There is a mountain I like to climb when I want to have some privacy to sit and look at the beauty of the creation around me and contemplate life. I can see it from my house and it only takes about 30 minutes to walk there and climb to the top, so it is the perfect retreat. I used to visit it a lot when I was first getting adjusted to village life and needed to seek privacy. Now it serves more of a place for me to bring visitors to as it provides an exquisite, expansive view of the surrounding landscape. I don’t go there out of necessity anymore, but rather to just enjoy the splendor of my little piece of Africa. Its more of a glorified rock pile than a mountain, but the word “phiri” means hill or mountain in chewa. It is named Chamadzi, meaning big water, and it looks over my village Kumadzi, meaning on water.

The women in my family always tease me for my love of climbing as well as all my volunteer visitors who also jump at the opportunity to accompany me. I think they are convinced that all Americans love exploring and climbing. I tried explaining to them that it’s not the case, its just that Peace Corps Volunteers, in some regards, are cut from the same cloth – the nature of our work requires a certain sense of adventure. During one of these conversations I inquired if any of them had ever been up to Chamadzi (or any of our area mountains.) I correctly assumed that they had not. It is common for boys and men to climb these hills, but women rarely take the time or interest. I offered to bring them a while ago and they laughed at me, assuming I was just making a joke, but I could tell a few of them were interested in what it is that brings me back so frequently.

It hasn’t rained in over two weeks now, which is very peculiar for February, one of the rainiest months of the year. When I was doing wash on Monday morning I called one of the women over and suggested we go to Chamadzi since there has been no rain and I know the women aren’t busy most afternoons. She eagerly accepted my invitation and promised to tell the other women. Shortly after I came back from school the same day she came to my house and said she had organized a group of them & asked if they could borrow shorts.

Within a few minutes I was walking across the fields leading 5 women who had ditched their children, (leaving them with 2 women who remained at home and the older children) one stubborn iwe (Josephine, my favorite,) and one of the family dogs trailing behind me. Their girlish banter was exhilarating. We stopped at the base so they could put on the shorts – I have to say this was the most hilarious aspect of the whole experience for me. Thighs are considered very private in most african cultures, so to see a woman in anything other than skirts and chitenge material is rare. They were excited to be free of the men and to be wearing my shorts & leggings.

Climbing only took a matter of minutes, but to get to the top you have to go through a small tunnel of grass, rocks, and dense trees. I had to convince two of them they could manage & that I was at the top already. Grudgingly, they obliged, and the look on each of their faces as they reached the top was priceless. I should mention that one of these women is 7 months pregnant and another gave birth to twins a month ago – african women are seriously rockstars!

I had brought lollipops and some bottles of water as a reward, so we just rested on top of the mountain for a while chatting and taking in the landscape. Something that surprised me was that once we were at the top, they didn’t really care to go to the other side to look at the village, what they could see of it from the side was enough. They thought it was cool that we could see the district boma (town) and the clinic & various other areas where schools were. Mostly I think they enjoyed the peace and quiet and the pleasure of each others company in such a beautiful place. Their fascination with how small animals, vehicles, and trees were as well as the layout of the fields was really fun for me to observe.

As we climbed back down they were exclaiming over how simple it was for them to climb. I was not expecting them to suggest that they would come back on their own, but it seems that they might. I think it was not only a retreat, but also empowering for them. Now that they know how to get to the top they were talking about coming to chat and dance and just get away from the village every now and then. On the way home they collected firewood which made the trip worthwhile for more than one reason. I of course took photos of this adventure and plan to post them next week. It was an exhilarating cultural exchange, one I will not soon forget.

If for any reason you plan to send me any more letters, I would advise that you post them by March 1st. I don’t know the exact date I will be leaving my village yet, but it will likely be the first week of April so I won’t be receiving them for a while if you send them any later than the beginning of March. Thanks for all the mail love I have received over the course of my service, it brings joy to my life!