The Glamorous Life of a Base Log

The sunset glinting off the windshields of my slumbering fleet just called out for a picture.

Malawi is beautiful.

Postcards from the Field

I sat down to write post cards to some friends and family last weekend. It's my first time writing postcards from the field, but I'm following my usual style of sending a postcard from elsewhere.

I haven't looked for a Malawian post card yet, but I will add some to my collection for future distribution.

I sent out post cards from Alaska, Tahiti, Bora Bora, and New Zealand. They went via expat to Lilongwe, then will change hands and get carried to Paris with the next international personnel movement. From there they will be mailed all over the world in more traditional postal services.

Finding Water

We're crafting an elaborate plan to find a sustainable water source at the expat house on the hill. Not sustainable like produces little waste and is trendy 'green,' but sustainable like actually produces water all year.

Our next solution is to move our water meter and install a water tank at the lowest part of the property, approximately 100 vertical feet below the current tanks. That should increase our intake from the water board.

I was strategizing today with the water board official and the maintenance officer to best plan the new placement of the water meter.

We come up with a plan. We go back today at 3pm for a cost quotation...

The Glamorous Life of a Base Log: Surprise

Last Friday, eight of us piled into two taxis into Blantyre. Some of us were going for a girl's night out, with one boy in tow, and one was going for a long weekend with his girlfriend. What unsuspecting Mr. Long-Weekend didn't know that we were entering into a highly complicated and intricate dance to surprise him for his 40th birthday, that apparently none of us knew about.

Ten minutes into the car ride, he tells everyone it's his birthday.  Acting faces, everyone.

"Oh really?"

A brief discussion, some jokes, and the conversation moves on. I am sweating.

50 text messages with our accomplice, the girlfriend, a traffic jam, ten changes of plan, a faked telephone argument, and a cigarette pitstop later, we walk into the bar we are going to take over to wait for Mr. Long-Weekend and Ms. Accomplice. We walk right into the bar, four of us ready to make this special, and find Mr. Long-Weekend drinking alone at the bar.

Crap, crap, crap.

I'm sweating, profusely.

We sneak out of the bar without being seen (did he see us? No. Oh come on, he had to have. No, I think we're good. No we should call it off. No we're good. Uhhh...)

We regroup at a bar around the corner.

More texts to Ms. Accomplice. Change of plans. We'll walk in and surprise him. The streamers and the trick candles go back in the bag.

Ok, ready?

I'm still sweating.

We walk in to the bar (he still doesn't see us, where is this guy's observation skills! We're not the most sneaky 7 people you've ever met and this is our SECOND time through those doors in half an hour...). I tap him on the shoulder once we've assembled in a choir behind him.

Surprise.

He had no idea!

Success. I stop sweating, and we have a great night over dinner and drinks.

Happy 40th Mr. Long-Weekend.

Life in Africa: Dry

We're in the middle of the dry season and there is little water to be found. The little trickle of a creek across the path to work has been set for a month. Rain won't come until November.

Life In Africa: Sunset

We had a couple days of rain recently, which tamped down the diary haze in the air.

We can finally see Mulanje after two months of close horizons. The sunsets remain spectacular.

The Glamorous Life of a Base Log: Pit Progress

There have been many problems with the construction of the new kitchen and latrine blocks for staff accommodation at one of the health centers. The community was supposed to dig the pits for the latrines and to dig out the foundations. They would show up late or not at all, stand around, or leave early. Progress was not being made, and that was not the agreement.

We had another meeting with the community and explained that if they didn't provide the pits on time, we would lack up and stop the construction.  That's how this works. A little bit from you, a little bit from us. Help us help you.

Now our pits are dug.