I.O.U. 1 blog entry

Hey, two and a half months have flown by since I last posted here. Apologies; I've been letting my facebook status updates do all my work for me.

So, what's new? Well...
- I got my grant money. Yessir, the project is moving ahead. It's rainy season so I'm not sure how much construction we'll be able to do, but my village headman and my counterparts at the CBO (Community Based Organization) are motivated and anxious to get a move-on. The salesman at the mill place is tappin' his toe and my Member of Parliament is ready to deliver. I am pleased.
- The school-year calendar is FUBAR. Hence the remainder of my service will be spent (in addition to teaching and preparing for milling) searching for alternate housing for either myself or my 'replacement' volunteer, searching for something to do from August - December other than teaching, and not really getting a vaction, ever.
- My boss is retiring. Dora has been APCD for Education here in Malawi for a long time, and she kicks ass at it. She has gone to bat for me and others many times, she sticks up for us, she thinks of our interests, and we are going to miss her. Nobody will ever fill her shoes.
- My parents are talking to a travel agent about coming out here in July. The opportunity to show them where and how I live is so freakin' exciting I can't really sum it up. They will be shocked and awed and horrified and amazed as I am just about every day. Sweet.
- The transit house here in Lilongwe closes tomorrow. This is challenging because now to come to town will be much more expensive (by a factor of about 10, actually). "Secondary" projects are going to go down to nearly nada because writing a grant is a lot of work and we can't afford to stay here in town for 2 weeks while the proposal is farted around with. So we're not going to try, mostly. It also means that seeing other volunteers just isn't going to happen the way it has been. This is a bummer not just for social reasons but because I frequently get great ideas from other PCVs about how to deal with the challenges I face. So, this is another example of volunteer support failing. Sorry PC, but I think you made a big blooper this time. Time will tell!

I think that's all I've got for now. I hope that all of you at home are safe, happy, and warm. Drop me a comment or an email and update me on your lives.