Whew! That was a mouthful! I think I better to stick with saying “Merry Christmas!”
I’m sending my wishes early because I’ll be in the village for Christmas. I’m curious what it’ll be like. I heard that people are either at church all day or they drink beer all day.
I’ll be reflecting all day on this past year. The most interesting things (sorry, my life’s not that interesting here) that have happened since I’ve been in Malawi include:
-hitchhiking and riding in the back of a pickup truck for 4 hours
-an 18-second earthquake (2 missionaries from Chicago who were here were about to pack up and leave while I just went back to sleep thinking that I was hallucinating)
-a scorpion biting my in-charge, which was inevitably slaughtered by my night guard
-attending a Muslim wedding where I was kinda made a guest of honor, so I had to sit next to the best man who gave me a 10-minute lecture about giving more money during the “reception” aka fund-raising party
-a Member of Parliament who’s also the Minister of Finance came to my market for a political rally… I stayed, oh, maybe 10 minutes.
-World AIDS Day…
The youths and I walking to the Opening Ceremony
The youths who organized a drama, traditional dance, and choir
Anyway, last time I mentioned about World AIDS Day. On December 1, I walked for over an hour to a primary school where the opening ceremony was to take place. It was awesome. There were at least 500 people there. I didn’t realize what a huge deal it was, because the Senior Chief (one of several hand-picked by the president; I’ve been to his house but wasn’t able to meet him yet), other chiefs, and all the important district officers were present, as well as one of the Malawian reggae bands (the lead singer is a Member of Parliament but of course he wasn’t actually there). I had the privilege of watching my youths’ drama group perform about leadership. The story was about parents forcing their daughter to go into town to prostitute herself to bring an income into their family, but a pastor, business managers, and some others were teaching them that they cannot force her into prostitution and that as the heads of the family, they have to desire what’s best for her. Or something like that. There were a bunch of other dramas, choirs, musicians, and traditional dances too. There were a bunch of speeches too, including some HIV-positive survivors speaking about their experiences (unfortunately, I don’t understand Chichewa well enough to know what they shared). Overall, I’m really proud of my youth group, because they had put a lot of effort into their drama (the choir and traditional dance groups didn’t make it into the program).
The more I thought about leadership in regards to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, I realized that I had to be an example of good leadership and not just preach to the youth committee about leadership. So, I told them, “Ask me any questions you have about sex, HIV/AIDS, relationships, rape, family planning, etc.” I was amazed at how well it went and how much I actually knew. The questions they asked were like, “If I’m in a relationship, can I still be a good leader?”, “If someone got pregnant and married young, can she tell other girls to not get pregnant and marry young?”, “I heard that when a man and woman has sex, the woman is more likely to get HIV. Is that true?”, “If a man rapes a woman and he’s HIV-positive, can the woman get HIV too?”
Man. Those were some tough questions. But the discussions we had were really good. And I was able to teach them what I knew. Like how they can prevent HIV by getting a drug called PEP within 72 hours after sex.
The most recent question I received that really baffled me was “After a woman aborts and has sex with a man, why is it that the man dies?” (Did you notice how they didn’t ask if the man would die but why?) There’s obviously misinformation in there somewhere.
But on a more personal note, I wasn’t sure I should share this but I thought maybe I should. In light of Christmas, I hope that instead of stressing out about Christmas shopping or depressing yourself over other personal issues, maybe you can find a deeper appreciation for what you have and actually appreciate your friends and family more.
So. For awhile I recruited a student to help me with a few chores so I can pay for her education. She’s an orphan and the vice head girl (kinda like vice female president) and is extremely hard-working according to her aunt and teachers. She’s also incredibly shy. But I keep finding out new things about her that surprise me. Like how she was pregnant and had a child when she was 16 or 17. (She’s 18 now.) Most girls don’t go back to school after their first child, but her aunt really wanted to encourage her to go back to school since her twin sister also had a child and her younger sister dropped out of school. So, her aunt and her grandmother took care of her child while she went back to school. And then at the end of the term, she told me that she was sick and dropped off the face of earth without telling me another word. A month later, I found out that she’s pregnant again. Her aunt was obviously really disappointed, because she knew that I was giving her a really good opportunity.
I was discouraged, because well, her chances of going back to school after having her second child is really slim now. And she really had a lot of potential. But I’m also discouraged at how many girls drop out of school because of teen pregnancy and how difficult it is for them to pursue higher education. Usually about 1/10 girls would actually complete her secondary education. The other 9 either get pregnant early or marry early or don’t care enough about education to make it through secondary school. Malawians are shocked to find out that more than 50% of college students in America are actually females. I want to encourage girls as much as I can to complete their education and to emphasize my point, I tell people “I don’t want to marry until I go back to college again.” As for the girl I recruited, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there will be a third chance.
My other issue is that my tutor, who has also been my best Malawian friend here, recently told me he wants to get tested for HIV (without any of his students knowing). I can’t imagine how nerve-wracking it can be to think that you might have HIV. It was nerve-wracking for me to think that he might have HIV. His sister actually does have HIV and it was kinda heart-breaking. The poor man has been carrying so many burdens that have angered him, broken his heart, and worried him. I wish there were more that I could do for him.
But somehow, he’s able to keep smiling without a concern and say, “It’s o.k. I know God has better plans for me.”
With that said, I hope you’ll be able to smile this Christmas too, no matter what stress or problems you have, and know that everything will get better in time. Merry Christmas! :)
My lame Rocky moment. 