Farewells

It wasn't planned as a surprise, but it nearly was. Last Wednesday, someone asked Chet if he "would be there at half eleven." He replied that he would be teaching then. About the same time someone else asked me if we had received a letter inviting usto a farewell celebration. We had not.

In fact, everybody else knew about it and some were taking pains not to mention it to us. It was fortunate that neither Chet nor I had made other plans The starting time was adjusted to accommodate his last class at the trade school.

The staffs of the trade school and the nursery had planned a big luncheon in our honor. It was held in the transformed "Paw-Paw" classroom. All the little shelves and tables were replaced with grownup chairs and beautifully decorated tables. We were served a typical Malawian luncheon of rice and chicken, boiled Irish potatoes and, in deference to western tastes, a tomato and cabbage salad. Later, during the entertainment, we were offered bottles of Fanta or Coke and fried doughnuts, mandazi, as snacks.

After lunch the administrator of the trade school made a speech and then Mr. Chet and Mrs. Ann were called upon to make remarks. I was glad to have the opportunity to publicly thank so many people who have been kind to us and become our friends. We were presented with gifts, a carved "amayi" for me. She is a woman carrying a baby on her back and a load of firewood on her head. Chet's is a carving of a man, minus the firewood. Two trade school student choirs sang and nursery children did a charming little skit. The the music was turned up and everyone danced. It was a wonderful sendoff!