Questing for Joy

A long overdue "hello", to you! My past few months here in Malawi have been eye-opening, relationship-focused, somewhat chaotic, occasionally mundane, and often adventure-filled.

One of the practices keeping me grounded throughout this time is actively cultivating joy each day, in whatever - usually small - way I can manage.

• Admiring the sunset whilst pumping my fifth water bucket of the day at the borehole
• Splitting an equisitely-sweet custard apple with a friend after helping her pack up maize into storage bags
• Spotting an elusive, shooting star on a late-night visit to the outhouse
• Sharing basil leaves with absolutely everyone in my neighborhood, because holy-guacamole Batman, I've got basil coming out of my ears
• Noticing that the puny little pigeonpea plants have suddenly become taller than me and crowned with magnificent, red-gold flowers
• Passing around stickers to the kids who come over to play Uno and help me fetch water
• Soaking in the smiles of the next-door baby, who is miraculously unafraid of my different skin and different hair and different language
• Watching my loofah plants grow day by day
• Cooking pasta alla Norma on my lil gas stove and wow wow wow, delicious
• Visiting with my shopkeeper friends and practicing my Chichewa every time I go to buy groceries
• Hopping on a minibus and NOT getting azungu-priced, for once
• Making friends with a taxi-driver named Patrick and sharing my streetfood-breakfasts with him, because he makes sure I get safely back to my house when it's dark outside
• A brand-new fence to protect my garden against the enemy (goats)
• Playing bao, tournament stye, with friends (even though I usually lose, in a rather spectacular fashion)
• Jumping onto a Zoom call to help prepare the incoming volunteer cohort on what to pack
• Discovering that those really pretty flowers on the tall plants are OKRA FLOWERS WHAT?!
• Eating a bagel, after many months of fantasizing
• Chatting with a man harvesting tea leaves
• Spending an evening with my best friend here, decorating our phone cases with stickers
• Finding a lizard the size of my thumbnail
• Receiving care packages from home - huzzah for my calendar, Cheez-Its, and deodorant!
• Cooking chicken-less, noodle-less chicken noodle soup with my fellow volunteer friend
• Catching a sunrise over Lake Malawi
• A cat purring in my lap
• Learning how to take the kernels off of the corn cob for processing, without turning my hands into giant blisters
• Being invited to Mosque by the neighborhood ladies, and everyone was so supportive and welcoming
• Taking goofy selfies with the kiddos
• Everything. Bagel. Seasoning.
• Lavender-scented floor soap
• Seeing a Tinkerbell mural on the way to a hike
• A new chitenje that looks like tie-dye Eye of Sauron
• Exchanging - honestly stupid - memes with a friend over Instagram

Despite the daily challenges, life here remains an adventure, and a good one at that. We are blessed to ride this wave as long as it will carry us; remember to give your loved ones a hug any time you can, remember that you owe it to yourself to lean into periods of growth, and remember that we are here to lift each other up - in whatever ways we can.

Love,

Katy

p.s. Enjoy a photo dump, just for you :)