When Charlotte and I left Olipa’s house Saturday morning at 9:30am Malawi time we pushed the stopwatch button on our phones to time how long this trip would take. We have left Lilongwe, made a stop in The Democratic Republic of Congo, another in Ethiopia and are now sitting on the runway in Dublin. It’s been over 22 hours. Yikes!

Desire, Olipa’s six-year-old came to the airport with us hoping to continue to the US. She was sad to find out this wasn’t as easy as she thought it could be. She’ll especially miss Charlotte who played with her and Olipa’s other children pretty much nonstop whenever we were in the house. I don’t seem to have that kind of energy anymore and am so grateful to travel with someone who does.

It was a bittersweet parting. We’ve had a great time with Olipa and have a lot more insight into Malawi culture than ever before. It makes these partnerships work better and better. Thank you dear Olipa.

Later:

I’m back home and so is Charlotte. It took 39:48:39.64 hours to get here or as my sister Gussie pointed out, “basically an entire work week”. Oh my!

I’ve emptied my suitcases, have laundry going and am now ready to answer emails and catch up on work here.

Thank you to everyone!