lights in. This is luxury! Unfortunately we were so busy with trainings that we didn't have time to use the pool but it was nice to sit around at dinner!
Training this week was at MAGGA's office in Blantyre which was a lovely venue with a classroom and outdoor space. The girls were camping for the duration of our time there which was much easier as it meant day 2 and 3 started at the the scheduled time as opposed to 'Africa Time'!
The training sessions were a repeat of those in Lilongwe as MAGGA are keen that all the girls get the same information and experience but what was really interesting was how the level of English and the ideas of the girls differed from the girls of Lilongwe. During our Free Being Me sessions where we asked the girls to draw their perfect party guest (or the 'perfect woman') they came up with things like 'wide hips', 'strong arms', 'dark eyes', 'black hair' and 'short wide legs' whereas the girls in Lilongwe had a much more Westernised view of beauty, drawing girls with light skin, blonde hair, blue or green eyes and a slim hourglass figure!
The girls were really enthusiastic and 'Get Loose', 'Thunderation' and 'Everywhere We Go' went down a storm again along with the Compliment Hands and the session on goals and dreams.
Our last night in Blantyre was celebrated with a campfire which was well constructed if worryingly high and the girls all crowded very close to it. It would not have passed a risk assessment in the UK! All the girls had prepared a short performance including songs and dances and a short skit called 'My Ruined Future' about a teenage pregnancy which was hilarious but also really brought home the problems they have keeping girls in education in Malawi. We hadn't got the memo about preparing a performance but when we were asked to stand up we winged our way through a questionable rendition of 'My Ship Sailed from China', 'Go Well and Safely' and 'TAPS' and Edelweiss complete with handclaps and the International Commissioner for Malawi (a diehard Sound of Music fan apparently!). When the campfire burned low we cooked potatoes directly in the embers which the girls dug our with their bare hands! They were delicious and we headed back to the hostel tired but happy.
We didn't get picked up to come back to Lilongwe until 10.30am which meant we got to have a treat in the form of ACTUAL BREAKFAST. This was very exciting because our meals options have been extremely limited as we have had no cooking or cooling facilities since we got here. Breakfast especially has been difficult and has consisted of a variety of pastries, teacakes and doughnuts, all of which are delicious but hard to swallow early in the morning!
Our drive back to Lilongwe was pretty smooth going and we made a couple of stops to refuel the mini van and our stomachs. One of the things we'll miss about Africa is buying snacks, drinks and even vegetables through the windows of our minibus! We even had time to make a quick surprise stop in Dedza to run a mini session for a few girls who were unable to make it tot he Lilongwe trainings.
So that's what we have been up to since our last blog post! Wifi is widely available but unreliable so we'll continue to keep you updated when we can! This morning we're headed to Salima to a camp by the lakeshore which we're all very much looking forward to!
Much Love,
Team Malawi.
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