Camp SKY ended on August 27th, and after a couple days of chillin’ in Lilongwe with my group, my mom flew in. We didn’t hang out in the city for long – just long enough, in fact, for a quick market trip, stop by the Peace Corps office, and official WAJ-ing – before leaving for Zambia on safari! We spent about 3 days in South Luangwa National Park and other than rhinos, which aren’t indigenous in that particular area, we saw pretty much everything we could see. Lions and hippos and zebras, oh my! As well as tons of elephants, giraffes, baboons, warthogs, water buffalo, etc. Some of the coolest stuff we saw, though, was the unexpected – a cheetah stalking a duiker at night, a spitting black cobra (which our guide almost ran over with the jeep), even a pack of vultures (and a hyena!) feeding on a zebra carcass. It was honestly incredible. Our guide, Moses, was amazing – hilarious and engaging but also unbelievably knowledgeable. We couldn’t have asked for a better safari. Except I could have done without the elephants storming into our camp, ripping a hole in the side of my mom’s and my tent, and stealing the awesome, soft loaf of bread he brought me from the states. Tragedy, but a small price to pay, I guess. Also, some amazing sunrises and sunsets, as usual. Check it out!
After leaving the park, Kiboko (our safari company) took us to a textile factory where we got to watch all sorts of beautiful crafts being made. And did some shopping, of course. Maybe a little too much of the latter.
After that, our group split in half, with some returning to Malawi, and some going on to the far western side of Zambia and Victoria Falls. My mom and I were in the latter group, and spent the better part of the next two days in a car. But man was it worth it. Vic Falls was unbelievable – it definitely earns its place as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Nowadays it has become a huge tourist attraction, with all sorts of extreme activities offered to visitors (bungee jumping, white water rafting, parasailing, helicopter rides – it’s ridiculous). My mom and I opted to spend most of our time just walking around and appreciating it. There are beautiful paths all around, and some of the more off-beaten ones are lush and green and (gasp!) unpaved! We did, however, decide on one activity which I would absolutely do again – a dinner cruise down the Zambezi. Once again, enough blabber, see for yourself =)
Post-Vic Falls, my mom and I “enjoyed” a very loooong drive back to Malawi and then spent another week or so traveling around to see things in my new home country. We spent a little time in Lilongwe, then left for Blantyre, the bigger, better city in the south. I’m sure this part was way more fun for me than it was for my mom, haha (I got to go to GAME – the African equivalent of Target – and see a movie in a THEATER – there is only one in Malawi). After Blantyre, we drove up into Zomba Plateau. Since my mom came in late August/early September, most of the countryside was dead and brown because it’s the cold/dry season. But Zomba, which rises high above much of the Malawian landscape, was still lush and gorgeous.
Not to mention, we had an awesome lunch at the Sunbird on top (a SALAD?! With OLIVES and FETA?! No way…).
After Zomba, we continued further north to Dedza, which is where I spent my first 10 weeks in Malawi during training. Very little shocks me about this country anymore, but it was funny to see the things my mom reacted to. Goats running straight in front of the car, for instance. And trucks packed like this:
In Dedza, I got to show my mom the village where I stayed (oh the good days of Mzengeresza) and the school where I taught, and then we spent a lovely evening at the Dedza Pottery and Lodge (it really is a pottery first and foremost, and the craftwork is beautiful). The food at the lodge is pretty awesome, too.
From Dedza, we proceeded north on the highly potholed, but highly scenic, lakeshore road, and stopped for the night in Nkhotakota. And for the first time, my mom got to stick her feet in Lake Malawi!
The next day, we traveled the rest of the way up to my site (yeah, I live FAR) stopping in Ngala on the way for coffee (and a bathroom!) and more beautiful lake time.
And finally, my mommy got to see my home! This was definitely not the most comfortable part of the visit, but for me, it was by far the most significant. My headmaster killed a chicken in my mom’s honour and cooked it for us with (upon my request) nsima for my mom’s enjoyment (her thoughts on the latter food: “It tastes like nothing.” Just as I predicted.). My son, Peter, invited us into his home to chat and eat, as did Mr. Nyasulu and his wife (that’s when my mom discovered my headmaster’s new litter of puppies), and my mom got to meet many of my favorite students and friends (she now loves Mavis almost as much as I do). We even met up with Meg for lunch on the beach in Chitimba. My mom got to experience life as I live it now, and helped me do things like fetch water and do laundry (she didn’t believe I pumped my own water and carried it on my head, and insisted on following me to the boarhole. My community got a huge kick out of this, of course.). My community got a kick out of her visit in general, though – I’m pretty sure many people believe I somehow just replicated. So there you have it – Ann Day does Fulirwa.
It was wonderful to have my mom here, but especially after my recent visit home to the states, I appreciate even more having someone who has seen what my life is now and really gets it. To a certain extent, I think it’s impossible to explain in pictures and words, and while I know her visit was trying at points, I think it was so, so important – both for her, and for me. If anyone else wants to follow in her footsteps, as they say in the north, “tamupokererani” (you are most welcome)!
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