Independence day 2x

Greetings from Malawi, and happy independence day USA and Malawi as well. It is an exciting week to be an American, especially one in a country where they are celebrating the same joy and happiness. Malawian independence day is July 6, and of course America's being July 4th not much work is getting done here. Malawians will be taking a long weekend to enjoy themselves and as volunteers from America, one would think we would be as well. Peace corps has three goals- 1) helping peoples of interested countries 2) helping Americans learn about other cultures 3) helping other cultures learn about American culture. In a week where it is traditional that all Americans celebrate, one would think this would be a good time to practice goals 2 and 3, however peace corps Malawi has a different perspective. For the last week volunteers have been getting threatening emails and texts about not leaving their sites to celebrate. Texts insinuating that volunteers will be sent back to America of caught out of site, and emails suggesting that volunteers take vacation days to celebrate the weekend. (even though we are expected to be working mon-fri). My plans for visiting the lake for the first time and celebrating WITH Americans on our American holiday have been severely dented. I am at a loss as to what my new travel plans will be, and extremely disappointed with peace corps Malawi's new policy. I hope all people celebrating in the US are having a wonderful time, celebrate extra hard for me, take in the fireworks, good friends, and have an extra beer for me.