Hello, my friends! It’s Friday! I’ve basically been stockpiling links to share with you all week, so get ready!

First I wanted to share a This American Life story with you that I thought was very powerful and thought provoking. Be sure to listen to The Problem We All Live With. There are two parts to the story. Click here for Part One. Click here for Part Two. The reporting is about integration in public schools and, well, it’s just really well done. Plus, it made me cry a couple times. So, if you’re easily moved to tears, listen with a box of Kleenex.

A group of powerful women we met in Malawi who are members of a Village Savings and Loan

Remember how I went to Malawi with ONE and Heifer International? You must since I talk about it pretty much every other breath. This week I read two articles that were fascinating and tied right in with my trip, so I wanted to share them with you.

• From Fast Company: In Africa, Chinese Developers are Building a Mini China. One of the most surprising and striking takeaways from my trip to Malawi was the Chinese presence in that country. I haven’t written about it yet because, honestly, it’s a huge topic and I don’t know where to begin. I am currently reading a book about the phenomenon, and trying to figure out the best way to write about the issue. Until then, this Fast Company article gives you a little taste for what’s happening in Africa with the Chinese. I think the lens through which the issue is viewed in this Fast Company article is a little more rose-colored than what we learned while in Malawi, but the article does give a good introduction to the types of things happening on the African continent. I do plan to write about it myself at some point, if I can ever wrap my brain around it all, that is.
• From Melinda Gates for Marie Claire: Melinda Gates Reports from Malawi, Where Feminism is Making Surprising Strides. This article is awesome and uplifting and does reflect our experience in Malawi well. The women in Malawi are so impressive. I have yet to write about the Village Savings and Loan groups we learned about (post to come, promise!), but it was a beautiful example of women making great strides in Malawi. Interestingly, when Ellen McGirt from our group asked Mr. Mtika, one of the Heifer farmers we visited, what the hardest Heifer intervention was to implement, he immediately responded with “family and gender roles.” We admired his humility in that response, especially since you could see that he and his wife have a wonderful partnership. ANYWAY, this was a great article. Plus, Melinda Gates is awesome. The end.

Would you like me to share some food with you? Because I can do that, too. Here we go!

• 15 Creative and Irresistible Kahlua Dessert Recipes
• 18 Creatively Irresistible Margaritas
• And, yes, I am aware that I basically gave those two articles the same title, although I wasn’t aware until right this moment typing them into this post! I think it’s time I get a thesaurus.

With that, I do believe I’ve given you enough reading, listening and cooking material to last you not only through the weekend but probably through the whole week!

Please let us know what you’ve been up to in the comments! Share links that you found interesting/funny/informative/whatever, share your own blog posts, or just share something fun that happened to you this week. It’s all fair game for Show and Tell!