25. April 2026

The New Face in the Classroom

Yes, that's been me this week! The first day of term saw just a few students (apparently, a slow start is normal) but the numbers gradually increased as the week progressed. The benefit for me was that it meant I could learn the student's names a few at a time. They're being very patient with me when I get the pronunciation wrong! I'm trying, but must try harder. My Chichewa is taking a while to improve but I'm determined to try harder at that too! Luckily, I have some excellent and willing teachers around me so perhaps my repertoire will extend beyond, 'thank you', 'good morning, how are you?' and 'see you tomorrow', before too long...

Hopefully, the students are getting used to the mad mzungu now. They are certainly getting the message that I like them to participate fully, so by the end of the week most looked slightly less terrified when I asked them to go up to write something on the blackboard (they are far less heavy-handed with the chalk than I am - sorry Miss C, I will also try harder not to break every piece I use...), or when I asked them to read something out to the rest of the class.

I suspect what they don't realise is that they are teaching me just as much, if not more, than I am teaching them.

I've also had some great chats with other teachers in the staff room but - note to self - I mustn't get so engrossed that I end up having to rush to my assigned lesson. I'm permanently looking hot and flustered from the heat, so I don't need to add to that particular aesthetic! I think the teachers are getting used to the fact that I can talk the hind legs off a donkey, given a chance!

Community Respect

Having been here for three weeks now, I've made many, many positive observations about Malawian culture, some of which I've mentioned in my previous posts. My stand-out observation of this week, however, has been the respect people show for each other here. On my walk to school every day, I encounter numerous locals going about their daily business and all want to say hello and pass the time of day, many being keen to find out what I'm doing here, where I'm living, etc. One particular early morning, a young guy passed me on his pushbike (the favoured, most affordable, wheeled transport here) and stopped to say hello. As we walked towards a short, narrow, concrete bridge, an old man was standing patiently, holding onto his own pushbike, clearly unsure about crossing the bridge. Without hesitation, the young guy put his own bike down on the grass and wheeled the older man's bike over for him, then patiently helped him to walk safely across the bridge. A simple, but heartwarming moment. I see small acts of kindness like this every day, everywhere. The old man had waited, secure in the knowledge that the next able person to come along would help him.

I have also been the recipient of respect from younger people here (yes, I guess I'm entering the bracket of being seen as old - 2 weeks until the BIG birthday). On Friday, as I walked home from school, my path across a field converged with that of one of the Form 1 students. Thinking that he may feel embarrassed at the idea of having to speak to me, I slowed my pace so as to let him speed on ahead. However, he immediately stopped and insisted on carrying my bag for me (which, incidentally, was quite full of text books), explaining that he lived near where I'm staying so would be taking the same route. He chatted enthusiastically all the way, insisting on bringing my bag right up to the gate. Zikomo, young man.

I suspect local people would find it hard to understand why these things seem worthy of remark to me. People in the UK, particularly those living in busy cities, where a sense of community is sometimes lacking, perhaps will.

And I've got one, two, three, four, five, senses working overtime...

as XTC sang several decades ago. This morning, I had the pleasure of spending time doing some creative writing exercises with some of Form 4. As luck would have it, some guys had walked to the school with a big bag of guavas to sells so, as I planned to run a session on writing sensory detail and with a few Kwachas in my bag, I managed to quickly purchase one each for the students to write about taste, touch and smell. I then sent them outside to write about the sounds they could hear, before the morning culminated in them all writing a short story about a hungry child who finds a guava. There were some wonderful stories, full of emotion and great sensory descriptions. I had to pinch myself again - how lucky am I to be doing this?

Blogging Off

Looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow (perhaps with a small amount of lesson-planning thrown in) before another week of pure joy. There'll be another blog post next Saturday, but in the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram @Malawi_enjoying_ourselves.

Thanks for reading!

Clare