Lucky to be alive...(Well... at least not bruised or battered)

Well, today turned out to be quite an interesting one for me. Though it started out rather uneventfully, it certainly did not end up that way. It started with a short stint in the office, followed by a rather routine trip to the Domasi post office to send some items to my aunt which I hope will arrive before Thankgiving (AAHH!! wish me luck on that one--for the Malawians, that's next week Thursday, Nov. 22). Ya, it has to first go to Zomba, then to Limbe, then to South Africa, then to the U.S. (most likely New York or Washington, D.C.), then to a place called Villa Rica, Georgia. Hmmm... I'm doubting it'll get there in time... Maybe we should take a poll, eh? HA! I'll never do THAT again! ;-)

So, after my trip to the post office, I went into Zomba with Deliwe, dropped her off near the market, and then went on to my office at Chancellor College, which was locked. Oh, yes. I should back up. Prior to leaving for my class, I received a phone call from Sydney, the Head of my department. He was calling to confirm a rumor I'd heard yesterday that the lecturer's strike that was called off last week was now back on, as a member of one of the ruling bodies (in this case the University of Malawi Council Chair, if I'm not mistaken) made a statement that the timeline for issuing salary raises was still open, and that they could not give a deadline. This is my very rudimentary understanding of the issue. I believe he made this statement over the weekend, so the lecturer's union decided to respond by calling the strike 'on' again, starting today. Now, for me this seemed to be 'par for the course,' since I've been teaching through the entire strike anyway, so this information didn't really phase me too much (though it should have, as I was soon to find out...).

Back to the timeline... So, I tried to enter my locked office (it was also locked on Friday, so also becoming 'par for the course...') This time, the secretary was sick with Malaria (BTW, did I mention Malaria is treated like a 'common cold' here? More on that another time), as I found out from the (not so) nice lady in the office next door. As she was calling the secretary to find out whether she'd left a key for me, I noticed two of my students waiting in the hallway to talk to me. This is a pretty normal occurrence these days, as my class is working on a big end-of-term research paper, so I often have students coming in for help. However, this time they were coming to inform me that they were planning to attend a 'general student meeting' to discuss how to react to the continued lecturer's strike, and that this meeting was set for 2:00, just 30 mins. before our class time. The students assured me the meeting would likely go much longer than 30 mins., so they'd need for me to cancel the class. I then took a look at their schedules and determined that tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. would work, since our class doesn't normally meet on Tuesdays. I asked them to spread the word, and then went to get the office key in my 'pigeon hole' (British for internal mailbox, for the bloody Yanks out there...).

Soon after arriving in my office, 4 of my other students came to ask the same question, and also took care of posting the class postponement notice I'd written up on the bulletin board outside the library, which is where such information is gathered at Chanco. A couple of those students actually needed help with their papers, so I took a look, gave them some advice, and off they went.

It was then that things got a little strange. I considered working on some materials for class the next day, but then decided I'd rather leave and take care of it later. Also, I realized that the cancellation allowed me to pick Deliwe up at the market, rather than letting her schlep onto a dreaded minibus back to Domasi.

As I headed out the door, that's when I noticed something was amiss... The place was a bit too quiet. Very few students were walking around, and faculty were non-existent. When I went out to the parking lot, my car was one of only two remaining. I had a strange feeling, but still didn't really realize what was happening. So, as I blindly pull out of the parking lot and begin to turn right down the road leading away from the college and towards the main road, I notice several large rocks had been placed in the road, blocking any possible exit. Uh oh. Student Demonstration. I'd heard about the infamous student protests at Chancellor College, but up until this point, they'd been merely myth to me. It was hard for me to see from where I was, but it appeared to be rather serious.

Luckily, there was a man walking down the road who assured me that I could not drive that way, and should take the "other road back into Zomba." I didn't actually know there WAS another road into town. Then, when I laid eyes on it (after first heading down the wrong road and turning around), I was very concerned. This was one of those "God, I wish I had a huge 4-wheel drive" kinda moments. I've had quite a few such moments since my car arrived, and though not fun, they're a common occurrence here in Malawi, where many of the roads are not fit for little Japanese cars. But, this was my trusty Toyota... the 'little car that could'.

So, I head down this very sketchy, very steep road which features a small wooden bridge over a small river. These bridges are also common here, and look rather sketchy, but so far, all have held up well for me, though I do clench my teeth, grimace, and white-knuckle it every time I have to cross one. Luckily, they are confined to the small dirt roads and only seem to cross smaller streams/ditches.

After crossing the stream, I gently meandered my way over boulders, through washed- out gullies, and around various obstacles in the road, all the while having no idea whether I was actually heading in the right direction. Luckily, this road also meandered through several villages, and there were always people around to ask when I came to a 'Y' junction, which happened several times. As usual, I heard several cries of 'Muzungu!', usually followed quickly thereafter by a "Hello! How are you?"

Eventually, some nice young schoolgirls helped to direct me on the final leg of my journey, and I offered them a ride in the car. This is a common practice here, but I'm always careful about who I'll pick up. I often give rides to my Chancellor College students as I'm heading down the road to campus, or young kids like these. There seems to be a lot of hitch-hiking around here, and people claim it's safe, but I'm still very cautious about it.

Once I got into town, made a quick market stop, and picked up Deliwe, we headed back to Zomba. On our way, we witnessed a large army truck with what looked like soldiers riding in the back, heading onto one of the back roads towards Chanco. Apparently, these were military police sent to restore order. I'd also received a call from one of my students after I arrived in Zomba, who was kindly checking to see that I was o.k. It seems my harrowing drive down the bumpy road was nothing compared to the danger I'd have faced had I made the mistake of heading down the main road from campus. She told me the demonstration had turned into a riot (by my standards), with students throwing rocks and getting violent. I know starting fires is a common occurrence at such 'demonstrations,' but she hadn't mentioned whether that was happening (yet). In any case, it looked like martial law was being put into place, which leads me to believe it had gotten pretty ugly.

I consider myself very lucky today, though Mr. Mwanza at Domasi College did assure me that the students would've left me alone, since they know "who had been teaching during the strike and who had not." Regardless, I'd never want to try my luck in the middle of an angry mob. Whew! Glad I made it to tell you all about it. I'll be sure to keep you posted. Actually, while writing this, I just received a text message from Sydney, my department head, saying that the college may close down tomorrow subject to 'approval of the council,' which I believe is the University Council. Looks like I won't be teaching tomorrow after all. Updates nightly. Stay tuned.

Hopefully mawa, I can also provide updates on the 'Village to Village' orphanage reading room project which is now officially underway. I'll try not to promise too much of an update right now, though, as I know where that gets me! Let's just say the carpenter's been paid for his materials, and should have started building shelves today. As always, stay tuned! Tiwonana Mawa!