not left

We might have left Africa but it has not left me. I always thought that I might leave a part of me behind or maybe I've brought a part of it with me. 

I take every opportunity to talk about it, I hear about it in the news and I would jump at the opportunity to visit. Friends we left behind continue without us while life here carries on at full tilt, making it difficult to savour the experiences of life. 

When I left I said that I would be sad if I never returned. 

In Malawi I struggled to find a purpose and definition for my life but knew that I was supporting the doc who was doing his thing. He had a purpose and we could see the difference that he was making, to his individual patients and through his research to others who would follow. How do we make a decision about where to be, it's not about what's easier or better, because they are subjective. Is it about our contribution? 

not working

Life here is more complicated. In Malawi we managed without lots of things but there was nothing we could do about it. The list of things that I can't work is getting longer, my new mobile, the landline phone, my laptop,  the cooker (induction hob) much of the equipment at work. And then there's things that seem so over the top, too much choice. 

new job

The first few weeks of being back felt like a holiday and we were able to enjoy catching up with friends and family and the nice things about life here. Now that we're back to school and both of us working real life is beginning to start. 

I began work for a small museum design and consultancy company based just outside Chester. I am working three days a week which is enough to feel like I can achieve something while still have time to hang out with our youngest (whose not at school yet). We certainly appreciate the more leisurely start to the day the two mornings that I'm not working. The link below shows the news page for my new job & shows me at work! (my mum's comment on this photo will prob be "shoulders back"). 

http://www.headlanddesign.co.uk/pages/news 

Living in our wee cottage again is lovely and it feels ok size wise, except that we have limited space for visitors, we hope to squeeze a futon in somewhere! I'm enjoying having the run of the house, without staff to organise or worry about. The girls love having bunk beds and all their toys in their room. In fact most of their toys have only just arrived, our boxes got delayed coming from Malawi. The boxes left Blantyre before we did but apparently sat at the airport in London for a few weeks while we were chasing around trying to find someone who knew where they were. There wasn't much left of some of the boxes, they had been so badly bashed they were held together with plastic wrapping! 

same but different

Life back in our house is the same but different. The nursery where the girls went when they were babies is just as lovely with lots of the same staff who remember them. The house is full of different furniture but the kitchen is the same and I have even put things back in the cupboards they were in before.  I understand that wear and tear is to be expected when our house was rented out for 3 years but it doesn't stop me bemoaning the damage to the following – wood burning stove, vacuum cleaner, fridge and boiler. The floods, which happened during our first winter away, mean that there was quite a bit of re-decoration and some bubbly plaster! 

New school for our biggest girl, she started today and enjoyed being the main topic of conversation in the Reception class. New job for me, which will start the week after next, I have worked for the company before as a freelancer so it won't be too different but it might be a strange being based in an office. 

I have lovely (old) friends and it's fun making coffee dates to catch up. There are new shops which has made the essential purchases easier to get and moving stairs, deliveries that arrive and well stocked shelves have not lost their novelty (yet). We're also excited about the well supplied petrol stations! 

beginning of the end

With only 5 days until we leave Malawi this is the end of the African adventure.

There are lots of mixed feelings, when we speak to friends in the UK it's exciting and when I imagine a life where everything works and journeys can be made recklessly without consideration of fuel I smile to myself. But we are leaving friends who have become part of our family and people we're only just getting to know I feel sad.

We have responsibilities here, some of our staff have jobs, some don't and they are all struggling with the economic climate. It's a tough time of year, malaria season is in full swing and the rains, while welcome and cooling wreak havoc with houses and roads.

We had one last weekend at the lake with friends and I had a curry night with girl friends and this evening we have a final ceilidh for Burn's night.

packing

Back home now and I am working through my blog retrospectively, please dear reader bear with me and I will cover the whole journey.  We had an amazing trip (6,400 km), which was relaxing although tiring. It was great to be away and a privilege to see so much of that part of Africa. 

Back home and we now have three and a half weeks to pack up the house and move the family back to the UK. In some ways we are ready to move back, this was always the plan and life here in Malawi has got more difficult and frustrating. Despite this we will miss friends and I will be sad to 'come home'. Our time here feels a bit like a giant holiday and now it's time to go back to the real world, but like the children in Narnia it's hard to know which one's real. 

up the coast

We drove from Swakopmund up the coast to Cape Cross. This is a desolate place, with little there apart from seals and fishermen. We saw lots of people going off fishing, mostly driving big 4x4 with three or four very long fishing rods on the front of the car. The lodge was (fortunately) a good distance away from the seal colony which was very smelly. We drove to the colony and watched the seals both in and out of the water, there were lots of young pups, many of them dead having been trampled by other seals. The kids seemed unconcerned by the dead pups and the smell, it was also incredibly noisy! Back at the hotel we had a lovely afternoon playing on the beach.