So, I realise that there has been quite a substantial lapse in blogging over the past little while but this is all with good reason! Namely that I have actually been busy and have, many times, broken the 'one task for the morning, one task for the afternoon' rule. Drama has taken up a substantial part of this busy time with both our village drama group and School group performing in relatively close proximity.
The drama group in Mbeta village performed on 14th May along with some traditional music and dances. Despite some last minute changes (they hadn't told us in rehearsals that two of our actors, playing a teenage couple, were actually siblings and didn't really want to perform those roles) which they dealt with exceptionally, it was a huge success. Lots of people went to the HIV testing centre which was set up during the performance and we were also on the Malawian radio which was pretty cool. We've been on the radio directly or indirectly about 4 or 5 times so far which is 4 or 5 times more than in the UK. Score.
Our school drama was pushed back time after time after time due to not being ready, timing complications and various other problems but we finally performed to Nsanje Secondary school on 26th May. The cast were fab but the audience were incredibly noisy. Theatre is just a very different thing here and the audience etiquette we all learn at home is definitely not on the agenda here! We were really proud of our students, some of them have learnt their lines perfectly which is no mean feat when it's in your second language. A few of them are really, really good and some of the scenes are hilarious. Obviously we had a few mishaps but nothing major and on 4th June we were scheduled to perform to a larger paying audience from around Nsanje. However, that was not to be as neither Nancy nor I were really aware of the differences in publicity in Malawi and the UK! In Malawi it is ideal to inform people of an event a few days in advance so they don't forget, and you need to play very loud music for about an hour before your event begins so that people hear the music and either remember that the event is happening or decide to go and check out what's going on with all the music.
Although the performance on the 4th went incredibly well, we are performing again on the 8th to what should be a larger audience. If not, we can only say we tried our best! The students have made us so proud and it has been so much fun to work with all of them. We have cried with laughter and nearly cried with stress and frustration when only 3 people turn up to a rehearsal, but on the whole it has been so rewarding for us and, hopefully, for them!
Since my last entry, Nancy's parents came for a visit and we did a little tour of Malawi with them. It was all going swimmingly until we got to Zomba and Nancy decided that the growing red patch on her leg was a bit painful and we should see a doctor. So it was that on Easter Sunday 2011 I found myself sitting outside the 'minor theatre' as they cut open Nancy's leg and squeezed out some puss. I'm quite glad I didn't see that bit, I bet it was gross. She had a nice hole in her leg for about 3 weeks but it's all healed now and it meant that we got to see the full range of health services available in Malawi. The verdict was very good. Aside from the leg drama we went to Majete, Mulanje and the lake but the highlight was definitely Nsanje. Everyone was so excited to see Nancy's parents and the 'Bent buckets' were welcomed with open arms and a lot of handshaking. It has made me ridiculously excited about my family coming over! Only one short month to go now, it's crazy.
I genuinely do not know how time has gone so fast. In September, on the plane, it felt like such a long time to be out here. While everything feels homely here now and normal and we have made true friends, it feels like it isn't allowed to be over. My flight lands at Heathrow on the 16th August and I have a feeling that the journey is going to be a crazy mix of emotions. I will definitely be making the most of our last couple of months here, the next vols coming out to Nsanje are very, very lucky people!
