Blog

December, 2007

EATING OUT

We just returned from a lovely time at Lake Malawi.  We stayed in a house owned by a Indian businessman here in Lilongwe.  He has a store for construction items that ABC uses extensively and he provides his lake house for free to us.

While there we went to a restaurant we had not been to before.  It is at a lodge called Kambiri.  It is outdoors like most restaurants at the lake as the weather is almost always pleasant.
Read full entry

December 28, 2007 | 0 Comments | View or add comments
Back to TOP
CHOIR CONCERT!

The final concert of the semester went very well.  Despite being a city of nearly 1,000,000 people, there isn't a lot happening around Christmas (yes, they do celebrate Christmas) so attendance is normally very good.  We had a full house - not as full as the first year we were here 5 years ago, but plenty full...much less code violations that way!

The choir sang well, the jazz combo did quite well and a senior vocalist was quite marvelous.  We were all quite happy with the performance.  I have had the choir do a cappella arrangements each semester that are always a stretch for the group.  We expect that since Africans always sing a cappella they would be quite comfortable with that.  However, singing stuff that is written, with very specific harmony is another story.  They are used to working out their own harmony on the spot - amazing improvisation - but it is generally moving parallel to the lead line.  This doesn't work harmonically in music after about 1000 AD! So, we worked very hard on one particular piece and they did well.


Read full entry

December 10, 2007 | 0 Comments | View or add comments
Back to TOP
The Rainy Season is Here - Termites & Maize

As I sit writing the rain is pouring down.  It started two nights ago with a good, long rain in the middle of the night.  Last night it rained again and today it has been raining on and off.  After the long night rain the farmers began planting their crops for the year.  They can't plant too soon as if it gets rain and germinates and then dries out the plants die.  So, they try to time it just right.

We now have the wings of termites littering every spot under an outdoor light.  At night / evening they start flying out of the ground at which point they then lose their wings!  Then they start building new colonies.  There are piles of termite regurgitation everywhere in the lawns (that's what the termite mounds are).  New mounds growing like crazy. 
Read full entry

December 10, 2007 | 0 Comments | View or add comments
Back to TOP
Is it Stealing to Feed Your Sister?

We were discussing the 8th and 10th Commandments in Ethics a few days ago - stealing and coveting or hopefully the lack thereof.  One student asked a question that may possibly have come from personal experience: "If your mother gives you food, but will not feed your stepsisters, is it stealing to take food when she is gone and give it to your stepsisters?"

How often would you hear that in the West?
Read full entry

December 10, 2007 | 0 Comments | View or add comments
Back to TOP