Trip to Nkhota Kota

Thankfully, the term break was long enough to take a trip and still fit in all the grading and preparing for the next term.  We were orginally scheduled for 10 day break which would have prevented us from taking any trip worth taking. But thanks to the day-to-day chaos and unexpected last-minute changes that seem to plague missionary work or perhaps African life in general, the term break was extended by a week.  This gave us enough time to take a trip of a few days at distance far, far away from the confines of the Bakhita Education Complex.  Not that it is a bad complex.  I think it is a very nice complex, but after 4 months we were beginning to feel somewhat closed in.  I overheard some of the college students refer to it as "The Cage" which might be a little harsh, but it's a pretty close fit.

    Even though our travel plans were less restricted by time, they were still limited by our ability to find a place to stay.  As it turns out, there are Catholic Missions all over the country more than happy to let volunteers stay with them, and Gaby spent the first year of service making contacts and getting invitations to many them.  One in particular was from a Salegian Father from Poland who was at a mission in a town on Lake Malawi called Nkhota Kota.  The Polish girls were happy to stay with other Polish people, the beach bums of the group were sold on the towns proximity to the lake, and I'll admit that I just really liked the towns name.  So Nkhota Kota was the unanimous choice.