Goodbyes to New Friends

Talking with my hosts Kathy and Steve Bowler, I’ve learned quickly that ‘goodbye’ here is a common phrase and emotion one must learn to embrace and not resent.  I have made great friends with people coming and going, some only here for a week at most.  It's great to meet new folks, but it's terrible to say good-bye knowing that that may very well be the last thing you ever say to them. Malawi has a lot of turnover when it comes to ex-pats like myself.  I will soon be someone else's 'goodbye'.  Truly I don’t want to think about that.  Though it is coming faster then expected.  It's hard to believe I’m already a month into my time here. There are only five left. 

On the left hand side of the photo are Fabiyanwo (a socialworker student from Blantyre who had been with us on practice) and Julia (A young lady from Germany who is working at an orphanage out in Selima. she came to visit us for one week)

Ben working hard on accounting,
getting our books up to date

Steve, Kathy, Tracy and I get together once a week to play some card games like Canasta or other such games.  In conversations over the dinner table, they have mentioned many people that they used to play these games with who have since moved on.  Either out of country or to the other end of Malawi, away, is the direction these friends of theirs have gone.  In my life in Canada my luck of the draw for most of my life when it came to friendships was much the same.  They moved away.  It was very hard.  For the Bowlers, living in a place where they work harder than any people I've every met and truly in need of the support of such friends…I can’t imagine what goodbye really feels like for them.

Shout out to Ben!  Miss you dude!  Hopefully we can connect again one day and repeat our epic Canasta victory over Kathy and Steve.  If the Bowlers are reading…it was beginner's luck… really….

Jason, Lilongwe From Home