Alison Walkley received her B.A. in English at Dickinson's commencement ceremony in May. By July she was in southern Africa, ready to begin her two-year assignment as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi. She e-mailed friends at Dickinson with photos and a description of her site visit.

Ali Walkley '07 with her homestay family in Malawi.

July 13, 2007

Hello again,

I am back from my site visit and I couldn't be happier with the placement. Thonje is a beautiful village named for the cotton it grows. The people are friendly and excited to have an Azungu from America living with them. I do not think I'll have any trouble whatsoever getting the community involved in whatever projects I help to facilitate.

In fact, I've already started assessing the needs of the village. As I officially move in two weeks, I will start by looking at several sites on which wells can be constructed. Safe drinking water is an important factor for any village and I am pretty sure that securing it will be a priority during my time here.

One of the aspects that made the visit wonderful was my neighbor Lauryn, who is a nurse at the health center. She took care of me, fed me at every meal, introduced me to people in my HC and in the village. Unfortunately, I most likely will not be able to make her my counterpart here because she will be living in Thonje only temporarily until September. Sadness. The hunt for a counterpart continues!

I witnessed two chickens being killed outside my house, both of which I feasted on not too long afterward. I thought I'd be able to kill one myself, but I couldn't. I did, however, pluck it clean and help remove the insides. In the second chicken, which I ate last night, there were undeveloped eggs inside that were quite tasty after we boiled them ... tasted just like yolks! Mmm!

The hut Ali lived in during her homestay.	Ali Walkley '07 at her new home in Thonje.

My house is going to be kicking once I move in and buy furniture. I have two bedrooms (so whoever wants to come visit, I have a place for you!), a living room, a kitchen with a fireplace, a bathing room (a.k.a. bafa), and a toilet that— unfortunately—does NOT work. No worries, a pit latrine is out back!

I'll be in Lilongwe until Sunday, when we are taken back to Dedza for our final week of language training.

Peace and Love,
Ali

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