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 :)

Why, hello there! Thank you for joining me once again in this crazy, eons-long month we call January. Rainy season is here to stay, folks. Roofs are a-leakin', chimanga (corn) is in its angsty adolescent phase, and hotdog-sized centipedes are doing their best to ruffle my feathers. And speaking of feathers, I have a new roommate! His name is Bertram.

Perks of living with Bertram: He's got a great singing voice and - dare I say - a fabulously color-coordinated wardrobe

Drawbacks of living with Bertram: He's horribly distracted by the ladies, and he keeps getting his beak stuck in the keyhole of my backdoor

Say hello to Bertram!

As you can see in Bertram's very professional headshot, things have greened up TREMENDOUSLY in the past couple of months!! I am amazed at how drastically different the Malawian countryside looks, compared with when I arrived in June.

With the rains, everyone and their brother (and sister, and mother, and grandpa, and auntie, and baby cousin... you get the idea) is busy farming. Most of this is very small-scale, and households can be found in their fields early in the morning planting, weeding, and tidying ridges. Folks return to their homes around midday to cook, eat, and rest. Many also farm in the evening hours, when the temperatures are cooler and the sun is lower in the sky. This is difficult work, since the majority of farming is done by hand, using tools like slashers (for tall grasses/weeds), khasu (hoe), and occasionally shovels/wheelbarrows. Malawi has a few larger, industrial-scale farms, but they are not nearly as widespread as they are in the United States; the agricultural model here revolves around smallholder and subsistence farming.

The most common crops that are grown in my area are maize (chimanga), rice (mpunga), peanuts (mtedza), soybeans, pigeon peas (nandolo), cassava (chinangwa), and some leafy greens. I got to help out with some planting in my neighborhood, including demonstration plots of sorghum (a drought-resistant, low-input crop - YAY!) and hybrid maize. Additionally, my neighbor bestie and I are trying out some maize & pigeon peas in the fields behind our houses. I am trialing a handful of those rows with the Three Sisters companion planting method. This is a traditional, Indigenous American technique that leverages the benefits of planting maize, beans, and squash/gourds (the Three Sisters) in close proximity. The maize provides support/shade for the runner beans, the squash leaves shade the roots of the maize/beans, and the beans are a nitrogen-fixer (boosting the soil health for all three!). I've got my fingers crossed!

In addition to planting field crops, I've also been busy busy busy starting some container herbs and flowers, as well as digging a fancy-shmancy garden bed within my fenced-in yard. So far, I've got basil, cilantro, parsley, and marigold seedlings going, and I anticipate planting my vegetable garden this upcoming week. I have some extra space in my yard, and a few of my neighbors have said that I have space for another three garden beds! We will see just how ambitious I feel...and how merciful the local goats and chickens decide to be 😭

And at the risk of pointing out the obvious, with the rainy season comes...rain. I have much more "indoors time" on my hands than I used to, and I've been leaning into cozy activities. I purchased a yoga mat over the holidays, which has been soooo nice for restarting my daily yoga practice and staying active. Additionally, one of my goals for 2025 is to read 50 books...I am 7 deep and am not slowing down lol. The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Red Tent have been two of my faves; a couple of the other volunteers and I follow each other on Goodreads and enjoy swapping recommendations! Impromptu evening dance parties have also become a regular thing (thank you Ethan for your 2000's Club Bangers playlist, it slaps). Thanks to another volunteer friend, I've been learning and perfecting a Malawian board game called "bao". One of my favorite neighbor kids has proved to be a phenomenal coach and challenger; last week I FINALLY beat him after a 45-minute long match. Heck yeahhhh! Excited to be trying out some embroidery soon, too. A few life-saving care package items during this time have included a portable, USB-charging fan, powdered electrolyte drinks, cheese powder, and protein bars (the rain does not mix well with cooking over a charcoal stove). Y'all rock!

Over the past month, I've had the chance to travel to Blantyre for the first time (big city in the Southern Region), and it is beautifulllll! I enjoyed checking out the Chichiri Museum (aka Museum of Malawi), The Mandala House (built in 1882, also home to a lovely cafe), Kwaharaba Art Gallery + Cafe for live music, and hanging out with Peace Corps friends :) Blantyre is very walkable, the folks are super friendly, and it features some gorgeous landscapes. 10/10. I was also able to travel up to Lilongwe for meetings with a Peace Corps "Service Improvement Committee" that I serve on. It was a great opportunity to learn more about PC policies and work with other volunteer representatives/PC staff on ideas to make the volunteer experience as effective as possible. Always lovely to connect with folks in the capital over some good meals and chats, too 😊

That's it, for now! Thank you for tuning in, and I'll be back soon.

Cheers,

Katy

{taking a wee break from our regularly-scheduled programming}

The most challenging and growth-filled year of my young adult life

Traveling to new places state-side, and world-wide

Temporarily forgoing the hugs of my favorite people to experience a different kind of life, for a bit

Discovering my confidence as a traveler, person of faith, and the friendly neighborhood azungu

A grudging acceptance that I might like rap music (on occasion)

A card that swiped up to 6, a whiteboard that kept me sane with all its voices

A blog co-founded on grandma's couch

Potstickers, ice cream cones, würstsalat, schnapps hiking, Trader Joe's snack hauls, nsima blobs

Tulips in bloom, elephants on the move

So, so many tears

But -

So many WhatsApp minutes

So many new places, people, words

So much love

Rang the year in next to a pool table in the mountains, closing it out next to a leaky window in my very first house 🌎🌍 And I say unto 2025, let's do the darn thing.

An ode to the creepy crawlies that have been keeping me company, as well as an account of what I've been up to 😄

So...it's been a while. Over the past couple of months, I have spent a significant time waging war against the insects of South Malawi. As you may recall from my last update, I had some bedbug visitors in September; the treatment for those took the better part of a month, and my counterpart very graciously hosted me whilst that was going down. When I happily returned to reclaim my nyumba, I discovered that the bedbugs hadn't left without a fight...with their dying breaths, they rallied their breathren to my peaceful dwelling (I'm envisioning something akin to: "The Beacons of Minas Tirath! The Beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!).

Termites have been munchin' on my brand new fence and swarms of carpenter ants (!?) decided to emerge from my bathhouse/outbuilding. The termites have been abolished after a few different chemical applications, and the ants - I think - are gone after I experimented with a variety of weapons (I'm not proud of it, but at one point, I dumped burning coals on them and their egg-things. Hey, desperate times, yo.). Some more unique visitors include armored katydids, a rhinoceros beetle, and camel spiders (insert all of the different vomiting emojis here because EWWWW I HATE THEM I HATE THEM THEY MOVE SO FAST ARGHGHGH). Oh! And I discovered a scorpion under my mattress one morning 😇🦂 Needless to say, after that last one, I've been shoving chitenge fabric under my doors at night.

It's been comforting to learn that I haven't yet seen all of the possible visitors, since even more (wow! cool!) come out to play during the rainy season.

In happier news - I have solar power! Several Peace Corps staff members came to visit me in early October, and they brought along a solar package that I purchased from Lilongwe. A 50-watt panel is perfect for generating enough juice to charge my phones (personal and work), my neighbor's phone, and the package also came with several light bulbs. I feel very fancy hehe - makes a HUGE difference in the evenings, especially because the sun consistently sets before 6 PM. It's also a good safety measure, since keeping a phone charged at all times is important in the case of emergencies.

I won't lie, though; after the brief high of installing my solar system, October was rough. It was incredibly dry and hot - think above 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 Fahrenheit. This quickly transformed my quaint, tin-roofed, uninsulated home into an Easy-Bake Oven™ (*Malawian Village Limited Edition, refills not included). Most of my time was spent sweating precious water out of every pore, laid out on my porch (khonde) like all my neighbors and praying for a cool-ish breeze. Sleeping is kinda tough in those conditions, too, but I relied on a trick from some previous PC Malawi volunteers: dunking a chitenje in water prior to sleeping, then wrapping that around you in bed.

[Also my trusty laptop does notttt like the heat, hence no blog posts as I was trying to respect her needs]

Along with the heat, it was just an all-around tough month for my mental health. Work and projects are very slow to develop (which is natural, and that's okay!) and it can be disheartening...especially as an American who is used to hustle culture and productivity and work work work. Overcoming that mindset is still a day-by-day journey, and I'm learning to embrace a slower pace of life. I've had some really interesting conversations with neighbors and community members about this concept; many folks here believe that all Americans are very wealthy, live in luxurious homes, and are existing in perfect happiness. These conversations have given me the opportunity to share my perspective on different American lifestyles and values, and to learn about lifestyles and value systems here in Malawi. In these discussions, I acknowledge that yes, the United States is a much wealthier nation than Malawi; however, productivity, work, and making money are often prioritized /valued more than cultivating relationships, participating in community-building, and resting. As such, many Americans have more money than most Malawians, but this often comes with anxiety, sadness, and/or loneliness. It's a conversation that I'm still trying to refine, because I believe it's important to (humbly) discuss these cultural differences to foster mutual understanding and respect.

In addition to melting and pondering my purpose here, I spent a lot of time being a bookworm...which I love 💗 Some books I've read lately:

• The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series by Stieg Larsson
• The Martian by Andy Weir
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
• Bride by Ali Hazelwood
• Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
• Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
• Currently reading - Invisible Jesus: A Book about Leaving the Church and Looking for Christ by Scot McKnight and Tommy Preson Phillips (my pastor!); The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle

Throughout the month of November, I've gotten into some work work-esque activities, such as a handful of healthy cooking demonstrations with local women's groups. Additionally, I put my feelers out at the hospital, and I anticipate working with them soon on some projects/clinics related to malaria and HIV/AIDS prevention (!!). I've also explored some more around the big towns near my site, especially food/beverage spots. Can't wait to start traveling more around the country! Did some baking at my counterpart's home (yayyy brownies! too sweet for Malawians, though LOL), successfully tried my hand at pancakes on my charcoal stove (mbaula), and unsuccessfully baked a cake on said mbaula (turns out you don't actually need a metric ton of lit charcoal...believe it or not, the cake just burns). I've also been eating mangoes in unholy quantities - it's mango season here, and I am trying to take fullll advantage. Oh! And I tried hippo meat for the first time! Not my fave, but I could be convinced to try it a second time to confirm.

I've been blessed to have made some good friends around my community, and it's honestly so cool to be taking a bike taxi around town and have several people shout "KATY! BHO?!" at me. Those are always very bright spots in my days. Sure beats the "AZUNGU, BE MY WIFE" catcalls, anyway 😝

Currently, I am very much looking forward to some work trainings, spending some time with my fellow volunteers, and celebrating Thanksgiving! That's all for now, but hoping to jump back on soon (I think a house tour is long-overdue!). Enjoy some pics 😁

Zikutheka? (How's it going?)

Yesterday officially marked four weeks that I've been living at my new site...and just a few days prior to that, I realized that I had been in Malawi for 100 days! For as long as individual days can sometimes feel, the weeks have been flying by shamelessly.

I've been gradually meeting more folks and groups around my community, attending events and workshops (i.e. goat-husbandry clinics) with my counterpart, dealing with a minor bed bug infestation (#gross), cooking over a charcoal cookstove semi-successfully (just don't ask the neighbor kids about the "rice" I shared with them a couple weeks ago), and I've even started a lil' backyard garden! More info to come about all of these endeavors, but I've got something fun for y'all today 😊

In addition to blogging about my experiences, I also keep a daily journal to document each day's activities/feelings/ponderings /you-name-it. I've kept this a habit since studying abroad in 2022, and it's a practice in reflection that I've found to be grounding and beneficial for my mental health. Plus it's just cool to be able to look back and have a record of each day of my life!?! Around the new year, a friend inspired me to start titling my journal entries; now, coming up with a clever, silly, contemplative or completely random title has become something I look forward to each day! I've also stolen many one-liners from my friends to serve as titles - cue me declaring "THAT'S GOING IN THE JOURNAL"

To celebrate being in-country for 100 days, I thought it would be neat to share some of my favorite journal titles during that time - a highlight reel, as it were. In full transparency, some of the toughest and most challenging days of my life have been within these past several months; at the same time, I've also had some really rewarding, beautiful, and once-in-a-lifetime kind of days whilst here. Hopefully, the following list can serve as a reflection of that, and I think it will provide some good chuckles, too 😄 They are listed in-order, from my first few days in Malawi, up until now. Enjoy!!

• "I'm going on an adventure!"
• What am I doing
• Attempting nsima
• Nyenyezi means stars
• "I will teach you how to sit on your hoes"
• Spidergirl learns how to wash her clothes
• "Required by Washington"
• We are Peas Corn
• Solstice hoe-down
• Work the vert
• Amayi pep-talks me
• TUMMY HURTS
• tummy hurts pt.2
• Nsima x2
• Taco tuesday...takes on a new meaning
• Distance is for the bold
• No teeth in my heart
• Amayi is proud of me ❤️
• Impacted goat meat
• Mock LPI and noticing my nail dirt
• Minibus mischief
• Amuna anga
• Ummm we're here?
• Stay strong, homeslice
• Chicken feathers
• Ball Atreides
• I love them more than I feel sad to miss them
• "We are not together, your mind is on the batata"
• Dimba la pa khomo
• Breaking through the afternoon siesta fog
• "The only good Bob in this world is Ross, and he's the exception not the rule"
• The One Where the Malawians Smoke us in Football
• Cha cha, nonse
• I Got Enough Sleep
• "Like finding saltines on a lifeboat"
• "Do you think there's time to tinkle?"
• I AM A UNITED STATES PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER
• kum'mwera
• mental health chair(s)
• I saw a Bob Marley chitenge
• Bit rough, innit?
• On the business of goats
• Asking for help
• Vision-boarding
• Zomba town and hating Chris Brown
• Melancholic solitude
• Bye bye, piggie
• Bad Mbuzi, pt.5 (or something like that)
• BEANS, BABY
• nkonono, or snoring
• Grinding Flour for (Tame) Mphala
• Walkin', Talkin', (not) Balkin'

Aaand that's all for now, folks! Thanks again for following along, and I'll chat at ya later 😄

Katy

Thank you for your patience, dear readers! The past several weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and all sorts of emotions.

Halfway through July, the trainee cohort traveled to our respective sites around the country for a week-long visit. While we were there, we had the opportunity to start building connections within our work/living communities. It was a very exciting and very intense week - certainly a perfect chance to put our fledgling language and culture skills to the test! Additionally, it was my first long journey on public transit...note to self, pack LIGHT in the future 😄

Upon returning to the training village, we had a busy two and a half weeks of technical and cultural sessions, as well as time devoted to our host families. We enjoyed learning how to make homemade menstrual hygiene pads with girls in the community; visiting a women-run vegetable garden with newly-installed drip irrigation; playing all sorts of games and sports with our host families during a field day (dude - never try to beat a Malawian in a soccer/football match...WOW our American team was ruthlessly crushed); and traveling to a nearby permaculture institute to experience a veritable JUNGLE of organically-raised fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, and animals (I was particularly enamored by a specimen of the sensitive plant, or Mimosa pudica - the leaves curl up when touched!) .

During this time, we also practiced and prepared for our individual technical presentations and for our final language assessment. Other than repeatedly using the word for "hunger" instead of "ocean", I felt rather chuffed with the language test, LOL. I've come a long way, but there is always room for growth!! For my technical presentation, I facilitated a healthy cooking demonstration with Peace Corps training staff, my fellow trainees, and community members. We had a fabulous time, and dare I say, the sweet potato and peanut stew that we cooked was deeeelightful!

After what seemed like a blink of an eye, the final week of training was suddenly upon us. We were kept very busy, including a couple of day trips to Lilongwe for sessions at the PC office. I was most excited for the village appreciation ceremony, in which we celebrated our gracious host community for all of their time, energy, and support for us trainees! Our group prepared a thank-you speech, and I was honored to read the Chichewa-translation of the speech ♡ Additionally, we were thrilled to teach the community an American classic...the cha-cha slide, Chichewa edition. Needless to say, it was epic. We were quickly out-danced by the community dancing groups and performers, and a grand ol' time was had by all!

The next day found us back in Lilongwe, standing to take our oath in front of members of the U.S. Embassy, Peace Corps Staff, and current/returned PC volunteers. It felt very unreal to be closing out the training chapter, while opening the "volunteer" chapter of this experience. The next two years will be filled with many challenges, but so many more opportunities for personal growth, relationship-building, learning, and hopefully some great partnerships for sustainable community development!

Thank you for all of the support and love that have helped me stay strong throughout training! Ndathakoza (I am most grateful). Stay tuned for more!

Katy

It's an exciting week for us trainees! Our long-awaited permanent site placements will be announced, followed by a week-long visit to our respective sites. Though I'm a bit nervous to be flying solo for the first time, I can't wait!! It will be a great opportunity to start building relationships with my future community, and I'll get to peep the new digs 😎

In the meantime, here is a brief compilation of "do-s and don't-s" that I've experienced during my first half of training...enjoy!

DO-S:

• Greet neighbors as you pass them in the community! It goes a long way to building strong relationships and helps with language-learning
• Charge your solar-lamps during the day, this comes in very handy when the sun sets at 6 PM
• Sweep your room carefully for creepy crawlies before going to bed (my Amayi - host mom - and I go on spider hunts every night)
• Drink lots of water! FILTERED water! Don't risk it, y'all.
• Maintain hobbies and/or coping strategies that have worked for you in the past. I.e. journaling in the evenings, reading during breaks, listening to music whilst bucket-showering (especially Spotify playlist collaborations with your cohort teehee 🎷)
• Stay patient with yourself, your host family, your fellow trainees...basically just be patient with everyone. Everyone's learning and adapting to new norms, so showing yourself and others grace is uber important
• For the ladies, wear a chitenje or salu (wrap skirts) over your dress/skirt, especially at ceremonies or whilst going to market. It helps earn respect and admiration from the community, and you'll feel rather snazzy

DON'T-S

• Accidentally shine your flashlight into the pit toilet. It ain't cute and you'll instantly regret it. It will give you involuntary shivers of horror, even weeks later.
• Decide to wash your clothes at noon. The sun will mercilessly torment you as you're vigorously scrubbing at the seemingly-endless pile of dirty clothes.
• Out-right refuse food from your amayi. She will give you a very disappointed look and shake her head sadly until you give in and take another piece of nsima (staple food, essentially a very thick porridge made of maize). Instead, you must earnestly and enthusiastically tell her that you are stuffed to bursting. Dramatic hand gestures and miming your stomach exploding are helpful.
• Badger your Peace Corps trainers for details about site placements; they either laugh in your face or tell you that you're getting sent to Mozambique. Rude.
• Underestimate the dust (aka "fumbi"). Fumbi is the new spice of life. You will never truly be alone, because fumbi will also be there with you. (okay okay maybe a little dramatic, but the dry season is no joke. This is why cleaning is so important, especially sprinkling water in your house/yard to prevent the dust blowing around in the wind)

I hope you've enjoyed this installment; plenty more to come!

Cheers from Malawi,

Katy

You may be wondering, "Katy, what kind of shenanigans are you getting up to during PST (pre-service training)?" My dear friends, wonder no more!

Below, I have outlined a typical "day in the life" of my training. Three weeks down, eight to go!

3:30 AM - Wake up to the neighbor's roosters; fall back asleep.

4:30 AM - The roosters proclaim their anger over my willful disregard for their earlier announcement; I spite them once more by inserting my earplugs and falling back asleep.

5:30 AM - Wake up for good! Stretch, make up my sleeping mattress, and wrap my chitenje (a traditional length of colorful fabric, typically wrapped around the waist by Malawian women over their dresses/skirts) over my pj pants. Blearily stumble outside to help my amayi (host mom) with chores.

5:40 AM - Sweep the courtyard to deter pests and dust; fetch water at the neighbor's spigot (admire how amayi can carry five gallons on her head; get scolded for trying - and failing - to carry my three gallon-bucket on my head); wash dishes.

6:20 AM - Bucket bath time with the water that's been getting nice and toasty over the cookstove during chores! #favoritechore

6:40 AM - Eat breakfast with amayi. Tea with cane sugar and milk powder, a fresh banana, and fingers crossed for a fried egg sandwich with peanut butter (trust me it's good). If not that, perhaps some tasty futali (mashed sweet potato porridge with peanut flour and salt).

7:10 AM - Boogie on over to my Chichewa language class, kindly hosted in my neighbor's yard. My brain always gets a good workout!

9:30 AM - Walk over to our main class building with my fellow trainees; enjoy our mid-morning break by swapping homestay stories and snacks (popcorn and freshly-fried donuts are always highly coveted).

10:00 AM - Peace Corps staff come to the village to host sessions about health, culture, safety, Peace Corps values/reporting, etc. Lots of activities and group work!

12:00 PM - Break for lunch; I walk back home, greeting all my neighbors as I pass by and inquiring what folks have been up to. By the time I reach home, I have also given out many a fist-bump to my posse of giggling village children.

As per usual, I leave lunch stuffed to the brim with rice or nsima, stewed greens, along with beans or goat - yum :)

1:00 PM - Time for technical training with my environmental-sector folks! We're occasionally in the classroom (as shown above) learning theory, but we're most often found elbow-deep in soil in our learning-garden. Lately, we've been practicing principles of permagardening...stay tuned. The group vibes are fabulous, and I consistently leave these sessions with a sore stomach from laughing so much!

5:00 PM - Home for the night; I hang out with my host family and practice my new vocab as much as I can. Fortunately, they are very willing and excited to help me learn! Play singing + dancing group games with any kids who come to visit before dinner 😄 I help amayi and my host sisters cook dinner (usually nsima, veggies, and a protein of some kind). After eating, the family sits inside together, and we chat and joke around before bedtime. Lately, this has also included listening to (and unconsciously memorizing) "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi blasted on repeat, courtesy of one of the neighbors - LOL!!

7:30 PM - Retire for the evening; I take a couple hours to unwind and reset my mental/emotional state. Usually some combination of journaling, praying, stretching, reading, listening to music, and calling/texting folks back home ❤

9:00-9:30 PM - One last run to the latrine, and I make sure my mosquito net is tightly tucked before I get some shut-eye. Goodnight!

After many months of preparation and waiting, I have made it safely to the "Warm Heart of Africa" - aka, Malawi!

Our cohort staged in the United States before flying over together; staging involved several training sessions. We were introduced to the Peace Corps global community, as well as competencies and job functions that we will orient our service around. Within the group, we cover the Environment, Health, and Education sectors. It was a whirlwind, but it was great to meet everyone and hype each other up!

Upon landing in Malawi, it was a quick turnaround to begin the 11-week training period. We've received lessons on language, medical/first aid, and security (among many other topics!). Soon, we will be with our host families in the training village, where we will continue intensive language and technical skill training - SUPER EXCITED!!!

While it's been emotional, exhausting, and overwhelming at times, there have been many beautiful moments throughout this first week...

• The first sunset in Malawi!
• Playing cards with my cohort at dinner
• Gaining confidence with greetings in Chichewa (the local language)
• Meeting all of the amazing Peace Corps staff members who have worked so passionately to ensure our success and well-being! I have been blown away by the kindness, warmth, and excitement that they share with us

pang'ono, pang'ono (bit by bit/slowly),

Katy

Ndakondwa kukumana nanu (Happy to meet you!). Thank you for stopping by my new blog, Short Stories from a Tall Girl in Malawi. Things are just getting started around here, and I hope to be running at full tilt in no time! Please stay tuned for future content, including information about email newsletter subscriptions.

T-minus two weeks to departure!