Mangochi- Day at Lake Malawi

August 1, 2009


We have moved from Blantyre to Mangochi and things are going well in terms of the project and life in general. We have been working with the interviewers to translate and transcribe the interviews. Everyone is really nice but it is not the quickest thing that I have ever done. Jamira is the lead interviewer and has been working with me. Her English is actually really good and she is doing well. She just needs confidence and she will be really proficient at what she does.

Funny story about work:

I went into the office the other day and was wearing Bermuda shorts. I thought that these would be best for taking because they don’t show too much thigh (or really any). When I walked in the door, the ladies told me that I was not dressed appropriately and Jamira loaned me a wrap skirt so that I was presentable that day. They were sort of joking but actually serious! In Malawi, it is rare to find a woman that shows even her knee. When it was time to go, I gave the skirt back to her and she promised to take me to the market on Monday so that I could get my own. Haha I am actually looking forward to it- no need to insult all of Malawi with my scandalous clothing.

Today we went to “Palm Beach” with the help of Jamira and her husband. We used Maxwell’s truck and paid for fuel and for his driver. They dropped us off early at this beachy little resort. It was really pretty and had a good mix of Europeans and Americans including a bunch of Dutch people. No Malawians (or really anyone nonwhite for that matter) which was kind of awkward and got more bizarre as the day went on. For the most part, the day was nice. The place was gorgeous. Mountains and palm trees surrounded us, and the place felt like a Caribbean resort or something. We all got into the Lake and splashed around a bit and they had paddleboats and ocean kayaks and things to do. Lunch was Hawaiian pizza and everything was really affordable.

However, around 3:30 pm or so, the “games” began. These included everything from tossing eggs to beach volleyball and tug of war. Off in the distance was a group of local kids who were watching and enjoying watching the muzungu’s (white people) do all sorts of hilarious things. They were never asked to participate and just sat clapping a ways off. Other men and women paused to watch on their walk home from a day of fishing. All of a sudden, one of the dogs jumped up and ran at the children, biting one and causing him to drop his day’s catch. They all ran off in a panic and the woman who owned the “Palm Beach resort” BRIEFLY yelled the dog’s name. He stopped chasing and everyone went back to doing whatever they were doing before without asking the child if he was ok or beating the crap out of the dog or even putting the dog inside. One American woman noticed that the boy had dropped his fish and went over and picked them up and handed them to him. I feel guilty for not having done a thing. I was terrified of the dog and just in shock at the lack of response by the dog’s (and resort’s) owner. After that, some children stopped to watch us from the far side and some South African guy went running at them to scare them away. This got the dog excited and he again ran after the children snapping at them. The whole thing was kind of upsetting. #1-I am already afraid of dogs. #2- The children were treated so disrespectfully. #3- No one seemed to care.

Today was really challenging for me and got me thinking about a life in Africa. Is it inevitable that I will become one of these detached ex-pats that prefer to get drunk at beach resorts instead of giving children attention? Almost all of the people at the beach resort were involved in research or medicine or other humanitarian causes. Why then did no one do anything? And why was this resort area such a segregated place? At Greene Turtle Lodge in Ghana, a very similar type of place, the community is involved in running the place. They are the cooks and the maintenance staff. If you go on a boat ride exploring, people from the community are the ones that take you. This makes Greene Turtle as much about community development as it is about tourism and turning a profit. I wish all resorts could be like this but I know it isn’t the case. Anyways, it was a weird day. Not an altogether bad day. The weather was gorgeous and the atmosphere was nice for the most part. But once again, I feel challenged to find my place on this continent that I love.


PS- Got to talk to some people from home today  Made all of the difference in my day!