DISCLAIMER

This website is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the English Language Fellow's own and do not represent the English Language Fellow Program or the U.S. Department of State.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Happy Holidays!

Since it's Christmas Day, I thought it might be nice to do a quick update posting to wish all of my faithful (and not-so-faithful) readers a very happy holiday season and fabulous new year!

As for me, I'm on my own with my boyfriend today, actually getting ready for my family's arrival tomorrow. My sisters and two nephews were kind enough to travel a bit of a distance to see me this year (as they did last year), to spare me the trouble/extra cost of flying to the midwest to see them after making the trek over the Atlantic a week ago. They'll stay with us until Dec. 30, so I'm really looking forward to that. My cousin who lives a couple of hours from here will also be coming tomorrow, and possibly staying the night.

Unfortunately, however, we made a special trip to a Japanese market in New Jersey (across the Hudson from Manhattan) Sunday (a 4.5 hour trip each way) and returned yesterday, but failed to finish cleaning the house before we went. Thus, at least part of our Christmas holiday will be spent cleaning up and organizing the house for our guests. Fun, fun! For us, Christmas really starts tomorrow, though, so that's o.k.

So, the schedule will be: clean, possibly visit some nearbye friends (if time allows), cook special Japanese food (Sukiyaki, to be exact) for our holiday meal, go to a movie (probably "Charlie Wilson's War"). Hope we can get it all done!

I must say I am missing Malawi lately, especially the weather. We'd planned to walk around Manhattan a bit on Sunday night, but it was literally pouring down rain, and so windy and miserable we just stayed in. We actually ordered in pizza, which is one of the 'simple' pleasures I missed while in Malawi. Though I rarely indulge in delivered pizza while here in the U.S., I suppose I just missed having the option. On a cold, blustery, rainy night, it managed to hit the spot.

One other adventure since arriving back has been the strangeness of driving here again. Ironically, staying on the RIGHT side of the road hasn't been the problem. Now, it's figuring out the opposite side directionals/lights/wipers again (wipers/lights on right (up for higher speed/down for lower speed), directional on left (up for right, down for left)-- Ya, I keep turning on the wipers when I need to turn, and confusing up from down and right from left. Eventually, I'll have to go back to the opposite way after arriving back in Malawi Jan. 7. Should be fun. As always, I'll keep ya 'posted.'

Another interesting observation is the silence. The place where I live in Malawi, though rather remote, is much noisier. If it's not the roosters, it's the random fish/vegetable peddlers yelling out the specials of the day, or neighbors/kids yelling "ODIE!" (similar to "Anybody Home?" in English), or dogs barking, or other signs of life that tend to seep into my windows. I really miss those noises (well, maybe not the dogs at midnight and the roosters at 4 a.m.), but generally, this place is too quiet for me. Perhaps the weather has something to do with it. Ya, the weather. Everyone's inside, and apart from the random car whizzing by now and then, there's very little sign of life here.

So, for now, it's just us and the cats. More signs of life arriving tomorrow. I can't wait! Tiwonana!!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Back in the 'Hinterland'

So, I promised an update once returning home, so here it is. Finally, after almost 11 hours at the FREEZING Detroit airport, I made it onto the one and only plane out of Detroit to Elmira, NY, which left at around 10 p.m. last night, arriving at around 11:30 p.m. Needless to say, I was exhausted, and freezing, but still didn't actually go to bed until around 3 a.m. due to the fact that it was 'wake-up time' in Malawi (around 7 a.m.) when I got home.

I pretty much spent the rest of my afternoon/evening yesterday wandering around the airport, much of it searching for a warm enough jacket to keep me from freezing to death. It's amazing how difficult it can be to find a good fleece jacket in an international airport. All I could find were cotton 'hoodies,' which is what I was wearing, and that wouldn't do. I eventually had to treck back down to the main terminal about an hour before the boarding of my flight, where ironically the only place selling anything warm enough was the PGA (Pro Golf Association) store. Luckily, they were having a 50% off sale, so I didn't have to drop a big wad of cash for the oversized, but very warm fleece jacket I bought. I'll have to figure out who gets it for Christmas, since it's way too big for both me and my boyfriend.

OK, well, that's it for now. I'm not likely to post every day while here, since I'm no longer in Malawi, so Tiwonana for now!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Ohmigod, I'm in another world...

Hello, faithful Malawi 'n Me readers! Sorry for my days-long hiatus. I actually have a very good excuse... When I tried to get online to post on Wed. and Thurs., I found that I could not log onto the internet. After a bit of investigation, I found out that Domasi College had gotten delinquent in the payment of the internet service bill, thus no internet access as of Wed. I'm not sure whether there was access Friday, but due to my need to leave by noon to travel up to Lilongwe, I hadn't planned to post after Thursday, anyway...

So, this is the first time I've been able to get online long enough to enter a new post, and you'll never guess where I am now, nor what I am doing.

OK, I'll give you 3 guesses... In the U.S.? Yes. At home? No. Stranded in the Detroit Airport in the middle of a huge winter storm? Yes! Wow, nice job with your guesses! I'm actually at an internet bar at the Detroit Airport which allows unlimited internet access for about $7.00 U.S. Not only that, but my favorite American football team (The Green Bay Packers) were pummelling the St. Louis Rams (33-14 final score--Yippee!!), so of course I had to order a couple of beers and watch them play. Today's brew is Sam Adams (my favorite Eastern beer, which I usually order when I can't get a 'Leini's'--only the Wisconsinite 'Cheeseheads' will know what that is... and, by the way, for the Malawians-- Carlsberg definitely is NOT the best beer in the world, as they like to claim on their billboards around Malawi--qualified by 'probably' for a reason (full slogan, for the 'Yanks': Carlsberg--probably the best beer in the world'... No way...it's Leini's all the way, baby!!)

I also had a portobello mushroom and cheese panini... something you can't find in Malawi (especially the mushrooms), but it wasn't as satisfying as I'd expected somehow... Could it be I've lost the taste for certain 'American-style' foods??? (though paninis are Italian)--- Hmmm....

Let me back up a bit. I flew in at around 11:30 a.m. this morning (Sunday, Dec. 16) My one checked bag did not follow me from Amsterdam, but I'm told it'll come here later. My 1:30 p.m. flight to Elmira (where I live here in the states... well, actually Horseheads, NY which is a little town where my boyfriend lives) was cancelled due to this crazy 'Noreaster' storm... (as they like to call them here... due to the fact that they usually move south from Canada, and generally pummel the Northeast U.S., though this one apparently came up from the south and through the midwest first...)

So, the next flight available to my little town is at 9:30 p.m. Ya, about 10 hours to kill... that's a lotta beer (now down to 4.5 hours). I'll have to pace myself. I'll be sure to keep you posted again tomorrow on the status of my travels. I'm really in another world... everything is white here, including most of the people ;-).... and COLD--- REALLY, REALLY, REALLY Cold!! How did I grow up in this place? It's nuts... Well, at least there aren't any big, hairy spiders crawling around (As my sister Heather kindly reminded me while chatting online today)-- I suppose everything has its silver lining, eh?

So, with that, Tiwonana Mawa!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Curios of 'Happiness'

This will be another short post, as I'm just getting started, and it's almost 9:30 p.m. already. I spent the day in Blantyre today, visiting the doctor for one final check-up before leaving for the states, and all is looking very good, so I'm feeling quite relieved. I also met with a new friend David, whom I met through one of the Blantyre guys we met at the lake (Juffah, the guy who lives in Canada). David is Juffah's cousin, and a very nice guy who seems to have taken some pity on me, being a Mzungu all on my own living in the middle of nowhere. I don't have a lot of opportunities to 'hang out' in the city, so it's nice to know someone I can do things with in Blantyre once in awhile. Hopefully next time I'll get to meet up with his wife and young daughter as well.

He also obliged me in visiting the 'Curios' area in Blantyre (also known as 'souvenirs' to my fellow 'bloody Yanks' out there...). I'd been told by Juffah before he left for Canada to ask for a guy named 'Happiness' (ya, that's his real name... a lot to live up to, eh?). So, I asked for 'Happiness', and he appeared. Ah, if only it were always that simple. Not much later, meeting 'Happiness' brought me some 'sadness' and 'regret', as I spent a good chunk of the money in my purse. But I got good stuff for my 'homies' in the states. Betchya wanna know what I got. Not gonna tell ya (last line should be read aloud in 'Dana Carvey imitation of Bush-Senior' voice--that one's definitely for the 'bloody Yanks'). Of course, I don't wanna spoil the fabulous Christmas surprises!!

Actually, I only needed a few things, as most of my purchases have already been made. But, now I have more stuff from 'Happiness' which will hopefully bring more happiness to the ones I love. Isn't that sweet? Tiwonana mawa!

Monday, December 10, 2007

Fuzzy bugs, Fancy prison

Hello, again... For those few faithful who may have noticed, I have to apologize for not getting my post in yesterday, but I when I actually did get online yesterday evening with the intention of entering a short 'blurb', the connection to blogger wasn't working... though everything else online seemed fine. Perhaps the site was down. So, not entirely my fault, but it was Sunday, and I was feeling a bit tired and 'out of it', so I guess I just needed a rest day anyway.

I did take a short walk (well about an hour, which for me is short) around campus yesterday afternoon, as the rains seem to have come back again (finally), so it was so much cooler than usual...heaven for me. I also felt a walk might do me good, since I'd been cooped up in the house all day trying to grade those research papers. Ya, fun stuff. Why did I give that assignment, anyway? Can't imagine what I was thinking...(Ya, all you students out there... the grading is the payback for the big projects, in case ya didn't know...)

I was accompanied on my walk by a young man named Chikuni (the guy we met at Liwonde National Park who played the 'Bawo' game with Deliwe). He was in the area, and is a driver by trade, so I wanted to talk with him about helping me with my trip to Lilongwe on Friday, as I need to drive there (4 hours away) for my flight to the U.S. on Saturday. He agreed to help me with the driving both ways (I was especially worried about coming back in January, as I'll likely be VERY jet-lagged).

As we walked along, there were two VERY interesting things we spotted. One was this very strange, but beautiful bug. It looks like it's made of felt, or velvet, and is shaped a bit like a deer tick. It's a bright orange color, and when you pick it up, it compacts itself into a little tiny ball. We kept seeing them everywhere, and Chikuni picked all of them up and carried them around for awhile. I also did, but felt badly about the little guy all curled up like that, so put him back. Chikuni joked about eating them later. I think it was a joke (???) I saw one in our garden the other day as well... they're so interesting... they don't actually look real. I'll try to get a pic next time of one of these little guys. Maybe one of my faithful Malawian readers can help me with the name of this creature??? (Chikuni didn't seem to know its name, and I likely would've gotten it wrong here, anyway...)

The other interesting thing was the Domasi Prison. Though I knew where it was, I had never actually walked near it before. It actually looked like a pretty nice place to be. I didn't realize it was a prison until Chikuni told me it was. There was a guard sitting out front, talking with a young woman and her young daughter (maybe about 7 years old). Of course, they both lived there at the prison, and Chikuni told me the woman must be an inmate. He also said that there are serious criminals there, accused of crimes as serious as murder, though you'd never know it from looking at the place. It actually looked like nicer accommodation than many people enjoy in this area. It was a brick and concrete structure, surrounded by very nice landscaping and gardens, very green and lush. The building itself looked quite pleasant from the outside, and the only true security (besides the one guard) seemed to be a metal perimeter fence made of wire with coiled barbed wire at the top. That's it. I wonder if I should be worried about that at all... hmmmm....

I'm not sure if the woman inside was a convicted murderer, but had I been alone, I would never have suspected she was a prisoner, or that the place itself was a prison. Maybe the inside looks much different from the outside. I suppose I'll never know. At least I hope not.

So, that's my story for today. Tomorrow, I'm off to Blantyre for a quick doctor's visit and to buy a couple of things in preparation for my trip home. It'll be good to get out of town for a day. Been feeling a bit 'cooped up' lately...Tiwonana mawa!

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Grading meeting evaded (ooh that almost rhymes...)

Though I know many of you out there are waiting with great anticipation for the exhilarating story of the grading review meeting scheduled for today, I'm afraid you'll be overwhelmingly disappointed to find out that in the end I didn't make it there after all. I came to the office with the full intention of attending (though fashionably late by 15 mins., which appears to be somewhat standard here), I found the conference room locked. As I was walking away, a colleague from Social Sciences by the name of Sane (yes, as opposed to INsane, as he kindly obliged me in confirming) let me know that the meeting was postponed a few minutes due to a transportation scheduling issue involving the bus sent to collect faculty living off-campus. I then ran into the Dean, who said the department printer had run out of toner, so they were arranging to make copies in another office, but the meeting would begin 'at any time.' That said, Sane then assured me he'd check back in the conference room later on, and come to my office to let me know when the meeting starts.

So, I went back to the office, started my e-mailing/checking up on the world news daily ritual (some shocking stuff going on these days..), and as time went by, no Sane. Then, I started to think: "Should I check to see if the meeting started, or just wait for someone to come?" Hmmm... though I knew the responsible thing to do would be to go back and check, the other side of me really wanted to stay in my office and catch up on communications, as well as work on some of the Chanco research paper's I'd brought in with me. "Maybe just 5 more minutes," I thought. Then, about 20 minutes later, I realized, "Hmmm... some time has passed now... it might be rude to show up so late in the meeting. Maybe in a couple more minutes..." This went on for a good hour or so, until I decided it would be WAY too rude to show up that much later, not to mention I'd already committed to some other work, plus a much-needed international 'Skype' telephone conversation with my boyfriend back home.

Thus, I never made it to the meeting. In fact, I don't know whether the meeting actually took place, as Sane never did come over to my office to let me know. Not to say I'm too relieved, but well, I'm not a big fan of meetings... Is anybody? In a way, though, I was interested in how this one works, as it's culturally something new for me. The department faculty (in this case, Humanities) actually gets together (in this case, long after the end of the term which ended in September) to review the final grades for each course and make decisions based on whether the overall grade spread is too high or too low. If a course grade-spread seems to lop-sided, the faculty may recommend changing some of the grades in this meeting. Shocking, eh? Well, at least for me...

I learned from Mr. Mwanza (Deputy Principal at DCE) the other day that this is something the Malawians adopted from the British, who take pride in standardization, as well as keeping grades on the lower side. You really have to be extremely brilliant and exceptional to receive an 'A' in the British system. However, in the American system, this is not always the case, depending on the institution (and sometimes the region). It's one reason (among many) that our post-secondary institutions are sometimes accused of 'grade inflation.' In addition, the system here is very focused on end-of-term evaluations, rather than continuing assessment (i.e. projects, homework). In the U.S. (at least in my field), we tend to weigh more of our grading on work done throughout the term (i.e. homework, projects, periodic quizzes/exams etc.), and a bit less on final exams, which may account for only 20-40 percent of the final grade. Here, the final exams account for 60 percent of the final grade. Ya, for me, this is an extremely different approach to evaluation, reflective of an equally different view/theory on education/learning.

So, from that point of view, perhaps I missed out on something useful, at least in terms of how I approach my grading, as I must consider this as I finalize my grades this week with my Chanco students. I am finding, however, that the research paper (also being considered their final assessment, an exception approved by the dept. head at the end of the term, as I mentioned in an earlier post) has proven quite challenging for some of my students, so seems to be evening out the grades so that the curve should be acceptable enough to avoid any type of 'high' or 'low' general results.

Standardizing. Wow. This is tough for me. I like to give them what they deserve, not base it 'on a curve'. Ooh, I rhyming couplet. We were due for one of those...

Better end on that high note. Tiwonana mawa!

Friday, December 7, 2007

Road to Recovery

Today it appears that I'm on the road to recovery. Hallelujah! I was starting to lose hope. Though I woke up with a feeling of light-headedness (Which I also had Wed. while at the hospital--all hospitals do that to me...), that eventually passed late this morning, and for the most part I'm starting to feel 'normal' again. This is a very good thing, as I'm now getting more focused on the work I need to do before departing the country next Saturday, Dec. 15 for a visit home over the holidays. Due to my sorry physical state this week, I have been unable to work on marking those research papers I assigned my Chanco students as their end-of-semester assessment. Each paper is an average of 10 pages typed, so I won't be doing much more than marking those for the next week. Hence, my postings may be a bit lacking in excitement, but I'll try to do my best at embellishing and exaggerating for the benefit of my 4-6 faithful readers.

One of my observations yesterday is something I've been meaning to write about for awhile. I had to make a quick trip into Zomba to run a couple of errands, and Sister Anastasia (remember her? My next door neighbor) needed a ride to the bank, so she came along with me. Of course, I wasn't feeling so great, so I wanted to make it a very quick trip... American style-- zoom in, zoom out... This is difficult to do in Malawi, as whenever I go anywhere (in Zomba, especially), I get stopped by groups of people (sometimes blocking the car door, ironically--the 'Celtel' girls who peddle pre-paid cell-phone cards are most skilled at this method) wanting to sell me various things, and sometimes begging for money. Usually I can handle this situation in stride, kindly telling them I'm not interested, sometimes buying something, and quietly going my way.

Yesterday, however, I just was not in the mood. After dropping the Sister at the bank, I went up to the local PTC (People's Trading Center--one of the common grocery chains here), where this occurrence is rather common. I managed to get through it without incident (i.e. no money exchanged, few words spoken), walked over to the pharmacy, stopped at the PTC on my way back, and then decided to give some biscuits to a crippled man and some children who were asking for money. I generally try to give people food when I can.

Happy to then make my escape, I headed down to Chancellor College to pick up some materials left by a student who was ill towards the end of the semester. I then went to pick up the Sister at the bank, hoping we'd then be on our way. Not so. After getting in the car, she informed me that she also needed to go to the PTC to get some meat. Though I had mentioned that I'd planned to go there while she was at the bank, she never let me know that she also needed to shop there. I think this may be a cultural difference, as I never asked her directly whether she needed to go. As soon as she told me, I made 'a face,' and said, "Oh, no... You know, every time I go there, people surround my car trying to sell me things and beg for money. Do you really need to go there?" Of course, her answer was, "Yes. They have the best meat." Actually, I think she said it more politely than that, but my state of mind yesterday influenced the way it sounded at the time.

Of course, wanting to help her out and not be so selfish in my fragile physical and mental state, I agreed to go back. Of course, once I got there, I decided to stay in the car, thinking that would discourage too many people from approaching me. Not so. The same people still came by, even though they'd just seen me a few minutes earlier. The kids asking for money, followed by the guy selling strawberries, followed by the guy selling mangoes, and the guy selling bananas. In fact, one guy came to the car 3 times, selling all three of those things (if I'm not mistaken... though I was pretty hazy yesterday, so maybe I just imagined it was the same guy...)

In the end, the Sister took a good 10-15 minutes to shop (though it felt like a lifetime), eventually emerging with 3 full bags of groceries (or was it 2? Again, haziness...sorry...). I'm not sure why she didn't tell me she was picking up more food than that. I certainly would've followed her into the store. However, once I'd committed to staying in the car, I decided I'd better stick with that commitment. Luckily, the car is well-equipped with decent air-conditioning, or I'd certainly have passed out... it was hot. Very hot. And I was hazy. But I survived, and the Sister was grateful for my help. I suppose that's all that matters.

And, I'm feeling better today. Perhaps the good kharma's returning again. One can only hope so. Tomorrow afternoon, I'm attending a 2-hour meeting here at DCE (Domasi College of Ed.) about end-of-semester grading. Ya, on Saturday. Isn't that against the law here? More on that adventure 'mawa'. Betchya can't wait, eh? Tiwonana!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Just checkin' in...

Hey, this actually may end up being my shortest post ever on this blog. I had the true Malawi hospital experience yesterday (ya, the one I really hoped NOT to have...). This time it was for me rather than someone else. Don't worry, it's not too serious... has to do with the infection I got at the lake, and really needed to see a specialist, which literally required waiting ALL DAY at the hospital. And that was a private hospital. The public hospitals are much, much worse. Luckily, I think I got the treatment I needed, but I'm on lotsa antibiotics, and some painkillers now, which are makin me a bit woozy, so not up for a long post. Let's just put it this way. It's about 5:30 p.m., and I'm thinking of going to bed by 6:00. Hopefully things will get better tomorrow. Tiwonana mawa...

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Day in Court...

Ya, you read it right. I made my first court appearance EVER today. Ya, leave it to me to save my first time in court for a time when I'm living overseas. Luckily for me, I was not the defendant, though. I was actually a witness for the defense.

To be honest, I cannot remember whether I'd written about this story on the blog, as it's a bit sensitive, so I'll just leave the names out to protect the innocent. I do believe this person is innocent, which is why I testified in his defense. He happens to be a driver by trade, and I had run into him in Zomba one day while shopping for a mosquito net for my gardener Harold's family, who had just moved into the servant's quarters behind our house. Their little girl was already suffering from malaria when they first moved in, so the net was a crucial addition to the home.

After looking around at the 2 shops at which I'd found the nets before (South African Dept. store 'Pep' and Shop Rite), and having no luck, I ran into this driver friend of mine, who kindly helped me to find a shop which sells the elusive nets (ya, much more elusive than they ought to be in this malaria-ridden country... but I digress...).

He quickly led me to one of the many Indian-owned shops in Zomba where we found a net, and as we were walking back from there, it happened. We're having a nice conversation, and about 3 or 4 traffic cops come walking across the street, headed our way. I didn't realize they were actually aiming towards my friend, but then one of the officers looked at me, and said, "I'm sorry, madame, but we are arresting this one..." My friend then had a look of complete shock, as they grabbed his arms, and man-handled him away from me. There was a bit of a struggle, but to me the whole thing was shocking and seemed excessive. I really didn't know what to do about it, as they slapped him around a bit in a way that seemed quite forceful, especially considering that this is not a big guy, and he was surrounded by at least 4 police officers (more came later) who were a lot bigger than he was.

Eventually, the officers took him away, while he meanwhile looked back at me in a very desperate kind of way. I really didn't know what to do, so I just stood there with my mouth hanging open (ya, literally...). At one point, the situation prompted a few guys standing nearby to come to my friend's aid, as it appeared the officers might really beat him up. One of those guys came to me and explained that the officers were arresting my friend for failing to stop at a police checkpoint. Remember my story a few weeks back about being stopped and asked whether I had 'triangle plates?' It was one of those types of checkpoints. At such checkpoints, the officers do not have vehicles, so apparently if someone fails to stop, they walk along the streets until they find him and then arrest him in the way I'd just witnessed with my friend.

Of course, this situation is flawed in so many ways, as there is no real proof at all of the crime, and of course there is a 'beca' system (as they call it in Mexico), so anyone with a bit of cash can pay off an officer who threatens to arrest him (something I think might've happened when I was stopped, but being a 'clueless Mzungu' helped me escape the situation).

In any case, my friend insists that he never drove through the traffic stop, and that these officers are simply corrupt, and were targeting him, possibly for personal reasons (though I'm not sure if it was entirely personal, or just plain bullying). I hate bullies, and to see this kind of thing take place, so I agreed to testify in his defense for the charge of 'obstructing a police officer,' which is the 2nd charge he faces (besides the alleged traffic stop drive-through).

The appearance was quite interesting. It was a small hearing room, not much unlike those I've seen in the states (Yes, I've seen some because my good friend Joy is a lawyer in Chicago, and I got to see her in action once... plus, I covered the 'police/crime beat' during my short stint as a newspaper reporter in New Mexico.... so ya, I've been inside courtrooms, but never actually testified before.)

This part of the case was the defense, as the prosecution had made its case in another hearing. After the judge entered, I was sent out of the room so as not to be influenced by my friend's testimony in his own defense. After about 30 mins., they called me in to testify at the witness box (standing up, in this case), and take the honesty oath (though with no bible, interestingly). The judge then asked me to relay what I had seen, which was basically what I just described above. After that, the police officer handling the case asked me a few questions regarding my understanding of 'obstruction.' I basically replied that to me it means excessive force used by someone to resist arrest (as would be my understanding of the law in the U.S.), but in this case that did not happen. My friend did react a bit when he was grabbed by the arm, but just as a reflex, and no more. I was also asked how I would react if I were told I were under arrest. Of course, I replied that I wasn't sure how I'd respond in this particular situation, but I would certain ask why I was under arrest.

After that, my friend testified that he did ask why he was being charged in Chichewa. Apparently there was a question as to whether he had been told he was under arrest before the officers strong-armed him. Of course, I wasn't a 'prepared witness', and I wanted to tell the truth. I was worried then that my testimony may have hurt him, as I'd mentioned that the officers looked at me saying they were arresting him. However, they did not say anything to him, and his reaction led me to believe that he had no idea what was going on or why.

After my testimony, I was thanked graciously by the judge, and off I went. I called my friend later, who was very thankful, saying my testimony was very helpful to him. I hope he's right. I must say the whole experience was a bit disturbing, but again I'm trying to do my part to help someone out. I really hope it works out, as I'm certain this person is innocent. I'll keep you posted on the results, though I'm not sure when that will be. Another witness will testify for my friend on Friday, so perhaps a decision will be made that day, but my guess is that it may take quite a bit longer (if traffic court in the U.S. serves as comparison...)

So, that was the highlight of my day. Ya, always an adventure here in Malawi, eh? Tiwonana mawa!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Ah, the Lake Malawi Story... Making up for a LONG silence...

Hello!! I'm back, after a 2-day hiatus... wow, feels like a lifetime, doesn't it? As it turned out, after Friday, we had major server problems here at Domasi College of Education, which prevented me from updating this blog over the weekend. I'm eternally sorry to my faithful readers, and I'll do my best to make up for this lapse during this coming week, especially today (as you'll see...). Since my weekend was relatively uneventful (due to not feeling so well on Saturday, thus not attending the wedding after all), I'll cut to the chase, and tell you all about my fabulous weekend on the lake, Nov. 23-25). I'll try to get a few pix posted today as well, but I may need to save that portion of my post for tomorrow, as I'm getting started a bit late this evening (6 p.m.--ya, this is late for me in Malawi, ;-), and this posting itself could take awhile.

So, without further ado, back to the details of our weekend on the lake. Let's see how much I can remember one week and one day later???... Hmmm... Well, first of all, I can say that this excursion went a million times better than the weekend before (Remember? Got lost, then car trouble, then accommodation trouble, but then got our new kitty Willy, some baskets, some fish, some baskets of fish, yadda yadda yadda). This time, I arranged things with my class at Domasi College so that we completed our class meetings on Thursday night (rather than Friday morning), which freed me up to leave first thing after lunch on Friday. Thus, we got a much earlier start than the previous weekend. Instead of leaving at 4 p.m., we actually got out a bit before 3 p.m. (though I was hoping to get out by 2 p.m., but oh, well...)

Of course, this time we knew how to get there, and I had also received directions to our hotel via e-mail from the manager. This time, it looked like we'd made all the right choices... better accommodation, new battery in the car, detailed directions. What could go wrong? Nothing, right? I know what you're thinking... This is the part where I tell you about some big problem we had, and I get into all sorts of gory details, making it sound embellished and exaggerated (though none of my stories ever are--especially here in Malawi... here, you'll find the truth, and only the truth, so help me Great Spirit...)

HMMM... that was a good digression, even for me...

But seriously, we had NO PROBLEMS!! Not-a-one! We never got lost, we never had car trouble, we never felt like we were going to die out in the wilderness. Even the "terrible road" we were warned about by Simon, the hotel manager, wasn't half as bad as I suspected. Based on his description, I thought it would be wrought with huge boulders, potholes, and sheer drop-offs (all of which I'm somewhat accustomed to navigating on the roads in the Zomba area). No, no... it was just basically a loose dirt road that was not very well-graded, so extremely bumpy in parts, and some recent rains had caused major drainage 'arroyos' (the word is better in Spanish-- what is it in English?)-- I'm trying to describe those gullies that are created in sand or dry dirt when it suddenly rains heavily. Anyway, those things were running through several areas of the road, so it required a bit of maneuvering to get around them at times. But really, the entire time, I kept saying to myself, "I wonder where the bad part of the road is..." I guess this means I'm "Africanized" now. No goin' back, so I hear... I'll keep ya posted.

The other lucky bit of this tale is that we arrived at our destination without making one wrong turn, and just before the sun snuck its little way behind the horizon. This meant that we were able to arrive at the lodge, order a beer, sit in the open-air lounge on the beach, and enjoy the sunset. Wow. Finally, a trip going without a hitch!! At this point, I was getting nervous, waiting for the sky to fall. Still, it never did (not yet...).

While enjoying the sunset, we had a small chat with Simon, the manager of the lodge (called 'Gecko's), who informed us that they offer services to travelers, and try to employ local people who will charge reasonable rates, and who are trustworthy. This of course is a concern in a place like Lake Malawi, as many of the villagers (The village is RIGHT on the BEACH... very cool) have their own boats, and want to make an extra buck, but not all of them are qualified or experienced enough to take travelers around the lake. So, of course we agreed to talk with one of the tour guides who works with the lodge by the name of Peter. The trip we were interested involved a short boat trip across the lake to a small island off the shore, where we would be able to snorkel and swim around see the various species of fabulously-colored, famous Malawi Cichlids (Ah! What's the Chichewa name for them? Help me, Malawian readers!), eat a fish brai (which is an open-fire barbecue--mmmm--no, we didn't eat cichlids, don't worry!!), and feed the diving fish-eagles... all for only around MK3,500 (about 25 bucks). That was an awesome deal. Not only that, but they'd fill a cooler with drinks (beer, sodas) for us, and we'd only need to pay for those drinks we actually consumed. Ah, my dream vacation had finally arrived. They couldn't sign us up fast enough.

After booking the boat trip, we had a quick bite to eat (the place was a bit pricey, so we went for the old grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches and chips--er fries for the yanks), and called it a night. I think we were sleeping by about 8 or 9 p.m. We were exhausted, so much that we had to pass up the 10:00 p.m. 'boogie' that some of the lodge staff had told us about earlier. Maybe Saturday night would do.

Our accommodation was interesting, as we'd decided to book a dorm, rather than the much more expensive chalet rooms, which are really set up for 4 people. Luckily for us, there were no other guests in the dorm either night, so it was essentially like being set up in our own room, but much, much cheaper. We did find out later on that there was an even better set-up down the beach (Gaia Lounge), which I think I'll try the next time I go down to "The Cape."

So, the following morning, Deliwe was up with the sun as usual, and had a nice swim before I even cracked an eyelid open. We then got our swimming gear on, and headed to the lounge area for a light breakfast. Actually, we had our own food, as Deliwe had cooked up some fabulous potato samosas for the trip (they're very popular here, a favorite Indian import--did I mention many Indians also live in Malawi?). We still had about 6 of them left, so that was our breakfast. Again, considering the prices at this place, we were glad we'd brought those along.

So, at around 9:30 a.m., we headed out on the water with Peter, and 3 other guys (the boat conductor, and 2 other staff from the lodge--Leonard was the only one whose name I remember... I think it's because he really liked Deliwe, so he was talking to us a lot.) I'm not sure whether I've mentioned how Deliwe could be a hands-down winner of one of those 'phone number collecting' contests people sometimes have when they go out on the town. Everywhere we go, some new boy is asking for her phone number. She's quite popular with the young men in Malawi, but also very careful, and keeps a distance at the same time. She handles all this attention quite well, I must say. Anyway, it's always a big joke between us... anytime the phone rings, I'm always saying to her, "Which boyfriend is that?", to which she always replies with hysterical laughter, and then of course tells me who it is. It usually is some boy who's been chasing her for awhile. They appear to be rather patient, however, so I'm not too worried, as I know she is a strong person who will stand her ground and remain cautious. Another quality I highly admire in her.

Wow, that was a REALLY long digression, even for me.

So, we got on the boat, and had a short trip (about 10 mins.) to the island, where we unloaded, and then quickly jumped into the rocky, slippery water. No, this wasn't a sandy beach, which in this case was a very good thing, as it would mean the likelihood of seeing the cichlids would be minimal. Once I got in, those little guys surrounded me like I was a big piece of bread. Wait. Maybe that's what they actually thought I was. My bright, white skin likely resembles some type of favorite tropical fish cuisine... maybe a huge brine shrimp? Hmmm... I'm bankin' on the bread.

Even though we had snorkels, we almost didn't need them, as you could see so many fish just from the surface (see pix at left). Still, I took the honor of trying to figure out how to fit the snorkel tightly onto my head (It's been a couple of years since I've snorkeled, and I've only tried it twice before)... so, it was a bit slow-going at first, but eventually I got the hang of it, and got some great views of big groups of amazing, brightly-colored fish. Incidentally, I found out from our tour guides that the American guy who was exporting the Malawi Cichlids to the U.S. (and maybe elsewhere) for fish-tank lovers just died in September. Though his passing is sad, of course, it got me thinking... who's taken over that enterprise? Hmmm... I guess there's a widow involved, but in any case I'm thinking about looking into that... I'll keep you posted...

So, we spent the afternoon floating in the water, enjoying a few drinks, eating our fish brai (this was a much bigger fish than chambo... Kamparo (???)-- eek... I'll need to check my Malawian sources for the correct name and get back to you)-- very very tasty, and beautifully cooked (see pix at left).

After our meal, I of course attempted to lather on a bit more sunscreen, as I was starting to "feel the burn." My experience told me at that point that it could be too late, but I still jumped back in, had a few more snorkels, swims, and beers (don't worry... not all at the same time), and eventually decided to put my T-shirt on as my shoulders were definitely getting crispy... I'd really feel it later, as all you mzungus out there can attest... the real curse of sunburn is the fact that you don't really feel it until it's too late, and then you suffer for days, and I did.

In the meantime, Peter had hooked up with some of his buddies on the other side of the island, who came over to chat with us for a bit while we hung out in the water. A couple of these guys were living in North America... one in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Ya, that's in Canada for the geographically-challenged), and another guy had lived in Chicago for awhile, (which is near where I grew up--well, sort of). It was nice to talk with a couple of Malawians who'd lived in North America, especially to get their perspective on what it's like for them to adjust to our culture... Of course, somewhat opposite to what I've been experiencing. So, all of us shared a few beers, about 3 or 4 of the guys in the group flirted with Deliwe, and off they went. They'd invited us to go dancing with them later at our lodge (the 'boogie' place), but in the end we were too tired to go, and due to my sun-scorched state of being, I was in bed by about 9 p.m.

Shortly after the group of guys left, we also headed out, and got to feed the eagles. Basically, this consists of throwing small dead fish in the water, and watching them dive for them. One of the eagles actually resembled a North American Bald Eagle... I tried to get a pic of it (at left), but it's a bit hard to see. In any case, these guys were a lot of fun to watch.

So, all-in-all, it was a pretty good day. In the morning, we saw a few of our friends from the boat trip the day before again walking up the beach, so we decided to have a bit of breakfast together (see pic), and since they had traveled from Blantyre, we had a small 'convoy' on the way back. This time, it wasn't my car we were worried about. It was the car Juffah (the guy living in Canada) was having with the car he'd borrowed from a friend. One of the tires was going flat, and parts of the car seemed to be falling off (kinda like the old police car driven by Jake n Elwood in the 'Blues Brothers', but again I digress)... In any case, they showed us the car, and we offered to let them borrow our spare tire just to get into Mangochi (the nearest town) to get the tire fixed. It was then I learned an important lesson about tires--not all have the same number of bolts... ours had 5, and theirs had only 4. So, they couldn't use our spare. Luckily, they did have a (very old, very bald) tire to use as a spare, so they put that one on, and then off we went down the road.

At first, they decided to follow us, but we changed that plan right after their rear bumper fell off, and I lost them in the dust before I realized they weren't behind us anymore. Wow, that was a sight to see... I stopped to wait for them, and received a call from Juffah on my cell phone explaining the problem. Luckily, MacDonald (his friend sitting in the back) had seen the bumper fall off, or they wouldn't have known at all. When they caught up to us, MacDonald was sitting in the back with this huge bumper. We then decided it would be best if we followed them to pick up any other spare parts that might drop off along the way.

Eventually, about 1/2 of the trip into Mangochi, we stopped the cars to see how things looked, and I offered to put the back bumper into my car, since we didn't have anyone in the backseat, and my seats also fold down, so we could put the bumper into the trunk and lay it on the back of the backseat. This was a much better situation. As we continued down the road, no other pieces fell off, so all was good. Then, when we got into Mangochi, we stopped to have the tire patched, bought some Chambo to take home, and off we went.

When our convoy reached Domasi, we returned the fated bumper back to the three guys (Juffah, his younger brother Titha, and MacDonald), and sent them on their way. Juffah later told me his friend's uncle (if I remember correctly), a typical Malawian who can fix any car from birth (just something I've noticed about most men here), managed to re-attach the bumper without too much trouble, so all was well in the end.

So, there you have it. A bloody good trip. No major mishaps, and we actually helped a few locals avoid their own near-tragic meltdown in the middle of nowhere. So, I guess kharma was on our sides this time, and we still have some good stories to tell...

With that, I leave you for now. Tiwonana mawa! (Ya, I'm BAAAACCKKKK!!)

Friday, November 30, 2007

Still breathing...

Hey, I'm just checking in to let the faithful readers know that I am still living and breathing, but not completely healthy... It seems I've contracted a small infection resulting from swimming in wet clothing in the lake, and then sitting in that wet clothing too long. Because of this, I needed to see a doctor in Blantyre on Wednesday (after a bit of self-diagnosis on Web-MD... Great site, that one!) Things seem to be a bit better, but wanted to go in for a follow-up today, so I'm in a bit of a hurry, and may not make it back to post the details promised regarding our trip to the lake... SORRY! As you know, this has been a very difficult week. My day of mourning turned into a couple of days, though yesterday's lack of posting was due to a power outage here which lasted about 5 hours (from 5:30 p.m. when I planned to post, until about 10 p.m.)

So, I hope you can all understand and accept my infrequent and shorter postings this week. I'll also be in Blantyre tomorrow afternoon to attend a wedding celebration for the son of the secretary in my department at Chanco. If things end early enough, I should be able to post the lake stories tomorrow (along with some stories of the wedding). However, for now, I'll have to say that it's possible you may not hear from me again until Sunday.

Thanks again for your patience, and don't worry, you KNOW I'll make up for it with rambling details and fabulous pix!! Tiwonana tomorrow or Sunday!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Day of Mourning...

Hey, I just need to let everyone know that I'm taking a day of mourning on the blog today. Unfortunately, Deliwe's uncle's wife died early this morning, and I've spent much of the day helping her and her family cope with the loss and prepare for the funeral. I recently got back from driving Deliwe and some of her family members to the village where the funeral will take place tomorrow. There is much preparation to be done, so the closest members of the family need to stay overnight to help in that effort.

Though I will not attend the funeral, I did give my condolences today to Deliwe's uncle and family members. The saddest part of it is that this woman was only 35 years old, had 5 young children, and died of tuberculosis (the symptoms of which were largely ignored until it was too late), a disease for which there are vaccinations and cures. I received a vaccination for it (among other horrible diseases common here) before I left the U.S. I suppose when you are far away and know about these problems intellectually, it doesn't hit you as hard. The impact of physically seeing someone suffer the way this woman did from something that she only died from due to her geographical location is difficult for me to come to terms with. Of course, the "save the world" instinct comes to mind. There are several medical organizations around working to help get vaccinations and medications to people here, but it's simply not enough. I did all I could to help, even assisted in paying the hospital fees. But, in the end, it wasn't enough, and 5 kids lost their mother today.

What else can I say? I'm just too sad. Let's just leave it at that for now.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Willy's the Winner!

Hey, I just wanted to check in to let the faithful readers know that Deliwe and I have decided on a name for our new kitty. Willy. (Though, maybe we should call him "whiney" based on his behavior since we returned from the lake...) Ya, I know it's not a Chichewa name, but my boyfriend suggested it last week when we talked, and somehow it just seems to fit. The idea actually came from his tendency towards naming his cats after characters from 'The Simpsons,' which is also his favorite T.V. program. Bart and Homer have already been used, so Willy the Scottish janitor was one of the other candidates...seemed to fit better than Mr. Burns, Moe, Ned Flanders, or Krusty the clown... Of all the names we received, this one was the one both Deliwe and I liked best (though we also did consider Skippy, ironically...). So, the winner is Willy! (and my boyfriend... he'll get his prize when I come home to visit next month... that will be kept strictly confidential, of course ;-)

I also have news about our trip to the lake/Cape McClear this past weekend. It was wonderful, all went very well, but the after-effects of too much sun-exposure are taking their toll on me now. Most bothersome, of course, is the sunburn... ya, I should know better, and I was covered in sunscreen, but I'm very prone to sunburn, and just stayed out in it way too long (especially in the water, snorkeling, swimming, floating). So, both yesterday and today I've been in major pain, and also a bit sun-drained, so feeling extremely tired. This is one reason for my failure to post on Sunday, but more importantly, we were enjoying our stay so much that we left a little later in the afternoon, and didn't get back until around 8 p.m., so the free gin offer would be off if anyone had tried to claim it, though as usual, no one did... Whew! (again, the exceptions are computer issues and physical presence-- though I was here after 8 p.m., it was a bit too late to complete a detailed blog entry of my experiences, plus the fatigue issue, yadda, yadda, yadda.)

With that said, please oblige me in waiting one more day for the descriptions and pix of our trip. I'm just really exhausted, and had another very busy, VERY HOT day today. Thanks for waiting graciously and faithfully! Tiwonana mawa!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thanksgiving continued...

Today I'll just keep it short and simple, though it was a long, HOT day in Malawi, I must say. A few major events: I finished my final class with my LAN 150 students at Chancellor College... they were quite rambunctious (sp?), I must say. I'm sure they're just relieved to get one course under their belts... not only that, but I was able to convince the head to allow me to use their final research papers as their final assessment... whew! They're very happy for this, of course, as am I, since I was a bit worried about writing an exam for a course for which I only taught the 2nd half (started at mid-term). Luckily, I do have systems in place to make sure they're doing their own work, avoiding plagierism, etc. so it should serve as a good assessment.

After the class, I did go back to Deliwe's uncle's wife's house to take her to the closest private hospital (St. Luke's, in a nearbye village called Malosa). Luckily, Deliwe's uncle (Wilson) was able to get some assistance from a relative to help pay the fees to have her further examined and treated. He only needed me for transportation, since they live in quite a remote place(as I've mentioned before), and transporting her in a mini-bus in her condition just would not be an option. I was happy to do my little part to help them out, and was also astounded by the strength of her older sister (maybe in her early forties), who carried her on her back ("piggy-back" style) down the steep hill from her house to my car, as the "road" to the house is impassible for my little car.

I suppose the most remarkable thing about this situation for me is how many people are spending their time and energy to take care of this woman in her time of need. It may be useful to point out that these people do not have most of the modern conveniences we take for granted (cars, especially), and still they find ways to go out to a remote place and help someone in need, no questions asked. Each time I've visited the house, there are at least 3 women there, plus their children, visiting, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of things for this woman and her family. I'd like to say this is the norm back home as well, but it's quite rare, I believe. I suppose in our "development," perhaps many of us have lost that tendency to become selfless and stop what we're doing to really take care of each other. Perhaps we also have fewer options, too, as demands of work and modern life have taken over. Whatever it is, this aspect of human caring seems so much stronger here than anything I've ever witnessed or experienced thus far. I'm certain that if I became this sick, most likely only one person would have the ability and means to come to my aid, and certainly that person would not have to carry me piggy-back up and down hills.... Do I know anyone that would do that? (Well, maybe one person... but I'd have to confirm it with him first!! ;-)

In any case, just another observation of how truly strong the family bonds seem to be here, at least in this case. Certainly that's a very important factor in an area where people really have to struggle to survive. I suppose it gives me a bit of hope in humanity, and again, something to be thankful for (well, maybe a few things, as mentioned in yesterday's post).

So, we got her to the hospital, where her sister will stay and help take care of her... another tidbit... the hospitals here allow and encourage family members to stay in the ward with the patients, as often their resources for care are quite limited (even the private hospitals), so families must provide care/comfort, as well as food, blankets, and other necessities for the patients. Though this isn't an ideal situation, at least it has the added benefit of the loved ones' presence at the hospital during the patient's care.

My day was completed with a two-hour evening class session with my newest distance-learning group at Domasi College of Education (DCE). I started the class this afternoon for one hour at 2:30 p.m., and then negotiated with them to meet tonight from 7:30-9:30 p.m. in order to free up the originally-scheduled 2-hour class time tomorrow so that Deliwe and I can leave a bit earlier for the lake. Yes, we're attempting our trip to Lake Malawi again tomorrow, hopefully leaving by 1 p.m. Wish us luck! This means I will NOT be posting tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 23), nor Saturday, Nov. 24. I should be back for a posting on Sunday with the details of our adventures on the lake! (Yes, with PIX included!!) I already have been warned that the road to our destination (Cape McClear) will provide at least half the adventure, so I'm going to have to mentally prepare myself and my trusty Toyota for that trip. Luckily, I do have a new battery now, so at least that part should be o.k. This time, I'm just hoping the tires and underbody will survive the trip... Wish us luck on that as well...

So, until Sunday, Tiwonana!! For those in the U.S., Enjoy your turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin pie 'food coma', and GO PACKERS!! ;-) (One more thing to be thankful for this year, so my sisters tell me... Da PACK is BACK!!!)

--Oh,and one more thing... I lied... this post wasn't so short, nor simple! Sorry! Guess the 'faithful' readers are used to that by now, eh? ;-)

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Giving Thanks a day early...

OOh, after much ado, I'm finally posting a new blog entry for you... (Ya, starting off with a little rhyming couplet--er, triplet!--sorry the meter's a bit off--a poet, I'm not, and I know it...)

So, did anybody notice I did not post yesterday? Well, the free gin is still a-waitin, and only one winner so far. Lucky for me, no one reads this blog too often (well, at least none of the gin-lovers--Whew!) I do have a good excuse though... my internet connection seems to be very slow lately. I've been using my very rudimentary computer skills to try to troubleshoot the problem, and now it seems to be better. I think most of the problem is due to firewall settings on the network here at Domasi College. I believe I've managed to override the "Windows Firewall" which was automatically blocking some internet usage on the network. Luckily, I have my own firewall program, so my faithful readers won't have to worry about a nasty computer virus attacking my laptop anytime soon. Never fear, 'Malawi'n me' can always be found here! (ooh, rhyming couplet no. 2!! --or 3, if you count that lame take on 'I'm a poet, and I know it' written above... ;-)

As for yesterday, the major event for me was another trip to visit Deliwe's uncle's wife (her 'aunt' by our standards, but the expression is different here for non-blood relatives) who has been very sick for a couple of months now. The faithful readers may remember me mentioning another trip a few weeks ago, during which I drove Deliwe, her mother, an aunt, and a niece to visit her. Unfortunately, since then, she's had at least to 2 more hospital visits, but seems to have taken a turn for the worst. She's very frail, thin, and currently bed-ridden. The doctors seem to be giving her some medicine, but it only seems to help for short periods of time, and then she begins to suffer all over again.

My gardener Harold was with us when we dropped Deliwe and her family off at the house, and says she seems to be showing the same symptoms as his brother-in-law, who's suffering from Tuberculosis. Ya, one of the many horrible diseases we have vaccines for back home. It was also one of the many vaccinations I received before I came here. I just wish I could help her somehow.

For now, I've offered to help them take her to another hospital if they so choose, but as always, financial issues are the greatest concern here, and I'm not sure whether they'll feel comfortable asking me to help with payment. Though I made a sincere offer to Wilson (Deliwe's uncle) to help in any way I could, I still did not hear from him today, and upon asking Deliwe, she wasn't sure what he had decided. Perhaps there is a feeling that there's nothing more to be done. I hope to be able to talk with him again and see if there's any way I can help. I'm very concerned, as you can imagine.

Today brought much better news, as I went to visit the 'Village to Village' orphanage to take a look at the progress of our reading room project. It's definitely coming along, with several shelves installed, and the basic framework for the small half-wall partition. Upon looking at it, however, Alfred (the director) and I decided to extend the partition all the way to the front wall of the classroom, rather than ending it a couple of feet before that wall, as it would add considerable more room for both books and kids. This took a small bit of negotiation, but we all agreed, so it looks like our room will be a bit bigger than the original plan (and hopefully stay within budget...we shall see...).

The other nice thing about our visit was that I got to meet some of the volunteers who work with the kids at the orphanage, and was happy to see the involvement and interest they had in our project as well. Alfred seems to really have 'rallied the troops,' so to speak, to get this project underway, involving several members of the community in its construction...(watch for pix of progress/volunteers soon!) In the end, we decided to start the next phase of the project, which is to install glass and fixtures into the windows. For this, three of the women volunteers working with the orphanage will go to a special market in a nearbye village called Songani tomorrow (The market comes together on Mondays and Thursdays each week) in order to purchase the materials for the windows, as Alfred assures me they can get a good price.

So, it looks like the project is underway, and going well. In addition, after our meeting, we ended up walking a fair distance back to the main road from the orphanage in the hot sun (Deliwe and I walked to the orphanage earlier, but took the shortcut, and it wasn't quite as hot). This walk really made me appreciate the difficulty most people in Malawi face every day, as they walk along the roads for long distances, carrying all manner of goods on their heads (especially the women, and often the children). I, on the other hand, was walking for a mere 30 minutes or so, carrying only my camera, a small purse, and a bottle of water (which amazingly, people usually do NOT carry), and really thought I might not make it. I really have no idea how people here do this every day. They truly are amazingly strong and resilient, in ways I cannot imagine. It was certainly an enlightening and humbling experience for me.

The other irony to that experience was the fact that I remembered that tomorrow is Thanksgiving back home, during which we enjoy a huge meal with our family and/or friends, while the weather is getting cooler, and it's even snowing, according to the latest reports from my boyfriend. Ya, I normally loathe the cold weather, but right now I'm actually missing it!! With this in mind, I really started to feel like I'm in another world. I can't even imagine cold weather and snow right now. It seems so distant and fictional somehow. Perhaps I'm a bit homesick, but I'm still glad that I'm here, and giving thanks for all the wonderful people I continue to meet and the experiences I've had. I certainly also give thanks for the relative comforts I've enjoyed for most of my life, especially as I witness the hardships faced by most people here, but also the grace and dignity with which they manage to face them. I truly do have much to be thankful for.

So, for all these reasons, I'd like to extend a (very) warm Happy Thanksgiving!!! to all my loyal Malawi 'n Me readers, one day early... Tiwonana mawa!

Monday, November 19, 2007

New Battery, Nice Feast, Not a Bad Day

I'll start off today's post with the first batch of kitty names entered in yesterday's blog comments. So far, I've gotten the same name suggestion from 2 people (Cherette & friend Heather): Skippy John Jones... I guess this is based on a fictional cat that looks something like a Chihuahua... Not only is it a long 3-word-kinda name, but not translatable, so we probably won't use it. Though, I kinda like 'Skippy' as a name for a cat... Of course, I'll have to discuss it with Deliwe first. The other two names entered were Mphenzi (courtesy of my Uncle Bob), and Katswiri (suggested by Limbika, one of my most faithful Malawian readers).

Hmmm... Right now, I'm guessing Katswiri tops the list, as it has a nice ring to it, I could shorten it to 'Kat'-- which was the name of my first cat when I was little--plus I know what it means since Limbika told me....('clever one'--we'll have to see if it really fits ;-) As for this name given by Uncle Bob, I'll have to consult Deliwe for the translation... He said it took "a lot of research," and he called our lovely kitty a 'beast' (Ya, Uncle Bob's not a cat guy... this can't be good...). So, unofficially (before Deliwe's vote), I'm goin for Katswiri for now--BUT, don't give up yet, as there are still 6 more days to enter your suggestions, since I'll announce the final decision sometime on Sunday! So, keep 'em comin'!!

In other news, I had my car battery replaced today, Malawi-style. Yes, that means with the help of 3 friends, plus a couple of strangers. It first involved taking the car into Zomba, and while parked at the bank, having my gardner Harold (who also knows a few things about cars) test the battery by touching the two 'nodes' (as I call them) --those knobs on top of the battery that show positive (+) and negative (-) charges, and looking for 'blue sparks'. We actually happened to find a random wire laying in the parking lot that fit our purpose perfectly, after an attempt with the jumper cables did not produce the desired effect. In the end, the wire only produced 'yellow sparks,' indicating the battery needed replacing.

So, we proceeded to a gas station, where we discovered the batteries were not only a bit pricey, but also the 'nodes' were too large for the fittings that attach to them. Apparently only cars sent directly from Japan have the smaller nodes (mine was sent from Japan, where it was originally manufactured). So, we decide to check another shop in the market area to see if we can find a different battery, as well as the fittings necessary to attach it. On the way, I receive a call from Chikuni, who is the guy Deliwe and I met when we went to Liwonde National Park (he's the one in the pictures playing the stone game 'Bawo' with her.) He has kept in touch since our trip... Though Deliwe is reluctant to admit it, it's quite clear he's taken a shine to her, as he's made a couple of special trips by minibus from his village just outside of Zomba into Domasi to see her. In the U.S., this would be about the equivalent of hitchhiking from New York City to the Blue Ridge Mountains in West Virginia to see a girl. No one comes to Domasi from Zomba. It's much more common to travel in the other direction... Ya, he's quite smitten. Luckily for me, he's also a decent mechanic, not to mention quite a friendly, pleasant guy, with very good English skills. Unfortunately for him, though, Deliwe is not interested... in anyone. She's very driven to focus on her future, and knows that a boyfriend will have to wait until she reaches her goals. She's a smart girl.

In any case, Chikuni called me as we were leaving the gas station, as he'd agreed to meet me today to help with the battery. He was at the mini-bus stop in Zomba, which happens to be across from the Shop-Rite (the biggest supermarket in Zomba, about the size of one of those mini-marts in the U.S., like PDQ (in the midwest), Stop 'n Go (out west), or Burne Dairy (out east). Where do ya go down South? Never lived there, so my friends in North Carolina would have to enlighten me... Carrie? Carrie? (I know two Carries in N.C.-- where do y'all go when ya need gas 'n milk in the same trip? Hmmm...)

Oops, digressed again, sorry... So, we met up outside of Shop-Rite, just after I ran into Melvin the taxi driver. He's in the middle of a court battle for which I might be a witness (involving potential police brutality, but luckily he's o.k.-- Did I mention this on the blog? Happened a couple of weeks ago...). I'll save that story for another time. In the end, Melvin ended up joining our entourage, so I was lucky enough to have three kind gentlemen help me with my car battery problem. This is just how people are here. I love that! Back home, I'd most definitely be at the repair shop by myself, while I paid through the nose for some mechanic to take his time to replace the battery while I drink stale coffee and suffer through some nauseating talk show on the lobby T.V. set. Nah, I prefer this way any day!

So, after choosing a suitable battery at K 7,500 (about 50 bucks), and the new fittings for about 3 bucks, the 3 men went to work, diligently stripping wires, and re-fitting the battery. In the end, it took over 2 hours (due to some serious wire-cutting/stripping/extending), but they did a nice job, and didn't ask for anything in return (though I did give Chikuni and Harold a bit of money for their time/effort)-- Melvin left after about 10 mins. to pick up a client. So for now, it looks like I've been well-taken care of, with a new battery. I'm just knocking on wood now in hopes that nothing else will start falling apart! Wish me luck, and I'll keep you posted!

The battery-replacing adventure was then followed by a very lovely dinner at my colleague Chokocha's house. He has a very lovely family, consisting of 4 daughters (the oldest in college, the youngest still in primary school), as well as 2 nephews, who are among about 3 or 4 that he takes care of, as their parents have already died. I may have mentioned that it is common in Malawi for aunts & uncles to take in orphaned children in the extended family. Chokocha is a very good man, and though he knows it can be difficult, he accepts this extra responsibility with grace and generosity.

Unfortunately, his wife and youngest daughter could not be there, as they were at her extended family home planting maize for the rainy season (everyone here is busy with that now), but I did get to meet most of the kids living in the house, and ate a fabulous meal which reminded me a lot of our traditional Thanksgiving feast, which, incidentally, is coming up this Thursday, Nov. 22. I've been feeling a bit homesick for Thanksgiving, so I was happy to be treated to such a wonderful dinner of chicken, potatoes (mashed and boiled), rice, beans (green and brown), and finally topped off with a banana for dessert. Ya, no pumpkin pie, but still an amazing meal. Add to that the fact that Chokocha has had some interesting experiences as an international student in the U.S., (UMASS-Amherst) and some exciting plans for building a technical training college in his home village. We had a really interesting chat about his experiences and dreams as well.

So, I guess I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving... not only a new kitty, but good friends to help with the installation of a new battery, and a fabulous meal that reminded me of the ones we had 'back in the day', in a warm, happy home where I felt very welcome and 'at home.' Oh, and Chokocha also has a new kitty (grey striped tabby), about the same size as our kitty, also acquired on Saturday, and also nameless! He's waiting for his youngest daughter to return home with his wife to give her a name. Any suggestions? Hmmm... maybe not... let's just stick to my kitty for the naming contest....

Ooh, I feel all warm and fuzzy after that post... Considering my gloominess as of late, I hope it's not too nauseating for the faithful readers! ;-) I know, it's not like me, but today was a really cool day, so what can I say? (Ooh, a rhyming couplet! Better stop while I'm ahead...) Tiwonana mawa!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Call for kitty names-- all reasonable suggestions considered!

OK, so the most exciting thing happening on this blog today is the naming of the new member of our household, our little kitty. I chronicled a bit of his first day with us in yesterday's blog post, but as you can see at left, there were a few things I chose to leave out. Most notable is the fabulous bath adventure. The pictures are worth a million words, so I'll just leave it at that.

So, Deliwe and I are now faced with a dilemma, as we don't know what to name our new kitty. Of course, as we were trying to think of a name, I remembered my throngs of faithful 'Malawi'n me' blog readers, and thought it might be fun to have a little naming contest this week! He's too young to really know or respond to his name (well, he's a cat, so he's not likely to EVER respond to his name, anyway...), so I figured we would make a decision at the end of the week, which I'll announce on the blog on Sunday. The reason I'm choosing Sunday is because I'm almost certain we'll be making another attempt at our trip to the lake this Friday afternoon, so I'm trying to make that day as free as possible (which likely means no blog entry that day-- I'll keep you posted, though!) I also want to give the contest a full 7 days, so that those who 'tune into' the blog only once or twice weekly will get a shot at the naming contest extravaganza.

Will there be a prize, you ask? Hmmm... Maybe! I'll have to think about that one, but it's likely that there might be a little token of appreciation sent to the creative person who can conjure up an original name that captures the very essence of our little kitty, inside and out. What that prize will be, of course, will remain a surprise until it is sent and received (as was the case with my sis Heather's prize for the bug-guessing contest).

So, without further ado, here are the things I can tell you about our new kitty, which might help you to come up with a good name for him. First of all, he's a boy (obviously). We don't know how old he is, but he's REALLY little, so probably no more than a month old, I'm guessing. Any cat age experts out there? Please enlighten me if you wish... We picked him up yesterday, which was a Saturday, Nov. 17. He is black (maybe dark grey to be exact) and white, and I think he may be long-haired, though it may also be too early to tell for sure. He has very cute little grey eyes as well. He follows me and/or Deliwe everywhere, he loves chambo fish, milk, and also beans (though I heard it's not good to feed him beans... any thoughts?... the local neighbor girls say that beans can make cats lose their hair... hmmm... I gave him some beans today... I'll let you know the results...) and I think he misses his mother, because he always tries to 'suckle' my fingers, toes, and sometimes my nose, especially at night (AAHH!). Unfortunately, when he does this he tends to bite, so I usually have to put him into another room and shut the door after too much of that. He's very playful like most kittens, and loves to play with cloth strings, or anything dangling. He seems to be especially interested in feet and toes, though, which he tends to 'attack' by scratching or biting... ya, we love that... As I mentioned yesterday, he alternately meowed and slept on my left shoulder as I drove home last night. The trip was about two hours long, so that was quite impressive to me.

OK, so that information should be more than enough to come up with some good names. We have decided to give him a Chichewa name, since after all, he's a Malawian cat, and he will stay here with Deliwe and her Mother after I leave. I'd hate for him to be shunned by the other cats by having some strange Mzungu English name ;-) However, if it is an English name with no Chichewa translation, and it's just too perfect to pass up, we will consider it as well. Otherwise, all English name candidates will be considered, but translated into Chichewa for the final naming. In addition, the final decision will be made with equal consideration by both Deliwe and myself.

So, in order to enter a name suggestion for our new kitty, please use the "comments" section of this blog, or e-mail me directly at jbeilke@yahoo.com. I look forward to seeing your ideas!

In other news, as I mentioned awhile back, we also have a small family living on our property now--our gardener Harold, his wife Dorothy, and two of his children, Pacharo and Miracle (his oldest is staying with his aunt until he finishes school at the end of Nov.), who are living in the small servants' quarters behind our house. Harold was having some difficulty with his housing situation, so had asked me if he could stay with us until things were worked out, so I agreed. I finally got some pictures of them last week Thursday evening when we had them over for dinner.

As you can see, they're a very lovely family, and Deliwe and I are really enjoying having a couple of kids around! It's really good for her, since she really would like to have her own family someday, but wants to wait a few more years and finish her education first. So, this allows her to be around the kids without feeling the need to have her own right away. As you may know, in Malawi, it is common for women to have children at very young ages (like Harold's wife, who became pregnant as a teenager), especially in small villages like those in Domasi, so Deliwe is a minority amongst her friends due to the fact that she is both single and does not yet have children. As I've mentioned before, Deliwe is only 20 years old.

In any case, we're enjoying all of our new household additions, both human and animal. In my case, it's wonderful, as I've been feeling rather homesick and lonely these days (a usual occurrance for me about 2 months into a long-term overseas stay--right on schedule). So, having a few more people and a furry friend around definitely is a welcome development!

With that, I'll sign off for now... Tiwonana mawa!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Surprise Post!! Lake Malawi trip cut short---AAARGH!!

Hello, all you faithful readers, especially those logging on to read my blog on Saturday, knowing that I didn't actually plan to post anything on this day, as I intended to be floating out in Cape MacClear, visiting all the thousands of fish species and forgetting about the phone, internet, classes, strike demonstrations, and other such matters for awhile.

However, it was not meant to be. Let me tell you the story.

First of all, I take full responsibility for bringing on the bad kharma by leaving a good hour later than planned, due to a need to drop by my office (yes, to do my quick blog posting, but also to take care of some necessary e-mails for work). Unfortunately, as is often the case with me, my visit to the office took quite a bit longer than planned, and in the end, we left at 4 p.m. rather than the planned departure of 3 p.m. Deliwe was a bit annoyed (not visibly, of course), but understanding. Luckily, we were both ready to go when I got home, so packed the car quickly and were off.

The first problem occurred after about 10 minutes on the road, when Deliwe mentioned something about cameras, and I remembered that I'd left the memory stick for my digital camera inside my computer, so I would not be able to take ANY pictures during our trip!! AAARRGH!! What a stupid mistake!! Doubly-stupid because I have 2 memory sticks, so when I take one out to download onto my computer, I can easily replace it with the other! What was I thinking? Not thinking at all, apparently. As you may have been able to figure out from this blog, I like to take pictures. Here, I feel absolutely naked without my camera, especially when travelling. I came VERY close to turning around and going back home to get the memory stick. However, due to our late departure, I decided that would not be a good idea.

So, we continued on our journey, with me lamenting for awhile (sometimes out loud) about how I'd wished I had that bloody memory stick. Luckily, Deliwe is a patient soul and knows how to tune those things out, though from her initial reaction, I know she was also disappointed that we wouldn't be able to take any pics. So, we continue on down the highway, passing through the town of Liwonde (where Liwonde National Park is located), after which I remarked that the last time, I turned down the wrong road when we were looking for our accommodation, and remind Deliwe that she was right later on when she told me I should've gone straight. This will be highly significant later on.

We continue driving without incident for about another hour, when we reach the town of Balaka. Suddenly, something triggers in my brain when we come to this town. "Deliwe! We're in Balaka. Isn't that on the way to Lilongwe?" "I don't know," she replies. Then, I remember that Deliwe has never really been further than about 10 km. north of Domasi, so of course she wouldn't be familiar with the highways in this region. We then consult the (very bad) map of Malawi featured in my Bradt guide to Malawi that I bought in Washington, D.C. during my ELF training back in August. I was so happy to see a guide dedicated specifically to Malawi, that I immediately bought it, assuming it must be wonderfully accurate (That, and the inset quote by Michael Palin of Monty Python fame, who swears by Bradt guides. Mike wouldn't lie to me, now would he? After all my years of dedicated worship of his comedy troupe? NEVER!)

So, back to the story. The map was lousy (as was a different map in this book for the Liwonde region), because it makes the highway to Mangochi (which is where we were headed) appear to go straight, while the highway to Lilongwe (the M1, I believe--don't have the book on me right now, sorry) appears to make a left turn near Liwonde. Of course, I took this at face value, but then remembered that during my trips to Lilongwe, I never noticed the driver turning at all. It's pretty much a straight shot--- AAAARRRGH!). Problem number two. Shortly after this discovery, we did see a junction sign confirming we were headed north on the wrong highway. Deliwe, never being one to shy away from asking directions, confirmed this fact with a highway official standing at the side of the road (we were approaching a police checkpoint). The only way to correct this mistake was to turn around and head back south.

At this point, it was decision time. I turned to Deliwe, and I said, "Because of this mistake, we've lost about an hour. It's now approaching 5 p.m., and it will be dark by 6 p.m. I think maybe we should just head home, as finding our way in the dark might be very difficult, and very stressful." To this, Deliwe replied, "No, I think it'll be o.k. I can ask, and help us find it." Clearly, she was really set on this trip, and I was as well, but I didn't want to tempt fate, and the kharma just wasn't feeling right to me. So, I said, "Well, are you sure? At this rate, we're lucky if we get to Mangochi by 8 p.m., and then if we want to continue to the lake, the trip might be much longer." To which she replied, "No, it's o.k. We should go. We'll be o.k. I'll ask for directions. Don't worry." So, reluctantly, I agree to push on.

We continue down the road, back to Liwonde, where the nice official at the side of the road had assured us that the Mangochi turn off would be. See? I told you my comment upon passing through Liwonde would prove significant. At that point, I vaguely recalled people mentioning the "Mangochi Turn-off" before, but just never realized exactly where it was. Of course, at that point, I felt a bit homesick for the highly organized, signposted highways back home. There is rarely a question of which highway you're on, which direction you're going, which towns you'll find and how far away, as there are signs EVERYWHERE along the road, especially on the major highways. Ya, driving the American roads does not require much intelligence. Just a basic understanding of the English language, and you're set. But here, in Malawi, one must have the orientation skills of a skilled navigator, as signs are very scarce here. Luckily, there are few major highways, so the Malawians out there are probably having a good laugh at this idiotic Mzungu driving tale... There are literally only about 3 major highways in the southern region, so the fact that I took the wrong one is pretty amazing... however, this is me we're talking about, and unfortunately I inherited my father's sense of direction. Let's just say he was one of those typical men who never asked for directions, but always needed them... hence, we spent a few family trips taking long scenic drives to unknown destinations. I'm like that. The difference is, I'll stop and ask. This time, I made the very sorry mistake of not doing that sooner. AAARRRRGH!!

Moving on with the story now, we continue south to Liwonde, and lo and behold, there is a sign--in major disrepair, but legible enough. The Mangochi turnoff. I spot it, we turn left, and off we go. The road turns out to be generally smooth, with a few potholes here and there, and a short off-road diversion (which is somewhat common here) due to a section of road that is under repair. So far, so good. We continue on, and after the diversion, Deliwe suggests that we ask a man walking along the road about the distance to Mangochi. He proceeds to tell us it's about "one or two more hours." Of course, by now, it's after dusk, so I'm getting concerned. Wow, that's a big difference, I think... one or two more hourse? Which is it? We later realized he meant that it was one hour to Mangochi, and two hours to the lake. Ahhh. Unfortunately, we'd hoped to stay at a hotel on the lake, so this presented a potential problem for us.

Well, we'd committed to going ahead with this trip, so off we went. Eventually, we reached Mangochi (a little sooner than we expected, at around 7 p.m. So, things were looking up. As we came into town, I noticed a couple of Petrol (i.e. 'gas' for the 'Yanks') stations on the right, so decided to stop to fill up, just to be safe. I stopped at a place called 'Petroda', which is one of about 3 major gas stations in Malawi--the other two are Total and BP (i.e. British Petrol...ya, they mask that pretty well in the states...). I pull up, turn off the engine, get the gas, proceed to turn the key to start the engine, and that's when problem no. 3 arises... click click click click click!! Not gonna start... AAAAARRRGGHHH!!!

Of course, right away I remember the starter incident on the first day I drove my car. Ah! It's the starter again! I thought... Luckily, as usual, there were several men hanging around-- some employed there, but most not, willing to help out. Right away, they determined that it was the battery. Without getting into all the sordid details, after about 30 mins, they were able to take care of it by testing the car with another battery, and adding some fluid. However, despite the fact that I did have jumper-cables in the car, they never did use them... however, Deliwe believes they somehow charged my battery with the newer batter, though I'm still not sure exactly how they did so. This will prove to be important later.

On a sidenote, in the meantime, as we were waiting for the car, I noticed a guy with a small kitten. "Oh, a kitty!" I exclaimed excitedly, after which he told me he'd sell it to me for 500 kwacha (about 4 bucks). I immediately said I couldn't take a cat, but then after discussing it with Deliwe, who reminded me of the huge RAT living in our house, also saying she could keep and take care of the kitty after I left, we decided to take him... (See pix at left). In the end, the manager of the Petroda who helped us fix the battery, offered to give us the kitty on our way out of town on Sunday (which as you know now, turned out to be today, Saturday). So, we agreed, and off we went (again). (Oh, and another sidenote... we tested the car for about 4 km. before leaving to the hotel, and all seemed o.k. It stopped, and started without any trouble.)

After our adventure at Petroda, we decided to head down the road to the lake to find this hotel "Palm Beach Resort" we'd seen in the trusty Malawi travel guide. We'd been directed to another hotel by one of the Petroda guys (The Villa hotel), but it was booked, and cost about 3000 kwacha more than I wanted to pay. So, we headed off down the road toward Monkey Bay/Cape McClear (our final destination), but this hotel would be about halfway there. On the way out of Mangochi, Deliwe diligently asked a guy on the road for directions, and he asked if he could ride with us as we went. This is also a common occurrance here (as I may have mentioned before), and since there were two of us in the car, I agreed. Of course, he was a decent guy, and it was good to have some local company on an unknown road going to an unknown place in the dark, so we were happy to have him with us.

This road was not very nice at all... riddled with potholes, so it did take us close to a good half-hour to get to our destination. We dropped off our passenger, and came to the turn off to the "Palm Beach Resort" shortly afterwards. Of course, the road to the "resort" was a dirt road, but not too bad compared to some others, and meandered through a few villages towards the lake. We eventually arrived to see a dining room full of Mzungus, including this older guy Mike, whom I met through a Fulbright student named Kathleen about a month earlier. I'd also run into him by chance last weekend on our way back from Blantyre at a small restaurant in Zomba. I keep running into this guy in the funniest places, so of course we had to comment on that to each other.

Now, when I enter a hotel establishment and see only Mzungus in it, I know it must be expensive, so I was not thrilled at the sight. Sure enough, when I asked the British ex-pat owner the cost, it was over 2 times what my 'trusty' Malawi guidebook had said (DOH!-- another problem, Michael Palin!! Must give him a call...) She then went on to say, "Oh, I don't know where they get their information." But, in the end, did give us a 600 kwacha discount (about 5 bucks), which I guess was something. We also ended up eating a free buffet dinner. I'm not sure if it was meant to be free, but upon returning home today, I realized that we'd never been charged for it, but I doubt it was included in the price. If so, this was a first for me.

We ended up having a very nice meal, complete with a couple of glasses of complimentary South African red wine (I believe Cabernet, though this is not confirmed) offered to us by a very friendly Portuguese gentleman who was sitting at a table near us. Wow, a friendly Mzungu! Let's just say that's been rare for me here, especially among the upper-class traveling types. Very refreshing, and a much-needed alcohol boost, I must say. Of course, he did make the offer after we'd already started drinking beer, but nonetheless, I wasn't complaining!

After dinner, we strolled outside with our glasses of wine, walked out onto the sandy beach, and without hesitation, I kicked off my sandals and walked into the water. Shortly after doing so, however, I realized someone had mentioned that crocs live in the lake. For some reason, my pride still had the better of me, so I gently strolled out without saying anything at first (except to Deliwe), as all the Mzungus were also out on the beach having a drink and a chat. A bit later, I summoned the courage to ask the owner, who was sitting just behind us, if there were crocs in the lake... she confirmed there were, but that she had never actually seen one... Whew! Mixed blessing though, as there's always a first time for everything.

So, after one more beer and a bit of chatting with the Mzungus, who all turned out to be rather friendly (plus Mike came out, and we finally learned more about each other), Deliwe and I decided to 'turn in' for the night. After all, it was already 10 p.m., which is a good hour past her bedtime, and about average for me these days. (My friends back home are dying of shock, but it's true!)

After returning to the room, more disappointments crop up, as we realize there is no TV (no big deal, but considering the room rate, we thought we should have one), no air conditioning (not suprising, but again the cost), and the room was VERY hot... I even got up after trying to sleep for about 5 mins. to take a cold shower... only to realize the hot water heater switch had some malfunction, so I couldn't turn it off.. only warm to scalding hot water would come out... AAARRGGGHHH!! It just kept getting worse and worse. Of course, I did remember that we had a place to sleep and good food/drinks, so I wasn't completely upset at that point, just annoyed with the amount of money I'd agreed to pay for this place.

I eventually got up in the middle of the night (around 3 a.m.) sleepless due to the heat, and positioned my bed just under the ceiling fan, after wandering around the room and discovering that I could feel a breeze at a certain place, which ironically was not where the beds were positioned. Luckily, it was easy to move. I slept much better after that.

In the morning, Deliwe woke up at the crack of dawn as usual, and by the time I became conscious (around 7:30 a.m.-- ya, shocking to my friends and family), she was already headed out the door to the beach...I decide to get up, and take my shower, only to discover there's NO WATER! AAAARGH!! Did I really pay that much money??? I was determined to ask for a discount upon leaving (since of course I had not yet paid the bill). I ended up taking a pseudo-sponge bath at the sink, eventually running that out of water as well, getting everything packed, and schlepping the bags back to the car, beginning to feel that this trip is not meant to be. Stay tuned...

After putting the bags in the car, I stroll down to the beach, dip my feet in the water, and call Deliwe, who is actually hanging around with the locals up the beach 'a piece' (as my little sis Heather would say). Of course, who could blame her, with all these Mzungus around? So, I decide to head up in that direction, which looked much more interesting that our empty beach with one sunbather. On the beachfront just adjacent to us, there were several small boys casting and pulling in nets to catch small fish. It was really cool to see, but of course, I have no pictures. AAARRRGHH!! Ya, we'll have to come back (but not to 'Palm Beach,' no way!)

Of course, I see Deliwe, and we head up to the hotel for breakfast, which was just cereal and toast. The interesting bit there is that the woman who owns the place actually yelled at her elderly Malawian cook for cutting the toast in half. "Who can butter that?" She bitterly chastised him. I really wanted to yell, "I can! I can!" just to get her goat, but decided I may not want to enter that battle today. What a nasty person she turned out to be! If I can get a hold of Michael Palin, I'll be sure to tell him to get that bloody hotel out of that guide. What a way to treat your employees!! I was really shocked and disturbed. After bitterly scolding him, she turned to us and said, "I just don't know why, he insists on doing that, after I tell him time and again." I won't even go into how wrong it is for supervisors to treat matters like that in this manner. It's just wrong on so many levels. Let's just leave it at that.

So, at this point I decide I will ask for a discount, knowing I won't get one and that I might get yelled at. I, of course, decide to handle the matter very delicately, pointing out that the water was out this morning, and I couldn't get a shower, so is there any possibility of a discount? No, she says, "But you can go ahead and take one now," fully knowing that we'd planned to go up to Monkey Bay/ Cape McClear (about an hour away) after settling the bill. Whatever. You won't get my business anymore, and Michael Palin will know about this, and so will all my throngs of loyal Malawinme blog readers!! So THERE, Miss-high-falutin-crappy-hotel-owner-snobby-British-colonial-mentality-lived-here-for-17-years-n-too-good-to-learn-Chichewa-or-treat-employees-with-respect-old-rag! See if I care!!! AAAARRRGGHHH!!

OK, now I feel better. But, things got worse. I got in the car, and again... click,click,click,click.... no start. AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!!! Luckily, just before the bill-settling conversation, I'd also struck up a little chat with this South African couple we'd met briefly the night before, and they turned out to be quite friendly. After the (not so) lovely hotel owner tried to reach her mechanic and failed, the guy from SA (Craig) was kind enough to use the owner's car to give me a jump. Luckily, I'd had the presence of mind to buy jumper cables and tools shortly after buying the car (could it be the starter issue that prompted this? Hmmm...)

After jumping the car, Craig told us that the problem was that we hadn't driven long enough after the intitial charge last night to get the battery charged up enough. He suggested that after we drove into Monkey Bay, we find a 'battery charging' station (whatever that is) and try to get it charged there, and we should be fine. In the meantime, I'm very worried about my cash situation, as I've paid more than twice what I'd planned to pay for that bloody excuse for a hotel. My decision was made. Go back to Mangochi, pick up the kitty at Petroda, and head back home. Hopefully next weekend, leave earlier and head directly to Cape McClear, leaving this 'Palm Beach' excuse for a 'resort' in the dust.

I explained my feelings to Deliwe, who reluctantly agreed, but understood how I felt. So, here we are, back in town, but with a few more things we acquired along the way, in this order: a new kitty, a woven wastebasket, two nSima flour baskets, 4 huge chambo fish, a woven mat to sit on outside (can you tell there's lots of weaving going on in the Mangochi region?), and today's newspaper. Let's just say we made up for our weekend vacation cut short by picking up a few items at the side of the road. The kitty rode on my left shoulder, alternately whining and sleeping the entire time... Should be an interesting week!

Watch for pictures of our kitty, fish, and some more suprises mawa!! Tiwonana!!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Off to Lake Malawi!

I just wanted to enter a quick post today to let all the throngs of faithful readers know that I'm off to Lake Malawi with Deliwe for the weekend, but I will return faithfully on Sunday morning with more stories and photos of our adventures. So, Saturday is an off-day from the blog for me, which means the free gin offer is of course on hold for that day.

In addition, I wanted to let you all know that I did teach my Chanco class today, and it looks like we'll be able to finish the course next week (Well, that is if the story in the paper today about the lecturers 'rebuffing' the 20% raise offer just went to press prior to the decision to lift the strike yesterday afternoon... we shall see...)

This means that next week will be EXTREMELY busy for me, as I'll be finishing up one intensive distance education course at Domasi College, starting another distance education course, and finishing up the Chancellor College course. So, please be patient, as my postings may be a bit shorter and less detailed than usual. Sunday's post is likely to be a nice long one, computer/electricity/internet-connection-willing. After that, who knows? I'm only human, of flesh and blood, I'm made...after all (in the words of "The Human League"... I LOVE THE 80's!!) With that, I leave you... Enjoy your weekend, and Tiwonana Sunday!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Strike off again, Chanco on again...

So,are you getting that up-and-down roller coaster feeling yet? You are not alone. The good news is that the Chanco strike is OFF again, officially starting this afternoon, according to my source, which this time is a colleague in my office. She called me this afternoon to inform me that the government had made an offer to the University of Malawi Faculty to give them a 20% raise, effective immediately. Though this is only 10% of the 200% raise they'd asked for, the lecturers decided that it was better than nothing, and in a showing of good faith to the students, they agreed to go back to work... Hallelujah!

Now, it looks like a few students may not be present tomorrow, as they'd been sent home, or, as today's source tells me, decided to go home. It appears that the earlier information I had as of yesterday might have been incorrect, and that the students were not actually required to go home. However, many may have decided to leave on their own due to safety concerns, or because they were worried about being cited for the violent acts which occurred during Monday's and Tuesday's demonstrations. So, it looks like my class will meet again 'mawa', and for that I am glad, as it means we can finish almost on time after all. Whew! I suppose all my naysaying yesterday was incorrect after all... or was it? Only time will tell...

As always, I'll keep you posted. Tiwonana Mawa!

(By the way, in other, much more frivolous news, I have to give a 'shout out' to my sista' Carrie in North Carolina, who is seeing 'our boys' The POLICE (the band, not the boys in blue) tonight in Charlotte for the FOURTH TIME THIS YEAR, and breaking our record of a mere 3 times screaming for our band, which we accomplished in August while following them up the east coast...HAVE FUN CARRIE, I'm SO JEALOUS, and DYING to be there with you!!-- Sorry, just HAD to do that today... ;-)