FHS in Bandawe

A plea from the heart

As the group begins the main leg of its homeward journey, this txt arrived from Rebecca:

Hi! I am rlly missin gd fd so plz cld u get pain au chocolat + other yummy stuff!”

Now there’s a hearfelt plea if ever there was one.

I wonder what everyone else has missed being away from home?

Birthday with a difference!

On wednesday 9th July, Christie celebrated her 18th birthday. She had a wonderful day and it was certainly one she will never forget. Thanks to all who made it so special, not forgetting the black mamba that dropped in!!

We had a call from Christie yesterday , just after an emotional farewell had been said to the girls at BAGSS. Hard to believe the group have started their journey home now, bringing with them lots of happy memories and links which will stretch well into the future. Safe journey home guys, looking forward to seeing you and hearing of your amazing trip.

What would you do?

OK, here’s the scenario:

You’re in Africa.

It’s late.

Everyone’s asleep (except you).

You hear a strange noise!

So what would you do?

Well, the obvious answer, surely, would be to txt home, thousands of miles away, with this plea:

“HELP – there’s a ghecko tap-dancing on my door and everyone is asleep. What will I do??”

Now, the real question is, “What would you advise?”

More scary stuff

Kathleen has txted to say how cool it was to see a snake up close when it fell out of a nearby tree.

Scary thing is that the snake was a Black Mamba – one of Africa’s most venomous.

Let’s hope that it was a little too dazed from its fall to be bothered with a group trying to see a cool snake.

It seems that nature is reminding them of its presence.

Shaking it up

The group has had a busy couple of days, visiting an orphanage and two other schools in the area.

But they’ve also had time to relax, visiting a ‘gorgeous and idyllic’ beach and playing volleyball. But then they had a little reminder that nature can be scary as well a beautiful. The area they are visiting is on a geological faultline and they experienced an earth tremor . ‘Very, very scary’ according to Rebecca.

Dancing the weekend away

Here’s a quick roundup of what the group has been up to. Thanks to Zoe and Rebecca for keeping in touch.

Saturday: Teaching the girls Scottish dances and learning some African ones. Disco on Saturday night.

Sunday: Church at 8:30 in the morning

Monday: Visits to Chinteche Hospital and Nkhata Bay

Other things: Msima = minging

Overall it still sounds as though everyone is fine and still having a great time.

Even more to see

From Rebecca and Alison:

“Hi! It’s bn rlly cl! Bats+milky way+heat+beach+wild puppies! So cute!”

Now, I’ll bet you’re thinking that those rabies injections weren’t such a bad idea after all

No break from lessons

The group has now been to the school they are supporting – Bandawe Girls Secondary School. The plan is to spend a significant part of the rest of the stay visiting the school and getting to know new friends. And that means lessons! Zoe’s been in touch with the following:

“Interesting first day at the school, they are teaching us Tonga, the local language”

Now, for those who thought that Tonga was a Pacific island, then here’s your lesson for today. According to this article on Wikipedia (always to be read with reservations but useful nevertheless), the Tonga are an ethnic group believed to be from the northern part of Malawi.

Zoe also reports that it’s warm during the day, cold at night, everything’s interesting and there’s an awful lot to take in.

Another snapshot of the journey

We’ll try to share some of the txts that filter through so that readers of the blog can get a flavour of the adventure the group is having. Here are some thoughts on the journey from Kathleen:

‘We r on th bus goin 2 th hotel. Its amazin! Its sunny n mr kamanga came 2 meet us at the airport n gave evry 1 a big hug. Iv been in 3 countries 2day kenya zambia n malawi. We hd a stop in zambia this mornin. Iv seen so much already!’

Once again, I think you get a real sense of the wonder and the sheer amazingness of this trip.

More as we get it.

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Definitely not in Falkirk now

A couple of texts arrived this morning. Short and to the point as usual, but definitely capturing the essence of being in a different country:

“Wow! Baboons in garden! Rlly close!”

And another one close on its heels:

“Things r gr8! Went 2 fishing village. Children loved us+our cameras! Safari lodge beautiful! Saw monkeys!”

It sounds like they are having a fantastic time and I expect we’re all looking forward to seeing the photos when they get back.