Mama Zen, At It Again

About a week ago, Zen started lactating, plus she looked like she was about to explode, so I knew the kittens were near.  Of course, in order to avoid another Mid-Night Adventure all over my foot, she was banned from cuddling in my bed.

Well, I decided to watch a little TV (on my 2.5" Zune) mid-day (very unusual) and violated one of my own rules (also unusal) allowing her to cuddle in bed with me while I did.  Luckily, I can report she did not have a kitten then, but as soon as I removed her from the bed at the end of the episode, she started going crazy.  I had an idea what she was complaining about, so I took her to her basket and she immediately rolled up in it and kept quiet.  That is, until I attempted to leave the room, when she would follow me and complain till I returned to the room with her basket in it.

About an hour later, the first kitten was born.

Baby Merissa Peace, female

There were some of the unpleasantries that come with along with child birth, then Zen fell asleep as the kitten nursed.  What's this? Did Grandpa Nick get lucky and Zen decided to keep this litter at a single kitten?!?  Yay!

Nope.  I left the room, cooked dinner, and before sitting down to dinner, checked on Zen and her kitten, only to discover she decided to pop out two more while I was gone.

Baby Jon, male deceased

Baby Roni Mack, male

Wow, a cat that has a kitten, takes a nap, then has two more a couple hours later.  We knew she was strange, so I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.  So, after dinner, we had a photo shoot and then I went to bed.

The next morning, the lighting was much better, so I got pictures of mom with her nice litter of three.

Zen with her kittens

I know I haven't had my coffee, so my vision was a little blurry, but something looks off in this picture.

One, Two, Three...Four???

So, I guess Zen decided going through labor in all at once is for rookies, and she did it in three spells.

Baby Landarr, male deceased

So, my house is once again full of kittens.  All four appear to be very happy and healthy, as well as Mama Zen.  Hopefully, there will be an abundance of adorable pictures to come soon.

Zen's fourth litter of kitten, second in my house

Updates:
2 January 2014 - Upon returning from being gone two nights, I found only Baby Merissa and Baby Roni.  The other two kittens have disappeared.  It is likely that they died and Zen disposed.

21 February 2014 - Zen and I are now fostering another kitten.  This one belongs to a Tonga PCV, Colleen, who's cat has recently been injured and is with a real veterinarian in Lilongwe.  It's only a couple weeks younger than my kittens and is about the same size, and since Susan is taking this kitten and also transporting a kitten for Lea (who already has one of Fletch's puppies), it will work out logistically.  Zen has been a great sport about this and has even been seen cuddling with and nursing the new kitten.

Athena (left) quickly found her place in the litter
with Baby Roni (right) and Baby Merissa (bottom).

31 February 2014 - All the kids are gone!  The house is once again an 'adult only zone.'

Check Out My New Bore Hole!

It's about 50m from my front door.  Thank you, UNICEF!

"Twas the Night Before Christmas: Peace Corps Malawi Style"

This is a guest post by Cameron Stanley (http://africaam33.tumblr.com) for Christmas. Enjoy!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas: Peace Corps Malawi Style

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the boma,
All the crazies and drunkards fell into a Chibuku-induced coma.

The volunteers were all nestled on their Flexafoam beds,
While visions from Mefloquine danced in their heads.

The amayis in their chitenjes, and I in my net,
Had laid down to sleep in a lake full of sweat.

When out on the munda there arose such a clatter,
I threw on my headlamp to see what was the matter.

Away past the chim I flew like a flash,
And stopped for a moment to pick at my rash.

I came to an iwe who yelled, “GIVE ME MONEY!”
But what was that noise? Chifukwa? Chiyani!?

And soon I came upon those jingling notes,
Of a bike taxi’s bell, pulled by eight little goats.

What I saw was a sight too absurd to dismiss,
For peddling through the moonlight was Abambo Christmas.

More rapid than fish-eagles, his coursers they came,
And he “HSTTT-ed” and “ASAY’d” and called them by name:

“Now Chimwemwe!
Now Gift!
Now Chimwemwe!
Now Chimwemwe!
On Chikondi!
On Mphatso!
On Fanny!
On Chimwemwe!

To the top of the borehole! To the top of the wall!
Tiyeni! Tiyeni! Dash away all!”As swift as conductors to azungus at the depot, 
As determined as they are to squeeze in five more people, 

 
So up past the tuck shop the coursers they trotted, 
With a bike full of masweeties and mangoes that had rotted.

 
And out in the shadows, I heard on the street, 
The Satanic warcry of an African goat bleat.

 
Their rider dressed in hand-me-downs of past football teams,
And I could not tell the last time his feet had been clean.

With a belt clip of satchets slung over his back,
He looked just like Rambo going in for attack.

His eyes, how they sparkled, though yellow in hue,
His brow, beaded with sweat like the early morning dew.

His jawline was rigid, his frame like a giraffe,
But his nsima belly shook every time that he laughed.

His teeth were crooked, but his smile was true,
And his beard as scraggly as Shaggy’s from Scooby Doo.

He dismounted his bike and looked at me funny,
I could swear he was humming P-Squares’ “Chop My Money.”

With a wink of an eye and a twist of his head,
His hair smacked my face and I tasted a dread.

He stopped at the chief’s house and dumped out his stuff,
Lit a cigarette with a match and said, “Good enough.”

He sprang to his bike, and to his herd gave a whistle, but all of the goats were off grazing on thistle.

Ten minutes later he had assembled his team,
Probably the best Santa I’ve ever seen. 

I heard him exclaim ‘ere we all waved tiwo,
“HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL: AZUNGU BO!”

NOTES:
Boma = the major shopping/market center of a district in Malawi
Chibuku = the cheap Malawian drink of choice, tastes like chunky boozy egg nog
Mefloquine = malaria meds that give you dreams that are cray cray
Amayi = Chichewa for mother
Chitenje = cloths worn as skirts, headpieces, baby slings, bags, etc. etc.
Lake full of sweat = HOT SEASON YO!
Munda = garden
Headlamp = a PCV’s best friend
Chim = pit latrine, we poop in holes
Iwe = nickname for a Malawian child, translates as “YOU!”, “give me money” is one of their favorite English phrases
Chifukwa? Chiyani? = what? Why?
Bike taxi = Like a taxi, but a bike. Just how it sounds.
Abambo = father
“HSTTT”, “ASAY” = noises Malawians emit when they are trying to get your attention
Chimwemwe = the first name of 60% of Malawian males (not scientifically proven…yet)
Borehole = well, water source
Tiyeni = let’s go!
Bus depot = minibus conductors flock to azungus, or white people, at the bus depot because they know they can be easily overcharged, they also try to fill their buses to the brim with customers to make more money. An average minibus is the size of a large van and can usually cram in at least 20 people
Nsima = most popular food in Malawi because it makes you feel full even though it doesn’t really have any nutritional value
Chop my money = most popular song in Africa, burning up the charts yo
“Probably…” = the marketing campaign in Malawi for Carlsberg is “Probably the best beer in the world,” so saying that things are probably the best is an inside joke here
AZUNGU BO = another favorite phrase iwes like to yell, which essentially asks “white person, good!????”

Merry Christmas from Africa, everybody!

Tako Parr - May 2012 to 20 December 2013

Last night, Tako passed away.  She had a reaction to some medicine she got on Wednesday and was in what appeared to be a coma Thursday and Friday.  Last night, it seems she had a seizure and passed away.  I found her this morning with Zen laying next to her, trying to keep her warm.

I got Tako on my fifth day at site, 4 September 2012, from another teach, Stanley Ngwira.  She was four months old.  For that first month in Thunduti, she was my only roommate and my only local friend.  She was the second member of the Parr family's Malawian extension.  When I got Fletcher, Tak instantly hated her, only for the two of them to become best friends.  

She was the first pet I’ve ever had that was just mine.  She was my best friend, and “Our Queen.”  She will be missed and will forever be in my heart.

Kitty hammock.

Tako laying in her most recent favorite spot, my bike rack.  This is the last picture I have of her.

Starting the Library Construction

Fund raising has been a huge success! So far, $3,205 has been raised. Thank you so much to everyone that has donated. We now have enough money to build the library as well as stock it with some supplies. 

The first bags of cement have arrived today, and construction of the foundation is set to begin Monday. 

International Toilet Day

Happy International Toilet Day!

For those of you that have a toilet in your home, don't take it for granted.  It's a blessing.

Watch your head.

Donald and I have always been plagued with the distance between our sites. It's only about 85km, but on public transport, it's a frustrating 2 hours, involving at least one transfer.

Well, we had the idea to find a spot located in the middle of our sites that would be a reasonable day trip for both of us. We found Ngara Resort, which is about an hour and exactly mk500 away for both of us. 

Their bar was not fully stocked, but we hope that was a fluke. The food was to die for. Also, we immediately fell in love with the padded lawn chairs.

The only problem with these chair, is we positioned them under a fruit tree. Within 30 minutes of me sitting down with a delightful beverage, one of the fruits decided to fall. I have been under plenty of trees when fruit falls, and I've never had any reason to fear. The probability of one falling anywhere actually close to you is slim. 

Well, not this time.  I didn't react to the sound over my head and the fruit lined up perfectly to smack me right on top of the head. 24 hours later, and the top of my head still hurts.

A reenactment of the impact.  In reality it bounced off my head and came to rest in the grass about 3 feet away.  Donald said he could hear the thud loud and clear.

Thanksgiving(s)

Last year, unfortunately, I didn't get much of a Thanksgiving. We had a "Thanksgiving" dinner at Maji Zuwa, but other than J's mango cobbler and blue-berry muffins, there was nothing American about the meal (we had chapatis, rice, and beef stew). This was a big change from my three Thanksgivings I've had for the previous few years (work, Mom's, the Dad's).

This year was completely different! I wanted a proper Thanksgiving, as did Donald and Sara. So, we planned one. Since the 12 Pubs of Mzuzu (an annual Christmas kickoff for northern Malawi ex-pats) was scheduled the following Saturday, we planned a Black Friday Thanksgiving in Mzuzu. We also planned to get two live chickens and have the "Cleanest Kill Contest" between Sara and myself (I won).

After this was planned, I got word that the United States Ambassador and Matt Maroon had arranged for a Thanksgiving lunch for Karonga PCVs and Latitude Volunteers (an NGO Matt is country director for) at Maji Zuwa. I was also told that following the lunch, she would visit my school and my house, a huge honor. 

Then, a week before Thanksgiving was finally upon us, I went to the post office to discover a care package. Uncle Dan had sent me a full Thanksgiving dinner (canned turkey, gravy, stuffing mix, cranberry sauce, and much more). 

Well, Thanksgiving week, on Tuesday, I made my care-package Thanksgiving dinner. 

Thanks Juice!

Thursday was our Maji Zuwa Thanksgiving with Ambassador Jackson. 

Abbie cooked most of the food

 Then Friday was A Very Mzuni Thanksgiving. 

This meal made possible by Shoprite Mzuzu

A Day in the Life of a Thunduti CDSS Student

I have been blessed to be matched with not one, but three different American classrooms through Peace Corps' Paul D. Coverdell World Wise Schools program. I asked two students to write a letter that I could send with them describing what a day in their life is like. Here they are.

Misuku Visit (in pictures)

Recently, I was fortunate enough to visit my friend and fellow Ed12 Teacher Development Facilitator, Megan. I could try to describe my visit to Misuku, where she lives, but I could never do it justice. Instead, sit back, and let me take you on a photographic tour of one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Africa.

The leaves change color here, too.

Our dashboard friend on the hour-long drive from the tarmac to Misuku.

Megan and her feline companion, Annie.

Annie is probably causing trouble.  She is a kitten.

"The flash is too bright!"

We drank lots of coffee (made with Melissa's press).

Those blue baggies are full of ground coffee. That's right, they sell coffee in the markets in Misuku.

I asked Megan's Deputy Head-Master, a coffee farmer, for some coffee.  He brought me a kg of some of the best dark roasted coffee I've ever had in my life.

Handing out at Megan's house.

Teaching genetics

I was quite proud of my TALULAR (Teaching and Learning Using Locally Available Resources) chromosomes.

Me and the two teachers (other than Megan) that attended the whole genetics workshop at Misuku CDSS.

Primary school teachers in the Misuku TDC cluster at my Circulatory and Respiratory Systems workshop.  Here, they're feeling how the intercostal muscles are only active during heavy breathing.

Circulatory System demonstration

I ate very well at Megan's.  She made a lot of chapatis and used a lot of avocados, both amazing things.

Misuku trading center as seen from the TDC

Misuku trading center

Misuku's new TNM tower, meaning Megan actually has cell service now.

Entering Wilindi Forest

Hiking through the forest

Cool foliage

The path through the trees

Looking out over Chitipa district

Looking out over Chitipa district

Posing in the mountains

Megan resting

Valley agriculture

That town is Chitipa Boma

More pretty colors of dry season

Sara's 'Little House on the Savannah'

My first chicken kill (with Andrew's help)

Loretta! Last time I saw her, I was nursing her after she'd been in a dog fight.

Sensei, daughter of Zen, and possessor of all energies