Thursday, August 28, 2008

We have a car!!!

Sorry for no update in the last few days! We have had a better week than last week, but also a busier week! School started! We are both excited to have started our job here.

We have some great news…we got a car! Technically, we don’t have it yet. Allen Shaba (a Malawian who found it for us) is letting us drive it until we pay him on Friday. The whole payment should be pretty hilarious…the largest amount of money here is the 500 kwacha bill. But 500 kwachas is about $3.50. So to pay for a car, we have to have a LOT of 500 kwacha notes…like think ransom money or mob scenes! We are going to call the car "the Shaba," in honor of Allen...but here it is pronounced sha-wa, which makes it even more fun to say!

We had a not fun incident last night, though. The car key is broken and falls of off the ring easily. Well it fell off yesterday about 4ish from Bech’s keys while he was outside working on our herbs and his composte pile. He realized it was missing about 30 minutes to an hour later and we frantically looked for it. We couldn’t find it anywhere, and were really worried that one of the guards had taken it! Allen Shaba took the lock from the car this morning and had a new key made for us. But then the cook next door told us he had picked it up from the sidewalk in front of our house. We’re not sure why he didn’t tell us yesterday and we hope he didn’t make a copy of it! But we are glad to have our key back!

My students are great! I have kids from so many different nationalities in my classes…Malawian (duh), Ethiopian, Dutch, Zimbabwean, South African, Nigerian, American, German, Egyptian, Indian, Canadian, etc. The children’s accents are beautiful! They aren’t all crazy about science, but they seem to be pretty attentive and respectful so far!

My parents were able to overnight another digital camera to a group leaving from Seattle on Friday. That means we should have another camera by Sunday!!! I will try to put some pictures up from the academy and from the markets.

Everyone, thank you so much for your comments! We miss everyone so much! One thing I have already realized in our short time here is how much I love Mississippi and the South!

6 comments:

Jamie Tingle Franklin said...

Margaret,
I'm glad you guys are having a better week. I don't think any of us realize how great Mississippi is until we move away. If you guys need anything let us know! We're praying for you.

MandB et al said...

So glad you are having a better week. Yay for the new wheels ! We are praying for you :0)

Liz T. said...

glad to hear about the car and your week going better! miss you guys!

Courtney said...

Yay for a car, camera, and better week! And I agree with Jamie, we totally take home for granted until we're not there anymore. But it makes coming back so much better!

Anonymous said...

Marley, I have been keeping up with you from this site. I can relate to alot of your situations. Here in India we are blessed with the majority of honest people. You could leave a package on a counter and come back 1 hour later and it would still be there untouched. You may not know but my husband worked in West Africa for about 12 years and he encountered some of the same -- as far as not be able to leave anything unattended. He lost dozens of money clips, cell phones, and ink pens. I pray that you and Bech settle in well and stay healthy. Bill says he is sure that our blood has the same chorline consistancy as a swimming pool because of all the bleach I use in cleaning veggies. Remember you will be a more patient person when you return to the United States. God Bless you both. Mrs. Sherry

Anonymous said...

O Marley-- a car, a garden, beautiful children. exciting, exciting. love you dear!