Shenanigans around the globe

I have enjoyed my time in Africa so much, I don't think I can actually say how much in words. I have watched countless sunsets, each as spectacular as the last. I have watched the moon set over lake Malawi and rise over the Indian Ocean.  I have seen too many shooting stars to count. I have stood above the clouds looking out over Malawi, into the distance of Mozambique. I have jumped from a high ledge into a 60m deep pool by a waterfall. I was asked to be an actress in a Tanzanian film. I have eaten roasting nsima by hand. I have donated blood to a patient and doubled her haemoglobin count. I have swam in Lake Malawi under a bright moon and slept on the beach under the stars. I have drunk the most fanta and carlsberg in my life. I have sat in on a spontaneous marital counselling session, on a palliative care home visit.   I have danced to a live band and with a bunch of kids, including an 18 month old who had better control of her body and more rhythm than me. I have learnt how to

After leaving Malawi, we flew to Dar es Salaam (via Ethiopia again). The flights were fine I just slept and ate, we were lucky enough to have the long-leg-room seats on the first plane and I was by the window which was an extra bonus, on the second flight we had a row of three seats each. We arrived at 1.25am which seems to be the best time to arrive at Dar as immigration only took 30minutes (opposed to the 3hours the first time round). It is however the nicest visa in my passport-it even has my picture in it.  We were met by a family friend, Reuben and his eldest daughter Rebecca, who we stayed with for four nights. Reuben runs many projects, he supervises a nursery where there is also a feeding programme, he has a small farm for producing food, mainly for the nursery, and he works at a school. We didn't get back to theirs until after 2.30 so it was straight to bed. The next morning we were up early for a two and a half hour long church service, the music was great but as the whol

My last week in Malawi was spent travelling around to see more of the country. After our final workshop on the Saturday (which was a great success) we were free. On the Sunday we got up bright and early to head to Lake Malawi, Max the med-student joined us which was pretty handy as he often carried our giant rucksacks. Getting my final bike taxi down to Chitakali was quite emotional, the sun was still rising, sending rays up behind the mountain, not a view I will forget anytime soon. We then started our mammoth minibus journey, which took 11hours (if we had a car it would of been about 4hours). It was the usual uncomfortableness and I'm surprised I still have a pinky toe left as everyone in the three buses stood on it getting on and off the bus. There was a very cute wee baby boy dancing, who had the best smile, so at least we had a bit of entertainment for awhile. Our final bus took us from Monkey Bay to our accommodation in Cape Mclear, as we were driving through the hills the su

We went to Majete wildlife reserve with Clare and the med students, it was a lovely wee safari, saw lots of antelope and their cousins. We had breakfast in this elevated hut watching two hippos dance around each other, which was very entertaining. Plus I had bacon for the first time in months and proper coffee so it was a very good day. The elephants in this park have been chased (by poachers etc) so chase cars when they get too close. We got too close so got chased by a bull elephant which was fun and a bit scary. After the visit to the park we went across the road to this lodge that has an amazing infinity pool over looking the river, we took heaps of underwater pictures and basically acted like a bunch of kids, you would think we had never been in a swimming pool before. The following day me and Lynsey headed up to the waterfalls which are about an hour up Mount Mulanje. We had to get a minibus to the base which I think was the worst minibus journey so far, I had an eight (or so) ye