Flight to Malawi

July 25, 2009

Today I flew from Addis Ababa to Lilongwe and am waiting for my flight to Blantyre. There is literally nothing to do in this airport besides sit on the outside deck and wait. Surprisingly, there was an Avis car rental counter so I went to see how much renting a car would be- no one was behind the counter. Flight was fine but a bit delayed. As we finally boarded the plane, I felt as if I had been thrown into a marketplace. People were pushing past, cutting lines, and all sorts of aggressive as they hurried to board the plane. Overall, the flight was fine. I bought the book “Hospital by the River” by Dr Catherine Hamlin at the fistula hospital so I read a bunch of that. I already feel at ease in Malawi- people remind me of Ghanaians in their friendliness and constant greetings and smiles. Lilongwe (the capital) is already much much smaller (and more manageable!) than Addis so I am hoping that Blantyre will be as well. More when I finally arrive.