Day 18: "Ginger's School"

After eggs, toast and chips this morning we set off to find Emanuel. Emanuel does our sewing and teaching here in Mzuzu and the surrounding area. We will pick him up, along with the kits he has made, and then to go to a primary school where he has scheduled a visit from The MoonCatcher Project.

MCP-Mzuzu teacher and tailor, Emanuel.

There’s a fuel shortage in Mzuzu. The lines for gas stretch far down the roads near the stations as people wait patiently for their turn to fill their car. We may be facing that tomorrow. Gas costs over eleven dollars a gallon. Inflation here is severe with this being a stunning example.

We arrived at Emanuel’s house, loaded the car and put him in the driver’s seat to head off to the Thandazga Full Primary (F.P.) School. The roads were wet from this morning’s downpour, so we slid in the mud now and then. Emanuel drove up and down through the rutted streets and across a bridge that nearly stopped my heart, but we made it at last.

My friend Ginger loves purple. I’ve never seen her wear any other color. Oh she strays a little into purple-ish magentas or pinky lavenders but everything says “I love purple.” So, when we pulled into the school grounds and I saw a sea of royal uniforms I knew they got the name wrong. To me this will always be “Ginger’s School” because of the beautiful purple uniforms. When I texted her a photo she simply wrote back, “Ahhh my girls” - followed by purple heart emojis.

It’s exam week so lots of girls were taking tests and couldn’t be with us but we still had a pretty full classroom. Emanuel and Olipa taught and Claire modeled the pad. The girls were very happy and the headmaster came to give a speech and get his picture taken with us. Sometimes we feel like rock stars with kids wanting to high five us and be right up close for photos with us. Pretty funny!

We went to a restaurant in Mzuzu that we’ve frequented in the past and had a leisurely lunch. The TV was on and though I asked for the sound to be turned off the English subtitles were still there and we all got laughing at the insane soap opera that was airing. It provided lots of entertainment and we began to mimic the overly expressive eyes and facial reactions to ridiculous plot developments.

Then off to see Lake Malawi. This enormous expanse that spans most of Malawi from North to South always feels like the ocean to me. You can’t see across it. It’s beautiful.

We stopped at a collection of little curio stands and bought a few souvenirs and then later a bunch of plantains. The landscape was breath taking. The clouds, as always, put on a good show, and with all the rain the fields are a spectacular green. The roads wind through the mountains and terrify me - you can just never tell if around the next curve a car is going to be in your lane coming straight at you. People are walking everywhere, but with no road shoulders they are often in the road. Emanuel wasn’t fazed by any of it. I was!

We had dinner at our lodging and then were off to bed, but just as we stepped out onto the veranda the power went out so we made our way back to our rooms by flashlight.