From Malawi With Love

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7 Days of Nature

#NatureChallengePhotography That's the hashtag and I was nominated by a friend to share Nature related pictures of Malawi over a period of seven days. It's a great way to showcase Malawi and what it has to offer...it is also a bit challenging LOL Can you imagine me desperately going through my gallery trying to find a nature related picture out of the 317 similar looking selfies in there.. (-_-) I gave one of my girlfriends a heads up about nominating her and she had a similar panicky reaction (only girls LOL). Day 1: A beautiful sunset in Mulanje - home to the Island in the sky, Mulanje Mountain which is in the Southern region of Malawi. This photo was taken from one of the gardens at Kara O'Mula which is situated at the base of the Mountain. The maximum elevation of 3,002 m at its highest point, Sapitwa Peak. Day 2: A canoe trip on Bua River inside Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. My first lesson in canoeing was on ...

The Deep End Fear

It has been while since I last posted something but I'm back now. I had a few things to do that took some of my time but I'm glad they happened - I finally learned how to swim! Yes I'm a 24 years old who loves the water so much but I couldn't swim :( Do you know how heartbreaking that is?! I can't tell you how many times I've looked at a pool or the lake without wanting to cry out in frustration. Owning over ten swimsuits only made things worse because the thought of just dressing up and soaking up the sun while other people dived and free styled in the water wasn't what I had in mind - I had to be a part of that! This desire has always been with me for as long as I can remember but this year the forces were strong LOL I had to do it no matter what. I started asking around if people knew any swimming schools and got some contacts to private instructors - the courage to get in touch with them was really lacking so I pushed that aside. I bugged my friends...

When Love Is Complicated

So, a number of my friends have been going through a lot of breakdowns in a very touchy area of our lives: Relationships A friend of mine shared something in one of our Bible studies that reminded me of something that I’ve been thinking about for some time. He said something about all of us being humans and that everybody is bound to hurt you - no one is perfect but we have to rise above that. I believe that is true. Sometimes we go through a lot of hell before finding the one for us. Sometimes you think you've found The One and then later you realize it was just a false call. It brings a lot of heartache and pain. Sometimes hate. When you've been with someone for a longer period of time then yeah, its intense. Many people can promise you they won’t let you drown, yet you find yourself underwater - and sad part is you can't even swim! What about when you had a crush on someone? A crush that gave you sleepless nights? A crush that turn...

Shower Hour

I love my shower hour. I love spending my 30/40 minutes in the bath and when I wake up every morning and there's electricity and running water(can't have both at the same time for too long here in Malawi), I always look forward to that mini spa. Getting on my Mother's nerves has never been easier. My Mother doesn't understand why I take forever in the bathroom so she will come banging on the door after some 30 minutes of my disappearance, what is it that I actually do in there? I am a woman and should observe how fast and well I do my things - that is how she was when she was younger and still is. I should learn. Mom *impatient voice* "Are you not done in there?" Me ".......did you want to come in? I'm almost done Mum, will come out in 5 minutes.. " (In reality this 5 minutes will be some 15 minutes more) This is how I normally look at my time in the bathroom even on a work day Even my play list is more interesting in the ...

When Your Friends Won't Get Over Your Ex

We all have been through bad relationships and bad break ups. Some of which seem to hurt forever. You spend your days (and long nights) thinking of what could have been. You will give anything to get back together with them. When people tell you "It's gonna be alright.." it makes it even worse because well, it just doesn't seem real. You think you will never get over that person but then a few months (sometimes years. Yes I know) later you're smirking at your old delusional self....thinking what could have possibly gotten over me to say such unimaginable things?! We eventually do get them out of our system but sometimes, our friends don't get over them. You have that one friend or two that will call you whenever she runs into your ex and will give you a very detailed encounter - one that you could really do without. Friends most times let us know whenever they run into our exes but as time goes by all that information just gets fazed out - th...

Let's Cook - Chisoso Chotendera (Traditional African Vegetable)

Hello everyone, it has been a minute. Got caught up in work but I'm back now. Today we will be cooking Chisoso Chotendera, this is basically Blackjack cooked with groundnut flour. It is delicious! My Mum says back in the village when she was growing up, this was considered meat - at least to her...not sure it would be the same for me LOL meat is meat. Blackjack, Bidens pilosa is a cosmopolitan weed, originating from South America and common in all tropical and subtropical areas of the world. In Africa Bidens pilosa is recorded as a weed in many countries and it is likely to occur in all countries, including the Indian Ocean islands. It is reported as a vegetable or potherb among others in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’ Ivoire, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Black jack as a vegetable and medicinal plant is frequently found in small quantities on local markets. The young plants ...