Groundhog day in Blantyre

Groundhog day doesn’t mean much here, only in part because there are no groundhogs. We will gladly take another 6 weeks of this weather. Although it has occasionally been very wet, it is also a comfortable temperature. I think it has ranged from 20°C to 28°C for a few weeks now.

On our day off this week, we asked Rammy and Lyca to take us to another prison so we could have another experience. We started the day at Chichiri, taking part in Bible studies: Nora went to the women’s and I went to the men’s, naturally. The men’s study opened and closed with singing and prayer. Rammy talked for about an hour about sin and repentance. He referred to passages from a dozen books of the Bible, literally from Genesis to Revelation.

Over the following hours, we got on a series of buses (minivans) which took us to Mulanji. At that prison, Nora and Lyca took part in another Bible study with the women’s inmates while Rammy and I talked with Mathias (not his real name) who was due to be released the next day. Although I couldn’t understand any more than 5 words in Chichiri, Rammy encouraged Mathias in his hope to live a Christian life, despite the hardships that are sure to greet him when he gets home. There is a good chance that his friends and family will ostracize him for being a former prisoner / criminal. Mathias had stolen a bicycle in 2018 (or late 2017) and received a 2 year sentence. Even when I had a bicycle stolen from my 15 year old self, I would have thought 2 years an overly harsh sentence.

School progresses. I am working through Chemistry and Mathematics with Form 1. Many of the students seem to be catching on, while one or two have trouble grasping the concepts. I will need to go through weighted averages of isotopes a couple more times. Chemistry 3 students are more casual about attendance. At the first class, I had at least 12 students, but it has dwindled to 4. I think they were hoping I could do some chemistry experiments, which will not be easy with the available equipment.

Speaking of chemistry experiments, I am becoming familiar with our stove. I’ve managed to make scones and banana loaf, both edible and inedible. Over the next three or four non-working days, I will try some bread, if I can find some yeast in the store.

On Monday (Feb 3), the court will bring down its ruling on the charges of election fraud. I doubt that anyone will get 2 years in prison. We (everyone living in Blantyre) have been told to stay at home that day and maybe Tuesday, too. Normally, Monday is a regular teaching day for us. Regardless of the ruling, about half the population will be upset. Coincidentally, Blair Bertrand, our host and mentor here in Malawi, is scheduled to fly into the capital city on Monday, and was planning to drive the four hours home to Blantyre. I wonder what he will do, or if the flight itself will be cancelled.

My eye is improving, as expected. I can amuse myself by squinting at straight things with the bad eye. Everything straight is crooked. When I read some print, italics are straight and straight printing is in italics. This is how my left eye behaved last year. I booked my return visit to the doctor in Johannesburg. He expects me on Feb 28, 8 weeks from the date of the operation. By then I expect my sight to be improved.