Day Four

“Master of Ceremonies”

Only in Malawi could you wake up to an entire gospel choir rehearsing for the Chitumbuka Mass and not even be in the slightest bit bemused by the situation. Celia, Paul, Anne, Michael N and Steph decided to brave the 7am English Mass whereas the rest of us enjoyed a couple more hours beauty sleep; before heading to the more vibrant 10am Chitumbuka Mass. However before this, at breakfast we were joined by Winnie Mwamsamali – an ex-student of St.Peter’s secondary school and good friend of Louise. Winnie came to Scotland with the first group of students that visited in 2006 and stayed with Louise and the rest of the McGinness family. Winnie sends her love to Kathryn, John and Alison.

Just as we remembered, the mass was filled with the most wonderful singing and dancing that we never seem to tire of. It also makes a rather nice change to see and hear such enthusiasm taking place at mass which is a rarity in Scotland. Michael Northcote, in one of Bernadette’s favourite expressions, “took one for the team” and spoke on behalf of everyone at mass. He did us all very proud may I add!

After Mass, we mingled for a while outside the chapel before heading up to the house for lunch; at which point we all became ridiculously excited at the sight of pasta and potatos.

At this point I would like to apologise to anyone I shouted at – there is actually quite a few – for suggesting that Mzuzu must be very hot at this time of year. These comments were always followed by, “IT’S THEIR WINTER…IT’S FREEZING!” I stand corrected…it has been positively roasting! This brings me to immediately after lunchtime when we all decided to take a chair each and sit outside; resulting in some strange looks and confusion from our Malawian friends – they cannot understand why anyone would choose to sit the sun!

We were then obliged to attend a formal welcome with some board members and teachers from the different schools. Drinks and snacks were served as we talked with people and followed the “protocol” created by our “Master of Ceremonies” – the name Mr. Sandros Banda (one of the secondary teachers) gave himself. We were introduced to Sister Anne at this event – a Canadian nun who practically tried to force us in to going to the new nightclub on Saturday night! She’s a lovely woman…not your average nun!

Speaking of Canadians, we were overjoyed to see that our old friend Lesley is still living in Mzuzu! We all made friends with Lesley when we came to Malawi 2 years ago. Lesley and another Canadian friend came to visit later on that night; at which point we decided to go for a wee walk round the campus as it was a beautiful night. During this time Michael N seemed to be continuously gathering children behind us as we walked, which resulted in us spending sunset singing nursery rhymes and playing “Simon Says” with a rather large group of weans!

We had yet another lovely dinner followed by a not so lovely power cut. This apparently happened to poor Celia just as she had turned the shower on – quite a challenge to shower in the pitch black one would imagine! Bernadette’s little battery operated Halloween candles proved to be of great use throughout the couple of hours that we all sat in the dark. The night was rounded off perfectly with some drinks and good banter but with some of us staying up a lot later than we probably should have! Another eventful day in Mzuzu – who knows what tomorrow will bring…

By Jennifer H