We all woke up feeling fresh after having an extra hour in bed. We had mass at eight in the morning which compared to the usual time of six was a treat. Everyone was really upset knowing it was one of our last Mass. The songs were really moving and everyone was sad, as we all grew really close with the boys, then we had a quick breakfast and the boys were all given traditional blue Malawian shirts and then we all were allowed to hop on the back of father Edmond’s truck and go to another Mass that was in the village. Sitting on the back of the truck was so fun and we sang all the Scottish and Malawian songs we had grown to love so much throughout our time in Malawi. When we all arrived at the Mass we sat at the front and the Mass began. The Mass was in Chitumbuka so none of us understood what was being said but we enjoyed it none the less. Everyone in the Mass was so welcoming and was so quick to stop and talk to us all and desperate to get to know about us. After the Mass had ended we went and had lunch with the priests.

We went back onto the truck and arrived at a traditional village in Rhumpi. In this village we were shown a very welcoming entrance with lots of cultural dancing. The houses were similar to mud huts, they were very different from ours, but kept the heat out well, the people who owned the mud huts had animals outside such as chickens, pigs and dogs with small cute pups running around the paths. We took time to reflect on the way that other people live because the conditions contrasted with ours a lot, with large smiles on their faces and a welcoming, friendly spirit while lacking necessities we take for granted, such as fully built walls in our houses. After we had been shown the houses we threw sweets off the truck for the children as we left, however they raided the truck and climbed up trying to take Olives sweets away, which we found quite jarring but laughed about after.

We rushed back to the house and were greeted with a party of people to celebrate our time in Malawi. We were served food which we rapidly ate in order to spend more time with our new friends. Lots of tears were shed as we danced and sang with the boys, giving out contact details and the girls giving out heartfelt letters with friendship bracelets. We did this in hope that we would meet again as we all sat down chatting reminiscing about all the new bonds and memories created at St. Patrick’s Seminar.

By Ben Sheridan

Hi all

Sorry no blog tonight. I wanted the kids to enjoy their only night at the lake and not spend it slaving over a laptop. Normal business will resume tomorrow as we continue our adventure.

Monire Mose,

We started the day by waking up at 5:10am to get ready for Mass. Mass today started at 6:30am, which is 30 minutes than usual. Afterwards, we returned home for breakfast which we had at 7:00am. After enjoying the delicious breakfast we got ready to leave the house to go to St.Patrick’s with all the gifts, toys and clothes that we had packed the day before for every boy at the school. Each year group at St.Patrick’s received gifts. Year 1 was given stationary items such as a pens, pencils, sweets and colouring pencils. Year 3 received the same items as year 1 and was also given a pre-loved football tops, which have been kindly gifted from the community of St Benedict’s. Year 4 received stationary items and brand new Celtic shirts, which have also been donated by Chantelle.

After St.Patrick’s received all of the gifts, the boys at the school were excited to play sports and games with all their new equipment. After playing many sports such as basketball, football, tennis and volleyball we returned back home to get ready to go out for lunch. As we were walking into town many children were waving to us and following us while walking down to the restaurant. When we arrived to the restaurant we all ordered drinks and food. The food took a long time to arrive at the table because the city had a power shutdown causing the food to be delayed. After eating all the food which was amazing we headed back to the house. Everyone was too excited to return back to the house to meet the boys from St. Patrick’s. Afterwards we then made our way to St. Magdalena’s to have a small party. We brought many snacks and drinks to give to all of the pupils which they loved. We ended the party by showing some of the songs and dances we know like the Macarena . All of the children loved it and even joined in to dance. We then returned back to St. Patrick’s for a short evening prayer before heading home to have supper.

The boys then kindly invited us to show their cultural dances and songs which was very interesting. We have all learned new dances. One of the main dances was called Zangbeto which mainly is a creature dancing with people around it dressed up with masks. We then ended the party by playing board games in the classroom such as checkers.

By Marley Biernacki

Monire mose.

We woke up at 04:50 to get ready and make our way to mass for 06:00. Afterwards we came back to the house for chips and 4 cups of Mzuzu coffee for breakfast. We then geared up in Scottish themed clothing including hats and flags to go around classes in St. Patrick’s and teach them some Scottish songs and dances. We taught them things such as the Gay Gordons, the Military Two Step, Auld Lang Syne, 500 Miles, and the Flower of Scotland. During a couple of songs Marley and I played African drums along to the tune which led to the boys being interested in my drumsticks as they traditionally play with their hands. This led to me teaching them how to play drums with drumsticks and in return they tried to teach me how to play them traditionally with my hands which went not too bad.

Everyone then regrouped at the house and we set off to the primary school with different toys and games to lead a sports day for the children. Me and Olive took turns throwing a frisbee for the children to chase leading to them piling on each other to try and get the frisbee. Emily and Marley were using a toy bowling set with the children but they got out of hand and started pulling at their hair and pockets causing us to end the sports day earlier than we planned so we headed back to the house for lunch. Afterwards we headed to St. Magdalena’s school for disability to play games with the children. When we arrived the children were singing a lovely song titled “Disability is not inability”. I started off playing a velcro darts game with many of the kids which was great fun and after a while I switched to playing scatch with two of the other kids. Shortly after they sang their song for us once more and we went back home to prepare gifts to give to the boys the next day. Me, Marley and Ben were making bags with items such as pens for Form one while the others sorted out gifts for the other forms. After making the bags I sorted out West Bromich Albion football strips gifted by my dad and brother for the Form threes. We then had some free time which we spent with the boys until evening prayer and then supper.

At supper we were surprised with pizza gifted by the sisters which was a nice change. After dinner we went down to a hall in St. Patrick’s where we taught the boys some dances such as Cotton Eye Joe and The Macarena while they taught us some dances as well. We done this until 21:15 when we were all shattered and headed back to house to chill for a little before bed.

By Kieran Gaffney

We started our day bright and early at quarter to five, but not really because it was still dark outside. After we got ready, the boys picked us up for morning prayer, which lasted around ten minutes. after we had breakfast with the boys, it was porridge. Their porridge was different from ours as it wasn’t made of oats and instead of maize, but it was actually really nice.

Then we went to class. Geography was first and we were actually learning the exact same thing as we did back home. I had never really understood oceanic circulation, but then one of the boys, Joseph, managed to explain it to me within ten minutes.

We also had biology, and then agriculture. Agriculture was interesting as we don’t get this subject in Scotland. In agriculture we talked about internal and external parasites that can be found in animals. We then had lunch, which was pork and nsima. I liked it so much I basically finished my whole plate.

One of the classes I enjoyed was English. First we practised letter writing and then we analysed characters in Macbeth, such as the Doctor and the Gentlewoman. One of the boys I am friends with, Benedicto, kept helping me as I didn’t know much. After we had Chichewa class, which I probably liked the most. Benedicto taught me many phrases in the language, and we kept laughing over how the way I pronounced them.

After classes, we went out to play sports. Fallon played football with the boys and they are so skilful with the ball. I was a little intimidated so I just decided to play frisbee with the others instead.

Later, we had evening Mass. The boys are really good singers and even dance in the pews during hymns. We had dinner afterwards, but by far the best part of the day was doing study periods. Even though we were supposed to be studying, we spent the whole night singing, dancing, playing games and having fun.

By the end of the day we were exhausted, so we quickly showered, chatted for a while and went to bed.

By Erin McFadden

Monire mose, today was our first full day and we all loved every second of it! We woke up very early to the school boys singing songs which we found really cool. Our first activity was getting a tour of St Patricks school in which we were welcomed by the boys singing a song to weocome us to the school. We then met all the boys, got a buddy, many new friends, and our buddy showed us the school while telling us all about it. The school is so different to St Benedicts but it was super interesting to see how different their curricular is to ours back in Scotland. Our second adventure was visiting the primary school RU2. This was 100% the highlight of the day as we were so welcomed by all the children and they ran up to us like we were celebrities shouting “Masungu!” which means “White people!” They then all swarmed us, asking for high fives and hugs which we all loved and had so much fun laughing with them. This made us super excited for when we return on Friday. After this we visited St Magdalena’s which is a much smaller school for children with disabilities. This was a very wholesome activity as we were able to bond and talk to even more people. They sang us one of their songs and we were able to give them some sweets and balloons.

The travel days were long as we had to get three planes and a very long eight hour car journey to get to St Patrick’s. The travel consisted of going from Glasgow to London then to Ethiopia and then to Lilongwe and then a car journey to the school. On the way to Rumphi the scenes were amazing and the amazing sunset made it so beautiful. We see how the people in Africa live and saw many goats and chickens on the roads. We stopped at Kasungu for a quick drink and break and got back on to the roads as it was getting late and the sun had set. We were all snuggled up in the back of the cars trying to get some sleep. As we came closer to arriving everyone became so excited as it was now worth the travel and the stoppages.

When we arrived at st Patrick’s we had such a warm welcome with everyone being so kind and helping us with our cases and introducing us to the area. We were served a lovely meal and were sitting having a good chat. At that point it was around 11:30 pm and we were all so tired from travelling as it was so far. The hospitality has been so good and our bedroom has been well prepared before our arrival.

We all tried a cherry plum soda and it was very yummy. It was nothing like we have in Scotland so I liked it as it as a bit different. We found out great facts from Father Edmond and at some point of the drive we were on the border between Malawi and Zambia as they lay on different sides on the road. Also during the car ride I saw many people walking and cycling on the edge of the road and we also saw people selling mice which i would turn down if offered.

We then came across a huge lorry on its side as it was in a car crash and we had to dodge it as we went by. The food being served so us is very nice with some of the traditional Malawian meals and then also some Scottish staples like chips and sausages but there is also rice porridge and nsima. We have been served dinner and breakfast where they have prepared so much to ensure we have plenty of choice.

The travel days were rough but as we done it all together it brought us closer for the week ahead. We are so happy to be having this opportunity and we are so grateful for the service provided for us.

By

Fallon McElhinney

All the final preparations are underway to get ready for our epic adventure which begins on 8th June.

Good luck to Ben, Chantelle, Emily, Erin, Fallon, Kieran, Lilian, Marley & Olive! Also to the staff Miss McFadden, Ms MacNeil & Fr Andrew.

Please check in each day of the trip to learn about our adventures.