What an incredible week! My time in Africa thus far has been beyond chaotic. I’ve been working non-stop in order to familiarize myself with the HIV/AIDS program here in Malawi. Am loving the job as well as the people but am feeling incredibly overwhelmed. I’m sure I’ll settle into a routine soon, but for now the long hours have limited my ability to do the most basic household chores. I still haven’t walked down the street – since I’m picked up early in the morning and dropped off late in the evening, I have no idea where my local grocery store is located and I feel somewhat ‘trapped’ once I’m at my house (I don’t have a car). I’m so used to my Peace Corps mindset, in which I live amongst the locals. I need to change my paradigm and accept the fact that I am part of Embassy housing, large gated compounds that make it nearly impossible to even meet your neighbors. And it certainly doesn’t help that the house itself feels somewhat stark… my belongings are being shipped but I’ve been told to expect the container at a minimum of 3 – 6 months! So my transition will be a long, slow process. At least my new gardener, housekeeper/cook and security guards will begin tomorrow morning 🙂 I look forward to having extra people around the house!

On another note, I finally took some time for myself and met up with the Lilongwe Sailing Club. They had organized a half-marathon at the Kamuzu Dam (located approximately 30 minutes outside of Lilongwe). I was among the spectators as a small group of ex-pats jogged their way through small villages. It was truly a quintessential African scene as men, women and children came out in droves to watch the ‘Mazungus’ – or whites in Chichewa, run along the red dirt roads. The following photos were taken at one of the water stops.

One thing I’ve noticed, the ex-pat community is quite active. The hashers meet on Mondays, the ultimate players on Tuesday, the cycling club on Wednesdays, Thursdays is movie night – which is hosted at someone’s house -since there are NO movie theaters in the entire COUNTRY! And of course, on Saturday there are the long runs or bike rides, depending on your preference. I hope to partake on some of the activities in the very near future. Finally, I want to thank all of those who sent me emails when I first arrived. Unfortunately, I don’t have Internet access outside of work so I apologize for not responding to you individually. However, please know how much I appreciate your kind thoughts and wishes!