Muli Bwanji Readers (that’s Hello in the Malawian language Chichewa for those of you who didn’t know). Why am I speaking Chichewa to you when I’m posted in India, you might ask? Great question! Well, Malawi just happens to be on my mind after 10 rejuvenating days spent with my Lilongwe pals.
As you might remember from a month or so back, I was having a rougher-than-usual adjustment. I thought and thought about what would soothe my spirit and I kept coming back to memories of my dear friends in Malawi. And then I had the most brilliant idea – why didn’t I just go to Malawi for a visit? So that’s what Nia and I did on her Diwali break on the first week of November.
My goals for this trip were three-fold: 1.) Be loved on by as many people as possible, 2.) Renew my spirit in nature, and 3.) Luxuriate in the familiar. I am pleased to say I got all 3 in spades. Man did my friends come through. Honestly, I have never felt so taken care of in my life. We had a welcome crew pick us up from the airport, people who offered to shuttle us around town, dinner dates, parties thrown specifically for us, and multiple families that housed us. It was absolutely glorious.
Nia had her own jam-packed schedule (which I’ll go into more detail in in my next post) and I managed to see 95% of the people I wanted to see. Between my weekend walking group and the walkie talkies I logged close to 40 miles on Lilongwe’s beautiful streets. And of course a Lilongwe walk wouldn’t be complete without tea or brunch, so we had to plan lots of those too…
My dear Walkie Talkies waited for my return to do a Baby Shower for our Azerbaijani friend Aysel. It was such a treat to be able to celebrate with her and enjoy the multi-national feast that followed.
The culmination of our trip was the Embassy’s Marine Ball. All my Embassy friends were already going and with a little begging I managed to get 30 of my Walkie Talkie friends to come too! My excitement was seriously out of control – like on par with prom or my wedding. Because who doesn’t love eating and dancing with all their favorite people?
I had hand-carried one of my new Lehenga Cholis (a traditional Indian dress) to wear to the ball. It might just be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever owned (with the exception of my wedding dress). I could not wait to debut it at the ball.
I was super self-conscious about my tummy all night. It’s been a good 20 years since I wore belly-baring shirts on a regular basis. Made me very self-conscious – nothing that a little wine couldn’t remedy though… :)
I had underestimated how challenging it would be to dance in this outfit. Not only did my pins and tucks all need to stay in place, but I couldn’t spin too fast or the beaded tassels on my dupata (the scarf thing) would “whap” people. As the night wore on and my self-consciousness eased, I eventually ditched the dupata and went full belly. And despite choosing “small” Indian earrings, those ended up having to be ditched too.
But the real killer was the skirt, which was crazy-heavy. It was bulky too, so it was hard to move around in. I **might** have even wiped out at one point in the night after tripping on it. Ooops. ;) Unfortunately I couldn’t take that off but I’m sure I burned some serious calories carrying it all night.
The whole night was magical though and I honestly couldn’t think of a better ending to my trip. I was worried going in to the trip that my tendency to have ridiculous expectations for things would lead to disappointment and tears. The coolest thing about this trip is that it lived up to the vision I had for it in my mind. It was damn near perfect and SOOOOO restorative.
Big thanks to Molly & Alison for hosting us and for the myriad of other people who invited us over and transported us around. Words cannot express how much this trip meant to me. I have returned energized and ready to continue facing the challenges of settling into a new place. Love you all. xoxo
