Christmas and New Year - the time we take to remember the birth of Christ, to end the year and walk into a new year. I hope that for all of you, the past season was a blessed one.
To all those of you who are following my journey, I also want to wish you all a blessed new year!
For me, I thoroughly enjoyed having the chance to be with my family and friends. It was not something I expected, and yet I am still here in Canada. When you don’t expect it, and you think it may be the last time for a while, you appreciate it even more. At least, I did. It was also a joy to have family over from Alberta - some of whom I haven’t seen in 3 years!
In the meantime, I am busy with Chichewa study. I have lessons through zoom for 2 hours two or three times per week. On my first lesson, I was shocked to find out that the Chichewa language is tonal. Certain words need to be said with a high tone or a low tone and whichever one you use, it can chance the meaning. When you add up all the time I have been in Malawi in the past, it equals more than 10 months. In those 10 months, I never picked up on the fact that Chichewa is tonal. However, that aside, I have been really enjoying practicing how to speak what I do remember and connecting what I remember with new things I’ve learned so that I can make even more words and sentences.
When I am not busy with studying Chichewa, you can probably find me organizing my stuff (what to take with, what to leave, what to store, etc.) or sewing. I have dug out the African fabrics I bought and I’m dreaming what I might do with them. I haven’t actually begun a project yet, but I have some ideas! It’s completely different than anything I would dare to wear here so it takes a whole new level of imagination and vision!
I am also looking forward to learning to drive a car. Yes. Drive a car. I need to learn how to drive standard. I might be 28 years old, but this is something that makes me really nervous. Thankfully, a really kind friend is willing to teach me.
Administratively, the employment permit process is in motion and so I am waiting to hear back on that. As soon as I have a letter that permits me to enter Malawi, I can book my flight! On the financial side of things, we are still working to iron out the snags there and navigate the official roads on that side of things, but we will keep you posted when we know more information.
Comments