The Hebronian - Hebron Academy

4
Bye-bye Malawi
Feature Story
but not foreverby
Dong Hee Lee ‘12 and Sung Hyun Choi ‘12
Staff Writer
We met each other in
Incheon Airport. Waiting
for the plane to Dubai,
we compared each other’s
flight tickets. We
would go to Dubai, Nairobi,
and Malawi together
but would come back to
Korea at different times.
We would have to stay
in Dubai for seven hours
and in Nairobi for two.
Our final boarding call
rang and we walked to
the plane with ambivalent
minds, excited and
anxious at the same
time. Our flight to Dubai
was about eight hours
long. Since we were used
to fourteen hour flights
to the U.S., eight hours
actually felt fleeting to
us.
When we got onto the
plane, we couldn’t believe
our eyes. Our seats were
not economy class but
prestige. Our weariness
vanished. The meal in
the plane was amazing.
The bread they gave us
tasted as if it were just
baked, and the orange
juice tasted like fresh
squeezed. With great service,
five hours flew by.
Our first impression
of Nairobi Airport was
disappointment, but
since we didn’t have to
stay long in Nairobi, we
didn’t feel any tedium.
We sat there for a couple
hours and headed to the
gate that said Lusaka-Lilongwe.
At that time, we
thought that Lilongwe,
the final destination that
we were supposed to go,
was an abbreviation of
Lusaka Lilongwe. When
the flight attendant
announced that we had
arrived in Lusaka, we got
off the plane. We looked
for Mr. Flynn, looking
everywhere in the airport
to find him. Being
apprehensive, we called
him. He said that he was
in the airport, waiting
for us. After awhile, we
realized that Lusaka and
Lilongwe were different
places. Lusaka was in
Zambia, and Lilongwe
was in Malawi. We soon
bought new tickets for
next flight to Lilongwe
and took a cab to the
nearest hotel.
We were shocked when
we entered the hotel.
The hotel had no water
system, no light in the
room, and low quality TV.
To compensate, we went
to the most gorgeous
Chinese restaurant, then
went back to hotel and
spent the night. The next
day, we got on the Zambian
flight to Lilongwe,
where Mr. Flynn was
waiting for us. While we
were telling our story
about Zambia, Mr. Flynn
drove us to the Golden
Peacock, a Malawian
hotel. We had lunch there
and went to
Kang’oma Village
to experience
local life
in Malawi.
When we
got out of the
car, we were
so impressed.
Lots of children
were following
us and
asking many
questions. We
were really
glad that they
welcomed us.
The house
that we stayed in was
one of the best houses
in Kang’oma village. The
house had beds, TV, and
a sofa. We spent comfortable
days. The members
of the family were very
nice to us. They let us
use their bedroom and
cooked rice for us, since
we didn’t like ‘ncema.
The one thing that surprised
me was Chimbuzi,
the toilet. The Chimbuzi
was a room with a hole on
the ground. For the first
time, that was not comfortable
to us, but by the
time that we left Malawi,
we became experts in
using Chimbuzi.
We spent days playing
soccer, and hiking mountains
with the villagers.
We also visited
a huge
school that
most of
the kids in
the village
attended.
On the day
before we
left the
village, we
played a
big soccer
game. The
Malawi
children
played very
well. We
couldn’t
even score
a goal.
On the last day, we said
good-bye to the villagers
and went to the Little
Field Home. When we
arrived, all the orphans
were outside of the building.
They greeted us by
singing. We got to know
one another by asking
each other’s names. They
were so cordial to us,
welcoming us sincerely.
After some conversation
with the children, we
went to the house where
we would be staying for
a month. Ms. Littlefield
assigned us rooms. Our
roommates were Solomon,
and Eric. We were
so tired that we slept
right after we unpacked
our luggage.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo,”
What a peculiar alarm
it was! At 5 o’clock in
the morning, roosters
crowed, and we woke
up right away. The other
volunteers had also
awakened early and were
reading books. Astonishingly,
even though
nobody told us to read,
we grabbed our own
books and started reading
until Janet and Bill
woke up. Janet greeted
us by saying “Madzuka
bwangi!” which means
“Good morning!” We
replied “Dadzuka buino,
kaiya ie nu?” which
means “I am fine, and
you?” We all laughed and
this foreshadowed our
joyful time in Malawi.
Janet gathered all volunteers
and divided us
into two groups, explaining
our simple duties.
Group One’s duty was
to sweep and keep the
house clean. Group Two’s
was to pump up the water
from the borehole. Each
group would swap duties
the next day. After a fabulous
brunch, we went
outside to search for
kids. Some children went
to the school and only
little kids were running
around the orphanage.
As soon as we brought
a soccer ball out, kids
ran towards us eagerly.
While they played soccer,
they ran into one another,
kicked other kids by
accident, and laughed.
Their innocence made
us laugh. After the older
kids came back from
school, we had a short
walk from the orphanage
to their school. The
school facilities
were
poor, and
sometimes
teachers did
not even show
up. We held
kids hands
and sang as
we walked; “I
am sky, I am
sky, I am tree,
I am tree.”
Every night
from Monday
to Thursday,
we read English
books
with the children. Even
though they just repeated
our reading without
comprehending, we were
pleased to see them
trying to repeat after us
and trying to understand
the book by looking at
the pictures. Every Friday
night the children and
all the volunteers had
dance parties. Kids used
buckets for drums and
started the beat. Girls
were bragging about
their phenomenal moves;
boys were a little shy but
soon they were dancing
like complete lunatics.
We outgoing volunteers
also danced endlessly
and showed our own
marvelous moves.
While kids were studying
at their
school, we
studied
Chicha-
photos by Sung Hyun Choi ‘12
wa, the
Malawian
language.
Solomon,
who was
our roommate
but
also our
teacher,
taught us
Chichawa.
After
the kids
came back
from school, we separated
them into many
groups and taught English.
Fanta, their favorite
drink, settled kids down
and helped them pay
attention. Even though
their English was not
excellent, their little
improvements were
enough to encourage us
to teach them.
Despite the travel
nightmare in Zambia,
all volunteers crossed
the boundary between
Zambia and Malawi to go
on safari in South Luangwa.
After an eight hour
drive, we arrived at the
safari camp. We stayed
in a big, specialized tent,
which I assumed was for
a honeymoon! The Safari
experience; we saw impalas
everywhere. It was
quite an adventure for us
to sleep surrounded by
running baboons, stomping
elephants, and growling
hippos.
A few days before we
left Malawi, we went to
Lake Malawi to experience
another view of the
country and to share out
learning from this trip.
Volunteers reflected
on how much food and
goods we wasted when
we were in the U.S. We
learned to thank the environment
and how to love
the simpler life. After a
wonderful time at Lake
Malawi, we came back to
the orphanage to prepare
for our farewell.
Kids wrote us letters
in English before we
left. Actually, these letters
were written by us
after they told us what to
write, because the kids
did not know how to
write English very well.
These letters struck our
hearts and we still keep
them inside our diaries.
“We say goodbye but not
forever, we know that
one day we shall meet
again. Bye, bye, bye, bye
but not forever.”
As all farewells do, ours
had approached. Kids
cried and all volunteers
did as well. The children
were singing farewell
in English, which we
had taught them. They
looked innocent, and
we felt sorry to be leaving
them behind. Their
singing voices struck
our hearts and our eyes
filled with tears. But
since we decided to not
cry in front of the children,
we walked out to
find a place where we
couldn’t hear them singing.
We got into the bus
and said our final goodbye
to the kids. The bus
driver started the engine.
Kids were chasing the
bus, and all us volunteers
put our heads out
the windows and yelled
“Goodbye, but not forever!”
The bus was heading
toward the city of
Lilongwe, and we would
stay in a hotel before
boarding our flights. We
could not go back to the
kids and could not hold
their hands again. We
will return, however, just
as their songs foretold,
because we know that
despite our farewells, we
will meet again. Bye, bye
lovely Malawi, but not
forever.