Mountains, Music, and Matipila

We began this week with an invigorating (aka excessively tiring) 4-hour round-trip hike up Mt. Nkoma. Scott and Jaren raced to the top, and while some managed to keep up—more or less—many found themselves tiresomely battling their way through 5 foot tall grass, across fields of scratchy stickers, and up sheer rocks. But, lunch at the top, accompanied by the hum of more bugs than any of us could ever care to see in our lifetime, the distant drumming in villages far below, and a spectacular view of perhaps half of Malawi (being a relatively small country) made the trip well worth our while.

On the second night of our third camp at Matipila Full Primary School, we all participated in an overnight homestay. We hiked a short distance through shrubbery and fields to a small village of no more than a dozen brick homes, housing four generations of a single extended family. The girls set to work helping the village women with their daily chores almost immediately—everyone joined in to help separate dried kernels of corn from their cobs, and many volunteered to help the women carry water from the nearest pump (though only Sarah G. has quite mastered the art of balancing large burdens on her head). Everyone but Channell (who was quite content to sit quietly in the village with her new-found friends) climbed a nearby hill to watch the brilliant orange and red sunset.

Evening came with some practice pounding ground nuts for Ashley and Sarah W., cooking nsima for Jess, and plenty of singing and dancing for everyone (with the exception of the boys, who were busy having bro-time with the chief). After dinner, the girls gathered in a circle with the village women to dance and clap along to traditional Chichewa songs and perform stunning acapella renditions of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” and “Build Me Up Buttercup,” when pressed to share some musical highlights of their own culture.

Nighttime was somewhat less than restful for most, as we tried to adjust to an 8pm bedtime and the constant bleating of goats. A brilliant sunrise came around 6am and most of us were up to see it, thanks to the insistent crowing of what seemed to be an entire flock of roosters. We finished off the morning with a friendly game of soccer, in which the schoolchildren easily showed up their teachers and the WC volunteers. Presentations went well—and were apparently hilarious, though the Chichewa made the plots a bit difficult to follow.

And now, after one night’s much-needed rest back at the World Camp house, we’re headed off for four days of safari in Zambia! It should be a very exciting experience and we’ll be sure to update about it when we return.

Until next time,
Alex, Channell, and the rest of World Camp

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