A different that feels the same

Sunday, May 26^th: So different that it feels the same

This morning waking up in Zomba was unlike any other morning I have had so far; it was actually hard to get out of bed. I think the lack of sleep and 6-hour time difference has finally set in, plus the Nyquil I took last night could have been an effect also, haha. I pulled through though and got up and went to breakfast with Liz. We ran into Leigh on the way there so we all decided to go together. The breakfast bar here is a lot more elaborate than the one in Lilongwe so we had plenty to choose from. Since we arrived to Zomba in the dark last night it was so nice to actually see my surroundings in the daylight for the first time. Zomba is so beautiful. Annie’s is right on the mountains and is covered with beautiful trees and red, purple, and yellow flowers. At breakfast we met a couple who owns 3 schools here in Domaski and they introduced themselves to us and asked if some would like to come with them today to unload school supplies to the school. I think 3 people are going, which is going to be such an awesome experience. After breakfast some of the group went to a Presbyterian Church just down the road. I had such high expectations for church and they were definitely exceeded. These people are beautiful from the outside in and back out again. They didn’t look at the color of our skin but at the faith within our hearts. I felt more welcome at this church, half way across the world, than I ever have in any church I had visited in America. The church brought us to stand before them, we introduced ourselves to them and then they prayed for our safety, health, and ability to serve. I felt apart of their community within 10 minutes of first sitting down. Where I was sitting in my pew there was a little girl two rows ahead of me to my left. She just kept starring at me and would give me a little smile when I smiled to her. It’s crazy how many connections I am feeling with just making eye contact. God truly showed me His love when all of a sudden the little girl walked around to my pew and sat right next to Emily and me. When we all stood to worship it felt as though a million sparklers were tingling throughout my veins because I felt so much love within the church. I am so excited to go back next Sunday

After church we came back to Annie’s and all relaxed until around 1:30pm. The weather here is literally perfect; the sun is nice and warm but there is always a very soft and slight breeze. From here we walked down to this place in Zomba called “The Wall”, which is a corner street of vendors who are selling carved statues, chairs, bowls, chess sets, paintings, jewelry and a lot of other amazing pieces, I’m pretty sure I said “Oh I like this and this and this” about 40 times. We then walked down to the Zomba Market where they had fresh fruits, veggies, and a lot of produce! Unfortunately we aren’t allowed to buy anything without a peel but we may buy the papaya and other peel-able fruits, yummy. While at the Zomba market one of the vendor workers had on a Virginia Tech t-shirt, which was so exciting. We all just crowded around him with our cameras and told him how we go there in America and he was so amused with it. I don’t think it was at all because 12 girls were crowding him within minutes (sarcasm); I’m going to just believe that he truly was excited about wearing those beautiful maroon and orange colors because everyone should be excited about that. The markets and other shops are about a 10-15 minute walk from Annie’s and they have a lot of cool things. We weren’t advised to buy anything today because we are going to have to barter with them over the next couple of weeks, which I will have to start to be good at. Bartering is one of the many reasons I wish I had my Mom here with me because she is the absolute queen at it. After the shops we went to an early dinner at this place called Tasty Bites. I can’t get over how perfect of a name that would be for a cupcake shop so when I become the cupcake queen back in America I am going to open a shop that is called Tasty Bites, yes…it will be perfect. I ordered a Margarita pizza there and what I have come to realize while being here is that I should not order American food because my expectations will not be met. The pizza was very interesting in that instead of having a red sauce it had a butter spread under the cheese and tomatoes. I wouldn’t advise it for anyone who was possibly thinking that it was good…because it wasn’t, haha. I did try Liz’s chicken curry though and it was really quite tasty! They do have ice cream and I was told it tastes very American so I will definitely be trying that next time.

Our Sunday is coming to an end but that only means tomorrow is almost here. We will be waking up early because we want to go out and watch the sunrise before breakfast. Our friend from A&T, Messiah, woke up super early this morning and said that he was able to catch the sunrise and that it was unlike any other sunrise he has ever seen. Annie’s is also right on the mountains and is absolutely GORGEOUS so I can only imagine how the sunrise will look coming over the mountains. My eyeballs are just so happy when I look out my window; the scale of the mountains compared to the lodge is mind blowing. I am so excited to start teaching, I am sure I will have much better stories after tomorrow starts :) 

Also, I just got the news that my sister is going to be officially having a baby GIRL! I am so excited for her and Barry. I have already started thinking of crafting ideas for my precious little niece!!

Until then,

xoxo