tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23772444912137476382024-03-05T21:02:05.730+02:00Taking the Long WayMisadventures in Malawi and BeyondGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.comBlogger305125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-50710289016527780532012-06-22T11:02:00.002+02:002012-06-22T11:02:50.480+02:00Back in the saddleI'm writing today from Juba, South Sudan. I'm not sure what this brings me to in my "countries visited" count, but I'm pretty sure I'm now up into the 40s.
I was a bit anxious about coming here at first, with the news of recent clashes near the border and growing tensions with the North, but I've actually found it to be very quiet and calm. The only moment that made me a bit nervous was one dayGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-30790212970864349912012-05-24T23:00:00.001+02:002012-05-24T23:00:41.075+02:00For over a month now, I was beginning to think we'd been completely bamboozled. I mean, I knew the weather in Ireland would suck, but I really didn't expect to still need a winter coat, gloves, and a scarf to go out to get lunch at the end of May (and I still felt cold even under all those layers). And yet, every store at the mall was stocked with skimpy sundresses and beach-wear. Really, it feltGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-45161213090007964842012-02-07T00:15:00.004+02:002012-02-07T00:37:00.890+02:00Dean's first haircutA few weeks ago, I finally talked Jorge into letting me take Dean to get his hair cut. Jorge has a thing about the boys' hair; he seems to think they are little Samsons (Samsonites?), and that their power is in their hair. Also, Jorge refuses to let a woman cut their hair, because, according to him, if the hairdresser happens to be pregnant, the boys' hair will be ruined. He will tell you his ownGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-76531434595699988762012-02-03T00:40:00.002+02:002012-02-03T00:56:06.971+02:00Things that are strange hereIn many ways, I'm experiencing far more culture shock moving to Europe than I ever did moving to Africa. I often find myself saying to Jorge or Milo, when explaining why we can't do something they suggest, "This isn't Africa, OK? People are weird here." (Come to think of it, that was a frequent phrase while we were in Seattle as well. But not New Orleans. Hmmm.)So, here's a short list of some of Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-45752666748187834782011-12-09T00:13:00.003+02:002011-12-09T00:31:46.622+02:00Ho ho ho!This may sound strange, but we’re kind of rookies to this whole Christmas thing. I mean, I left home when I was 18, and came home a handful of times for the holidays, but for most of the past 15 years both Jorge and I have just drifted from one friend or family member’s home to another at Christmas (or even better, spent Christmas at a luxury safari lodge. One year I spent Christmas wrapped up inGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-15089757552978636602011-11-20T18:55:00.001+02:002011-11-20T18:59:18.550+02:00Home is where the beer isGreetings from Ethiopia. People keep asking me, “What are you doing in Ethiopia? I thought you worked in Ireland now.”Shall I remind you that I work for a humanitarian organization, and that, while Ireland certainly does seem to be on the edge of a crisis, it’s been a loooong time since the potato famine. And that yes, a diet based primarily on cured pork and potatoes is probably not the most Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-4656513782645226522011-10-28T14:07:00.002+02:002011-10-28T14:11:45.563+02:00Say what?Well, what do you know... there was a presidential election in Ireland yesterday! And I had no clue. I suppose you could say that this fact speaks volumes about my civic engagement and interest in my new home. I would argue, though, that it has much more to do with my consumption of Irish media (or lack thereof). First, we have no television. We haven’t owned one since Hurricane Katrina wiped outGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-88235395743827472752011-10-26T21:55:00.000+02:002011-10-24T21:58:05.558+02:00Exploring, part 3After two weeks without an apartment, we changed tactics, and decided to rent a car for the week so that we could drive around and get to places that were further afield (ironically, we ended up renting the first place we looked at that week, which also happened to be 5 blocks away from the hotel where we were staying. Go figure.) Even though we didn’t end up doing too much apartment-hunting Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-9536392000334823482011-10-24T21:38:00.003+02:002011-10-24T21:52:51.602+02:00Exploring, part 2After our grey, wet day South of Dublin at Glendalough, we decided to go in the opposite direction, up North to County Meath. Our destination was a place called Newgrange, which is a prehistoric site built several thousand years ago. There is a complex of tombs which are buried under very carefully constructed mounds, each rock placed so precisely that the cavern inside is perfectly watertight. Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-33665775203779967892011-10-20T22:26:00.003+02:002011-10-20T22:48:38.889+02:00Exploring, part 1I am happy to report that we are now settled into our apartment. After looking at plenty of duds, we found a nice litte townhouse, 10 minutes walk from my office, a few blocks away from several grocery stores and other shops, and with a swimming pooll down the block where Milo can take lessons. It has plenty of closets, a shower with decent water pressure, and a full-sized fridge. And best of allGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-85568906143325369122011-10-11T23:29:00.000+02:002011-10-11T23:29:00.555+02:00Random thoughts on bloggingHello? Anybody out there? In honor of my completely gutted readership, I thought I’d share some of my latest thoughts on blogging for the scant few of you who still bother to come to this site (and yet never comment on ANYthing. Lazy slobs.)1) I took a long sabbatical from blogging, I know. To tell you the truth, after 5 years in Malawi, I was beginning to feel like I just had nothing good to sayGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-16565575589273360062011-10-10T22:47:00.002+02:002011-10-10T22:51:48.783+02:00A place to call homeSo, we are back in the hotel. House-hunting is hard work here. Every morning I go through the listings, make a note of any suitable places, e-mail Jorge the numbers and addresses, and go off to work. When he gets time (that is, when the children allow him 10 minutes of peace, which is rare) he calls around and tries to make appointments for viewings. People only show apartments in the evenings, Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-74708183032078741782011-10-04T22:25:00.003+02:002011-10-04T22:28:39.172+02:00Fashion (hell) weekWhen you work for a job that sends you off to difficult places like remote African nations, one of the things that is always covered in your induction is how to deal with culture shock. I always brushed these sessions off, because I don’t think I’m terribly affected by culture shock. My feet hit the Seattle airport, and the next thing I want to do is go to Target. If you ask Jorge, of course, he Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-74553682337159236952011-09-30T22:41:00.003+02:002011-09-30T22:54:29.336+02:00We apparently do not have the luck of the Irish yetWe have officially been living in Ireland for one week now, although it feels longer. Every day feels so full and a little bit stressful, and yet at the same time we fell like we're just not getting anything done.Yesterday, for example, was a rough day. Jorge rode down in the morning to the immigration office to register, as we were told we should do when we arrived at the airport. However, the Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-28656685495964879372011-09-24T22:43:00.002+02:002011-09-24T23:04:42.862+02:00And another adventure beginsWe have moved to Ireland. We are still a little bit in shock. Fortunately, everything went pretty smoothly with the trip here - the boys slept most of the flight from Nairoble to Amsterdam, there were no issues at all with immigration coming into Ireland, all our bags showed up, and there was even a humongous van waiting at the taxi stand when we got out there. The only complications were when anGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-71470572897944619892011-09-14T20:54:00.003+02:002011-09-14T20:58:37.942+02:00Big news. Sad, but big.Malawi has been our home for so long, I’ve forgotten that the nature of my job is more in the moving than the staying. In fact, when I was younger, I scoffed at the idea of staying put more than a year or two in any given place. I was born to roam, baby. Now that I’m older, more maternal, and quite frankly, a little boring, I don’t see the point in being anywhere less than three years. What can Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-9964220203339486632011-07-28T12:21:00.000+02:002011-07-28T12:21:00.743+02:00Quiet nowI just thought I would pop on and let you all know that things have settled down here in Malawi, at least for now. After two days at home I got incredibly stir-crazy, and convinced my office to let me go out to the field on Friday, and it was as calm as you could ever imagine. All the supposed damage to the city center had never happened, and while everyone seemed a little more tense than usual, Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-72788377874615045432011-07-21T20:41:00.002+02:002011-07-21T20:48:42.509+02:00Another dayWell, it’s the end of yet another tense day here in Lilongwe. Again, the city basically shut down, due to the ongoing protests, which have now seemingly collapsed into anarchy. All of my meetings were again canceled today, so it was basically a snow day for all of us. I didn’t get much done, as Jorge and I kept checking the updates on Twitter. We worried for some young friends who had been Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-84918789511664092572011-07-20T12:42:00.001+02:002011-07-20T12:44:23.479+02:00Day of ProtestI have lived in Malawi for 5 year now, and not once have I ever known the people to rise up in angry protest. Sure, there are editorials written, the occasional march held, but generally Malawians have always seemed a peaceful lot. They take pride in the fact that Malawi, a rarity in sub-Saharan Africa, has never experienced true violent conflict.So when I was told by the organization that I workGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-82668607923508098002011-07-15T15:22:00.001+02:002011-07-15T15:25:28.598+02:00Coming up ShortThe order of the day in Malawi is shortages. It seems just about everything is running low these days – fuel, electricity, forex, drugs…A friend recently saw a news story in the local paper bemoaning the “shortage of models,” which is apparently crippling Malawi’s fashion industry. Half the time, we don’t even have powdered milk for our tea in my office. Life is certainly more difficult these Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-89782753498042660792011-06-12T20:38:00.005+02:002011-06-12T21:24:11.073+02:00Luwawa Bike RaceNow for a little time traveling, as we jump ahead six months from Dean's birth to this past weekend...Yesterday Jorge raced in the Luwawa International Bike Race, an annual mountain-biking event that takes place a few hours north of Lilongwe on the Viphya Plateau, a wooded highlands. It was our first time to Luwawa, and I was looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet in the forest. What I got Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-21233747684182683792011-06-04T20:38:00.004+02:002011-06-04T21:05:39.409+02:00Meet Baby DeanFinally! The really exciting part of our trip back home to the United States! When last I left you, I was enjoying (OK, tolerating) the Thansgiving snow in Seattle. A week later, on November 30th, I got a call from my best friend Mary to tell me she'd had her son that day, a little boy named Lucas. I was 39 weeks pregnant, and for the first time, felt a little jealous. Normally I am COOL with Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-76631265511727442312011-05-28T15:34:00.003+02:002011-05-28T20:55:19.084+02:00Milo's first snowIt's the weekend in Lilongwe and that means lots of just hanging out with friends. I'm on my own tonight, as Jorge has gone out to watch some soccer game which is apparently a Very Big Deal. Milo just called me up to his room handed me a book about the rainforest which apparently was giving him the heebie-jeebies and told me "I want it go downstairs." Now that the scary frog is taken care of, I'mGwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-58344436307739518572011-05-24T20:26:00.004+02:002011-05-24T21:09:25.601+02:00Still hereThought I disappeared, didn't you? Well, I'm still around.So, we went to Seattle for 6 months. And to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. And some other stuff happened. and now we are back home in Malawi, in our little (palatial) flat in Lilongwe, getting used to being back to "normal" life.I thought about doing a big long "what I did on my 6-month vacation" post, but A. that would be much too much work, Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377244491213747638.post-11585646758312939292010-09-30T14:47:00.003+02:002010-09-30T15:01:05.464+02:00Busy busy busyJust hopping on quickly, after a very late lunch. The countdown to maternity leave is now on - We leave Malawi exactly 2 weeks from now. So as you can imagine, things have been pretty busy with trying to get all my work done, pack up the house, and still do all my usual mama/wife/friend activities. Jorge recently started taking a few online classes too, so I have had to take on a lot of the Gwynethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16328287662160030727noreply@blogger.com4