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CURRENTLY VISITING HAWAII!!

Hawaii

Hawaii
Akaka Falls

See the World for Free

The idea here is to TRAVEL THE WORLD regardless of time or budget. It dawned on me one day that even if I had unlimited time and money (which I definitley do not), I still couldn't see everything in the world that I'd like to see--I'm simply not going to live long enough to do it.

But I had a bit of brain wave and soon after the travel envelope was born. This is an actual physical envelope. I typed the name of every country in the world, plus every state in the US on little slips of paper which I then put into the envelope. In the beginning we (myself, my husband, Dave and daugher Catherine) would draw out a slip at random at the beginning of the month and that's where we would go---at least in our minds. We grab some books about the country from the library and put them in our bathroom to look at. We also check out some videos about the country if any. We check it out on googleearth, listen to the music, try the food, maybe even attempt to learn a dance or celebrate a festival.

After the first two years we discovered that even virtual traveling can be tiring, so we travel now whenever I happen to be in the mood.

It's great fun. I especially love it when people I meet have been to the place I'm "visiting" in real life, or get excited and have some virtual adventures of their own. I hope that anyone who comes across this blog will feel welcome to come with us on the trip!



You have a standing reservation to see it all!

Feb 3, 2010

Malawi September 2009

     It took us a good while to find Malawi on the map.  I thought I'd never heard of the country, but Dave pointed out that that's where Madonna adopted some children from.  Okaaaaaay.  Armed with that information, we were set to explore!  
     Unlike other poor countries, the pictures I found of Malawi didn't look wretched.  They looked charming.  Probably this is because the country borders on a huge lake and has some mountains and valleys that look a bit like Switzerland.  It IS a desperatley poor place however quaint looking.  The guide books repeatedly warn travelers about difficulties getting from anywhere to anywhere. "Drivers are often drunk" is a common problem apparently.  Still, it would be a fantastic adventure to go there.  The thing to do--according to the book 1001 Places to See Before You Die, is to book a three week water excursion.  Everything is included and you can probably see more of the country that way than any other. 
    I learned a little about the game Mancala.  Some of the version in Malawi are much more complicated than what we typically play here.  But the game is supposed to represent seeds and birds.  On your turn you represent the farmer planting the seeds in your own field and the bird gobbling up the seeds of your opponent.  I never knew that!
    We also checked out a huge coffee table book on African Textiles.  I was especially fascinated with the batik style designes which are made in much the same way as Ukranian easter eggs (a hobby).  I'd like to feel the fabric made this way--is it really stiff?
     For dinner I made a stew with lamb meat and pumpkin---very rich, and some deep-fried yam balls. Also yummy, but not worth the calories.  Dessert was a baked banana dish which surprised me---very tasty and I don't usually like baked bananas.   Most meals in Malawi are eaten outdoors around the fire.  I didn't have a fire pit, but we did spread some blankets in the backyard and had a picnic.

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