5. July 2026

Trips to Town and Tiny Tots

Whilst my generous host, J, was still here this week, I made the most of opportunities to hitch a lift into town with him when he had errands to run. I'm now fully stocked for my last three weeks in Nkhotakota apart from a few fresh items like tomatoes and eggs.

Town has its own charm but is busy, loud, dusty and chaotic - so it's okay in small doses but I'm happier here in the relative peace of the village. Having said that, after several weeks with no rain, it's dusty everywhere now and with the World Cup booming from the neighbours TV and speakers it's also frequently quite loud! And chaotic quite a lot of the time...so rewind on all that, I'm not sure why I'm drawing any comparisons!

Dancing Queens

Several times a week, the local women gather in the villages to dance. Large speakers are erected and the women, wearing matching chitenje (vibrant cloth worn either as a skirt or baby carrier - and often both), dance in a circlen whilst onlookers and children gather around to watch.

One woman dances in the middle with a basket to receive money, which is given in appreciation of the dancing and as a way of providing community support. All the tots (and several of the older children) from the village are there, and many of the dancers have their babies on their backs. I've seen them dancing on the field behind the house every week since I arrived, but this week curiosity got the better of me and asked if I could go and watch. As is often the case, the children swooped around me - they all want to hold a mzungu's hand - and it was a lovely atmosphere.

A friend was there to watch his wife dancing and convinced me that I had to join in with the dance in order to offer a tip to the women. Luckily, there is only one small piece of photographic evidence of that, and I think it'll stay hidden away! The women humoured me for two minutes though, so I thank them for that!

Tiny Tot, No Trouble

Recently, I've had several conversations with one of the women in the village whose daughter was about to have a baby. On Wednesday, she arrived to show me her beautiful new grand-daughter, so I got to cuddle a one-day old baby.

Those of you who know me well will know that I'm a sucker for a newborn (or any aged baby, in fact), so it was a very special visit for me. I asked what her name was and, although still to be confirmed, it's likely to be Mavuto which means 'trouble' in Chichewa. She certainly looks angelic at the moment, so finger-crossed she doesn't live up to her name!

Dictionary Corner

Some more fabulous days at school this week. With their end-of-year exams looming, I worked the students hard this week. One of my Form 1 lessons involved a comprehension passage and I tasked the students with using the three dictionaries from the library to look up unfamiliar words and writing the meaning up on the blackboard.

I was surprised at how much they enjoyed the activity and impressed by how well they worked together.

In Form 3, I realised how ridiculous some of the English idioms are as I decided to bite the bullet and give the students a few to get their teeth into (there could well be some idioms in their comprehension questions in the exams).

Luckily for the students, they have had some new input this week with an extended visit from a great group of sixth-formers from Lancing College. Lancing have been dedicated supporters of Chankhasi Schools for many years and they bring a group of students out here biannually to visit and help around the school for a week. There are 19 of them this time, all camping at a lodge nearby, and they have already brought fresh energy to the students just at a time when it's most needed. I was fortunate enough to see a music lesson being carried out by two of the college students with Form 3, which culminated in the whole class beautifully harmonising a rendition of 'God Only Knows' by the Beach Boys.

I think I'll suggest they all start singing that to the school Director. Twice this week, I've almost been in tears by reading things students have written about their appreciation of the chance the director has given them by bringing them into the school. One student, who is sponsored by one of my family, also wrote a very moving short story about a young boy's life being changed by someone stepping in to pay their school fees.

Back on my own again

After a wonderful week of company, J has now returned to the UK, so I'm back on my own in the evenings...well not quite true, my lovely friend Madam C and some other teachers persuaded me out for gin and a brai last night (barbecued goat, boiled salted chicken and salad - delicious) as they didn't want me to be lonely! I'm really going to miss them all when I leave at the end of the month!

Blogging Off

That's all for another week, but in the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram, @malawi_enjoying_ourselves.

Thanks for reading.

Clare