"Kaaaatie" to Azungu

Above is a picture of some of the people in my home stay family I lived with for my first two months in Malawi in the vilaage of Chisazima.

From that awkward, silent first night eating rice and beans, to my last night here with my family, how much we have all grown in the past 2 months during pre-service training is incredible. I remember arriving in Chisazima like it was yesterday, with all of the amayis singing and dancing, so excited to bring home their white person from America for the next 60 days. And all of the nerves I felt, thinking, “Wow, this is really happening. What was I thinking when I decided to do this?” But now, two months later, as I sit and give my family the gifts I brought them from home I have to hold back tears because I know how much I am going to miss them when tomorrow I leave for site. I know exactly what I was thinking when “I decided to do this”; that this experience would be one that I would never forget. And already, over these very quick first 2 months that I’ve spent in Malawi, I have memories of a lifetime.

It started with my abambo speaking super fast Chichewa that I didn’t understand. With me just staring blankly back at him, like dude I have no clue what you are trying to tell me write now. Then, with my amayi bringing me rice and beans, and me sharing the hot sauce I brought from home. And then we ate in silence, which at first I thought was because I knew like 6 words of Chichewa and they were tired of me not understanding, but now understand is just a cultural difference between the States and Malawi. We eat dinner in silence here, while at home we chat with our roommates or family about what we did that day. I liked it, though. The silence. It was peaceful. And I remember feeling that peace (along with the tiny bit of awkwardness, feeling like I was eating wrong, maybe with the wrong hand….I was not given any silverwear).

I remember the next day talking with all the other trainees, like “Yayyyy, we made it through one night of home stay and survived.” What an accomplishment it seemed like then. And now, with a blink of an eye, pre-service training is over. Jam-packed days of language, culture, and technical sessions. Hours of chatting, listening to music, and chilling with new friends. Writing letters to home, reading books, long bike rides, and Sundays full of kuchapa-ing clothes and going to church with our families. Really, where did that time go? Tomorrow we pack up all our bags and are shipped all over the country of Malawi, to start our service as Peace Corps Volunteers. Which can be seen as incredibly exciting, but also quite terrifying.

We will be on our own. We will have to start all over. All of the progress we’ve made integrating into the village of Chisazima, we will have to start again in our new villages….(without the 40 other volunteers to see everyday and remind you on bad days that things will be all right). Pre-service training was difficult at times, but at least we have each other. When we get to site tomorrow, that will not be the case. We will be alone, in a village that most likely thinks we are just a rich white people, visiting, not actually living there. I will go from being called “Katie” (pronounces Caty), to Azungu, and from knowing practically everyone to practically no one. Yes, all of that is terrifying.

But I am ready! We all are. I am ready for a change of pace, and to serve. Peace Corps has prepared all of us in tremendous ways, making us confident and knowledgeable about culture and language, and giving us the technical skills we need to help make our communities a little bit better over the next couple of years. Peace Corps gave us the skills to help empower others, while they also give us that same feeling of empowerment. The feeling of empowerment we all felt when we left our homes in the States for 2 years, to go live in a third country. (If you want to feel empowered by the way, and be a little extreme, move to a country like Malawi, and live. The empowerment you feel is incredible.) And tomorrow is the day. The day we say goodbye to our friends (but only for a short while) and say hello, to yet again, a new experience. Man am I excited :)

#peacecorps