This last week I have been very very very busy, but in a good way... mostly.
FIRST OF ALL, DZOOLE MEDICALS WON THE DYSON CUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was amazing. They trained so hard leading up to it and played a phenomenal game, so fun to watch. Martha and I cooked dinner for the team the night before, nsima, greens, soya burgers (ground up soya pieces, bread, eggs and onion--- they call them soya buuugas), and guacamole... which they also love to say.... guacaMooooolaaay. Then, the next day, we walked over with the team to Indolera village about 2 hours away and watched them win 3-1. My close friend Gerald Tchitchola scored all three goals... a hat trick. Interestingly enough, Tchitchola hadn't practiced after a fight with the coach, who it turned out everyone hated, and wasn't going to play in the game till I talked to him and had his wife (my closest Malawian woman friend) talk to him.... he is very whipped. So thank god for that.
The coach, Song, continued to incite problems though. I HATE him... he is a womanizer and always saying bad things about Tchitchola and Bernard for being old... although they are the best people on the team. He told everyone that the money from the trophy, 12,000 kwatcha, a little less than 90 bucks, should be split up. But the team is huge, and it would not be well spent. However, invested, the team could buy 2 really nice balls (balls are expensive here) or save up for a trip. Suddenly, the team was divided and pride and egos were clashing. It was a mess, and two players from my school now refuse to play for the team. That was Sunday, the day after the cup.
That night, I had a nightmare that my friend Holli, the team captain, left with his brothers (who were visiting to help play in the game) and never came back. Now, don't be shocked by this, but I am in love with Holli... he just doesn't know it. It is the reversal of every situation in Malawi, where men propose to us all day. I eat a scone every day for tea, because he works in the scone bakery. It is ridiculous on many levels... his hands are always covered in bread flour, he didn't go to secondary school... um, he is MALAWIAN, and doesn't even speak English!
Well, Monday morning, he rode by on his bike with his bro on the back and stopped to say hi. That afternoon, he wasn't there so I had sweetpotatoes with my afternoon tea. I ate at Tchitchola's house and then discussed plans we're hatching for an adult learning center. We got the idea because he is the hardest working teacher at primary, wow. This guy and his wife have the coolest kids and work so hard. But our friend Becks on the team is HIV positive and got a really great job at St. Gideon's counseling center for HIV, but it is a special contract that is conditional that he pass his JCE exam within 2 years (the exam all Malawians take after sophomore year). Tchitchla said Holli was talking about trying ot get his JCE and wanted to join mine and Beck's tutoring session, but the next day, no Holli. Wednesday, no Holli. The excuses became odd,... he was here or there or other odd reasons for his absense. Thursday, no Holli. Finally, on the way to my bday party (more on that later) our star defender and my closest friend (and my Chichewa tutor) Javit started laughing and said that Holli had taken a loan from his bro to start his own bakery (he does all the work at the current one and gets paid NOTHING by the owner (incidently, the team coach), and money from the weekly break flour, which he has sneakily asked for from Song and Song's bro. No one knows where he is, but he never came back.. with 16,000 Kwatcha ($110 bucks.... more than he makes in a year or even two!). There are rumors that he is in Midisi (the next trading center, like 30 KM from us.
I wanted to cry. The love of my life is the prodigal son of Dzoole.
So, the one who doesn't know I love him will probably never know. But, when Javit said he wanted to go and find him on Friday when I left for Lilongwe and convince him to come back before it was too late, I said he could use my bike.
My party was GREAT. I made beans, rice, cabbage, and guac. It was me, Martha, a Njondo ( a friend who used to live in Dzoole and was visiting), players from the team (Beckham, Kondwani, Tchitchola, Bernard, and Javit) and then Justice (my favorite student and right hand man). We jsut laughed and laughed and listened to the radio, ate tonnnns, and laughed more. Awesome... even if Holli wasn't there.
In Lilongwe, two really cool Norwegian volunteers took me to a very expensive and FANTASTIC Indian restaurant. It was awesome. Then we went strait out dancing... in fact, we danced till 5:30 and got home at 6! I had ot wake at 7 to come to do work here at the computer. I feel like absolute death. Awful. But it was soooooooooooooooooo fun.
Today was a mess. The school said that the transport I had arranged for their sports field trip didn't come. It turned out, the driver went to Lilongwe instead! Never told anyone. I called and yelled at him pretty harshly, a no-no in this indirect culture, but I told him that 45 really disappointed kids had been waiting for 4 hours. He felt so bad that he arranged a replacement. All worked out. They are playing the game now, but I couldn't make it because I am drafting up grants for Peace Corps Summer school (more on that in coming weeks/months). I think they will win though; we have been holding training every day for 2 weeks.... god I am exhausted!
There is no water at the transit hour. A pipe broke. I haven't showered. No toilets. I am going ot bed, hoping it is cleared by tomorrow.... which it won't be because what pumber would come Saturday night? and going back home to my site tomorrow morning for a bucket bath.
I love you all. I miss you all. Keep the letters, emails, packages and phone calls coming. They make me very very happy, especially when I am dirty and tired and homesick.
Just a reminder, you can see all my past emails at my blog. http://battingforthepinkteam.blogspot.com/
XOXO
KB
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