[transcriber's note: this letter arrived in Minnesota yesterday]

10-04-07
Moni! (Hello) Muli Bwanji (How are you?)? So far so good. We arrived in Malawi on September 27th after several flights and stops. When we got here we went to the Peace Corps office in Lilongwe for an hour or so and then were off to Dedza College of Forestry to start our training. We were greeted by signing and dancing from our Malawian language and culture trainers. I was so moved by their music that I could barely participate. We are here with a group of 24 other trainees, all education volunteers. Brian and I are the only married couple, which can be strange at times, but for the most part it doesn't seem to affect group dynamics. We really like our group a lot. There is no shortage of humor.

10-12-07
We have now been at our homestay for a week. We are staying with a small family, just a mom, dad, and 15 year old daughter. All of their other children are grown. We have a pretty good set up. The family moved out of their house to let us use it and moved into the neighbors (who we think is the mom's sister). Don't get me wrong, we are not living in luxury. Our home is simple. The walls are mud but they seem like cement. The roof is straw. There are 3 rooms, one main one where we eat on a straw mat, a small bedroom and a storage room. The kitchen is a separate building. It is basically a hut with a fire pit and mud stove. The toilet, or "chim," is also its own building. It is really an outhouse with a hole instead of a toilet seat. We also "shower" outside. Our host mom brings us a basin of hot water every morning in an enclosed straw fence structure called the "bafa."

Besides bringing us hot water, our host mom does a lot for us. She cooks 3 meals, boils water for all our needs and cleans. I might add that cooking is no easy task as all the wood used she collects. She also carries the water from the well a quarter mile away. Yes, she does carry it on her head. I was able to try it one day. My bucket was much smaller than hers and my arms and neck killed when I was done. All of the women at the well were laughing at me.

We have been very busy with the rest of our training as well. We have language class for about 3 hours a day. It has been crucial as our host family does not speak English. We have both found ourselves wanting to use Chinese, German, or Spanish when we can't think of words. Who knew that coming to Africa would refresh my Chinese!! Besides language training we do what they call technical training. A lot of it is relearning what we covered in education classes (writing lesson plans, classroom management, etc.) We are also starting our practicing teaching.

We still don't know where we will be located for the next two years. We know for sure it will not be located in the North, so it will be somewhere in the Central or South regions. Some of the people in our group are learning another language because they are going to the north. We also know for sure that we will be in a rural village.

We are both doing really well. Of course we miss everyone at home. The Peace Corps staff and our host family are taking really good care of us. After all, we are in "The warm heart of Africa." Before we go I'll leave you with our highlights:

Kristy:
1. 5:30 am sunrises from behind the mountains
2. Dancing with girls in my village
3. Watching our host mom cook

Brian:
1. Landrover trips on bumpy roads (there's always room for "one more" volunteer in a Peace Corps truck, but we are not allowed to ride on top :) )
2. Playing soccer
3. Getting to know fellow trainees and Malawians.

Much love and peace,

Kristy & Brian