Dear America,

How are you? I sure dont miss the holiday crazyiness that's probably occuring. Today Im going x-mas shopping in the capital city, Lilongwe, its a cloady, cool, drizzily Sunday afternoon. Such a great shopping day. This weekend has been pretty awesom all together. I spent last week, suffering in Chulu village. I was not in the mood to start fires, so I ate raw ramen, and rolls for every meal. I did do some work, met my friends and tried to find my cat, Zambo, who is missing for 2 weeks now. I put up reward posters for him, and was laughed at by all. Then last Friday, I came back to civilization and met george and rob for a late night malawian night club adventure, dancing with Hules(whores) . There such nice girls and real respectable-like. My friends were acting stupid as always, pouring ketchup on each other and fighting in the bar. Then yesterday, Saturday, Rob and I spent the day eating pizza, and watching movies as it rained all day. Today, im here bout to go get some grub and shop for x-mas cards and ramen noodles.

So Im doing a different work these days. Im working as Manager/Advisor of a small local NGO called Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi. I really am learning a lot and working a lot. We do alot of environmental education and we have 2 projects concerning wildlife conservation in a nearby wetland. We are working with the community to establish community wildlife managment program. We are also working with other NGO's to establish natural resource conservation as part of the school curriculum.

So x-mas is next week, and I care nothing for it, exept its a good time to travel somewhere with my friends. So bout 11 of us are going to Chizimulu Island, in the middle of Lake Malawi. I have been their before and know how totally awesom it is. Its a tropical paradise with amazing rare fishes and birdlife, beautiful rock formations for diving and white baobob tree's in the setting sun. We will spent 6 days there. Then I will go back to work until mid-January when my Peace Corps group will go to Nkhotakota for our Close of Service trip. We only have 4 months left here.

So I never put details bout me and Lind's adventures, so I want to recap what I can remember:

So Linds arrived Sept 17, 2008 and left November 3, 2008

1. The first place we went was to this cool tikki bar and outdoor resturant with gardens. We busted out the travel scrabble and got some beers, greens. Linds kicked my ass.
2. We stayed at a touristy lodge that night, to ease lindsey into africa
3. Next day we hitched up to my village in Kasungu. Linds loved hitching and seeing the country side of Africa for the first time. And she got to experience a matola ride at its best...20 people crammed in the back of a broken-ass truck. For some reason I always end up with genitals very close to my face. ewwwwww
4. We spent 2 nights at my house, Linds got to use a bucket to bath, dig a hole in the yard to shit at night, start her first cooking fire, and operate a parrafin lantern...we also drank loads of my home-made mulberry wine...sooo good.
5. Then we headed for Nkata Bay, only bout 4-5 hours away, but through public transportation, it took us 12 horrible bitchy hours, by the end of the day, we were barely speaking.
6. But when we arrived at Wiz's beach and met up withe the 30 other PCV's there, we started having a good time, until we went to a dance party with some theivin Rasta's who stole our wind-up flashlight. It had a bad ending, Ill leave it at that.
7. Next day, was just an awesom beach-loafing day, cookin up fresh fishes from da sea and swimmin
8. Next day, we headed bout 1 hour north to Nkaty Bay, where we boarded the Illala boat, which delivered us in 4 hours, to Chizimulu Island. We spent one week there, being soo lazy. We cooked some of our own food to save money and played a lot of scrabble, we did a little skinny-dippin too.
9. Then we went to the major city of Mzuzu, which is actually very small with mostly dirt roads. But the market is pretty good, we shoped around for tananian clothes and had a tailor make us some national wear. We tented at a church, drinking vodka undercover.
10. Then we started hitchin north were we spent some hours walking down a hot, dusty, remote road. One of the best moments of the trip! Until we were finally picked up and droped at the bottom of Livingstonia Pleateau. We ended up getting a matola up this 20 bend dirt road to The Mushroom Farm, where we spend the next 5 days camping on the edge of the mountain, in a forest with a veiw of the lake far down below. We cooked all of our own food on a 3-stone fire on the edge and hiked, so many kilometers, up hill. We went to a waterfall, and had a cool adventure getting there.
11. Then we hiked down the plateau and went straight to the nearest beach we could find and we found such an amazing place. The beach was huge spreading lumps of beautiful sand and some reeds with a back drop of a plataue that comes right up to the beach. We got some new Elephant beers and sat in this natural little river that was being formed by the tide.
12. We left the next morning and went back down to Mzuzu, then south to the Viphya Platuae, where we found an exstensive tall pine plantation and a cute, cheap and very clean guesthouse. The temperature in this forest is very cold and fog and drizzle are almost constant. We did a little bit of hiking, but mostlyl just recooped from all the hiking in Livingstonlia.
13. Next we went back to my village and I showed Linds my projects and work. She attended some of my meetings and I took her into the National Park I live next to.
14. Then we headed, via hitching, to the south to Liwonde National Park. We were suppose to participate in a game count, but we failed, we just camped and cooked and hung with our monkey friend who was only after our things.
15. Then George and Rob picked us up in their rental car and we headed to Cape Maclear. The scenery is soo beautiful here with island close off-shore and forested mountains all around. We hired a small ricketedy wooden boat and pattled ourselves along with a crate of beer to a near by island. We cooked fish and snorkeled, then rowed back. That night we checked out the night life and sat for 3 hours looking at cload shapes in the moonlight.
16. Then we headed back to Lilongwe and I found a house to live in and we went back to the village for a week and then to lilongwe to finish up the trip. We had a little diner party and watched movies, then Linds left.

Such an awesom trip...

photo's are comeing soon..Happy Holidays and I hope that 2009 brings everyone good things and we all do a little more for the environment and wildlife.

Jamie

Scott and me, Env Swearing-In 08
Beekeeping club, low-cost hive
Ndikuvina---Im dancing with youth group
Climbing for seeds in the National Park

HELLOOOOOOOO

Its been a long long time... Im here in the Capitol City passing time whilst waiting for transport to Dedza where I will be talking to the new Environment Volunteers bout mushroom farming in the village. Soo my camara is back : ) . Cheeze on Toast was caught red-handed selling it at the superette.

Home is good, one of my cats was nabbed, so Zambo is feeling loney and has become very needy and Im worried bout him being home alone. The weather is becoming hot and dusty and the malawians are burning everything in site so the smoke is thick, but the fires are beautiful at night. It is also very dry and everything is dead... Linds ur gonna love it.

Work is good too. I was just funded on the on-line project for the Env. Ed. project and was going to leave yesterday with 20 students to Lake Malawi National Park, but transport is a problem here soo things fell through by 2 pm yesterday. So I ve decided to just go the the training and prepare for the sessions.

The tree nursery is coming along, we spent a day walking 7 km into the national park collecting indeginous tree species, i was hurting afterwards.

I got some new crossword puzzles... thats been pretty fun, yeaah. Oh and I layered grass onto my roof to keep me cool and to stoped the horrible load banging of fruits dropping onto the tin roof.

I know my life sounds really cool, it is.

So maybe you knew or did not, I'm currently seeking employment here in Malawi. I was offered a job with Wildlife and Environment Society of Malawi as the Lilongwe Branch Manager. It's a perfect job but I still am unsure if it can work. But it has given me confidence that I will find success. If I dont suceed I plan on extending my PC assignment for another year but I would move site's, although I really love my home and village, but a change is always good.

Not much else to say. I havnt done any traveling cause Im saving for Me and Linds travels in 3 weeks. I think I will have some good new photos then, as of now nothing cool.. Sorry for that.

Send me e-mails and tell me what you have been up too! Especially YOU Aunt Roe, I want to here bout your 40th annerversery. I wrote you a concradulatory letter but I failed to send it, sorry for that also, im really bad with the mail. Take it Easy my Friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BAD NEWSi

I went to Nykata Bay for my 30th b-day this weekend and a rasta STOLE MY CAMERA!! Im very bummed!!!! I loved that thing. So I can no longer post any more pics. If any one has an old extra camera by chance to donate, I would very much appriciate.

But my vacation was fun. We (George and Rob) spent my actuall b-day(june 28) in Kasungu Boma drinkin with George's chief at the local pubs. That night we saw some very good Malawian live music at Kasungu Inn where I danced on the stage. Im sooo embarrassing. So the next day we went to Mayoka Lodge in Nykata Bay. Ive never seen soo many azungu's(white folk) in one place. They are really boring. But the lodge is cool, its built on a rocky hill with stone steps leading to cute chalets in every direction and a beautiful crystal clear, turquoise blue lake with great snorkling. It was great. I wish I could show you the pics :( We spent 2 neights there then spent one night at the transit house in Mzuzu city just watching movies and cooked a good dinner. Now im in lilongwe and im headed back to site tomorrow.

Chulu is good, its very cold at night these days, so im cooking on fires, to keep warm. My cats are good too, although zambo is eating all my neighbors birds and is becoming hostile to his cat friend Mzanu.

Maybe more later if i think of anything interesting... for now im just depressed bout my camera and my blogs will be boring with no pics..

Love yall

Ku Msika. At Market in Chulu
Helping build a mushroom House
With my Girls
Blood Donation Drive Posters
Gulu WauKulu

How is It?? Im well, those of you concerned..DONT BE. Ive just been at home working very hard(2-3 hrs/day). Im back in Lilongwe for the 4th of July celebration that is on June 8th. So things are good. My newest projects include a bee keeping club, tree nursery, oil pressing business, permaculture and irrigation site, and additional mushroom houses. So im staying some what busy. I had a very successful blood donation drive in my village with 45 donations, including myself. The second time donors recieved nice footballs and were very excited. Well my time is up on the computer, so maybe if i think of more to say i will add. Take Care!! Love U All!!

Back from South Africa

Hey there, Im now back from my medical leave to Pretoria, S. Africa. Everything is good, my results are also good, there is no proplem. It was a nice vacation though. I stayed in a beautiful B & B and ate some good food and visited a bird sanctuary. But mostly I watched T.V. in my bed in my room... It was sweet. Now im bout to head back to my site for a few weeks then I will be back for mid-service training and maybe head to Blantyr for some dance party.

So my project is now up on this website... www.peacecorps.gov ...please, please, please donate

Love yall-------------Ja-chi

My favorite activity is climbling this small mountain near my village, My village is at the end of that path somewhere.
Permaculture training at the Nordin's

Me N Banda Learning Permaculture
Again at the mountain, where I almost fell off just as I was snaping a photo
My bedroom and living room

njinga yanga
Nyumba Yanga

My Back Yard with chalkboard and shade, great place to chill in tha shade with my village made maize sack chairs
My back yard, you can see my toilet way in tha back
The front of my house

Hey peeps,

Just wanted to give you an idea of where I live. It's comfortable and I really enjoy it. I have an extra bed if your interested!! So I just came from a permaculture training with 2 guys from my village and it was really great. We learned a lot, drank some good cood beers and they cooked up some great food right from the gardens. So I have 2 days until I leave for S. Africa. Those of you worried...DONT. Everythings cool. So I have nothing really new to say. Keep it Nyatwa!

Hello all,
Just a short update, I forgot my card reader so i will not be able to post any pics but soon I will have pics of my house. Every thing is still good. I spent the last week in Dedza training the new pcv's how to make soap. Everyone was very impressed with my training and the quality of my soap... so im feeling proud.

Now im back in Lilongwe for my mid-service physical I'm very healthy and ive lost bout 30 lbs since being in country but I have a lump on my breast and they decided to send me to S. Africa to have it removed and tested. I'm not very concerned but it's surgery and Ill be alone... so that kinda sucks but no worries. The diahrea is improving, so thats good.

My project will be posted on www.peacecorps.gov in the next couple of days. Its for environmental education for secondary students and I beg you to help these really fantastic kids make a better future for themselves and Malawi. Soon I will be creating a blog site with their pictures and our activities so you can follow along with the project. Its tax deductable and unlike most organization's that you donate too... 100% of the money goes to the kids. They will learn about the environment and wildlife as well as new environmentally friendly skills that can give them a way to find money such as bee-keeping, mushroom farming and raising tree's and other plants from seed.

My newest project is permaculture/irrigation farming with my good friends in my village. I just set up a training for them at the end of this month with ex-PCV's who live here and practice permaculture. Im really excited about this because its a great thing to introduce in to the village because it will be a demonstration to others of how to farm in such a way that they do not go hungry and I will really learn a lot through the implementation of this project. I think by the mid of April I will have submitted a proposal for that.

So that's all I got for now. Im headed back to Chulu tomorrow where I will remain untill the end of the month, then I will come back to Lilongwe for the permaculture training. After that I will go to S. Africa on wednesday April 3rd and will return the week after. Then back to site for a few weeks then back to lilongwe for our mid-service training in Dedza.

Love you, take care
Ja-Chi

Osayiwala kupatsa ndalama ku www.peacecorps.gov (Dont forget to give money at ...)

Few more pics 4 ya

This is Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary where I spent my lunch time hours hiking and had lunch today
Unfortunatly I did not see any Crocs today
But The foliage was beautiful

Condom demo at my house
Im facilitating a training on Moringa(the tree)

My favorite dance
Drinkin a carlsberg while waiting hours for transport
Coolest Frog ever

Kasungu National Park (Close to my House)

Hey everyone, hope everything is great in America. Im doing well as always except for a pesky diahrea problem for the last 2 months. Im gettin testing tomorrow. No worries though. My projects are going well, my HIV support group just sold their first mushrooms. I also had a successful blood drive in my village with 31 donors. Ive started doing hiv/aids education and I started a wildlife club with the highschool kids and that is also going well. Im submitting a proposal to fund various activities for them. Some things are mushroom farming, bee-keeping, books, art supplies, educational trips to natural area's and more. Sooo if you are reading this and are interested donating money to a truely good cause please e-mail me jamiel365@hotmail.com. In about a month the project will appear on the PeaceCorps website and people will be allowed to donate and its tax deductable. All the money goes to the kids. Im tired and ready to relax, so maybe more tomorrow... Ndimakusowa ... Stalani Bwino (Im missing yall... Stay well).