Sorry for this late post, as it is nearly mid-December. It was an eventful month, but I am an unreliable photographer and I didn’t take as many good photos as I would have liked. Here are some that I did get:
We visited Zomba’s Botanical Gardens the first weekend in November. It was a nice park, but I liked the watching the monkeys more.
The next weekend, we traveled to Mua, which has a Catholic mission church and the associated Chamare Museum nearby. The museum features an amazing collection of masks and Malawi cultural artifacts, but you are not allowed to take photos in those rooms (some of the masks are considered sacred). This was the entrance area to the museum, which hints at the depth of its collection. It is a wonderful museum and I look forward to visiting again and sharing it with my family when they come for their holiday visit.
As usual, I embraced my birthday. To celebrate, I passed out chocolates at handover in the morning, then we had cake and tea in the registrars office afterwards. I had ordered a cake to share that day, but Dr. Gladys Gadama had planned to surprise me with a cake also. (We ate hers the next day.) That night, we went out for dinner and Kathy and Chris Beach surprised me with another cake. I don’t think I’ve ever had three birthday cakes in one day before!
A rare sight at the hospital: an empty ward. I don’t want to take revealing photos of the patients, but this gives you an idea of what the wards look like. Some days the hospital is so crowded that there are mattresses on the floor between the beds for the patients.
After almost six years living in Malawi and seven years living in Kenya, my friends Will and Shirley Stones decided to move back to their home in Nevis (in the Caribbean). They stayed with me their last few days here, and since they were packing up, I inherited some left-over bottles of condiments and spices, as well as some household items. We went out to dinner the night before they left. Will plans on returning in February, to continue his work with the Centre for Reproductive Health, and will continue to visit Malawi frequently. Shirley is looking forward to staying at her beautiful island home.
A Physician Educator in Malawi 
Thanks for sharing! Happy holidays
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Happy holidays to you!
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Thank you! Hope 2020 brings health and happiness to us all.
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You are a much loved woman ! 3 cakes on your birthday! That is a record. Sounds like you have settled in and are doing well. I would love to visit the museum. Gi e my regards to Jesse.
Happy Christmas!
Much love
Andy and Deb
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Thanks Deb! I hope you guys have a happy Christmas, too!
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Jessica was just here for a visit! I hope to write more about her and our trip when I next post (and catch up).
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Hello Cathy,
Great post as always, and happy birthday. Speaking of cake, here is a video that I think you might enjoy.
Bob
On Thu, Dec 12, 2019 at 11:42 AM A Physician Educator in Malawi wrote:
> drbakermalawi posted: ” Sorry for this late post, as it is nearly > mid-December. It was an eventful month, but I am an unreliable photographer > and I didn’t take as many good photos as I would have liked. Here are some > that I did get: We visited Zomba’s Botanical Gardens t” >
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Bob: So fun! Thanks for sharing!
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Ok, so you had wait for the line “now is time for cake” at 4:20. My more devious plan was to have this song turn into an earworm for you.
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It was devious and it worked! May you use all your powers for good!
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Happy belated birthday. 😊🎂🥂🍰🍾🎁
On Thu, Dec 12, 2019, 12:42 PM A Physician Educator in Malawi wrote:
> drbakermalawi posted: ” Sorry for this late post, as it is nearly > mid-December. It was an eventful month, but I am an unreliable photographer > and I didn’t take as many good photos as I would have liked. Here are some > that I did get: We visited Zomba’s Botanical Gardens t” >
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Thank you, Joe!
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