Good Times, Good Vibes and Goodbyes
I must plead forgiveness for the tardiness of this post but I have a long list of excuses!
My last week in Nkhotakota was busy, busy, busy. There were exam papers to mark and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to master the art of doing that quickly! There was also swimming to be done in the lake with friends, which was bliss, as the water is the temperature of bath water now.
School's Out for Summer
Wednesday was the last day of school. The early assembly brought a lump to my throat and as the morning went on I found it hard to contain my emotions as I bid farewell to the students. Although I'll see most of them again in October, it won't be in the capacity of their teacher and I've had such a great time in the classroom with them all. I'll miss them and they'll never realise how much they've taught me!
As soon as the last exam was over, the students headed off for their long summer at home. Some of the boarding students live a long distance away, so the journey home would have been a long one.
Can You Canoe?
As one last 'hurrah' with the teachers, I arranged a kayaking trip for the first day of the school holidays. I'd promised the teachers I'd make cakes for the occasion but, lo and behold, the power went off early that morning. A promise is a promise, though, so I had to come up with a Plan B - ever baked biscuits on a barbecue?! As cooking methods go, it perhaps wasn't the best but I ended up with a tub of dubious biscuits to offer the team. It's the thought that counts, eh?
Not everyone was keen to go out onto the water, so it was arranged that some of us would kayak from further up the lake and meet the landlubbers for refreshments at a beach further south. So, the lakefarers amongst us set off to collect the kayaks, only to find when we got there that we had fewer paddles than kayaks. However, to continue in the day's spirit of Plan B, this problem was overcome by borrowing wooden paddles from some local fishermen (who use dug out canoes for their trade) and a couple of the local fishing kids decided to accompany us.
We arrived further down the shore to a heroes welcome from the waiting party and, having paddled into the wind for much of the journey, the biscuits were welcome sustenance in the end! It was fantastic fun and my face ached from smiling and laughing so much.
The Apprentice
I had one final important bit of work to do before I could leave Nkhotakota. I've mentioned on here previously about the student sponsorship programme at the school and, as it grows, the processes for sponsorship needs to be streamlined. The school director's son has been appointed as the Sponsorship Liaison Officer, so I spent time getting him up and running on the programme admin, including setting up spreadsheets and email templates. One of the things I was keen to do was to establish a regular newsletter for the sponsors; this tested my skills in Microsoft Word to their limits but we got there in the end! A taster below - if you'd like a copy of the full newsletter, let me know and I'll send one to you!
Rodney has been a willing apprentice and I feel I have left the task in safe hands.
Tsangalere!
Translated from Chichewa as 'let's party' or 'be happy', this was the vibe on a night out with friends on Saturday. The place we went to was close to some hot springs, where locals go to bathe, and Madam C and I were taken to visit them before it went dark. The scenery there was beautiful.
Afterwards, the party got into full swing; goodbyes were said and memories were made. Enough said. I'll miss them all.
Fond Farewells
Saying farewell to Madam C was emotional - I am indebted to her for the warm welcome, constant giggles and wonderful friendship she has shown me during my time in Nkhotakota. I will miss her greatly over the next couple of months and I'm already looking forward to laughing with her when I'm back in October. She and I will always laugh, I'm sure of that!
There is another friend I have to thank too, who talked me through some difficult stuff over the past couple of months (he knows who he is!). To a young but wise old owl, thank you!
And talking of owls, the zoom lens on my new camera came into its own again last week when I went outside early one morning to investigate a sound up in the trees...this eagle owl was a beauty! What a privilege to have been able to capture it on camera!
Blogging Off
I've moved now, but I'll save the details for my next blog post. In the meantime, please feel free to follow me on Instagram @malawi_enjoying_ourselves.
Thanks for reading,
Clare