Pleasant Dreams

The evening air stings my face as I step outside into the cold evening air. My breath forms a small cloud in front of my face. I take a deep breath, of the icy air. My lungs scream in protest. Above me, snow gently dances from the skies, leaving the world with a new look and a magical feeling. The street lights cast homey glows on the deserted streets. I pull my scarf tighter about my neck and button my coat. My gloved hands find their way into my pockets as my arms and shoulders tighten into the cold-weather-shrug in attempts to preserve body heat. It is cold.

I wake with a start. Sweat rolls across my forehead and drips off my head. It’s too hot to sleep. My brain quickly switches from my beautiful dream to reality. I’m in Africa. There is no snow on the ground, and there is no reason to even consider thinking about wearing a coat whatsoever. Dreaming of a white Christmas is as pointless as taking home a real, live elephant for my brother (yes, he asked me to bring one home for him...).

I miss being cold. I miss sitting on top of my heater in Foreman as a desperate attempt to get really warm. I miss fog, ice, and snow. I miss the welcoming warmth of entering a building from the cold winter weather.

But at the same time, I love Africa. Rainy season has begun and everything all around me is coming alive with color. The country-side is absolutely beautiful, and the animals and birds here are exotic. The people here are wonderful, sweet, and kind. I am blessed to be here. God has made up for the lack of cold and snow in fantastic ways. Even though Christmas will be extremely different this year, it will be wonderful. :) 

Merry Christmas from Malawi!

Liwonde National Park

Thanksgiving in Africa

I cleaned off my plate and went back for seconds. It was Thanksgiving Day and all the American missionaries got together and had a big potluck. There was a LOT of good food (lots of classic dishes) and I happily followed the good ol’ American tradition of completely over-eating on Thanksgiving Day. Because Malawi is not the United States (haha, not a new concept, I know), Thanksgiving is not celebrated here, and we still had to teach on Thursday and Friday. Teaching on Thanksgiving just felt wrong, and it felt equally wrong to interrupt my Thanksgiving Dinner Coma to get up in time for school the next day.

Beautiful Malawian Countryside

I often feel guilty, eating my fill, living in a house, having a fan and running water. There are so many people who do not have that. So many people live in shacks or lean-tos. Most people pump their water from a well. They cook their meals over a fire and have no electricity. They have no money. Their clothes are worn and tattered. They do not have enough food.

Being here where the people do not even have enough food to feed their children and seeing it with my own eyes has made me more conscious and thankful for what I have. 

So, this holiday season, I am thankful for:

…..having to monitor how much water I use, because it means I have running water.

…..the hot stove burners that I burn my fingers on, even though I turned it off a half hour ago, because it means I have the electricity to cook my food to help avoid food-poisoning.

…..the rooster that cock-a-doodle-doos outside my window incessantly and wakes me up early in the morning, because it means I am still alive. 

…..the terrible heat that proves that my nervous system is still functioning.

…..my fan that brings relief when I feel like I’m going to die from the heat.

…..how sore I get after a session of aerobics with the nurses, because it means I can still use my body.

…..people here who give us rides to places we need to go so we don’t have to rely on public transportation or help us with whatever we need because that keeps us safer and shows that we are cared for.

…..my students who make me smile daily, because it shows that even though teaching is hard, it is rewarding and worth it. There is joy in the difficult.

…..the bad internet connection that will cut out in the middle of a call home, because it means I have a way to talk to my family.

…..the absolutely gorgeous sunsets that completely take my breath away, because it reminds me that beauty is present even in the poorest of places and circumstances.

…..the prayers from all my friends and family at home - it means the world to me.

Most of all, I am thankful for God. He has so greatly blessed me with the best friends and family, both here and at home. He takes the best care of me and loves me every moment of every day, even though I most definitely do not deserve it. I am SO incredibly blessed!

Funnies

We have adventures. Of course, with Laurel being a red-head, what else are we going to have? These are a few of our golden moments that I thought you would appreciate :)

Bug Hunts

Okay, so not quite hunts. More chasing is involved than anything. One particular evening, I was trying desperately to kill a certain mosquito that kept threatening my space. I was next to my bed, and suddenly, he was there too. I was all focus. He hovered above my bed. Okay Talea, now!!  It would have worked, I could have killed him, if only my body had jumped when my brain told it to. But no. There was a three second delay between the brain and the body actually moving. When my body finally responded and moved to kill the mosquito, it was in “slow-motion” mode. Needless to say, I missed the mosquito and awkwardly fell on my bed. For Laurel’s viewing pleasure, I tried to kill a mosquito that was far away from me and failed. I’m sure it would have won an award on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

Emotions

One Friday afternoon, we were watching “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” as we were preparing our supper. Laurel was chopping an extremely strong onion… “Man these onions are strong!” I look over and see her eyes watering. “Quick! Take a picture to prove that I actually get emotional and cry during movies!”

Haha, nice try Laurel, nice try.

Spider Battles

Do I talk about bugs a lot? I feel like I do. I don’t like them, in case you hadn’t picked up on that :)

We were at the lake for Mother’s Day, taking some time to relax during the break from school before the next quarter of school began. Laurel and I being there alone, we were being cautious not to be in any unsafe situations. This means being in our room not long after it gets dark outside: 6:00pm. That leaves us with a lot of time to do absolutely nothing. Laurel had rented downloaded the movie “Second Hand Lions,” which meant we could only watch it once, so we were waiting for the perfect opportunity. This seemed to be it. We positioned ourselves on the cool, cement floor and started watching. Half way through the movie, a big, disgusting, weird, flat (and did I mention big?) spider crawled out of nowhere and ran across the floor. I graciously paused the movie so that Laurel would have the opportunity to decimate the vile creature. She missed, as he was a quick enemy and scurried under one of the bunks. Laurel shrugged her shoulders and resumed her place next to me to finish the movie.

Me: “Um… Aren’t you going to kill it?”

Laurel: “No, I don’t know where he is.”

Me (in desperation): “He’s under the bed.” Laurel didn’t seem too motivated. “I’ll even help you!!!”

Laurel, in a surprised tone: “Really??”

Me: “Yeah! Somebody has to hold the flashlight!!”

As hard as it may be for you to imagine, I reigned victorious over that spider. I don’t remember if I used my shoe to kill it or Laurel’s. But he was dead and we were at peace to finish the movie.

Rice

Laurel loves rice and eats EVERYTHING with chopsticks (except for cinnamon rolls). She’s part Asian, if not all. She is very well disguised with her white skin and red hair. I have yet to figure out how she managed that. I really don’t mind her inner Asian, I like rice, but I roll my eyes at her every once in a while. I can’t let her go too long without somebody giving her a hard time, right?

Well, we have ground breaking news!! On October 30, 2014, Laurel said she didn’t want rice. 

And I have a confession to make: The past couple of days I’ve been craving rice. Laurel may be rubbing off on me. 

Please don’t be surprised to see us at a rice-aholics anonymous meeting when we return to the States.