Monday the power went out in the morning and was out for over 4 hours. Since we couldn't hold computer classes during that time, we went outside to play with the kids. We brought over the jump rope and bubbles which the kids loved. The kids all love running to try to catch the bubbles and all huddle close to try to get a turn blowing themselves. They all yell out "Ine! Ine!" for "Me! Me!" I had them form a big circle and went around to each kid so everybody got turns blowing them.
Many of the kids had never done jump rope before, but they caught on quickly and were jumping rope by the afternoon. The kids were so excited to have the rope to play with for so much more than to just jump rope. They tied it to their waists and played tug-of-war, they used it to make a line for long jump competitions, tied it to a pole to try climbing, and they even tied it to a tree to use as a swing!
Yesterday afternoon we needed to get to the bus depot to buy tickets for our trip to Zambia this weekend. We had the taxi bring us there, and what an adventure we had! As he was driving, we were talking with him (and his buddy who came along for the ride) about how all the post offices in Malawi are closed since the employees are on strike! He was saying how crazy it is that lots of people strike in Malawi and then was joking that Malawi used to be the "warm heart of Africa" but now it's just the "heart of Africa"!
Then we were riding along and all of a sudden our driver points near the side of the road and calls out, "That is my biological mother!" So we pulled over to say hello to his mother who was walking by. I thought perhaps he was going to give her a ride somewhere, but I guess she didn't need one, so he got back in and we continued along.
Finally we got to the bus depot to buy our tickets for the trip to Lusaka. We had tried to buy them in the morning but nobody was there, so we were glad that we finally managed to buy them that afternoon and walked away with the receipt in hand.
Feeling relieved to have that taken care of, we walked back over to the taxi to leave. The driver pulled out his car key to unlock the door, but it didn't work. He tried it for several minutes while we stood there. I was just laughing at the predicament we were in- being at this crowded bus depot and the taxi car door won't open. We weren't in any rush to get anywhere, so I wasn't concerned but the driver quickly reassured us, "Don't worry, everything will be O.K!" After trying all the doors several times without any luck he finally said to us, "C'mon, let's go book another taxi" and started walking away.
We followed him down the street while he called out to some of his buddies until he found a friend with a car. Two people were shooed out of the back seat of a black car and Laura and I climbed in the back while our driver slid in the passenger seat and his friend was in the driver seat. I closed the door while trying not to get poked by a piece of metal sticking out and began looking for the seat belt which didn't exist.
Once we were all in, the driver opened his door and started pushing the car to get it started rolling down the hill. After we got rolling, he turned on the car and I took a curious peak at the meter for the gas to find that it was very well below empty! I was quite skeptical that we'd have enough to get us there, but then realized that each driver probably knows exactly how far he can get before his tank is actually completely out of gas. Our taxi driver pointed to his buddy driving the car and said, "This is my good friend. I don't have any best friends, but I have a lot of friends!" And a good thing he does too! We managed to get dropped off safely at our destination.
It was a great day! We got all packed up tonight and tomorrow I'll be off to Zambia for the first time!
