sometimes rumors are truth.....

Months ago we heard they were going to introduce a 1000MK note (at the time it would have been $6 but after devaluation it is only worth $4).

Then we heard it was going to have Bingu's face on it.

Last week we heard they would unveil the new bills this week and we'd have one year to spend our old ones before they stopped being accepted.

Then yesterday, it happened.  At my roommate T's farewell dinner, people whipped out brand new bills....first a 500, then a 50, and then....drum roll please...a 1000 note (with Hastings Kamuzu Banda's face on it, not Bingu's)!  And yes, we're told we have 1 year to get rid of our old notes and then next May we'll be able to take all of the remaining notes to the bank and exchange it for new ones.  After that, the old ones will be just that...OLD.

Source - Reserve Bank of Malawi

Even better than the new 1000MK note is that they are physically smaller than the old notes so they may actually fit into a regular wallet!  If only I hadn't grown accustomed to just shoving wads of cash into my purse I might be happy about this (I don't even know if I have a wallet with me here since the old notes didn't fit into it)!

Anyway, take a look for yourself.  The bills are so crisp and new and clean - it almost feels wrong to spend them!  Now I'm trying to scrounge together old bills in each denomination - you know, as a collector's item :)

Murder at the Juice Joint

My roommate T is suddenly leaving much sooner than expected.  He is returning to the states for grad school and his work schedule allowed him to take off a bit sooner (and enjoy the summer state side).  Prior to his departure, he arranged for a 'murder mystery dinner' - something several of us had been speaking about recently.  

I've never participated in one of these before and, although it turned out to be loads of laughs, I realized that this is something you REALLY have to pay attention to!  I was only half coherent by the end of the week and had trouble staying in character and subtly doing all of the things I was supposed to do.  Nonetheless - it was really a lot of fun.  As you can probably tell by all of the random posts, the Lilongwe crew is pretty darn good at 'making' fun.  To me, it's one of the selling points of being here! You can live almost anywhere if you have fun-loving friends!

Onto the murder mystery - the theme selected was 'Murder at the Juice Joint', an ode to the roaring 20's!  We were all assigned characters with a bio that we had to read (and somewhat memorize in order to stay in character).  Once we arrived we received more information and just played along from there.  

Cy Ramsey, Notorious Nick , Police Chief, and Molly Molls

The Mayor, South-side Hal, Notorious Nick, and Bernie the Bootlegger

PI Pinkerton

Kitty Cocktail

Cindy Butts

Bernie Bootlegger and Rosie (in a home-made flapper dress made from several POM POMS!)

the evening's cast

the murder...dum dum dummmmmm

roomies!  Don't go, T!

Cy, flanked by the women

back of the crazy sequin dress**

It was an entertaining night (with a delicious pot luck before hand, per usual).  Lots of whiskey followed by a post-party singstar shindig.  I hate the leaving season as much as anyone else, but I think T definitely went out with a bang!


**That dress was purchased at the market while searching for 80s gear.  Price tag?  700MK (less than $3)!  It was a no-brainer to pick it up with the assumption that I'd have a chance to wear it at some point....I just didn't realize it would be so soon!

Pumulani....take 2!

Last year my dear friends E&O got married at a lodge here in Malawi.  Ever since then, I've been itching to get back and enjoy it for all that it had to offer.  Last weekend, B and I headed down to Pumulani for a nice relaxing weekend (after all, "Pumulani" means "relax well" in Chichewa)!  It exceeded our expectations in every way and we're already looking forward to a repeat visit!

view of the restaurant from the infinity pool

entrance to our villa

living room

most amazing bathroom ever

bedroom with lake view (and gorgeous views in the morning)

looking in from our balcony

this. is. the. life.

the dhow

nothing but smiles!

preparing for the sundowner cruise

look at those rays of sunshine!

infinity pool by night

breakfast for two on the dhow

When your prescription sunglasses break, the solution is to steal your girlfriend's and wear your regular glasses on top.  Nice look, B! 

hanging out on the balcony post-bfast cruise

the rooftops....have grass growing on them!

JUMP!

we brought this sailboat out a few times ** - turns out B is a mighty fine sailor too!

B's first try on a dugout canoe (he made it look easy)

to infinity and beyond!

wine + sunset = perfection

We certainly pumulanied at Pumulani...and I simply can't wait to get back there again!

**On our last day we brought the sailboat out for a quick spin.  However, somehow a plug was not properly plugged and the shell of the boat took on a lot of water.  We couldn't see the water since it was INSIDE the boat but the boat started doing strange things....the nose went under water and didn't pop back up and I thought we were going to sink right then and there.  Fortunately, we were headed back to shore and we got there just in time (it took 4 grown men to try to pull it into shore...and then it drained for like 10 min straight).  Not our fault or anything, but it would have been mighty embarrassing if we had actually sunk a sailboat!!!

The 80s are back...or maybe they never left?

What do you do when you want to combine 2 birthdays, a farewell party, and Cinqo de Mayo?  You have an 80's/Mexican themed party, of course!  Ingredients:  Mexican food, 80's (or Mexican) inspired costumes (or 'fancy dress' as my British friends insist on saying), a solid 80's playlist, and some fun people.  Fortunately, all of those are relatively easy to come by in little old Lilongwe!

First stop was the market.  Now, this market is nothing like the fabric market I used to frequent in Shanghai.  Basically you pick through piles of clothes (some clearly worn, some brand new with tags in tact) until you find something that catches your eye.  You guess whether or not it will fit you and then you bargain, bargain, bargain (sort of).  

weeding through piles of clothes at the market

Channeling our inner 80's, crimped hair and all.... cost of outfit (1600MK = ~$6.50 (mine)  2700MK = ~$11 (his).....who wins the title of best bargainer?)

and these.....are my friends....

could be the cover of an album, don't you think?

Trying to determine whether or not we should kidnap E&O to keep them in Malawi 

let's get physical!

this is what happens when you trust someone else to purchase an outfit for you at the market....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, B and S :-)

DON'T GO, E&O :-(

Amazing Mr T shirt from the beloved market....the rest may or may not have been  part of their regular wardrobes...

No 80's night is complete without a little Top Gun!

Moral of the story  is that multiple different reasons for celebrating + a random theme (involving costumes) + a holiday = recipe for fun!!