A Culture of Reading

When I was a child, my parents would let me choose a book to read each evening before I went to sleep. I would settle into my bed, comfortable in my pajamas, Big Pop Bear safe in my arms, as they would read the story I selected. It was often the same book every night, But No Elephants. It was the story of Grandma Tilly and a travelling animal salesman. Each day, Grandma Tilly would give in to the salesman and buy yet another animal, a turtle, a canary, a woodpecker and so on until she had bought all the animals he had to sell. And, each day she would say ‘okay, I’ll buy this animal but NO ELEPHANTS!’ Then winter came and she had bought all the animals except for the elephant and the salesman just left the sad elephant in the yard. Eventually, Grandma Tilly felt sorry for the elephant and let him come inside the house where he ate and ate until there was no more food left. He fell through the floorboards because he was so fat.  Then he started walking and he walked until he and the house were in a sunny, warm place. I can clearly remember the drawing of Grandma Tilly in her bikini, sipping a fruity drink and wearing sunglasses.

Then, when I was five, and we were about to move, I started wanting to read the story of a little girl who moved to Sesame Street. I liked her marble collection and how she made friends in her new home.

Books were important in my life from a young age. My parents were always reading in their spare time and as I grew older and started reading on my own, I found a similar joy at being lost in a book.

Last weekend, I attended a training for future Malawian librarians. I have been working with a village near my own to attempt to start a library at the primary school (elementary school). This has been one of my more exciting projects because the community is so excited about the possibility of getting the books. Each month, I would get on my bike and ride for almost an hour, crossing the Mwanza River, to attend the library meetings. And each time I would be pleasantly surprised at the timely turnout. You might remember that “African time” can be much different than what we westerners are used to. Malawians usually measure time by the placement of the sun in the sky rather than by looking at a clock. This means that if a meeting is set for 2:00pm, one might not see people gathering until 3:00 or later. So, having a dozen people arriving to a meeting on time showed me that they took the project seriously. I never felt like it was a waste of time to cross the river. Further, at each meeting, at least three village headmen were in attendance.

We worked through a series of activities in order to complete the application. A library committee was formed and the group decided to name the library Katawala Library because it sits near the Katawala River, a place that once nurtured trees and plants, helping to produce fruits and vegetables that nourished the villagers. In a way, the library can be like the river, helping to nourish the children who use it so they may grow with knowledge and understanding.

The recent library training was encouraging. The teachers in attendance spent a lot of time discussing ways to inspire a culture of reading. In Malawi, students study for the tests. They memorize information but usually fail to link it with full understanding. Reading for pleasure can help open new doors to learning and creativity. This made me wonder how a culture of reading develops and I had to think of my formative years when my parents would pause each evening to read me a story before scratching my back and sending me to sleep.

There is plenty of time for reading during Peace Corps service. Projects and work move at a different pace here which leaves many afternoons free for getting lost in a book. I just finished The Elephant’s Journey by Jose Saramago. It’s a story of an Indian elephant that travels from Portugal to Venice as a wedding present. Maybe this is how I’ve come full circle from my days of reading But No Elephants. I still find joy in an elephant’s tale of travel. I hope that in my time here I can help inspire some children to enjoy reading too.

** If you are interested in helping with the Katawala Library Project, please contact me. I’m still looking for a U.S. Book Drive Organizer who is willing to collect gently used children’s books and a shipping fee. Others have done this through schools, community groups and churches with great success and not much difficulty.  It is a great way to help several generations of student who live in a Malawi village.

You can help!!

Would anyone be interested in helping with a Peace Corps Malawi Project? I'm looking for donations for Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World). It is an amazing camp that brings together secondary school girls from all across Malawi for a week of activities on self-esteem, goal setting and just general fun! For some, it is the first time they have left their villages or used a shower!

 

 I'm looking for items that we can give away to the girls to use during camp. We are especially in need of deoderant and journals and maxi pads. But, other things like lip gloss, nail polish or craft supplies would be great as well. We would need 80 nearly identical items but they could be bought on sale or at the dollar store.

 

Let me know if you or someone you know could help us out! Thanks!!

Home for the Holidays Part II

I promised a second entry in the Home for the Holiday Series; a post-America blog to let you know what I discovered while home. It turns out that what I learned was a little more nebulous than I expected. Sure, I’ve learned things like increased patience and flexibility and those things were even more evident in the context of America.

But, then again, it is much easier to be patient and flexible in a world where everything is available 24 hours-a-day. For instance, my computer completely shut down within a day of being in America. I’m sure this had been coming for some time. It was an old computer, a macbook that I loved dearly and held onto for as long as possible. Africa is not kind to electronics though and the heat of Chikhwawa took its toll on this now-obsolete computer. What was a little surprising to me was my reaction to this discovery. I was hardly upset that my computer died. Of course, it was inconvenient but in America there would be a solution. If it had stopped working while I was in Malawi, the situation would have been much more difficult and I inevitably would have been quite upset.

The convenience of America was a welcome luxury. It was such a treat to eat enchiladas, drink margaritas, and make my own desert in a New York ice cream shop. It felt great to get my hair cut by a professional and to get a massage (Wow!). I enjoyed going on a real date and being picked up, taken to dinner and enjoying conversation with only a few infrequent interruptions by the waiter.

These are things that I don’t get to experience in Malawi and most of the time I barely notice that I miss them. It has been almost 11 months since I arrived. Malawi is no longer new to me. I am comfortable living in my house in the village where I cook over a fire, use a pit latrine and shoo goats from my garden. But sometimes, I’m not comfortable being myself in Malawi or maybe I struggle to figure out who I am in the context of Malawi. In America, it is easier because even when I display strange behavior, it is easy to blend in. This means I can just be myself most of the time, especially since I have wonderfully strange friends. I don’t have to worry that when I meditate someone will think it’s weird. When I go to my door in America, I don’t have to search my house for a piece of cloth to cover my exercise pants in case they offend whoever is at the door.

Maybe what I’m trying to say is that we all want to be liked in the community in which we live. We inherently want to fit in so that we have friends and people in our lives that we can rely on. For me, in America, I am lucky to experience this in abundance. My family and friends are amazing people and it was extremely difficult to leave them. However, even though I don’t necessarily fit in all the time in my village, I still know I have people whom I can rely on here. Settling back in for another 16 months in Malawi wasn’t easy but I’m excited for what’s ahead. Daily, I miss those I’ve left at home but I know I have more to learn and do here. I’m excited to forge ahead and discover new things about myself in Malawi. Takalandirani 2012! Tiyeni. Welcome 2012! Let’s Go.