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Published: February 27th 2010
Well I’ve been out here 4 months now, so I’m roughly half way through my time in Malawi (well actually last week or the week before is probably closer to the half way mark but I’ve only just got round to doing this). I’m still here, still working for St John, and still doing these blogs (clearly) even if I’m fairly certain there’s no one reading them (not exactly something you can stumble upon without meaning to), so I’m basically only doing them for my own benefit. I thought I’d have a general ramble about what I’ve been up to and what I’m planning on doing.
Pretty much since I walked through the security at Heathrow I’ve had this annoying, niggling worry of; am I doing the right thing or am I making a massive mistake being here. This isn’t ideal when I think of all the time, effort and not to mention the money I’ve put into this trip, not to enjoy my time now I am here. So I forced it out of my mind and got on with things, luckily recently I’ve noticed this feeling has subsided.
As you’ll know from reading the rest of the blogs I’ve been working on a schools program for most of my time, we’ve visited 13 schools, done talks at 7, trained 3 groups of students and teachers in first aid so far, and there are 3 first aid clubs running that we visit. Obviously we still hope for the schools we’ve met and spoken with to contact us so we can set up training. Later in the year, probably April time, we’re hoping to have a first aid competition.
While I’ve been here I’ve also met loads of great people, folks I’ve stayed with, the guy’s I’m working with, who go the churches, or that I’ve just randomly met in a bar or on the street and got talking to. Everyone’s so friendly it’s great.
While I’m here I have this attitude that I should be trying to take any opportunity offered to me so that I can make the most of my time living abroad, so if someone mentions an event happening I’ll try and turn up, if someone offers the chance to go on a trip I’ll go along, or if it’s suggested I try something I’ll test it out, you get the idea. In theory this is great, but recently I’ve seen that I’ve managed to carve out a pattern for myself without meaning to, 5 days a week I go to work, get up at the same time, be at the stop for the same time, eat lunch at the same places, in the evening s I either watch TV or go to the gym, at the weekends I go into Blantyre use the internet café talk to folks in the UK…this is week in, week out, only occasionally with some variation. So I’ve decided to stop just passively waiting for the opportunities to come to me but to actively make them. I can’t do much about the weekdays, I’m doing what I came out here to do, though I am going to ask if I can take part in the other projects more, but come March on the weekends, I’m going to stop wasting the opportunity of living in another country, I’m going to get on a bus Saturday morning and spend the weekends traveling to some of the parts of Malawi I haven’t yet seen.
Hopefully I’ll get to meet some new people, see some new places and have some fun. I also hope that by writing about it on here it’ll actually force me to do it and not just talk about it.
Tionana
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Elaine
non-member comment
Hey Joe
People are reading your blogs, people like the Annie,Weights, KJ, Sharon, etc etc, Grandad prints out your newsletters so people like A. Doris gets to reads them, so don't think you are wasting your time writing them :o)xx