Africa makes me happy.

For people who haven’t been there, it may seem strange to say that. In the US, a lot of what we hear and see and think about Africa has to do with poverty and suffering and disease and death. And it’s true, those things are all a part of life in Africa. But many of the happiest people I’ve met are Africans, and Malawi might have been the most joyful African country I’ve visited. Life is simpler there. You have to learn to be content with less, but you have less to worry about as a result. So I dedicate this blog post to competing with every photograph you’ve ever seen of miserable malnourished kids with flies in their eyes. See a different side of Africa. See people’s joy!

Wow. I’m back from Malawi… what a stunning country! But most of you don’t follow this blog to read my comments, so let me show you what I mean…

Lake Malawi:

“Fishers of Men”

Yes, he is milking a cow into a Coke bottle, on the beach. Strange? Have you considered where your milk comes from?

Mending his nets before going out for the night:

On the beach, you can also buy usipa, these tiny sun-dried fish.

Usipa can be eaten dry, or reconstituted as part of a bigger meal:

Malawi’s most popular fish is chombo. It’s delicious.

The chief of the village of Gulule and his wife, in front of their home:

Like many tribal Africans, this grandmother shows facial scars she was given as a girl:

The children of Gulule are fortunate to have two wells for clean water, which were put in by either the government or some relief organization, and dramatically helps the health of the village.

Want more Malawi photos? I’ll post some in the next few days, or you can see the whole gallery!

Washington DC can be very drab in the winter.

I spent a few days there before heading to Malawi, and the first few hours out in the cold and sleet left me feeling very depressed. An idea started forming in my mind. I called it “Ichabod” (the glory has departed): lifeless monuments, bleak landscapes, and an overall feeling of a city that has grown hollow with bureaucracy, crime, and corruption…

But then the rain got so bad I hid out in the National Conservancy. And as the rain poured down on the skylights, I wandered through forests, deserts, and jungles. And slowly, my perspective changed for the rest of my time there. The glory hadn’t left Washington. It just doesn’t dwell in halls and rotundas, bills and legislations, people and their promises.

As I learned, Washington DC can be very beautiful in the winter.

Want to see more Washington? Check out the complete gallery here.