"i can haz darwin award plz? kthxbye."

Storm moving in (from left to right) from Chitakale, Malawi. (This picture was taken from the top of a water tower on a hill behind Chisitu. Only when I was leaving did I think that standing on top of a tall metal structure during a thunderstorm was probably not a smart move, though it certainly would have a beautiful way to win a darwin award.)

Yesterday I met the PGSS theater troupe. They're putting on a play which talks about the problems associated with people believing in witchcraft. I figured that, being theater people and all, they'd be able to tell me why the invisible airplane story I heard a few weeks ago was believed by as many people as it was. The told me that so many people believed it because it was true. When I asked them if they were making fun of me they looked hurt, like I'd insulted them by thinking that they'd ever make fun of me...

The power went out last night during a lull between two storms. 30 seconds after the lights went dark the entire school, at the very least the dorm in front of Ben's house, broke out in song. It was pitch black except for a small sliver of pale moon light shining through the clouds off on the horizon. A soft wind and a few rain drops here and there, and then 100 voices singing at the top of their lungs. I don't know what they were singing, but it was wonderful.

I'm heading off to another school, and hopefully Lake Malawi, for a few days. The already sporadic updates will stop for a week or so.

ps - I put up 4 new blog entries today. I tried to get a new one up each day, and each evening I'd start a new entry, but then I'd tell myself I'd finish it first thing in the morning. That didn't work out too well...

pps - Things I can do without, in order of how willing I am to do without them:

Trains (or any kind of public transportation that follow (or even has) a timetable)

I know that if I leave the school and start walking towards Blantyre I'll eventually find a mini-bus which will eventually drop me off at Limbe. From Limbe I know that I'll eventually find a mini-bus to Blantyre. It might take an hour or it might take 5, but eventually I'll get there, and that's not nearly as big a problem as I thought it'd be.

A chicken-free kitchen

Once I got over the shock of having a rooster and few hens going through my trash at 5:30 in the morning it was easy enough to get ride of them. I have since learnt to make sure the door is closed at night.

Running hot water

Heating up water is easy enough (if you have electricity or a gas stove) and using a bucket is fine. I actually enjoy the final gesture of bathing with a bucket, you take all the hot water left in the bucket and dump it on your head, it's wonderful.

Internet

I was planning on not really having an Internet connection at all, but now that I do I really miss it when it goes away. At the same time if all I need to do is write not having Internet greatly reduces the number of distractions.

Running water

There's a well about 20 meters away. Fetching water really isn't a big deal. To be honest, since I've only had to do it a few times, I actually had fun.

A Toilet

I must just be too bourgeois. I'd much rather go and get water from the well to fill the toilet's tank than to go and shit in a hole in the ground. Reading on the toilet is the best part of the entire process, and even if I can't read that's not really what I want to smell right after breakfast...

Music

When I was packing I looked at all the stuff I had and decided that, having to draw the line somewhere, I'd leave the iPod behind. At the time it seemed like just one more thing to charge and keep track of. I severely underestimated how nice it is to to be able to listen to music whenever and wherever you want.

Electricity

It is surprisingly difficult to get much done without electricity. I can't charge camera batteries, I can't use my laptop, I have no lights, I can't heat up water or tea, or use the hot plate to cook some food. Turns out I'm extremely electricity dependent.

this picture was published on saturday, may 09 2009. there is a full size version available. this picture was taken with a 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 on a nikon d200. the settings when this was taken were: focal length: 18.0 mm; shutter speed: 1; iso: 100. this image has the following tags: malawi.