What is it about sunday ? No matter where you are you would always know its sunday....its a feeling of loneliness...it pushes you right into yourself...maybe thats its job! Here I find it very lonely since everyone is gone back to their villages and so after coping with many sundays over the years...this year I decided to make plans for these sundays just to assuage that great overwhelming loneliness.
First things first ...I must eat..and so i set to making a pancake on the little clay stove. I set myself up with a low stool made from a plank on top of an old paint tin and then twigs and wood and a bit of candle to help the fire to go. And it did! The pancake was a bit of a blob since it stuck to the pan but it filled my belly. Next I did my church ...me taking the priests part and reading some sacred readings ...just as Julius arrived all dressed up for his church...I invited him to attend mine but he declined.My little church just adds to the proliferation of churches of all types with all sorts of names though mine remains unnamed with only one member!
I knew I had a certain duty to perform and that was to visit the chief of the village to which this land if not the house belongs. I dreaded this little visit for no reason only that since Im now back in the western world so long it brings me right out of my comfort zone. Anyway I put myself in order and went off down the track to the real village crossing the main dirt road and right into the heart of the village. Its a nice shady village with lots of mango trees and as i went the call was sent that a visitor was coming. A few people came out to greet me as i passed...even hugging me which also the wife of the chief did when she appeared. You dont see hugs in public really so its quite a special greeting which i needed on this day! We sat on the little verandah with the chief himself ..a small old man with twinkly eyes, his wife and the inevitable horde of sweet little children. We caught up with news as best we could with my poor chichewa and I came away with a bag full of beans. As is usual I was fine once I made myself go and it was enjoyable especially to see that everyone had survived yet another year.
I had arranged with julius that we would go to the lodge for our lunch...a treat for both of us. He had been too tired to go to see his wife who lives quite a distance away and so was free to accompany me. Off we set up the mountain path for about 3 klms to a lodge which a local business man had set up in the hope of having tourists. On the way we met some of our volunteers who were doing piece work on his land. One poor old woman bent double was just finishing having worked since 6am ...a lovely sweet lady....oh my heart! But I have never seen a tourist staying at this lodge and I think its mainly used for weddings or conferances etc. ...so it seems that the tourist part of his business has failed.....but as for us we just go up there to sit in the garden and have our chicken and chips. Its actually a beauty spot with a lovely mountain pools and huge rocks as tall as a skyscraper further up...but today we just relaxed and ate. We did go up to see the tourist cabins in case sometime we may need them for our “tourists”( who also fail to materialise)! The big wound on this lodge is the caged monkeys and caged snakes...in a bush place where their friends are jumping from tree to tree around them or slithering around in the grass! I hate to see this and have complained many times ...but all to no avail. I feel that this is a real slur on the beautiful setting. Anyway out of site of the poor caged animals we enjoyed our chicken and chips sitting under the shade of beautiful ancient trees.
And so by the time we got back it was dusk so this Sunday had passed leisurely and well.....and I had a nice hot bucket bath and settled down to read at my round table under the stars.
First things first ...I must eat..and so i set to making a pancake on the little clay stove. I set myself up with a low stool made from a plank on top of an old paint tin and then twigs and wood and a bit of candle to help the fire to go. And it did! The pancake was a bit of a blob since it stuck to the pan but it filled my belly. Next I did my church ...me taking the priests part and reading some sacred readings ...just as Julius arrived all dressed up for his church...I invited him to attend mine but he declined.My little church just adds to the proliferation of churches of all types with all sorts of names though mine remains unnamed with only one member!
I knew I had a certain duty to perform and that was to visit the chief of the village to which this land if not the house belongs. I dreaded this little visit for no reason only that since Im now back in the western world so long it brings me right out of my comfort zone. Anyway I put myself in order and went off down the track to the real village crossing the main dirt road and right into the heart of the village. Its a nice shady village with lots of mango trees and as i went the call was sent that a visitor was coming. A few people came out to greet me as i passed...even hugging me which also the wife of the chief did when she appeared. You dont see hugs in public really so its quite a special greeting which i needed on this day! We sat on the little verandah with the chief himself ..a small old man with twinkly eyes, his wife and the inevitable horde of sweet little children. We caught up with news as best we could with my poor chichewa and I came away with a bag full of beans. As is usual I was fine once I made myself go and it was enjoyable especially to see that everyone had survived yet another year.
I had arranged with julius that we would go to the lodge for our lunch...a treat for both of us. He had been too tired to go to see his wife who lives quite a distance away and so was free to accompany me. Off we set up the mountain path for about 3 klms to a lodge which a local business man had set up in the hope of having tourists. On the way we met some of our volunteers who were doing piece work on his land. One poor old woman bent double was just finishing having worked since 6am ...a lovely sweet lady....oh my heart! But I have never seen a tourist staying at this lodge and I think its mainly used for weddings or conferances etc. ...so it seems that the tourist part of his business has failed.....but as for us we just go up there to sit in the garden and have our chicken and chips. Its actually a beauty spot with a lovely mountain pools and huge rocks as tall as a skyscraper further up...but today we just relaxed and ate. We did go up to see the tourist cabins in case sometime we may need them for our “tourists”( who also fail to materialise)! The big wound on this lodge is the caged monkeys and caged snakes...in a bush place where their friends are jumping from tree to tree around them or slithering around in the grass! I hate to see this and have complained many times ...but all to no avail. I feel that this is a real slur on the beautiful setting. Anyway out of site of the poor caged animals we enjoyed our chicken and chips sitting under the shade of beautiful ancient trees.
And so by the time we got back it was dusk so this Sunday had passed leisurely and well.....and I had a nice hot bucket bath and settled down to read at my round table under the stars.
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