I remember when we lived in the Philippines I was impressed by how resourceful people, especially children, could be. One of the memories that sticks with me most was from my visit to Tondo, Manila’s trash dump, where 1.5 million people lived. It was here that I truly realized that...
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. That is the sound of a big happy Sarah sigh. I’m just so dang content right now folks. Never mind that we had to part ways with Davie or that the new gardener/driver crashed the car yesterday or that Nia told an adult that they smelled and should go take a bath...
Ahhh, home sweet home. Was great to get away but oh-how-fantastic it feels to be home. And with a sweet welcome from the girls too! Our last two weeks in Denmark and Greece flew by. In Denmark we filled our time with some castle-hopping, and canal cruising. Check out how low the clearance...
Howdy all – I’m finally back with pictures and stories about our cruise through the Norwegian fjords! Thanks for your patience while I got things edited and organized. We started our adventure on Friday, June 2nd. Our flight path was a doozy – Malawi to Nairobi to...
Hello friends! Greetings from Denmark! On Sunday we concluded our week on the Disney Magic sailing through the Norwegian Fjords. I am still working my way through editing photos, but I took the liberty of prioritizing the Princess photos, as I knew those would be of high interest. :) One...
I know you all are dying for a little Nick update, so here goes. The first few days were rough. He only felt comfortable on his belly because that relieved the pressure on his spine. We were fortunate to borrow a massage table from a friend and rigged up this design for him to while away...
Last night Nick and I were on the way to a party for Norway’s National Day. It was 6 PM when we arrived, which in Malawi means that it’s pitch black (streetlights are few and far between here and often, even when installed, they aren’t on). We got directed to park by a...
I’ve been noticing some very cool shifts happening in me lately which have, quite honestly, taken me by surprise. No huge revelations or changes in my path, just a growing awareness of things I’ve ignored for a long time. It began with the realization that I was very...
Ladies & Gents–It’s Derby Day here in Lilongwe! This is no small deal, as I’ve been waiting my whole life to go to a Kentucky Derby Party. So of course we had to go all out. :) Nia and I had matching dresses made out of local fabric (chitenge). Then of course there...
This past Saturday, a group of 20 of us from the Embassy had the opportunity to do a volunteer project with a local non-profit. This was the first volunteer project I’d planned, so I was nervous about how it would go, especially since we were going out to work in a local village. My...
It’s been a week full of Easter-related fun and while it’s brought much delight to the young’uns, it’s brought MUCH exhaustion to Mommy. The week kicked off with our Embassy Egg Hunt & Brunch. This was my first big event and with 100+ signed up I was a wee bit...
Our backyard gained two exciting new additions this week. The first was a slack line that Nick put up in the backyard. We got hooked on slack lines in Lima, which were constantly strung up on the Malecon. They’re reasonably inexpensive (~$75) and provide hours of fun. There have...
I have a whole bunch of unrelated things that I wanted to update you on, so just know in advance that this post is going to be all over the place. I CAN promise that it will be full of tantalizing updates though! British Influence What post would be complete without a Nia story...
I took Nia to a Malawian beauty shop for the first time two weeks ago. We started with a basic trim because, although she’d like it short again, we have to grow it out for her ballet recital this spring. The best part was that her stylist surprised us by insisting on a full blow-out...
I’m not sure if it’s just Nia getting older or her acting out because I’m gone more now, but we’ve seen a dramatic rise in what Nick and I like to refer to as “stinker-ish behavior”. Some recent examples include: 1. Locking her nanny out of the house...
Just back from a week of CLO training in Johannesburg and boy oh boy am I REVVED UP! Not only was the training amazingly comprehensive and well-delivered, but there were movies, food and shopping galore. Learning + Big City Perks = HEAVEN The Family Liaison Office (FLO) at the State...
Happy belated Valentine’s Day, my beloved blog readers. Just think about this –if you’ve been reading the blog since I first started, we’ve been ‘in a relationship’ for nearly a decade now. That is some serious commitment to each other! Hard to believe...
Hey all – Did you miss me? Sorry about the lack of blog posts. Turns out this work/life balance thing is WAY harder with an office job. Go figure. Speaking of jobs, I’ve been asked for more details on how things are going. Happy to oblige! For starters, I still don’t...
I’ve completed three weeks of work now and am slowly but surely starting to find my groove. I can’t emphasize enough how much I’m enjoying the daily interactions and connections with colleagues. The solitude was definitely my biggest complaint about working at home. It...
We’ve been fortunate in that during our first six months here we’ve managed to go on one – 2 hour boat safari, one – 4 hour walking safari and nine – 4 hour driving safaris. Not too shabby for six months in, aye? The coolest part of it all though is that the...
Hi everyone – We just got back from an amazing four-day safari in Zambia. I’ll be writing a more in-depth post about our experience tomorrow, but in the meantime, I thought I’d do a little inventory of the animals we saw. Here goes… Vultures Lots and Lots of Lions...
It was a BIG week people. I know I say that a lot, but I really mean it this time. You see, this week was the first time in eight years that I was back in an office job! Yes, it’s true. After five months of waiting, they finally let me start. Of course, with five months of waiting...
Our first Christmas in Malawi has come and gone and was quite delightful, if I do say so myself. The weather cooperated (mid-80’s, no rain) as did our little lady (mostly). I still struggle with the whole tropical Christmas thing. There’s just something about hot chocolate and...
For those who have been following the blog awhile, you may remember back to the staff appreciation party we threw in 2010 for Rudy, Norma and their families. For some reason we didn’t do this in Lima (one year we were traveling in Galapagos during December and the other I think we...
Last Friday we attended an embassy holiday party at the Ambassador’s House. It was a lovely affair and included holiday traditions like cookie decorating, eating copious amounts of food and my personal favorite, singing Christmas Carols. The Ambassador had assembled a random but...
So last week when we “talked” I updated you on the deck project. What I failed to mention was that the deck project was just one of MANY large-scale projects happening on our compound. We found out in November that a portion of the Quarters (HQ, as Nia likes to call it) where...
I can’t remember a time in my life when I was so eagerly anticipating rain. Guess the brown is really getting to me. Happily, rainy season is nearly upon us! The heavy rains that mark the official start have not yet happened, but we’re getting small showers here and there...
So, remember when I mentioned awhile back that we have a strange house? Well, it’s true. The layout is bizarre and the rooms are quite closed off. It’s fine for everyday life, but not so great for entertaining, which we want to do a lot of here. It’d be no big deal if we...
We’ve done a lot of poking around on Airbnb in the past but for one reason or another never pulled the trigger. Well, Cape Town changed that. We did Airbnb for the entire week (two different places) and were delighted by our experience. Our first lodging was a condo unit overlooking...
I’m getting used to bizarre animal encounters in Africa now. Here’s a story about one that occurred in our very own backyard yesterday. I was out talking to Davie about the yard when Nia runs up to me and screams “Mommy, come see the pretty birdie.” I tried putting...
Cape Town is an animal lover’s dream. Not only can you see all sorts of creatures, but you can have personal interactive “encounters” with many of them as well. Our little animal lover (who wants to be an Animal Rescuer like Diego when she grows up) was totally enchanted...
Hi all – We’re back from Cape Town and settling back into our daily routine. I now understand why everyone gushes about Cape Town. It was stunning! Reminded me of a combination of Hawaii, New Zealand, and the Amalfi Coast. So the visual appeal is definitely there, but then on...
This past weekend we officially launched the Embassy Scuba Club with our first trip to Cape Maclear on Lake Malawi! I’d love to take credit, but my husband was the driving force behind this one. He researched dive shops and then partnered with the Community Liaison Officer (my soon...
I had the most delightful cultural experience this past weekend. Our Community Liaison Officer or CLO (my soon-to-be title!) planned a fabulous day trip down to Mua Mission Cultural Center about 2.5 hours outside of Lilongwe. And while I’ve had lots of opportunities to interact with...
Our house is about 90% set up at this point and I’m feeling pretty good. It’s a strange house (quirky and small) and while I disliked it at first, it’s starting to grow on me now. Two of the things our house is lacking are a guest bedroom and a playroom space. In order...
Halloween is a big deal to Americans overseas, as it gives them a taste of home. The Embassies we’ve been at have always excelled at Halloween and Embassy Lilongwe was no different. In fact, we had not one but TWO nights of spook-a-licious fun for the whole family! Friday night was a...
One of the many reasons we wanted to live in Africa was because of the huge yards. One thing I didn’t anticipate though was all the ‘extra’ projects that would stem from having a yard. Granted, I am not doing the gardening or manual labor, but it has been exhausting...
So our little lady turned five this past weekend. She is becoming such a cool little person and I’m eager to see what year five will bring us. She’s very inquisitive, kind and been really amazing at sharing her things (especially with Michelle and Evelyn). She’s also...
One morning we decided it would be fun to do a walking safari. The high for the day was near 100 degrees F, so our guide insisted that we be out walking by 5:30 AM. We left from the lodge and ventured down along the river. As always, an armed park ranger accompanied us, in the event we...
I thought today I’d document the variety of animals we saw on this safari and showcase the best image I captured of each. The Nile Crocodile – Every croc we saw was out sunning in the sand. Very formidable looking. Glad we weren’t too close. Can’t imagine running...
Folks, it’s been a WILD couple of days (bad pun intended)! Nick and I spent last Friday through Monday safari-ing in Majete National Park, a protected wildlife reserve in Southern Malawi. While we’ve had two mini safari experiences since arriving (Kuti & Liwonde), this was...
We managed to sneak in an impromptu safari on Sunday. Nick was looking at the driving route back from Zomba and realized that the road passed right next to Liwonde National Park, a 220 sq mile protected reserve. If you’ll remember, Liwonde is the park with the excess of elephants...
We took our first big road trip this past long weekend. Nick goes down to Blantyre (the industrial capital of Malawi, in the South) once a quarter to provide services for American citizens living there. Nia and I decided that it’d be fun to tag along and see more of the country. We...
It was a big week at the Novak house. Last Tuesday the truck pulled up containing all our Household Effects and Consumables that were shipped by boat. All in all, somewhere around 10,000 lbs. As seems to be the trend in Malawi, the shipment was vastly ahead of schedule (by about 40 days)...
Today we ventured out to Kumbali Cultural Center for breakfast. It’s a hot spot with the expat crowd, as they have a market, decent food and live music. This was yet another one of those classic expat events where everyone seems to know each other. I’m pleased to report that...
Nesting has officially begun at the Novak household. I got the itch this week, probably because we received confirmation that our stuff is arriving Tuesday. And by stuff I mean, all 10,000 lbs of household effects and consumables! In case you weren’t counting, that’s 40 days...
African posts, while often characterized by the hardships encountered there, come with a surprising ton of perks. These perks (along with the natural warmth of the people) are so enticing that they encourage many a person to serve out the remainder of their tours in Africa. These people...
Meet Grace Banda. Grace is a ridiculously talented massage therapist who provides in-home massage in Lilongwe. I estimate that I’ve had around 250 massages in the last seven years, so I consider myself a pretty discerning consumer. This is good and bad. Good because I appreciate...
It’s a big week here at Casa de Novak. Not only does our new nanny Esther start tomorrow, but Scholasticah and her two daughters moved into the quarters on our property, where they’ll be living for the next two years. Please allow me to introduce them to you. The nine-year-old...
This past weekend was pretty much nonstop social engagements. We started the weekend with an Embassy-wide party at a mission member’s home. The party started around sundown (around 5:30) and invitees were asked to bring wine or a dish to pass. The Marines were also grilling hot dogs...