The other day I set the boy that lives with me, Moses, up with a gmail account. This is a guy that has lived his entire life in a village with no electricity, running water or even newspapers. Suffice it to say that computers, not to mention the Internet, baffle him. He's real excited about this, and he's certainly at the steep end of the learning curve trying to figure out the basics of using a computer. Most five year-olds in the States are significantly more fluent in the world of computers and technology than he is at 18 years old. He just hasn't been exposed to this stuff, and in this way, he represents a surprising number of people here. I hate to be so pessimistic all the time, but I don't see how places like this in the world, places where a majority of the population has little to no idea what the Internet is, will ever catch on with the current, rapid rate at which technology is evolving. Anyways, send the kid an email at mosessamalani@gmail.com. He will be elated to write back and forth with you as he tries to figure out how to use a computer. I'm too lazy to actually sit down and teach him this stuff (how to right click, how to capitalize letters, how to open Word, etc.). I also just don't have the patience. Instead, I'm going to give him little tasks to do, like sending an email to so and so, where I'll just help him out if he has a question and he can more or less figure out how to work a MacBook on his own (I feel kind of bad that he's learning on a MacBook because they're almost non-existent here, and he'll probably never see one again; instead he'll just be confused again once he starts using another operating system.)
Some of you may have heard about the demonstrations and riots we had here last week. I'll downplay what happened (this is what most people here, especially the government and Peace Corps, have been doing). Check out this article for a decent summary of what happened: DPP Woyeaaaa. Everything's calm now. People are just talking a lot. The general public, at least the general public that I'm exposed to here in Mitundu and wherever else I find myself these days, is openly upset with what is happening here politically. The President and his crew feel threatened by this overwhelming displeasure with them. There is tension in the air, but nothing should happen again until August 17th when another demonstration is planned. I've been asking a lot of Malawians what they think will happen on this day, and I've been getting a variety of non-committal answers, but everyone talks about this with nervous energy. Don't worry about me. If there are any problems and violence it won't be direct at people like me (e.g. American volunteers that have been around for a while). More importantly, our Peace Corps office here is keeping a close eye on things, and they're doing a good job of keeping us updated.
I submitted my primary application for medical school today. I applied to ten schools: U of M-Twin Cities, U of M-Duluth, U of W- Madison, U of Michigan, Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Loyola University in Chicago, Rosalind Franklin in Chicago, Rush Medical College in Chicago, Creighton University in Omaha, and University of Saint Louis. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean I can now sit back and relax. I'm not even half way through the application process yet. Most of these schools will be sending me secondary application in the next few weeks. These secondary applications can be a lot of work (essays and such) depending on the school. Hopefully, I'll get a handful of interview invites after that, and then I'll be interviewing in January and February. This is my plan. As you can see it's a very general plan. I've been making less detailed plans lately, giving myself more wiggle room. Perhaps this is because I have been living where very few things go as planned for the last three years.
"We come unbidden into this life, and if we are lucky we find a purpose beyond starvation, misery, and early death which, lest we forget, is the common lot." Abraham Verghese
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