Lilongwe

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Hello again,

Unfortunately this will be a pretty uneventful blog update...

The last time I wrote was 'pig day' so I will update from there:
Pig day was acutally really fun! It took almost 7 hours for the pig to cook, but everyone took turns keeping an eye on it (except for those not eating any). For us, we still had a pretty great dinner, some coleslaw, roasted potatoes, salad and mango chutney and apple sauce. I really enjoyed it!
After dinner we basically just had a few drinks, and the night ended with a few people dancing on the bar. However, this was at about 9:30 pm (and I promise I WASNT involved!) and the night was pretty much over by midnight - 1:00 am.

It started to pour rain in the middle of the night, which was really fun...and it stuck around almost the entire next day. Most of us used the rainy day to catch up on our journals, and do some reading.
It was my "cook groups" turn to cook last night, and we made a veggie pasta dish, which turned out quite well.
Breakfast we just made porridge, which wasn't great...

We spent the day driving into Lilongwe. When we got here, we all went to "Nando's" for lunch, which is apparently a pretty popular Portuguese chain in the UK. It was really good!
We then did some grocery shopping for the next couple of days, and then had only a 5 minute drive to our campsite. There is a really nice pool and a bit of a restaurant/bar as well.

That's pretty much it....but my mom has requested some updates about the people I am travelling with...so here goes!

I think I mentioned this before, but Britt and I are the only Canadians, everyone else is from the UK or Australia. We are pretty much the youngest (one girl, Michelle turns 22 on Saturday).
Everyone is really fun though! Most people are here to have a pretty good time, and there are certainly some hard partiers on this trip! There have been a couple of nights people didn't make it to sleep! I don't think Brittney and I have lived up to the party-Canadian reputation most of these people seem to have, but its hard to spend a lot of $$ on beers when you want to save the money for the really cool optional excursions.
Britt and I have become quite good friends with 2 girls, Kim and Amy from England. They are our age (acutally Amy's birthday was while we were in the Serengeti).
The trip is mostly girls, there are 7 guys and 17 girls.
We lose 4 of this group when we arrive in Vic Falls (about 2 weeks) and pick up 4 new people.

I am really enjoying the Oasis part of the adventure so far, probably because the people are SO much fun! However, it is so different from the volunteering in that we really don't feel like we become part of the culture. I love Malawi, but we have been staying at campsites rather than with host family (like we were in Kenya) so other than souvenir shopping we really don't get to mingle with the locals...

We spend tomorrow in Lilongwe, and then move onto our final destination in Malawi (I think...) and then we enter Zimbabwe, which is where we spend about 12 days, and when we go to Victoria Falls for bungee jumping, sand dune riding, white water rafting (maybe) etc. So I'm getting pretty excited for that!

Well...that's all for now...
sorry about the lack of update!

Love,
-Denise

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Comments

[Dennis T]

Safari on!
I have seen the Canadian ballet at the Zanzibar Pia! 2 for one happy hours (not drinks!) ... but that is not my purpose here. Sounds like all is well for you. You may or may not of heard about Sallinger with the H1N1 and his recovery and subsequent rumour of his retiring. We got him a Minnesota Viking football helmet autographed by 1970's Purple People Eater defensive line. I think his reaction will be GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. We have our office Pot Luck next Tuesday. Tons of food (too many dead animals for you). Usually a good time had by all with a few belt loops loosened. Don't tell Mark about the Bungee! As always... be careful. P.S. I spent two weeks in Lilongwe one night!

[Dad]

Shistosomaisis
Hey Neece! I'm back from "down under" and really glad to get caught up on your blogs. The comment title is the name of the fresh water parasite that they were concerned about when you showered with lake Malawi water. I have heard of it before and it's quite common. It is not however, only a concern in Malawi. The medication is apparently both safe and effective - so take it. Did the Amoxicillin work okay for your cold? I didn't read anymore about the cough and stuffed up head, so I figured it must have helped. The weather is pretty mild back here, no ice on the bay. We are going to try to co-ordinate another call, hopefully you can get cell coverage. Evan plays hockey tonight and Lisa is home for the weekend, hopefully we can connect by phone when everyone is here. Bye for now - Love Dad