Malawi -- or, as it's known in the United States, "the place that Madonna's adopted baby came from."
Where's that?
Mid-June 2012 to August 2014.
What will you do there?
I'll teach English in a secondary school, probably in a rural area, probably in a crowded classroom, probably without enough desks, very probably without enough books to go around, most definitely in a way that changes me forever.
Will you live in a mud hut?
Maybe! There's a wide variance in living situations, and it's hard to predict what mine will be. Here's what I do know: I'll spend the first two to three months living with a Malawian family, and when I'm officially sworn in as a volunteer and assigned to a village sometime in August, I'll move into a house of my own for two years. Most volunteer houses have brick walls, concrete floors, and a corrugated tin roof, but a mud hut is also a possibility.
Either way, I'm mostly dreaming about the backyard chickens I'll have.
Will you be totally cut off from the rest of the world?
Yes and no -- for the first two or three months, for example, I won't have internet or phone access at all. But letters are a totally viable option! And I can promise drawings to anybody who wants 'em, or even anybody who doesn't want 'em. You're getting sketches of children and mango trees whether you like it or not, basically is what I'm saying.
Also, despite my antiquated ways, and despite the fact that I made a pact to never do so (shout-out to friendship), I'm making the leap into smartphone territory. On the one hand, this is terrible, but on the other hand, it is wonderful, and here's why: after training I'll be able to send words and pictures through the air, over the ocean, through a series of tubes, via a device I still don't really understand, to YOU. At least in theory.
How safe is this, exactly?
Safer than the public perception of Africa might lead you to believe. A small dose of common sense goes a long way, and I like to think I have some measure of that.
(Any gaping holes in my common sense have been patched up by this very basic lesson I learned in Tanzania: cover cuts with Band-aids.)
Wait, so...what made you decide to do this?
If you ask me this in person, I'll probably say (quite truthfully) that I don't remember making the decision. I just always knew it would happen, and I knew it in the same instinctive, visceral way that I knew I liked horses when I first found out they had veiny velvet faces and long broad backs that can carry you places -- "I love this, I'm fascinated, and I want this to be a part of my life." In the Peace Corps, you can live in a developing country for two years and contribute to meaningful work, so it was easy -- "I love this, I'm fascinated, and I want this to be a part of my life." There was never really a choice.
If you get me really warmed up, I might try to explain the deeper reasons, which are tangled up in both curiosity and conscience, and I might say something like this: the kaleidoscope of life on this planet keeps me dazzled everyday, but the puzzle of inequity keeps me up at night. An accidental alchemy of geography, economics, and sheer randomness presents some of us with staggering opportunities while others do without -- and I'd be wasting my time here if I didn't do something to help change that.
Will you bring me back an elephant?
Be careful what you wish for.
What language will you be learning?
Probably Chichewa, which I am already loving. It has adorably African-accented pronunciations of English words (a biscuit, for example, is a "bisiketi"), tongue-twisting verb conjugations, and lilting morsel-like phrases that hang in your ear like miniature tunes. I'm convinced that "sangalala" is the most perfect, emotively onomatopoeic word in human creation. It means "happy," and it is.
This is a good example of Chichewa -- and a good visual context for Malawi! "Kamphopo," by The Very Best. I dare you not to smile.
I wish I had done something like this when I was your age. [usually said with a wistful but resigned sigh]
You still can! In fact, you should. There's no upper age limit, and older volunteers with more maturity, more life experience, and more skills have the most to offer!
Are you scared?
Of my dreams coming true? A little.
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