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...
Malawi
This is a collection of posts from our tour in Lilongwe, Malawi from July 2016 to June 2018.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
I’m getting used to bizarre animal encounters in Africa now. Here’s a story about one that occurred in our very own backyard yesterday. I was out talking to Davie about the yard when Nia...
So, remember when I mentioned awhile back that we have a strange house? Well, it’s true. The layout is bizarre and the rooms are quite closed off. It’s fine for everyday life, but not so...
I can’t remember a time in my life when I was so eagerly anticipating rain. Guess the brown is really getting to me. Happily, rainy season is nearly upon us! The heavy rains that mark the...
So last week when we “talked” I updated you on the deck project. What I failed to mention was that the deck project was just one of MANY large-scale projects happening on our compound...
Last Friday we attended an embassy holiday party at the Ambassador’s House. It was a lovely affair and included holiday traditions like cookie decorating, eating copious amounts of food and my...
For those who have been following the blog awhile, you may remember back to the staff appreciation party we threw in 2010 for Rudy, Norma and their families. For some reason we didn’t do this...
Our first Christmas in Malawi has come and gone and was quite delightful, if I do say so myself. The weather cooperated (mid-80’s, no rain) as did our little lady (mostly). I still struggle...
It was a BIG week people. I know I say that a lot, but I really mean it this time. You see, this week was the first time in 8 years that I was back in an office job! Yes, it’s true. After 5...
I’ve completed 3 weeks of work now and am slowly but surely starting to find my groove. I can’t emphasize enough how much I’m enjoying the daily interactions and connections with...
Hey all – Did you miss me? Sorry about the lack of blog posts. Turns out this work/life balance thing is WAY harder with an office job. Go figure. Speaking of jobs, I’ve been asked for...
Happy belated Valentine’s Day, my beloved blog readers. Just think about this – if you’ve been reading the blog since I first started – we’ve been ‘in a relationship’ for nearly a...
I’m not sure if it’s just Nia getting older or her acting out because I’m gone more now, but we’ve seen a dramatic rise in what Nick and I like to refer to as “stinker-ish behaviorâ€. Some...
I took Nia to a Malawian beauty shop for the first time two weeks ago. We started with a basic trim because, although she’d like it short again, we have to grow it out for her ballet recital...
 I have a whole bunch of unrelated things that I wanted to update you on, so just know in advance that this post is going to be all over the place. I CAN promise that it will be full of tantalizing...
Our backyard gained two exciting new additions this week. The first was a slack line that Nick put up in the backyard. We got hooked on slack lines in Lima, which were constantly strung up on the...
It’s been a week full of Easter-related fun and while it’s brought much delight to the young’uns, it’s brought MUCH exhaustion to Mommy. The week kicked off with our Embassy Egg Hunt &...
This past Saturday, a group of 20 of us from the Embassy had the opportunity to do a volunteer project with a local non-profit. This was the first volunteer project I’d planned, so I was...
Ladies & Gents – It’s Derby Day here in Lilongwe! This is no small deal, as I’ve been waiting my whole life to go to a Kentucky Derby Party. So of course we had to go all out. :) Nia and I...
I’ve been noticing some very cool shifts happening in me lately which have, quite honestly, taken me by surprise. No huge revelations or changes in my path, just a growing awareness of things...
Last night Nick and I were on the way to a party for Norway’s National Day. It was 6 PM when we arrived, which in Malawi means that it’s pitch black (streetlights are few and far between here and...
I know you all are dying for a little Nick update, so here goes. The first few days were rough. He only felt comfortable on his belly because that relieved the pressure on his spine. We were...
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. That is the sound of a big happy Sarah sigh. I’m just so dang content right now folks. Never mind that we had to part ways with Davie or that the new gardener/driver crashed...
I remember when we lived in the Philippines I was impressed by how resourceful people, especially children, could be. One of the memories that sticks with me most was from my visit to Tondo...
Ladies and Gentleman- We officially have a Kindergartner in the family! Â Nia loved going to preschool, so we made the assumption that the transition to Kindy would be easy peasy. Man were we wrong...
Hello everyone – This post was supposed to go out Saturday, September 2nd but never did for some reason. I decided you probably won’t mind that it’s a little late, so I’m still publishing…...