Joie de Vivre

Joie de Vivre

Noun, French

1. A delight in being alive; keen, carefree enjoyment of living.

Have you ever just felt high on life? It’s the best kind of high in my opinion. Better than one may feel from putting some foreign substance like alcohol or drugs in their body. This feeling comes from within. It takes ones inner self to create this feeling. To use the situations life presents you with and turn them into a feeling of pure happiness. Bliss. A high from life.

I think creating this feeling becomes easier when you are living a life of passion. When you are doing things that you truly want to do. And are delighted to be alive. A few weeks back I got an email from a friend telling me the definition of the French phrase Joie de Vivre. This definition is perfect for how I would like to describe how I feel after living in Malawi for 3 months. God continues to use my experiences here in order to give me this feeling. In particularly, this week.

This week seemed to be extra special. And now reflecting on the week, sitting in the sand looking over Lake Malawi on a Friday afternoon, I am blessed with that feeling that was created from within. My own personal “high on life.”

This week started with returning to my village after spending a weekend with friends in Senga Bay. Senga Bay is a place in Salima District about an hour away from my village, and is a bit of a touristy place in Malawi. It is right on the beach of the lake, where there are a few different options of hostels to stay in, or camp outside if you choose. There are places to get good food, and drink a cold beer. And there are usually other azungus (white-folk) near by.

Our trip to Senga Bay was last minute, but ended up being a great time, feeling like a mini-vacation, aka not anything close to real life, or my life that I’ve had for the last 3 months at least. Even after only living in the village as long as I have, being in a place like Senga Bay seemed like something from a lifetime ago. Like a distant world that I was no longer accustomed too. Although our weekend was fun, it was returning to the village that really gave me a sense of peace. It was nice to be away for a bit, but it was nicer to be back in the village, where God had plans for the rest of the week in order to make Chipoka feel even more like home.

This week I had a few different meetings with the Chipoka Health Center staff that I will be working with. These meetings only made me more excited to be able to work with this clinic and the villages in Chipoka. The Health Center that I have been assigned to covers the whole catchment area of Chipoka (a catchment area is similar to a county of a state in the US). Within Chipoka catchment area there are 27 villages, and the health center is responsible for reaching the people of all of them.

On Tuesday I had a meeting with my counterpart (a counterpart is someone that Peace Corps has met with and introduced me to so I have a connection to go out and meet the village people) named Chikondi. Chikondi is in-charge/overlooks the public/community health portion within the health center, has been working here for 5 years, and from what I’ve heard does an amazing job at his position. This is reassuring and encouraging knowing that I am going to be working side by side with him over the next 2 years of my service to plan out how we are going to reach and educate the villagers in different ways, about different health topics. After all, his primary role with his position is to work within the villages and improve community health.

Our meeting consisted of more than just what my role would be at the clinic, and the ideas for projects I have to complete with the villages, but it also was the first time that I really was able to just sit and chat with Chikondi one on one. Our time spent chatting and becoming friends was really a blessing for me, and brought a different perspective of how I can make a difference in Chipoka during my service. We obviously talked about areas of my Peace Corps Framework and specific ideas I had for projects (my focuses for projects based on the overall health concerns in Malawi). Examples include prevention and education of HIV/AIDS, malaria, malnutrition, family planning, community gardens, and sanitary hygiene. We also talked a lot about reaching out to the youth in Chipoka. After about an hour, it was clear to me that Chikondi and I are on the level, not only mentally as far as how to help Chipoka in the best way possible concerning areas of health, but also spiritually.

When I brought up the focus of children, and working with the schools his face lit up immediately. He told me that he has been wanted to work on educating the youth, and specifically working with the schools in Chipoka, but just didn’t have the help he needed…until now. Teaching the youth is educating the next generation, and if we can focus on that then we are literally educating the future with knowledge to decrease the main health concerns in Malawi. The youth is where prevention techniques, knowledge about diseases, and behavior change is needed to be taught. Chikondi told me that I was an answer to his prayers and that he had asked God for someone to help him work with the youth. When he told me this I knew exactly why God’s plan was to have Peace Corps place me in Chipoka specifically, when I could have been placed anywhere in Malawi. And knowing that Chikondi’s prayer has now been answered in God’s will I am that more motivated to help make a positive change in this community.

On Friday I then had another meeting, but this time with all of the Public Health Staff at Chipoka Health Center. There are 42 health staff in total in Chipoka, and 22 (now 23…they included me) are focused in the Public Health sector. The title that belongs to these employees is Health Surveillance Assistants (HAS’s). These are the people who work hand in hand with the people who come to the out-reach clinics in the 27 villages spread throughout Chipoka. Their main work actually is done not at the clinic, but in the villages, giving health talks and out-reach clinics to the people who attend. Each village has an out-reach clinic come in once a month on the same day each month. Many of the out-reach clinics are done for under 5 children, including weighing and vaccines for these children. But health talks about concerning areas are also given, teaching the audience about important way to improve their health and the overall health of Malawi.

At the meeting on Friday I was able to introduce myself to the staff at the health clinic, explain why I was here and how God had called me to service in Malawi, give a little bit of my health background, talk about Peace Corps and it’s goals/purpose, and explain what my role will be over the next two years and how they can help individually so we can give back the most to the communities we reach. After that I went over how they can help me most in the first 3 months, while I’m not allowed to do PC Framework projects, and only should be integrating into these villages. I asked them to help introduce me to the head people of the villages and also the villagers in Chipoka, to help me integrate, to be open and honest with me (to ask a lot of questions…I’m not shy haha), to speak to me in Chichewa when at all possible, and to just be my friend because I want to learn about them just like I’m sure they are curious about me.

When I was done rambling on about all of this I asked if there were any questions. There was one; what is my marital status?....Typical Malawians. So I explained that I have a boyfriend who I care for very much back in the United States, and then emphasized (because in Malawi it is always necessary) that this also meant that I do not also need a Malawian boyfriend. Believe it or not male Malawians here don’t really care about your long distance relationship with another American back in the States, or even if they also live in Malawi for that matter. If you don’t have a Malawian husband, then you’re free game….The struggle is real.

After many laughs about boyfriends, American and Malawian, the meeting was over. I was honored with the opportunity to close the meeting with prayer. This is one thing that I’ve noticed and fallen in love with while being in meetings in Malawi; they always start and end in prayer. I was able to thank God for the meeting and for blessing us with new friends and fellow co-workers. I asked for His guidance over the next 2 years so that together we could make the biggest impact possible for the people of Chipoka. I thanked God for this continually amazing journey and for His continuous love each and everyday. And when I was done I felt blessed. Abundantly.

I didn’t want to go home after the meeting. I was all smiles and didn’t think I’d be able to sit still. So instead, I went on a walk. I walked to the post office and checked my PO Box for the first time since arriving. To my surprise there was 3 letters; thank you Kendra, Rob, and Dan. You were my first mail in Chipoka, and you only added to the amazing mood that I was already in. I walked to the lakeshore with my letters. I sat in the sand. And before I opened them I reflected on how beautiful of a life God has granted me with. Again I prayed and thanked Him for the opportunity to be in a deeper relationship with Him. For this opportunity that has already made my faith stronger than it was before I left the States. I sat on the beach in bliss until the sun set behind the mountains. And my mind was grateful for the feeling Malawi has given my heart. A true passion for life. A high. Joie de vivre; a delight for being alive.

#peacecorps