Malawi Jake

Sorry the excerpts are chunked, but......

Descending into the valley we enter Katowa Trading Post, which is even more dodgy than Rumphi, but somehow more quaint. There is a health clinic, post office, some shops, street vendors and drinking circles. The concept of going to a bar here is simply sitting in a circle under a tree w/ a bottle and some friends.
From Katowa wkere transport ends, it's a 4km walk to Zolokere down a path just large enough for a small vehicle with walls of grass, maize and tobacco. The center of Zolokere is the maize mill and 2 grocery stores across the path. Behind the groceries is a path lined with papaya, acacia and eucalyptus trees which leads to my home. It's by far, the most beautiful place that's ever been my home. The house is brick with a tin roof and cement floors. There are 4 rooms and a front porch where I'm now sitting. Behind the house is a thatch roofed kitchen and my chimbuzi or outhouse and bath house. I have 2 garden plots surrounded by orange, guava and mango trees. The fruit trees are a real asset and I don't know if I'll ever live in a place without them. They provide necessary food when supplies are thin, just before the harvest of maize. There is an elevated hen house next to my bath and we're building a fence so that I can have my first hand at chicken and guinea fowl rearing.
As you can see, I've steppred back in time , the way it was for our people hundreds of years ago. Most people in the world still do live like this which I know is hard to imagine, but they live with nothing but what the Earth gives them. It's a much better way; life is simple, the walk is slow , the problems are real, smiles are genuine, laughter contagious, days are dictated by the sun and people truely love one another. They are all family.
I had my neighbors laughing the other day, as I was trying to balance a bucket of beans on my head. A woman came over and rolled up a cloth for me and showed me how to place the cloth on my head and then center the bucket on the cloth. She told me I'd learn and encouraged me to keep trying. When I left to fetch water 2 young girls took the buckets from me and returned with water. Whatever these people have they share. People say Africans aren't advanced, because their countries are not developed. But maybe this is the problem; that developed infrastructure, agriculture and lifestyle leave us undeveloped within. With so much love and compassion for one another, maybe they're more developed than us?
There are some things I was hoping you could send me now that I've had time to think. Coffee, tea, clifbars and soups are great, alng with some pasta, olive oil and seeds for gardening. I'm also using a ton of candles. I've noticed that big envelopes get here much quicker than boxes, so you might be able to send some things like that. Whatever you do, I appreciate. MORE IMPORTANTLY, AS THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO COMMUNICATE, PLEASE URGE ALL TO WRITE LETTERS TO ME, AS IT WILL HELP KEEP ME SANE AND RATIONAL.
I'm off to the Wednesday market and I have to get some things, so that 's all for now. I hope all is well in that part of the world. I miss everyone , but really don't miss that life.
Love,
Jake