After a lunch back at the Bandas and a bit of relaxing during the midday heat, students ventured off to their own desires. One group took a walk down into the village center, where they had some interesting encounters with locals and where they purchased some sugarcane for us all to try. Another group decided to head off for a hike up Nyanje Hill, the remarkable bald mountain that rose directly behind Mama Banda’s compound. Their climb was often a true bushwack, and they were accompanied by the growing throng of “Muzungu” (an African term for “white person”) groupies. Baboons and birds along the way were great, but the view from the top was spectactular. One last group stuck around the Banda compound and tried to help the Banda women with their usual daily chores and their usual daily cooking. Above all else, I think those who stuck around the compound were only further impressed with this remarkable group of Banda women who held their clan together, despite what might seem like trying circumstances.
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