M A L A W I (part one)

I'm homeeeeee. My trip is over. Safe and sound. 
And now I think I'm already ready to go somewhere else! ;) 
that travel bug is reeeeal. 

My 6 weeks away was almost too good. Despite the big scare, everything seemed to work out rather well (PS - thank you, ALL - for the love and support after sharing that <3 so appreciated). Sights continued to get more and more beautiful each day, I met amazing new people, had quality time with some of my favorite humans, had great conversations with even greater people, ate all kinds of different foods, tried all kinds of new things - literally everything I was hoping for and more. I start off by saying this because I can't wait to share it with you, but putting it into words/attempting to organize my 3,000+ (!!) pictures is just too overwhelming to fully wrap my head around sooo we'll just have to see how this goes!

For now - I present to you - MALAWI part o n e ! aka - the best quotes from the Africa portion of my trip - aka - MY MOST FAVORITE 2 WEEKS OF ALL TIME. I'm hoping this will give a nice little set up of what Africa is kiiind of like, as well as give me a place to put the random pictures that are still worthy of sharing. So much of my time in Malawi is hard to describe - I imagined dirt and desert and bugs and hunger and sadness and some more bugs. People who ask me about Africa say they thought same thing...so hopefully these next few posts about Malawi can give you another piece of reality looks like there. Most of the quotes below you 100% had to be there, but I'll do my best to try and explain the hilarity that was my time with Shannon in Malawi. <3 

PS - *sorry not sorry* for the insane length of this post! ----------------------------

1. "Oh hey - um. A bat just flew into your house..." This was at Shannon's house in her village, while she was cooking us eggs and rice for dinner. I was casually keeping her company and in the dusk of the evening I noticed something fly right into her kitchen. From here, all of our bat knowledge came out and only a little bit of our fear/jumpiness. We both screeched a little too loud and neither of us wanted to get that close to the buckets - BUT we learned things like bats are blind and they have to fall first before they can start flying...who knew! the pictures below are us using Shannons' kitchen bucket system for it's alternative purpose - bat capture and getting it outside...and having much success!

2."Ooh I think I just ate a spider leg with that edamame." This is something that I calmly said and laughed at afterward, while snacking on loose edamame from Shannon's backpack. I know, who am I - being so okay with knowingly eating a spider?! A changed person, that's for damn sure. 

3. "Give me my iPod, we're being sold." Malawian transport summed up in a single sentence. From mini buses, to big buses, to tuk-tuks, bike taxis and hitchhiking...disorganized, but oddly very functional chaos. This cannot be further explained, you will just have to go there to see for yourself - buuuut make sure you have Shannon with you, it's very confusing and sometimes they sell you to other minibuses and it's good to know what that actually means. but, good news - the buses stop often and you can get snacks from people on the side of the road! like lollipops, grilled corn, apples and samosas!

4. "Heather! you need to 'bo' them!" This was Shannon's friendly reminder on how to talk to the kids. In her village (and I think most villages in Malawi?), everyone greets everyone. To greet kids you yell, 'BO!' and they yell back, (To Shannon - "Shannonni BBOO!!" and its really cute - everyone's waving and smiling and your heart just fills right up. My afternoon and mornings with those sweet faces, watching Shannon interact with them, playing games and coloring with them - nothing. better. 

 

5. "My feet are the only ones that are nice." - this was in reference to us taking our shoes off and having our feet not smell so nice. #villagelife 

6. "I think I dreamt that we fought..." "Oh, do you feel weird about me right now?" "Extremely..." Hours spent on transport, heading from the south of the country to the north. Shannon and I did a great job at getting along splendidly, just as we expected...but when one of you has a weird dream about the other, makes for some mini awkwardness. Thank you, malaria pills, for making my dreams extra cray.

7.  "A bus for Zimbabwe?! I think we're on the wrong bus..." #africatransportproblems 

 8. "How can such a tiny thing inflict so much pain on a human being?!" Those of you who know me know that if you can see the salsa on my chip, it's too hot for me...but spice whimpy-ness aside...Malawi has these teensy tiny peppers that with a little lick of one, I kid you not, instant fire. Shannon thought it was funny to encourage me to have a bite of one each time we walked by a bush...I'm not always the best at saying no to peer pressure so, I learned about these bad boys the hard way. Props to you, Jaryt, for having a pepper pocket and including them in your meals, often. You real impressive. (sorry for the blurry pic, but LOOK HOW TINY THEY ARE!)

9. "Who needs a cigarette when you can just rip off your chest hair with a nicotine patch?!" An "example" of how PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) find new ways to have fun while living in Malawi. loool. Meeting Shannon's people/new friends was so so fun and each minute was filled with goofiness, laughter and great stories. PCVs are quite entertaining, lemme tell ya.

10. "Ooh, babe at 3:00, look." "The one in the hat? He looks like a child, I think he's legit like 13..." Shannon being just an okay wing woman. 

11. " You can put your legs in there?! We must go!" Dangling my feet is a highly used motivation of mine for many of my activities. One place we stayed at had a floating dock in the water, so why not paddle board out and take pictures on it!

 ^^^ those little huts (Myoka Village) are where we stayed for 3 nights while in Nhkata Bay - it was incredible. 

12. "This is what the people in jurassic park must have experienced." Shannon and I in our room at our lodge in Zambia, looking out the window as an elephant walks by. 

13. "Well that was the most expensive nap I've ever taken." Shannon and I napped on our morning safari in Zambia. A big oops, but also so SO necessary.

14. "Hm that's interesting...but back to the hippos...." While on the safari, Shannon and I discovered hippos are actually one of our favorite animals. We were oddly fascinated by them and wanted all of the hippo info possible. At one point I asked our guide, "so what else can you tell me about hippos?" And when he asked what I wanted to know, I said everything. This caused excellent entertainment throughout the safari for Shannon and I - and I'm sure only a little annoyance to all the others with us. Did you know they can stay underwater for 5-7 minutes? And they most likely do not get their bellies sunburnt when they lay outside. You're welcome. 

^^^hippos making all kinds of noises while underwater, cause they cool like that. 

15. "Come'ere chip!" this is an inside joke that goes way back...but we did call this chess piece "chip" and it was hilarious as hell. 

15. "It's so weird how comfortable I feel about mosquito nets - it's like my safe place." This became ridiculously true. I got used to the bugs pretty quick, mostly because they weren't bad at all like I assumed they would be and also because I had to. But once wrapped up in the mosquito net at night, I just told myself nothing could get me in here and all the sleep was had. 

16. "Ooh look at this shirt- it says 'Hard rock cafe, fuck it!' I think it's pronounced 'Phuket'..." thank you, secondhand secondhand stores. You're so entertaining.

<3 <3 <3 

fear and togetherness and scary life moments.

This is my journal entry from flying from Greece to Switzerland to meet my parents. Having a blog sometimes feels like journaling, but I share completely different things with myself than I do with you, as I'm sure you can imagine. While I do consider myself an open book (sometimes to a fault), I know not everything needs to shared. However, this feels important and that feeling is one I try to listen to. Plus, I'm saving all my pictures to share when I get back, so why not another full post of wordiness and feelings. You've been warned. 

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I'm listening to "no lies, just love" by Bright Eyes, a song that has resonated with me in so many different occasions throughout my life. My thoughts are jumbled, I feel numb. My heart has finally slowed down, my hands aren't trembling anymore. I can still feel tears being fought back, but I know my body is saving them for that glorious moment of seeing my parents on the other end, because at that point it'll be happy tears and that'll mean I'll have made it. My brain is foggy and my head hurts. This must be me in shock. 

I've officially had what I would call my first near death experience today. 

My life didn't flash before my eyes, like I always thought it would, slideshow style with nice music. I didn't see a white light, like some people have said they have. I had seconds to go. to move. somewhere, do something. there wasn't time for anything, not even thinking. There was absolutely no time for this life of mine, 23 great years of this life, to flash for even a second. I had to act and I had to do it quickly. 

Sitting on the plane flying over Europe - There's a Greek woman behind me who is clearly terrified of flying as she's crying and shouting and flailing around while her adult daughters try to help calm her down. I want to turn around to her and tell her - we're safe here. This turbulence and shakiness is okay and I promise it's temporary. This is just us flying through the skies, we're going through the clouds. The big, puffy, white clouds that we all dream of sitting on someday as children. This, this mild bumpiness, is just a part of flying. I want to tell her that we're all in this together, that she's not alone and to squeeze her daughters hands tighter if she thinks it'll help. I want to tell her it'll be okay, that both of my parents are pilots, that the captain of this plane knows his shit and to not worry. I want to tell her to take a deep breath and to emphasize to her our safety, remind her that we only have to get through a little longer and then we'll be back on the ground. 

I want to tell her that just a few hours ago, I wasn't safe, so I understand her being afraid.  I understand the intensity of the fear I imagine she's feeling. I want her to know that when I walked into the plane, that's when I finally felt safe, similar to how she will feel once the wheels hit the runway. I want to share my experience of what had just happened in the Athens airport entrance. I want to tell her that the couple next to me, hugging and holding each other tightly, would usually make me roll my eyes and "gag", that I only half believe in love these days and coupley sights are my least favorite lately. But I saw them a fear hours ago too, they experienced what I experienced, so holding each other tightly only makes sense right now. I want to explain that up here, in the skies, with the clouds and the stars, this is the place to be. Down there is the scary place. Down there is where people can hurt each other so easily, where people die and hear bad news and feel the most pain. This flying thing is a relaxing time for most people, for a good reason - soak in the safety. 

I want to tell her I was less than 10 feet away from a shooter or a guy with a bomb just a few hours ago. That I had seconds to figure out what the fuck was happening and move, go somewhere else. Everyone dropped everything and ran. There were about 20 of us left inside, dispersed by the bathrooms, unable to run, unable to go to where it was "safe" because we would have passed the guy causing us danger. We were stuck. 

I had seconds to use the last few minutes of my wifi, to express what I thought could easily be my last words. all I could say was "there's a bomb in the airport. I'm hiding, idk what's happening, please tell my parents I love them." I didn't have time to tell that person I love them, I didn't have time to tell any of my people I love them. I was behind this wall, trapped in an enclosed hallway with a couple and a young boy named Lewis and his father. The men went out every once in a while to check to see what was happening and the girl and I hugged and shook and cried in each other's arms and we told the young boy everything would be okay and tried our best to stay calm so he wouldn't go chase after his dad. I'll never know her name, but that hug was everything, not being alone in that moment. All we could do was wait it out and hope for the best and be together in our fear. 

I want to tell this woman behind me in the plane that she's not alone in the fear. All she can do right now is wait it out and squeeze tighter. That she's never ever alone. To take the free wine and the chocolate ball that Swiss airlines provides and let it comfort her, because life is fragile and sometimes so out of control and that fear is valid and real. So let's get through it together, cause that's literally all we can do. 

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"I wrote this for a baby, who is yet to be born, my brothers first child. I hope that womb is not too warm, cause it's cold out here and it will be quite a shock - to breathe this air, to discover loss. So I'd like to make some changes before you arrive, so when your new eyes meet mine, they won't see no lies, just love." - lyrics from above mentioned song, "no lies, just love" by Bright Eyes. 

Just love. I wish there could only be love and it hurts me that this world is so scary and full of fear and pain so SO often. Thanks to the love of her family and the flight attendants, the woman behind me eventually calmed down and was okay, facing her fears and getting through it like a champ. Thanks to the woman who gave me a hug and to my friends who answered their phone and cried with me before I left, I was okay. 

I'll never know what really happened today or why, if the man was sick or drunk or crazy or all of the above. I'll never know what his intentions were, If the backpack he left that was taken by the police was full of something that could have destroyed all of us or not. I'll never know what he was yelling about, or who it was who jumped on him and potentially/probably saved us all. 

This trip has taught me a lot about so many things, but I never expected to experience this. I feel reminded to live wholeheartedly, presently, and to practice love as often as possible. There needs to be more kindness in this world, more love for one another, more hugs and tight squeezes. It's nice up here in the sky, and even though it's maybe because we all went through security, I feel safe. And what a blessing that is. 

3 more letters to the name!

Well, folks. 

I have officially completed my masters degree! 

MSW (Masters of Social Work, for those of you who are wondering :) ) has been added to the name and I can finally breatheeeee. 

and chill. lots of chilling shall now commence -- I am currently watching the movie how to be single and cuddling with smoosha, so I think I'm pretty good at it (and yes, I'm officially admitting to the crazy cat lady lifestyle for the next 2 weeks. It's a good one). 

So what's next you ask? 

I say goodbye to Fort Collins this week and sobbbbb. and THEN I leave for Malawi in 13 days and get to see SHANNON in 15! I. can't. wait. to see that woman. and from there, EUROPE! 

Adulting can come eventually, right? right.

Follow along on Instagram and/or Snapchat, if you wish (@hklaugh for both)!

Thank you all for the love and support so many of you have given me this past year. Couldn't have done it so "smoothly" without you! true, true story there. thankyouthankyou.

Here's some pictures from the day and from all the weekend celebrations!

 ^^^ our 4th & 5th grade teacher! So grateful to still have a great relationship with her!