Our First excurision . . . and then some.

I think I am no better at figuring out blog titles than I am sermon titles. Ugh.

Anyway. I am so hoping I will be adjusted to the travel and time change soon. Last night I went to bed at midnight and didn't wake up until 10:50 a.m.! Almost 11 hours sleeping does not a good houseguest make! That may be just what I needed. Let's hope so; and, let's see when I wake up tomorrow!

Yesterday was pleasant. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings Sandy goes walking with some of the women of the neighborhood. Some are young with young children. Some are not as young with young children. Makes for an interesting walk. Sandy says she used to go with one child strapped on her back and the other in a stroller. It is what accounts for her fetching svelte figure, but now that the kids are 2+, hauling the both of them around is a bit of a challenge. So the kids get to take turns.

Monday morning Sandy loaded Moses in the car and off we went to one of the Sara's homes. (There are two.) When the lot of us had gathered, off we went -- strollers, childpacks and all. We walked for a good hour at a fairly good clip. Sandy and I started out near the front of the pack and pretty much held our own until the end. Going around that last bend we somehow found ourselves last in the lane! I still think the other women cut the corner -- cheating us of third place. I'm told it is not a race. It's not, except in our minds. I'm pretty sure we were the oldest, and we don't like being shown up.

After the walk we all settled into Sarah's enclosed porch for coffee, tea and refreshments. It was quite nice.

As we walked, there were men and women walking to work, children walking to school (late). Walking seems to be the primary mode of transportation. I wondered what they thought of this group of women walking for nothing -- for exercise! We must seem very odd.

That afternoon Sandy and I sat down to plan the rest of my visit. We quickly agreed that Monday, Wednesday and Fridays -- being walking days -- were not the best for any extended or tiresome journey, so we broke the list down to "around the corner" and "far away."

Far, by the way, doesn't have to be far distance wise. Like New York City, we measure distance by time. Dedza is 73 Kilometers, or 45 miles from Lilongwe. I'd say it took us about two hours to get there. There's a small restaurant and pottery shop there.

The roads are quite interesting. The main highway is a two lane affair. Malawi is fairly hilly (at least where we are), so getting behind a truck is always a fun challenge. To pass or not to pass, that is the question. This time of year is the tobacco harvest and there are heavily laden trucks all over the place. The tobacco is piled high with no visible means of support. I'm sure there is some cuz none of them I saw were toppled over, but it is quite a sight to see.

All along the roads people walk. Men in suit jackets, women and young girls with bundles piled high on their head, school children teasing one another as the walk along. Nothing idyllic about this, though. These folks are working really hard. The sides of the roads are deteriorating in many sections, so when trucks and cars speed by they kick up quite a bit of dust. The people are covered, but they just keep walking -- many of them with no shoes! I can't help but wonder how they do that. The road is hot and dusty and rocky. There are many folks on bicycles, too; but for the most part there are walkers . . . lots and lots of walkers of all shapes and sizes and ages.

We had a good lunch at the pottery place in Dedza. Moses and Miriam were captivated by a crow sitting on the fence. When the crow took off they dissolved into puddles of laughter. It wasn't long, though, before they were off chasing another crow. They are small for their age which seems to work to their advangte -- they can really move!

Of course, you know I couldn't leave Dedza without a trinket . . .

Here's the Wikipedia link. The photograph was definitely staged. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dedza

On our way out of the pottery place Sandy stopped to buy tomatoes. I am so going to miss Malawi when I get home if for no other reason than there are real tomato tasting tomatoes here. The women stack them on tables. There will be two -- stem side down -- and two stacked on top in the middle -- like an inverted "T." Here in town the tomatoes are 100 kwacha. (I think the official exchange rate is 147 kwacha to the dollar -- you can do your own math, thank you.) Here in Dedza the tomatoes are 50 kwacha a stack. Quite a bargain.

After Sandy got back in the car someone spotted the children in the back. Everyone -- and I mean everyone -- had to take a look. All the women behind the tables and all their children were poking their heads int the car. Moses and Miriam ate it up. Nothing like being the center of attention.

On the way home we attempted to stop at Nkhoma Mission run by the Presbyterian Central Church of Africa. Here's the link from the PCUSA Web site: http://www.pcusa.org/health/international/profiles/nkhoma.htm

We couldn't find it. We turned down a dirt road and went quite a while. The road was actually two ruts in dirt. I think we probably could have driven without hands on the wheels -- the ruts would have kept us going in the right direction.

Along the road were villages -- certified, bonafide, thatched-roof hut villages. It was quite a revelation. I always knew people in these circumstances would be poor, but I had this picture of a circle of homes centered around a village common where people would gather for celebrations and village meetings. Not so. the homes seem randomly positioned. They were fairly close together and sometimes I could see in the distance the village outhouses. The structure was long and narrow and had, I think, five or six doors in the row. I recognized the structure immediately. It looked like the one in Providence Forge -- times six! The poverty was in the air -- you didn't need to open your eyes to see it, but a picture is worth 10,000 words.

What seemed like a long way down the road there was a fork in the road. No sign, but a fork. Alas! We took the most promising looking road, but when we came to a rise and saw nothing resembling a hospital in the distance, Sandy turned the car around and we headed home. I'm sure the folks who saw us come and go so quickly are still shaking their heads.

And now my head is nodding. I'm determined to be awake for the walk. (Or at least I intend to be on the walk, whether I'm awake or not.)