Recovered, finally

My friend here in Malawi, Heather, reminds me that I don't post very often!  This is my attempt at keeping the blog more up-to-date.  It has only been a week since I last posted!  This past week has been a bit bad, since I came down with malaria.  Apparently I had it since last Thursday, but when I tested on Friday it came out negative.  I proceeded to lay in bed for the next four days and finally decided to get another test.  The Country Director of JRS Malawi, Sister Michelle, kindly drove me to the hospital on the day after Easter, and I was tested again for malaria, with a positive result this time.  

My experience at the hospital was interesting.  It is the public hospital in Lilongwe, and apparently quite cheap.  I did not have to pay for my test or the medication that they provided me with.  They have an outdoor waiting area with little doors for various ailments and tests.  I went to the "pediatric malaria test" area (I can only assume it was pediatric because the children are the ones that fall ill with malaria the most often), had my finger pricked, and then waited once again, outside.  Then I was sent to the pharmacy window where I proceeded to ask the man what the side effects of my medication would be, and he told me, "there are many, a whole range" and refused to expand on his response!  Meanwhile, the woman waiting behind me in line is saying "too long!" and "just eat more nsima". 

Once I started taking the medicine I seemed to be on the mend.  I did not work much this week, although I did visit a new client in Malawian prison.  The prison was not what I had expected at all.  It is basically a giant field enclosed by two layers of fencing and barbed wire.  Inside the fence, there are small bunkers, presumably where the prisoners sleep, and open areas where men were playing soccer and chatting with one another.  I did not see any bars, there were no watch towers; I'm not even sure the guards had guns!  The prisoners also did not even give me a second look, which I was surprised by since I'm both a woman and white.  They were more interested in keeping an eye out for visitors whom they actually knew.  

Today I went with Lindsay and my coworkers Ann and Nyssa to the spa!  Really, it is a hair salon, but it is the closest thing to a spa in Malawi.  I had an hour long massage for approximately $15, and then I got a manicure for about the same amount.  I was pleased with both of these services.  The woman who did my massage also did my nails (she's a woman of many talents) and we chatted about the ridiculousness of the Easter bunny.  She says that in Malawi Easter is seen as a very religious holiday; a day for prayers and seeing your family.  They do not even eat an Easter dinner.

After I went for the massage, Lindsay and I went to my co-worker's house for lunch.  He kindly invited me over to meet his family and see where he lives, so I accepted.  We had a nice time eating nsima and taking pictures of his daughter, Lucia.  I've added some of the pictures.  There is one of me stirring the nsima pot (that takes muscles!) and one of Lucia outside her home.  I also got a video of her dancing, but I think that will take too long to load on my slow connection.  She really loved to dance and sing.  I think she takes after her father, who is a musician, in addition to his many other talents.   I also added a picture of Heather and her boyfriend Alexio.  He has been evacuated from Zimbabwe, where he lives and works for the Clinton Foundation, in anticipation of the elections there this weekend.

Greetings

Tis Easter weekend, and it is quite a to-do around here. Malawi is a very Christian country, and I have four days off for Easter!  Alas, I fell ill on Thursday evening and have been stuck in bed for most of the weekend, even missing my planned beach + safari trip.  sad.  I suppose it affords me some much needed time alone.  Plus, on Friday I was able to see a parade of about 500 Christians celebrating Good Friday.  I did not have my camera, so I was unable to take pictures, but it was quite a sight. 

When Penny, the coordinator of my program came to visit me and Lindsay in February, she mentioned how important greetings are here in Malawi  I have given that a lot of thought lately. Here, when I am walking down the street, many people say hello to me; "Good afternoon, Madame, "How are you, sister?".  I felt put off by all this attention at first.  Is everyone saying hello to me just because I am White?  Next are they going to ask me for money?  Sometimes that is the case, but that is a very jaded view.  In fact, greetings are incredibly important and in that way, Malawi holds up to its reputation as "The Warm Heart of Africa".  It is considered rude to not greet people, even if you don't know them at all.  And interestingly, in Chechwa, one of the primary Malawian languages, the word "hello" does not exist.  People greet one another with a term that means "how are you?".  So here, every greeting includes, "hello, how are you?",  and "fine, how are you?" and sometimes, "fine, how are you", "fine, and you?"  It goes around and around in a way that feels ridiculous to me but is perfectly expected and normal in Malawi.  Maybe when I go home I will be saying hello to everyone walking past me!

Right now the sun is setting in a very pleasing pink and purple way.  The sunsets here can be very beautiful, especially after it has rained in the afternoon and the clouds are clearing out.  The cornecopia of dogs are beginning their nightly barking.  I swear the entire neighborhood of dogs howls in unison at least five times a night!  Sometimes I wake up and sometimes I don't, but it is hard to drown it out when one's windows literally do not close, since the weather here is temperate almost year round.  It is a bit of a paradise I guess, when you get past the poverty. 

More Safari Pictures!

Safari pictures!

Safari!

I finally made it on a safari and then finally made it back to my blog!   This past Monday was a national holiday in Malawi, so I took the opportunity to go with some friends to the southern part of the country.  We stayed at a lodge/safari place in Liwonde National Park.  Malawi is not known for its animals (which is why, I would imagine, my "safari weekend" only cost about $150), but we did have an amazing experience.  I went on a canoe safari along the Shire River and got mighty close to some swimming hippos.  Did you know they are responsible for the most animal-related deaths in Africa?  Apparently they cannot see very well, so when the get spooked, they just charge.  After the canoe ride, we went on a sunset drive through the park, hoping to catch a glimpse of some elephants.  No such luck, although we did run across some elephant dung, along with water buck, warthog, and antelope-like creatures.  I took a lot of pictures and will try to post a few.  I also have some pictures of an 800 year old baobab tree. 

I've been trying to log in my head all of the things I enjoy or find interesting about Malawi that I did not expect.  One thing is the praying...there's a lot of praying going on here, even in secular settings, like work.  I thought this might bother me a bit, since I do not often pray, but I actually really enjoy all of the praying!  We pray before the support groups start, before JRS meetings start, sometimes before my individual meetings with clients.  I find the praying a very inspiring and intimate way to connect to my coworkers and clients.  It is a nice break from the usual.  Plus, most of the time everyone prays in their first language, and I don't understand what is being said at all.  This seems to make the experience all the more meaningful for me. Perhaps part of the reason I enjoy it so much is that no one ever asks me to pray along with them!

Another random fact about Malawi is that all the dogs look the same!  They are all medium-sized, tan, with a sharpish snout and pointy ears.  They are all mutts but I don't know how they all ended up looking the same.  Must be that famous Malawian Tan Dog.

Today was the first meeting of the children's trauma support group that I helped to initiate in the camp.  I asked the children to draw their families and then talk about what they drew, as a way to get to know each other.  It was the first time here that I have experienced serious frustration around the fact that we do not speak the same language.  I wanted to ask them what they were drawing and why they drew each thing the way they did and what they think about their family members.  But I had to speak through the interpreter and while I still felt we connected, it was not in the way that I hoped.  

The rainy season seems to have abated a bit, and the weather here has been quite nice; temperate and sunny.  It is nearing the time of the maize harvest and all of the corn is getting very tall.  There was one place along my run each morning that I used to have a beautiful view down into the valley and across into the mountains.  But now my view is totally obstructed by maize.  The other major crop that is about to be harvested is tobacco.  Along the drive to the camp we are able to see many houses that have their tobacco leaves hung and drying in the sun. Soon the entire country will go to auction the tobacco harvest for this year, and it will all be sold within a few days.  Major international tobacco companies will buy from this auction.  It is interesting that tobacco is such a big crop here, considering how few Malawians smoke.