There's never a right time to say goodbye

November 5, 2009

I have 8 days left in Malawi before I leave the country. 8. I never thought that I would be so sad to be leaving- especially with the homesickness and loneliness that I felt in the beginning. But now, I feel like I have a community. I have Jamira and Maxwell and Tasha and Vanessa in Mangochi who have become my family here in Malawi. They are so supportive and I attribute a lack of tourist- type travel to the love that I feel when I visit with them. I have the friendly faces on my way to work in the morning- the people who greet me every day although we do not even know eachother’s names. I have the cleaning ladies at Kabula lodge. These women work so so hard every day to keep the place clean and moving and get too little respect from tenants. I know each of them and often cook a little extra just so that I can share. I have the cleaning ladies at work who speak no English and communicate with me solely in my extremely limited Chichewa. Our smiles go a long way. I have the Chichiri Cultural Troupe, a group that I sometimes dance with. My attendance has been sparse but they always go out of their way to make me feel welcome. I have the guards at work- friendly men who greet me daily and try to help me improve my language skills. I have the guards in Mangochi, who I have not seen in some time but who always light up when I come into town.

And then there are my azungu friends as well. There is Jodi, who I traveled with in Tanzania and Craig, the Australian medical student that I live with at Kabula. Many other friends have already left but I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of them. Kay and Vince are an older American couple who have taken me in and helped me get to know the town. They have also introduced me to others and really helped me to adjust. At the end of the day, I know that it is a huge success to feel so connected and so happy in Malawi. But at the same time, it makes leaving that much harder and sadder. Saying goodbye is not my forte- especially now that I know how hard it often is to return to a place that you love. I LOVED Ghana and still do but have only visited once since leaving. The costs of travel and the need to expand and see other places are huge barriers. In the next 8 days, I plan to visit Jamira and the family and also Jodi and our friend Nevermind in Mangochi. After that, I will come back to Blantyre and go to work and dance as much as I can with Chichiri Dance Troupe. On Friday, I leave for Uganda and have about 10 days there. But just as anxious as I am about leaving Malawi, I am that same amount of happy and excited to be coming home for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait to see my family and friends and it is a perfect time to come because I can do just that ☺

Tanzania Adventure

November 4, 2009

Tanzanian Adventures!

For the past two weeks, my friend Jodi and I have been traveling around in Tanzania. It has been fun and amazing and also exhausting! We left after the Lake of Stars festival and took a 40-hour bus ride from Lilongwe to Dar es Salaam. It was the longest travel that I have ever endured. On the second night, we could see the lights of Dar and Jodi even woke me up to tell me that we were almost there. But then, the bus pulled into a gas station and we were informed that we would be spending the night there. The driver was afraid of bandits attacking the bus and refused to drive into the city at that hour. Jodi and I crawled back onto the bus and went to sleep. The next morning at around 3 or 4 am, we started off and finally got into Dar. Jodi and I noticed that the British boy who had also been on the bus was no longer there but that all of his bags were. We decided to take them to the British High Commission. Finally, we were able to call my friend Pam and made our way to her place. Pam is a friend from Hopkins who is doing her internship with Engender Health in Tanzania. When we got to her place, we showered and decided to head off to the beach. It was the perfect first day in town. Tanzania as a whole is amazing and very different from Malawi. People seem to be more laid back in terms of their interactions with muzungus. If you decline someone’s offer for a service or a product, they mostly just back off instead of pushing it again for a cheaper price. Really nice!

The next day, Jodi and I ran some errands while Pam worked and then the three of us set off for Zanzibar. There was a 2 hour ferry ride across the ocean to the island and we arrived just as it was getting dark. Our arrival in Zanzibar was hectic to say the least. Huge groups of men swarmed us, trying to take us to a hotel. Even the three of us, with experience in Africa and in other developing countries, felt overwhelmed. Ultimately, we escaped them and took a taxi into Stone Town and found a hotel. Once we settled in, we found a night market for dinner and then made our way to a bar for drinking and dancing. In the morning, we woke up and headed through town and into the market to find some of the famous Zanzibar spices. Unfortunately, it was pouring down rain the whole day! At around noon, we took a van to the north of the island for our beach trip. We decided to stay at Sunset Lodge in Kendwa. It was soooo gorgeous- crystal clear water, white sand, the whole works. Our hotel room, which was perfectly nice, costed about 15 dollars per person per night. Not bad at all. We spent the day on the beach reading and relaxing and then had coconut curry for dinner. That night, one of the other hotels on the beach had a party and we went out drinking and dancing.

The next morning, Pam had to leave and go back to work. I thought that I had a bad hangover all day, but it soon became apparent that I had some sort of food poisoning. I was so sick that Jodi gave me oral rehydration salts. Nevertheless, I pulled it together for long enough to get a nice hour long massage (for about 8 bucks!) We went to bed early and hoped that the next day would be better.

I still felt sick in the morning but was determined to move through it and enjoy my vacation. We ended up walking to nearby Nungwi- another area with a bunch of hotels. We went on a Dhow sunset cruise- hands down the highlight of the trip. The man who took us offered a reasonable price and was really nice and laid back. We got to jump from the top of the Dhow (which is a sailboat) into the ocean- really fun. The worst part about Zanzibar was the trip back to Dar. The waves were massive and nearly a quarter of the boat (including yours truly) got violently ill. It was pretty disgusting to say the least.

Finally, we did make it back to Dar and stayed with Pam for another two days. We went to a local market and shopped for fabric- I got SO SO much. After this, we were off to Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania, to see Jodi’s friend Paul. Paul works for Peace Corps and stays in a village about 2 hours from Dodoma. Paul met us in Dodoma and showed us around town. Although MUCH smaller that Dar, Dodoma has a lot of character and is a really nice city. Paul speaks Swahili well and it was nice to have him around to communicate with people. Whereas most Malawians can and will speak English, most Tanzanians expect you to be able to speak Swahili. I like the sentiment but it is also really hard when you are just there for 2 weeks and don’t have time to really study it.

We went to Paul’s village for the next day. I am really glad that we went- life there is so much different from life in cities. As he showed us around the village, we stopped and talked to just about everyone that we saw. Everyone was really nice but no one really spoke English. I am sure that Paul was exhausted from all of his translation. Many different ethnic groups live in Paul’s village including the Masai, a group of rather nomadic pastoralists. In the morning, we awoke to the sound of cows as they brought them to a nearby watering hole. In Paul’s village, I also became quite ill. It was a bit concerning and I plan to visit a doctor when I get home and have everything checked out. I am not the most cautious traveler and I think that months of street food and contaminated water may be taking their toll on me. Anyway, the thing that I took away from my experience with Paul is that Peace Corps can be quite tough and remote and that it can be a lonely time. But, I also know that I could do it if I decide to make it a priority. We went back to Dodoma for a night and then bought a ticket for a 6:30 am bus to Mbeya- a town near the border with Malawi.

At 6:05, we arrived at the bus station and were told that we were late. Although they had told us that the bus would leave at 6:30, it had actually left at six. After a lot of frustration and tension, we realized that the 6:00 bus had not yet left and bought a ticket for that one instead. Despite our best efforts to get our money back, we just had to take the loss. When we arrived in Mbeya that night, we tried to find a guesthouse and realized that most of them were full or out of our price range. We were ultimately led to one that costed the equivalent of $3 per person. Although I am good at toughing it out through a lot of situations, this place was too much for me. It had roaches everywhere and lacked running water and looked just plain filthy. I was nervous about bed bugs (not a fun experience) and scabies and worse. Although we had paid for the place, Jodi and I found somewhere else and stayed there instead. After a long day of travel, I needed somewhere that felt clean at least.

We bought a ticket that claimed to link Mbeya and Lilongwe because we thought that it would be easiest. But when we got to the border, the Malawian bus that was supposed to be waiting there was nowhere to be found. We had been duped. Again, we bought another ticket and went to Karonga and took a bus to Lilongwe. We stayed a night there and then I took a night bus to Blantyre. I got in at 5:30 am- totally exhausted.

This blog post really doesn’t do the trip justice- it looks like a lot of ranting. Overall, the trip was fantastic. Tanzania is somewhere that I could definitely see myself living long term. Dar es Salaam is a big, busy city but it right on the ocean and has fun things around. People are friendly and most don’t try to rip you off. It was really fun to travel with Jodi and amazing to see Pam in such a different context from usual. Her place was GORGEOUS- I mean flat screen tv, wireless internet, leather couches…the works. It was a great experience but I am also glad to be home in Blantyre.

Nkhuku, nkhuku, CHIMBUDZI!

Yesterday, we went to Mpemba to start the fieldwork for the Couples' Study that I will be assisting with. Basically, the study looks at the acceptability of both couples based HIV voluntary counseling and testing and couples based family planning counseling in a rural area of Malawi. We spent about a week training counselors and then took a week to prepare for the study. Yesterday, we went to the field. The study is extremely sensitive so it isn't possible for me to attend the counseling sessions. Instead, me and the other Centre for Reproductive Health supervisors found somewhere to wait in the village. While we were waiting, the children became increasingly curious about the lone mzungu. They slowly made their way over to us. Instead of staring at each other with curiosity, I decided to teach them duck duck goose- a game from my childhood. Instead of using these animals that they don't know and using English (a language that they don't know), I decided to switch the animals to chicken chicken goat. I know a little bit of Chichewa so I went ahead and translated them to Chichewa. While we were playing, I noticed my coworker snickering in the corner. I asked why she was laughing and she informed me that I was, in fact, playing chicken chicken TOILET with the kids. The words for a big goat and a toilet are extremely close and I had confused them! Haha at least the kids waited until I had left to make fun of me. After duck duck goose, I tried my best to teach them red light green light but stuck with the commands of "come" and "enough" instead of trying to communicate about traffic lights. They didn't quite understand the part where you send kids back if they move so it basically became a race. All of the big kids kept winning so I broke it down into two games- one for older kids and another for the little ones. The kids are really cute- I wish I had more games to teach them. Going to the field all of this week so I have plenty of time to think about it.

Liwonde National Park and Zomba Plateau

October 5, 2009


This past weekend I went to Liwonde and to Zomba. Liwonde is perhaps the most famous national park in Malawi in terms of seeing large game animals. Jodi (my former roommate from Mangochi) and I met up in Liwonde and decided to stay at the cheaper lodge, Chinguni Hills, instead of camping at the famous Mvuu Lodge. Mvuu wanted 15 dollars per person per night for bringing your OWN tent- which to us was a bit excessive. Overall, the weekend was good. We got there on Saturday morning and made some friends with two women and two children. The two friends had met when they were living in Zimbabwe and had since moved away from each other to Malawi and Guinea Bisseau. They were in the midst of a two-week reunion in Malawi. One of the women had two children by a Zimbabwean man and explained to us that she was now raising them on her own. It was clear that she loved her kids but it was also clear how much work it was to raise them as a single mom and so far away from family (she was initially from Germany). We went on a drive with them (in their car) and saw kudu, waterbuck, impala, sables, and a herd of buffalo. When we got back, Jodi and I offered to watch the kids to allow the two women to go on a canoe safari and have some adult time. The kids were cute but a bit of a handful. The next morning, we got up and went on an early game drive with staff from the lodge. We left at 6 and drove for quite a while without seeing much. Then, we came across about some elephants eating bark off of a tree. Our driver drove right over to them and we were SO CLOSE. We watched them for a while until they eventually decided that they had enough. As they paraded off, we realized how many there truly were. What had looked like four or five initially was a herd of about ten. There were babies as well, which was especially cute. After our drive we headed back to our homes. Jodi hitched back to Mangochi and I took a mini bus to Zomba.

At Zomba, I hired a driver to take me to the top of the plateau. The plateau has great views of the city and a superb restaurant as well. I stopped at Ku Chawe inn and had lunch and walked around a bit and took some pictures. It was really very beautiful. I had to get back though so I headed back down after an hour or two and boarded another minibus for Blantyre. I got home before too late and started to get ready for work the next day. We were going to the field so I knew that it would be a bit busy.

Overall, the trip was really empowering. It was my first time traveling alone through Malawi and the whole experience was absolutely fine. I never felt lost of anxious and everyone was more than willing to help. I now feel like I can see whatever I want and do whatever I want without worrying. I also have been getting to be quite comfortable spending time alone and even eating meals alone in restaurants. It is always awkward but I feel grown up because I am able to do it (and even sometimes really enjoy it). Jodi and I also started making plans for a trip to Tanzania, which is also really exciting. I am pumped about how I am going to spend my remaining time here. I am planning to head back to Zomba next weekend with some friends from Kabula and am looking forward to doing a bit more exploring. Til next time…

Mount Mulanje Excursion

September 27, 2009


I am mentally and physically stronger than I ever knew. A few people at Kabula lodge (where I am staying) decided to make an attempt at the summit of Mount Mulanje. Mulanje is the third highest mountain in Africa and stands at a height of 3100 meters. I knew that the hiking would be tough but asked if I could come along. I had no idea HOW tough it would be. We left early on Friday morning and took a mini-bus into Mulanje town. After some confusion, we hired a guide (Anthony) and two porters to carry our big bags up the mountain (John and Finley). We took off and almost immediately I realized what I was in for- after all this was a MOUNTAIN and not a walk in the park. The whole way was uphill and I quickly realized that I was (by far) the most out of shape person in the group. One of the guys (Craig) was in the Australian army and has plans to conquer Kilimanjaro. The other two guys (Sean and Luuk) frequently go running in the hills of Blantyre for about 10 kilometers at a time. Jayne, the other girl, recently climbed another large mountain in Tanzania and runs regularly to keep fit. I am up to about 5k per day on the treadmill so that is NOTHING compared to these fitness superstars. The first day, Anthony lagged at the back with me and willed me up the mountain. I was sweating so much that all of the other people that I came with gave me their water in addition to my own. Craig even emptied my daypack into his (and he had chosen NOT to get a porter!) All in all, the first day took about 5 hours to get from Likabula camp to Chambe camp. We spent the night at Chambe camp and had a delicious beef stew for dinner. We went to bed early and woke up at 5:00 am to get started towards our next camp. We made it there in about 3 hours and rested for an hour. At this point, I had to decide whether I wanted to try for the summit. I had the option of staying behind and resting since we were going to stay at this camp for the night. I decided to try it- which was a bit tricky since John and Finley wouldn’t be coming. I would be a bit more on my own for this part. The hike to the summit was to take another 3-4 hours up and 2.5 hours back. Craig graciously offered to hike behind me and helped me up the mountain. About half an hour into the hike, I wanted to quit. My legs were shaking uncontrollably and I was so frustrated at my slow pace as compared to the others. At this point in the hike, we were scaling sheer rock and I was on hands and knees scampering up the side of the mountain. I had a bit of a breakdown but managed to pull it together so as to not scare my new friends. If I had had anyone very familiar with me, I would have totally lost it. I rested for a bit and then moved closer to the summit. The climbing was hard- often it was sheer rock or boulders and the peak seemed infinitely far away. When we finally reached it, my new friends made the kindest gesture and offered me the first shot at the peak. I went up there first and they all joined for lunch of avocado sandwiches. Victory was so sweet.

But it wasn’t over- I had to get down. In some ways, descending was worse than the climb up Mulanje. It wasn’t as physically rigorous but it was nerve wracking because you had to put so much effort into watching your footing. About ten hours after having set off in the morning, we were back to camp. We had dinner, played some cards and went to bed early once again. The final day included a five-hour descent back to Likabula base camp. This was harder than I anticipated as well. Much of the time, I was slipping on leaves and grass and fell probably six times on my way down. John, the porter, even walked with me and held my hand at a lot of the trickier moments. On the way down, we went by some waterfalls and even stopped for a swim- one of the nicer moments of the hike. Finally we made it back to base camp but needed to get transport into Mulanje town. Our guide asked an ambulance driver to take us and he agreed- mentioning only that he needed to pick up medicine. Next thing we knew, he was loading a maternity patient into the back of the ambulance. She was on all fours and looked as if she was about to deliver. Who decided that having us share an ambulance with her was a good idea?! We rounded out the tough trip with some pizza and beer at the foot of the mountain and hopped on a mini-bus to get back to our place.

Overall, the experience was a good one. The mountain was gorgeous and the company was excellent. It was, however, probably the most physically challenging thing that I have ever done. My legs ached and I wanted to quit and go home throughout the entire trip. I am proud that I stuck it out and made it to the top. Even my guide, Anthony, was surprised. He said, “you must be fit because most people of your body structure fail to make it to the summit.” It was sort of a shitty compliment but I have decided to take it as a compliment. I would recommend the trip to anyone but would also recommend some level of training for it. Three days and 20 hours of hiking later- I am exhausted, sore and completely impressed with what I have accomplished.

Best Compliment Ever

The other day, I was driving with my favorite taxi driver, Tom. I met him when I first got to Blantyre and he is always happy to drive me around whenever I need help. He charges me fair prices and even sometimes offers me rides free of charge.

Anyways, he was bringing me somewhere and he turned to me and said "people in Malawi like you so much." I wasn't sure what he was talking about and asked him whether he was talking about Americans or azungus or me. He said, "no, you!" I asked him why and he replied, "You don't have one racist bone in your body. So many of the azungus that come here don't greet us and don't want to know us. But you are friendly and you try so hard to know the people." It sounds silly but that simple comment made me feel so good about myself and how people here perceive me.

Malawi has interesting racial dynamics. It is in the south of Africa so there are large white settler populations. A lot of the expats do keep to themselves and are able to insulate themselves from everything African. Their interactions with Malawians consist largely of talking to their gardeners, cooks and guards- all people who work for them. In my time here, I have come across many South Africans, white Zimbabweans and Brits who now make their homes in Malawi. There is also a group of doctors and medical professionals who work here on a shorter term basis. These two groups don't really interact a whole lot.

I personally love Malawian people. Although there is a small subset who is constantly trying to rip me off, most of the people are helpful and kind. The simple act of greeting people in Chichewa and learning a few words off of them makes all the difference in how they view you. You can always get a big smile by practicing Chichewa with the vendors on the way to work.

Weekend at Ndkudzi Bay

September 21, 2009


This past weekend, I went with a friend to Mangochi and Ndkudzi Bay. I met Jeremy at my previous hostel (Doogles) and he is doing irrigation projects in Southern Africa. Born in the UK, he grew up in Zambia and has been living in Southern Africa since. He calls South Africa home but spends long stints in Malawi and other parts of Africa. Jeremy came and met me on Friday morning and we left around nine in the morning. From Blantyre, we drove to Mangochi and he dropped me off at Jamira and Maxwell’s place. I spent the day with them and it was nice to feel at home again. We didn’t do much- just cooked and talked and relaxed and played with the kids. Maxwell and Jamira are so sweet- they bought all of the vegetables that are available in the market for me since I don’t eat much fish or meat. I had green beans, peas, onions, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. I had it with nsima for lunch and then had rice for dinner. I feel spoiled having meals cooked especially for me when I know how much the family likes meat! But I also know that it is their way of being good hosts and I try to be a good guest by bringing gifts for everyone. The only hard thing is finding something for Maxwell because it is hard to know what an adult man would like! Jamira’s dad gave them a chicken so it was moving around the yard. They soon put it in the house so that they wouldn’t confuse it with the other chickens outside. I had some fun posing with the chicken and with the baby goats next door. At night, I went and said hi to my former roommate, Jodi and then came back to the house totally exhausted. I was just recovering from being sick so I didn’t have tons of energy. I went to bed early and shared a bed with Vanessa. Vanessa is like Barbara- she takes up the ENTIRE bed and even sleeps diagonally! It reminded me of home to be sharing a bed with my baby sister (relax B, you are not being replaced). In the morning, we woke up and Jamira made a big breakfast of eggs, bread, tea and French fries of all things. Jeremy came and picked me up at nine to take me to the lake. It was sad to say goodbye and the two little twins even cried when I left. I promised to come back and am planning to take the family to Liwonde National Park to see the wildlife. They have never been and I think that they would enjoy it and should see what tourists come from around the world to experience!

The “cottage” at Ndkudzi bay was absolutely incredible. Jeremy’s friends, Suzie and Mark, own the place and use it as often as they can. Suzie is a British woman who was born and raised in Malawi and Mark has been here for ten years. The cottage is right on the lake and has four bedrooms, a common area, two showers and a beautiful patio. A huge tree hangs over the patio and provides plenty of shade to anyone trying to escape the heat. We spent many, many hours out on that patio relaxing, reading and enjoying the lake. Hands down, the best part of the lake was their toys. They had a catamaran sailboat and a speedboat. Both were a lot of fun. On Saturday, we took the speedboat out and went all the way across the lake to snorkel. The water is so clear and you can see all of the fish down there. I was amazed at the variety and colors of the fish in this freshwater lake. We spent the day on the boat swimming and snorkeling and watched the sun set in the evening. We even managed to go water skiing once the water calmed down. At night, we went over to Cape Maclear for dinner and drinks. One of the bars there was hosting Spanish night so there was plenty of Spanish food, music and sangria. On the way back to the cottage, Jeremy and I managed to get lost in Cape Maclear and spent hours finding our way back to the main road.

On Sunday, we slept in and Suzie took us out sailing. The wind was blowing pretty strongly so the boat moved quite quickly. I was almost a bit afraid of it capsizing! We headed back to the cottage and took a nap- I decided to sleep on the beach and have the tan/burn to prove it. Sometimes, I did feel a bit awkward because there was such a divide between our life and the local community. Wilson cooked and cleaned for us and we did very little besides relax. The kids from the community just sat and watched and I am sure wondered what it would like to be on a boat like ours. Overall it was a really nice trip and I had a good weekend away. Jeremy and I left this morning and went straight from the lake to work. When I arrived, I had to give a presentation for the study that we are doing- pretty quick change in lifestyle! Next weekend, I am planning to go to Mulanje and perhaps do some climbing. We will see how it goes…

I am loving Malawi ☺

Life is GOOD.

I am feeling so much better about life in Malawi. Things at work are coming together well and I am feeling independent and confident about being on my own out here. Kabula is nice and I am meeting many friendly people there. A Scottish girl, Allison, is especially friendly and invites me all sorts of places with her. Sean, from England, is also really nice and we often take the mini-bus to work together in the morning. They all went out to Blue Elephant bar last night and I was really torn. I wanted to go but I was still getting over being sick. I decided against the trip and it was fine. Another girl, Ellen, decided against the night out as well so it wasn't just me being a party pooper. Tomorrow, I have decided to go back to the lake and see Jamira and Maxwell and also do some jet-skiing with a new expat friend from South Africa.

Today, I went to the museum and danced with a traditional dance company, Chichiri dance ensemble. It wasn't quite the same as Africana but it had drumming, smiles and nice people. I held my own (despite not having eaten in 2 days) and had a lot of fun. They rehearse from 10-12 and from 2-4 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They have also just decided to add Mondays to the schedule. We will see how much dancing I can fit in with work.

Sick in Blantyre

September 16, 2009

Yesterday was a busy and fun day…for the most part. I went to Lunzu where Andrea’s Family Health and Wealth Study will be taking place. They had a meeting with the chiefs there. Although the meeting was lively and interesting, I kept dozing off- which is not like me. When we got back to the College of Medicine, I had to go and meet up with Camille and her parents, Jennifer and Eugene, to go to Limbe for some shopping. Limbe is just past Blantyre and has a lot more hustle and bustle than Blantyre does. People were selling all sorts of things and there was even a man just walking around holding a rat. I didn’t quite understand why. People here eat mice but this rat was much larger than usual (and uncooked!) We went to lunch and I had an omlette and chips. Afterwards, we walked around the town and I picked up some nice fabric to make some clothes with. Soon, the heat began to get to me and I started to feel ill. By the time that I made it back to the office, I was really feeling unwell and decided to leave and go back to my place. At this point, I didn’t feel like I could take the mini bus and walk from the market. I felt so weak. I got in and napped for like three hours and then got up to try to socialize and make some tea. A few minutes later, I had to go back inside because I was vomiting. Not really the best night I had had here… I slept soundly through the night (thanks to my sleeping pill) and woke up around ten this morning. I phoned the office and told them that I wouldn’t be coming in. Finally, I was able to get myself together and shower and start my day. I am now sitting on the patio area in the shade about to start work for the day. I need to go through the interviews that we have done and look at them for certain themes. I am supposed to have French class tonight and then go to a movie with a friend and finally go for a drink with my boss. I hate to cancel all of this but I don’t know if it is the smartest thing to try to do all of it- or any of it. In my quest to stay busy and avoid homesickness here, I think that I have overdone it with activities.

In other news, I have looked into my time left here and feel pretty excited. I believe that I can make it to Tanzania, Uganda and Botswana- I just have to start planning these things! Have been going through my travel guide and have mapped out a lot of my time here- even made reservations at some hotels in Mulanje and Nkhata Bay (my two must-sees). This weekend should be a trip back to Mangochi to see Jamira and Maxwell and the girls as well as meet up with an expat I know who has friends with water skis woohoo! Next weekend is Mount Mulanje followed by a trip to Liwonde National Park the next weekend. I will visit Nkhata Bay after that and then perhaps Tanzania and Uganda for about a week each. I haven’t seen nearly all that I would have liked to in Malawi but it has been a crazy trip. I am still hoping to see Brent in Botswana but perhaps after the Kampala trip. Sheesh- busy few months.

I am feeling confident and happy and independent (even though I am also feeling deathly ill!).

Kabula Lodge Move

I decided to move to Kabula lodge this weekend and therefore spent the weekend in Blantyre. Kabula lodge is a pretty place in the hills above Blantyre that houses a lot of students from around the world. This morning at breakfast I met a few of them. There were two from England, one from Scotland and one from Sweden. Two were doctors, one was in Environmental Health and one was a fashion design student. Pretty interesting group of people. They love traveling around and do so quite often. They are planning to climb Mount Mulanje (the third highest peak in Africa) in two weeks. I am not sure whether I will climb it with them (because honestly I dont know whether I am in good enough shape) but I will probably at least go and see how far I get. It makes me a little nervous because I keep hearing about people getting lost on the mountain. I think that they are mostly people who don't take guides with them so maybe I am just making excuses. In any event, I am glad to be in a place with lots of young, friendly faces.

On Saturday, I went to lunch at Kay and Vince's house. They are this really nice American couple that I met at the gym. They also invited their friends Eugene and his wife Jennifer as well as their 22 year old daughter, Camille and another Malawian friend, Chiwoza. It was a really nice lunch and I felt good to be a part of a community. Kay and Vince are about my parents' age and it felt good to be looked out for a bit. Plus, the food was fantastic!

On Sunday, I moved into Kabula lodge. Etienne, a guy that I met at Doogles, had nothing to do that day so after breakfast, we loaded up his truck and he helped me move my stuff to the new place. He also gave me a tour of town (which was nice since I dont always have access to a car) and pointed out some nice spots for me to go. He was so generous to do all of that and I felt really lucky to have found someone to help me like that. It wasn't the easiest to leave Doogles. I had made friends with the kitchen staff, the cleaning ladies and the bartenders. All of them had been nothing but great to me and all said how much they are going to miss me. I promised to come back and visit. The Doogles staff are great but the owner and the ambiance isn't the best for me.

After my move, my coworker, Effie, invited me to her daughter's graduation party. Yandura had just completed college in Zomba and they had a small get together with her friends and some family. It was a small group of people but it was nice to get to talk to Malawian girls my own age and dance a little too. Everyone was really nice and I was exhausted when I got back to my place. Had a GREAT night's sleep in my queen sized bed.

I just sat down and came up with a list of the weeks that I have left and some of the traveling that I want to do. I am planning to go to the Lower Shire Valley this weekend and to one of the wildlife parks there. Some guy that I met at my last place has been staying there and has offered to bring me along and show me around. Free rides are always a good thing and he seems friendly but of course I will have my Mace in case he turns out to be creepy.

I am also planning to travel every weekend from now on. I have trips planned for Mulanje, Zomba, Liwonde National Park, Nkhata Bay and north (maybe Nyika Plateau) and perhaps Likoma island. Likoma may be a bit of a challenge because it requires a ferry to get there... Anyways, I am happy to be taking charge of my trip here.

I have decided to move my return to the United States up to November 21st which will make my trip 17 weeks in total. Just about four months here in Malawi. I am planning to return via Kampala, Uganda, where the Gates Institute is hosting a Family Planning Conference. I think that it will be extremely interesting and am looking forward to it. I am also still hoping to see Brent and take a trip to Zimbabwe and see Victoria Falls. Lots to do in just a little bit of time. Overall, I feel happy here and good about the rest of my time here (and my new living accommodations too!)

In terms of work, I have been put on the Malawi Couples Study now that transcriptions/translations of the Fistula work have been completed. The Couples Study offers a Couples based voluntary counseling and testing intervention as well as couples based family planning services to eligible couples in Mpemba, Malawi. We are interested to see how many of the couples utilize these services and will be monitoring closely for negative outcomes including domestic violence. I am really glad to be a part of the team and am excited for all of the time in the field. I am slated to talk at the counselor training about issues of confidentiality and consent in this study and am also glad to have this opportunity to be involved.

Missing you all but also enjoying life here :)

Update from Blantyre!

Things back in Blantyre are going alright but I definitely miss my friends in Mangochi. We moved into Doogle's lodge- a backpacker's lodge on the outside of town. It was an improvement over Jeanne's house because we could meet people there and there was a restaurant if we didn't feel like cooking or have groceries. The owner, a South African, said that we could have a discount of 10% because we were staying for so long. However, the other night, he took back his offer and said that he had changed his mind. Andrea and Matt were really upset and packed everything up and left in the middle of the night. I was not that upset so I decided to stay and figure out a plan from there. I really prefer to have lots of people around to meet and talk with and not to stay in someone's house with a big gate around it.

I am feeling a bit lonely and homesick these days so I started finding things to do to fill my evenings here. I have registered for both a French class and a class in Chichewa at the French Cultural Center. I have also found a traditional dance company and hope to start rehearsing with them in the near future. I also joined a gym at the College of Medicine so I can be a gym rat while I am here. Overall, I have done a pretty good job staying busy.

At the gym, I met two Americans who are about my parents age. They have really been kind to me and have been emailing me all sorts of things about upcoming events and clubs to join. I really want to meet people so I may be signing up for a bunch of totally random things. I am going to lunch at her house on Saturday and she has invited a bunch of people. I'm excited about the opportunity. Last night, I also went to the local movie theater (it was cheap night!) and saw "Obsessed" with Beyonce. The film wasn't very good but the movie theater was fantastic! Seriously, it was nicer than many movie theaters back home.

I'm thinking about moving to another lodge in town instead of staying at Doogles. Doogles has many people that are on vacation and aren't really that responsible. There is loud music and drinking at all times of night.

I am going to start traveling in the near future. First stop is Liwonde National Park with all of the animals and then to Mount Mulanje. I am looking forward to it.

I may decide to move my flight up and come home from Malawi early. I have enjoyed my time here so far but things aren't quite as much fun when you're doing them all alone. I am trying to make the most of my time here so that when I get back, I don't have regrets.

Missing you all and looking forward to being home soon!

Farewell to Jamira and Maxwell

September 4, 2009


Yesterday, I went to say goodbye to Jamira and Maxwell and the girls (who are often referred to as “these people.” We sat around talking for a while with Malawian music videos playing in the background. As usual, Tasha and Vanessa had over several friends including the twin girls (who are both referred to as Mia). Soon, the kids started dancing and of course, I joined in as well. The younger kids danced and jumped and were totally adorable. Vanessa and Asiyatu shook their booties and I envied their talent. They tried to teach me but I never quite mastered the skill. After all of this dancing, we went outside to cook rice porridge and sweet potatoes (for Maxwell to break fast). Maxwell has been observing Ramadan so he always eats this hearty meal around six. As we were cooking, Jamira decided that it was high time that I learned to tie a baby on my back and offered one of the twins for me to practice with. I did this much better than the dancing and soon Mia was fast asleep on my back. I had a really nice evening and have attached pictures so that you can see what we did. I will miss them immensely but have promised to come and stay with them for a long weekend or two. Vanessa may even come and stay with me for a weekend in Blantyre.

Moving (back) to Blantyre!

September 3, 2009

We had a meeting with Effie on Tuesday and we discussed the progress of the project. We still have 7 interviews that need to be translated and transcribed but we have lost our translators! One is back at school in other city, one is taking another job, and one is sick. So the final decision that came from our meeting was that we would move back to Blantyre on Saturday (September 5th) and find a Yao speaker there to help us with the translation. I am ready to move and get a change in scenery. Mangochi is rather small and I think that I have done everything here for the most part. The nice thing about Mangochi has been being so close to the lake. I believe that we intend to spend tomorrow at the lake at Palm Beach and enjoy it one more time. I will definitely miss having the water and so much beauty nearby. On the other hand, I am looking forward to traveling to Mount Mulanje (the third highest mountain in Africa), Liwonde National Park (wildlife park), Zomba Plateau, and Nkhata Bay (in the north).

Jodi, my roommate from Peace Corps, and I are planning to travel to Tanzania to visit some friends as well. Hopefully, this will be in late October and then I will visit Brent in November/December. Such nice trips that I have planned!

So I think that this is about it for today. The day-to-day life here is somewhat boring. Today, I will probably go to the bank, go buy credit for my phone, and hit up the internet café- not the most exciting day I have ever had…

Love and miss everyone back home.

Ciao!

Fieldwork in Chilipa and Makanjira

August 29, 2009

This weekend, I went to interview the husbands of the women in our study. This was extremely important to me since all of the women’s interviews had been done before my arrival. I wanted to go to the sites and see the conditions there and try to better understand why women fail to make it to the hospital for delivery. As soon as we got onto the dirt road, I understood. Even in a Land Rover, it was difficult to manage. There were bumps everywhere and we sat there like bobble head dolls. But far scarier were the massive ditches that would appear in the middle of the road. Our driver managed to keep from falling in them although it was a harrowing ride for me. At one point, I thought that the car was going to nosedive into the road. It reminded me of Pink Jeep Tours in Sedona, Arizona. But then, this was day-to-day life!

Besides walking, the major mode of transportation in Chilipa is bicycling. Women who have difficult labors must go, by bike, to the local health centre. If they don’t have the resources to deal with it, they refer her to Mangochi hospital (again by bike). Sounds like a painful trip- no wonder the maternal mortality ratio is so high.

On Friday, we interviewed four husbands. All of them had stayed with their wives when the women developed obstetric fistulas. From my recollection, two were in polygamous marriages and two were in monogamous arrangements. The latter two are especially noteworthy as many men stay with their wives but also get a second wife. I don’t understand all of the details of their stories and need to wait and have the interviews translated to better understand what they said.

While we were interviewing one of the husbands, a woman came to the house to talk to Mary, the Safe Motherhood coordinator. She explained that she has been living with fistula for 15 years and asked for help. There was no comparison between her demeanor and that of the women who had been repaired. She looked completely defeated and didn’t even look Mary, Siyenji (the interviewer) or I in the eyes. Mary was compassionate but could only tell her to come to the hospital for repair. She said that there was nothing else that we could really do. Most of the women that we have been interviewing were repaired at UNFPA funded repair camps that they were brought to. For other women using regular hospital service, we could not provide transport, food etc. Still, I wanted to bring her with us back in the ambulance and get her services. Kind of naïve and unsustainable but still…

On the Saturday, we went to Makanjira, which is very close to the border with Mozambique. The roads were better but still extremely bumpy. We left at 6:00 am and hoped to get seven husbands. We arrived in Makanjira a few hours later and began our search for husbands. Several of the husbands were nowhere to be found. One was out fishing and then came back and we found him. However, while the interview was being conducted, he refused to continue on. He insisted that we were wasting his time and that he needed to get back to his job, just as we were doing ours. He said all of this with a smile on his face and I completely misread his body language. Rita, the interviewer, packed up to leave and I (not knowing that the respondent had refused to participate) pointed to the next page of questions that she had missed. It was a pretty awkward moment when Rita and Jean had to explain that he would not be continuing. Oops.

Other respondents were much friendlier and were elated to have received services. One particular village made an impression on me. The older women were sitting in a circle picking seeds/fruits out of a husk. This group included the woman who had formerly lived with fistula. I sat down with them and started doing the same and they all started to laugh. I could only stay for about five minutes but when I went to leave, the woman who previously had fistula handed me to entire husks. It was a sweet gesture.

Overall, the trips were good but exhausting. I came back to my place around four, showered, and lounged in bed watching “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Around 7:30, Jamira, Maxwell and the girls came by and we went for ice cream at the Ice Cream Den down the road. Tasha fell asleep almost mid-bite and we said goodbye. It was an early bed time but I was happy to go to sleep.

Malawi update

August 23, 2009

Yesterday marked one month of time in Malawi. I was actually pretty surprised that I have been here for that long. Everything is going well here for the most part. We have been plowing through the interviews to get them translated and transcribed. I sit with a translator every day from 8:00 - 4:30 and type them into my computer as he translates them for me. Sometimes I learn a lot and sometimes, it is just monotonous. For example, I learned that in this region of Malawi, there is a matrilocal and matrilineal culture. This means that when two people marry, they move to the residence of the woman’s family and live in the compound there. Also, all marriage negotiations are done by uncles and not by fathers. If two people want to get married, their mother’s brothers are the ones that arrange it and discuss the bride price. These things are not readily apparent in the interviews but my translator explains them to me. They are important for understanding the context of the study.

Mangochi is a very small town. On our days off, we often make the trek to People’s (a grocery store with basic necessities) or go to the market. Sometimes, when we just need a thing or two, we still think it is worth it because it gives us something to do! I enjoy living here and the people are really friendly but I will also be glad to get back to Blantyre to larger stores and to things to do.

This weekend, there was a conference of all of the doctors in Malawi (which begs the question- what about all of the patients?). I didn’t go because I had to work with one of our interviewers but Andrea did and said that it was good. They held it at this resort by the lake, which I am sure was a good mix of business and pleasure for the doctors. Our boss, Frank, drove into town for it and took us to the opening party on Friday night. He passed us drink after drink and wanted to make sure that we were having a good time. One of the pathologists was exceedingly drunk and decided to show everyone what he could do on the limbo set up. He gyrated his hips in a way that I could not repeat even if I tried and ultimately got through on the lowest rung. After this party was over, Frank loaded us up in his truck and took us to the after party at a local club. I swear, at some points, I was the only person on the dance floor. I just danced and danced and danced all night. Finally, at 2 am, we asked Frank to take us back. He obliged (although I am pretty sure that he went back to the club after dropping us off). He had a presentation at 9 the next morning too- so I am sort of interested to know how that went! This weekend so far has involved a day of work, sleeping in until 8 today (which is unheard of!) and recovering from our night of craziness. I need to do some laundry etc so hopefully it is a productive day.

That’s all I got.

<3

Female Initiation Celebration and Work Things

August 18, 2009


On Sunday, Jamira was good on her promise to take me to a female initiation ceremony celebration in her village. She had said that we would leave around two so at eleven, I went into town to get more phone credit as well as check my email and hopefully update my blog etc. At the Zain store, I decided to get a new phone since people have been saying that the connection is bad and always sounds windy. The new phone is much improved (and it was cheap as well!). While I was there, I received a phone call from Jamira saying that we had to go NOW! They picked me up there and took me (laptop and all …oops) to the village. On the way, we stopped for water and I even found coke light! One can costs 190 kwacha ($1.30), which is expensive by any standards. Regardless, I was so happy to see my favorite habit that I bought quite a few cans.

When we got to the village, we first went to Jamira’s mother’s house. We found her daughters there and said hi before going to meet and greet many more people. We walked around the village for a while, stopping and chatting with Jamira’s old friends. Most of the conversations were in Yao so I didn’t understand a lot. Then we went to see the girls, who were getting ready for the ceremony. We found them sitting by the lake eating nsima (like fufu in West Africa or pap in South Africa) and chicken stew. Since they weren’t ready, we went back to the main area of the village. Jamira’s friend fed up rice with chicken stew as well. I didn’t take any of the chicken, but the sauce was delicious. After a while, we went elsewhere and saw other girls (and boys too!) awaiting the celebration. The girls’ heads were covered in sap and they had on sunglasses. They covered their mouths with various things (including money) and avoided eye contact. From my understanding, they were practicing discipline and couldn’t talk to anyone unless someone paid money and spoke to them. The boys were on the other side and had their heads covered and also looked at the floor and avoided eye contact.

I asked Jamira at this point what was involved in female initiation. She indicated again that it was the village teaching the girls how to properly behave. She said that sexual debut was not involved and that this initiation was only practiced in Nsanje. There, she explained, they have three initiations. First, they have the initiation of young girls (8-10) such as this one. When the girls have their first menses, they have a second initiation and this one may include sexual initiation. The third initiation is during first pregnancy and prepares a woman for motherhood. She indicated that for her own girls, she would rather teach them herself and avoid this ceremony. But she also said that many people that live in cities bring their children back for this. When I get back to reliable internet, I want to check this out and see what researchers say about these initiations.

Soon, it was time to celebrate! A group of drummers drummed and sang and a crowd gathered around them. This crowd danced and danced and at a certain point, the drummers moved to another part of the village and the crowd followed, dancing. There were two groups of initiates (led by different elders) so there were two sets of drummers and dancers. In a central location, the girls and elders sat silently. At a certain point, it was time to give money and dance. I had gone to the Zain store and split my large bills into small ones so I was able to give a big stack of bills that were each worth about 14 cents. As you gave the bills, you danced and soon Jamira and I were getting low and shaking our booties. I was SUCH a spectacle. It is hard to describe the number of people who did a double take when seeing me at this event. Others wanted to dance close to me. Jamira’s oldest daughter Vanessa (age 11) took on the task of chasing away men who got too close.

As we tired and headed back, one of Jamira’s friends approached me and asked how long I had been in Malawi. She wanted to know also if we had these kinds of ceremonies at home. I said that no, we did not and she said that I danced like a true Malawian and that she liked my shape. She even said that I danced better than her. I am sure that she was just flattering me but it was nice to feel accepted in this way.

After the ceremony, we walked back to Jamira’s mother’s house. The girls (initiates) were there eating rice and drinking Fanta and looked much happier and relieved. We said goodbye and headed back to Mangochi. This was hands down the best day of my trip so far. I got to see something that I doubt many muzungus get to participate in. Sometimes I get tired and frustrated here, but that day made everything feel alright and worthwhile.

After this ceremony, Jamira went to Blantyre to see a specialist about her condition. She was convinced that she was not suffering from malaria and wanted to get checked for many other things. This is important for her but it also puts the project on hold. In the interim, I decided to meet with another of the translators and check his progress on his transcripts. We had an appointment for this morning at 8:00 am but at 8:30, Jean (our supervisor while we are here) came in and said that he had to attend his niece’s funeral and wouldn’t be coming in. So today, I am sitting in our new place, watching TV and drinking tea and trying to get caught up on my blog posts (even though I don’t know when I will have a chance to upload them!) It is a little frustrating to never know what your schedule is going to be and to feel a lack of control over the situation and feel like you’re wasting your time. But, we have plenty of time to complete the study here so I just try to keep that perspective. I should be back in early December so that is also something to look forward to and remember.

Drive Back to Mangochi

August 15, 2009



Today, we left our super sweet hotel in Lilongwe and headed back to Mangochi. It was a bittersweet day- I am going to miss my bathtub, hot water and wireless internet so much but it is also nice to be back in a familiar town and have a reality check that all of those things are unnecessary. I went to the tourist area in an attempt to get a Barack Obama chitenje (cloth that is tied and used as a skirt). I wanted four meters so that I could make a skirt and shirt out of it. In Mangochi, this would cost between 800 and 1000 kwacha. The asking price at this place, however, was 8,000. Haha unfortunately for them, I am not a fool that would spend about 60 bucks on 4 meters of cloth. Instead I offered 1400 kwacha and we settled on 1500. However, the man selling it didn’t want to let it go that cheaply and someone went off to the market with 500 kwacha of my money to pick up another one. He told me it would take five minutes as I had explained that I had to leave within the hour and still needed to finish packing. Thirty-five minutes later, he was nowhere to be found. I sucked it up and paid another 1500 kwacha and got the one there. It was so annoying to be taken when I knew what things should cost…

I got into the car in kind of a bad mood. The morning had been stressful and I was just tired of a lot of things. We drove back to Mangochi in silence and when we got there, we went to get a bit of food and something to drink. We also have to move out of the hostel temporarily and looked at a place that we could stay. When we got back, I went to see Jamira since she had been sick (and hospitalized) with malaria. I brought a candy bar that Amy had given me for the family to share. It was enormous so it was a pretty good little gift. Then, Jamira explained that her girls were going to the village that she is from and did I want to go with her and Maxwell to drop them off? Heck yes I did. We got there and found a gathering of women standing around a young girl with a basket in front of her. The older women on the fringe had drums and baskets in front of them as well. Then there was another old woman with a whistle. Soon, someone put money into one of the baskets and the dancing began. The drummers drummed and the lady with the whistle blew it in time. Then she blew twice while pointing at me and blew twice while pointing to the circle. I didn’t wait for another invitation. I was in there before you knew it shaking my white ass for all that it was worth. I took all of the small money that I had and put it into the baskets. Everyone was yelling and laughing and I didn’t want it to end. Before too long, it was over and we were on our way back to town and to the hostel. Jamira promised that we would go back the next day (even though she was just recently out of the hospital!) I can’t wait to go. That fifteen minutes of dancing was the most free and happy that I have felt since I was in Ghana dancing with Africana. I wish that I could just stop this research business and move in with Jamira and her family and do this every day.

I am still yet to completely understand the initiation ceremony and what it entails. As far as I understand, both boys and girls get initiated in Yao culture. Boys, I believe, are circumcised but I am not entirely sure what happens to girls. Jamira indicated that girls are initiated between the ages of 8 and 10. This is to prepare them for lives as mothers and wives and the older women in the village come together and show them how to fulfill these roles and shake their hips. I am not entirely sure if it is completely innocent or if there is any kind of sexual initiation that occurs. The girls seem pretty young for any of this. Hopefully tomorrow, I can be a good participant-observer and figure some of this out. In any event, it is so exciting to have an “in” into the culture and the community.

More tomorrow…

PS- Today marks three weeks in Malawi. Eighteen left. For the first time, I think about my departure and feel like I may be sad to go.

PPS- I was on the phone tonight and couldn’t see a thing and stepped into the sewage hole. There was nothing to do but laugh…But seriously- I was like the kid in Slumdog Millionaire. So SO nasty.

RH Conference and the Vice President!!

Today was the first day of the College of Medicine Centre for Reproductive Health's second Reproductive Health Conference. It is on maternal and child health and translating research to action. The conference supposedly started at 7:30 am this morning so we got there at 7:00 to help set up. Guests eventually started trickling in around 8:30 and at 9:45, the Vice President of Malawi arrived, so we could officially start. We went through this elaborate and detailed protocol of all of the important people making remarks and acknowledging eachother. My boss was among them and I thought hers were really well-written. Which is interesting because I have no idea when she found the time to do it. The Vice President, the Honorable Joyce Banda, made some remarks that indicated that she was strongly supportive of reproductive health programs and maternal and neonatal mortality reduction programs. She was a heavy set middle aged woman and wore this green outfit that was really pretty. She came with this whole entourage and we had to stand up every time she moved. She had two "secret service" types that followed her everywhere and even had her own chair brought for it. It wasn't even that nice- just a red chair but I guess it has significance. Anyways, the story is that she had a post-partum hemorrhage when delivering and was unconscious for 6 hours. She was fortunate and the doctor at the hospital was able to revive her and save her life. The next time she went back to that doctor she apparently got a tubal ligation, saying that she wouldn't risk her life like that again. It was nice to see someone with a strong political commitment but it also left me wondering how much was rhetoric. Anyways, the conference was nice. Opened with a prayer and ended with a prayer but what else would you expect in Africa? Topics ranged from maternal mortality reduction to adolescent reproductive health services to male involvement in reproductive health and HIV issues. The other highlight was when the traditional chiefs (who were in attendance) took issue with two major things. One was having a male partner in the room during delivery. They went back and forth in Chichewa but the idea was that male presence during delivery is not an "African" way of doing things and should not be pushed. The other thing that they took issue with had to do with a traditional post partum guideline of waiting 6 months before resuming sexual activity. One woman suggested that men are refusing to wait and are cheating on their wives and bringing STI's into the marriage. She said that this should be revisited. The chief sternly said (again in Chichewa) that this rule had a role in the community and should not be questioned. Andrea was really annoyed that all of this discussion occurred in Chichewa, but I thought that it was fine. These discussions are not FOR me. These discussions are the conversations within a community that cause changes in people's thinking and progress. If people felt more comfortable voicing their opinions in their native language, that was fine with me. I could always ask at the end. Sometimes I just like the privilege of being in the room and even try guessing what is going on. Tonight, we are going for Italian dinner and then I am probably getting into my amazing bathtub. Tomorrow is another half day of conference and then more relaxing at the hotel. We are trying to arrange for transport back to Mangochi on Saturday but it is going to cost 33,000 kwacha whereas it only costed 24,000 to get here. Quite a bit of difference. We will see how it goes. Til tomorrow...

Miss my friends and family! <3

Lilongwe! And Some Other Things I Forgot!

August 12, 2009


I am in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. Tomorrow starts a conference on reproductive health that is sponsored by the College of Medicine Centre for Reproductive Health. I was supposed to be presenting but they moved me on and off the program about 4 times- no lie. But the good news is that my boss is here! She put us up in this NICE hotel with a bathtub (I have been in twice in like 24 hours) and a comfortable bed and wireless internet and a big breakfast in the morning. No joke it feels like heaven. Haha I sound so spoiled. I have been in Malawi for only 19 days and I am already craving Western amenities. Anyway, we got here yesterday and checked in and Amy came soon after. We went to dinner and she listened to our concerns about the project and our experience in Malawi. She also offered some good ideas on what we could have done differently to better collaborate with the people at the centre.

This morning, we got up and went over the status of the project. It seems like we may be done translation within a week or so. Then the question is whether to go back to the village in an attempt to locate more of the women's husbands. It is going to take some resources but I am in favor of this because I haven't yet been to the field. It seems kind of crazy that "my" project will be almost entirely conducted without me! After we finished all of this, we went out into the city. Amy had hired a car and driver and he took us to all of the sights including President Banda's tomb, the Ministry of Health (and the others as well!), and the hospital. We also went to the tourist area and saw some curios for sale. I had to explain a million times that this was a looking day and not a buying day. The thought of bargaining was tiring.

I am back in the hotel now. Dinner is Indian food (score!) in about an hour. It is so nice to be able to blog or write emails or whatever I want to do online. I spend so much time on this computer! They are going to have to tear it from me at the conference.

Other thing I forgot! We went to Nkopola Lodge for the day a while ago and we saw monkeys! They swooped down and stole things from people as they ate and it was a good day :) There is going to be a big music festival there in October that we are looking forward to. Should be a good time. Also exciting is a potential plan to see my friend Brent in Botswana in December. He is working on a PMTCT project with the Peace Corps and is almost done his time there. It would be pretty sweet.

OK, anything else that I write would be just me blathering on because I have internet access. Until next time...

Cape Maclear Weekend :)

August 10, 2009


This past weekend we went to Cape Maclear to escape work drama and relax for a bit. Cape Maclear was reported in my travel guide to be a backpacker’s “mecca” and tourist haven. It a very popular place on Lake Malawi and intersperses villages with resorts and hotels. We left Saturday morning and spent Saturday and Sunday night at the Fat Monkey resort area. Fat Monkey is a really cute backpackers place with rooms as well as cottages and a nice bar/restaurant area. They did a really good job of integrating the local vendors but maintaining limits so that guests were not harassed. The sellers were on the left side of the property in a bungalow and we could go to them to buy whatever we wanted. They sold everything from earrings and jewelry to patch pants to photo albums. A subset of these sellers organized boat trips to an island with snorkeling and lunch. Matt, Andrea and I decided to go ahead and do that. We met one of the guys, Loless (pronounced lawless), who is a tour guide with long dreads. He was very good at interacting with tourists and in some ways reminded me of Junior (although way more into drugs and not as nice or good-looking). Nevertheless, he had an outgoing personality and was fun to spend the day with. The island was primarily made of rocks (and was terribly inaccessible!) and when we got there, we saw schools of brightly colored fish. Loless brought us over early and we were able to get the best spots as he fed the fish and they all came up to the surface. Then boatloads of muzingu’s started coming over- seriously BOATLOADS. The guys collaborate and bring the tourists to this island and set them up for snorkeling and everything. Then they begin making lunch. Lunch was enormous fish (gutted and bleeding and some still breathing) and rice with tomato and spinach stew. (SIDE NOTE: I decided to become a vegetarian. I had not been eating a lot of meat so it shouldn’t be a hard switch. It is easy over here- the trick will be cutting out burgers when I get home.)

Lunch was delicious and soon we headed back for Fat Monkey’s because Andrea was burning in the sun. She went back to rest and Matt and I hung out with Loless some more. I can’t quite decide what to do with him. I don’t think he is entirely trustworthy (although I tend to assume that everyone everywhere is guilty until proven innocent) but he is a very likeable guy.

Another interesting thing- I was asked by two different men at Cape Maclear whether I needed a spare tire. I had told them that I had a boyfriend and they asked whether I needed this tire. One even went so far as to say that I should try many types of fruit because maybe I will discover a sweeter fruit than the one I had originally. Haha nice. But it is definitely interesting in terms of concurrent partnerships in Southern Africa and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Sometimes I can be such a nerd- making public health points out of pick up lines.

The next morning, we got up and headed to the beach area. Since we had all gotten a bit of sun, we started out sitting indoors and playing a game called Bawo. It looks similar to “mancala” but requires the thought and calculations of chess. We had a nice breakfast and then I headed to the beach to soak up a bit more sun. Matt, Andrea and Loless stayed there talking for a while and ultimately came down. Finally, it was time to go home and Maxwell, Abraham, and the girls came to get us. Vanessa and Natasha are such sweethearts. It was extremely dusty in the pick-up on the way home so I gave Vanessa my sunglasses so that the dirt wouldn’t get into her eyes. Little Tasha sat there quietly for a while but then it all became too much and she had to get moving. She was fidgeting all over the place and then stole the glasses off of Vanessa’s face. Poor Vanessa- she wanted them back but Tasha was being so bad. She let her have them for a while but soon it became an all too familiar pinching war.

Tomorrow, we are off to Lilongwe for a conference with the College of Medicine-Centre for Reproductive Health. My boss at Hopkins will be there as well. It should all be interesting. Work has been very stressful and I feel like I am in the middle of a battle. Working in an African context is very different from working in the United States and it takes a while to get used to and get comfortable with. On the other hand, our collaborators in Malawi have been pretty difficult. For example, they never should have left me in a new country at the airport by myself. All of the drama at work is terrible and it makes me want to come fly back tomorrow. But then, I look around at the beautiful country and remember the amazing people I have already met and I know I have to stay and continue on.

Days in Mangochi

August 2, 2009

Yesterday, we spent the day in Mangochi walking around and exploring the place. Matt had done quite a bit of this on his own so he knew all of the good spots to show us. We walked around the market, which was actually really fun. I brought my camera and snapped pictures of people working there (with their permission of course) and then turned it around and showed them the photo. They always seemed to get a kick out of it. We bought carrots and lettuce and onions as well as this super sour root thing. One man gave me a free sample and I don’t even know what it was but I popped it into my mouth and it was so sour. His daughter was adorable and when I went to take a picture of her, she started sobbing uncontrollably. Oops. Her mother came and tied her onto her back and she finally stopped. We continued walking and found people fixing bikes and other metal materials, welders, and carpenters. A group of three kids followed us through the whole market. I bought some wraps to cover my scandalous legs but these aren’t wrapping so well. They keep falling down when I walk. We also went to a bakery and bough some PRETTY good rolls. Some guy there kept posing with the bread and asking me to take his picture. We also ran into Jamira’s husband, Maxwell, and Geoffrey, the driver. They said that they would take us up to the mountains later that day. After that, we went home and Andrea and Matt checked the internet. There are only 2 connections that work so I went on a walk by myself. I walked down to the Shire River, which has crocodiles and hippos according to people from the area. There is a big bridge that goes over it and I walked to the town over the bridge. On my way, I ran into some ladies coming back from church and they tried to help me tie my wrapper. They tied it three different ways but I got the wrong type of fabric so it didn’t hold. I walked over the bridge and went to the village across the way. Right over the bridge, they were selling big slabs of goat meat with the heads and legs lined up along the road. Ew! I got some phone credit and captured the interest of several people along the way. One group of people selling things asked me to take their picture and posed as I did so. I went back to the house for an early dinner. Maxwell never showed so I took a quick nap and we went out and got soft-serve ice cream. Delicious! The portions were tiny compared with what we would eat at home but it so hit the spot. I then began the cumbersome task of taking my braids out. I started around six and it took until midnight.

Today at work I received a phone call that I should write up an abstract about our project to be presented at the conference in Lilongwe. Effie indicated that she needed the abstract tonight. I don’t have internet and really don’t feel like it is my fault that she waited until last minute. She will get it when she gets it. After work, I went with Jamira to get new wraps of the right fabric. After that, she took me to her house where I saw Maxwell and her children, Vanessa and Natasha. It felt nice to feel like a real guest. Sometimes when people are staring you know that it isn’t ill-intentioned but you feel like they think you’re from another planet. I am counting down the hours until I can sleep- I am feeling a bit frustrated and overwhelmed and just tired tonight. I wish I could bring family and friends over here. I miss you.