My Malawian Birthday Party

Most excitingly, my birthday is on 7 July. Ever since we came home from Malawi in 2007, I’ve dreamt of having at least one more birthday in Malawi. Well, I got my wish (and prayers) answered. When we were here before, my family and I had grown too really like an Indian type of food called a somusa. At every big event that we had here we would always buy a lot of somusas and minerals (pop). On the morning of my birthday, Jared my older called from America to wish me Happy Birthday. It was really nice of him to call considering that calls from any where out of the country was expensive. While I was talking to Jared, my dad slipped a small box into my cup. When I sat down and noticed the mysterious little box, my brothers went crazy. What had once been a civil “opening of a gift” routine, turned into a bedlam of boys yelling, “Don’t open it yet!” “Let me get my camera!!!” “Argh!!! My camera is dead! Don’t open the box yet!” and “OK, wait…..Alright, go ahead…..” J So now, I had 4 cameras all taking pictures of me opening a small gift box. And they all had the flash on!! My mom told me if I ever became a movie star, the publicity wouldn’t be bad at all, I’d be quite at home.

            My birthday party was to be held at 3 o’clock that afternoon. Along with the ever delightful somusas and minerals, oh yeah, and cake. ( no ice cream because the ice cream here gives one serious indigestion, my dad would more than likely go into more humorous details, but I’ll just say that) Quite a lot of nannies came to my party, along with the watchmen, security guy and the gardener. They sang some really nice songs with the traditional dances which is a treat for the mazungus (white people).  After 2 songs they called a halt to have cake, minerals and somusas. Then, we had them sing another song for us. Jennifer, the cook on duty that day led the singing and dancing. She was really energetic and that influenced the others to be enthusiastic in their singing and dancing. To clarify “dancing” their type of dancing isn’t guy and girl together, but just doing a jig but everyone doing just a slightly different thing but all keeping the same rhythm and beat to an invisible drum that it seems only they can hear. It is amazing how God gave the African people a sense of rhythm. My mom and I figured out that the reason not very many people these days can’t do without the additional drums or instruments when singing is that it has basically been bred out of us with always having accompaniment for every little thing. While the Africans have not had the comfort of our cushioned lives so have learned to have their own rhythm. This in my opinion is the best music out there.

            My brother, Andrew is hinting to me that I should get back to the topic of my partyJ I got 2 gifts from some nannies at the nursery. To me, they might have been a gift of a million dollars, to know that these women cared enough to purchase the chitangis (cloth that the women wrap around their skirts); headbands and set of earrings were the best gifts I could have asked for. God is so incredible! The sets of chitangis I received from 2 different people were of the same material!! Veronica and Joyce got me a chitangi at a different time, not even knowing that Grace was even getting me anything. And Grace didn’t know that Veronica and Joyce were getting that color of chitangi. I still can’t believe it. I know there is some reason for that. Out of the whole Tyifa Market, I got the exact same chitangis. God is so wonderful.   

             Sarah Langdon