I had the most delightful cultural experience this past weekend. Our Community Liaison Officer or CLO (my soon-to-be title!) planned a fabulous day trip down to Mua Mission Cultural Center about 2.5 hours outside of Lilongwe. And while I’ve had lots of opportunities to interact with...
Our house is about 90% set up at this point and I’m feeling pretty good. It’s a strange house we have -Â quirky and small, and while I disliked it at first, it’s starting to grow on me now. Two of the things our house is lacking are a guest bedroom and a playroom space...
Halloween is a big deal to Americans overseas, as it gives them a taste of home. The Embassies we’ve been at have always excelled at Halloween and Embassy Lilongwe was no different. In fact, we had not one but TWO nights of spook-a-licious fun for the whole family! Friday night was a...
One of the many reasons we wanted to live in Africa was because of the huge yards. One thing I didn’t anticipate though was all the ‘extra’ projects that would stem from having a yard. Granted, I am not doing the gardening or manual labor, but it has been exhausting...
So our little lady turned 5 this past weekend. She is becoming such a cool little person and I’m eager to see what year 5 will bring us. She’s very inquisitive, kind and been really amazing at sharing her things (especially with Michelle and Evelyn). She’s also really...
One morning we decided it would be fun to do a walking safari. The high for the day was near 100 degrees F, so our guide insisted that we be out walking by 5:30 AM. We left from the lodge and ventured down along the river. As always, an armed park ranger accompanied us, in the event we...
I thought today I’d document the variety of animals we saw on this safari and showcase the best image I captured of each. The Nile Crocodile – Every croc we saw was out sunning in the sand. Very formidable looking. Glad we weren’t too close. Can’t imagine running...
Folks, it’s been a WILD couple of days (bad pun intended)! Nick and I spent last Friday through Monday safari-ing in Majete National Park, a protected wildlife reserve in Southern Malawi. While we’ve had two mini safari experiences since arriving (Kuti & Liwonde), this was our...
We managed to sneak in an impromptu safari on Sunday. Nick was looking at the driving route back from Zomba and realized that the road passed right next to Liwonde National Park, a 220 sq mile protected reserve. If you’ll remember, Liwonde is the park with the excess of elephants...
We took our first big road trip this past long weekend. Nick goes down to Blantyre (the industrial capital of Malawi, in the South) once a quarter to provide services for American citizens living there. Nia and I decided that it’d be fun to tag along and see more of the country. We...
It was a big week at the Novak house. Last Tuesday the truck pulled up containing all our Household Effects and Consumables that were shipped by boat. All in all, somewhere around 10,000 lbs. As seems to be the trend in Malawi, the shipment was vastly ahead of schedule (by about 40 days)...
Today we ventured out to Kumbali Cultural Center for breakfast. It’s a hot spot with the expat crowd, as they have a market, decent food and live music. This was yet another one of those classic expat events where everyone seems to know each other. I’m pleased to report that...
Nesting has officially begun at the Novak household. I got the itch this week, probably because we received confirmation that our stuff is arriving Tuesday. And by stuff I mean, all 10,000 lbs of household effects and consumables! In case you weren’t counting, that’s 40 days...
African posts, while often characterized by the hardships encountered there, come with a surprising ton of perks. These perks (along with the natural warmth of the people) are so enticing that they encourage many a person to serve out the remainder of their tours in Africa. These people...
Meet Grace Banda. Grace is a ridiculously talented massage therapist who provides in-home massage in Lilongwe. I estimate that I’ve had around 250 massages in the last 7 years, so I consider myself a pretty discerning consumer. This is good and bad. Good because I appreciate fine...
It’s a big week here at Casa de Novak. Not only does our new nanny Esther start tomorrow, but Scholasticah and her 2 daughters moved into the quarters on our property, where they’ll be living for the next 2 years. Please allow me to introduce them to you. The 9 year old is...
This past weekend was pretty much nonstop social engagements. We started the weekend with an Embassy-wide party at a mission member’s home. The party started around sundown (around 5:30) and invitees were asked to bring wine or a dish to pass. The Marines were also grilling hot dogs...
One of the things I love most about our life is the ability we have to see the world. Having 2 years on a continent really gives you time to dive deep into your host country and often the surrounding countries too. Nick and I both love to travel, so we make it a priority to start seeing...
I’ve been driving all of 10 days by now, so I thought I’d share what I’ve learned about the rules of the road here in Malawi: 1. Avoid hitting livestock that’s crossing the road (remember, that’s someone’s livelihood!) 2. Along those same lines, avoid...
So last week my neighbor Alison decided it was time for me to visit the fabric market. The fabric sold here is very unique – it’s all brightly colored and has wax in it. They call it chitenge. I had been hearing about this massive fabric market for weeks and was eager to go...
I know I’m not going to get much sympathy on this one, but I’ve been super stressed the last two weeks trying to find the right staffing fits for our household. If you remember back, I hired Davie (our Gardener) prior to getting here and he showed up for work the day after we...
Today was Nia’s first day of preschool in Lilongwe. School starts early here, around 7:15 AM, and gets out around noon. I am the family chauffeur now, needing to get Nia to preschool and Nick to work by 7:30. I am insanely proud of myself for pushing through the nerves and getting...
As many of you know, I like to jump right in when I get to post. If you remember, I was at Photography class on Day 5 in Manila and Spanish Lessons on Day 7 of Lima. In Malawi, my goal was to get out to see some legit African animals as soon as possible. Well, I’m pleased to say, we...
Apologies for the delayed post, the internet has been a bit wonky the last few nights when I’ve been trying to write. That’s Africa, I guess. Speaking of Africa, we’re coming to the end of our second week here. Crazy, huh? We’ve been at some fabulous posts with...
Hey All – I’m beat after a long day but didn’t want you to think I forgot about you… as a compromise, I’m just going to share a few funny stories today and then I’ll get you a longer post tomorrow when I’m fresh. Story #1: I was introducing myself to someone who was working...
Hey blog readers – Thanks for all the interest in our adventures. I’m really enjoying sharing our experiences with you. Thanks especially to those who’ve left comments on Facebook. Keep ’em coming! We’re coming off a wonderful weekend. We had 2 great parties...
Hi all – I was hoping to post pictures of our yard today, but I’ve been delayed. Hopefully I’ll have some up early next week. We have a big weekend coming up. We’ve been invited over for 2 BBQ’s/Dinner parties, which we are looking forward to immensely. We’re also going over...
Day 2 started with (you guessed it) the doorbell ringing at 9 AM. Once again I was still in bed and groggily stumbled to the door in my pj’s. This time it was my neighbor (the one who had popped over the prior night). He had brought the most spectacular welcome gift – his wifi box...
Our first full day in Africa (Tuesday) started with a doorbell. We have several rotating guards that patrol the property 24 hours a day. We had forgotten to tell the one on duty that the gardener was starting that day, so at 8:30 AM he rang to tell me there was someone at the door...
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but in the back of my mind I was totally picturing that Lilongwe (our new city) would look like a scene out of the Lion King. In case you had that misconception too, let me confirm for you that it is vastly different. There’s dirt, for starters. Lots and...
Hard to believe, but today’s the big day. 9 months of waiting over. Now all that’s left is to make it through the 20 hours of flying with the 4 year old. Fear not though, we’re prepared! We took some tips from our other foreign service friends who’ve done long...
This is my third post in a series celebrating my 6 month anniversary of going sugar free. If you’re just starting to read, you’re best off reading Post 1 and Post 2 first. In my second post I mentioned that one of my biggest challenges with going Sugar Free was the meal...
This is part 2 in a series about my experience giving up sugar 6 months ago. If you haven’t read part 1, you should really start there for some background info. This post is going to focus on the challenges I experienced and the results achieved. The First Few Days Day 1 of the...
6 Months ago today I started something that I honestly wasn’t sure I could complete. I decided to join a program that would help me cut sugar out of my diet and more importantly, help me free myself from what could only be called a sugar addiction. When I think about how I got here, it...
Hard to believe but the movers come one week from today (Deep breath, everyone). As you might expect, the beginning of June was a whirlwind of graduations, good-byes, shopping and coughing (great timing for a sinus infection, right?) Grrr. Some days I feel totally in the groove, cranking...
I can’t place my finger on exactly when it happened, but sometime in the last week we kicked into full on prep mode. I was hoping to have 10 more days or so until the insanity hit, but ready or not, it’s planning time! I’m pleased to report that we had a very productive...
Remember back in 2009 when I was newly married and getting ready for our first overseas adventure? Funny how long ago that seems. Well, back before we shipped out, one of the posts that prompted a lot of conversation was the one I wrote about our Escape Bag or “Go Bag†as we now call...
Let’s start with the good news. WE WENT CAMPING! Yay us! Now for the bad news. We bailed after 24 hours. Here’s how it all went down: We left Friday around lunch, right after picking Nia up from preschool. We were headed to Jellystone campground in Luray, VA, a 90-120 minute...
We’re about 90 days out until “wheels up” for Malawi, which means it’s crunch time. It sounds like a lot of days, but I know from experience that it will evaporate in no time. Nick’s going to be focused on wrapping up his current job and starting his mid...
Happy Holidays blog readers! Soooo, I was ridiculously lucky to kick off my holiday season in style with tickets to the National Christmas Tree Lighting (courtesy of cousin Kyle who works at the National Park Service). Not only did I get a ticket to this hard-to-attend event, but I also...
I started back up again at the hospital as a chaplain after taking the summer off to travel to MN. As I mentioned in an earlier post, back in May I wanted to quit because it felt too frustrating to be a beginner. I’m glad I came back though, because while it’s still hugely...
Remember when we moved to Peru in May of 2012? Seems like forever ago (look how small Nia is!) Happily, it’s that time again. I’m pleased to announce that our next adventure will be . . . Lilongwe, Malawi: July 2016 Get to Know Our Next Home: Where It Is: Malawi is a...
Happy Friday all! This is BREATH-TAKING. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Thanks for sharing it Laura!
Only 1 sleep ’til Daddy comes home and 3 sleeps ’til we get our next assignment!
October is definitely Nia’s month. She comes off a week of Birthday celebrations and heads straight into Halloween fun. The festivities began on Thursday with a Halloween parade and concert at her preschool. Friday she got to trick-or-treat at a middle school with her other...
It seemed fitting that our adventure-filled birthday extravaganza week should wrap up with a bang. And what better way than a tour of the White House, right? So that’s exactly what we did, courtesy of my generous relative Kyle (see background on Kyle HERE). The tour was self-guided...
It has been a week of non-stop birthday festivities in celebration of Nia’s 4th Birthday! I didn’t want to leave you out on the fun, so here’s a recap of all the action! Nana and Papa (Sarah’s Parents) arrived on a flight from MN late Friday night. Nia had been...
So, as I mentioned in my last post, my parents, sister and nephew were here for the weekend to celebrate Nia’s Birthday. And what weekend in DC would be complete without a little sight-seeing, right? The tricky thing is, they saw most of the “biggies” last time they were...
So this happened last Sunday! Every year the White House opens the South lawn to the public for a Spring or Fall Garden Tour. Having never been beyond the fence of the White House, I must say, it was ridiculously cool to be up so close. The timing was perfect too, as my parents, sister...
This morning I had the great honor of seeing Pope Francis after his address to Congress. This opportunity meant so much to me and I will always be grateful to MN Senator Amy Klobuchar for donating the tickets to my Alma Mater, St. Ben’s. How fortunate that I was able to get one of...