Frankfurt, Germany
The final leg – I’m so happy to be going home to see my husband and return to work. There are many people I need to thank for this incredible experience. I must give many thanks to – God, my husband Ron, family, church family, friends, and colleagues. I appreciate your unwavering support and prayers. It will take me a while to process all that has transpired this past month. I am very blessed and I look forward with great enthusiasm what the future will bring and the results of the project.
Thanks to Susan Levings and Eric Davila who have organized and developed the blog site. They have done an outstanding job. This is a wonderful and creative way to share my experiences with the local community and the world. The feedback from readers has been sensational.
Finally I want to say a very special to Dr. Sally Rankin, who without, this project would not be. I thank her for her mentorship and guidance during this process.
It’s 12 noon, I’m back in San Francisco, and Ron is on his way to pick me up. Truly there is no place like home!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
On My Way Home
Johannesburg, South Africa
Leg two of the trip. The 11 hour flight is hard but I am getting more exciting about getting closer to home. Next stop is Frankfurt, Germany.
Leg two of the trip. The 11 hour flight is hard but I am getting more exciting about getting closer to home. Next stop is Frankfurt, Germany.
Saying Goodbye
Blantyre, Malawi
Saying the final goodbyes was difficult. One of our research supervisors who is Malawian placed his head on my shoulder and said “I have no words”. I had no words either. I just hugged him and said “It’s alright; we will see each other again.” The friendships and collegial relationships that developed over the past 3 weeks are amazing. I worked very closely with the Malawi and US research team members just about every day since we arrived 3 weeks ago.
I am 33,000 feet in the air leaving the beautiful country of Malawi on the first leg of my journey home. It has been an amazing experience and I am grateful for the opportunity to conduct this research project on such an incredible health crisis tropic and to learn more about traditional healers—such an interesting group of health care providers in Africa.
Saying the final goodbyes was difficult. One of our research supervisors who is Malawian placed his head on my shoulder and said “I have no words”. I had no words either. I just hugged him and said “It’s alright; we will see each other again.” The friendships and collegial relationships that developed over the past 3 weeks are amazing. I worked very closely with the Malawi and US research team members just about every day since we arrived 3 weeks ago.
I am 33,000 feet in the air leaving the beautiful country of Malawi on the first leg of my journey home. It has been an amazing experience and I am grateful for the opportunity to conduct this research project on such an incredible health crisis tropic and to learn more about traditional healers—such an interesting group of health care providers in Africa.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Singing, Dancing, and Preaching at the Pentecostal Church
Chimwankhunda, Malawi
Our morning began early as we set out to attend a 7:30 a.m. service at the Living Waters Church (Pentecostal) in Chimwankhunda. This faith-based organization is one of the five religious groups in our study. Religious organizations are a large part of the lives of Malawians, and it has been an honor to witness the various church services these past three weeks.
When we arrived we found out that an earlier service had started at 6 a.m. We waited outside for the next service scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. The service activities were lively, and the service lasted for almost 3 hours! It was indeed a physical and spiritual workout. There is a lovely young adult choir that stood on its feet most of the service and a lovely women’s choir that delivered soulful songs. There is something about African a cappella singing – it’s hard to describe but the tone is deep and rich and you feel transported back to earlier times. I can just imagine my ancestors singing stories to the village community or teaching songs to young children. There was lively singing, dancing, hand clapping, speaking in tongues, and preaching – all the things I remembered about the Pentecostal services I attended as a child. Malawians are serious about their faith, and the church is a strong influential power and plays a critical role in disseminating information and education about HIV/AIDS to local members. I shall never forget this service. I had heard so much about the church and I’m glad I was able to visit.
The afternoon was spent packing and reflecting more on the past three weeks. At this time my feelings are mixed. I am ready to return home, and I am missing my new friends who I’ve met in Malawi.
Our morning began early as we set out to attend a 7:30 a.m. service at the Living Waters Church (Pentecostal) in Chimwankhunda. This faith-based organization is one of the five religious groups in our study. Religious organizations are a large part of the lives of Malawians, and it has been an honor to witness the various church services these past three weeks.
When we arrived we found out that an earlier service had started at 6 a.m. We waited outside for the next service scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. The service activities were lively, and the service lasted for almost 3 hours! It was indeed a physical and spiritual workout. There is a lovely young adult choir that stood on its feet most of the service and a lovely women’s choir that delivered soulful songs. There is something about African a cappella singing – it’s hard to describe but the tone is deep and rich and you feel transported back to earlier times. I can just imagine my ancestors singing stories to the village community or teaching songs to young children. There was lively singing, dancing, hand clapping, speaking in tongues, and preaching – all the things I remembered about the Pentecostal services I attended as a child. Malawians are serious about their faith, and the church is a strong influential power and plays a critical role in disseminating information and education about HIV/AIDS to local members. I shall never forget this service. I had heard so much about the church and I’m glad I was able to visit.
The afternoon was spent packing and reflecting more on the past three weeks. At this time my feelings are mixed. I am ready to return home, and I am missing my new friends who I’ve met in Malawi.
Getting Ready to Leave Malawi
Limbe, Malawi
The process of saying farewell to members of the research team has begun. The past 3 weeks have passed quickly, and we have completed an incredible amount of work. For me, today was the most restful day of the entire trip. I typed a transcript and some field notes but most of the day I just rested and began to pack my bags for home. There are three of us left, and we spent the time putting the final touches to the remaining work to be conducted by the Malawi research team for the rest of the year. For my project I have interview transcripts that have to be translated into English and typed, which is not an easy task, but I am confident that our research assistants will do a stellar job!
The process of saying farewell to members of the research team has begun. The past 3 weeks have passed quickly, and we have completed an incredible amount of work. For me, today was the most restful day of the entire trip. I typed a transcript and some field notes but most of the day I just rested and began to pack my bags for home. There are three of us left, and we spent the time putting the final touches to the remaining work to be conducted by the Malawi research team for the rest of the year. For my project I have interview transcripts that have to be translated into English and typed, which is not an easy task, but I am confident that our research assistants will do a stellar job!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Celebrating with Roasted Goat, Fanta, Dance
Limbe, Malawi
Today is clean-up day to make sure we have all of our documents on the various computers before we leave for home. I still have interviews to conduct next year, but the plan is to analyze what we have and possibly then modify our questions based on our preliminary data analysis. We have completed most of our interviews of religious leaders and adults living with HIV/AIDS.
We had our celebration party today with our Malawian research team members. A good time was had by all, although it was bittersweet. Eating, drinking Fanta sodas, and dancing. I’ve been craving roasted goat since I arrived in Malawi and today my craving was satisfied. I even had the honor of roasting the meat. Yum! Yum!
Today is clean-up day to make sure we have all of our documents on the various computers before we leave for home. I still have interviews to conduct next year, but the plan is to analyze what we have and possibly then modify our questions based on our preliminary data analysis. We have completed most of our interviews of religious leaders and adults living with HIV/AIDS.
Me grilling goat meat
House where I lived while conducting my research. It was in the Assemblies of God Mission
Assembies of God Mission sign
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Weaving Factory in Limbe
Limbe, Malwi
Today I typed up a traditional healer transcript that contained a lot of interesting data to process and reflect on. Most of the research team is out today conducting interviews, and the rest of us stayed behind to catch up on our paper work.
During the late morning I paid a visit to the Weaving Factory in Limbe. This is a terrific place. Eighty percent of the employees have some kind of physical disability. This includes being blind, deaf, mute, or have difficulty walking. With their other senses the factory workers are able to create beautiful rugs, place mats, screen printing of T-shirts, dresses, and all kinds of gorgeous products. They spin their own yarn, dye the yarn, and then weave it into rugs, mats, purses, whatever, right on the premises. It was a sight to behold.
Today I typed up a traditional healer transcript that contained a lot of interesting data to process and reflect on. Most of the research team is out today conducting interviews, and the rest of us stayed behind to catch up on our paper work.
During the late morning I paid a visit to the Weaving Factory in Limbe. This is a terrific place. Eighty percent of the employees have some kind of physical disability. This includes being blind, deaf, mute, or have difficulty walking. With their other senses the factory workers are able to create beautiful rugs, place mats, screen printing of T-shirts, dresses, and all kinds of gorgeous products. They spin their own yarn, dye the yarn, and then weave it into rugs, mats, purses, whatever, right on the premises. It was a sight to behold.
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