Shakespeare and wooden penises

I wasn't sure how to get around the condom demonstration I wanted to do, but the administration would not allow. The students don't know the definition of abstenance (but say it as the answer to every question incolving AIDS...it's usually the answer I'm looking for, but still useless if they don't UNDERSTAND it), they can't define AIDS as anythign other than "a killer disease," and they say that if they have sex, they won't use condoms because condoms are not 100 percent effective (so a sure 0 percent is better?). So, I arranged for my articulate friend Crispin, the head of the People Livign with HIV support group to talk to the kids in Chichewa. He was fantastic. The kids were cheering and loving the class. It was fascinating, ebcause they loved the Chichewa, but when asked what is AIDS, they couldn't answer in Chichewa, but only with memorized, but not understood, English. I almost had a heart attack (as did the kids) when he pilled out a huge wooden penis and passed out condoms to the entire class, making kids put the condom on the model. I was a little worried about gettign in trouble, but happier to see soem guys, ones who i know are sexually active, shoving handfuls of condoms into their pockets. They said that they are too scared to go to the health center, because their parents will know they went. SOOOO, every time a student is late, I have a new rule that they have to go and get me three condoms from the health center. That willl work even better than gardening.

Speaking of, I've had late comers water my garden every day this week! My beans have produced, and I ate fesh beans (they cook in 10 minutes!), I've been lovng bean leaves, which you cook like spinach with onion and ground peanut flour, and my pumpkins are rocking! Soon i will be able to eat their leaves, which I love. Pumpkins do really well here. Lettuce never works in my village. But my rasishes look ok, as do my carrots. Rape greens are also coming along :)


And on the subject of food, I just spend 20 minutes loading 50 50 KG bags of rice into the back of a 2 tonne truck. Yes, that is 2,500 KGs of rice for the school lunch program next term. Now we have to figure our firewood and labor. Oh man.

I felt a little bad, because as we were there, you could just see the school committee's eyes wide with all the rice they were gonna cook for themselves. I lied. I said that American NGOs were big on accountability (true) and said that each week i would be doing an inventory of the bags (also true), so I guess it was a half lie. In a full lie, I said that if any bags were missing, the NGO would come to teh village and take back the rice All the school committee could do though was ask what else they are giving us. Jeeez. It's terribel They are awesome, but it's cultural.

I am in the city for tonight (as I had transport to there and figured I'd just stay till tomorrow, but have to head abck tomorrow morning, for a school DISCO. It is at 3:30 pm, and we're using a tape player. But I got a copy of a song called "it's over" by a Zambian band called Jimmy. Look it up, I love it. There is gonna be some DANCING.

I was allocated my new subjects. I am teaching English form 1 (like last term) and Lifeskills 3 and 4 (also like last term) and then two new classes, form 4 business and form 3 English Lit, a newly required class. I cannot emphasize how absurd it is that we have to teach English lit, a class that reads 4 required texts in 2 years. My school only had 1 copy of each of the 4 texts, African short stories, Malawian poetry, and African novel, and get this, Shakespeare. WHAT THE HELL???? These kids can't even answer the question, "how are you" without stuttering, who speak worse English than I speak Chichewa (in 6 months of learning), and MAN, they need to read Romeo and juliet (of which there is 1 copy)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now comes my appeal... any copies of Romeo and Juliet, perhaps a copy of the Baz Lurman film (we do a movie night once a year and rent a generator... maybe we coudl tag that on! and any Romeo and Juliet for children, in plain English. SEND THEM TO ME>
Kathryn Brand PCV
US Peace Corps
PO BOX 208
Lilongwe, Malawi
AFRICA

I love you all.
KB